Li Baoyu led the dog home. When he got to the courtyard, he tied the little Hua Gou in a corner and then went inside to report to Jin Xiaomei.
As soon as he stepped inside, he heard Li Ruhai tattling on him to Jin Xiaomei.
He heard Li Ruhai say, "Ma, Big Brother dared to steal thirty yuan from me today, which means he'll dare to steal three hundred from you tomorrow!"
"He wouldn't dare," Jin Xiaomei said. She was sorting soybeans with Li Xiaoqiao, getting ready to trade them for tofu at the tofu mill tomorrow.
"Why wouldn't he?" Li Ruhai continued. "On the Laba Festival, you lost fifty cents. I bet he was the one who stole it."
"Your dad took that," Jin Xiaomei said. "He used it to buy cigarettes."
Li Ruhai's eyes darted around, and he added, "Then what about the Mid-Autumn Festival last year? You lost thirty cents. My brother stole it."
