The time I asked the thief to return the money he had stolen from me was an incident from the year before last. That time, a colleague and I went to Gongyi on business. When we got on the bus, only two rows of seats at the back were empty, so we sat in the second to last row.
When the bus reached the halfway point, several men got on, all about thirty years old, tall, and dressed very fashionably. Some of them sat at the front, some at the back, and two of them sat directly behind us.
After the bus started moving again, while my friend and I were talking quietly, I noticed one of the men who had just boarded reaching into someone else's pocket. Seeing this, I instinctively touched my own pocket, only to find that the money that had been there just moments ago was now gone. Panic surged through me. Had I accidentally taken it out when I was reaching for something else? Thinking this, I quickly bent down and looked around on the floor, but saw nothing. This made me suspect the two men sitting behind me.
But how could I ask them for it? I couldn't be like some people who try to get their money back and end up getting beaten instead. Thinking this, my mind raced as I tried to recall any stories of wit and cunning I had read, hoping for some guidance, but after much thought, I couldn’t come up with anything suitable. Just as I was getting anxious, I suddenly remembered how I had just been looking for the money on the ground, and an idea came to me.
I knew that even if the person sitting behind me was a thief, he would still value his dignity and face. They steal because, perhaps by nature, they are lazy and dislike hard work, or maybe they have fallen in with bad company. But no matter what, they know that what they do is dishonorable and wrong. I believe there isn't a single thief who would say that thievery is a glorious and great profession. People say that to hit a snake, you must strike its seven-inch mark (vital spot). Their timidity and cowardice might just be their weak point.
With this in mind, I turned around and asked them kindly: "Did either of you see two hundred-yuan notes?"
"No, no," the two of them replied in unison.
"You must have seen them," I said.
"How can you be sure we saw them?" they asked.
"Just a few minutes ago, I felt the money in my pocket, but now it’s gone. It must have fallen out when I was reaching for something, and you two picked it up," I explained.
"How can you be sure we picked it up?"
"There's no one behind me except for you two. If it wasn't you, then who? And it's not on the ground," I responded.
"We didn't see anything," they repeated.
"If you picked it up, just give it back. This is all the money I have. Without it, I won't be able to go home."
"We didn't pick it up. How can we give you something we don't have?" one of them said, pulling out two hundred-yuan notes and waving them in front of me. "If you insist it was us who picked it up, then here, take these two hundred. Do you dare take it?"
Looking at him, I hesitated, feeling conflicted. I was afraid of wrongly accusing a good person, yet also worried that if he really was a bad person, he might retaliate against me if I took the money. But then I thought, I indeed only had this much money, and if I didn't take it, what would I do? Moreover, if the money hadn't been stolen by him, where else could it have gone? Thinking this, I reached out and took the money.
Although I had retrieved the money, I didn't feel good inside. I was afraid that he might resort to force due to his superior numbers, and if he did, I wouldn't know what to do.
As I was anxiously considering countermeasures, the bus arrived at a stop and the group of men at the front got off. The two behind me also stood up and disembarked. Watching their towering backs disappear into the crowd, I was terrified, unsure if they would turn around and demand their money back. Only when the bus doors closed and the vehicle started moving again did my heart finally settle. At this point, everyone on the bus began discussing the matter, and the person who had lost money earlier realized they had been robbed. They wanted to get off and chase after those men still standing by the roadside, but everyone advised against it. A chaotic scene ensued, and everyone unanimously agreed that those men were part of a gang.
I sat silently, both relieved that I had managed to recover my money and saddened by this upside-down society where mice bully cats. I remember when I was a child, in the 70s and 80s, whenever a thief appeared, everyone would unite against them, shouting and beating them. Now, society has progressed another three or four decades, yet why haven't people evolved better? Has Darwin's theory of evolution been written incorrectly, or are people in this society behaving abnormally?
Thieves may be organized and form groups, but can their group match the size of society? Can their numbers and strength surpass the people on a single street?