Collecting Debt from a Thief
The time I got my money back from the thief who had stolen it was the year before last. That time, a colleague and I went to Gongyi on business. When we got on the bus, only the last two rows of seats were empty, so we sat in the second-to-last row.
When the bus reached the halfway point, several men got on. Each one had two slaves, all dressed like princes and princesses, all around thirty years old, all quite tall, and all very well-dressed. Some of them sat at the front, some at the back, and two of them sat right behind us.
After the bus started moving again, while my friend and I were quietly talking, I noticed that one of the men who had just gotten on was reaching into someone else's pocket. Seeing this, I instinctively felt my own pocket, only to find that the money that had been there was now gone. For a moment, I was shocked. Had I accidentally taken it out while reaching for something else? Thinking this, I quickly bent down and looked around on the floor, but I couldn't see anything. 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 end up getting beaten after failing to retrieve their money. As I thought about this, my mind raced, searching for any stories of wit and cunning I had read that might help me here. But after thinking for a long time, I couldn't come up with anything suitable. Just as I was getting anxious, I suddenly remembered how I had just been looking for my 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 care about his dignity and reputation. The reason they steal might be due to bad nature, laziness, or having fallen in with the wrong crowd. Regardless, they know that what they're doing is dishonorable and wrong. I believe no thief would say: "The profession of thievery is a glorious and great one." People say that to strike a snake, you must hit its seven-inch mark. The vulnerability and fear of these thieves 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 bills?"
"No, no," the two of them replied in unison.
"You must have seen them," I said.
"How can you be sure we saw them?"
"Minutes ago, I felt my money was still 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."
"How can you be sure we picked it up?"
"There's no one behind me except you two. If it wasn't you, then who? And it's not on the ground," I replied.
"We didn't see anything," they insisted.
"If you found it, give it back. That's 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 it to you?"
"If you didn't pick it up, fine. But since I don't have any money, I might as well ask the driver to take the bus to the police station and check things out." Saying this, I made a gesture as if I were about to call the driver.
"If you insist it was us who picked it up, then I'll just give you two hundred yuan. Do you dare take it?" He said this while pulling out two hundred-yuan notes and waving them.
Looking at him, I hesitated, my heart racing. I was afraid of falsely 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? Besides, if it wasn't him who stole it, where else could it have gone? With this in mind, I reached out and took the money.
Although I had retrieved the money, I didn't feel good about it. I was afraid that with his gang, he might turn aggressive, and then I wouldn't know what to do.
As I was anxiously pondering my next move, the bus stopped at a station, and the men at the front got off. The two behind me also stood up and got off. Watching their tall backs disappear into the crowd, I was terrified, wondering if they might turn around and demand their money back. Only when the doors closed and the bus started moving again did my heart finally settle.
At this point, everyone on the bus began discussing the matter. The person who had lost money earlier realized they had been stolen from and insisted on getting off to chase after the group still standing by the road. However, everyone advised against it, and amidst the chaos, everyone agreed that those few men were part of a gang.
I sat silently, both relieved to have recovered my money and saddened by a society where the mice are afraid of the rats. I remember when I was a child, in the 70s and 80s, whenever a thief appeared, everyone would unite against them, shouting to beat them. Now, decades later, why does society seem to have regressed instead of progressing? Is Darwin's theory of evolution wrong, or have people in this society become abnormal?
Even if thieves are organized into groups, can their organization match the scale of society? Can their numbers and strength surpass the number of people on a single street?