The Wealth in the Old Well chapter 3

Old Tom explained with a mixture of regret and shame that after David’s death, he couldn’t stand the torture of his conscience, so he anonymously reported Jack. After the case was exposed, he was a little involved and was fired from his job. Later, Jack tried to reduce his own guilt by shifting the blame to the dead David, saying that David had dragged him into corruption and that most of the money had been taken by David. So the case became a mystery again.

The more Old Tom talked, the more guilty he felt. He hung his head, grabbed his messy hair, and said painfully, “I did something wrong. For the past ten years, every time I close my eyes, I see David looking at me with resentment! I tried to help David’s family just to pay off my debt of conscience, but you’ve made it so hard for me that I’ll have no face to see David after I die…”

The truth was out. Linda stood there, stunned. Her thin shoulders were shaking violently as she sobbed. “David, Old Tom has cleared your name! Old Tom, thank you. I appreciate your kindness, but I can’t take your turtles! David wouldn’t agree either. I’ll bring the turtles back to you…”

Linda staggered out of the door. Her small figure quickly disappeared into the dark night. The Johnsons left happily, while the Smiths left with their heads down, silent. That night, the town was as quiet as ever, but the lights in many windows were flickering on and off…

Linda didn’t sleep a wink all night. When it was just getting light, she woke her son up to continue cleaning the well. When she opened the door, she was stunned!

On the floor inside the doorway, there were a bunch of small red envelopes in a mess. When she opened them, she found that they were all filled with money! The largest amount was $800, and the smallest was $80. The total was over $10,000! Counting the envelopes, there were exactly forty – one, which was the number of families in the town except her own. She understood that both the Johnsons and the Smiths had come last night. The envelopes were completely anonymous, clearly intended to make it impossible for her to return the money.

Linda’s vision blurred again.