When Zhang Hulan came out carrying the oil lamp, the person on the ground was already being pinned down and jumping around by Liu Yonggui.

I walked up to the man and shone the oil lamp on him, but I didn't recognize him.

Seeing that it was safe outside, Shanzi ran out.

Zhang Hulan said, "Shanzi, go call your uncle Zhang and the others."

"Okay!" Shanzi ran out immediately.

Zhang Hulan went to find a rope and tied up the man together with Liu Yonggui.

Soon Zhang Hujun, Wang Shi and others arrived.

"Dani'er, are you and the child okay?" Wang asked worriedly.

"Mom, we are all fine."

Wang was relieved only when she saw that Zhang Hulan and her three children were all fine.

Li and Xiang Chunhua also came. Wang hurriedly said to Li, "Why are you here? Don't come out so late at night."

Zhang Hulan also hurriedly said, "Chunhua, take your sister-in-law to the house quickly."

Zhang Hulan had heard of this rumor before. Pregnant women should try not to go out at night. It's okay if someone accompanies you, but never go out alone. It's easy to attract unclean things.

Xiang Chunhua pulled Li into the house, and Wang asked, "Who is it?"

Zhang Hulan shook her head. "I don't know him. He doesn't look like a villager."

Zhang Hubing also yelled, "Who is so bold as to steal something?"

Zhang Hujun and Zhang Hubing both looked at the man's face, but neither of them recognized him.

The man's face had several scratches and was bleeding profusely, so his appearance could not be seen.

Zhang Hulan said, "Brother, go call the village head uncle. There are thieves in the village. Let him know."

"good."

At this time, several torches were lit in the yard, and the yard was brightly lit.

Zhang Hubing looked at the peddler's face and asked Zhang Hulan, "Did you scratch his face too?"

Zhang Hulan shook her head, "No, I just hit him in the leg."

Zhang Hulan also thought of the bird and looked around.

Suddenly, a "cuckoo" sound was heard from under the eaves. I knew it was the owl.

Zhang Hulan blinked her eyes. It must be this little thing that caught the thief just now.

Zhang Hujun quickly called Zhao Guoliang over.

Zhao Guoliang walked forward and took a look, then said, "Find something to wipe the blood off his face and see who it is."

Wang found a rag and wiped the man's face a few times.

Shanzi had been watching from the side. When the blood on the man's face was wiped clean, Shanzi said, "Auntie Lan, this man looks a bit like the peddler who came to the village to sell things during the day."

"A peddler?"

Wang was startled for a moment, then took a closer look and said, "It really is..."

Zhang Hulan frowned. This man came into the village in the morning. He must have come to scout the area.

Ma stood at the gate of the courtyard and didn't dare to come in. She was a little scared when she heard that the man was the peddler who came during the day.

She was the one who brought this person to Zhang Hulan's house. If Zhang Hulan blamed her, wouldn't she be finished?

To be honest, Ma was a little scared of Zhang Hulan. She beat people too hard...

At this moment, some more villagers came over and asked what was going on.

After learning that a thief had entered the village to steal things, they hurried home to check if anything was missing from their homes.

Zhao Guoliang said, "Let's wait until dawn to send him off to the official."

Zhang Hulan wondered if someone wanted to steal her marinade recipe. She had long thought that if her marinated meat business was good, someone would definitely come to steal it.

But this peddler scoured the place during the day and took action at night, which was indeed a common tactic used by thieves. Zhang Hulan couldn't figure out whether this man was a thief or came here to steal the marinade recipe.

Zhang Hulan thought for a moment, then said, "Uncle Lizheng, let's not report it to the authorities yet."

Zhao Guoliang asked: "What are your plans?"

Zhang Hulan said, "I was worried that someone came here for my braised pork recipe, and I wanted to see if anyone else would come.

If we hand the person over to the government, and he doesn't speak or insists that he is just a thief, then I don't know who is targeting me.

I want to wait for two days to see if anyone comes to the village to inquire about the news. If no one comes, it means that this person is probably just a thief. If someone comes to the village to inquire about something, it means that this person is being instructed by someone else. "

Zhao Guoliang asked worriedly, "Will this be dangerous?"

Zhang Hulan said, "It's okay. I have my elder brother and Hu Bing at home. As long as there aren't too many people coming, one or two should be no problem."

"I just want to trouble Uncle Lizheng to help tell the villagers not to let anyone know what happened tonight. Otherwise, the people who come here will definitely run away if they hear about it."

Zhang Hubing said, "That's easy. I'll be on guard at the entrance to the village during the day. If I see any strangers coming to the village, I'll just catch them."

Uh... it's simple and crude, but it works.

Zhao Guoliang nodded, "That's fine. I'll let Zhao Cheng take two people to guard it with the tiger soldiers."

Zhang Hubing added: "We can't just guard the village entrance. We have to arrange two people outside the village to prevent them from escaping. And we can't be too obvious so that no one can see us."

Zhang Hulan glanced at Zhang Hubing for a second longer. This cunning guy should have a better brain.

Zhang Hulan said, "Well, call Brother Yonggui and Brother Yongquan, call Brother Zhaocheng, add Hu Bing, and one more person. Help me keep an eye on it for the next two days. I'll pay each of you 30 cents a day."

Liu Yongquan said, "What kind of wages do you want? We are neighbors, it's too formal."

After things were arranged like this, Zhao Guoliang and his team left.

Zhang Hubing and Zhang Hujun brought the peddler into the house. The two brothers did not leave. Old man Zhang asked them to stay with Zhang Hulan. He was worried that someone else might come.

After everyone left, Zhang Hulan stood under the eaves again looking for the owl.

"Coo, coo..." Zhang Hulan hooted twice, imitating the owl's calls.

Zhang Xinyao and the others stood beside Zhang Hulan and also looked up.

Zhang Xinyue looked up and asked, "Mom, are you looking for Xiaohua?"

Xiaohua is the name Zhang Xinyue gave to the owl, and the peregrine falcon was also named Xiaohui.

"Coo..." The owl also called, then flew down and landed on Zhang Hulan's shoulder.

Now the two birds are not afraid of people at all and often land on the shoulders of Zhang Xinyao and her friends to play.

Zhang Hulan tilted her head to look at the owl, and the owl's round eyes were also staring at Zhang Hulan.

Zhang Hulan noticed that there was still blood on the owl's claws. She stretched out her finger and tapped the owl's head, smiling and saying, "Thank you for today. I'll give you an extra meal tomorrow."

"Xiaohua, come to me." Zhang Xinyue stretched out her hand to Xiaohua.

Xiaohua jumped directly from Zhang Hulan's shoulder to Zhang Xinyue's shoulder. Zhang Xinyue stroked Xiaohua's feathers and said with a smile: "Xiaohua, why don't you sleep yet?"

Xiaohua cooed twice, as if responding to Zhang Xinyue.