"Tch, why don't you mention that you stole cabbages from the Jia family a few days ago? More than ten years ago? Pah!" Sha Zhu, sitting on a stool, spat disdainfully.

Upon hearing Sha Zhu's words, Qin Huairu immediately sensed something was wrong. She then noticed that her second uncle, Liu Haizhong, had a gloomy face and remained silent.

Qin Huairu hurriedly said, "Zhuzi, don't talk nonsense. I've already said that someone in our courtyard is causing trouble. Second Uncle isn't that kind of person. Don't spout nonsense here."

When Uncle Liu Haizhong heard Qin Huairu speak up for him, his expression softened a bit, but he was still too angry to speak. The cabbage and coal from the Jia family were the stains on his life.

"Second Uncle, I know this matter is serious, but look, you are the most respected person in our courtyard. This is just a small matter; you could easily resolve it here. Why hold a courtyard-wide meeting? Besides..."

Let's not talk about whether Sha Zhu stole the chicken yet. Let's all go look for it first. What if the chicken runs out from some corner of the yard? Wouldn't that be unfair to Sha Zhu?

Even Lou Xiao'e, though simple-minded, understood the meaning behind Qin Huairu's words. What was going on? This was said by Sha Zhu himself; could it be that we wronged him? "What do you mean? If Sha Zhu didn't steal the chicken, then Bang Geng did!"

Lou Xiao'e was furious with Sha Zhu. He had just mocked her for not having given birth to Xu Damao's child. People in this era had a lower level of understanding; both having a daughter and being unable to have children were generally considered the woman's fault.

Upon hearing Lou Xiao'e's words, Qin Huairu immediately recalled what Sha Zhu had said earlier about seeing Bang Geng taking Xiao Dang and Huaihua to eat beggar's chicken that afternoon. Feeling guilty, she said, "Fine, fine, I won't concern myself with your petty squabbles anymore."

After Qin Huairu finished speaking, she slammed the door and left. When she got home, she immediately asked Banggeng, "Banggeng, Mom is asking you, did you steal Xu Damao's chickens?"

"I didn't steal it," Banggeng said, lowering his head guiltily and pretending to gnaw on the cornbread in his hand.

When Jia Zhangshi heard Qin Huairu say that about Banggeng, she said, "Qin Huairu, what are you saying? Our Banggeng is a good boy, how could he do such a thing!"

"Mom, are you still protecting him? Look at these three kids, they've obviously been sneaking food outside. They didn't even eat dinner properly. Huaihua, you're the best girl, tell Mom what your brother took you to eat this afternoon."

Qin Huairu glared at Bang Geng, signaling him to be quiet.

Seeing her mother's stern gaze, Huaihua subconsciously said, "My brother took us to eat beggar's chicken this afternoon, it was so delicious! My brother told me not to tell anyone."

Qin Huairu was also at her wits' end upon hearing this. Sure enough, it was Bang Geng who did it: "Alright, you guys hurry up and eat. After you finish eating, stay home and do your homework. Nobody is allowed to go out, understand?"

Madam Jia Zhang was also filled with anxiety: "Huai Ru, what should we do?"

She never expected that Bang Geng would do such a thing. She originally thought he had taken some money from Sha Zhu's house, but she didn't expect that he had stolen it from Xu Damao.

"Never mind that, you three just eat quickly. No one is allowed to come out during the meeting, understand?" Qin Huairu's mind raced and she immediately came up with a solution.

..............

It was the same courtyard, the same group of people, the same situation, the same table, with three old men sitting next to them.

Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, Second Uncle Liu Haizhong immediately stood up and said, "The reason I've gathered everyone together so late is for one purpose..."

"Xu Damao's family had one chicken stolen, but coincidentally, someone was stewing another one on their stove. And I just asked, and Sha Zhu admitted that he stole Xu Damao's chicken."

Normally, Liu Haizhong would never say that, but just now Sha Zhu actually said he stole cabbages from the Jia family. With both old and new grudges combined, Sha Zhu, don't blame me.

When Uncle Yi Zhonghai heard what Uncle Liu Haizhong said, he became anxious. "That's not how it works! Shouldn't we interrogate him first? Why did you condemn Zhuzi right away?"

"Ahem, Lao Liu, what if this is just a coincidence? Wouldn't that be wronging Zhu Zi? I think we should ask what happened first!"

“Since everyone already knows about this, I won’t say any more. He Yuzhu, tell me the truth, did you steal Xu Damao’s chickens?” Yi Zhonghai said hurriedly.

"No, I'm not a thief, why would I steal chickens!" Sha Zhu said with a wronged expression.

Just as Sha Zhu finished speaking, the sound of a bicycle came from the doorway; it was Ma Hua pushing her bike back.

Ma Hua was taken aback when he saw so many people in the courtyard. In such cold weather, were these people crazy? Why were they having meetings every day? Then he heard Sha Zhu say, "I'm not a thief, why would I steal chickens?" Wow, has the story gotten this far?

Ignoring the strange looks from the crowd, Ma Hua shouted loudly at Sha Zhu, "Sha Zhu, you're something else, stealing chickens from the factory again?"