Chapter 184 Catch the thief!

He touched the cotton wadding in the bag again and again, muttering to himself.

"If the bottle breaks and the flavor dissipates, can it still be called malted milk powder? If Erniu can't smell the sweetness, will she still smile at me?"

Zhou Haiqing clutched a brick in his hand, to keep out the starving stray dogs at the alley entrance.

He knew that the dogs in the alley were starving.

They even dragged away dead cats and devoured them. If we get surrounded tonight, we won't be able to escape by just screaming.

Zhou Haiwei brought up the rear, clutching a rusty whistle tightly in his hand.

That was some junk he'd found at the junkyard a few days ago.

After picking it up, I scrubbed it with a steel wool pad three times, even picking at the crevices under my fingernails several times.

But as soon as you hold it in your hand, you can still smell a strong metallic odor.

The four people lowered their heads and shrank their necks.

They quietly moved towards the county town.

He would stop and look around every few steps.

The insects at my feet kept chirping incessantly, one after another.

Zhou Haiqing was running too fast, sweat was beading on his forehead, and he didn't pay attention to his footing, so he tripped over a piece of dry, hard straw.

He staggered forward, his knee slamming hard against a rock, almost making him cry out in pain.

The moment he opened his mouth, Zhou Hairong lunged forward, covered his mouth with one hand, and pressed down hard with the other.

They pressed him down into the pile of dead leaves with a muffled "plop".

Are you fucking blind?!

Zhou Hairong growled in a low voice.

"Are you making such a commotion to attract the whole village? If you keep causing trouble, I'll lock you up here and feed you to the wild cats! I'll let you starve to death, leaving not even bones behind!"

We finally managed to get to the edge of Yuxin County.

It was already pitch black, thick clouds obscured the moon, and all around was deathly silent.

Nobody knows what time it is; it might be 10 o'clock, or it might be midnight.

No one dared to look at their watch; it had already been taken away.

The whole city was eerily quiet; not even a dog barked.

The wall stood in the darkness.

They hid in the shadows of a few old trees.

It was pitch black all around, and the wind rustled through the leaves.

Zhou Haiwei spat at the wall.

He raised his chin and gestured towards Zhou Hairong.

Zhou Hairong immediately understood, silently untied his shoelaces, took off his patched-up cloth shoes, and stuffed them into his bosom against his chest.

He stepped barefoot onto a pile of firewood stacked crookedly against the wall.

The firewood was wet with night dew, making it slippery and cold to step on.

He pressed himself against the wall, slowly raised his head, and squinted as he peered through the window.

The room was as dark as an overturned inkwell; nothing could be seen.

Only a kerosene lamp was lit at the far end.

Several large shipping containers were piled up in the corner, casting long shadows.

A faint musty smell lingered in the air, mixed with the stale odor of soap and flour.

He took out a shiny wire from his pocket, then carefully inserted it into the window crack, pushing it in little by little.

My fingertips just touched the latch in the window frame, a light touch.

"Splash!"

A muffled thud suddenly came from inside.

The wooden board rubbed violently against the ground, followed by a loud "clang".

What's that noise?

Zhou Haiwei, standing outside the wall, immediately lowered his voice and asked nervously.

"Cat Bar".

Zhou Hairong clenched his teeth, cold sweat sliding down his forehead.

He forced himself to remain calm, and continued to gently poke and flick the wire through the keyhole.

A very light, crisp sound.

The window lock was finally pried open a crack, just big enough for an arm to stick in.

He had just breathed a sigh of relief and was about to turn over and crawl through the window.

Just then, the door to the cubicle slowly opened.

Yang Qingshan's drowsy voice came from inside, filled with a heavy sense of sleepiness.

"Lingling, can you hear me?"

"No."

Xu Lingling yawned, her voice soft and gentle.

"It's probably a mouse. I've been hearing rustling sounds these past few days. Go to sleep, we have to get up early tomorrow to knead dough and steam buns, don't bother yourself."

Zhou Hairong even held his breath.

A cold sweat instantly broke out on my back, soaking through my thin shirt.

He dared not move, his eyes fixed on the half-open door.

The light in the cubicle suddenly went out with a "snap".

Only when the room was dark again did he dare to slowly exhale.

He gestured towards the outside of the wall.

He flicked two fingers to indicate "safe".

Then, he rolled over and silently slipped into the house.

Moonlight slanted in through the window cracks.

The room was eerily quiet, with only the occasional crackling of the kerosene lamp wick.

He crouched low, inching his way to the counter, his eyes fixed on the brass handle of the drawer.

He stretched out his finger, his fingertip trembling slightly.

I just touched the edge of the drawer and was about to pry it open.

"Meow."

A sharp meow suddenly rang out from above.

He looked up abruptly and saw a tabby cat with mottled fur perched on top of him, its tail held high, and its bright green eyes gleaming in the darkness.

"roll!"

Enraged, Zhou Hairong grabbed an empty can from the counter and smashed it with all his might.

The bottle flew out, but instead of hitting the cat, it crashed into the shelf leg.

With a loud bang, the metal shattered on the ground, shards of metal and glass flying everywhere, their sound particularly jarring in the quiet night.

The lights in the cubicle suddenly turned on.

"who?"

Yang Qingshan's roar rang out, mixed with the sound of hurried footsteps.

"Come out! If you don't come out, I'll use force!"

Zhou Hairong was so frightened that his mind went blank, and he turned around and rushed towards the window.

But just as he was halfway there, his arm was suddenly grabbed hard by a hand that reached in from outside.

It's Zhou Haiwei.

He glared, his voice low but fierce.

"Money box! Don't go empty-handed!"

In his panic, Zhou Hailiang hastily picked up a heavy box of malted milk powder and staggered toward the wall.

The edge of the box hit the crack in the brickwork with a dull thud.

He didn't have time to adjust himself, he held on tightly with both hands, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

Zhou Haiqing then lunged at the old wooden counter of the supply and marketing cooperative.

The glass dome trembled from his impact, and he reached into the gaps to frantically grab the candy.

One by one, the fruit candies were haphazardly stuffed into his pocket.

Zhou Haiwei stood outside the wall, his feet hopping incessantly.

"Quick! Hurry! Someone's coming!"

His eyes were wide open, and the veins in his neck bulged.

Just as Yang Qingshan rushed out of the duty room with his carrying pole...

The four were terrified and scrambled over the wall.

Zhou Hailiang tripped over the box and his knee hit the earthen embankment hard.

Zhou Haiqing slipped and rolled off the wall, crashing into a haystack.

When Zhou Hairong finally jumped over the wall, his trouser leg was caught on an iron hook, and it tore open with a "rip" sound, leaving a half-foot-long gash.

He didn't care anymore; he scrambled and crawled, just wanting to get as far away from that door as possible.

The heavy crate of malted milk powder tumbled off the wall and rolled a long way.

Finally, it crashed into a tree with a loud thud, and the box broke.

The fruit candies that were pulled out were scattered all over the ground.

"Thief!"

Yang Qingshan roared as he stormed out of the store, his voice hoarse.

His roar echoed through the empty street, startling the chickens under the eaves.

The shout caused a cacophony of barking dogs in the distance, waking the entire village.

The four of them desperately fled out of the city.

They rushed across the cornfield, which was as tall as a person.

Just as he leaped over the ridge, Zhou Haiqing's worn-out rubber shoe suddenly flew off with a "thud" and landed in some unknown field.