Chapter 201 The food thief is out and about

Sang Zhixia thought of the rice that had been stolen and was so angry that sparks flashed in his eyes: "I wouldn't say anything if they just cut a little along the ridge, but they actually stole from the fields and set their sights on the threshing ground!"

"Five large bags of threshed rice were stolen from our house last night! Each bag weighs 100 kilograms!"

If they had stolen all the food without wasting it, Sang Zhixia wouldn't have been that angry.

The problem was that the thief probably didn't have enough strength to secretly carry out the sack full of rice. Halfway through, he probably couldn't carry it anymore, so he simply poured out a lot of rice from the sack and spilled it on the ground!

Sang Zhixia rushed over this morning after hearing the news. Seeing the rice scattered all over the ground in the mud, she gasped in pain.

The rice mixed with mud and dust could not be picked up, and she could not even hope to sweep it back to feed the chickens. She could only watch it being trampled into pieces on the ground, which made her heart ache.

That's all white food!

These things that are mixed in the mud and can never be picked up again are life-saving food in years of famine!

The thieves who steal food and waste it really deserve to die!

Sang Zhixia really couldn't bear it at all. The rage burst out from between her eyebrows, and her eyes almost burned red.

Xu Yu opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but wisely chose to remain silent.

At this time, the grain thief has not been caught yet, and it is better for him, who is not good at catching thieves, to keep silent to avoid getting into trouble.

Sang Zhixia and Xu Yu rushed to the field with murderous intent. Uncle Gu, who was invited to look after the threshing ground, put down his pipe, and his sagging face was full of shame.

Sang Zhixia was kindhearted. Knowing that he had no children and had an old woman at home who was always taking medicine, she simply paid him some wages and asked him to temporarily help look after the threshing ground after the grain was harvested.

Sang Zhixia paid him the same wages as a man who was hired to work in the fields with a sickle to harvest, and never treated him unfairly just because he didn't put in much effort.

But he didn't pay attention to what he was supposed to see, and was still robbed.

Uncle Gu smiled bitterly and lowered his head: "It's my fault. I was resting here at night, but I slept too soundly and someone stole the food. I..."

"Well, what are you talking about?"

Sang Zhixia waved her hands with a frosty expression, gritting her teeth and saying, "If a thief really set his mind to steal, how could you possibly keep him under control by yourself?"

The Xu family had to collect too much grain. It was impossible to bring all of it back home and store it, and the house couldn't hold it all.

In order to solve the problem of harvesting grain, Sang Zhixia started making preparations early in the morning.

The vast threshing ground was also prepared early.

Xu Yu and Sang Zhixia had agreed at the beginning that the rice harvested from the fields would be moved directly here and dried on the wide field under the scorching autumn heat. When it was almost dried, the husks would be removed and sieved, and the rice would be bagged and packed and sent out of the village according to the route and carriage arranged by Chen Jing'an.

In order to facilitate the harvesting and drying of grain, temporary barns were built around, and there were piles of straw piled up into small hills. There were so many things blocking the view during the day, let alone at night?

The hateful thing is that Sang Zhixia didn't expect that people could be so greedy at first. He thought that the villagers were simple and honest and nothing big would go wrong, so he neglected to guard the threshing ground at night. As luck would have it, the thief took advantage of the opportunity!

If a thief really came, not to mention that Uncle Gu was the only one on guard here, even if ten more people came, they might not be able to find anything.

Sang Zhixia was really angry and rushed to see the place where the theft happened yesterday.

Xu Yu followed her quietly without saying anything, but when Uncle Gu sighed and grabbed the tobacco leaves, his nose moved silently.

"Uncle Gu, your pipe looks new to me. Did you get a new one?"

Uncle Gu didn't expect him to notice this detail. He tapped his pipe and smiled, "It was sent by my nephew."

"He said he found some good tobacco leaves and thought I couldn't live without them, so he sent me a bag."

Uncle Gu has no children and is not close to his relatives, so it is rare for him to be remembered once or twice.

Talking about his nephew now, he couldn't help but say more: "Daniu used to look down on me, an old man, in the early years. He was afraid that my old woman would have to ask someone for money to pay for her illness, so he didn't associate with us. It's really quiet for the two of us old men to move here."

"The old lady's illness has improved over the past couple of years, and we've gradually started to see each other. Daniu thinks of us two old people from time to time and occasionally sends us some things. Even though it's the busy farming season, he still takes time to come to our house and sit with the old lady and chat for a while. It's really thoughtful of him."

Xu Yu smiled without comment.

Uncle Gu sighed deeply, frowning as he muttered, "It's all my fault. I slept too soundly last night and didn't get up to patrol in the middle of the night. I had no idea the food was stolen. This is my fault, and I should pay for it."

"Let's calculate based on the rice price at the grain store. I don't know how much it should be..."

"Sir, it's a bit of a formality to say that."

Xu Yu said calmly, "It's not easy for you to watch over such a large threshing ground with all your heart and soul. It's only natural for you to be careless when you're tired. There's no need for you to make special arrangements to compensate me."

Sang Zhixia happened to walk out and heard this, and quickly said seriously: "Uncle Gu, you don't have to pay."

The old man earned thirty copper coins for a day's work in guarding the threshing floor. Losing the rice would completely break the backs of the old couple.

Not even close.

But this matter can't just end like this.

Wu Changgui and others who were busy with the autumn harvest in their own fields also heard that there was a thief here, so they took the time to rush over.

"Xu Yu, I heard someone said your house was robbed?"

Before Xu Yu could say anything, Wu Changgui was so angry that his eyebrows were furrowed.

He said in a hoarse voice, "How can this be tolerated? It's fine if he just steals from the edge of the field, but he even dares to steal directly from the granary in the threshing ground. One day, won't he just burst into your house and smash the door with an axe?!"

Every year when it comes to grain harvest, there are always all kinds of unpleasant things. But this is the first time that such an ugly thing as stealing from the granary has happened!

Such a thing has never happened in Luobei Village!

The people who came with Wu Changgui also said, "We can't just ignore this."

"That's right. Your family has so much grain piled up here, and they stole hundreds of kilograms a day. If this thief comes back ten or so times, what profit can your family make at the end of the year?"

Four or five hundred kilograms of rice were lost at one time, which is equivalent to the harvest of two acres of land for an ordinary family. It is by no means a small amount!

Those who had benefited from the waterwheel and received favors from the Xu family this year were all angry and immediately decided to assign people to come to the threshing ground at night to help guard it.

This should be a good thing.

But Xu Yu thought about it and said unexpectedly: "Thank you all for your kindness, but there is no need to guard tonight."

Wu Changgui was surprised and asked, "Not defending?"

"What if that thief comes again?"

Xu Yu smiled and said, "I can't come."

"We just got such a big benefit last night. Even a fool should know that there are people guarding this place tonight. They will definitely not come. It would be useless to guard here."

Wu Changgui smacked his lips and thought that this was true, but he still felt uneasy after thinking about it.

"So what should we do? How about we just stay here with you and stay here forever? We won't go home and will stay here until the grain harvest is over!"

After these words were spoken, even Sang Zhixia was embarrassed to nod.

During the autumn harvest season, every household is busy. Unlike the Xu family, other families have hired a lot of skilled hands to help, so all the work, big or small, has to be done by the few people in the family.

We are so exhausted during the day that some people can't wait to get home and just lie down on the ridge and fall asleep. In this situation, how can we have the nerve to keep bothering others?

Xu Yu thought so too.

He considered it for a moment and said neutrally, "I understand the good intentions of the elder brothers, but this matter has not reached that stage yet, so we shouldn't trouble them too much."

"How about this, I'll move in here and keep watch tonight. If that doesn't work, I'll ask you for help again."

This is also a method.

Wu Changgui and others were afraid that he would be embarrassed to speak, so they said a few more words before leaving. Xu Yu and Sang Zhixia both responded with a smile.

After watching the visitor walk away, Sang Zhixia couldn't help but poke Xu Yu's arm: "You have an idea, right?"

"Tell me, have you any idea of ​​how to catch the thief?"