Chapter 33: The House Was Robbed

[The last 1000 words or so of the first 32 chapters have been changed from the version released last night. Those who mind can take a fresh look!]

Guan Ailian has a history of insomnia, but she slept exceptionally well last night, so she woke up in a very good mood today.

In a good mood, the first thing she did when she woke up today was to run outside to see her beloved bicycle.

This is a new habit she's developed these past few days: she has to check on the bicycle before going to sleep and after waking up to make sure it's still outside before she can feel at ease.

When they went outside, they saw...

"!!!"

The car was gone, leaving only a chain and an empty lock.

Guan Ailian instantly transformed into a screaming chicken, yelling, "Aaaaaah! My bicycle!"

"Ouch! Damn it, who stole our bicycle?!"

"Who? Who is it?!"

"Who stole my bicycle?!"

Everyone was still half asleep in the early morning when her shouts jolted them awake.

What?! Stealing?!

Theft is a serious crime that everyone is concerned about.

After all, if they steal from your house today, they might steal from mine tomorrow; you never know.

So everyone quickly gathered at the Third Courtyard, and in no time, they were surrounded three layers deep in front of the Ren family's gate.

"What the hell? Is there a thief in our yard?"

"What are you saying? How could there be such a person in our yard? It must have been someone from outside who stole it!"

Ren Wenhua rushed out upon hearing the commotion, and his face turned ashen when he saw the empty chains. "The world is going to the dogs! The world is going to the dogs!"

Guan Ailian was still screaming wildly. Her suspicious gaze swept across everyone's faces, finally settling on Grandpa Guo's face. "Was it you? Did you steal my bicycle?"

The old miser's expression when he touched her bicycle that day was creepy. Guan Ailian strongly suspected that he stole her bicycle because he wanted to take advantage of her.

Grandpa Guo was so angry that he jumped up and down, "You crazy woman, don't go around biting people! Let me tell you, I, Guo Tieji, have never done anything like stealing chickens or dogs in my entire life!"

He stood with his hands on his hips and yelled at Guan Ailian, "You can call me stingy, you can call me a freeloader, but you can't call me a thief! I'm a moral and ethical citizen, Guan Ailian, this is an insult to my good character!"

Everyone: "..." So, Grandpa Guo, you actually have some self-awareness, huh?

Yu Junsheng's lips twitched as well.

But thinking about it, what he said makes a lot of sense. I grew up in this courtyard and have some understanding of the personalities of these people.

Although Grandpa Guo is a bit stingy and likes to take advantage of others, I've never heard of him being dishonest.

The others clearly thought the same thing: "Aunt Guan, we understand that you're anxious because your things are missing, but you can't just bite people like that."

“We’ve been neighbors for so many years, and Grandpa Guo is so old. What you’re saying hurts him deeply. If he gets sick from anger, will your family be responsible?”

"Yes, yes, no matter how anxious you are, you can't do this."

Guan Ailian was sprayed with spittle all over her face, her face turning blue and purple. She cursed under her breath at this filthy old stingy man! Damn old bastard!

Chang Dafeng said sarcastically, "Oh, oh, oh, you're such a show-off. You've got money to burn, insisting on buying that beat-up bicycle. Look at you, look at you, you've flaunted your wealth, haven't you? Now that you've attracted attention, who else would a thief target if not your house?"

They all live in the same courtyard, so why is his family living such a good life?

Chang Dafeng was extremely jealous. "If you ask me, you deserved to have your house robbed!"

Everyone: "..." Uh, Aunt Chang, won't you get beaten up for talking like that?

Cheng Jiajia's lips twitched. This old shrew was indeed mean-spirited; wasn't she just stabbing someone in the heart?

Sure enough, those words pierced Guan Ailian's heart.

She glared at Chang Dafeng angrily, "Ahhh!"

"Was it you! Was it you! Was it you, you bitch, who stole my bicycle because you were jealous of my family's good life?"

Chang Dafeng's face darkened.

Damn it, this is the first time I've ever been the one getting dirty water thrown at me. Usually, I'm the one throwing dirty water at others!

Without saying a word, Chang Dafeng immediately started tearing at her, yelling, "You bitch, you vicious woman, how dare you throw mud at me! How dare you try to pin the blame on me! Do you think I'm some kind of pushover? Bah! I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!"

Chang Dafeng's last bit of guilt was completely dispelled by Guan Ailian's move.

Bah! The Ren family got robbed because they were so arrogant and showed off. It has nothing to do with her!

Guan Ailian, that fake fairy, wants to pin the blame on herself and make her family cover for her mistakes. Dream on!

Chang Dafeng unleashed the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, and with a whoosh, Aunt Guan's face was covered in potato shreds.

Chang Dafeng unleashed her Iron Palm technique again, and with a series of slaps, Aunt Guan's relatively fair cheeks instantly became red and swollen, looking quite comical.

Chang Dafeng, however, was extremely satisfied. Let this old woman pretend to be a fairy! She even wanted to use her to gain fame, ptooey!

She looked at Guan Ailian's smooth, shiny hair, frowned, seized the opportunity, grabbed it with her paw, and pulled and pulled and pulled!

Guan Ailian screamed in pain, "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

Chang Dafeng immediately had a tuft of hair in her hand. Humph, why does she only have a few hairs on her head, while Guan Ailian, that fake fairy, has a smooth and shiny head?

Chang Dafeng would never admit that she was extremely jealous of Guan Ailian's thick hair.

Hiss~

Sure enough, as expected, Aunt Chang is still as terrifying as ever!

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines, and some even unconsciously touched the top of their heads. Thank goodness, thank goodness, thank goodness they didn't fight with Aunt Chang!

Otherwise, with that kind of fighting power, who could withstand it?

Ren Wenhua stood to the side, trembling with anger, pointing at Chang Dafeng and cursing, "Shrew! Shrew! You've disgraced all women!"

While tidying up Guan Ailian, Chang Dafeng still managed to find a moment to curse Ren Wenhua. She roared, "You two black-hearted, short-lived bastards! You lost your own things because you didn't put them away properly, and now you want to smear me? You always talk about being respectable, but I think you're the filthiest and most despicable people! You heartless and vicious bastards! Let me tell you, you think you can frame me? No way! I'll teach you a lesson today!"

It was during this brief lull that Guan Ailian seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack, specifically targeting Chang Dafeng's most sensitive areas with her fingers.

She was caught off guard and that's why she was beaten up by that old shrew Chang Dafeng. Back in the day, she was quite the fighter.

Chang Dafeng: Holy crap, that heartless old woman actually resorted to underhanded tactics, how insidious!

Chang Dafeng was hit a few times and howled a few times, so her attacker hit her even harder.

The two of them rolled around in a ball, taking turns rolling around.

"Oh my god!"

"Why are they fighting again?"

Should we break up the fight?

"Let's not go. Look how fierce those two old ladies are, I wouldn't dare!"

Zou Qianjin rushed to the Third Hospital and his heart sank when he saw the situation.

Before he could even catch his breath, he shouted, "Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! Ouch, stop hitting me! You're all getting on in years, be careful you don't cause any serious injury!"

God knows, he was speaking from the bottom of his heart. These two are both in their forties or fifties, how could they not get hurt?

But to his surprise, the two old ladies not only didn't appreciate it, but also spat at him in unison, "Pah!"

Chang Dafeng, caught up in the fight, yelled, "What's it to you! Get out of the way, or I'll beat you up too!"

Zou Qianjin's face turned green.

He angrily flung his sleeves and said he didn't care anymore!

His grandma's legs, do you think he'd bother with your nonsense?

He yelled impatiently, "Call the police! Let them investigate! Don't make a mess of the yard and disrupt other people's lives!"

Guan Ailian's eyes lit up; she thought it was a good idea. She said eagerly, "I'm going to call the police and have them arrest the car thief! Old Ren, hurry and call the police!"

Ren Wenhua nodded with a livid expression and was about to leave.

Ren Wenhua also felt that this must have been done by someone in the compound, and that someone might have been jealous of their family's good life and committed a dirty trick.

He also agreed to report it to the police, because once the police arrived, they would definitely be able to find out who stole his bicycle.

Who knows, the thief might be scared into confessing even without the police.

"No, don't call the police! Mom and Dad, you can't call the police!" A dark figure jumped out of the house and shouted, blocking people's way.

The Ren couple never expected that when it came to reporting to the police, their son would be the first to speak up.

Ren Yongsheng was actually woken up by the cold in the middle of the night while lying in the public toilet. Given the special location where Cheng Jiajia kicked him, he assumed that it was his other lover who had hit him, so no one dared to make a sound. He limped home quietly and stayed in the house without moving.

He only panicked when he heard his parents say they would call the police.

The bicycle at home must have been stolen by those two people, how could he dare to report it to the police?

Aunt Guan turned her head and immediately screamed, "Oh! Son, what happened to your face?!"

Everyone followed her gaze and was immediately startled.

"Holy crap, Ren Yongsheng, what were you doing last night?! How did you get beaten up like this?!"

Even Cheng Jiajia and Yu Junsheng, who added fuel to the fire last night, were taken aback when they saw this.

The two men thought Ren Yongsheng was beaten up because of a relationship problem, and wondered what Ren Yongsheng had done to those two guys' wives that he was so ruthless!

Ren Yongsheng's once handsome face was covered in bruises, his lips were broken, one eye was black and blue, and the other was swollen and purple, making him look like he had been severely beaten.

Upon seeing the familiar bluish-purple color, Chang Dafeng's pupils widened suddenly.

No, no, it's not that. It's the same old recipe, the same old bluish-purple hue.

She immediately thought of the two burly men she had encountered in Zaozi Hutong that night.

Chang Dafeng's eyes darted around guiltily.

I'm going to die, I'm going to die!

Could it be that those two really did it?

Jiang Qiubai immediately thought of the night she sold the Ren family, but her first reaction was not the guilt that Chang Dafeng felt, but a wave of fear.

Yes, she was terrified. She had only told those two people about the Ren family's situation the night before last, and the Ren family had already suffered last night. It was clear that those two were determined to get revenge.

What if I didn't manage to implicate the Ren family...

Jiang Qiubai shuddered, lowered his head, and dared not think any further.

Yu Junsheng noticed the unusual behavior of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, raised an eyebrow, and thought, "Oh, this seems to be quite interesting."

Ren Wenhua said in a deep voice with a dark face, "Yongsheng, tell me who hit you, and I'll go find him!"

Ren Yongsheng dared not say anything. He pursed his lips and said, "Dad, no one hit me. I was like this when I woke up this morning."

Guan Ailian's face immediately changed, and she screamed, "Our house...our house has been burgled!"

"This thief not only stole my bicycle, but also beat my son!"

Ren Wenhua's heart skipped a beat. He no longer cared about his son and immediately rushed to the inner room to rummage through everything.

His money, the money he hid!

"What's wrong with Uncle Ren?"

The crowd looked at each other, wondering what he was up to.

A moment later, a bloodcurdling scream came from the inner room.

"It's all gone! All my money is gone, all gone!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud thud, the sound of something falling to the ground.

Aunt Guan rushed in with a "whoosh," followed closely by the crowd.

The inner room was a mess, and the cultured man lay on the ground, unaware of what was happening, his face pale.

"Quickly, get him to the hospital!"

"Look how anxious Old Ren is, this must cost a lot of money."

"Wow, they're really rich! They've bought all their belongings, bought bicycles, and even have savings. They're really well-off!"

“Ren Wenhua and Guan Ailian have saved up for half their lives; it’s not like it’s all gone just because of a few smashed items.”

"Wait a minute, that's not right. Old Ren used to be just an ordinary worker. He only became the head of the logistics department after his eldest son went to the countryside. His salary wasn't this high before. And Aunt Guan doesn't work. Where did they get so much money?"

Someone whispered, "Do you think Old Ren is in charge of logistics...?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?!"

Zou Qianjin frowned and scolded, "Is this the time to talk about this? Hurry up and get Lao Ren to the hospital!"

At this critical moment, Grandpa Zou still held considerable prestige, and everyone immediately sprang into action, rushing to help lift the person.

They're very skilled at this!

Look at how many times they've lifted it this month!

Despite Zou Qianjin's words, he was also suspicious. The Ren family was really rich. He used to think they were just a little better off than the people in the courtyard, but they were still an ordinary family. But now it seemed that was not the case. Who knew if there was something fishy going on?

Zou Qianjin touched his bald head. Sigh, he didn't want to be a dean of students for even a day longer!

...

When the group arrived at the hospital, the nurses there, who seemed to recognize them almost immediately, frowned upon seeing them and asked, "What, it's you again?"

"Why is there always trouble in your compound every few days?"

"Uh, this..."

Everyone laughed awkwardly. They didn't want to either, but was it something they could control?

Zou Qianjin, the old man in charge of the school, was especially embarrassed. He was also very eager to know why, why, why?!

He said apologetically, "Nurse, I'm their caretaker, I'm so sorry to have caused you trouble again!"

The nurse raised an eyebrow and said meaningfully, "What's the trouble? Treating patients and saving lives is our duty. Just don't cause trouble in the hospital again."

This refers to the fight Chang Dafeng got into at the hospital a few days ago.

In an instant, Zou Qianjin's not-so-fair face turned a dark red.

He swore he had never been so humiliated!

Never!

Zou Qianjin, his face dark, repeatedly assured the person, "No, no, don't worry, they definitely won't!"

The nurse smiled, clearly not quite believing it.

Zou Qianjin felt utterly humiliated.

After taking the person to the emergency room, Zou Qianjin cursed and swore, "Tell me, tell me, which other compound in the entire northern city has as many problems as ours? Huh?"

"There's never a moment of peace!"

Wait a minute, Zou Qianjin suddenly remembered that the courtyard was quite quiet a couple of days ago, but as soon as that old woman Chang Dafeng came back, the courtyard became unsettled!

As expected!

As long as Chang Dafeng is around, the courtyard will never be quiet!

Zou Qianjin looked at Chang Dafeng with the eyes of someone looking at "bad apples".

Chang Dafeng felt guilty under Zou Qianjin's gaze.

Thinking he had discovered that the Ren family's misfortune was caused by her, she shrank back, her voice sharp but weak, "Zou, Zou Qianjin, why are you looking at me like that? I didn't cause any trouble today!"

As for scratching Guan Ailian a few times and slapping her a few times, were those causing trouble? They were self-defense! Do you understand self-defense?

Chang Dafeng was not ashamed of this at all; in fact, she stood tall and glared fiercely at Zou Qianjin.

Zou Qianjin: "..."

That old shrew is a jinx to him!