"Mother, aren't the hired workers supposed to leave work together? Why are some leaving first and others leaving later?"

Zhou thought for a moment and said, "Da Gang's wife and Er Fu's wife are sisters-in-law. They are both very diligent and are always the last to leave. I told them to hurry back and cook, and come back after lunch. They said okay, but they kept working, so I had no choice but to let them do it."

"Your two aunts are the most diligent. If you ask me, I suggest we give them a reward at the end of the month."

"Mother, I suspect these two aunties are stealing meat. Could you tell Aunt Zhang to keep an eye on them?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou raised her voice: "What? They're not leaving so late to work more, but to steal things?"

“Mother, I just suspect that when the two aunts left, they were all bulging, and when they saw our carriage approaching, they tried to hide but failed, which clearly showed that they were guilty.”

Shen Danru paused and said, "We're all from the same village. If the two aunties want meat, they can just say so. I can send them a pound or two each. But this theft is wrong. Besides, we haven't really done anything. I was thinking that since Mother and Aunt Zhang are the best, you should remind Aunt Zhang to be careful of them. What if we wrongly accuse someone?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou lost her appetite; the thought of her meat being stolen pained her.

I wonder how much those two stole. This is a huge loss. A pound of braised meat costs thirty-five coins. If those two took four or five pounds, that's over a hundred coins.

Seeing Zhou Shi's loss of appetite, Shen Danru regretted telling her that her mother was terrified of poverty and was extremely stingy with even the smallest amount of money.

"Mother, it's nothing, you don't need to worry about it."

“This is terrible. They take four or five pounds at a time. If they take too many times, the losses will be huge. I have to keep a close eye on them this afternoon.”

Shen Danru nodded: "Mother, don't make it too obvious. You and Aunt Zhang investigate quietly. If you catch a thief red-handed, then find out what you've got. If you find nothing, then you'll have to put up a fight."

"Let's do it, like a mute catching a donkey—we'll catch her without warning and take her by surprise."

Only then did Zhou break into a smile.