Ning Huaizhi heard footsteps in the backyard. Worried that his poultry might be stolen, he quickly dressed, grabbed his slingshot, and had Jiang Yuwei help him into his wheelchair. Jiang Yuwei, holding her self-defense dagger, pushed Ning Huaizhi's wheelchair to the backyard.

By the moonlight, I could see that a section of the stone wall that I had built in my backyard had collapsed. Looking further into the yard, I saw a dark figure circling around the bricks and tiles that had been brought in at dusk.

Jiang Yuwei hurriedly lit the lanterns in the backyard, while Ning Huaizhi shouted loudly:

"Who dares to trespass into my backyard!"

At this moment, the lantern in the backyard lit up, and the man clearly panicked. Ning Huaizhi didn't hesitate either, taking out his slingshot and firing a mud ball at each of the thief's ankles. The man lay on the ground, clutching his feet and howling in pain.

"Ouch, it hurts so much!"

Jiang Yuwei recognized the voice immediately; it was Zhang Laizi!

Jiang Yuwei took a straw rope from the cowshed and tied Zhang Laizi's hands and feet together, then dragged him to the front yard. Jiang Yuwei then asked Ning Huaizhi to watch over him in the yard while she went out to call for help.

Jiang Yuwei was worried that Zhang Laizi might have accomplices and was uneasy leaving Ning Huaizhi and Ning Wan alone at home, so she went to Aunt Zhou's house first to call out Uncle Cai, Tiezhu, and Ning Wu.

“Uncle Cai, Zhang Laizi came to my house to steal things, and I have already tied him up. I need to trouble you to go to my yard with Ningwu to help Huaizhi keep an eye on Zhang Laizi. I’m afraid he may have accomplices who come back.”

After saying that, he turned to Tie Zhu and said:

"Tiezhu, hurry and come with me to find the village head."

Aunt Zhou was terrified when she heard Jiang Yuwei's words. They were all honest farmers, and they never expected that someone from their village would have such wicked intentions as to steal from Jiang Yuwei's house. Their house was so close to Jiang Yuwei's, and if this matter was not handled properly, the villagers would be in a state of panic.

So Aunt Zhou didn't dare to delay and hurriedly urged Tie Zhu to leave with Jiang Yuwei. She locked the courtyard gate and followed Ning Youcai and Ning Wu to Jiang Yuwei's small courtyard.

When Jiang Yuwei and Ning Tiezhu arrived at the village head's house, it was already dawn. Ning Tiezhu knocked on the door. The village head had just gotten up and was preparing to go to the fields to spread manure. Seeing that people had come to his house so early, he hurriedly opened the door and saw Jiang Yuwei and Ning Tiezhu looking flustered. He asked in confusion:

"Yuwei, didn't I say that the villagers would be working in your yard early this morning? Why are they here so early?"

Jiang Yuwei, panting heavily, waved her hand and said:

"No, village head, it's not that. It's my house, my house, that's been broken into!"

Upon hearing this, the village head was immediately alarmed. How could there be thieves in his village? He quickly said to Tie Zhu:

"Tiezhu, hurry up and call the village chief over."

After saying that, he put down the shovel in his hand and said to Jiang Yuwei:

"Yuwei, let's hurry over there!"

When the village head followed Jiang Yuwei to the courtyard, the villagers who were there to work that day also arrived one after another. They were all quite surprised to see Zhang Laizi, who was tied up and thrown on the ground with a resentful expression.

Seeing that Jiang Yuwei had finally brought the village head, Aunt Zhou rushed forward and shouted indignantly:

“Village head, this scoundrel really can’t be allowed to live. He dares to steal today, and he dares to kill tomorrow. It’s lucky that the eldest son and his wife are alert when they sleep. If he had stolen from the eldest son’s house and then went to steal from my house, I would have been scared half to death.”

Upon hearing Aunt Zhou's words, Zhang Laizi spat forcefully onto the ground:

"Pah! I would steal from you? Look at your family's lifestyle, what would I possibly steal from you!"

Seeing this, Aunt Zhou angrily stepped forward, put her hands on her hips, and scolded:

"You damned thief! You've been caught red-handed, and you still dare to babble and bark here!"

The village head waved his hand and said:

"Alright, stop arguing, Zhang Laizi! Tell me, do you have any accomplices? Was this done under someone's orders?"

Lying on the ground, Zhang Laizi looked at the villagers who had gathered to watch, then glanced at the village head, tilted his head back, and said disdainfully:

"I had no accomplices, and no one instructed me. I took full responsibility for my actions. Although I was caught red-handed, I didn't take a single needle or thread from their family!"

Seeing his expression, Jiang Yuwei couldn't help but laugh:

"You've got guts. Since you're so brave as to take the blame alone, we won't waste our breath. We'll just arrest you and send you to the authorities. The officials don't care whether you succeeded in stealing or not; they can just arrest you and put you in jail for breaking into someone's house in the middle of the night and damaging their property."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Laizi replied nonchalantly:

"It's not like I haven't been to jail before. I was only locked up for a few days and then released. Besides, at least I had food to eat in jail. At home, I don't even have anyone to cook for me."

The village headman was annoyed by his nonchalant attitude:

"You scoundrel Zhang, it seems Ningjia Village can't tolerate you anymore. I can't let you spoil the whole bunch. Since you're so fearless, I'll send you to the authorities today and bring you to justice. Then I'll remove you from Ningjia Village and you'll no longer be a member of our village. We can't raise a treacherous ingrate like you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Laizi immediately became anxious:

"No, no, no, village head, please don't be impulsive! If you kick me out of Ningjia Village, where can I go? I can't be driven away!"

The village head glanced at him sideways and said:

"If only you had known this would happen, you wouldn't have done it in the first place. Last time you committed such a despicable act, I already showed you leniency. Who knew you would not repent and commit such a mistake again today? Even if I wanted to keep you, I couldn't!"

Seeing this, Aunt Zhou quickly stepped forward and said:

"Yes, drive him out of Ningjia Village, otherwise no one will have peace!"

Seeing this, the villagers who were watching also chimed in:

"Yeah, if we don't chase him away this time, who knows whose house he'll steal from next time!"

"That's right, get out of Ningjia Village!"

"Yes, we absolutely mustn't let him corrupt the atmosphere of our Ningjia Village!"

The clan chief who had come with Ning Tiezhu could only shake his head helplessly upon hearing this:

"Village head, today we sent someone to take him to the government office. Please draft another document to transfer his household registration out of Ningjia Village."

Seeing that the clan chief had agreed, the village headman quickly waved his hand to signal that Zhang Laizi be taken away first, while he went home to draft the documents.

Seeing that the matter had been resolved, Jiang Yuwei said to the villagers:

"Thank you all for today's work. Now, everyone, get to work in the backyard!"

Jiang Yuwei thought that Ning Huaizhi hadn't slept well last night either, so she urged him to go back to his room for another nap while she started preparing lunch.

Ning Huaizhi held Jiang Yuwei's hand tenderly and said:

"My dear wife, I'm sorry you've suffered because of me. I'm not sleepy, I'll help you prepare lunch."