Chapter 111 Meeting
The next morning, the islanders' exclamations nearly pierced the sky above the entire island.
"What a tragedy! How could such a thing happen!"
"Everyone, come quick! Someone has the audacity to steal things from our island right under our noses!"
"Our food!"
"Heavens above, how could this happen!"
During the typhoon, the islanders suffered greatly from the lack of food. They thought that someone would come to rescue them with supplies, and that their hopes had finally been fulfilled.
Who could have imagined that the food would disappear overnight?
Moreover, this happened right after the division commander and his men had distributed the supplies, and they were just waiting to deliver them to each household today!
Isn't this like letting them watch mountains of gold and silver come to their doorstep only to have them turn into dust?
How can the islanders who have waited for so long accept this?
For a moment, all that could be heard on the island was wailing and lamenting. Some of the hot-tempered ones wished they could grab a machete and drag the thieves out to kill them.
When Aunt Yang woke up, Xin Li saw that Aunt Yang looked panicked and couldn't help but ask, "Did the thief really steal it?"
Aunt Yang nodded in agreement.
She wasn't upset about the food being stolen, but rather felt that something was amiss and she couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"Has anything been stolen from other people's homes?"
Xinli knew exactly what was going on, but in order not to arouse suspicion, she still asked a few questions as a formality.
"It's probably not. Right now, no one has time to check their own homes. So much food, all taken away overnight. That's scary enough. And these things are the supplies that everyone on the island will rely on for survival for a while. Now they're all gone. Are these people deliberately trying to force us to our deaths?"
"Compared to these things, the things in the house that are lost are nothing to worry about."
Xin Li understood this as well. She frowned and made an anxious expression just like Aunt Yang, but her eyes remained clear.
"Xinxin, you're here too?"
Zhang Jinhua, who had been woken up early in the morning to help look for something, came over with a dark face.
Although she tried her best to soften her tone, the chill in her voice was still hard to conceal.
This incident clearly had a significant impact; even someone as good-tempered as Zhang Jinhua was finding it difficult to control his emotions.
"How could it just disappear like that?"
"Wasn't someone guarding it before?" Aunt Yang asked impatiently as soon as she saw Zhang Jinhua.
Zhang Jinhua said, "Of course there were people guarding it, but after so many days of nothing happening after the supplies arrived on the island, and with the warehouses going to be opened to distribute food the next day, everyone was happy and probably relaxed their guard here. I didn't expect the other side to be so patient, actually waiting until last night to make their move."
"This definitely gave someone an opening."
While the three were talking, someone came looking for Zhang Jinhua.
Zhang Jinhua responded and said to Aunt Yang and Xin Li, "We are still investigating this matter. If you have nothing else to do, you can also look around the area, but don't go too far."
Zhang Jinhua was worried that if Xinli and Aunt Yang did nothing, they would be criticized for being cold-blooded.
"Don't worry."
Even if Xinli wanted to do nothing, Aunt Yang would definitely not be able to stay idle.
After all, Aunt Yang was really looking forward to receiving supplies; she and her child were waiting to eat.
"Shall we go and look around over there?"
Aunt Yang was still somewhat agitated, and it was unclear whether she was muttering to herself or talking to Xin Li.
"How can so many things just disappear like that? Isn't that too strange?"
Xin Li nodded and agreed, "It is indeed a bit strange. Are all the people on our island fast asleep? Moving so much stuff must have made quite a commotion, right? Didn't anyone notice anything?"
Aunt Yang slapped her forehead: "Yes! How come there's not a sound at all? Why don't we go and ask?"
Seeing that Aunt Yang was about to impulsively go up and ask, Xin Li quickly pulled her back: "If we can think of something, surely others can too?"
Aunt Yang was taken aback.
Xin Li persisted, saying, "Let's not get involved. There are so many people on the island, including Commander He Mingzhou and the others. They don't need us."
“If we go along, it’s supposed to be to help. But if something goes wrong and we get involved, they might suspect we have ulterior motives. It’s better to stay put and see what really happens.”
"If the higher-ups really mobilize us to help find food, then it won't be too late for us to go out with them."
"You make a lot of sense."
Aunt Yang was so focused on finding the missing supplies that she forgot that someone might be trying to take advantage of the situation.
"Shall we go back?"
Xinli rolled her eyes: "We definitely can't go back, otherwise people will say we only know how to enjoy ourselves and do nothing."
Aunt Yang gave a helpless look.
On this island, if nothing goes wrong, everyone can indeed get along harmoniously. But once something breaks down, many people will reveal their selfish and self-serving nature.
As a widow living on the island with her child, Aunt Yang naturally knew the ropes.
Aunt Yang felt sorry for Xin Li, who was so young, but she couldn't say anything because she knew all this.
After all, this is something everyone goes through.
"Then let's choose a conspicuous place to go, so that people will know that we are helping."
Xinli nodded: "Okay."
The two encountered many people along the way, and stopped to chat with anyone they could talk to.
From one end of the village to the other, Xinli and Aunt Yang had almost figured out the current situation.
"This is incredibly audacious! They actually stole it at night! Is there no law left?"
"Why steal now of all times? This is clearly a provocation against us!"
Aunt Yang was filled with righteous indignation and kept cursing and swearing the whole way.
Xin Li found it somewhat amusing, but given the current situation, she couldn't say anything, so she could only agree with a few words and didn't offer any analysis as she had done before.
Before long, the two of them saw He Mingzhou leading a group of people toward the dock.
"Xiao He!"
Aunt Yang finally found someone she could talk to and who knew the inside story, and she called out to them warmly.
When she saw He Mingzhou looking over, she waved and said, "Little He, come here quickly!"
When He Mingzhou saw that Xin Li was also there, he said something to the people behind him before striding over.
Have you had breakfast yet?
He Mingzhou was asking Xin Li this question.
After all, He Mingzhou has been very busy lately, and the family hasn't cooked for a long time.
During this period, Xin Li took advantage of every opportunity to freeload.
Xin Li looked at He Mingzhou with some heartache, gently held his hand, and felt that he had lost a lot of weight. She shook her head and said, "I haven't eaten. Don't worry about me. I can find something to eat somewhere else. But you, why do you look so haggard? Didn't you get enough rest?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
