Lin Minjun stood at the kitchen door and saw that the porcelain bowls on the table were empty before she went in.

She was stunned for a moment, thinking that she had remembered it wrong and had not kept a copy at all.

But when she thought about it, she realized that there was clearly an extra bowl in the morning, which was served in a porcelain bowl and placed on the table. Now the bowl was empty.

Lin Minjun walked over, picked up the bowl and took a look. At first she thought it was knocked over by a wild cat, but wild cats leave footprints and spilled potatoes will be scattered everywhere. Now the kitchen is clean.

The bowl in my hand is cleaner than the kitchen. Not only is there no potato, there is not even a speck of chili residue. It is cleaner than one licked by a dog.

It is absolutely impossible for cats and dogs to eat like this. Could the house have been robbed?

As soon as this thought came to her mind, Lin Minjun shuddered. She put the money she had asked for from the Lu family into a small cloth bag and carried it with her, but she also had a newly bought pot and coal stove at home, which were also worth a lot of money.

I couldn't take care of the potatoes for a while and hurried back to the small room to see if there was anything else missing.

After checking the small room, I found that only a bowl of potatoes was missing.

Staring at the empty bowl, Lin Minjun was puzzled. A thief broke into the house, but why did the thief leave the coal stove and the pot alone? Why did he only steal a bowl of potatoes?

But then I thought about it and felt it was normal. There were so many people in this big compound and the coal stove and the pot would be very conspicuous. I could just eat a bowl of potatoes and no one would know.

So now Lin Minjun is not sure whether it was eaten by the thief or by the children nearby.

I couldn't figure this out, so I had to put it aside for the time being. I took two more potatoes, peeled them, soaked them in water, and put them in the pan with oil.

Half an hour later, another bowl of fried potatoes was prepared and brought over to Aunt Xu.

The potatoes are fresh potatoes bought from farmers in the suburbs, fried again, and placed in an enamel bowl with a shiny oily feel. They don’t smell good when you hold them in your hands, but when you take a bite and hear a crunch, the fragrance spreads in your mouth. When you chew them a little more, your mouth is filled with the mixed aroma of chili and potato.

Aunt Xu ate and said, "It's just an ordinary potato, but it tastes different in your hands. It's really delicious."

"Some people also said this when I was in my hometown. The children all said that the potatoes cooked at home were not as delicious as mine." Lin Minjun smiled.

Seeing Aunt Xu eating fried potatoes one after another with great satisfaction, Lin Minjun was moved and asked tentatively, "Aunt, are there any such people around us? Those with dirty hands and feet?"

"What's wrong? Is there something missing from your house?"

This obviously meant that something was stolen from the house, so Aunt Xu immediately became concerned and asked about it.

Lin Minjun didn't want to talk about this, but Aunt Xu kept asking, "Don't be afraid, just say whatever you want to say."

When Aunt Xu asked again and again, Lin Minjun said, "I left a bowl of fried potatoes at home this morning, but when I returned just now I found that they had all been eaten."

"Could it be a wild cat?" asked Aunt Xu.

"It's for human consumption. Wild cats can't eat it so cleanly. They licked the bowl until it was shiny."

Aunt Xu's expression gradually became serious. "Go back and check if there is anything else missing."

Lin Minjun: "Not really. The coal stove and pot are still there, but the fried potatoes are gone."

This was a strange thing. Aunt Xu finished the remaining fried potatoes in just a few bites and even scraped off the glutinous rice cake chili underneath.

As for the person who stole the potatoes, she opened her mouth at first, and it was obvious that someone had been chosen, but she swallowed it in the end, stood up and said, "No one has stolen in this yard for many years. I don't know if there is a thief nearby or a thief in the yard. It's not a small matter. You go home first, and I'll go ask around to see if anyone else has lost anything."

Lin Minjun followed him out of her house, thought for a moment, and then said, "Mom, don't be too loud when you ask around. What if it's a thief from the neighborhood? He might run away as soon as he gets wind of it."

Aunt Xu turned around and gave a look that showed she understood.

After Aunt Xu left, Lin Minjun went home to clean up the kitchen where she had finished cooking. After that, she started to cook dinner for herself. There were not many vegetables at home today, so she just fried a dish to get by.

But before the food was even out of the pot, Aunt Xu came back in a hurry, looking extremely angry. As soon as she entered the house, she said, "There's a thief in the yard!"

Lin Minjun paused for a moment, and when the food was ready, she decisively turned off the coal stove and asked, "Auntie, did you find out anything?"

By the way, she also poured a glass of water for Aunt Xu.

After taking a sip of water, Aunt Xu said, "I just asked around in a few alleys nearby, but I didn't hear anyone missing anything. Then I asked around in our yard, but there was nothing missing either. Only your family is missing a bowl of potatoes. And I just asked around, and no strangers came to the alley today, so it must have been someone in the yard who did it, but I don't know if it was an adult or a child."

Lin Minjun didn't say anything, so Aunt Xu said, "No, I have to find the eldest master and have him hold a meeting for the whole courtyard. Thieves are so hateful. They steal food today, and they dare to steal chickens and dogs tomorrow, and steal money the day after tomorrow."

As she spoke, she stood up in a hurry and walked towards the second courtyard. Lin Minjun quickly said, "Wait, don't go yet."

Aunt Xu turned around and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Don't go find the eldest master first. Once the whole hospital meeting is held, everyone will know." Lin Minjun said.

Upon hearing this, Aunt Xu misunderstood. She thought Lin Minjun was scared. A little girl came to the capital alone and didn't dare to say anything when her things were stolen. In Aunt Xu's eyes, Lin Minjun became even more pitiful.

She said quickly, "Are you afraid that if you make too much noise, the thief will take revenge? Don't be afraid, I am here, and there is a master, no one can make trouble. I introduced you here, and if something happens in the yard, I must help you deal with it."

In fact, Lin Minjun was not afraid of the thief's revenge, but she had just arrived here and had lost something. It would be too high-profile to hold a meeting of the whole institute. Everyone would know her situation, which would be even more dangerous. And just now, Lin Minjun thought of a better way.

"I know you are kind-hearted, but I have another way to catch the thief without holding a meeting of the whole hospital." Lin Minjun pulled Aunt Xu to sit down and said, "We are still not sure who the thief is. Even if we hold a meeting, we may not be able to find him. I think since he dares to steal, he will definitely do it again. I will make something delicious next time and hide on purpose to see if I can catch him."

This is a trick I learned from Lu Deping in my previous life. What is this called? Waiting for the rabbit by the tree!

Seeing Aunt Xu's hesitation, Lin Minjun added fuel to the fire, "Let's try it first. I'm just worried that if we hold a meeting for the whole hospital, the thief won't be found and he will be scared and won't dare to do anything again. Why not take this opportunity to find out who is stealing."

Aunt Xu thought about it again and agreed readily, "Okay, then I'll do as you say. If you catch me, call me."

The two of them agreed to keep quiet for the time being, without saying anything, and waited for the thief to strike again.

To lure the thief into taking action, of course one has to create the right conditions for him. On this day, Lin Minjun specially set aside an afternoon to prepare a big meal. This is called inviting someone into a trap!

After lunch, she started to make the dough and soak the rice noodles. She wanted to make crispy buns with sugar-coated ham and rice noodles with stewed pork.

The crust of the baked broken pastry buns is soft and crispy, salty and sweet, and tastes oily but not greasy. In her previous life, whenever Lin Minjun made broken pastry buns, neighbors would come over after smelling the aroma.

You need authentic ham to make the broken crispy buns. You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing the child, so I cut a piece of fat from the big ham I brought from home, chopped it up and mixed it into the stuffing. Before steaming it, I brushed a layer of oil on the surface of the buns. The steam was rising, and the aroma was enough to make the gluttonous worms in your stomach do somersaults. Even the most patient people couldn't help but take a deep breath of the aroma when passing by the door.

When the smell of broken buns spread out, Lin Minjun opened the kitchen door and hid in the house without saying a word, even holding her breath, waiting for the thief to show up.

After waiting for a long time, from dusk till dark, Lin Minjun's legs were sore from standing and her eyes were blurry, but she still didn't see the thief.

Many people passed by the door, but they were all very polite. They stopped to take a deep breath before leaving.

She couldn't help but start to doubt herself. The thing must have smelled good, but the thief didn't come. What happened?

Doesn't this method work?

As the sky was getting darker and the aroma of the broken buns was becoming more tempting, but the thief still didn't come, Lin Minjun couldn't wait any longer and was about to give up, but just as she was about to lift her legs, there was movement outside.

She couldn't see clearly through the door, she only vaguely saw someone first stop at her own door, sniffing around like a puppy, probably smelling the fragrance of buns, and followed the aroma into the kitchen.

Lin Minjun looked through the crack in the door and saw that the man was short, with heavy footsteps and was very brave. He went into his own kitchen without hesitation!

She was immediately a little angry. This thief was so bold! He walked into someone else's kitchen without even looking. Did he treat it as his own?

In order to catch the thief in the act, Lin Minjun hid behind the door for a while. When the thief was completely inside, she guessed that the thief should have started eating, so she immediately went to the kitchen.

When we went in, we saw that the thief was a child. He had his back to people and was lifting the lid of the steamer to look inside. Sure enough, he was caught red-handed.

Lin Minjun thought the child looked familiar at first glance, but couldn't remember where he was, so she called out, "This is my kitchen, what are you doing here?"

The thief was obviously startled and trembled all over. He turned around immediately and met Lin Minjun who was walking in quickly.

When Lin Minjun saw who the thief was, she was also stunned, "Ah? You are Erwa?"

When she saw the thief's short and small back just now, she guessed that the thief was probably the child in the yard, but she never expected that it was Erwa, her landlord?

The author has something to say:

From today on, each chapter has 3,000 words! After I become a V, I may update three or two chapters a day. I will try my best to write more. Thank you for your support and leave more comments!