Thief?

Lin Minjun has lived here for more than a month. Apart from the initial misconception that Erwa was stealing something, she hasn't seen any other thieves.

Could it be that there was a thief again today?

That's not right. In broad daylight, a group of aunts were sitting in the yard all day. Not to mention thieves, even the rats nearby would have to hold their tails between their legs before they dared to sneak under the wall. The aunts have sharp eyes.

Lin Minjun was now full of questions. Seeing that her mother was about to run, she grabbed her and said, "Aunt, who is this thief? If you really catch a thief, shouldn't you hand him over to the police station and let the police investigate? How can you tie him up and punish him privately? This is illegal."

"I just heard about it, so I'm not sure, but I heard that the thief is from the courtyard." The old lady said, looking into the door. "It's not called lynching, it's that the eldest master in your courtyard wants to hold a meeting of the whole courtyard. I guess it's just like in the past few years, tying up and scolding, criticizing a few times. Otherwise, you say that if you live in the same courtyard, do you really have to report to the police and send the person to jail?"

As a burst of noise came from the yard, it was obvious that the place was getting lively. The aunt became anxious, "Hey girl, don't hold me, let me go in and take a look. If you are curious, you can go and see it yourself."

The aunt waved her hand and ran away. Lin Minjun had even more problems in her mind, and she also had a bad feeling in her heart.

Ever since she came here, she always heard people say there was a thief in the yard, and the thief was Erwa.

Could it be that the one being tied up and scolded in the yard right now is Erwa?

Lin Minjun parked the tricycle at the foot of the wall, simply locked it and ran into the yard.

It was really lively after we went in. There was no one in the first courtyard, but after entering the second courtyard, wow, everyone in the alley who was not working should have come. It was crowded, even in the corridor was people standing, all craning their necks to look under a pomegranate tree planted in the middle of the courtyard. When Lin Minjun got inside, everyone was still whispering.

A man standing under the corridor asked with his hands behind his back, "What's going on here? We can't see it. Why are they holding a meeting for no reason and criticizing people again?"

"I just overheard that Erwa stole some bacon that the eldest master's family was going to save for the New Year. It was a very big piece, probably worth a lot of money. Look, the eldest master's family caught him and started to interrogate him," said another.

"Why is there no one to supervise this child? He steals all day long. What will happen to him when he grows up?"

"Without a father or mother, and without anyone to teach you, this is what happens." The man said with a smile, and suddenly his eyes became sharp, "Look, the trial is coming."

When Lin Minjun heard that it was indeed Erwa, she broke out in a sweat. She didn't want to think about anything else now and just wanted to squeeze in to see what was going on.

"Make way, I'm from this yard, please let me in and take a look." Lin Minjun said.

But everyone was enjoying the excitement so much that they were not willing to move aside. In the end, Lin Minjun pushed aside the people beside her and squeezed a path through the crowd to get to the front.

Seeing this, she bit her upper lip and suddenly clenched her hands.

Comrade Yan Shao, also known as Erwa, was tied to a bench at this time, face down and turned upside down. The child's expression could not be seen clearly. His hands and feet were tied, which was a somewhat humiliating posture. There was a circle standing around him. Almost everyone in the yard was there. An old lady stood beside him holding a rattan stick, her eyebrows raised high, and her face full of anger and frustration.

She pointed at Erwa and said in a very tough manner, "You stole someone's things and you still don't admit it. Tell me, do you admit your mistake?"

"I didn't steal, why should I admit my mistake?" Erwa's voice was muffled and stubborn, and he almost said this through gritted teeth.

"You haven't stolen it yet. My bacon was hanging on the beam and it disappeared in just one afternoon. Who else in this yard would steal things except you? And you are still stubborn." The old lady usually doesn't think before she speaks. Now she relies on herself to be right and speaks even more harshly.

"Since we are from the same courtyard and you are still young, I will not send you to the police station today, but you must admit your mistakes. How can such a young child learn to steal? You have a mother who gave birth to you but did not raise you. I am your elder, so I will help them educate you today."

Erwa yelled, "I told you I didn't steal. Why are you accusing me?"

"How did I wrong you? Ah? How did I wrong you? Today is Friday and everyone in the yard has to go to work. Shunzi and Zhuzi went back to their parents' home with Xiaoxia. Only you, the truant boy, are at home. I smelled the aroma of meat from your house in the afternoon. Who else could it be but you? Tell me?" The aunt hated people who were stubborn and was about to spank them with a rattan stick.

What the lady said was particularly unpleasant, and everyone felt it was not a good idea when she said it, but everyone was afraid that she would direct the words at them, so they did not say anything for the time being.

Besides, the eldest master hasn't spoken yet, so it's not their turn.

A master was standing nearby, smoking loudly, and no one else dared to speak.

Lin Minjun was standing in the crowd, and when she saw the scene, she was immediately reminded of her childhood.

Erwa's situation is very similar to when she was a child. She has no parents and no one to support her. Whenever something is missing nearby, everyone blames her. Her relatives don't care about anything. If they hear someone say that she stole something, they will beat her without saying a word. Others just watch and say nothing.

She was angry and felt wronged. What's wrong with a child? What's wrong with a child without parents? Should a child be beaten? Without even giving evidence, they tied someone up and beat him based on a few lines of reasoning?

Lin Minjun not only felt sorry for Erwa, but also for her childhood self.

When she was a child, she had no ability to resist and no one supported her, but now she can!

Seeing that the eldest mother was about to spank the second child, Lin Minjun suddenly became angry, pushed the person in front of her away and tried to move forward.

"Xiao Lin, where are you going? Don't rush forward so hastily. Didn't you hear them say that Erwa stole the bacon?" Someone grabbed her hand.

Lin Minjun looked back and recognized her immediately. The person who grabbed her was Aunt Xia, who always had her hair tied up and was always rude to everyone. In Aunt Xu's words, Aunt Xia always treated her like a man and was nice to everyone.

Lin Minjun couldn't understand it. Since you want to be good to everyone, why don't you say something when you see something unfair? Even if you don't say anything, you don't let others say anything. Does your being good to others depend on who you are?

"If they say they stole the bacon, did they really steal the bacon? Is there any evidence? Is there anyone to testify?" Lin Minjun pulled her hand away and asked back.

Aunt Xia: "Except for him, no one else in this yard likes to steal things."

"Oh, if you take off the hat just like that, and I still say that I stole it, will you still tie me up and beat me?" Lin Minjun asked again.

"You all know that, except for breakfast, you have to pay to eat the other two meals at my place. At noon today, Erwa had a bowl of red chopped pork, two bowls of rice with barley and three steamed buns. In the end, I was in a hurry to set up the stall, so he took the three steamed buns home to eat. The meat smell you smelled was probably this. For those of you who have children, I want to ask, a ten-year-old child ate all this and still went to steal bacon to eat. Did he want to starve himself to death?"

"Either he ate it himself, or he sold it." An old lady interrupted.

Well, she still has the nerve to speak. At this time, Lin Minjun didn’t care that the person opposite was the leader of the yard. She pushed the person aside and walked up.

"Auntie, do you have evidence? Did anyone see him sell it? There is nothing, but you beat the child just because he smelled meat. What's wrong? Did he owe your family? If you really want to say who owes whom, then you owe Erwa. You lived in such a big house for nothing. You said he stole something, and I said you were bullying him because he had no parents and no one to support him."

The mother was speechless, and with the cane still in the air, she asked, "So you're going to support him?"

"Yes, so what?" Lin Minjun made up her mind and went for it. She had no one to support her when she was a child, and she was so weak and lacked confidence in her previous life. She married Lu Deping as soon as she got off the train.

"Aren't you afraid that he will kill you? This kid has a bad fate. His mother was killed when he was born, and then his father was killed, and then his brother was killed. Aren't you afraid that he will kill you?"

This is talking about fate, which Lin Minjun found even more ridiculous, and retorted, "To tell you the truth, I have also been told this since I was a child. Many people say that I have a tough fate. Let's see who will outwit the other."

The mother was so angry that her face turned pale. She said desperately: "Okay, then I'll wait and see you get into trouble and be killed by him."

Before he could finish his words, Erwa, who was trapped on the bench, suddenly yelled, "Okay, I stole it. I admit that I stole it, isn't that enough? Don't say it anymore."

"Look, look." The mother yelled, "He has admitted it himself, and you are still speaking for him. Does this kid have any future? He has been stealing since he was a child, and he is destined to go to jail in the future!"

The mother finally found her chance and started to be unreasonable, "Tell me, everyone, am I wrong to beat my child? If a child steals something, he should be educated. Am I wrong to educate him?"

"Isn't it enough for me to admit that I stole it? Don't say anymore." Erwa murmured.

Lin Minjun just doesn't believe it!

When he first arrived, everyone said that Erwa was a thief and had bad character. Once someone was accused of stealing something, even Aunt Xu suspected it was him.

But after being together for such a long time, Lin Minjun found that Erwa was not like that at all. Although he was tough and said unpleasant things, he would pay for the food and never took advantage of her. Occasionally, when they met on the road, he would come over and help her carry potatoes.

Besides, he had already eaten so much at noon. If he went to steal some bacon, he would starve himself to death.

Lin Minjun didn't believe that he stole other people's bacon, so she squatted down and turned Erwa's head over.

As soon as she saw it, Erwa was in tears. He didn't dare to look her in the eye and said sullenly, "I stole it. Stop arguing."

"No, you didn't steal it at all. You said you stole it because you were afraid that she would curse me and say I was killed by you, right?" Lin Minjun asked.

Erwa turned his head away and stopped talking.

Lin Minjun stood up and tried to untie the boy. He was face down with his hands tied to the legs of a bench, and his hands were red from being tied.

"No, this matter is not over yet, how can you let go?" An old lady came up to stop him.

Lin Minjun was so angry that she was shaking all over. She suddenly turned around and glared at her fiercely, "If you don't let me go, I will call the police right now and say that you are bullying and abusing orphans."

I helped Erwa up. He must have been frightened and kept saying, "I stole it, stop arguing."

"You didn't steal, so why are you admitting your guilt?" Lin Minjun held her breath, holding Erwa's shoulders with both hands, and said in a particularly serious tone, "I don't have parents, and neither do you. You called me sister, and I will treat you as my brother from now on. Now cheer up, and don't admit to something you didn't do. Didn't you catch Shunzi and Zhuzi stealing my money last time? Why can't we do it this time? Let's find the thief and prove it to her. If we really find him, we'll make them pay as a group and apologize as a gift!"

The author has something to say:

There is two more updates to come. I have figured this out today. Ajun Chong!