It was early in the morning, just as the sky was getting light.

Usually at this time of day, the alley is quiet and everyone is asleep, but today no one slept well.

"Damn it, where did that crow come from last night? It kept calling all night long, it was so noisy." Someone cursed.

Finally it was daybreak, the crows left and there was an even louder noise. All everyone heard was someone dropping a basin in the yard. Then, an old lady's voice sounded like firecrackers during the New Year, irritating everyone.

Early in the morning, my mother started crying in the yard, howling, "My little Bin didn't come back all night. What happened in the middle of winter? What if my little Bin got frozen outside?"

"You little bastard, you were the one who called my son over for dinner last night, but he was gone during the meal. You have to give me an explanation. Where is my son? Where is my Xiaobin?"

"If you don't tell me, I'll beat you to death, you little bastard!" The mother's voice was shrill and sharp.

The people in the yard were still asleep, and were disturbed by the noise. They turned over in their beds, swearing, "What's wrong with a grown woman? She's crying and shouting, isn't she unlucky?"

Some people are still asking, "What is this old lady yelling about? Who is she calling a little bastard? Who is she going to beat?"

It was a cold morning and everyone was reluctant to get up because it was so warm inside the quilt. However, it was really lively outside, so everyone struggled to get up and go see the excitement.

Before the people in the yard and the alley could get up, someone had already pushed open the yard door and walked in.

The person who came in was Aunt Xu. Before the Chinese New Year, she was taken back by her nephew to celebrate the New Year. Because her mother was not in good health, she stayed at home for a while longer and only came back when spring was about to begin. Unexpectedly, when she came back this time, as soon as she reached the gate of the yard, she heard Aunt Xu making a fuss again.

Aunt Xu followed the sound and found the entrance to the yard, where she saw Aunt Yi and Erwa standing by the faucet.

The eldest mother grabbed the second child's ear, raised one hand high, and looked fierce, "Where is my Xiaobin? He was called away by you, a little bastard, last night. Now he hasn't come home. Where is he? Where is my son?"

She questioned again and again, as if she wanted to eat Erwa alive.

What Aunt Xu hated most was people bullying children. She immediately became furious and slapped Aunt Xu's hand, "Why don't you tell me what's going on? Why do you beat the child for no reason? Is this your child? I ask you, is this your child? Why do you hit someone else's child?"

When the eldest mother saw someone coming to break up the fight, she was even more furious. "Xu Yongfang, don't get involved in what happened today. Last night, my son Xiaobin said that Erwa invited him for dinner and drinks, but he didn't come home all night. Tell me, should I beat him? You invited my son to drink and lost him. It's freezing outside. If he gets hurt, I want you to pay for my son's life!"

The more the eldest mother spoke, the more she felt she was right. She pushed Aunt Xu away and grabbed the second child and tried to hit him.

Erwa was struggling and feeling anxious at the same time.

He was very well behaved last night and didn't go out to check all night. He didn't know whether Cao Bin had escaped with the things or was caught by the police. He was silent for a while.

The more silent he was, the more the mother felt that he had harmed her own Xiaobin. The desire to protect her son made her lose her mind and she wanted to beat him.

Seeing that the second child had been caught, the first mother was about to take action when the door of the back room opened with a bang.

Lin Minjun came out, looked around, and fixed her eyes on the eldest mother. Then she went back and came out with a fire stick in her hand. She directly pulled Erwa behind her and said, "Let's see who wants to hit my brother."

The mother was so angry that her lips were trembling. "Xiao Lin, what's wrong? Do you want to meddle in other people's business again?"

"This is my brother. What do you mean by meddling in other people's business?" Lin Minjun asked back.

The first time he stole bacon and made a fool of himself. The second time he ruined Xiaobin's reputation in the alley and he couldn't even find a wife. The third time was even worse, he just disappeared.

The old and new grudges were settled together. The mother wanted to beat Lin Minjun as well. She stared at Lin Minjun coldly and questioned, "Since he is your brother, let me ask you, your brother invited my son to dinner yesterday, but he didn't come home all night. Where is my son?"

Oh, she has the nerve to ask.

"Where is your son? You shouldn't ask me this, you should ask the police." Lin Minjun said calmly.

Now everyone in the yard came out in confusion. Someone wearing a cotton jacket asked, "Xiao Lin, what does this mean?"

"You all remember that Erwa's mother was labeled a shrew, right? But they let you live there for free. Did they charge you a penny? Did they exploit your labor?" Lin Minjun asked in return.

Of course not, everyone shook their heads.

Lin Minjun: "But there are those ungrateful people who, like running dogs, secretly spread the news and distorted the facts. They led people to criticize Erwa's mother, but he was not really for the revolution. He wanted to steal things and took advantage of the time to criticize people to steal other people's things. To tell you the truth, your son Cao Bin was arrested by the police last night and is in jail!"

When the mother heard the word "jail", her head buzzed and she almost fainted.

But she didn't know her son had stolen other people's things, so she didn't believe it. "Yes, my son has some problems, but he is absolutely fine as a human being. It's impossible for him to steal other people's things. This is slander."

She made a sound of "Puh" and looked like she was being persecuted. "What kind of world is this? Can you just point at other people's children and call them thieves? I'm putting this out there. My Xiaobin is a very good person. If he stole someone else's things, I would eat three pounds of shit right away!"

The eldest master was originally listening in the house and had not come out. When he heard this, he could not sit still and almost fell flat on his face when he came out. "Xiuhua, stop talking nonsense!"

"Am I wrong, Lao Cao? It is impossible for my Xiaobin to steal other people's things." The mother said arrogantly.

But she never noticed the flash of guilt on the eldest master's face.

Lin Minjun held up a firewood stick, and the other end of the stick moved directly from the old woman to the end of the alley. "The government toilet is not covered, so you can eat if you want. No one will stop you."

"You, do you know what it means to respect the elderly and love the young? You bully me, you bully my Xiaobin, I will not live anymore." The old lady didn't know what to say. Lin Minjun was not so fierce when she first came. She looked like a very easy-going girl, but how come she has become like this now?

"If I let you bully me, that's respecting the old and loving the young. But today I really won't respect the old and love the young. You can do whatever you want. You can't bully me or my brother!" Lin Minjun said coldly.

"Wait, don't be so quick to quarrel. What's going on? What do you mean Xiaobin is missing? What do you mean Xiaobin stole someone's things? What's going on?"

The old neighbors in the courtyard and alley came over when they heard the commotion, and they were all confused.

As they were talking here, someone suddenly said, "Make way, make way, two police officers are entering the alley."

Within a minute or two, the crowd outside dispersed, and two police officers actually walked into the yard.

Seeing the grass-green police uniform, the mother immediately started thinking and went up to him and said, "Comrade police, I want to report a case!"

Is she going to be the first to file a complaint?

The first mother burst into tears, "I want to report Erwa and Lin Minjun. They called my son over for dinner last night, but he didn't come back the whole night. I don't know if the child is dead or alive. This is harming people."

Seeing the police looking at her, Lin Minjun's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly calmed down and threw away the fire stick. "Comrade police, I also want to report a woman in our yard. She abused orphans and military families."

She pulled Erwa to her side and said, "This child's parents died a long time ago, and his brother is in the army. She took advantage of the fact that there were no adults at home and started beating and scolding him. Everyone can testify that she beat the child this morning without clarifying anything."

Everyone in the alley was stunned. They looked left and right, but didn't know who to help.

Was it Erwa who teamed up with Lin Minjun to harm Cao Bin, or was it Cao Bin who stole someone else's things and the eldest mother turned the tables?

However, the most important thing now is Cao Bin’s safety. It is winter now and the temperature at night is too low. It would be life-threatening to freeze outside all night.

Everyone had no choice but to seek help from the police. "Why don't we look for Cao Bin first? We must not let anyone get killed."

There are two police officers here today, one is older and looks serious, the other one looks younger and more youthful.

Lin Minjun knew the younger man. She had seen him yesterday when she went to report the case. She simply said, "Public Security Officer Sun, please tell them whether Cao Bin was murdered by us or frozen to death."

The young Public Security Officer Sun coughed lightly and almost couldn't hold back his laughter.

The eldest uncle was thoughtful and had been observing the police's expressions. He knew something was wrong when he saw their expressions. He pulled the eldest uncle home and whispered, "Stop making trouble and go back first."

He realized that his son's affair might have been exposed, and it would be embarrassing to pursue it further.

But how could a grown woman just leave like that? She said loudly, "Why would you leave? My son still has no where to go."

Only then did the eldest master begin to regret. He regretted that he had taken advantage of the eldest mother's stupidity and let her charge into the battle line for him. She was used to being ignorant of the world and never kept her word.

Now the retribution has come, and their whole family is about to lose face.

Sun Gongan cleared his throat and said seriously, "Okay, mom, don't worry, your son is fine."

The mother had just uttered this breath when she almost fainted the next second.

"We caught him last night and he is now a criminal suspect."

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