Chapter 46: Catching a Turtle in a Jar
Night falls again.
From the east side of the wall, another horrible aroma wafted forth. This time, it was the delicious aroma of stewed chicken broth, mixed with the charred fragrance of scallion pancakes. It was even more overbearing and grueling than yesterday's braised pork.
West of the wall, at the Chen family's dinner table, the atmosphere was oppressive to the extreme. The children, sniffing the delicious food, burst into tears, unable to swallow the multi-grain bread in their hands. The adults, on the other hand, had dark faces, their hearts etched with jealousy and frustration, as if they were being scratched by a cat.
Especially the old lady of the Chen family, her eyes turned red as she listened to the crisp laughter of her daughters in the east and smelled the aroma of meat that was seeping into the bones.
Why?
Why can those money-losing people eat and drink delicious food while I have to eat bread that tastes like tree bark here?
The rice, the noodles, the meat, should all belong to her! They belong to the Chen family!
A vicious thought was growing wildly in her heart.
It was late at night, and everyone was asleep when a thin, dark figure quietly slipped out of the house in the west yard.
The old lady of the Chen family, holding a kitchen knife, tiptoed like a night mouse and touched the new courtyard wall.
She wanted to turn over.
She wants to take back everything that belongs to her!
When the moon is dark and the wind is strong, it is a good time to steal things.
Thinking she could do it without anyone noticing, the old lady of the Chen family followed the wall and found a spot she had spotted during the day. There were a few scrap bricks from the wall piled there, perfect for stepping stones.
She held the kitchen knife in her mouth and used her hands and feet to climb up. The wall might not be high for a strong person, but for her old bones, it was like a natural moat. She was exhausted and panting, and finally managed to get half of her body over the wall.
The east yard was quiet. The lights in the main house had long been extinguished, and only a faint light was still coming through the kitchen window.
The old lady was delighted, it seemed that the little bitch had hidden all the good stuff in the kitchen!
Her greed grew stronger, and her hands and feet became more nimble. She was about to flip over in one go, but suddenly her feet slipped.
"Ouch!"
She screamed, lost her balance, and fell off the wall like a broken sack.
The expected pain did not come. Instead, the ground beneath my body felt soft and sticky, with an indescribable sour smell.
Then, with a loud crash, a wooden barrel hanging above her head collapsed, and the dark liquid in the barrel poured all over her head and face.
The smell was like pig food mixed with chicken manure, which had been fermented overnight in late summer. It was a deadly weapon that could make people pass out.
"ah--!"
The old lady let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered. The sound pierced the quiet night sky and was enough to wake everyone within a mile radius from their dreams.
"Catch the thief! There's a thief!"
In the main room of the east courtyard, the lights flickered on. Feng Lan's voice was clear and rapid, with just the right amount of panic.
Soon after, chaos broke out in the west courtyard. Chen Kangzhong, Chen Kangshu, and others rushed out, bleary-eyed.
"Mom! What's wrong?"
"What happened?"
People on both sides rushed to the courtyard wall almost at the same time.
Then, everyone was shocked by the scene before them.
At the foot of the wall, a humanoid figure covered in filth was thrashing about in a large wooden tub. Its head and face were covered in sticky pig food, and its body was covered in rotten vegetable leaves and chicken feathers. It exuded a nauseating stench, like a demon freshly fished out of a cesspool.
"Oh my god!" Liu was sharp-eyed and was the first to recognize it. She covered her nose and screamed.
Feng Lan, carrying a lantern, also hurried over with her daughters. She held the lantern high, and the light illuminated the old lady's face, which was no longer recognizable.
"Oh! Mom!" Feng Lan let out an exaggerated cry, her face full of "concern" and "worry." "What happened to you? Why did you run into our yard in the middle of the night? And... and fell into our pig feed bowl? Oh my, what should I do! Are you okay?"
As she spoke, she fanned her nose with her hand. The disgusted expression on her face seemed to have the words "You stink" carved on her face.
Erya and Sanya, who were following behind her, wanted to laugh but didn't dare to when they saw their grandmother's face. Their little shoulders shrugged and their faces turned red.
The old lady was knocked unconscious by the fall and almost vomited by the stench. When she heard Feng Lan's sarcastic words, she was so angry that she couldn't breathe. She pointed at her, her lips trembling, and she couldn't say a complete sentence for a long time.
"You...you little bitch..."
"We heard someone shouting 'Catch the thief' and thought we were being robbed!" Chen Kangbo also came out of the house with a wooden stick. He looked at the old lady with a frown on his face, a look of fear on his face. "Luckily, it was just you who fell down accidentally. If there really was a thief, what would have happened to us, the women and children?"
The couple sang in unison and performed the "catching a turtle in a jar" drama perfectly.
The Chen family members in the west courtyard were blushing profusely. Even if they were dumb, they could see that this was a trap set by Feng Lan. But they couldn't react.
You can't admit in front of everyone that your mother climbed over the wall in the middle of the night to steal things, right?
"Feng Lan! What are you thinking?" Chen Kangzhong was furious and anxious, pointing at Feng Lan and cursing, "My mother is so old, and you put something like this right under the wall! Aren't you deliberately trying to hurt her?"
"Second brother, what you said is illogical." Feng Lan said innocently, "This wooden basin is used to feed our pigs. If it's not placed next to the pigpen, why is it placed in the main hall? Besides, who would have thought that my mother would have the inclination to climb over the wall in the middle of the night? This courtyard wall was built by order of the county magistrate to divide the family. By doing this, is my mother trying to... defy the law?"
When the accusation of "resisting the law" was put on him, Chen Kangzhong was instantly speechless.
The commotion here soon attracted the neighbors. Many people, holding torches, gathered outside the courtyard walls on both sides to watch the excitement. When they saw the "dignified face" of the person in the wooden basin, they all showed an expression that wanted to laugh but dared not.
The newly appointed village head was also alarmed and hurried over with two young men.
"What's going on! Why are you making so much noise in the middle of the night?" The village head pushed through the crowd and saw the chaotic scene at a glance. He was immediately overwhelmed.
"Village head, you've arrived just in time!" Feng Lan immediately stepped forward, pointing at the old lady on the ground, her face full of grievance. "My family and I were sleeping soundly when we heard some noise in the yard. We thought it was a thief. When we came out to see, it was my mother-in-law... She fell from the wall for some reason. Please give us some advice. What the hell is going on here?"
The village head looked at the filthy, disheveled Old Lady Chen, then at Feng Lan, who looked innocent and coherent. He understood everything clearly. He sighed heavily and shouted at Chen Kangzhong and the others, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry and take your mother back! Isn't this embarrassing enough?"
Chen Kangzhong and Chen Kangshu had no choice but to bite the bullet and endure the stench as they frantically tried to pull the old woman out of the tub. However, the old woman was wet and slippery, and after struggling for a long time, they ended up getting themselves dirty.
The surrounding villagers could no longer hold back and burst into suppressed laughter.
The Chen family has completely lost face.
"Listen up!" The village head cleared his throat, his voice echoing across half the courtyard. "This wall was built by order of the county magistrate himself. It represents the government's verdict! No one is allowed to climb or damage it for any reason! If you do it again, don't blame me, Zhou, for not caring about our neighbors. I'll just tie you up and send you to the county government office!"
He said this not only to the Chen family but also to the entire village.
The Chen family dragged the old lady, who was still throwing a tantrum and cursing, back to the west yard, covered in dust and dirt. The shabby wooden door slammed shut, blocking out the view of all onlookers.
In the east yard, Feng Lan also led her daughters back to the house.
After closing the door, the family looked at each other and couldn't hold back any longer, all bursting into laughter. The youngest daughter laughed the most happily, rolling around in Feng Lan's arms.
This small victory dispelled the gloom that had hung over the family's hearts due to the destruction of their fields.
Chen Kangbo looked at his wife, who was smiling brightly under the light, and felt a mixture of emotions. He walked over and gently put his arms around her from behind.
"Lan'er, thank you for your hard work."
Feng Lan leaned against her husband's broad chest and shook her head. "It's not hard. As long as we're together as a family, we can overcome any obstacle."
She turned around, looked into her husband's eyes, and said seriously, "Comber, the crops in the field are gone. We can't just sit there and wait for death. I've made up my mind. Tomorrow, we'll go clear out the rotten straw and plow the fields again. It's still a while before the frost comes, so we can plant some radishes and cabbages. They grow quickly and will be ready for winter. It's better than doing nothing."
"Okay, I'll do as you say." Chen Kangbo nodded, his eyes full of trust and doting.
Outside the window, the moonlight is like water.
This farce, sparked by theft, ended in complete defeat and humiliation for the Chen family. Not only did they gain nothing, but they became the laughing stock of the entire village, completely dissuading them from further trouble.
After experiencing a brief period of despair, Feng Lan's family became more united and resilient.
They know the road ahead is still full of challenges, but they are no longer afraid because they have each other, their family, and the courage to stand up again and again in the face of adversity.
A new life has just begun to emerge.
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