"What illness does her aunt have?"
Liang Shuyan frowned, recalling her interactions with Aunt Liu over the years, and couldn't help but feel worried.
"I don't know, I'm going to take him to town to have a look!"
Liang Shuyan nodded: "Okay, here's what we'll do: go to the accounting office and get some money to pay for her aunt's medical treatment."
After Old Liu left, she instructed her eldest daughter-in-law: "Go kill a chicken, stew it, and then I'll take it to your Aunt Liu. I heard she's sick."
Zhang nodded with some surprise, but thought to herself, "Hmph, Aunt Liu is sick, and Mother is still worried about her. I think to myself, she's clearly reaping what she sowed."
Regardless of the circumstances, she couldn't disobey her mother. Zhang nodded, went to the backyard, caught a chicken, and gave it to Jin Dashan.
“Look, this chicken has been killed. Mother is going to stew it and take it to visit Aunt Liu.”
Jin Dashan, however, looked perfectly normal and walked out carrying a chicken.
Li Zheng walked in carrying a hoe and wearing a straw hat. He saw Liang Shuyan and said, "Auntie Dashan, it's another bumper harvest in our village. The villagers followed your method and the wheat seedlings really ripened. Aunt Pang's family harvested four full sacks of wheat from less than two mu of land!"
The family has been quite busy these past few days, and Liang Shuyan hasn't had time to check on the wheat in the fields, so naturally she doesn't know what's going on.
"Looks like you just came back from the fields. Sit down quickly, Ruyan, come and pour tea for Lizheng."
Ruyan, dressed in a light green dress, slowly walked towards Lizheng, carrying a delicate white teapot and a water cup.
"Lizheng, please have some tea, and we can talk about it slowly."
Liang Shuyan sat down opposite Li Zheng, a smile playing on her lips: "So, it seems we're going to be harvesting another crop in the next couple of days?"
"This is another bumper harvest season for our Daling Village! I imagine everyone is very happy."
Liang Shuyan suddenly remembered something, slapped her forehead and said, "Oh dear, how could I have almost forgotten about this?"
Looking at Liang Shuyan's expression, Li Zheng asked, somewhat puzzled, "What's wrong? What happened?"
Liang Shuyan then recounted how she had encountered Jin Wang stealing grain from Aunt Pang's house in town a few days prior.
Li Zheng clenched his fists: "What? Such a thing actually happened? Did anyone else see it?"
"Yes, I was with Ruyan and Su Qiaoqiao at the time. We both saw it. In the moonlight, I could see it very clearly. It was indeed Jin Wang. My idea was to have Aunt Pang go to their house and bring the grain directly, so that Aunt Pang wouldn't have to harvest it herself."
Li Zheng kept shaking his head: "This matter cannot be left like this. Jin Wang and his wife are lazy and good-for-nothing. Not only does their own land grow weeds, but they also steal from the neighboring houses. If we don't punish them for this, won't the reputation of our Daling Village be ruined by them?"
The two were talking when they heard the fat aunt crying outside the door.
"Lizheng, please help us! All the millet on our several acres has been stripped of its ears, leaving only weeds. What are we going to do?"
Liang Shuyan brought over a stool and gestured for Aunt Pang to sit down first before explaining the whole story.
Aunt Pang was agitated and immediately stood up to go to Jin Wang's house to move the grain. Liang Shuyan said, "Aunt Pang, this matter can't be rushed. Knowing the personalities of Jin Wang and his wife, they definitely won't hand over the grain. So, Li Zheng and I will go with you!"
Liang Shuyan prepared her carriage and drove it to Jinwang's house.
For someone as shameless as Zhao, it would be a pipe dream to try and steal grain from Jin Wang's house without solid evidence. Therefore, Liang Shuyan brought along two key witnesses.
Ruyan asked somewhat timidly, "Auntie, what if they deny it and say we're lying?"
Don't worry, it's normal for one person to see it, it's an accident for two people to see it, but what about three people?
Ruyan and Su Qiaoqiao jumped out of the car and followed behind Liang Shuyan.
Li Zheng and Aunt Pang walked at the front, Aunt Pang's fists clenched tightly.
"Li Zheng, I must give this Zhao family a good beating today. She's shameless! She leaves her own land idle while stealing other people's grain. What kind of shameless person would do such a thing?"
Li Zheng waved his hand and said, "If we hit someone, we probably won't get the grain back. You have to be patient. Once we find the grain in her house, I'll see how they try to explain themselves."
The door creaked open, and Jin Wang came out yawning: "Li Zheng, what's going on with you guys?"
It was clear that Jin Wang's eyes were somewhat unfocused, and he took two steps back.
"Tell me what happened. Someone saw you stealing Aunt Pang's millet in the middle of the night, and now we've come to search your house."
Upon hearing this, Zhao immediately ran out wearing her shoes, hands on her hips, and said, "You, you people, are you going to lead a robbery in broad daylight?"
Liang Shuyan walked over and sneered, "Robbing someone in broad daylight doesn't make you a thief; robbing someone at night under the moonlight is what makes you a thief. Jin Wang, our department saw everything clearly. What else do you have to say?"
Jin Wang and his wife never expected that Liang Shuyan would personally lead a group to search their home.
"You, when did you see me? Since you saw me, why didn't you have someone arrest me? Coming to our door to take our grain is robbery! Is there no law anymore?"
Zhao's fingers trembled as she pointed at Liang Shuyan in front of her, her expression filled with murderous intent.
Li Zheng pointed at Jin Wang and said, "Jin Wang, you're a grown man, yet you dare to steal but don't dare to admit it. What kind of grown man are you? I'm warning you today, you better not let us find out, or I'll take you and your wife to see the authorities!"
In ancient times, stealing someone's grain was no small crime; serious cases could result in up to three years in prison. Jin Wang wasn't stupid, so he had no choice but to admit it.
Li Zheng pointed at the fat auntie: "Alright, go in and search!"
Zhao immediately turned her anger towards Liang Shuyan, and scolded her fiercely: "You're supposed to be our sister-in-law, how could you do such a thing? Don't you think you'll be struck by lightning?"
Liang Shuyan glanced at Zhao Shi, took a few steps closer to her, and sneered: "Yes, how come I never thought that stealing other people's things would be punished by heaven? Your own land is overgrown with weeds, yet you go to steal grain from other people's land in the middle of the night. Where is your shame?"
Zhao shoved Liang Shuyan: "You have no shame! You're always with Li Zheng, doing things that are neither here nor there, and you still have the nerve to let others accuse you of something?"
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