While Gao Mingcheng and Zhao Bin were cooking noodles under the open sky in the woods, at the old principal's house on Dacheng Street, Old Mrs. Qin prepared a table full of dishes and invited Fu Lan's family over.
As darkness fell completely, Grandma Fu lost her appetite and kept glancing at her own house next door, quietly asking Grandma Qin, "Do you think they've arrived yet? Why haven't we made a sound?"
Grandma Qin chuckled and whispered, "They're here to steal, so how can they steal anything if they make a sound you can hear?"
"That's true." Grandma Fu nodded, picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks, but before she could put it in her mouth, she turned to Grandma Qin and asked, "Do you think they'll really come tonight? If they don't, won't all our efforts have been for nothing?"
“They’ll definitely come. Didn’t you see Dong Cang’s eyes widen when I deliberately dropped the two gold bracelets?” Fu Lan patted Grandma Fu’s arm to reassure her. “They definitely won’t miss such a good opportunity to break in.”
Grandma Fu thought about it and realized it made sense. Her previously anxious mood gradually calmed down, and she started eating while chatting and laughing with Grandma Qin.
Fu Hong's expression turned somewhat unpleasant upon hearing Dong Cang's name.
Fu Lan noticed that Fu Hong's expression was off, so she put a piece of braised pork in her bowl and asked in a low voice, "Sister, you're not angry with me, are you?"
Fu Hong was taken aback for a moment, but quickly came to her senses. She glanced at Fu Lan, and while eating the meat that Fu Lan had put on her plate, she laughed and said, "Angry? Why would I be angry?"
“Because of Dong Cang,” Fu Lan said.
Fu Hong smiled and shook her head, saying, "I couldn't be happier. If we could get that troublemaker in jail, A-Cheng would have an easier time in the future."
"I'm afraid his family will make a scene against you then," Fu Lan said worriedly.
Fu Hong didn't take it seriously and said, "Let them make a fuss. At worst, my fate with Acheng will be over, and we'll go our separate ways. But if Acheng still wants to continue the relationship, without that troublemaker, I can easily control those two old hags at home."
"It's a pity that only one is missing." Fu Hong thought of Dong Cui, who hadn't gotten involved, and still looked regretful. "If all else fails, I'll have to find another way to get people to come over. Anyway, if any of them make me uncomfortable, I'll make them uncomfortable."
Fu Lan chuckled: "There's really no way around that."
At the table, the most relaxed were Xiao Qinshi, the old principal, and Grandpa Fu.
Xiao Qin just needs to focus on eating.
The old principal and Grandpa Fu sipped their wine, having long forgotten about everything else.
"This wine is really good," Grandpa Fu exclaimed.
"My goddaughter and godson-in-law got this for me. They say it's top-quality aged Shaoxing wine, and drinking it regularly is good for your health," the old principal said.
"Really?" Grandpa Fu's eyes lit up.
"I have two more bottles here, I'll give you one later." The old principal glanced at Grandpa Fu's expression and said knowingly.
Grandpa Fu was still embarrassed: "How could I possibly accept that?"
"It's nothing, just a bottle of wine," the old headmaster said dismissively.
Grandpa Fu was really keen on it, so he shamelessly agreed: "Then I won't stand on ceremony with you..."
While the Qin family was having a lively meal, two people quietly entered the Fu family's house, which was just a wall away.
Once they confirmed that the Fu family had indeed gone to the Qin family next door for dinner, Liu Erxi and Liu Sanchang took advantage of the darkness to climb over the wall and enter the Fu family's house. They then went straight to Fu Lan's room, which Dong Cang had previously told them about.
The tricolor horse is easy to find; it's placed in the corner of the house, and you can see it as soon as you go in.
Those gold bracelets were harder to find; they weren't very big to begin with, so they could be easily hidden in any nook or cranny.
Liu Erxi and Liu Sanchang searched almost the entire house, even prying open the locks on the table drawers, but they still couldn't find it.
Liu Erxi was getting anxious: "Damn it, where did they hide it?" If they couldn't find it, they couldn't dawdle any longer. If they were to trap them in the house, it would be a huge problem.
Liu Sanchang frowned, and with the light of his flashlight, he looked around the room again. His gaze finally fell on the pillow where Fu Lan was sleeping. He picked it up and touched it, but then his hand suddenly stopped.
Liu Erxi immediately sensed something was wrong, looked over, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Liu Sanchang reached into the pillowcase and quickly pulled out a tightly wrapped handkerchief.
Liu Erxi opened it and saw that it was indeed the gold bracelet that Dong Cang had mentioned. It was quite heavy, weighing more than two ounces.
"Alright, kid." He patted Liu Sanchang, stuffed the gold bracelet into his pocket, and then directed Liu Sanchang to carry the tricolor horse and quickly slip away.
Next door, the family had already finished eating. Not knowing how the theft had gone, Grandma Fu and the others didn't rush back. They waited until the moon was high in the sky before returning home with a heavy heart.
"Are you here yet?" Grandma Fu muttered to herself as she entered, but upon seeing Fu Lan's room, which had been ransacked, she instantly switched gears and let out a wailing: "Damn it..."
Grandpa Fu, Fu Lan, and Fu Hong were not prepared and were startled.
The surrounding houses, which had been dark, gradually lit up.
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