Chapter 33 Catching a Thief
"This is a really great place. We'll come back next time when we have time."
Usually they dig wild vegetables in a small piece of mountain land near the alley. Many people go there to dig, so the harvest is not that great.
"The mushrooms here are so big. Let my husband Qian make some chicken and mushroom stew when I get home."
Yu Afen's husband, Qian Baozhu, is a master chef in a state-owned restaurant. He is very skilled in cooking and usually, Chef Qian is the one who prepares some of the delicious dishes at home.
"Afen, I really envy you. You have good taste in finding a man who can cook."
Zhang Dazui’s cooking skills are not very good, but she is happy as long as the family can have enough food. Anyway, her husband Zhou Jianguo doesn’t dare to say a word.
"When you have time, ask your old Zhou to come and learn from Lao Qian."
"This shepherd's purse is also very tender. When I get back, I'll buy some lean meat and chop it up to make dumplings. Old Xie and Xiaotong will definitely like it."
"By the way, the pheasant is cooked!"
"Hurry up!"
A few people dug up the pile of soil, revealing a pheasant wrapped in leaves. The moment they tore open the leaves, the smell was so fragrant!
Hearing that they could finally eat pheasant, Lin Xiaotong and Hu Tou instantly woke up, and their two pairs of round eyes stared at the roast chicken.
Although Lin Xiaotong beat the pheasant to death with a stick, Hu Tou was also present.
Gao Xiulan did not hide any of the food and left a portion for Lao Xie, wrapping it in leaves and taking it back later. She divided the rest of the pheasant among them, and each person could get several pieces.
The skin of the pheasant is golden after baking. This pheasant is a bit fat and becomes oily after baking. When you tear open the tender chicken meat, there is still juice inside. It is very satisfying to take a bite.
Several people were feasting on the roasted chicken. The little tiger head didn't even raise his head while eating. The corners of his mouth were covered with oil, and he couldn't wait to chew and eat all the crispy bones.
Lin Xiaotong gnawed on the big chicken leg and thought the chicken was really delicious.
“This trip was not in vain!”
Several people expressed the same thoughts in their hearts.
After eating, everyone dug a hole and buried the chicken bones, wiped their hands with leaves, went to the small pond, dipped their handkerchiefs in water, and took pictures to wash the oil off the corners of their mouths.
"Grandma, this chicken is so delicious!"
After washing his mouth, Hu Tou touched his bulging belly with his little hand and burped after speaking.
“Hahahahahahahahahaha.”
After eating and resting, it was time to hit the road. Each family put mushrooms on top of the wild vegetables, tied the snakeskin bags tightly with belts, and tied them to the back of the bicycles.
The car going back was full, so Lin Xiaotong rode a bike with a sack on it, Zhang Dazui carried Hu Tou and the sack and left first, while Gao Xiulan and Yu Afen took the bus back.
Gao Xiulan and Yu Afen walked empty-handed for about twenty minutes and got on a bus at a bus stop.
There were not many people on the bus when they got on, so the two of them found seats side by side in the middle and sat down.
The two calculated that the bus would take two hours to get home, so they closed their eyes, leaned back on the chairs and fell asleep.
"Where are your hands?"
"How can you talk like that, kid? Who are you calling a thief?"
"My wallet!"
"There's a thief! Catch the thief!"
When the bus was halfway through its journey, there was a commotion in the back row of passengers, which became increasingly louder. Gao Xiulan and Yu Afen were both woken up and looked back.
A young girl was grabbed by her bag by an old lady and the two were pushing each other.
Next to the old lady stood a little boy with a runny nose, his cunning eyes fixed on the shoulder bag tightly held in the young girl's hand.
"Xiu Lan, isn't this Master Xia's daughter, Xia Yue?"
Yu Afen looked carefully at the young girl who was being held tightly by the old lady and spoke hesitantly.
"Ah! Really? I was wondering why he looked so familiar."
"Let's go! Let's go to the back and take a look."
The old lady in the back seat was still talking loudly and relentlessly.
"Isn't it just a child checking to see if there's candy in your bag? Why is it so fussy?"
"What are you doing? What's going on? You're making so much noise in the car."
"Hey, what are you looking at? I'm talking about you. What do you mean by just looking at it? You go to the credit union and ask them to show you the money you deposited. So they just showed it to you?"
"When you're old and your brain isn't working as well, don't run around."
Gao Xiulan used her big hands to clear the way for the crowd of onlookers, and she stepped forward and pushed the aggressive old lady out with her butt.
Without waiting for her to react, Gao Xiulan's mouth fired off a few words like a machine gun, not giving the old lady a chance to interrupt.
"What's it to you? You're just meddling in other people's business. Get out of here!"
The old lady was so angry that she pointed at Gao Xiulan who appeared out of nowhere with one finger, and her mouth was huffing with anger, looking like she was about to stick out her butt in the next second.
"Stay away from me, everyone is watching. I didn't touch her, don't hit me like a shameless scammer!"
Gao Xiulan learned this word from Lin Xiaotong. As she said it, she reached out and pulled the frightened Xia Yue out of the crowd, leaving the old lady behind and spitting out foul language.
Xia Yue saw that the weather was good today, so she went to the bookstore to buy some paint after get off work. Unexpectedly, when she got on the bus, an old lady with a child got on.
Seeing an old man and a child with no place to sit, he quickly stood up and gave them his seat, and stood next to them.
It was originally intended to be a good deed, but who would have thought that the little boy would see candy in Xia Yue's bag and reach into it.
The people around couldn't stand it anymore and quietly reminded Xia Yue, but unexpectedly the old lady started scolding Xia Yue.
After listening to this, Gao Xiulan and Yu Afen looked at each other and thought, "What is going on?"
Xia Yue was a young woman who had just moved to Beijing. Her mother, Yang Shujuan, usually spoke softly, so she had never seen such a scene before.
"Aunts, thank you so much for what you did just now!"
I don’t usually have much contact with Gao Xiulan and Yu Afen, but I didn’t expect to be rescued by my enthusiastic neighbors today.
"You are so young and thin-skinned, how can you win against her?"
Gao Xiulan waved her hand and didn't take it seriously.
"Next time you meet someone like this, stay away from him."
Yu Afen patted Xia Yue's hand and said.
She had encountered this kind of thing when she was young, and it was very upsetting.
Some old people are just bad people who have grown old.
The three of them finally arrived at the station and walked for another ten minutes before reaching the Tianshuijing compound.
Gao Xiulan saw Lin Xiaotong and Hu Tou waiting at the door from a distance.
Zhang Dazui was cooking at home. When Lin Xiaotong saw Gao Xiulan and the others coming back, she stood up and waved vigorously.
"Mom, aunt, you are back."
When they got home, it was almost time for dinner. The children who usually played at the entrance of the alley had all gone back home to their mothers.
When Diao Yulian saw Gao Xiulan and Yu Afen coming back, followed by Xia Yue, the daughter of Master Xia, her eyes rolled and her lips moved.
"Hey! Gao Xiulan, why are you back so late? Your husband Xie has to cook dinner for you."
Gao Xiulan and Yu Afen were both exhausted after a long day and really didn't want to bother with this troublemaker.
The two of them simply pretended not to see Diao Yulian, ignored her, and went back home.
Seeing that no one paid attention to her, Diao Yulian stomped her feet in anger and turned around to go into the house.
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