Xu Zi frowned and asked, "It's been so many years since there have been any thieves. How come they've reappeared? And last night no less. I don't even know if the thief came near my house. I chatted with Yu Jiu until very late last night and told her a lot of Yu Jiu's secrets. However, when they talked about important things, they lowered their voices and whispered in each other's ears. They shouldn't have been able to hear us from outside."
Even thieves have been to this area, but they were with the lights on and whispering, so they shouldn't have dared to get that close.
"Several households had their belongings stolen, some more and some less. Luckily, nothing was stolen from my house. Last night, when I got up to use the bathroom, I heard some noise, but I thought it was just a cat or dog and didn't pay attention. Now that I think about it, I realize how scary it was. I'm so glad I got up last night, otherwise my things probably would have been stolen too!"
The man who came was overjoyed. He had come to warn his neighbor that a kitchen cabinet had been stolen. It contained food, oil, salt, and some vegetables. The cabinet was locked, but the kitchen door was unlocked. Who would have thought that the thief probably didn't know how to pick locks, so he simply carried the whole cabinet away. The neighbor was shocked when he woke up in the morning to find the cabinet missing.
"It's unlikely that a thief could take the cabinet away quietly without alerting anyone. It's probably a gang. Wait a moment, I'll go wash my face and come with you right away."
Xu Zijiang rubbed his face. He turned around and found that little An'an had also woken up and was standing at the door of her room, yawning sleepily. When she saw Xu Zijiang turn back, she ran over and hugged his leg.
"Dad, where are you going? I want to go with you."
She made her request in a babyish voice. At this time, her mother was probably still asleep, so of course she wanted to seize the opportunity to go out and play with her father.
"Okay, An'an, hurry up and brush your teeth and wash your face. Daddy's going to catch the thief."
Xu Zi took away An An's toothbrush and towel, letting her fend for herself. An An was very well-behaved and quick. She had already learned to brush her teeth and wash her face by herself. She took the toothbrush and carefully brushed her little teeth. Then she carefully wet the towel and wiped her face clean. Then she was fully awake, looking sunny and energetic.
"Okay, let's go, Dad, let's catch the thief!"
"Okay, let's go!"
Xu Zijiang was definitely faster at washing up than An'an. He took advantage of this time to get some pastries for An'an to have for breakfast. There was no time to cook breakfast now, so he just let her have a quick meal.
Xu Zi picked An An up, closed the door, and followed the uncle to the victim's house.
"Captain, Captain, you've finally come! All my grain has been stolen! My cupboard! My oil, which I saved up with great difficulty! My sugar is in there too!"
Upon seeing Xu Zijiang arrive, the woman immediately sat down on the ground, wailing and crying for the lost food and other items in her cupboard. The food in the cupboard was newly replenished; it contained over 20 jin (approximately 10 kg), enough to feed her entire family for several days, but it had all been stolen.
There were no thieves in their team at all. She locked her kitchen cabinets not to keep out outside thieves, but to keep out thieves inside the house. She was afraid that some clueless person in the house would secretly eat the food, so she thought that locking the cabinets would make her safe. Who knew that a thief like this would come and carry all her cabinets away? Damn it!
"You made such a big commotion carrying the cabinets away, didn't you even notice?"
Xu Zijiang came into the kitchen and took a look. The pots and pans were still there, but the cabinet space was empty, which was quite obvious.
"No, I'm a very heavy sleeper. I couldn't hear anything. The youngest in the family is small, and the oldest is old. My husband was exhausted from working yesterday and is sleeping even more soundly than me. None of us in the family are any good. Otherwise, my cupboard wouldn't have been taken away. My cupboard, my food, my oil..."
Every time the woman thought about it, she would beat her chest and stamp her feet, crying miserably.
However, when Xu Zi arrived, he couldn't find any clues. There were only a few footprints in the yard. In the kitchen, because many people were coming and going, the thief's footprints had long been mixed with everyone else's and were indistinguishable.
"Alright, I understand. I'll go check on the other people's houses."
Xu Zijiang then carried An'an to other people's houses to see if they could find any clues. A total of 8 houses were burglarized last night. Only one family lost money. The others lost some odds and ends, such as chickens, eggs, and more than 10 kilograms of grain. Compared to the money, the loss was not particularly big, but it was still painful for everyone.
"Captain, you must catch the thief! What if he's not satisfied with this and comes back to steal from our team again? Does he really think our team is easy to bully?"
Everyone was indignant, fearing that they would be the ones being robbed next time.
"I know, I'll try my best. Let's have a meeting first. I'd like to remind everyone to be vigilant and lock the doors and windows of your home at night and when you go out during the day."
Xu Zijiang's furrowed brows never left his face.
"Dad, don't frown. You'll get old, and then Mom won't think you're pretty anymore."
As little An'an ate a crab roe pastry, she spoke in her childish voice, and then reached out her other little hand to smooth out Xu Zijiang's furrowed brow.
"Even you know that your mother is attracted to your father's good looks."
Xu Zijiang chuckled and leaned over to bite off half of the crab roe pastry in An'an's hand.
"Ahhhhh, I only have this little bit left, Dad! How come your mouth is bigger than a bucket?!"
Looking at the pitiful little crab roe pastry left in her hand, little An'an couldn't help but pout and complain to her dad.
"Don't talk nonsense. Whose mouth is as big as a bucket? You can't eat that much. Just eat a little to fill your stomach. Dad will go back and cook you breakfast later."
Xu Zijiang coaxed her.
"snort."
An'an is angry. She ate the last bite of the crab roe pastry, then puffed out her chubby little belly, put her hands in her pockets, and looked sulky. So cute!
"When we get back, Dad will make you meat sauce noodles, but without any vegetables."
Xu Zijiang accurately pinpointed An'an's weakness, and An'an's clear and beautiful eyes immediately lit up. She hugged Xu Zijiang's neck and said crisply.
"Yes, yes, Dad, you're so good!"
Upon hearing that he didn't need to eat vegetables, Xu Zijiang became the best dad in the world for little An'an once again.
"Then wait for Dad to hold a short meeting with everyone, it will be ready soon."
"OK."
Little An'an sat obediently in Xu Zijiang's lap, her chin resting on her hand as she looked at everyone. Her eyes were bright and lively, and her hair was styled in two little braids. She was as white as snow, like a soft and adorable little dumpling. Xu Zijiang held a brief 15-minute meeting, emphasizing that everyone should be vigilant, remember to lock their doors when leaving home, and lock their doors and windows at night as well. He also stressed the importance of being aware of outsiders in the village and asked if anyone had seen any other outsiders in the past two days.
However, the harvest was minimal. Everyone said they hadn't seen any outsiders come by, meaning they hadn't scouted the area in the past two days and had acted directly. But that shouldn't be the case. To steal from so many places, one usually stakes out in advance and plans the route, not act on a whim.
"Okay, that's all for now. Everyone, remember to take care of yourselves. I'll let you know if there's any news."
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