Yu Qiuying placed mousetraps around the courtyard wall for several days, but nothing happened.
However, it was Zhou Qiming next door who had been coming and going with two unfamiliar boys these past two days that caught her attention. Yesterday afternoon, she even saw the three of them loitering outside her yard, peeking around suspiciously, as if they were up to something.
She kept an eye on things and told Zhou Cailian and the other two to keep an eye on Zhou Qiming's movements in the next few days.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiahong was furious. "That bastard who was born of a mother but not raised by one, if he dares to do anything bad to our family, I'll beat him to death!"
"Don't be reckless. There are three of them. If they really fight, you'll be the one who gets beaten up. I've told you so many times, think things through before you act. Don't just rush in blindly. If we catch them doing something bad, we'll just go to the police station and find the police." Yu Qiuying glared at her youngest son, annoyed. This kid's impulsive and reckless nature needed to be changed. In her previous life, it was because of this nature that tragedy occurred, and she ended up in a bad situation at a young age.
She was truly exasperated. She had two sons. The older one was easily influenced, lacked his own opinions, and dared not stand up for himself when things went wrong. The younger one was too brainless, too reckless, and prone to impulsiveness. Neither of them was easy to manage.
After glaring at Zhou Jiahong, Yu Qiuying gave Zhou Jiadong a disdainful look.
Zhou Jiadong, who met Yu Qiuying's gaze: "..."
He shrank back, "Mom, why are you looking at me like that? I haven't upset you lately..."
Yu Qiuying was furious at his behavior. No wonder he was so easily manipulated by Zhong Xiaolan in his past life. He was hopeless, no wonder he took after someone else.
Yu Qiuying kept an eye on him for a few days, but then she didn't see the two boys come to the village anymore. She thought she was just overthinking it, so she stopped paying attention to Zhou Qiming.
Zhou Qiliang had never stopped Zhou Jiahong, nor did he know what Zhou Jiahong was doing in the county town. He would come back every few days, stay at home for a few days, and then go to the city.
However, as long as he doesn't cause trouble for Zhou Jiahong, Yu Qiuying doesn't care what he does in the county town. Whether he steals or robs, it's none of her business. Just don't provoke her.
After entering the twelfth lunar month, there were two rain and snow showers, and everyone finally had a little more free time.
After the school winter vacation started, the village became lively. Children of all ages ran around in groups, chasing and playing, laughing and having fun, or finding an open space to play games such as hopscotch, jump rope, shuttlecock kicking, beanbag toss, jacks, marbles, and hide-and-seek. The whole village seemed to come alive all at once.
On the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, the village announced that the ponds would be drained and the fish distributed. After breakfast, almost the entire family went to the fishponds.
After having breakfast, Yu Qiuying and her family went out. The village has three large fishponds, which are especially lively at this time of year.
It's been a long time since I've seen such a lively scene. Yu Qiuying remembers that in her previous life, the village's fishpond was contracted out in 2002. After that, the pond was drained every year before the Spring Festival, and the villagers had to pay money to buy fish.
"Mom, let's make sauerkraut fish tonight. I didn't get enough of the sauerkraut fish last time, so make an extra one tonight." Zhou Jiahong had been thinking about sauerkraut fish ever since he had it last time. Today, the pond was drained and the fish were distributed according to the number of people, so his family of five would get quite a lot.
Yu Qiuying breathed on her palm and said, "Okay, you can eat your fill tonight."
While everyone was excitedly waiting to catch fish, Zhou Qiming, along with Tao Cong and Zhu Luhai, sneaked into his house.
Zhou Qiming went to the kitchen, took out an enamel basin, and placed it under the courtyard wall. He whispered, "Cong-ge, Hai-ge, you'd better hurry up. If anyone comes back, I'll knock on this basin. If you hear the sound, come back immediately."
This was the plan they had just come up with: Tao Cong and Zhu Luhai would go in to get the money, while Zhou Qiming would stand guard outside the gate. If anyone from next door came back, or if Zhou Qiming's parents came back, Zhou Qiming would quickly run in and bang on the enamel basin. Tao Cong and Zhu Luhai would then be able to retreat immediately upon hearing the sound.
"Are you sure no one's home next door?" Tao Cong peeked into the house and asked, a little worried.
Zhou Qiming nodded with certainty, "No one is home. I saw them all leave with my own eyes. Didn't you just see that their gate was locked?"
Upon learning yesterday that the pond was to be drained today, Zhou Qiming ran to tell Tao Cong and Zhu Luhai. The three of them had previously wanted to find an opportunity to go to the neighbor's house to see if they could make some money, but at that time, there was always someone at the neighbor's house during the day. They kept an eye on it for a few days, but seeing that there was no opportunity, they had no choice but to give up reluctantly.
Now that they've caught the whole family out of the house, none of the three of them want to let this opportunity slip by. It's almost Chinese New Year, and they're just wondering where to get some money to spend.
Once they confirmed that no one was home next door, Tao Cong and Zhu Luhai stopped dawdling. They told Zhou Qiming to keep watch outside, and then the two of them skillfully climbed over the wall.
Neither of them had done this before, and the old-fashioned lock was no problem for them. With a thin wire, they opened the lock in no time.
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