Bai Jiaojiao and Lao Xu went to find Zheng Xu. Zheng Xu was on the field when he saw the two on the ridge and rushed over in a few quick steps: "What happened? Did something happen in the pigsty?"
When Zheng Xu saw the two of them together in a hurry, he instinctively felt that something had happened at the pigsty.
Old Xu, whose legs weren't good, walked quickly this time: "Captain, two of our piglets went missing last night, and we've been looking for them all morning without success!"
The two piglets are the property of the commune, and the higher-ups are paying close attention to pig farming in Shili Village. Any mishap would be unacceptable.
Upon hearing this, Zheng Xu said, "Old Xu, what's wrong with you? Don't you live right next to the pigsty?"
Old Xu said with a bitter face, "Captain, I have let the organization down."
Zheng Xu let out a deep breath; there was no point in saying anything now.
Stealing piglets is simply a matter of taking them home to eat or to sell. If it's for eating, the piglets aren't small, and a family probably couldn't finish them in one night. If they were all eaten, they'd get diarrhea so badly their faces would turn green.
Moreover, those who would take such a risk as stealing pigs are usually after money, most likely to steal them to sell, and they probably can't be found now.
But the thief needs to be found out, otherwise who will take responsibility?
Zheng Xu said fiercely, "Investigate! Search every inch of Shili Village today, and find the pig thief!"
Everyone immediately stopped working and a meeting was held.
In the past, people could take leave from large meetings, but now, apart from those who are bedridden, even a baby who has just learned to talk has to be brought over.
Most of the villagers were puzzled; it was almost lunchtime, what kind of meeting was this?
Some well-informed people knew that the brigade's pigs had gone missing.
The audience below the stage was bustling with noise, discussing the scene with a mix of excitement, surprise, and speculation. Zheng Xu, watching from the stage, couldn't discern anything from their expressions.
"Hey, hey!" Zheng Xu tested the loudspeaker to quiet everyone down. "Everyone, stop talking. I called you all here today because of the piglets that went missing from our commune. Just last night, two piglets went missing from the pigpen. We can't pinpoint the exact time, but we're guessing that someone stole them while the movie was playing. Now listen to me. Anyone who didn't see the whole movie last night, step forward. And anyone who did, find a partner to vouch for each other. Okay, let's begin. Those who didn't see the movie, step forward."
The film crew only shows movies in Hushan Town once every month or so, and it takes several months for them to get a chance to show movies in Shili Village. Nowadays, everyone's entertainment life is very limited. Except for those who are really sick and afraid of the cold, almost everyone goes out to watch movies.
But Shili Village has a large population, and more than twenty people stood up. They were all upright and had nothing to hide, so they started talking about what they had been doing instead of going to the movies.
"Captain, you know that my dad needs someone to stay at home all the time."
“I’m at home taking care of the kids. It wouldn’t be worth it if they got cold in this freezing weather.”
“My baby hasn’t stopped breastfeeding yet, and he might get hungry or need to poop at any time, so I didn’t go.”
“My brother-in-law came over last night, and our whole family is at home.”
"......"
Everyone chimed in with their own reasons, and Zheng Xu couldn't figure out who it was for the time being.
His gaze involuntarily fell upon Bai Jiaojiao.
Bai Jiaojiao shook her head at Zheng Xu.
She couldn't solve everything, and perhaps her guess was wrong; the pig thief didn't steal the pig while the movie was playing.
That would be too broad a scope.
Zheng Xu glanced at Li Shiqing.
Li Shiqing began to feel a surge of anger, and after frowning for a long time, he finally spoke: "Who heard any noise last night? Anyone with a clue can come forward and speak!"
He couldn't believe it. With so many people and so many eyes in Shili Village, how could they not find a single clue?
But the villagers had no idea what clues were. Everyone was very active in participating, but what they said were things like whose cat started meowing in the dead of winter, who looked listless when they went to work in the morning and might have been up to no good last night, two people who went into the woods after watching a movie, and many others who had some grudges and wanted to use them to annoy each other.
Zheng Xu was already anxious, and when he heard the useless clues that everyone was providing, his head started spinning.
He yelled, "Alright, quiet down!"
Zheng Xu took a deep breath and asked the young couple who had been pointed out by a child to have gone into the grove, "You two went home late, did you run into anyone on your way home?"
The young couple had been dating behind their families' backs and hadn't even announced it publicly when a sharp-eyed kid spotted them. They were already incredibly embarrassed.
But dating isn't illegal, so Zheng Xu can't worry about that now.
"No, we didn't see anything."
The young man said.
Zheng Xu was completely at a loss, and the meeting was going nowhere.
"Bai Shibao, where did you go last night?"
After the meeting, everyone went home for dinner. As soon as the gate was locked, Bai Shihai's face immediately fell.
Bai Shibao clearly didn't go to the movies with them last night, but he didn't speak up today.
They were giving Bai Shibao face, and at the same time, they believed he wouldn't do such a thing and didn't want to cause trouble for no reason. But Bai Shihai had to find out exactly what happened last night.
"No, it's nothing. Brother, you don't suspect that I stole the pigs, do you? With our family's current situation, why would I take that risk? Two piglets are only worth a few dollars."
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