When Aunt Zhang woke up, she instinctively reached into the hole in the kang (a heated brick bed) to touch where she had hidden her treasure, but found nothing. A sudden realization jolted her awake.
After searching the house thoroughly countless times and confirming that the item was missing, Aunt Zhang let out a deafening scream!
Lu Mingcai, who had just returned from sneaking a snack and had only fallen asleep briefly, was woken up and scolded unhappily, "What are you yelling about so early in the morning? Can't a person get any sleep?"
Thinking of the old woman who came back from outside the day before yesterday covered in excrement and urine, the smell of which made people dizzy and nauseous, Lu Mingcai felt disgusted.
They have no ability but still insist on trying to pull the tiger's tail. They've been taught a lesson so many times but they still don't learn their lesson. They're hopeless!
Aunt Zhang, completely oblivious to Lu Mingcai's gaze, cried out, "We've been robbed, old man! Our house has been robbed! All the things you gave me are gone, stolen! Waaah... my savings of silver dollars and gold... um..."
Lu Mingcai swiftly covered Aunt Zhang's mouth, looked around, and warned in a low, menacing voice, "Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting? Do you want to go to jail?"
Aunt Zhang shuddered and wisely swallowed her words, but the thought of her treasured possessions accumulated over many years brought her grief: "Old man, what are we going to do! That bastard emptied our savings!"
Fortunately, the place where she hid the money and tickets was different from the place where she kept her treasures; the thirty-odd yuan in cash and some tickets at home were still there.
But what good is this little bit of money and tickets?
"It's the Huo family! It must have been them! I'm going to find them. If they don't give me an explanation today, I'll call the police and have them thrown in jail!"
After saying that, Aunt Zhang rolled up her sleeves and prepared to go to the Huo family.
Lu Mingcai grabbed the dim-witted, troublesome old woman and pulled her back, saying fiercely, "You stay put! What are you going to say when you go to the Huo family? Those things can't be brought to light. You think you can put a member of the Huo family in jail? Without any evidence, don't go in there yourself!"
Aunt Zhang was at a loss for what to do, and looked at Lu Mingcai with heartache: "What should I do? Are we just going to swallow this bitter pill?"
Lu Mingcai frowned deeply.
He also suspected that the Huo family was responsible, but what good was suspicion? The police needed evidence!
Moreover, given the Huo family's current reputation in the village, even if they said it, no one would believe them!
"What else can you do but swallow this bitter pill?" Lu Mingcai said unhappily, "How many times have I told you to put those things away properly and hide them well? Why don't you listen!"
Aunt Zhang said weakly, "I was thinking of hiding in the kang (heated brick bed) hole, since it's closest to me, so I could keep an eye on things..."
Thinking of her treasures, Aunt Zhang was overcome with grief. "This is going to kill me! Without those things, how will I live? Waaah... Old man, you have to stand up for me! We can't just swallow this injustice like this, waaah... That Huo family is too much! They're trying to cut off our livelihood..."
Annoyed by Aunt Zhang's crying, Lu Mingcai looked at the empty kang (heated brick bed) and suddenly his eyelids twitched. Ignoring his wife's wailing and lamenting, he slipped on his shoes and ran outside.
When he arrived at the dilapidated temple, his heart sank, and he sat down heavily on the ground.
That's all!
They're all gone!
All the treasures he hid here are gone!
His security for the rest of his life is gone!
It's all gone!
Lu Mingcai was so angry that he almost fainted.
When he recovered and started walking home, he had been freezing in the dilapidated temple for half a day, and his legs were so weak that he almost fell several times.
He sat at home for a whole day, and only on the second day did he muster his energy, take a bottle of wine and six eggs from home, and go to the Huo family's old house with a basket.
Ye Weiwei happened to be here today with her three children. She had packed up most of her things, and gave away many of the things she couldn't take with her to a few good neighbors. She also gave the vegetables from her garden to Aunt Zhou and Zhao Yue'e and a few other families, and asked them to help look after the house.
Aunt Zhou and the others readily agreed.
"No vegetable garden in this village is better managed than yours. The vegetables grown in your garden taste better than others. I've been envious for a long time. Many people in the village have asked me to help them save vegetable seeds from your garden."
Especially in Ye Zhiqing's large vegetable garden, many of the seeds were sourced from the city. The vegetables that grew were fresh and delicious. The villagers benefited from this and got their own seeds. Not only did they have a lot of new flavors added to their family dinner tables, but the watermelon seeds and cantaloupe seeds were in high demand and everyone in the village was looking forward to them.
Aunt Lü and Zhao Dabao's mother were also very happy, and promised that they would take good care of the house and make sure it was exactly the same when they left and when they came back, so that no one would ruin it.
Aunt Li was mostly filled with envy and admiration. She had learned a lot about Ye Weiwei and Liu Guilan from her husband, and she also knew that Huo Xiao was the biological son of the young lady who used to work for Liu Guilan. She admired Liu Guilan for raising other people's children as if they were her own and nurturing them into successful individuals.
Honestly, if this had happened to her, she certainly wouldn't have been as selfless as Liu Guilan in raising Huo Xiao so well.
So, her old man is right. People like Liu Guilan were considered loyal and righteous in ancient times, and their stories would be celebrated. If you don't befriend someone like that, then who else in this world is worth befriending?
Moreover, Ye Weiwei generously donated two thousand yuan to help build a primary school in the village. Not only is their village's advanced status this year guaranteed, but now when her husband goes to meetings in town, he walks with his head held high, making countless villages around them green with envy!
Only the second son's family is blind; they can't tell right from wrong and keep walking into the line of fire!
Even those who court death wouldn't be this eager to do it.
Just as she was complaining about the second son's family, Aunt Li looked up and saw the second son, Lu Mingcai, standing at the Huo family's gate with a basket in his hand.
When Lu Mingcai saw the Huo family's courtyard full of people, all praising and flattering the Huo family, and even the village chief's family, accountant Wu's family, and brigade leader's family were touching the Huo family's dirty feet, he couldn't help but feel a sense of resentment and bitterness.
Back when he was the brigade leader, these people never fawned over him like this!
Seeing that Lu Mingcai's eyes were not right, Aunt Li was afraid that he would say something unpleasant again, which would not only deepen the feud between the two families, but also involve her old man. She quickly stepped forward and said, "Second Uncle, what are you doing here?"
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