There is no way to rush into finding a thief, as the thief won't show up on his own.
No matter how angry the villagers were, they could only go about their business.
After the crowd dispersed, Jiang Huaixu pulled Jiang Zhengmao close to his ear and whispered, "Uncle, ask Brother Erniu and Brother Dacai about what happened last night. The more detailed the better. What did they do before going to bed? Did they wake up after falling asleep... and so on. Ask everything."
Jiang Zhengmao didn't understand why he asked so many detailed questions, but he had a vague guess in his mind, so he called Erniu and Dacai into a room and closed the door.
If it was stolen by an outsider and you can't find the person, just have someone keep watch. If it was stolen by a family member, you must find the person out. After all, it's not just a matter of one or two families, it concerns everyone's efforts and gains.
"Third brother, come with me!"
After Jiang Zhengmao and the other two left, Jiang Huaixu called Jiang Sanlang and waved to him.
With his parents not at home these few days, Jiang Sanlang completely let himself go, running all over the mountains and fields with the half-grown children in the village, so Jiang Huaixu handed the task of planting garlic sprouts to him. He cleaned each cellar, covered it with soil dug from the mountain, and then planted garlic... The person who had just been let go was immediately beaten back to his original form, and Jiang Sanlang was very resentful about it.
"Little sister, Third Brother hasn't finished his work yet, so come and see what's going on." Jiang Sanlang walked reluctantly in front of Jiang Huaixu. Behind him, there were many young boys looking around curiously, as if waiting for him.
"Third brother, do you want to catch this thief?" Jiang Huaixu asked in a low voice.
How could Jiang Sanlang not think about it? He knew exactly how the five-spice powder was ground bit by bit, and the herb called Amomum villosum was very hard and difficult to grind, which was time-consuming and laborious. If it was stolen, it would be like all his hard work was wasted.
"Why not? Half a sack of five-spice powder is worth a lot of money! And it's ground up bit by bit... What? Do you have a solution?"
Jiang Huaixu didn't say much. As he pulled Jiang Sanlang home, he asked, "You get along well with the children in the village. Do you know a lot of things?"
Jiang Sanlang sniffed his frozen nose and straightened his chest. "Of course, there's no one in our village I don't know! I even know the Lin gang very well!"
"Why do you want to know other people's background?" Jiang Huaixu was surprised.
Among those who wanted to fight with the Lin family’s children before, Jiang Sanlang was the main force. Could it be that they are playing together again now?
"Second brother said, knowing yourself and your enemy ensures victory in every battle! Those Lins all came from the northwest. I heard that everything over there is just dirt and it can't compare to the beautiful scenery of our Shili Village. How dare they laugh at us? How ignorant! How ridiculous!"
Jiang Sanlang spoke passionately, so Jiang Huaixu had to abruptly change the subject, "I just want to know what Wang Dacai's character was like in the past. Third brother, can you go and ask him for me?"
After saying this, the two of them also entered their own courtyard.
Jiang Sanlang realized something and asked in a low voice, "It can't be Wang Dacai who did it, right? What's his intention?"
Jiang Huaixu was actually not sure, but he felt that in addition to theft by outsiders, the possibility of embezzlement by the employee could not be ruled out.
It was such a cold winter night, and people from the nearby village came all the way to steal things. It would have been fine if they didn't make any noise, but they only stole half a bag of five-spice powder. They were too cautious.
Lin Bayi was ill, and the group surnamed Lin acted like turtles, not daring to do anything weird again. Fan Da and the others wanted to cooperate with them, so Jiang Huaixu wanted to investigate his own family first.
With so many households, it is inevitable that there will be one or two woodworms. The sooner they are identified, the sooner they can be cleared out.
"We all know Niu Erge's character. He would definitely not do such petty thefts. But we don't know much about Wang Dacai. We need to investigate thoroughly and eliminate the suspicion of these two before we can investigate further."
Hearing this, Jiang Sanlang nodded repeatedly, touched Jiang Huaixu's head and said, "Little sister, you have grown up."
Jiang Huaixu smiled, "Third brother, when will you grow up?"
Jiang Sanlang left in shame and anger.
After Jiang Sanlang left, some children came to Jiang Huaixu's house one after another, both boys and girls. As soon as they entered the house, they surrounded Jiang Huaixu and chattered non-stop.
Liu Ye'er lit the stove, Jiang Fu prepared paper and pen, Jiang Huaixu wrote a few big words on the paper and taught them how to pronounce them.
Everyone sat around the fire, taking turns babbling those words.
As long as Jiang Huaixu was at home, teaching the children to read and write became almost her daily routine. If she had to go to the county town, this job would fall on Jiang Erlang.
After teaching the children to read, Jiang Sanlang ran back to the house.
He placed his red, frozen hands by the stove, shivering as he said, "Little sister, Third Brother and you have brought back a lot of news this time. How are you going to thank me?"
Jiang Huaixu blinked his eyes and said, "One penny, whether you want it or not."
"One penny is one penny, Third Brother is not picky."
Liu Ye'er was confused. "What news are you looking for?"
"that is······"
Jiang Huaixu glanced at the people in the main room and pulled up Jiang Sanlang who was about to speak, "Let's go into the east room and talk."
The four people in the room gathered together and listened to Jiang Sanlang whispering about Wang Dacai.
"Wang Dacai is the youngest in the family. He's almost twenty, but he's still unmarried. They say it's because he's idle all day and girls don't like him. His parents dote on him and don't mind scolding him even when he makes mistakes. After being robbed by bandits and fleeing famine, Wang Dacai's bad habits are said to have improved a lot. His parents praise him to everyone they meet and are always pestering the village chief to find him a job. What's more, they're interested in marrying him to someone with the surname Jiang! Tietou's mother mentioned it!"
Jiang Huaixu glanced at Jiang Sanlang and asked, "Is that all?"
"That's all! That's all!" Jiang Sanlang emphasized. "The people I hang out with are all boys. Why would they care about this kind of thing? Doesn't the fact that I can find out this much prove that I'm popular?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Jiang Huaixu nodded perfunctorily, "Take your brothers and occupy the cellar!"
Jiang Sanlang stretched out his hand and said, "One penny."
"I'll keep it for you." Jiang Huaixu said.
Jiang Sanlang was stunned, and suddenly realized that the expression on Jiang Huaixu's face when he said this was exactly the same as the expression on A Niang's face when she asked him for money. He shook his head violently, impossible!
As soon as Jiang Sanlang left, Jiang Zhengmao arrived.
Liu Ye'er and Jiang Fu were confused after hearing this. They thought that the village chief was coming to discuss something important with Jiang Huaixu, so they wanted to leave.
"No need to leave, it's not a big deal."
Jiang Zhengmao said seriously, "It's a big deal. Xu girl, do you think it was Niu Er or Dacai who stole it?"
"First, tell me in detail what you have learned from them."
Jiang Zhengmao then recounted everything the two had done. Jiang Huaixu listened carefully before asking, "Brother Niu Er woke up once and found Wang Dacai had left the house? Are you sure about that?"
"Niu Er told me this in private. He was confused at the time and wasn't sure. He didn't dare ask when it happened the next day. Dacai thought it was someone surnamed Lin who stole the five-spice powder out of revenge."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com