Chapter 72 Chapter 72 Catching a thief late at night.
Zhong Yan's words made the adults around him laugh.
Mu Mian also smiled. Although she was very grateful for her cousin's blind trust, she really couldn't do it.
Mu Mian whispered, "I couldn't catch that wild yellow sheep. It ran away in the blink of an eye. I saw sheep moving around nearby a few days ago, so I dug a few pits and caught them."
Mu Mian said this as he rummaged through the bag.
Comrade Liu Shuangcui packed the things in two bags.
Mu Mian picked up the one on the left and handed it to Mu Chunfen, "Second aunt, take these lamb chops and fish back to give to Sister Lingxiu for nourishment."
Su Zhengyang's wife is Zhuang Lingxiu. She is now nine months pregnant and only has about a month left to give birth.
Zhao Meihua turned her head and added, "It's already marinated, don't add salt when cooking."
Mu Chunfen smiled and said, "This fish is not small."
Mu Mian: "The river was flooded a few days ago, and everyone caught a lot."
Zhong Yan looked envious, "We are too far from the river. By the time we got there, all the fish had been caught by the people from the next big team. My father and I only caught a few small fish."
Mu Mian: "Walking for an hour, eating fish for two minutes, right?"
Zhong Yan had a look on his face that said, "Sister Mian Ya, you understand me so well." "It won't even take two minutes. I finish one by one in two seconds."
Zhong Tian: "When you open your big mouth, everything you eat is gone in two seconds."
Zhong Yan sighed, "I think I swallowed it too fast. I can't taste it. I will chew it slowly next time!"
That serious and silly look made the adults laugh.
Mu Dongxue hissed and covered her waist with her hands.
Zhong Zhimiao raised his hand to support him, "Don't move, the doctor told you to lie down well."
Mu Dongxue sighed, "I think I'm going to get moldy."
Zhao Meihua: "Don't be so startled next time. Be more careful on rainy days. This time the fall was minor. If it was more serious, I'll see what you would do. Someone in the team was paralyzed after falling before. You know that!"
Zhong Yan said in a serious tone, "That's right, she's grown up, but she's still a worry to me. Grandma, please talk to mom."
Mu Dongxue narrowed her eyes and just said "Hey", but she just moved slightly and her waist was strained again.
Zhong Zhimiao glared at his son and said, "Why are you arguing with your mother at this time?"
Zhong Yan scratched his head.
Zhao Meihua instructed the children, "Don't stand here, Tianya, take your brother and sister back and pick up the meat. We didn't put much salt in it when we marinated it.
, it can’t hold up well, so I just made it and ate it today. ”
"Old Two, you should go back too. Zhi Miao and I are here."
Mu Chunfen thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then tonight..."
Before she could finish her words, Zhao Meihua interrupted her, "We won't need you at night. You should take care of Lingxiu, who has such a big belly. I'll be here at night."
As soon as the old lady finished speaking, Zhong Zhimiao immediately said, "I can be alone at night. Mom, you can come during the day. We can switch shifts tomorrow morning."
Zhao Meihua thought about it and said, "That's fine."
While the adults were discussing it, Mu Mian had already left the ward with Zhong Tian and Zhong Yan, carrying the meat.
Mu Chunfen and her family lived in Heping Commune. Her husband Su Maoshi was injured and retired, and got a clerical job.
He is now the director of the logistics department of the Heping Commune Food Factory, and his whole family lives in the staff building of the food factory.
In recent years, Mu Mian has eaten a lot of canned biscuits that her second aunt brought her during festivals.
In comparison, Mu Dongxue's family conditions were slightly worse. They did not live in the commune, but in the Shahe Brigade below.
Zhong Zhimiao has been educated before and is also very motivated. He is now the accountant of Shahe Brigade.
The couple have few children, only Zhong Tian and Zhong Yan, so their expenses are not particularly high.
Another thing is that Zhong Tian is grown up now. After graduating from junior high school, he worked as a scorekeeper in the Shahe Brigade and could earn a lot of work points on weekdays.
Although the overall conditions are not as good as Mu Ergu's family, it is already quite good in the team.
When the three siblings came out of the hospital, Zhong Yan saw Mu Mian's bicycle parked at the door and asked, "Are you going to take the bicycle away?"
Mu Mian: "Just ride it away. It's safer to leave it indoors than outside the hospital."
Shahe Brigade is very close to Heping Commune, and it takes about half an hour to get there if you walk slowly.
Zhong Yan walked to the front of the bicycle first, "How do I sit? Should I sit on the front horizontal bar?"
Mu Mian silently glanced at his cousin who was half a head taller than him, and patted Zhong Yan's shoulder seriously, with a deep look on his face, "Old Yan."
Zhong Yan was also a lively person, he immediately took up the role and patted Mu Mian on the shoulder, "Old Mian, what's wrong?"
Mu Mian: "Do you have any misunderstanding about me?"
Zhong Yan opened his eyes wide, full of doubts, "Ah?"
Mu Mian stretched out his hand and pointed between their foreheads, "You sit forward and block me completely. I won't be able to see anything then, and I will definitely lead you into a ditch."
Zhong Yan scratched his head, looking as if he had just realized something, "Yeah."
Zhong Tian was amused by her stupid brother, "Are you stupid?"
Zhong Yan chuckled, "I just subconsciously think that our sister Mian Ya can do anything."
Mu Mian: "Thank you for thinking so highly of me."
Before, I thought she could catch a wild sheep with her legs.
Now I actually feel that with her small body she can be like her father and brother, carrying one child behind her and another in her arms in front.
She really couldn't do it. She couldn't hold her cousin, who was older than her, in her arms.
Zhong Dazhi Yan said proudly, "Hey, we're siblings, you're welcome."
Zhong Tian put her big hand on the back of her brother's neck and said, "Don't stand here. Go back. Mian Ya and I will go back to clean up the house first."
Zhong Yan: "Yes, yes, yes."
Next to her, Mu Mian supported her bicycle. She couldn't put both feet on the ground yet, so she could only support herself with one foot.
Mu Mian turned his head and took a look, "Sister Xiaotian, please hold me tight."
Zhong Tian: "Okay, okay."
When Mu Mian came to Heping Commune in the past few years, she lived in the homes of her second and third aunts, and she remembered the way to Shahe Brigade clearly.
It was close and the road was easy to walk on, so the two sisters arrived in no time.
Zhong Tian took Mu Mian into her room first, "Xiao Mian, will you sleep with me tonight? Or will you sleep with grandma in my mom's room?"
Mu Mian: "It's ok for the three of us to sleep together. We can talk."
Zhong Tian smiled and said, "Okay."
The two sisters chatted together.
Zhong Yan was in a state of high energy. He ran and jumped all the way, and entered the house almost at the same time as Mu Mian and the others.
As soon as he entered the yard, he leaned against the window of Zhong Tian's house, panting, "What's going on? Am I getting old too fast?"
Mu Mian: "You've been running all the way, and you don't feel hot."
Zhong Yan was still panting, "It's a bit hot, what are you two talking about, aren't you going to make meat?"
Zhong Tian: "Why are you in such a hurry? It's still early. We are just talking about how Xiaomian and grandma will sleep at night."
Zhong Yan and Mu Mian had the same idea, "How else can we sleep if we are all lesbians? We can just sleep together. It will be more lively when there are more people."
After saying this, the boy regretted a little, "Why am I not a lesbian?!"
This question was asked so that no one could answer him.
It's still early now, so there's no rush to cook the meat.
Zhong Tian was busy with some other chores first, because her mother's fall had caused a lot of chores to pile up at home in the past two days.
Mu Mian had nothing to do, so he helped out.
At about ten o'clock, the two siblings started stewing the lamb legs. The yellow lamb legs were very firm and needed to be stewed for at least an hour before they became soft.
Zhong Yan sat in front of the stove and lit the fire. "This is the bad thing about meat. It consumes a lot of firewood."
Zhong Tian laughed when she heard this, "It's good enough to have meat to eat, but you actually complain about it."
Zhong Yan had an expression that said, "I'm so wronged." "I'm not disgusted. I just said that."
Mu Mian opened his mouth and was about to speak when a gay voice suddenly rang out from the gate, "Girl Tian."
Before Zhong Tian saw anyone, she started shouting, "What's the matter, Uncle Sun?"
Sun Gangyi, the captain of the Shahe Brigade, glanced in the direction of the kitchen and asked, "Is your father still in the hospital?"
Zhong Tian stood at the kitchen door, "Well, Uncle Sun, do you have something to talk to my dad about?"
Mu Mian followed behind Zhong Tian and poked her head out. She came here seldom, and mostly in winter, so she didn't know many people here.
Sun Gangyi naturally also saw the strange girl standing behind Zhong Tian. He didn't ask who she was, but got to the point. "There is something going on. Can he come back tomorrow? I can talk to him tomorrow. How is your mother?"
Zhong Tian: "Mom has to stay in the hospital for two more days, but my dad will be back tomorrow. My grandma is here, and my dad is free during the day."
Sun Gangyi waved his hand, "That's fine, go ahead and get busy, I'll come see your father tomorrow."
After everyone left, Mu Mian asked, "Your captain?"
She vaguely remembered that the captain of her cousin's team was named Sun and lived not far away.
It’s about the same distance as their home and Lele’s home, and it’s quite close.
Zhong Tian nodded, "Well, I don't know what she wants to talk to Dad about, probably to discuss production or something."
Zhong Tian didn’t know, let alone Mu Mian.
Since it was the adults’ business, the two sisters didn’t say anything more and continued to be busy in the kitchen.
At noon, neither Zhong Zhimiao nor the old lady came back.
Zhong Tian and Mu Mian delivered a meal to the hospital. Of course, you can buy meals in the hospital cafeteria, but the food is not as good as what you cook at home and the taste is average.
They delivered a lot this time, so they could just heat up the rest in someone else's pot at night.
Around five o'clock in the evening, the old lady came back from the hospital.
It wasn't a big problem for Zhong Zhimiao to be there alone, and Mu Dongxue's waist wasn't completely immobile, she just needed someone to help her when she got up or lay down, she couldn't use any strength by herself, and she also needed someone to support her when she walked.
After dark, the grandparents and grandchildren fell asleep quickly.
Mu Mian lay against the wall next to her breast, while Zhong Tian slept on the other side.
They had said before that the three of them, grandparents and grandchildren, would sleep together at night and talk to each other.
In fact, the old lady was worried that she didn't get a good rest the whole night, so she fell asleep as soon as she lay down.
Because of the change of place, it took Mu Mian a while to fall asleep. When her consciousness began to blur, the old lady and Zhong Tian next to her had been asleep for a while.
After every household went to bed, the countryside fell into complete silence at night.
I don't know when the wind started blowing outside, and it made the windows of the Zhong family's main house creak twice.
The old lady was a light sleeper. She turned over in her sleep and then continued to sleep.
The wind blew in gusts, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, bringing a bit of coolness. The moon that was originally hanging in the sky was now blocked by clouds.
The Shahe Brigade was pitch black in the middle of the night.
A figure walked out of the mountain in the dark. He seemed to have a clear goal and was heading straight towards the Zhong and Sun families.
He first arrived outside the Sun family's courtyard wall, then he climbed in skillfully, landing without making any sound, and then tiptoed into the Sun family's kitchen.
Ten minutes later, the man climbed over the wall carrying a bag of things.
He looked very hungry. Even under the courtyard wall, he couldn't wait to pick up the sweet potato and take a few big bites.
At the same time, in the main house of the Zhong family.
As a gust of wind blew, the window creaked several times again.
Mu Mian moved a little after being disturbed, and Zhong Tian also muttered, "Is the window not closed?"
Zhao Meihua sat up, got off the kang, closed the window, then turned and walked out.
Mu Mian was half asleep in the middle of the night, squinting his eyes and looking, "Grandma, where are you going? Is it almost dawn?"
The old lady said: "Go to the toilet, it's still early, go back to sleep."
As a result, less than half a minute after the old lady went out, the window creaked open again.
The sound was not loud, but Mu Mian heard it. She muttered, "Is the window of this room broken?"
Zhong Tian
Confusedly, "It seems so."
At the same time, just as the old lady entered the toilet, a figure suddenly jumped in.
The courtyard wall of the Zhong family was built nearly half a meter higher than that of the Sun family. When the man jumped down, he accidentally made a few noises, probably because he was not aware of his own height.
The old lady didn't take it seriously at first. She just thought that the wind had blown down something on the wall. Mainly because she was far away and didn't hear it clearly.
But Mu Mian heard it because she was close to it. She thought it was the window that made the sound again.
Mu Mian, who had been disturbed several times in a row, sat up and wanted to see what was going on with the window.
As a result, she just stood in front of the window and looked through the half-open slit.
The next second, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a passing black shadow.
Mu Mian was stunned for a moment, his eyes suddenly widened, "????"
In an instant, the little sleepiness that was left disappeared.
Mu Mian suddenly thought of what her third aunt said in the hospital today, saying that she saw a figure flash by through the courtyard door in the middle of the night.
It seemed like there was also a... figure just now, right? ?
Mu Mian was just about to take a step out to take a look, when he heard the old lady's voice coming from outside, "Who's in the kitchen? Xiao Yan, what are you looking for to eat?"
A flash of inspiration came to Mu Mian, and he thought of a possibility. He suddenly opened his eyes wide, put his hands on the edge of the window, and rushed out with a "whoosh".
Almost at the moment she landed, the figure in the kitchen suddenly jumped out as the old lady's voice rang out.
The old lady was just standing in front of the window. She didn't see it clearly just now, but now that the man ran away, there was nothing she couldn't understand.
Zhao Meihua shouted, "Where did this thief come from?!"
The door of the Zhong family's kitchen faces north, and the window faces west, with a turn in the middle.
When the man saw that he had been discovered, he ran out of the door and headed east, and then...
He ran into Mu Mian head on.
Mu Mian: “!!!!”
Almost at the moment his eyes widened, Mu Mian's foot had already jumped out.
The thief had observed this house before, and he didn't take it seriously because it was just a little girl.
The moment he was caught by Mu Mian, he struggled hard.
result……
The little girl didn't move.
After realizing that something seemed a little wrong, the thief was a little panicked, but he was still waiting for him to make a move.
Mu Mian was faster than him. He raised his hand, swept his leg, and threw the opponent over his shoulder with a "bang".
There was such a loud noise outside that Zhong Tian and Zhong Yan in the room naturally woke up.
The brother and sister ran out in panic.
Zhong Tian: "Oh my god! There's a thief in the house?!"
Mu Mian: "Yeah, I was just touching something in the kitchen."
They had just exchanged a few words when the man on the ground got up and was about to run away. Seeing Mu Mian trying to stop him, he came over with his fists raised.
Mu Mian grabbed the arm and flicked it lightly.
The next second, wailing sounds filled the entire yard.
The old lady picked up the shovel handle next to her and shoveled it at the man's leg, "You damned bastard!"
Not willing to be outdone, Zhong Yan and his brother went up and kicked him a few more times.
After a lot of chaos, the thief was pinned to the ground. Mu Mian pressed his arms on his back with one hand, and Zhong Yan rode on the thief, pressing his legs.
Seeing that he couldn't run away, the thief who had been silent just now suddenly started to cry and said to the old lady, "Auntie, please be kind. I was really just confused for a moment. I won't dare to do it again next time."
"I'm just, I'm just... so hungry. We can't even afford to eat at home. My children are starving and skin and bones are visible."
"I haven't eaten for several days. I really have no other choice."
The thief was still whining, but the old lady ignored him and looked at Zhong Tian, "Whose is this?"
Zhong Tian just went into the house to get a flashlight.
When the light came on, what came into view was an ordinary unfamiliar face, probably about thirty years old.
Zhong Tian: "Not from our team."
The thief whined again, "Auntie, sister, I really didn't mean it. I was just too hungry, so I wanted to sneak in and get something to eat. I wanted to bring some back home for my children, so I took a little more."
"I promise I won't do it again. Just let me go. I didn't touch anything."
These few sentences were repeated over and over again, and the choked voice sounded pitiful.
Hearing this, even the innocent little boy Zhong Yan showed a look of sympathy on his face.
Zhong Tian's flashlight was still shining, and when the light swept across the thief, Mu Mian paused suddenly.
The clothes were dyed green in many places and the threads were scratched, which made them look familiar.
A few years ago, the clothes of those human traffickers were like this. Because they didn’t dare to pass through crowded places openly, they could only walk in the mountains.
Eating and sleeping in the mountains, your clothes will be more or less stained with green grass juice.
Where the thief couldn't see, Mu Mian and Zhong Tian lip-synced to ask her cousin to trick her.
Zhong Tian didn't understand why, but did as she was told.
While the thief was still crying and talking about how pitiful he was, Zhong Tian said in a natural tone, "Why do you look familiar to me? You're from the Pingxi Brigade, right? The only child of old man Chen, the one whose wife died a few years ago. Aren't you you?"
"I heard that there were five or six children left, some very old, some very young, and two of them were sick. They were so poor that they had to eat tree bark."
Almost at the moment when Zhong Tian finished speaking, the thief suddenly cried even more pitifully, "Yes, yes, I really won't dare to do it again. Please, I can't squat on the fence, otherwise the kid will really starve to death."
Zhong Tian: “………………”
It's a ghost!
Sister Lingxiu from her cousin Zhengyang's family was from Pingxi Brigade, and there was no family with the surname Chen in Pingxi Brigade.
Zhong Yan looked at his two sisters with a confused expression.
The old lady understood. This man looked very pitiful, but actually not a word he said was true.
Zhao Meihua took the flashlight from her granddaughter and went into the house. After a while, she had several strong ropes in her hands.
The thief was pinned to the ground and didn't even see what the old lady was doing.
He was still pretending to be pitiful, trying to get the three seemingly innocent kids to let him go.
It was not until I found my legs were tied up that I realized I had accidentally fallen into a trap.
The thief struggled frantically, trying to break free of Mu Mian's hand, but it was obvious that with Mu Mian's full strength, he couldn't get rid of it at all.
A few minutes later, the thief was tied up with his hands and feet tied together.
Thanks to Comrade Mu Fugui, Mu Mian is also very proficient in how to tie up pigs. Once the knot is tied, even a big fat pig cannot break free, let alone a human.
During this time, the thief, realizing that he could not escape, changed his pitiful look and uttered a lot of obscenities, which stunned the innocent little boy Zhong Yan.
Mu Mian continued her sister-in-law's style and directly took a rag and stuffed it into the man's mouth, stuffing it tightly. The man could no longer curse and could only whimper.
After everything was done, the four generations of grandparents and grandchildren sat in a row under the eaves.
After all this commotion, I lost all desire to sleep.
Zhong Tian held the flashlight and shone it on the thief. "Should we go call Uncle Sun after daybreak? Or should we go now?"
Mu Mian looked at his watch. "It's past three o'clock. How about we wait until dawn? He definitely can't get away."
Zhong Tian: "Okay."
Zhao Meihua: "This is probably the guy your mother saw before."
Zhong Yan's face was filled with indignation. "Did he come here to explore the way?"
Zhong Tian: “I think it’s possible.”
After she finished speaking, she turned around and was about to ask her little cousin why she had tried to trick this person before, but Zhong Tian hadn't finished her words yet.
Mu Mian tilted his head towards her and whispered, "Before, wasn't there a family that was robbed near the scrap collection station in your commune? Someone died. Was the thief caught?"
Upon hearing this, Zhong Tian's eyes suddenly widened, goose bumps appeared all over her body, and she said with a trembling voice: "I, I don't know if I caught it.
, Xiao Mian, you are suspicious...”
Mu Mian: "I guessed too."
Zhong Tian swallowed, silently moved her butt towards Mu Mian, and muttered softly, "How scary."
When Zhong Tian thought that this man might be a murderer, his hands and feet began to go weak.
The old lady was a little scared, but at least she managed to stay calm.
Zhong Yan was completely dumbfounded. He just leaned against Mu Mian silently, not saying a word.
The four generations of grandparents and grandchildren huddled together and kept watch until dawn.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Zhong Tian got up and went to Sun Gangyi's house, banging on the door, "Uncle! Uncle Sun! Are you up? There's a thief in my house! Go and check it out!"
She knocked for a full half minute before Sun Gangyi's confused voice rang out, "Tian girl, what did you say?"
Zhong Tian said loudly, "Uncle! It's a big deal, a very big deal! Please go to my house and take a look!!"
A minute later, Sun Gangyi opened the door for Zhong Tian wearing a coat. "Who is the thief? Who broke into your house?"
Zhong Tian: "I don't know who it is. He's not from our team."
After that, Zhong Tian repeated Mu Mian's guess in a low voice.
Sun Gangyi's originally unclear mind suddenly became clear, and he was extremely shocked. "What?! Tian girl, you, you mean..."
Zhong Tian: "My cousin is just guessing, it may not be true, but that person tried desperately to escape, and looked like he was afraid of going to the police station."
In fact, in cases like this where the theft was not successful at all, if the owner does not pursue the matter, the consequences will not be particularly serious and the offender will be released after being detained for ten days or half a month.
Only those who refuse to change their ways will be sent to labor camps.
Sun Gangyi raised his hand and said, "Where is that person? Is he still in your room?"
Zhong Tian: "Yeah, he was tied up."
While the two were talking, Sun Gangyi's wife had already gotten up. She was about to go into the kitchen to get some water when she was stunned by the scene in the kitchen.
The next second, a loud voice came from inside, "Oh my God, there's a thief!!"
The voice was so loud that it shocked the two people at the door.
Sun Gangyi was just about to go to Zhong's house with Zhong Tian, but when he heard this, he turned his head sharply, "What? What did you say, wife?!"
Zhong Tian was also a little shocked, and subconsciously followed Sun Gangyi to the Sun family's kitchen.
Sun Gangyi's wife: "The cabinets were pried open, and all the rice and noodles I kept in them are gone."
Zhong Tian: "He should have come to your room first, and then went to our room."
Sun Gangyi's wife picked up a spatula and knocked on the stove, angrily, "Let's go! I want to see who is the one who got cursed."
With such a commotion, all the members of the Sun family got up as well.
All the adults followed Zhong Tian to the Zhong family.
As soon as they got near the courtyard wall, Sun Gangyi's wife saw a bag of things under the wall. The bag looked familiar. "Could it be ours?"
Zhong Tian's tone was quite surprised, "When was it here? I didn't even notice it."
Sun Gangyi: "I guess the thief put it aside temporarily."
Zhong Tian: “It’s possible.”
Sun Gangyi's wife took two or three steps forward and opened the bag. "Really? This is damned!"
At this moment, Sun Gangyi's mind was full of what Zhong Tian had just said, that the thief might be a murderer, and he didn't care at all about the things lost from his house.
He took his eldest son and followed Zhong Tian into the house quickly.
I was stunned for a moment when I saw the man being turned upside down and tied up.
Then his eyes fell on the little girl sitting next to him. The little girl looked well-behaved, but unexpectedly she was quite aggressive.
The old lady looked at Sun Gangyi and said, "Send him to the police station and see what they say."
Sun Gangyi: "Okay."
He turned around and greeted his boss.
Sun Gangyi's eldest son was also a little confused by the design, "How do we do it? Carry it and walk?"
Thinking that this man might have killed someone, Sun Gangyi didn't dare to untie him. "Just carry him away."
Zhong Yan tactfully handed over his own carrying pole, and the father and son each carried one end.
Half an hour later, it was completely light.
In Heping Commune, people living near the Public Security Bureau also got up and started their busy day.
But today is a little different from usual because a very strange scene appeared on the road.
I saw two men walking one after the other, carrying one pig like a pig...
No, a...person? ? !
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