On New Year's Eve, Xichun stayed up alone at home. Tonight, she wouldn't be able to rest until after midnight. Everyone in the family was huddled inside their houses warming themselves by the fire.
Xichun checked all the doors and closed them properly before opening the windows. She was worried that the charcoal she was burning might cause carbon monoxide poisoning, which would be a real problem.
With no one to talk to and no phones or computers to look at, Xichun could only write and play around.
After midnight, firecrackers went off in every household. Xichun also took out a string of firecrackers he had bought and set them off in the yard.
Xi Chun was about to go to rest, but for some reason, she felt very uneasy and couldn't fall asleep. She tossed and turned in bed, and after a while, she sat up.
Just then, she suddenly heard a noise outside, which sounded like human footsteps. Xichun dared not make a sound. She thought for a moment that she had just closed the doors and windows of the room where she was sleeping, and she hadn't even dared to light any charcoal. The door was also closed from the inside. If it really was a thief, he wouldn't be able to get in for a while.
She pulled the kitchen knife from under her pillow, her hand trembling slightly as she held it.
A moment later, she heard someone enter the main room, seemingly rummaging through things. Xi Chun didn't know how many people were there; at this time, everyone was sound asleep, so she figured not many families would be keeping watch. She didn't dare to shout.
Despite it being winter, Xichun's back was covered in a layer of cold sweat, as she feared that those people might suddenly barge into the house.
After she calmed down, she prepared to leave through the back of her room. She had asked Uncle Zhang to make a back door so that she could go to the backyard to relieve herself, but now it came in handy.
As the thieves began ransacking another room, they suddenly heard firecrackers outside. They didn't know whose house was setting off firecrackers at this hour, but this was a good opportunity. Even if she opened the door, the thieves wouldn't hear her. Xichun made a quick decision, opened the back door, and hid behind the toilet.
Once she saw that those people hadn't followed her here, she climbed over the wall over the vegetable garden in the backyard.
I went straight to Uncle Zhang's house. Uncle Zhang was keeping vigil for the New Year. He had told the children to go to sleep, and he and his wife were talking when they heard someone knocking on the door.
"Who is it? Why is it here at this hour? Could it be Xichun?" Aunt Zhang heard the voice and walked over to ask who it was.
"Aunt Zhang, it's me, Xichun. A thief has broken into my house." After Xichun explained the situation in one sentence, Aunt Zhang quickly opened the door.
"Honey, there's a thief! Come quick! Wake up Qiangzi too!" When Aunt Zhang saw her and touched her hand, it was completely cold; she didn't know if it was from the cold or from being frightened.
"What? A thief?" Uncle Zhang didn't expect there to be a thief during the New Year. He immediately grabbed the wood-chopping knife next to him.
"Yes, I ran away during the firecracker noise. They should have realized I ran away soon. I don't know how many of them there are."
"I'll go wake up Liu Laohan and we'll catch the thief." Uncle Zhang made a quick decision and took Qiangzi to go and call for help.
After Xichun and Aunt Zhang closed the door, they went to the village to call for help. It was a bit far from Xichun's house, so they had to shout quite loudly. Soon after, many villagers came out after hearing that there was a thief.
When they arrived at Xichun's house, it was pitch black all around. Uncle Zhang and the others didn't know exactly how many thieves there were, so they had to lie in wait outside. When they saw that there were more people coming, they grabbed their weapons and surrounded the yard.
"Thieves inside, get out of here! You're surrounded! If you don't come out, we're going in!" The village chief was also woken up. He stood at the door shouting, unsure if anyone was still inside.
"Quick, the thief ran this way!" Someone shouted in the darkness, and everyone ran in that direction.
"I'll beat you to death! I'll beat you thieves to death!" The villagers hate these robbers the most. They will come to investigate for a long time as soon as they hear the slightest noise, and then steal things when you are relaxed.
Previously, a family in the village had just bought a cow, but before they could even enjoy raising it, someone had their eyes on them. They had been watching their house for several days and finally seized the opportunity. While the male owner was snoring, someone sawed open the gate of the cow pen and stole the cow. Fortunately, they discovered it in time and managed to find the cow, which had run away into the deep mountains and forests, in the direction it had gone.
Seeing their posture, the village chief was worried that they might beat the man to death, so he persuaded the crowd to separate them and tied the two men up with rope.
Their faces were all covered with black cloth, clearly indicating that they were experienced criminals. However, when the cloths were removed from their faces, no one recognized them.
"These two will be locked up in the ancestral hall tonight, and interrogated after the first day of the lunar new year. They will be kept in separate cells, so don't give them a chance," the village chief announced the punishment for the two men.
"Many thanks to the village chief and all the uncles for their help today. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to catch these thieves. I will thank you all properly tomorrow." Xichun stepped forward and thanked those who were willing to help her.
“Xichun, you’re from our village. If you need anything, just ask us for help. Don’t be so polite. Everyone’s tired today, so go home and rest,” the village chief said, stepping forward.
After everyone left, Xichun told the village chief that the two men must be detained separately to prevent them from having the opportunity to exchange statements. She also worried that the burglary was related to villagers, so she suggested that the village chief conduct a secret interrogation first.
“Xichun, your idea is good. You were frightened tonight, but don’t worry, I’ll handle this. They dare to steal from my territory, I’ll teach them a lesson.” The village chief nodded and had someone take the two men to a place to be locked up.
“Xichun, I’ll sleep with you tonight. Don’t be afraid. You’re really lucky. If you had fallen asleep, it would have been really dangerous. Those people are desperate and could do anything.”
Aunt Zhang still feels extremely scared when she thinks about it. If she had encountered it, she might not have been able to escape danger. Fortunately, the string of firecrackers helped her.
"Tomorrow I'll find the family that set off the firecrackers and thank them properly. Those firecrackers really saved me." Xi Chun also felt a lingering fear. If she had hesitated for a moment, she might not have been able to escape and might have even lost her life. This also made her realize that living in a remote place is indeed very inconvenient, especially when she is alone.
The two chatted until almost dawn before falling asleep. Since they didn't have anything to do that day, it was worth sleeping in occasionally.
After Xichun got up, Aunt Zhang had already gone home. Xichun took her things to the village chief's house, wanting to hear about the situation and ask who had arrived last night. There were quite a few people in the village, and it was dark at night, so she was worried that someone might have been missed.
"Those two have confessed. They said they heard people say you made money and lived alone, so they went to your house after everyone else had gone to sleep to steal the silver you had hidden." The village chief knew this matter was probably not that simple, but the two men's testimonies were the same, so it seemed they were repeat offenders.
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