Little Gu stood blankly at the kitchen door. When she saw Song Lao Er return, she immediately shouted, "Husband, quick, quick, report to the village head! Our house has been robbed!"
What kind of thief are you hiring? Song Lao Er was a little confused.
Seeing that he was still standing there in a daze, Madam Gu supported her back and pulled him towards the kitchen, panting and wailing, "Look, look for yourself! Good heavens! All the pots and pans in the kitchen are gone! There must be a thief!"
Upon hearing this, Song Lao Er glanced into the kitchen and was immediately startled.
The two earthenware pots and one iron pot on the stove were gone, leaving only a dark, gaping pit in the stove, like a gaping tooth grinning at you.
"Who did this? I'll skin him alive!"
Song Lao Er flew into a rage.
He turned to look at Madam Gu and slapped her across the face: "Useless thing, you can't even keep an eye on the door at home."
With money in hand, Song Lao Er has become increasingly displeased with Xiao Gu Shi these past two days.
He complained that she lacked the gentleness and consideration of Chunniang in town, as well as the charm and allure of the young widow in the next village, and that she couldn't even have children, making all his years of hard work on her belly a waste.
He was burning with anger and couldn't vent his anger on his own mother, so he naturally cursed at Madam Gu.
These were all new pots he had just bought, costing two hundred coins. They were stolen in less than a day.
Unable to express the heartache and grievances she felt, Ms. Gu could only cover her face and sob.
"Second brother! The flour, rice, and meat that the Xue family delivered today have also been stolen from the kitchen!"
Good heavens, I was just standing at the front door, how could someone steal my things? Who was the damned thief?!
Upon hearing that Song Lao Er had returned, Granny Gu jumped up from the ground and burst into tears, crying as if her own mother and father had died.
Song Lao Er angrily looked around the kitchen and found that not only were the pots, bowls, rice and flour stolen, but even the flint in front of the stove was gone. It was as if they had scavenged the entire place.
Suddenly, as if he had just realized something, the house was too quiet.
Without having time to say much to his mother and daughter-in-law, Song Lao Er rushed to the side room.
The doors and windows are intact, and the rope buckles on the door latches are still in place.
I tiptoed over and peered through the broken window, but it was pitch black and I couldn't see anything.
Song Lao Er's heart sank; this guy was sleeping too soundly!
Since it concerned money, Song Lao Er dared not be careless. He hurriedly tried to untie the rope on the door latch, but he didn't know who had tied the knot so tightly that the more he tried, the less he could untie it. So he kicked it.
With a loud crash, the door fell to the ground.
Song Lao Er rushed in with a single stride, without even lighting a lamp, and reached out to touch the kang (a heated brick bed).
A chill ran through me: Nobody was there!
Before he could figure out what was going on, Madam Gu called out again from the side room, "Shui Rong, Shui Rong, what's wrong with you?"
Meanwhile, at the entrance to the main house, Granny Gu's hand on the door frame also seemed to be acting strangely.
The person stood frozen, eyes rolled back, lips moving but no sound escaping, only pointing a trembling finger at the room, as if about to collapse...
Something terrible has happened! Something really terrible has happened!
After a cup of tea, the once quiet Xiaoshi Village became lively again.
Song Lao Er's house has been robbed!
Song Lizheng was fastening his belt as he ran.
After he finished sending the people off to perform corvée labor, he went home. Before he had even finished taking a dump, he was woken up again and told that Song Lao Er's house had been burgled and emptied.
Upon hearing this, Song Lizheng's heart tightened. He had been prepared to wait for Song Lao Er to report the case of Yun Yatou's disappearance. Why did he mention a thief first?
Yun Yatou just said she wanted to elope, and now Song Lao Er's house has been burgled. These two things shouldn't be mixed up.
Despite his inner turmoil, Song Lizheng forced himself to remain calm and went to the outside of Song Lao Er's courtyard.
Seeing that no one was around, he thought he was the first one to arrive.
But when he entered the courtyard, he was so frightened that he almost turned around and ran away.
By then, it was already getting light on the horizon, and you could clearly see the people filling the courtyard.
The courtyard was full of people, but there was no sound. They were all standing or squatting with their hands in their sleeves, like clay or wooden sculptures. Anyone who saw them at first glance would be startled!
The villagers who had just seen their families off did not go back to sleep. When they heard that a thief had broken in, they all gathered around.
Upon seeing the village head arrive, the crowd seemed to come alive, scattering to reveal the miserable state of Song Lao Er's family.
Even though he was already breathing heavily in the morning, Song Lao Er was sitting on the door sill of the main room, his shirt wide open and his face covered in sweat, panting heavily.
Madam Gu, holding her mother-in-law with one hand and her daughter with the other, cried out in the side room, "Mother, Shui Rong, wake up! Has the doctor come yet? Can anyone help me go and fetch the doctor?"
Song Li shouted at the crowd, "What are you all standing there like idiots for? Has anyone gone to call the doctor yet?"
Someone in the crowd said slowly, "We called him, but Uncle Qi's legs were a little stiff this morning, so he walks slowly and hasn't arrived yet."
Song Lizheng frowned, annoyed: "You can't even come up with a plausible excuse."
He coughed and said, "Uncle Qi can't walk anymore, don't you know to carry him? Hurry up and go!"
After a few moments of movement in the crowd, the two people reluctantly made their way out the door.
Then Song Lizheng walked up to Song Lao Er and asked, "Lao Er, I heard your house was robbed. What was stolen?"
Song Lao Er burst into tears: "Uncle Village Head, you have to stand up for me! Everything's gone, everything's gone! Chickens, pigs, silver, and even the fire starter!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the once quiet courtyard became agitated.
The oldest people present were in their sixties or seventies, and the youngest were teenagers. They had heard of thieves breaking into their homes, usually stealing chickens, dogs, or money, but they had never seen anything like what happened at Song Lao Er's house.
The person was at home, yet they were still stealing fat pigs right under his nose.
Pigs aren't chickens. It usually takes several strong men to hold down a pig when it's slaughtered for the New Year. How could you steal one?
As for stealing the flint from the stove, everyone thought Song Lao Er was out of his mind. Who would steal something like that?
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