Linxia

Chapter 10, The Thief Steals

In the middle of the night, Fang Lin was awakened by a scream, followed by another even louder scream.

"Thief, catch the thief!" Soon, another female voice was heard.

"The last voice was from Sister Guihua. I hope someone is dead again!"

On the run, Fang Lin was always alert. He woke up at the first scream, but he relaxed a little because he realized it was quite far away from him. He muttered to himself and looked at the little person nestled in his arms: Tian Xuan's small face was pressed against his chest. The lines on her face were softer when she fell asleep. Two or three strands of hair fell to the corners of her mouth, making her feel a little itchy. She puffed up her cheeks and blew gently, but it bounced back quickly after being blown away. She had to reach out and push it aside. At the same time, she opened her sleepy eyes: "Lin brother!"

Fang Sun got up first and caught a glimpse of the scene. She felt as if something of hers had been stolen, and immediately said unhappily, "Xiaoxuan, hurry up and get up. Didn't you hear the thief? Why are you still sleeping?"

The family was sleeping in their clothes, so they quickly got up and headed over to check out the sound.

Of course, it was not just Fang Lin's family that were awakened by the two screams and the sound of a thief. There were shadows all around, and many families also got up and surrounded the place with sticks.

When he got here, some people had already arrived and formed a circle. Fang Lin stood on tiptoe and looked inside.

Not far from where Guihua's mother and daughter were resting, Fu Hong from the Fu family in the village fell to the ground, holding his waist, groaning and struggling for a few times without being able to stand up. His face was even worse, with a tooth knocked out, his lips bruised, and several bloody wounds on his face.

"Aha, what?" Fu Hong's words were a little sloppy, and he explained awkwardly: "I woke up to take a shit and accidentally fell down."

"It turns out to be Hongzi from the Fu family!"

"I see. It seems to be a misunderstanding."

"This kid must have been half asleep, and walked over here to take a shit? But he fell really hard."

……

Everyone said this, but in their hearts they were all thinking: 'What a good kid from the Fu family, he must have coveted the compensation that the Chen family got, so he came here to steal' - no wonder everyone thought so, Fu Hong used to be a petty thief in the village, and he didn't take anything big, just a handful of leeks from the east family and two or three beans from the west family, it was an old habit.

This is indeed the case.

Tonight, Fu Hong woke up hungry after sleeping for a while. He wanted to get something to eat, but he didn't have much food at home. If he took it, he would definitely be discovered and scolded. What should he do? Then he thought of Lao Chen's family! Old Chen's wife died in Xiagou Village during the day, and she was compensated. Sister Guihua also went to Fang Laosan's house to return the food in the morning, so there must be food.

In Fu Hong's opinion, there were only mother and daughter left in Old Chen's family, and they looked easy to bully. As for the evil of people dying one after another, others were afraid, but he was not. Then, he sneaked over and somehow slipped and hit a stone, screaming, and hurriedly got up to run, but he slipped again after taking two steps.

Fang Lin also guessed in his heart that Fu Hong saw that the old Chen family was left with only an orphan and a widow, so he took advantage of Sister Guihua and her daughter. He felt inexplicably amused in his heart - he didn't know much about Old Man Chen and Chen Wanglong, but what he did know was that in the old Chen family, whether it was the cold-hearted Chen Daqiang or the sarcastic old woman, the reality was that the harmless Sister Guihua survived to the end. How could she be easily controlled?

In his opinion, if Fu Hong really wanted to steal, he would have a higher chance of success by picking any house in the village than by going to Sister Guihua's house. But in the eyes of most people like Fu Hong, Sister Guihua and her daughter, the only ones left in Old Chen's family, were not only a little weird, but were also the easiest targets in the village.

——It is like this many times, your eyes will deceive you, your ears will deceive you, your feelings will deceive you, but wisdom and reason will not, they just won’t!
"You idiot! You were half asleep and took a shit here!" Qiao Cunzheng also came and started scolding Fu Hong.

Although he seemed to be scolding Fu Hong, he actually recognized what Fu Hong said. Didn't Qiao Cunzheng know what kind of person Fu Hong was? He knew everything, but the Qiao and Fu families were relatively close relatives. Facing the pitiful and pleading eyes of Fu Hong's parents, it was not easy to let Fu Hong be labeled a thief, otherwise he might not be a relative anymore. "I misunderstood. I heard the noise and thought it was a thief. Hongzi fell hard, it's also my fault. I spilled the foot washing water outside at night. I'm really sorry." Sister Guihua pulled her daughter aside and apologized.

How could it be possible that the foot washing water was accidentally poured? This was the water she deliberately poured. In order to ensure smoothness, she also deliberately diluted the water and smoothed it. In addition, she also specially placed a lot of angular stones. This is why Fu Hong is in such a miserable state at the moment.

Moreover, it is not just water and pebbles. If Fu Hongzhen passes this level, there will be more tricks later.

As for why she followed Qiao Cunzheng's words and let Fu Hong go easily?
That's because Sister Guihua also knew that the Qiao and Fu families were close relatives. Besides, Fu Hong was seriously injured, while her family didn't suffer any losses. If she really insisted on doing so, she might not be able to do anything to Fu Hong, and it might also cause the villagers to change their attitude and leave a bad impression on her.

On the contrary, if he took a step back, he would not only gain sympathy, but the villagers would also know what was going on and would not hesitate to discuss it in private. Fu Hong's reputation would be ruined.

"Foot washing water?" Fu Hong really believed it. When he heard Sister Guihua admit that her fall was related to her, his eyes rolled and he wanted to blackmail her for some compensation.

Qiao Cunzheng seemed to see through Fu Hong's little thoughts, and glared at him - people are giving you face, but you still want to climb up the ladder and ask for compensation? Do you really think that people won't change their words and expose you?

Fu Hong shrank his neck in fear after being glared at by such a sharp gaze. All his thoughts disappeared. He waved his hands and apologized with a smile: "It's okay! It's okay!"

"Is this something you're not afraid of? It was you who disturbed Guihua's family and everyone else, and yet you don't apologize to Guihua's family and everyone else!" Qiao Cunzheng said sternly.

It is true that he was helping the Fu family, but he didn't want Sister Guihua to bear a grudge against him or to keep thinking about him.

"Yes! Yes! I'm sorry, Sister Guihua, and I'm sorry to everyone." Fu Hong apologized with a grin and a gasp of pain, looking as dejected as a rat crossing the street.

……

"Guihua is also pitiful. The little compensation for her mother-in-law's accident was targeted by the kid from the Fu family. God has eyes, so he lost more than he gained."

On the way back, Fang Sun sighed and took the opportunity to teach Fang Lin: "Linzi, you can't be like Fu Hong and don't learn well."

"I know, mother!" In the past, Fang Lin would probably feel nagging and annoyed, but after the fusion of two lives, his mentality is no longer comparable to that of people of this age, so he agreed seriously.

Seeing Fang Lin's serious attitude, Fang Sun felt a sense of accomplishment in educating her son. The previous feeling that her son was snatched away was gone. Her mood unconsciously improved. She no longer disliked Tian Xuan and she seemed to walk with the wind.

The family went back and continued to sleep.

Nothing happened that night.

……

(End of this chapter)