Liu Qian knew very well that the chicken Ye Jianguo had brought back was a rooster.
Because—
she had personally chopped that chicken into pieces.
In other words—
they were slandering Ye Jianguo.
At this thought—
Liu Qian hurriedly spoke up. “You’ve all misunderstood Jianguo.”
“Jianguo didn’t steal your chicken.”
“The chicken Jianguo bought was a rooster, while the chicken Xu Damao lost was an old hen, right?”
Jia Zhangshi froze for a moment before saying, “Hmph, just because you say it was a rooster, does that make it one?”
Xu Damao also said angrily, “Exactly. I’d raised those two old hens for so long, and they had never gone missing.”
“Then, just as your family started eating chicken, my old hen disappeared.”
“If it wasn’t you who stole it, then who was it?”
“Besides, that gambling addict Ye Jianguo—could he even afford to buy a chicken?”
Lou Xiaoe still understood her good friend.
She knew Liu Qian would not lie.
Therefore—
after hearing Liu Qian’s words, she also spoke up. “Damao, since Xiao Qian says their chicken was a rooster, then it definitely was a rooster.”
“In other words, the person who stole our chicken wasn’t Ye Jianguo.”
Xu Damao said irritably, “What would a woman like you know?”
“Liu Qian is obviously going to lie to help Ye Jianguo. You believe what she says?”
Because of Sha Zhu’s words earlier, Xu Damao was now very dissatisfied with Lou Xiaoe as well.
It was all because Lou Xiaoe could not bear children, causing him to lose face.
After hearing Xu Damao’s words, Lou Xiaoe grew angry too and said furiously:
“Xu Damao, you…”
But before she could finish, Xu Damao interrupted her irritably. “Shut up!”
Then—
he looked at Second Uncle Liu Haizhong and gnashed his teeth. “Second Uncle, you’re the Second Uncle of the courtyard compound. You have to uphold justice for me.”
“That damned Ye Jianguo definitely stole my family’s old hen!”
Jia Zhangshi also gnashed her teeth beside him. “That street loafer Ye Jianguo definitely stole it. There’s no need to say anything else.”
“It was absolutely that damned bastard Ye Jianguo!”
Jia Zhangshi wished she could swallow Ye Jianguo alive, then claim the plate of chicken on the table.
It smelled so good.
Liu Qian was furious.
She had not expected these people to be so unreasonable.
She had already explained everything.
But—
they still refused to believe her.
They were even trying to frame her husband.
She was just about to argue back when Ye Jianguo finally spoke.
He raised his head slightly and looked at this group of beasts causing trouble. Calmly, he said, “Your chicken went missing, so you came here and accused me of stealing it without distinguishing right from wrong?”
“Looks like the lesson I gave you wasn’t enough.”
After Ye Jianguo finished speaking, his gaze swept across Xu Damao’s and Jia Zhangshi’s faces.
Xu Damao inexplicably shuddered, and his stomach began to ache faintly.
He suddenly remembered the excruciating incident that morning, and his expression changed slightly.
What was going on?
Why had he suddenly thought of that?
But—
the next moment—
he said furiously, “Ye Jianguo, my family’s old hen was definitely stolen by you.”
“Hurry up and compensate me for the chicken, or I’ll never let this go.”
Second Uncle Liu Haizhong finally came to his senses.
He coughed twice and adopted an officious tone. “All right, stop arguing.”
“Such a major incident has occurred in our courtyard compound. We must hold a whole-compound assembly and catch the chicken thief.”
“No one is allowed to stand aside in this matter.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Damao immediately said, “Exactly. We must hold a whole-compound assembly and catch this chicken thief.”
Second Uncle Liu Haizhong said, “In ten minutes, everyone will gather in the courtyard compound. As the suspect, Ye Jianguo must attend.”
After saying this, Second Uncle Liu Haizhong left directly.
He was going to notify everyone else and convene the whole-compound assembly.
Xu Damao left after saying, “Just wait,” to them.
Sha Zhu glanced at Ye Jianguo with a grin, then left smugly as well.
As for Qin Huairu—
she took a deep look at Ye Jianguo before leaving with Jia Zhangshi.
She had never imagined that this damned Ye Jianguo’s family would actually be eating chicken.
Moreover—
judging from the plate of chicken, there was actually so much of it.
She swallowed several times.
She was craving it terribly.
Where had Ye Jianguo gotten the money to buy the chicken?
Could it really have been stolen?
That was what Qin Huairu thought.
Back at home—
Jia Zhangshi snorted. “That damned Ye Jianguo definitely stole Xu Damao’s chicken.”
“He’s just a street loafer. How could he possibly have money to buy chicken?”
“He definitely stole it.”
“This time, let’s see how he explains himself.”
“What a damned bastard!”
Qin Huairu came back to herself slightly, then noticed what seemed to be a handprint on one side of Jia Zhangshi’s face.
It was even somewhat swollen.
She asked, “Mom, what happened to your face?”
At the mention of this—
Jia Zhangshi exploded with rage.
She gnashed her teeth. “That bastard Ye Jianguo hit me. That damned bastard—I’ll never coexist with him under the same sky.”
Qin Huairu was dumbfounded when she heard this.
Someone had actually managed to make her mother-in-law suffer?
One had to know—
she knew very well what her mother-in-law was like.
She was absolutely the most quarrelsome, sharp-tongued person in the courtyard compound, always throwing tantrums and rolling around.
She had always been the one making others suffer.
Yet—
now she was saying that Ye Jianguo had slapped her.
This left Qin Huairu stunned.
Then—
she asked angrily, “Mom, what happened?”
“That Ye Jianguo actually dared to hit you? What right did he have to hit you?”
Jia Zhangshi gnashed her teeth. “I merely said that his two daughters were money-losing wretches, and he slapped me without distinguishing right from wrong.”
“I will definitely avenge this.”
After Jia Zhangshi finished speaking, her face was full of resentment and viciousness.
She could not swallow this humiliation.
She absolutely could not let it go.
She had to get revenge.
Qin Huairu was stunned by Jia Zhangshi’s words.
That bastard Ye Jianguo had hit her mother-in-law just because of this?
That was far too much.
She spoke up. “Mom, Ye Jianguo has gone too far. During the whole-compound assembly, we’ll accuse him of hitting you and make him pay us compensation.”
With a loud smack—
Jia Zhangshi slapped Qin Huairu directly across the face.
Jia Zhangshi said darkly, “What do you mean?”
“Are you trying to make me lose face in front of everyone?”
“Do you want everyone to know that Ye Jianguo slapped me?”
“If that happens, how am I supposed to continue living in this courtyard compound?”
Qin Huairu covered her burning cheek, feeling deeply wronged.
She had only wanted to use this matter to make Ye Jianguo suffer.
But—
she had forgotten that her mother-in-law cared greatly about her reputation.
She had taken a slap for nothing.
……
At Ye Jianguo’s home—
Lou Xiaoe, her face extremely grim, glanced at Liu Qian and said, “Xiao Qian, I believe you.”
“Our old hen definitely wasn’t stolen by you.”
“I’ll explain this clearly to Xu Damao.”
After saying this, Lou Xiaoe was about to leave.
But Ye Jianguo called out to her and said, “Lou Xiaoe, don’t concern yourself with this. I’ll handle it.”
Lou Xiaoe glanced at Ye Jianguo without saying anything, then left.
Liu Qian was furious.
At the same time, she was somewhat nervous and worried.
She had not expected the matter to escalate to the point of convening a whole-compound assembly.
Moreover—
now—
their family was under suspicion.
Although Lou Xiaoe had said she believed them—
still—
she looked worriedly at Ye Jianguo and asked, “Jianguo, what do we do now?”
To be honest—
Ye Jianguo had not expected his appearance to cause history to deviate somewhat.
In the original story—
when Bang Geng, that little ingrate, stole the chicken, Sha Zhu had also brought a chicken home.
Xu Damao had suspected Sha Zhu of stealing the chicken. In the end, he extorted five yuan from Sha Zhu and took away the pot of chicken soup.
But—
that had not happened now.
Instead, Xu Damao suspected him.
However—
he was not worried about this matter at all.
Putting aside the fact that Xu Damao had lost an old hen while the one he had brought home was a rooster—
that alone was enough to prove his innocence.
Not to mention—
he also had witnesses.
Therefore—
he smiled and comforted her. “Wife, don’t worry. Let’s eat first.”
“We’ll just go to the assembly later.”
“We’re innocent, so there’s absolutely no need to worry.”
“However, someone is going to have a bad night.”
“Because I already know who stole Xu Damao’s chicken.”
The moment Ye Jianguo said this, Liu Qian was stunned.
Then—
she was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, “Jianguo, you know who stole Xu Damao’s chicken?”
Ye Jianguo nodded. “Yes. It was that little ingrate Bang Geng, the one I warned you to watch out for. He definitely stole Xu Damao’s chicken.”
“He probably couldn’t steal our corn, so in his embarrassment and anger, he stole Xu Damao’s chicken.”
“We’ll just wait and watch the show later.”
Liu Qian was stunned.
She truly had not expected the chicken thief to be Bang Geng.
This was far beyond her expectations.
One had to know—
when Ye Jianguo had told her that Bang Geng had pried open their front door, she had already found it somewhat unbelievable.
In her view—
Bang Geng was still just a child.
He should not have done something like that.
Yet—
now Ye Jianguo was saying again that Bang Geng had stolen Xu Damao’s chicken.
If this were true—
then it would completely overturn her understanding of right and wrong.
Was Bang Geng really a thief?
Seeing Liu Qian’s shocked expression, Ye Jianguo smiled and said, “Wife, you must find this unbelievable, right?”
Liu Qian nodded with a bitter smile.
Ye Jianguo smiled. “You’re just too kind.”
“Later, I’ll tell you more. There isn’t a single good person in this courtyard compound. They’re all beasts.”
“From Yi Zhonghai down to Bang Geng, not one of them is any good.”
At Ye Jianguo’s words, Liu Qian was even more dumbfounded.
She was completely stunned.
There wasn’t a single good person in this courtyard compound?
They were all beasts?
From First Uncle down to Bang Geng?
This…
This…
Liu Qian was genuinely frightened.
In her impression, First Uncle was a very good person.
He helped handle all the major and minor matters in the courtyard compound.
Moreover—
he handled them in an orderly manner.
Everyone approved of his character as well.
But—
Ye Jianguo was now saying that even First Uncle was not a good person.
That was simply insane.
However—
when she saw that Ye Jianguo was eating and clearly did not want to continue the topic, she could only keep this doubt buried in her heart.
Then—
she began eating as well.
But because of what had happened, Liu Qian had little appetite.
Although Ye Jianguo put several pieces of chicken into her bowl, she still ate without much enthusiasm.
Seeing this, Ye Jianguo could not help saying helplessly, “Wife, it looks like you won’t feel like eating unless this matter is resolved.”
“How about this? Put the chicken in the pot and keep it warm.”
“We’ll eat after we come back from the assembly.”
Liu Qian felt somewhat embarrassed.
However—
she still went to do as he said.
Tuantuan and Yuanyuan, meanwhile, ate until they were completely full.
They were not affected at all.
They had not eaten meat in a very long time.
They ate until their bellies were full.
If they had not been unable to eat another bite, they would have continued.
They wished they could finish the entire plate of chicken.
This chicken was so delicious.
It smelled so good.
……