Yaoyao woke up as soon as she heard Zhang Xue shouting. Muscle memory made her instinctively want to get up and start a fire to cook.
But before she could react, Wen Yining wrapped her in a small blanket, and Yaoyao had a full, 360-degree view of the tragic aftermath of their home being completely ransacked.
Yaoyao rested her head on Wen Yining’s shoulder, staring wide-eyed at the empty yard. She wanted to ask what had happened, why the neatly stacked firewood from yesterday was gone—but then she caught Wen Yining’s smiling gaze.
A flash of inspiration struck Yaoyao: this mess in the house must have something to do with Mom.
She also remembered Mom asking yesterday if she wanted to leave with her. Yaoyao blinked, swallowing all her curiosity and doubts, and lay quietly on Wen Yining’s shoulder, as if scared by Zhang Xue.
Her big, dark eyes peeked at Cheng Daqing. Normally, her grandfather would boss her around constantly, but this was the first time she saw him so flustered—mouth running, hands doing nothing—which she found amusing.
Soon, Zhang Xue returned, her hair disheveled and wearing a tattered robe. Behind her were a few police officers in white shirts, blue pants, and peaked caps.
The on-duty police had been waiting for the morning shift to arrive so they could go home and catch up on sleep. But before the handover, someone had reported a burglary.
A burglary was just a burglary—what was the big deal?
These days, no one’s life was easy. It wasn’t unusual to have a missing egg or a bowl of rice every now and then. Usually, nothing could be recovered, and people had gotten used to it.
The few officers followed reluctantly, hardly taking Zhang Xue’s report seriously.
But when they entered the yard and saw it stripped bare, they were stunned.
This was too thorough. The doors were even gone; aside from the building’s shell and the load-bearing walls, nothing was left!
If a second thief came, they’d have to leave something behind.
Zhang Xue wiped her tears and cried, “Officers, you have to do something for our family! This thief is too audacious! You must catch him and teach him a lesson!”
The officers gently pulled her hands away from their sleeves, exchanged serious glances, and grew solemn.
This was a major case—they had to handle it properly. If done well, there might even be a reward.
The three officers carefully surveyed the scene. There were no traces left behind.
They each questioned Cheng Daqing, Zhang Xue, and Wen Yining.
Cheng Daqing and Zhang Xue gave similar statements, repeatedly insisting that the officers catch the culprits.
Wen Yining, on the other hand, professed ignorance at every question—she didn’t know, wasn’t sure, hadn’t heard anything.
Yaoyao clung to Wen Yining, looking terrified, her little hands clutching her clothes tightly.
The commotion in the Cheng household drew attention quickly. When the police were called, neighbors flocked to the scene, some even holding breakfast, turning the spectacle into a “watch and eat” event.
Cheng Daqing, wearing only his shorts and undershirt, huddled in a corner, hoping no one noticed him. At his age, this was hardly dignified.
“This thief is incredible! They even took the doors and stove apart?”
“No kidding! I jumped when Zhang Xue screamed, but luckily we didn’t lose anything,” someone replied.
“Old Mrs. Zhang, you live right in front of the Chengs. Didn’t you hear anything last night?”
The middle-aged woman chewing a cornbread on the wall craned her neck, glanced at the yard, and snorted. “Hear anything? There was no sound at all!”
“Maybe there wasn’t even a thief! Perhaps Cheng Daqing and his wife staged this themselves!”
Mrs. Zhang gestured toward Wen Yining with a disapproving look, clearly unimpressed with Cheng Daqing and Zhang Xue. “The Cheng daughter-in-law hasn’t given them a son in all these years. They’ve long been dissatisfied with her. Maybe this is just a ruse by Cheng Daqing and his wife to force her out!”
“No way,” someone said, skeptical. “Cheng Daqing and his wife don’t seem like that kind of people.”
“You can never know what’s in someone’s heart,” another said.
“This isn’t a simple burglary. I saw something bad was done, and someone’s taking revenge!”
“What bad could they have done? Don’t forget, they have a son in the army!”
“Maybe their soldier son angered someone he shouldn’t have, and now they’re taking it out on his parents!”
“I heard the Cheng son even has another family in the army!” A sharp-faced woman pointed skyward. “Maybe it’s a boss’s daughter he got involved with!”
“You can’t say that—cheating is a big deal these days!”
“Who said that? I saw him leave with a young, beautiful woman!”
“Tsk tsk, that Cheng son really knows how to play it. He finds someone to help his career outside, someone to take care of his parents at home. Since he’s rarely back from the army, the two women won’t meet. No risk of being caught.”
“What’s there to envy? Little Wen doesn’t owe him anything!” a young woman spat. “That’s disrespectful to women!”
“Doesn’t owe him? I heard the Cheng family gave 68 in bride price!”
“That was bride price, not payment for services! Little Wen married in, she didn’t sell herself to the Cheng family!”
“Exactly! Treating Little Wen like this—back in the old days, a landlord would at least feed his workers. He didn’t even provide food or money, just forced Little Wen to serve the whole family. That’s capitalist exploitation!”
…
The officers carefully inspected the scene multiple times, finding no suspicious clues. They told Zhang Xue to go home and file a formal report; they would follow up if new evidence surfaced.
Zhang Xue escorted the officers to the gate. Seeing the crowd of neighbors pointing and muttering “immoral” and “karma,” she was irritated but didn’t curse them in front of the police.
After the officers left on their bicycles, Zhang Xue turned to the gawking crowd and cursed.
“Look at this! What’s so funny? Never seen a house robbed before? Today it’s me; tomorrow it’ll be you! Just wait—next time it’ll be one of you being stolen from!”
Hands on her hips, she swept the onlookers with a cold glare. “Let’s see who’s laughing then!”
“Cheng’s sister-in-law, you talk like the thief listens to you!” Mrs. Zhang from the front yard spat at the wall. “It’s because your family did so many bad things, karma caught up!”
“Are you saying there’s a thief? I thought you two staged it to help your son curry favor with his boss!”
“Exactly, Cheng’s sister-in-law! How did you educate your son? Married with a wife, yet still fooling around with other women. If this gets out, all the unmarried youth in this area will have a bad reputation!”
At first, Zhang Xue didn’t understand the implication. Once she caught on, her face darkened.
“Which gossiping mouth smeared my son?” Zhang Xue exploded. “Defaming a soldier or his family will get you punished!”
She lunged toward Mrs. Zhang, crouching on the wall, trying to pull her down.
Mrs. Zhang jumped back into her yard, calling out from the wall: “Go ahead and report me! Who’s afraid? I’m going to report your family’s questionable lifestyle! Let’s see who gets paraded first!”
“Zhang! I’ll fight you!” Zhang Xue, furious, tried to climb the wall to grab her. But with so many people at the gate, she couldn’t push through. She instead grabbed the two loudest women, clawing at their faces until they were scratched.