Font Size:
After Lu Xinghe left, Chu Yue quickly finished the porridge in her bowl and helped Yun Cuihe clean the bowls.
“Mother, do we have any vegetable seeds? The weather looks cooler now, and I want to plant some vegetables in front of the old house. When it gets cold, we’ll have some vegetables to eat.”
“You’re right to remind me,” Yun Cuihe paused and thought for a moment. “We still have some leftover radish seeds from last year. You can go to the kitchen’s hanging basket and check. If the mice haven’t taken them, they should still be there.”
Wang Xuelan, who was nearby, quickly said, “The seeds we bought last year probably won’t sprout well. You can take some from home and plant them. Your father had bought extra radish and cabbage seeds from the town before.”
Yun Cuihe smiled and said, “Ah, thank you, mother.”
After finishing their meal, Yun Dabao and his brother were taken to the foundation of the new house. As they walked, the brothers became more nervous and looked at Lu Shoucheng.
“Brother Shoucheng, are we on the right path?”
Lu Shoucheng pointed toward the foundation and said, “Look, over there is Xinghe’s new house. How could we be on the wrong path?”
“Wow!” The Yun brothers exchanged a glance, gasping. “It’s a brick house?”
They had always thought that their little sister’s family still lived in a mud-brick house. Could it be that Xinghe had gotten lucky recently?
Lu Tiesheng, standing nearby, had a proud look on his face.
“When I first heard about it, I was just as surprised as you. The brick houses from the Kaiyang Brick Kiln factory are a first in our village.”
After their shock wore off, the Yun brothers smiled with relief. “Our little sister has finally had some good fortune.”
They would tell their parents later, and the old couple would likely be overjoyed.
……
After washing the dishes, Chu Yue got some vegetable seeds from Wang Xuelan and headed home.
Yun Cuihe stayed at the old house to rest. There were empty rooms, and in the afternoon, she would need to heat water and cook, so it was more convenient to stay here rather than going back and forth.
When Chu Yue arrived home, Lu Xinghe was reading inside.
Noticing the chicken coop had been fed, Chu Yue quietly grabbed a hoe from the kitchen and began to till the soil in the yard.
Fortunately, the soil in front of the house was not tightly packed from years of planting. She quickly turned over the two small plots of land, smoothing the soil and scattering a thin layer of compost made from straw, pig manure, and ash. After mixing it in with the hoe, she sowed the seeds.
Then, she lightly covered the seeds with some loose soil and took some leftover garlic from the kitchen, separating the cloves and planting them in the other plot.
Once everything was done, she watered the plots thoroughly.
After finishing, she washed her hands and saw a group of people approaching, one of whom she recognized—Lu Dagui, the man who had once destroyed their rice field. He looked reluctant, probably being forced to come here.
Chu Yue wasn’t sure what was going on, so she called out to Lu Xinghe, “Husband, there are people coming.”
Lu Xinghe came out, saw the group, and quickly pulled Chu Yue behind him.
“Li Zheng, did you come here for something?”
Li Jianqi directly stated, “I heard your family lost some silver, so I’ve brought the thief to you.”
Lu Xinghe raised an eyebrow. “Village Chief, you’re really quick.”
Li Jianqi awkwardly waved his hand and pushed Lu Dagui forward, “Here, the thief who stole from your house is my useless nephew. Whether you want to beat him or scold him, it’s up to you. I can’t manage him anymore.”
The onlookers weren’t surprised to hear it was Lu Dagui who had stolen the silver. He had a bad reputation in the village, and his parents couldn’t control him. Once he got married, they gave him his own place. Only the village chief could say a few words, but even then, Li Jianqi wasn’t like a father to him, and couldn’t always control his actions.
But Lu Dagui had never gone so far as to steal from someone’s house before. Now, it seemed he had become even more unruly.
“Village Chief, stealing should get him kicked out of Banpo Village.”
“Yeah, how can anyone live peacefully in the village after this?”
“Maybe we should drive Lu Dagui and his family out. Banpo Village can’t harbor thieves.”
Lu Dagui, who had always been unruly, was not used to being openly opposed like this. The situation made him anxious. He had lived in Banpo Village his entire life, and if everyone really decided to expel him, he wouldn’t know where to go.
Originally, he thought he could find some silver by coming to Lu Xinghe’s house after hearing about the new house, but he found no money. Instead, he had been identified by his foolish cousin from his uncle’s family.
Li Jianqi frowned and coughed awkwardly.
“You mean, I should leave Banpo Village as well?” He glanced around, saw that no one else was speaking, and continued, “You don’t need to say more. After this matter is settled, I will give everyone an explanation. For now, let’s handle the immediate situation.”
Lu Xinghe looked at Li Jianqi and said indifferently, “We’re all from the same village. There’s no need to beat or scold him. Just return the two taels of silver that were lost from my house.”
Two taels was the punishment for his theft.
But Lu Xinghe knew that, given Lu Dagui’s circumstances, it would be hard for him to even come up with two taels.
Hearing this, Lu Dagui finally couldn’t hold back.
“Lu Xinghe, you need to speak with a clear conscience. There was no two taels of silver stolen from your house, it was only eight wen!”
Lu Xinghe sneered.
“Speak with a clear conscience? Did you have any conscience when you broke into my house? The walls of our house were already weak, and now they’re full of holes thanks to you. Don’t you ever think about whether we can live here anymore?”
Lu Dagui was left speechless by Lu Xinghe’s words and clenched his fists tightly.
“Last month, the day after you sabotaged my rice field, my Yueyue went to the field to pull weeds. When she stood up, her shoes were gone. At the time, besides me and her, the only person who had been in the field was you. Don’t think I don’t know who did it.”
Lu Xinghe continued, “Our family isn’t wealthy, but since we could afford to build a brick house, we certainly have enough to spare two taels of silver. Now, we urgently need that two taels to pay for the labor on our new house. I won’t make a big deal of it with you. Just return the silver, and we’ll consider both this and the incident with the field forgotten. Otherwise, there are plenty of people in the village who can testify for me, and I can easily take you to the authorities.”
Lu Xinghe’s words were sharp and direct, with no sign of humor.
Lu Dagui knew Lu Xinghe’s temperament very well, and his heart filled with both anger and panic. It seemed he was going to fall today.
“But I… I don’t have that much silver. I really only took eight wen from your house.”
Lu Xinghe sneered. “Eight wen? Is that your excuse? If you didn’t take two taels, why were you in my house at all? You didn’t think we would notice, did you?”
“Then let’s see you in the magistrate’s office,” Lu Xinghe said without hesitation.
“Hey, wait.” Lu Dagui, looking distressed, turned to his uncle, Li Jianqi. “Uncle, I don’t have the money. Can you lend me some? I really don’t want to go to jail.”
Two taels of silver was not a small amount for anyone, and lending money to Lu Dagui could very well be a lost cause.
Li Jianqi had always shielded Lu Dagui in the past when he got into trouble, but this time, the situation was too serious. Stealing from someone’s home crossed a line.
Looking at the pitiable Lu Dagui, Li Jianqi hardened his heart. “In the past, I always covered for you when you caused trouble, but this time, you’re on your own. I don’t have any spare money to lend you.”
Lu Dagui thought for a moment and then looked back at Lu Xinghe.
“I really don’t have the money. This year’s harvest was bad, and our family almost couldn’t afford food. My wife ran off with someone a while ago, and I still have a child to take care of.”
Lu Xinghe remained unmoved.
“That’s not an excuse for theft.”