Chapter 24: Forced to Search the House

“Sister-in-law, why are you wasting your time talking to them?”

A man, dressed in rough cloth clothes with a yellow cloth wrapped around his head, short but somewhat sturdy, and holding a sickle in his hand, stormed up to Lu Demin. His face twisted with malice as he growled, “What’s the big deal about searching your house? TMD, what’s the problem? What are you going to do about it?”

Bai An looked up at the man, then turned her gaze to Lin Zhixia. She saw Lin Zhixia with her head lowered, her face dark like a deep sea, her eyes flashing with a dangerous aura.

The village chief, standing nearby, chimed in, “There’s nothing wrong with having a look. They’ve been making a fuss, and it’s not helpful.”

Lu Jin’an studied the group of people before them. From their eyes, he saw no sorrow or worry—only a kind of eager anticipation, like vicious dogs eyeing a bone, as if they would pounce at any moment.

“You’d rather waste time here than look for Cui Ju,” he said. “You just want to break into my house.”

The large man, as if caught in the act, became flustered. “What’s the big deal if we go inside and take a look? Why so many questions?”

From then on, no one else spoke. Even Cui Ju’s mother stopped crying. Everyone just watched Lu Demin’s family with their eyes.

Lu Jin’an seemed to have understood something. He sneered, pulling Wanqing and Bai An aside to make room for them.

Lu Demin was stunned, glaring at Lu Jin’an. “What are you doing?”

“Dad, can’t you see? Whether Cui Ju is missing or not is one thing. But they want to search our house—that’s a different matter.”

Lu Demin didn’t understand why the villagers were so insistent on coming to their house.

The village chief, seeing this, had no choice but to force a smile and apologize. “Please forgive them.”

At first, no one dared to take the lead. But then the small man with the sickle, who had called Cui Ju’s mother “sister-in-law,” clicked his tongue dismissively and walked inside without care.

The others followed him inside.

“Do you see what they’re eating?”

A group of women gathered around Bai An’s family’s dinner, whispering and discussing it amongst themselves.

“There’s even meat. Unbelievable.”

“There’s even steamed buns made from white flour.”

“It’s been so long since we’ve had meat. Can I have a bite?”

Seeing their hungry, greedy eyes, Lu Jin’an furrowed his brows and said, “Aren’t they here to find someone? Are they looking in other people’s food instead?”

The women who had been caught exchanged awkward glances and gave forced smiles.

“Hey, come over and take a look!”

A woman around thirty, her face flushed with excitement as though she had found something precious, waved to the others.

Lu Jin’an watched them walk into his parents’ room and start rummaging through it disrespectfully.

“Look how well they’re living. Look at these quilts, so thick, and all these clothes.”

“Yeah, they barely do any work, yet they live better than us. It’s just not fair.”

“No wonder this woman is so beautiful. My husband keeps sneaking looks at her. She has no shame—she’s already married but still dresses so nicely.”

“Who knows.”

They didn’t seem to be looking for someone—they seemed more like thieves.

As they spoke, they tried to hide some of the fabric they were holding under their clothes.

Bai An had been furious when she overheard them insulting her mother, and now they were trying to steal right under her nose.

“What are you doing?!”

Bai An stormed up to them, snatching the fabric out of their hands. She shouted, “You’re jealous of my mom because you can’t look as good as her! You’re shameless!”

One of the women sneered, “How dare you talk like that? You’re just a picked-up child, raised without a mother!”

They tried to push Bai An out of the door. “With a face like that, you’ll grow up not knowing how to seduce people.”

“Second Aunt.” Lin Zhixia walked in, pulling Bai An aside with a cold voice. “Cui Ju is still missing. Hurry up and move.”

The women exchanged confused looks, muttering to themselves as they went on with their actions.

Bai An shook off Lin Zhixia’s hand.

“I don’t need your fake kindness.”

Bai An didn’t look at her, feeling aggrieved. Her eyes reddened, and she glared angrily at the women, who were acting like thieves.

The women, noticing Bai An’s watchful gaze, didn’t dare to do anything overt. They pretended to lift the quilts, pulling out the clothes from the chest and laying them out to look at, even rummaging through Wanqing’s jewelry.

Unable to take it anymore, Bai An stepped forward and asked loudly, “Are you here to find someone or just to steal?”

The women, hearing her words, tossed aside what they were holding, some venting their frustration by making a mess of the room before leaving with a glare toward Bai An.

Bai An clenched her fists and, looking at Lin Zhixia, asked sarcastically, “What, even you want to see what’s good in this house?”

Lin Zhixia, unbothered by Bai An’s attitude, lowered her head and muttered, “I’ll return the book to you tomorrow.”

“You don’t need to return it.” Bai An leaned against the doorframe, hearing the sounds from the kitchen. She looked up and saw Lu Demin, furrowing his brows at the kitchen door. She said, “It was a book I lent to Cui Ju. You can ask her to return it.”

At the mention of Cui Ju, Lin Zhixia’s expression stiffened for a brief moment. She slid her hand into her pocket, her fingers unconsciously curling.

Just then, Lu Demin shouted angrily, “What are you doing?”

Bai An furrowed her brow and ran over.

Seeing Bai An leave, the other women quickly rushed back into the room.

Lin Zhixia noticed and reached out as if to stop them but seemed to think of something and lowered her hand, standing indifferently at the door, watching as the women grabbed clothes and shoved them into their arms like crazed thieves.

Bai An stood beside Lu Demin, watching the scene in the house and finally understanding why her father was so angry.

This tiny kitchen had no space to hide anyone. The group wasn’t looking for someone—they were crowding around the kitchen, eying the food, glancing left and right. Using the others’ distractions, they reached for the food.

“Are you stealing?” Bai An sneered, looking at their shameless behavior. “Weren’t you supposed to be looking for Cui Ju? You’re all shameless, stealing food right here.”

“We’re shameless?” A thin man with hollow cheeks pointed to the rice in front of him and sneered. “You’re the ones who are shameless.”

“We work so hard, yet we can’t eat as well as you. Look at this rice, these vegetables, and oh, there’s even meat.”

Feeling the hungry, wolfish stares from the group, Bai An’s sixth sense told her:

There’s danger.

Lu Jin’an also felt the shift in the air. Narrowing his eyes, he pulled Bai An behind him.

Lu Demin was speechless. He could feel the villagers’ hostility toward them, unmasked and blatant.

He pulled Wanqing to his side. The four of them stood in a corner of the yard, watching as the invaders ransacked their home, watching them pounce on their property like hungry wolves.Chapter 25: Ransacked (1/2)