Chapter 25

Early in the morning, everyone in the Yangliu Production Brigade heard something completely outrageous—Shen Hong, Shen Lihui, and Shen Minbing from the Shen family had gone out in the middle of the night to steal bricks from Old Shen Seventh’s house. In the end, they were caught midway by members of the brigade who intervened in the name of justice.

What was even more bizarre was that not only did they steal bricks, but they also used baskets to carry them.

It was said that by the time they were caught, they were sweating profusely from exhaustion and had collapsed onto the ground. They had fallen so loudly that they woke up nearby residents, which led to their capture.

Even more ridiculous, when these three were caught red-handed doing something bad, someone called them stupid, and they immediately broke down emotionally.

Especially Shen Hong—he nearly got into a fight with the person who insulted him, shouting things like, “It’s not stupid to be tricked! You’re the stupid one! Your whole family’s stupid!” Luckily, there were quite a few men around at the time, or he might’ve gotten out of control.

And even more bizarrely, the three of them admitted outright to stealing—after all, both the evidence and the perpetrators were caught together, so there was no denying it—but they insisted that it wasn’t the brave brigade members who caught them. Instead, they claimed someone had secretly sabotaged them and demanded that Zhou Mancang, who was called over, help them uncover the “treacherous villain.”

Forget Zhou Mancang and those present—even those who heard about it the next day all thought: Is something wrong with the brains of those three from the Shen family?

Even taking a huge step back—if someone had secretly sabotaged them, would that make the person a villain? No, that person would be a hero who stepped in at the right time to stop injustice.

As for their reason for stealing bricks from their own uncle’s house? That was equally bizarre. Apparently, Old Shen Seventh’s family had made their father work for free and didn’t even provide food, so they wanted to “teach them a lesson.”

However, although that was what they claimed, most people still believed they simply wanted to steal the bricks to sell for money.

It was said their original plan was to stash the bricks in the cellar of the eldest branch of the Shen family, which was why they were seen carrying the bricks toward the village.

It wasn’t hard to guess their logic: hide the bricks in the cellar for a while, wait until things cooled down, and then sell them.

There weren’t many people in the area who had dug cellars. The eldest Shen household had one under their woodshed, but not many knew about it. Even if someone had heard, they likely wouldn’t have remembered once news of the stolen bricks broke.

Call them stupid, and it seemed like they had at least planned it out. Call them clever, and what they did certainly wasn’t intelligent.

Since it all happened in the middle of the night, Zhou Mancang didn’t bother waking up their parents or grandparents. He just locked the three of them in an empty room in the brigade office, planning to deal with it in the morning.

It was said that when told to carry the bricks back, the three barely lasted a short while before giving out, and in the end, it was the onlookers who helped bring the bricks back.

People who couldn’t even carry a basket—no wonder they got caught halfway through stealing.

In short, there were many versions of the story floating around, and soon enough, they were being embellished and exaggerated, spreading like wildfire.

Neither the eldest nor second branches of the Shen family even noticed their sons were missing during the night. It wasn’t until morning when they went to wake them for breakfast and found the rooms empty that they learned of what had happened the previous night—and immediately, the two families exploded in chaos.

So, just as Shen Mo’er finished breakfast and was getting ready for the day’s work, the people from the two branches came storming over in a big, angry group—including Tian Fang, who hadn’t been outside much lately.

“Old Seventh, those are your own grandnephews,” Shen Shengli said darkly, his tone full of entitlement. “They’re just kids who didn’t understand and wanted to take a few bricks to build a chicken or dog pen. No need to blow it out of proportion. Their father is still helping build your house, isn’t he? Last night, you should’ve just let it go. Why would you let the brigade leader lock them up?”

Shen Hong was the eldest legitimate grandson of the Shen family and usually listened to his grandfather, Shen Shengli, the most. Shen Shengli didn’t think his grandson had done anything wrong—in fact, he admired him for standing up for his father. He didn’t want his grandson to be a coward who just stayed silent when being bullied.

Shen Yongjun added, “My son Minbing isn’t some short-sighted kid either. If we get to the root of it, this all started because his father was working for you and your family didn’t even provide food. We’re not trying to nitpick, of course—Jianye and Jianshe still came to help even though you didn’t provide meals. But seeing all that made the kids uncomfortable, and they acted on impulse. Really, it was out of filial piety. As their uncle, you’re not really going to hold this against the kids, are you?”

Well then! According to these two brothers, Shen Hong and the others sneaking into their great-uncle’s house in the dead of night to steal bricks suddenly became an act of childish ignorance—and even filial piety!

Shen Mo’er and Shen Shaoyuan were dumbfounded. They couldn’t believe there were people this shameless, this brazenly self-justifying in the world. Even Chen Zhuangzhuang and the others who had come over to start work were stunned into silence.

Fu Mingze and Zheng Jiamin also arrived. Zheng Jiamin, who loved to tease, couldn’t help but mutter under his breath, “So what, should the brigade hold a meeting to praise them?”

At that, Chen Zhuangzhuang and the others burst out laughing.

“We’re dealing with a family matter here. What’s a zhiqing like you sticking your nose in for? Running your mouth like that?” Shen Jianping’s wife immediately snapped. Shen Hong was her most valued son, and while they were all fuming, these outsiders were standing there making sarcastic remarks. She didn’t dare offend the villagers, but rootless zhiqing like them? She wasn’t scared of them.

Shen Shaoyuan glanced at her and said flatly, “The elders are talking. What are you yapping for?”

After a pause, he added, “Even if your skin is thick enough to try twisting black into white, no matter how pretty your words sound, stealing is still stealing. They were caught red-handed, and that’s not something you can deny. And anyway, it was the brigade who detained them. If you want them back, talk to the brigade leader. There’s no point arguing with me.”

“Oh, by the way,” he added, glancing toward the direction of the commune, “the brigade leader had Zhou Peijun ride out early on a bicycle to call the police. They should be arriving soon.”

Hearing that the police were being called, the faces of the two Shen branches turned pale.

Shen Shengli panicked. “Why bring in the police? This is a family matter!”

Shen Yongjun also became frantic. “Old Seventh, they’re your grandnephews!”

Just then, someone nearby pointed and said, “Hey, aren’t those the police?”

Sure enough, several bicycles were approaching down the village road. Along with their brigade’s Zhou Peijun were three officers in military-green jackets and navy blue pants—the 1966-style police uniform.

“Oh, my Minbing!” Tian Fang instantly burst into tears. “Old Seventh, how could you be so heartless? Even if I’ve wronged you, Minbing is just a child! How could you be so cruel to take revenge on him? It was just a few bricks, and now you want to send him to jail? How can you be so heartless?!”

Well, she and Shen Yongjun really were a couple—in one sentence, they turned Shen Minbing into a poor victim of vengeance.

The police followed Zhou Peijun straight into the brigade office. Only then did everyone notice that Brigade Leader Zhou Mancang and the militia captain Zhou Qingguo were already waiting inside.

The people from the two Shen branches no longer cared about arguing with Shen Shaoyuan and rushed over to the brigade office.

The police worked quickly. After clarifying the situation, they dragged out the three boys, who looked worn out after a night in detention, and prepared to take them back to the commune for further questioning.

“Officer, they’re just grandnephews taking a few bricks from their great-uncle’s house. That’s not a big deal. Why are you arresting them?”

“They’re just kids. Let us teach them a lesson at home—no need to take them to the commune.”

A crowd of family members tried to block the officers.

The three boys started struggling too.

“Dad, Grandpa, we were just joking with Uncle Seventh! We wanted to hide the bricks to make him anxious. We didn’t mean to steal!”

“Yeah, we were just playing around! And anyway, we’re his grandnephews. Even if he gave us a few bricks, it wouldn’t be too much—why call the police?”

“Grandma, Mom, save me! I don’t want to go to the station! I don’t want to go to jail! Save me! Waaaah…”

The police immediately intervened.

“Be quiet!”

The older officer said sternly, “It doesn’t matter whose things were stolen—stealing is still stealing. This is a criminal act. It’s not something that can be brushed off with a scolding at home. Of course, the exact nature of the crime will be determined after our investigation. Rest assured, we won’t let criminals go free, but we also won’t wrong the innocent. For now, please step aside and don’t interfere with official duties. If you do, we’ll have to take you to the commune station as well.”

He was a real officer—and when he got serious, his gaze was as sharp as a blade, so sharp no one dared meet his eyes.

The Shen family members all looked at each other. Earlier, Shen Shengli and Shen Yongjun had acted so self-righteous in front of Shen Shaoyuan, but now, in front of the police, their hearts were pounding. After being glared at, their legs nearly gave out. With them in that state, the others didn’t even dare move.

So, everyone silently stepped aside.

The police quickly took the boys away.

“Old Seventh, if you’re going to be this heartless, then don’t blame us for doing the same. Now that the boys have been taken away, don’t expect Jianping and the others to keep building your house,” Shen Shengli said coldly once the officers had left.

That was a clear threat—they were dropping the job, just like that.