◎ Third update ◎ 

As the cabbages in the courtyard were slowly used up, people began to forget about the thief who had taken them. However, Luo Hongmei remained determined to catch the culprit. 

With her daughter in the countryside, her son neglecting the things at home, and her husband occupied with work, the burdensome task of catching the thief eventually fell to her. 

Late in the evening, she cursed at the east wing as usual, blaming Wu Changlong’s family for the crime. The Wu family was too lazy to pay attention to her and simply shut their door, leaving only her curses echoing in the air. 

“You are such a shameless bastard! You dare to steal from my house! Your whole family will be left without descendants… mmm…” 

A hand covered Luo Hongmei’s mouth tightly. Luo Hongmei struggled a few times before she got free. She turned her head and saw that it was her son, Yao Haoyu! 

“You little rascal, how dare you cover your mother’s mouth?” She slapped her son a few times but didn’t really use much force. 

Yao Haoyu sat down, crossed his legs, and advised his mother, “Mother, calm down. It’s just a few cabbages. Look how long you’ve been holding a grudge.” 

“What do you mean ‘just a few cabbages? This is about someone stealing right into our home. If we don’t stand our ground, next time they’ll be stealing money instead of cabbages!” 

“Come on, how much money do we have that could be stolen? Just go to bed.” Yao Haoyu sighed. If he had known, he would not have moved the cabbages from his home. Now his mother wouldn’t stop obsessing over it. 

Last time he was short of money, so he asked the two scoundrels from another alley to steal cabbages in exchange for cash. However, it was the first time for the three of them to do this, so they were not well-prepared and only managed to steal a few. They only earned ninety cents from more than ten cabbages. And now he had to hear his mother curse him daily. 

Today, things got worse; now his mother was even talking about ending their bloodline. Yao Haoyu got anxious when he heard it. He didn’t know Luo Hongmei was so vicious! 

It seems that he must be careful in his actions tonight. They couldn’t steal from their own house again, or his mother would definitely never let it go. 

In the middle of the night, seeing that everyone in the courtyard had lowered their guard, they prepared the cart, mapped out the route, and got ready to steal a couple of hundred pounds of cabbages. 

Why don’t they steal more valuable things? Those things are locked in every household’s cabinets. They are difficult to steal and can easily be discovered, especially for these new thieves. 

Instead, the cabbages outside were easier to handle. 

As night deepened and the courtyard fell silent, Yao Haoyu sneaked to open the courtyard gate, signaled his two accomplices inside, and began to act. 

“Remember, don’t steal from my house, or my mother will scold us for the rest of our lives.” 

“I know, I know.” 

The three of them were much more skilled this time, working in perfect harmony, stealing cabbages from everywhere and taking turns to put them on the cart. Their movements were swift and silent. 

Yao Haoyu felt proud as he carried the cabbages. It seems that the saying “practice makes perfect” is true! 

However, he never expected that there were two people in the corner of the wall next to Xu’s house in the east wing who happened to catch them stealing cabbages. 

Cheng Caili and Lu Yuan had just finished burning the talisman for fertility. They were holding a bowl of black medicine and were about to drink it when they heard footsteps coming from outside. 

The two were already feeling guilty for engaging in superstitious practices, fearing that they might get caught. To their surprise, they encountered the thieves instead! 

“It turned out to be Yao Haoyu!” Cheng Caili whispered softly. She and Lu Yuan looked outside and saw cabbages being taken away one by one. “Luo Hongmei curses people every day, but she doesn’t know that the curses were directed at her son.” 

“These bastards, just wait until I get out there…” Lu Yuan was about to rush out, but their figures were blocked by a pile of firewood, and they were hiding in the corner, so no one noticed them. 

“Stop it, we can’t go out. If we’re asked why we’re not sleeping at this hour, what will you say?” Cheng Caili weighed the risks and felt that she could still bear losing some cabbages. After all, engaging in these old practices was being frowned upon. She didn’t want to get stabbed. 

The two of them watched helplessly as their cabbages were taken away by Yao Haoyu, and Cheng Caili was filled with hatred. 

Of course, the one most furious about the cabbage thief was Luo Hongmei. 

She had been thinking about this matter these days and couldn’t sleep well at night. At her age, she was a light sleeper, and tonight, she felt restless and thought she couldn’t fall asleep. Wearing her clothes, she got out of bed to check the cabbages outside her door. This had become her recent habit. If she wanted to protect the food, she had to keep an eye on it! 

Peeking through a crack in the curtain, she saw her cabbages were fine and felt relieved. Just as she turned around and wanted to go back to the house to sleep, Luo Hongmei caught a glimpse of movement outside – it was the thief who stole the cabbages! 

With a pair of shining eyes, Luo Hongmei excitedly picked up the broom and rolling pin. “Great, I finally got what I had been waiting for! Although the thieves didn’t steal from my house this time, they did last time!” 

If she didn’t want revenge, she wouldn’t be called Luo Hongmei! 

Carefully removing the door locked, a middle-aged woman with a rolling pin sprinted forward at full speed and hit the thief, who was bending over to hold the cabbage, with a heavy blow! 

With a loud bang, Yao Haoyu’s eyes were filled with stars! 

“Who…” Before he could finish his words, he was hit with a heavy blow several times. He couldn’t help but scream, and it caused a loud commotion. 

“I’ll beat you to death, you thief! How dare you steal from me!” 

Seeing this, the two companions next to him wanted to come forward to grab the rolling pin, but Luo Hongmei dodged them and swung at them with the stick again and again. The three young men were beaten to a pulp by Luo Hongmei. 

When Luo Hongmei was young, she had many brothers and sisters in her family. As the eldest sister, she helped raise her younger siblings. She was strong and capable, stronger than many men. With her fearless spirit, she managed to subdue the three people with just one stick. 

“I’ll beat you to death, beat you to death! Why become a thief when you could do something decent!” While hitting them, she scolded and loudly called out, “Someone come quickly! Everyone come out, I’ve caught the thieves!” 

This time, the neighborhood office must give her an award! She had already thought about using this award to get her son a temporary job, which would not only vent her anger but also solve her son’s job problem— a perfect solution. 

“No, no, mother!” Luo Hongmei was about to hit again, but she stopped when she heard her son’s voice. She squinted her eyes and saw that the man with a bruised face and nose was none other than her son. 

“Haoyu, what are you doing here?” 

As soon as she said this, she knew she had made a fool of herself. She threw away the stick and slapped her son on the head with her hand. “You’re the thief? How could you do such a thing?” 

“Did you catch the thief?” 

“What’s going on?” 

Just as Luo Hongmei was about to help her son up and go into the house, she saw that every household in the courtyard had opened their doors one after another. Some of them still looked sleepy, while others, wearing cotton-padded jackets and holding flashlights or kerosene lamps, came out. 

Luo Hongmei’s hands froze, and she stood there in a daze, looking at the three listless thieves, not knowing what to say. 

Liang Baozhen and Xu Shengjie were also woken up and went out to watch the commotion. Before going out, they glanced at the wall clock. It was three o’clock in the morning and the commotion was quite excessive for this time of night. 

“Ha~” Liang Baozhen yawned, wrapped herself in a cotton jacket, and followed Xu Shengjie out. The two stood at the door of the house watching the excitement. They saw that the thief who stole the cabbage was caught by Luo Hongmei. Although Luo Hongmei likes to talk about others, she turned out to be quite brave. 

“Aunt Luo beat the three of them alone? That’s impressive.” Liang Baozhen squeezed to the edge of the crowd and took a look. Although she didn’t see the faces of the three thieves, she felt that Luo Hongmei was incredible. 

Midnight is the coldest time of the night. The weather was freezing and the wind was biting. However, no matter how cold it was, it couldn’t stop everyone from watching the excitement. Even Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya got up and squeezed into the crowd, despite being sleepy and cold. 

Xu Shengjie was tall, so he happened to see the face of one of the thieves. He turned to Liang Baozhen and asked, “Did you see who the thief was?” 

“Who?” There were many people in front, and Liang Baozhen couldn’t see them. She wondered if Xu Shengjie’s question meant there was something wrong. Could it be someone she knew? 

“Yao Haoyu.” 

“Ah?” This answer was completely unexpected. Liang Baozhen glanced at Luo Hongmei, who stood resolute like a warrior in the cold wind, and then at Yao Haoyu, who sat on the ground with his head bowed. She couldn’t help but sigh, “It’s truly a matter of justice over family; I didn’t expect Aunt Luo to be so righteous.” 

Luo Hongmei wasn’t truly righteous; she hadn’t realized her son was the thief. At this moment, she just wanted to beg Wei Jinrong to make a big deal out of a small matter and kept trying to appease him. 

Liang Baozhen felt sleepy again, and it was really cold outside, so she hurriedly urged Xiaowei and Xiaoya to go back to the house to avoid catching a cold. 

The two children skipped back to the house. Liang Baozhen was walking behind them. As soon as she turned around, she saw two figures crouching beside her house. 

There are more thieves! 

“Shengjie.” She quietly pulled Xu Shengjie’s finger to attract his attention, and whispered, “There are two more thieves on the left wall.” 

Following Liang Baozhen’s gaze, Xu Shengjie saw two people squatting in the distance. His good eyesight allowed him to recognize them. 

“It’s Lu Yuan and Cheng Caili.” 

“Ah?” Liang Baozhen felt relieved after hearing this and walked over to meet Lu Yuan and Cheng Caili, who were hiding in the corner. 

“Shh.” Cheng Caili held a bowl and gestured for her to be quiet, fearing that others would discover them. 

“Sister Caili, what are you doing hiding here in the middle of the night?” 

“Oh, it’s a long story!” Cheng Caili and Lu Yuan hadn’t had the chance to return home since the thieves appeared. It was good thing they meet Liang Baozhen and her husband now; they could help cover for them. “Don’t shout, let’s go back to the house first. Don’t worry, we’re not up to anything bad.” 

Liang Baozhen looked at the two of them, not out of suspicion but curiosity. What was this bowl of black water? It looked pitch black. 

“We’ll head back first. If anyone asks, just say we came out to see the commotion.” Lu Yuan helped Cheng Caili to stand up, but his legs had become numb after squatting for too long. He didn’t stand firmly and bumped into the window of Liang Baozhen and Xu Shengjie’s bedroom with a thud. 

Lu Yuan rubbed his head and continued to help his wife home. 

Liang Baozhen heard the noise and thought it sounded familiar, like the noise she heard that night at home. Could it have been them? 

Cheng Caili and Lu Yuan, feeling guilty, quickened their pace toward the back house, but they were stopped by Wei Jinrong just as they reached the middle of the yard! 

“Lu Yuan, what are you and your wife doing here?” 

The two of them held their breath and didn’t dare to reply. What would happen if they were caught engaging in superstitious ritual? This was bad! 

“What are you holding in your hands?” Wei Jinrong strode over and asked while looking at the porcelain bowl in Cheng Caili’s hand. 

“I…” Cheng Caili trembled in front of Uncle Wei, holding the bowl, not knowing how to explain.

“Xiao Cheng, did you bring me a drink because you think I’m having a hard time catching thieves?” Wei Jinrong talked for a long while, dealt with Luo Hongmei, and severely criticized the cabbage-stealing thieves headed by Yao Haoyu. His throat was quite hoarse now. 

He saw Cheng Caili holding a bowl of “tea” in her hand, which looked similar to the strong tea she usually made. 

“Ah?” How could Cheng Caili dare to deny it at this moment? She was walking around with a bowl of water in the middle of the night, which was really suspicious. It was neither right to admit it nor to deny it. Cheng Caili stammered and didn’t know what to say. 

Seeing that Cheng Caili did not deny it, Uncle Wei took the bowl from her hand and gulped down the bowl of medicine for treating infertility. 

Holding the empty bowl back, Cheng Caili and Lu Yuan exchanged glances, both silently agreeing on one thing: retreat! 

The author has something to say: 

A night of chaos 

Yao Haoyu: I am injured. 🤕 

Luo Hongmei: I am heartbroken. 😣 

Lu Yuan: I am also injured. 😭 

Uncle Wei: Is it possible that I am the one who is injured the most here?!!! 🤢