Chapter 251: Thieves

It was actually not too late yet, just a little past nine. People usually didn’t have much entertainment in the evening, and they were reluctant to turn on lights, and were worried about burning too much oil, so most people went to bed early.

Arriving at the health station, they knocked on the door. Doctor Gao lived there at night, partly because there might be emergency cases and partly because all of Doctor Gao’s sons had their own families now, so housing at home was tight.

This arrangement was quite convenient.

Luo Qiao guessed that Grandpa Lin might have acute appendicitis. Doctor Gao, wearing his coat, opened the door and saw them: “What’s going on?”

Grandma Lin quickly explained her husband’s condition. Doctor Gao promptly examined him, asking questions as he did so, and then said, “We need to get him to the health center quickly. It should be acute appendicitis, don’t delay any further.”

Doctor Gao said to Luo Qiao, “Luo Qiao, go to the headquarters and bring that cart over. Er Lengzi is currently staying in the side room of the brigade headquarters. Just let him know.”

Grandma Lin said, “It’s late at night. I’ll go with Luo Qiao.”

Doctor Gao then slapped his forehead and said, “Oh, I was so forgetful.”

After getting the cart out from the headquarters, Luo Qiao said to Grandma Lin, “Grandma Lin, you take the cart to the health station first, and I’ll go get some help.”

Thinking that tonight’s events needed authoritative witnesses, Luo Qiao ran to the captain’s house. After knocking on the door, a voice from inside asked, “Who is it?”

Luo Qiao replied, “Aunt Gao, it’s me, Luo Qiao.”

Aunt Gao, thinking something had happened to Luo Qiao, quickly opened the door: “Luo Qiao, what’s the matter?”

She looked Luo Qiao up and down and, seeing that she was fine, her breath relaxed.

Luo Qiao said, “Aunt Gao, I’m fine. Grandpa Lin from the east is ill, and Doctor Gao said he needs to be sent to the health center. I came to inform the captain.”

Qiao Lanlan called into the house, “Gao, go and check it out quickly. Make sure nothing else happens.”

Captain Gao Jiefang hurriedly rushed out of the house. When they arrived at the health station, Grandpa Lin was already in so much pain that his head was covered in sweat, and his face was pale. They quickly pushed the cart to take him to the commune’s health center.

The doctor on duty said surgery was necessary. In their rush, no one had brought any money. Luo Qiao said, “I’ll cover it for now.”

Grandma Lin, with her eyes red, said gratefully, “Thank you so much, little girl.”

Luo Qiao patted her hand and said, “As long as he’s okay.” Then she turned to pay the bill.

Originally, Gao Jiefang had suggested putting it on the village’s tab and settled it later. But since Luo Qiao had money with her, it was better to pay now and avoid any debts, though he still felt a bit embarrassed.

Once everything was settled and Grandpa Lin was moved to a ward, and they knew he was now okay, they left Grandma Lin to stay with him while the rest headed back to the village together.

By the time they got back to the village, it was already past 2 a.m. Captain Gao and Doctor Gao, still worried, insisted on escorting Luo Qiao to her doorstep. But when they saw the wide-open courtyard gate, Luo Qiao said, “There’s a thief.”

At this, Captain Gao and Doctor Gao exchanged glances and had Luo Qiao stay back while they went in first. The door to the house was also wide open. As they walked inside, Luo Qiao turned on her flashlight, and sure enough, her suspicion was correct.

Even the quilt on Luo Qiao’s kang had been taken, and the enamel wash basin in the room wasn’t spared either.

Half a bag of coarse grains from the kitchen was also gone. Luo Qiao thought to herself, these two thieves really have some nerve—it’s as if they planned to take everything here as a dowry.

In fact, that was exactly what they were thinking. After all, the stuff here belonged to Luo Qiao, and since she was now “their family,” these things naturally couldn’t be left behind. It was part of her dowry. Otherwise, wouldn’t they be losing out after spending 200 yuan?

Luo Qiao said to Captain Gao, “It looks like we’ll have to report this to the police. This is everything I own—they’re bullying me too much.”

So, Captain Gao didn’t go home but headed to the commune’s police station in the middle of the night to file a report. Originally, he didn’t want to involve the police, thinking they could go door-to-door in the morning to investigate. But after Luo Qiao explained it to him, they realized such blatant theft probably wasn’t committed by someone in the village.

If they waited too long, they were afraid that they might not find the culprits. Gao Jiefang was now dealing with a headache—if it wasn’t the health center, it was the police station. Their village really couldn’t find peace.