The cry was low and depressing, as if she was aggrieved.
Lu Qingtang looked in the direction of the sound, and it seemed that it was coming from the fourth sister-in-law's room. If there was no one else in the room, it was probably the sister-in-law who was crying.
Why is she crying?
I remembered how enthusiastic and carefree my sister-in-law was during the meal. She didn't look like the kind of person who would shed tears whenever she asked.
However, people should not be judged by their appearance, and Lu Qingtang did not intend to eavesdrop on other people's bed curtains, so she stood up and prepared to go back to the house. Unexpectedly, the door to her sister-in-law's room was opened.
As soon as Lu Qingtang stood up and raised his feet to leave, with his arms hanging in the air, he saw his sister-in-law standing outside the door.
Sister-in-law was also startled by Lu Qingtang, and even the clothes she was wearing fell to the ground.
Lu Qingtang immediately smiled dryly at her, "I...I can't sleep. If I come out to sit here, will it disturb you and my brother's rest?"
My sister-in-law wiped the tears from her face, then bent down to pick up the coat on the ground, walked forward and said, "It's okay, girl, we haven't slept yet."
She walked to the side and sat down on the millstone, then lowered her head and smiled shyly, "I'll make you laugh, sister."
The red eyes seemed to have suffered a lot of grievances, and Lu Qingtang couldn't help but ask: "What kind of trouble did sister-in-law encounter?"
My sister-in-law looked up at her, anger flashed in her eyes for a moment, then she lowered her head and sighed, "It's not the bandits who caused the trouble! They stole all the chickens I had raised for a year, and I couldn't bear to eat them myself. , save them to lay eggs to supplement nutrition for the baby, and save them for killing during the New Year, who would have thought of these damn bandits..."
The more she spoke, the more she felt aggrieved. She couldn't hold back the tears and began to cover her face and cry.
Lu Qingtang quickly took out a handkerchief from his arms to wipe her tears. My sister-in-law took the handkerchief and was immediately surprised, "Oh, sister, you are made of silk, how dare I use it!"
As she spoke, she put the veil back into Lu Qingtang's hand.
Lu Qingtang took the handkerchief, wiped his sister-in-law's tears with a smile, and said, "It doesn't matter, silk or not, it's just an object."
My sister-in-law smiled and said very shyly, "I didn't expect you rich people to be so kind. Your husband must be a high official. You are so happy."
Lu Qingtang did not respond to her sister-in-law's words. She smiled bitterly and asked her again, "Have you reported to the police? These chickens are worth a lot of money."
"We reported it, why didn't we report it to the official, but the county magistrate in the county government asked us to come back and wait for the news. Now all the chickens in our cage were stolen, and only one crowing rooster was left!" Sighing again, she pointed to the chicken cage not far away and said to Lu Qingtang, with an indignant look on her face, "You don't know how powerful that bandit is, he can even pick locks, making us afraid to sleep at night. .”
Lu Qingtang looked in the direction of the chicken cage. The new lock looked particularly shiny in the moonlight. She said to her sister-in-law, "How can a bandit steal something?"
My sister-in-law looked at Lu Qingtang in a daze, and then explained with a smile, "Of course it's for money, or to satisfy my greed!"
"I said, how could a bandit steal something?" Lu Qingtang specially emphasized the word "steal" to remind his sister-in-law.
Only then did the sister-in-law regain her composure. She was immediately shocked, and then looked at Lu Qingtang with admiration, "Ah, my sister is so good. She solved the case in no time. I'm sorry, this is not a bandit, this is a thief." !”
Seeing the exaggerated look on his sister-in-law's face, Lu Qingtang said, somewhat dumbfounded: "What kind of case is this solved? You have to catch the thief and make him admit it."
My sister-in-law smiled shyly, "I don't know anything about solving crimes. I only know that you are good-looking and know a lot, sister. I think you are a good person from the bottom of my heart."
Now it was Lu Qingtang's turn to feel embarrassed. Her face was a little red and hot, and she was not worthy of the sister-in-law's praise.
In fact, she wanted to help this sister-in-law catch the chicken thief, but now she is not as relaxed as before. She has a child to take care of. If you meet a mentally disturbed person, it would be too uneconomical to fight against yourself because of a chicken.
However, the sister-in-law didn't pay attention to Lu Qingtang's expression. After chatting with her for a while, the two of them went back to their houses.
Nothing happened all night. At dawn, after Lu Qingtang and others had breakfast, they heard that there was another incident of missing rice in the village.
Out of curiosity, Lu Qingtang put on men's clothes and followed his sister-in-law to watch the burgling house with Shui Yunxi.
The people in the village were very poor, and they would naturally feel distressed if their things were stolen. This man was an honest man, and would only cry while holding an empty rice vat. Lu Qingtang glanced at the details around him, such as the deep and shallow footprints on the ground, the pry marks on the window, and the big tree outside the window.
Many details told Lu Qingtang that the thief was a cripple and there was only one person. This was also confirmed by the words of many villagers present.
After returning, Lu Qingtang discussed with Shui Yunxi and decided to stay a few more days to help the villagers catch the thief. Shui Yunxi was a passionate man and an official who did not want to see the people suffer. In addition, the magistrate of Fangcheng County didn't care about the life and death of these ordinary people. Shui Yunxi agreed with Lu Qingtang's idea out of his inner injustice.
Therefore, Lu Qingtang, Shui Yunxi and Yu Bai began to rest during the day and guard the sister-in-law's yard at night to catch thieves.
In order to attract thieves, they also bought a few chickens from other people's homes at a high price and raised them in a chicken coop at the sister-in-law's house to attract the attention of thieves.
On the first night, the thief didn't come.
It was still the same the next day.
On the third day, Lu Qingtang took a nap and looked up at the moon in the sky. It was almost midnight.
When Yu Bai saw this, he immediately said to her: "Madam, why don't you go back and take a nap? You have to take care of the children during the day, so what are you going to do with us men at night?"
"Yes, you go to sleep, we are here." Shui Yunxi also agreed, swallowing and spitting, "But I don't think the thief will come back tonight."
Yu Bai yawned, licked his chapped lips, and said, "Yes, I have a hunch that we will fail again today."
The nap just now made Lu Qingtang feel much better. She shook her head and said, "I'm fine. Why don't I go get you some water? I see you are both thirsty."
The two people agreed upon hearing this, so Lu Qingtang stood up and went to his sister-in-law's kitchen to pour water for them both.
Holding a bowl of tea in one hand, Lu Qingtang walked out of the kitchen. She yawned and accidentally saw a person squatting in front of the chicken coop.
The kitchen is right next to the chicken coop, only three to five steps away. The man was dressed in black, only showing a pair of almond-shaped eyes, which were clear and bright.
She thought she had seen it wrong, so she tried to open her eyes wide and shook her head vigorously.
The man was also looking at himself. He was holding the copper wire in one hand and holding the lock in the other hand, and was stuffing the copper wire into the keyhole.
The two looked at each other, and suddenly the chicken in the cage crowed, breaking the silence between them.
