Chapter 18: The Collective Criticism

“She's already in her fifties—what could she have done? Are they going to throw her in jail?”
“What did she do? Wasn't she just babysitting? Did something happen to the child? I always said she wasn’t cut out for childcare—she can’t even manage her own kids, let alone someone else’s.”
“Maybe she got caught doing something dirty with her hands? You know, it’s actually possible.”
“...”

Before Liu Hongjun could say a word, the meddling village women around him began speculating boldly, making the situation no less dramatic.

A faint, cold smile curled on Fu Xiaoxiao’s lips. It seemed Aunt Li’s reputation in the village was really poor; everyone gathering here had come just to see her humiliated.

“Let’s go in and have a look,” Fu Xiaoxiao said quietly. Evidence is more reliable than ten tongues.

Fu Xiaoxiao led Lu Lin and Lu Chen into Aunt Li’s house. Once inside, she whispered to them, “Take a careful look. Identify everything that’s missing from our home, and bring it outside the yard so those nosy women clinging to the walls can see for themselves.”

“Got it.” Lu Lin and Lu Chen nodded firmly, then began searching the house alongside the soldiers.

“Damn it! You’re not allowed to rummage through my things! I’ll sue you! I’ll fight you all!” Aunt Li struggled and screamed again. “Old Li! Hurry out! Your wife’s being bullied—come save me!”

“Li Guihua, stop shouting! Your Old Li saw you being dragged back and ran off immediately!” a villager who knew Aunt Li’s husband’s whereabouts laughed.

Just moments ago, her husband had seen her caught by two soldiers and running towards the village’s outskirts, clearly terrified of being caught himself.

“She must have done plenty of wicked things before! They haven’t even asked what she did, and he’s already running away like a guilty man.”

“Exactly! Hahaha...”

The women clinging to the neighboring wall burst into laughter. Seeing Aunt Li squirm brought them immense joy.

“Get lost! All of you, get lost!” Aunt Li roared, but in her current state, no one feared her.

“Hahaha... she’s flustered now.”

Watching these women, Fu Xiaoxiao truly understood the pleasure they found in gossip. Suddenly, her back pain eased, and she found new strength even as she leaned against the wall.

---

“Found them!” Lu Chen’s excited voice came from one of the rooms. Fu Xiaoxiao turned to see him carrying two thermos flasks.

“These were bought by Dad especially for me and my brother when we came home...” Lu Chen said eagerly.

“You little brat, stop making things up! I bought those! They were for my son’s wedding!” Aunt Li snapped angrily, pointing at Lu Chen.

“Hmph, I’m not afraid of you. Dad bought these for us and even had our names carved on them! Look here!” Lu Chen stuck out his tongue at Aunt Li and flipped the thermos over, revealing two names carved with a knife.

Fu Xiaoxiao stepped forward and examined the bottoms of the flasks, where “Xiaolin” and “Xiaochen” were indeed etched.

“These were taken from our home too!” Lu Lin pulled out a crate of eggs from the room, containing a mix of various eggs.

“My brother hunted these—wild pheasant eggs, duck eggs, bird eggs...” Lu Chen recognized them at once. These were eggs they had been saving, confirming Aunt Li had stolen them.

The soldiers also produced some items that looked out of place in this household.

New industrial soap, enamel basins and cups marked with their military unit’s insignia...

“These are liberation shoes, probably belonging to Captain Lu!” one soldier said, holding up two pairs of new shoes issued annually by their unit.

“Well, well! This house has definitely been robbed!” Liu Hongjun laughed in disbelief. Seeing the military-issued items laid out, Aunt Li had no room left to deny anything.

“Oh my, so you really did dirty work with your hands!” The onlooking villagers, seeing the variety of items—big and small, scattered everywhere—all clearly meant for the military, whispered among themselves.

“There are many items without direct military labels, but we can confirm they were taken from Captain Lu’s home,” a soldier reported to Liu Hongjun.

Cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea—these everyday items were harder to classify but were nonetheless stolen.

Liu Hongjun had initially entrusted Aunt Li with babysitting duties out of goodwill, as her family was the poorest in the village. He had hoped to help her with a small subsidy, but now it was clear he had hired a thief for Lu Feng’s family.

With each item brought out, his face reddened in anger and embarrassment.

“After all this, you still have the nerve to take Lu Feng’s money?” Fu Xiaoxiao looked at Aunt Li, speechless.

---

Aunt Li was filled with regret. She should never have been greedy and caused trouble in the military camp. Now, everything was lost.

The village chief arrived, summoned by the villagers. Upon entering, he immediately noticed the pile of military-exclusive items in the yard and felt a pang in his heart.

“Comrade Fu, how do you suggest we handle this?” Liu Hongjun asked Fu Xiaoxiao, though his eyes glanced toward the village chief.

“Report to the police,” Fu Xiaoxiao replied without hesitation.

The villagers gasped. If she were sent to the police, she probably wouldn’t get out anytime soon. The thought of Aunt Li going to jail strangely excited them.

“This... she did something wrong, but isn’t reporting to the police a bit too harsh?” the village chief said with a pained expression. He didn’t like the Li family either.

Rural folks fear the police above all. If word got out, their village’s reputation would be ruined.

“She stole so many things. Shouldn’t she be held accountable? If we follow your logic, village chief, then next time someone messes up, we just say a few words and forget it? No consequences? Then does that mean anyone can steal at will, and just brush it off with some empty words?” Fu Xiaoxiao’s face darkened at the chief’s words.

She despised those who, after committing wrongdoing, avoided punishment and expected the victims to forgive and forget.

What kind of deterrent is that? It would encourage everyone to commit crimes, knowing there’d be no real consequences—just a few meaningless reprimands.

“That’s unacceptable. She must be punished severely. Send her to the police! Absolutely send her to the police!”

Before the village chief could reply, the onlookers protested loudly.

If the village tolerated lazy, thieving troublemakers like Aunt Li’s family, how could they ever live in peace?

Just keep eyeing others’ money? No money? Then steal or rob?

“Exactly, village chief! A troublemaker like Aunt Li must be punished. Lock her up!”

“Right! Today it’s eggs, tomorrow it’s thermos flasks, the day after it’s oil—this isn’t the first time! We can’t keep indulging her...”