Chapter 89: The General Meeting of the Entire Courtyard

Liu Erli had someone drag over a long table in advance and set three chairs behind it, placing them in the open space of the rear courtyard.

When the appointed hour came, First Uncle was the first to arrive, with two middle-aged women of about his age following behind him. It was clear that they were Second Aunt and Third Aunt.

After the three of them were seated, First Uncle raised his voice and addressed the entire courtyard. “Today, I am deeply disappointed, truly deeply disappointed. There has actually been a social scum in our courtyard.

“The purpose of calling this meeting today is to cleanse ourselves of this unhealthy trend...”

Xiao Weiguo stared, dumbfounded, at First Uncle on the platform, who had been talking for ages without ever getting to the point. Truly, a man who had once been a teacher.

At that moment, Second Aunt, unable to bear it any longer, tugged at First Uncle’s sleeve and cut in. “First Uncle has already spoken to the seriousness of this matter. Let me explain the specifics.

“Our new resident, Xiao Weiguo, found that sixteen of his coal briquettes were missing. So we must hold this meeting, find the one who stole them, and make them compensate Xiao Weiguo.”

From below, Xiao Weiguo quietly asked Liu Erli beside him about Second Aunt’s identity.

Liu Erli replied, “Second Aunt? Her name is Zhang Mei. She’s a veteran worker at the supply and marketing cooperative, and has been there ever since the country was founded. Whenever our courtyard needs scarce goods, we all ask Second Aunt to buy them. When it comes to getting cabbage and meat for New Year’s, she helps out a great deal.”

After Second Aunt finished, Third Aunt continued, saying, “This kind of behavior is extremely unhealthy, and it even involves our new resident. What will our newly arrived neighbors think of us? Everyone, don’t you agree...”

This time Xiao Weiguo did not need to ask; Liu Erli directly told him, “Third Aunt is named Wang Ying. She works in the government’s publicity office. Most people can’t outtalk her. She’s especially good at making everything sound lofty.”

Xiao Weiguo nodded in understanding.

When First Uncle called him to say a few words, Xiao Weiguo quickly walked up to the open space in front of the long table and said to the gathered residents, “Everyone, I’m truly sorry. It’s only a few coal briquettes. If you had asked me for them, I would have given them to you without a second thought.

“But stealing is something I truly cannot accept. I hope the person who took them will come forward promptly, admit fault to me, and we can let this matter go. After that, we can still get along as before.”

Second Aunt Zhang Mei then said, “Whoever took Weiguo’s coal briquettes should stand up right away. And if anyone has any clues, please speak up too. We must find this person today.”

Suddenly, a resident nearby shouted, “Oh no! I just went home and checked the coal briquettes in my yard, and several are missing too. This thief didn’t steal from just one household—he stole from everyone!”

At this news, the crowd below instantly became noisy, and people hurriedly sent others back home to check.

“The bricks by my front door are down by more than ten pieces.”

“My chickens haven’t laid well these past few days. I thought the hens were just getting old, but it looks like they were stolen.”

“I’m missing four or five garlic bulbs hanging on the outer wall. I thought a wild cat carried them off, but they must have been stolen too.”

“My house...”

Third Aunt Wang Ying was immediately thrilled. Good heavens, this was not just a single incident, but a theft affecting so many households in the whole courtyard. They absolutely had to catch this thief.

Then a half-grown child suddenly stepped out and said, “I know, I know! I’ve kept seeing Sister Lamei wandering around the courtyard lately. Could it be Xu Lamei who did it?”

Everyone’s eyes in the crowd immediately turned to Xu Lamei. Xiao Weiguo remembered that this sister-in-law lived in the rear courtyard and looked to be in her thirties, with a sallow, waxy complexion that made it seem as though her family was struggling.

Xu Lamei hurriedly stepped forward and pointed with one hand at the half-grown child who had spoken. “Wang Goudan, don’t talk nonsense. I think it was you who stole them. Who doesn’t know your family is poor, with only a lame old man at home—and then there’s you, this little bastard!”

“Who are you calling a little bastard? Who are you calling a little bastard!” Wang Goudan shouted, then rushed out and threw two punches at Xu Lamei’s leg. The onlookers quickly separated the two.

Xu Lamei was still relentless, saying, “You still dare hit me? This isn’t over today. A little bastard is a little bastard—no manners at all.”

At this, Third Aunt said to Xu Lamei, “Lamei, tell us honestly. Was this done by you?”

“It was definitely not me! You’re just bullying our orphaned mother and child, aren’t you? Yes, my husband is dead, but I still have my father-in-law and mother-in-law. You can’t just bully me like this!” With that, Xu Lamei sat down on the ground and burst into tears.

Seeing this, First Uncle, seated behind the table, rubbed his forehead in annoyance. He could not stand crying, and besides, they had no leads at all. Yet now so many households were involved in missing property. Their chance at becoming the model courtyard of the year now seemed to be ruined again.

“Then let’s do this. We can’t figure anything out, and it’s not just one family missing things—many households in the entire courtyard have lost items. Though none of what was lost is especially valuable, the nature of this matter is extremely serious.

“Second Aunt, Third Aunt, let’s call the Public Security Bureau.”

When Xu Lamei heard they were going to report it to the authorities, for some reason she cried even louder.

Second Aunt said to her, “Lamei, don’t cry. Let the police come and investigate. If they find out it has nothing to do with you, then won’t that clear you?”

Just then, a boy of seven or eight, humming a tune and carrying a paper bag in his left hand, bounced into the rear courtyard. Seeing Xu Lamei on the ground wailing and calling for her mother, he hurried over.

This was Xu Lamei’s son, named Zhai Baowa.

Seeing his mother crying, Zhai Baowa immediately assumed the adults watching had bullied her, and glared angrily at everyone.

Xiao Weiguo also felt awkward then. Why did it feel as though he had become the villain, bullying an orphaned mother and child?

After asking Liu Erli, he learned that Xu Lamei was a widow. Her husband had died unexpectedly, and she had taken over his job, raising the child on her own. Above her were a paralyzed father-in-law and a mother-in-law who suffered from a chronic illness and had to take medicine constantly. The family truly had it rough.

Zhai Baowa was entirely focused on his mother crying beside him and did not notice that the paper bag in his hand suddenly tipped over.

Two or three round eggs slipped out of the bag.

Third Aunt had sharp eyes. Seeing the eggs, she grew very puzzled. How could a child be carrying such valuable things around so casually?

So she told everyone to quiet down, stepped forward, and gently asked Zhai Baowa, “Baowa, where did the eggs in your hand come from? Tell Third Grandmother, all right?”

Xu Lamei, hearing this question and then seeing the eggs nearby, quickly stopped crying. She stood up, grabbed Zhai Baowa’s arm, and hurried him toward home.

Xiao Weiguo saw that the matter had taken a turn and quickly stepped forward to stop Xu Lamei, saying, “Sister Lamei, don’t rush off. Just let Zhai Baowa answer where these eggs came from.”

Before Xu Lamei could speak, Zhai Baowa said matter-of-factly, “I picked them up. I can pick up this many every day. Eggs are so tasty.”

“Where did you pick them up?” First Uncle cut in and asked.

Everyone looked confused. In this day and age, how could anyone actually pick up eggs—and so many of them at that?

“I picked them up in other courtyards, from the chicken coops in the yards. There are eggs there every day. Mom said that anything outside the house is something nobody wants, so we can bring it home. Mom gets really happy every day when she sees what I pick up. Right, Mom?” After saying this, Zhai Baowa turned his little face toward Xu Lamei.

At that moment Xu Lamei lowered her head, grabbed Zhai Baowa, and tried to charge back home.

But she was helplessly blocked by the people in the courtyard.

By now, the matter was basically clear.

Xiao Weiguo asked again, “Baowa, did you bring any coal briquettes from outside the house back home?” As he spoke, he pointed to the pile of coal briquettes by his own house.

“Yes. I was even planning to pick up some more today. Our coal briquettes are all burned through again.”

After hearing this, Xiao Weiguo turned his gaze toward First Uncle in the crowd, wondering how this would be concluded.

First Uncle, after hearing everything, was furious. He walked up to Xu Lamei and pointed at her, saying, “Nonsense! A child doesn’t know this is stealing. You’re such a grown woman—this is how you teach him? Like this, can your husband rest in peace underground?”

At that moment, Xu Lamei slapped Zhai Baowa hard across the face and said, “I told you not to steal! I told you not to steal! A child who learns no good will grow up to be nothing but trash!”

Zhai Baowa covered his face with both hands and looked at his mother in disbelief. Before, whenever he brought eggs and coal briquettes home, his mother had clearly been very happy. He had also been satisfied, glad that he could help the family.

Why was she hitting him today? Was what he was doing really called stealing? No one had ever told him that before.

Could it be that I really am stealing? Am I actually a thief?

With that thought, he burst into tears.

The bag of eggs in his hand fell straight to the ground, shattering and spilling everywhere.

It was as though a child’s entire sense of right and wrong had collapsed in an instant.