A Good Country Wife
Chapter 355 - 349_1

Chapter 355: Chapter 349_1

Since they didn’t know how many inside thieves there were, Zhao Erhu and the others discussed it and decided to take turns on watch in pairs. Everyone would stay nearby, so in case of any trouble, everyone could rush over promptly.

On this side, Li Xiaomei and Zhao Cheng came over, "Sister-in-law, stop fussing, we should just go back to eat."

"Why act like strangers? The food is all ready. If you go back, you’ll have to start a fire and cook from scratch, which is a lot of trouble. You might as well make do with what we have here. I see you’ve been busy all day and must be exhausted. After you eat, go back and get some good rest. These days, I’ll need your help more than ever."

"Sister-in-law, rest assured. You didn’t listen to those rumors in the village and trusted me so much, entrusting me with tasks. Even if it wears me out, I’m happy. Besides, I like being in charge. I’m in high spirits, not tired at all, but feel fulfilled. Earning money and supporting the family, living like this makes me realize how pointless my previous life was." Li Xiaomei finished speaking and nudged Zhao Cheng beside her, "Zhao Cheng, don’t you agree?"

"My wife is right, sister-in-law. Though these days are tiring, they’re also very fulfilling. Our whole family is happy. We have to thank you and brother for your generosity in not holding the past against us, for giving us a chance. We will work hard."

"Enough of that, let’s not talk about these irrelevant matters. It’s getting late, and you must be hungry. Hurry and eat; I’ve been keeping the dishes warm." Lin Yue said while taking the food out of the pot. Sanlang and Silang had not helped earlier, but now, to show off in front of Lin Yue, the brothers competed to get bowls and chopsticks from the cupboard and set the table.

Seeing this, Li Xiaomei felt envious and glanced at her two sons, who were jumping around like monkeys, roughhousing. "You two little rascals, look how sensible Sanlang and Silang are. At such a young age, they already know to help your second aunt. And look at you two, just playing and lying all day, learn something from them."

For Zhao Cheng’s family, Lin Yue specially made double-cooked pork with garlic sprouts, Mapo tofu, and a few other dishes left from before. The family of four enjoyed a fragrant meal, "Sister-in-law, your cooking is really good. I’ve never eaten food this delicious before, even better than the restaurants in the city." Li Xiaomei couldn’t stop praising as she ate.

"Aunt’s cooking is much tastier than mom’s. From now on, I want to eat at Aunt’s house," Li Xiaomei’s eldest son chimed in after hearing her praise Lin Yue’s cooking.

"Cheeky boy, you should be grateful you have something to eat at all, and yet you’re fussy! Your aunt has four sons to feed, which is hard enough, why should she feed you too? Hurry up and eat. If you don’t behave, I’ll have your dad spank you."

When Li Xiaomei was about to leave, Lin Yue took the sweet potatoes that had been slow-cooked in the stove and wrapped them to take with them. The sweet potatoes had been cooking in the ashes for so long they were thoroughly baked, emitting a tempting aroma that made the children drool.

Lin Yue smiled as she looked at Dalang and the others, "Don’t eat too much tonight, or it won’t digest. I’ll cook more sweet potatoes for you in the morning."

Upon hearing there would be roasted sweet potatoes the next morning, Silang smiled ingratiatingly and hugged Lin Yue’s legs, "Roasted sweet potatoes are delicious, I love them the most. Mom is the best!"

Lin Yue laughed and patted Silang on the head, "You little flatterer, am I only the best if I roast sweet potatoes for you?"

"Of course not, Mom is the best at all times. I love Mom the most."

Sanlang, upon hearing her, also clung to Lin Yue, "Me too, me too, I love Mommy the most, most, most."

Zhao Erhu was going to stay by the workshop to catch the thief, and Lin Yue had been busy until late in the day and was tired. After tidying up the house, she climbed into bed and fell asleep quickly, not waking up until the next morning. She cooked breakfast, and it was then that Zhao Erhu came back from outside, his face showing clear signs of fatigue.

"How was it, did you find anything after watching all night?" Lin Yue saw Zhao Erhu return in such a state and knew for sure that the thief had not been caught. She just didn’t know if there had been any other discoveries, or if any suspicious people had been spotted.

"Liu Aniu and I took turns watching; there wasn’t a stir all night long. I guess the thief must have already stolen something yesterday and therefore didn’t come back," Zhao Erhu shook his head, and as he took the hot towel from Lin Yue and applied it to his face, and after washing his face with hot water, he felt much more refreshed.

"It’s only been one night; it’s normal to not discover anything. We’ll continue watching this evening. As long as that thief comes again, we’ll surely catch him. Don’t worry too much, eat some food and then get some sleep to restore your energy."

"I know, don’t worry about me. But today, you need to keep a closer eye on the workshop," Zhao Erhu indeed felt very sleepy, after being busy all day and standing guard all night, he went straight to his room after eating.

"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, open the door!" Li Xiaomei hadn’t slept well last night, the matter of catching the thief weighed heavily on her mind, disturbing Zhao Cheng’s sleep as well. And so, first thing in the morning after gobbling down breakfast, she hurried over to Zhao Erhu’s house to find out if the thief had been caught the night before.

"Xiaomei, why are you here so early? The workers haven’t even gone to the workshop yet." Lin Yue saw Li Xiaomei come rushing in, clearly someone with the makings of a workaholic. In such cold weather, if it weren’t for the matter of the inside thief, she definitely wouldn’t have gotten up this early; Zhao Erhu also felt sorry for her, often coaxing her to sleep more, saying her body hadn’t fully recovered and needed ample rest.

"Sister-in-law, I’ve been worrying about it, how could I sleep? I got up before it was even light out, and I would’ve come here earlier if I wasn’t afraid that you wouldn’t be awake yet. So, did my brother and the others catch that thief last night?"

"No, not yet. It’s not so easy; we’ll have to watch for a few nights. You need to keep your mouth shut tight, don’t let anything slip and don’t act any different, otherwise, if the thief notices, it’ll startle him and we’ll never catch him." Li Xiaomei spoke hastily, often speaking before thinking, so Lin Yue felt the need to give her additional warnings.

"Don’t worry, I’ll act just as usual, I won’t show anything. Back when we were still living with the Chen family, I learned a thing or two from fighting wits with them."

With Zhao Erhu asleep in the room, Lin Yue locked the door from the outside and went to the workshop with Li Xiaomei. They opened the storage room and found that, indeed, some of the sweet potatoes were missing— not a lot, but definitely missing, about thirty to forty catties in estimation. The thief had also been cunning, covering his tracks. If it hadn’t been for Xiaomei’s vigilant observation, the theft might have gone unnoticed.

"Sister-in-law, didn’t you say the thief didn’t come last night? Why are the sweet potatoes still missing? Could it be that my brother fell asleep while watching, which is why he noticed nothing?"

Lin Yue shook her head. She knew what kind of person Zhao Erhu was; he was very serious about everything he did. In the past, he would watch over in the mountains for two or three days for a single hunt; it didn’t make sense that he couldn’t endure one night, especially since he was with Liu Aniu.