A Good Country Wife
Chapter 356 - 350_1

Chapter 356: Chapter 350_1

What was going on, Lin Yue wondered. Erhu and Aniu had stood watch outside the workshop all night and hadn’t discovered anything. Not a single red sweet potato from the thirty or forty pounds was missing. Could they just vanish into thin air? It wasn’t like those detective shows on TV. Yet, here she was, stumbling onto such a strange occurrence. A flicker of interest sparked within Lin Yue, and she was eager to find out how the thief had stolen the sweet potatoes. She looked closely around the room where the potatoes were stored, searching for clues.

After a thorough search inside and out, no evidence came to light. The lock on the door was intact, without a single sign of being tampered with. This room was specifically designed for storage, and apart from a small ventilation hole high up on the wall, which not even a child’s head could fit through, there was no other way in or out except for the locked door.

Li Xiaomei, watching Lin Yue inspect the area without making a sound, could no longer hold her patience. "Second sister-in-law, what are you looking at? Say something. What on earth is going on? Do we need to call over Second Brother to ask if it was his oversight that let the thief in?"

"I know what kind of person Erhu is, and Older Brother Liu is responsible too. The sweet potatoes could have been stolen with both of them on guard only if something else went wrong," Lin Yue said, her gaze sweeping the storage room. Where could the problem be? As her eyes moved around the room, they passed over the corner where dustpans, bamboo baskets, and other miscellaneous items were piled up, on top of a wooden board. Suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind. She strode over, moved the items off the board, and lifted it, revealing a tunnel underneath large enough for a person to pass through.

This was indeed astonishing. Someone had dared to dig a tunnel into her workshop—an audacious move. But the thief was clever, and if she hadn’t watched too many detective dramas, she might never have suspected such an inconspicuous hole in the corner under a pile of clutter. Digging the hole was a simple, direct, and effective method. At the dead of night, the thief could crawl through unnoticed.

Li Xiaomei, upon seeing Lin Yue uncover the tunnel among the clutter, couldn’t stop exclaiming in shock. "Oh my goodness, who would do such a thing, it’s so immoral! They actually dug a tunnel into your house. No wonder the sweet potatoes went missing. Second sister-in-law, what should we do?"

After examining the tunnel, Lin Yue covered the hole with the wooden board, restoring it to its original state. Looking at the direction of the tunnel, she could roughly guess where it led and was planning to confirm it. Just as she was about to leave, she saw Xiaomei watching her curiously.

"Xiaomei, the workers will be here soon. Don’t stay here; go about your normal business and don’t arouse suspicion," Lin Yue instructed.

Li Xiaomei, following Lin Yue out, nodded, "Got it, second sister-in-law. Where are you off to? Are you going to check where this tunnel leads, or are you going to report to Second Brother?" Originally, Xiaomei had been tempted to crawl into the tunnel to see where it led, but she gave up on the idea after Erhu cautioned her not to get dirty.

"That’s none of your concern. Just do your job and make sure you don’t give anything away in front of the others," Lin Yue said, well aware of Xiaomei’s gossip-prone nature. If she answered one question, a dozen more would follow. It was better to keep her in the dark; she would find out everything in time.

Lin Yue walked to the back of the workshop and, as expected, found a tunnel behind the wall, also concealed with various items. This spot was located behind the workshop, in the opposite direction of the main gate, which explained why Erhu hadn’t noticed anything.

By noon, Lin Yue returned home to find that Zhao Erhu was already up and had even prepared the meal. "Why didn’t you sleep more? You were up all night," she asked.

"It’s fine. I slept the whole morning and feel quite refreshed. So, any issues at the workshop this morning?"

"There wasn’t much happening at the workshop, but last night, the red sweet potatoes were stolen again," Lin Yue told Zhao Erhu about her discovery. Zhao Erhu hadn’t expected someone to be bold enough to dig a tunnel all the way to their house. They would have to change their watch spot tonight, so they called over Zhao Dahuo and the others to discuss it.

However, before they could catch the thief at night, they heard in the evening after work that Li Xiaomei had already captured the inside thief. When Zhao Erhu and Lin Yue arrived at the workshop, the workers had formed a large circle outside, inside which Li Xiaomei was loudly berating the thief.

"You backstabber," she scolded, "My second brother and his wife pay you such a high wage for your work, and not only do you not appreciate it, but you also commit such shameless acts. Your heart has gone black."

Lin Yue and Zhao Erhu exchanged glances, not sure what was going on. The workers, seeing their Dongjia and his wife coming, cleared a path in the crowd, letting Lin Yue and Zhao Erhu through.

"Xiaomei, what’s going on here? You’re saying this person is the inside thief? How did you discover that?" Lin Yue was quite skeptical. After all, she had seen how cleverly hidden the tunnel and its entrance were, which indicated a smart thief who knew how to avoid detection by everyone. How could Li Xiaomei have caught them so easily? It could be a mistake.

"Second brother and sister-in-law, this guy was sneaking red sweet potatoes out in his clothes, and I caught him red-handed," Li Xiaomei said with a trace of pride, seemingly keen to show off her capture of the inside thief.

Li Xiaomei, having received instructions from Lin Yue, dared not show her feelings outwardly. But she kept thinking about the inside thief and couldn’t speak of it, which made her particularly vigilant all day long. She paid extra attention to everyone coming in and out and indeed noticed something odd about Zhao Wusi. Zhao Wusi himself, guilty, became flustered when Li Xiaomei stopped him, and in his panic, a red sweet potato fell out of his sleeve. This caused quite a stir.

Li Xiaomei was a tough one. Seeing a red sweet potato fall from Zhao Wusi’s sleeve, she boldly stripped his coat off in front of everyone. Indeed, three or four pounds of red sweet potatoes were hidden inside his coat, and his trousers bulged suspiciously; it was likely that he had more hidden there. Fortunately, Li Xiaomei still had some scruples and didn’t go so far as to strip his trousers too, but catching him with the stolen goods was enough.

Looking at the scene before her, Lin Yue already had a hunch, but the doubt in her mind also grew. Judging by Zhao Wusi’s demeanor, he did not seem like the kind of person to dig tunnels. He was too faint-hearted to withstand a scare, and apparently not clever enough, as he’d been caught in the act by Li Xiaomei.

Could it be that she was overthinking it, or was it possible that there was more than one person stealing red sweet potatoes? That would make sense. However, Li Xiaomei kept on rebuking the thief relentlessly; Lin Yue worried that Li Xiaomei might accidentally let slip something she shouldn’t, so she hurriedly stopped Li Xiaomei from continuing.

"That’s enough, Xiaomei. Stop scolding," she said.

"But why, second sister-in-law? A person who’s this treacherously greedy deserves a lesson to be remembered," Xiamei protested.