Chapter 52: Chapter 51: A Thief Broke In at Midnight

That night, just as Xue Yue was falling asleep, she was startled by a loud THUD.

Xue Yue’s eyes shot open and she sat bolt upright. She listened carefully for any sound from outside, but it seemed to have gone quiet again.

She didn’t light the lamp, simply sitting there in the darkness.

After a moment, she heard a CREAK, like the sound of a door being pushed open.

Xue Yue quickly threw on her clothes and grabbed the fruit knife she kept under her pillow. She got off the kang bed in the dark and crept to the door. There was a little moonlight tonight, and peering through the crack in the door, she saw a sliver of light moving around in the kitchen. From the sounds, it seemed to be just one person.

The kitchen was connected to the storeroom, where they kept their grain.

Xue Yue picked up the wooden bar used to bolt the door. She slowly opened her door, tucked the knife into her waistband, and crept outside, clutching the bar.

She reached the kitchen doorway and heard someone inside moving sacks of grain. She didn’t dare go in. Instead, she hid behind the kitchen door, clutching the wooden bar. To be honest, Xue Yue’s legs felt a little weak, and she was trembling as she gripped the bar tightly.

When the person came out carrying a sack of grain, Xue Yue swung the bar with all her might, striking them squarely on the forehead.

The intruder let out a bloodcurdling “AHHH~!”, clutching their head as the grain sack dropped to the ground. Xue Yue immediately started beating the person on the ground. The door bar was solid and heavy, and each blow was excruciatingly painful.

The person shrieked incessantly, “Stop hitting me! AHHH~!”

In the dead of night, the screams were terrifying to hear.

Xue Yue didn’t stop. She didn’t dare. She was afraid the intruder would get back up and fight back, and as a woman alone, she wouldn’t be able to fend them off.

This continued until someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

“He Lang’s wife, open up!”

Only then did Xue Yue stop. She was drenched in a cold sweat and trembling all over, still gripping the bar tightly. Her legs felt like jelly as she went to open the gate.

When she opened the gate, she saw He Daqiang and his wife, Li Gaihua, their closest neighbors. The couple was startled by Xue Yue’s appearance. They had heard the screams coming from her yard and had rushed over.

“Did someone break in?” He Daqiang asked.

Xue Yue nodded and let them in.

As He Daqiang and his wife entered, they saw a person lying motionless in the courtyard.

“You didn’t… kill him, did you?” Li Gaihua asked, shivering. They had heard those awful screams just moments before.

“I don’t know.” Xue Yue truly didn’t know. All she had focused on was hitting him. She hadn’t dared to use the fruit knife He Lang had bought for her, precisely because she was afraid of stabbing him to death. That’s why she used the door bar.

“Brother Daqiang, can you run to the main house for me? My legs are too weak to walk.”

He Daqiang glanced at the person on the ground and nodded.

A short while later, everyone from the He family’s main house arrived.

The moment Mrs. He came through the gate, she rushed over to Xue Yue.

“Yue’er, are you all right?”

Xue Yue shook her head. “I’m fine. He’s the one who’s not.”

Everyone stared at the person lying on the ground. He Nan shone the kerosene lamp on the man’s face. His head was covered in blood.

“Dad, it’s Lai San.”

Lai San was a well-known rogue in Da Liushu Village. He was an orphan who survived by petty theft. People had caught him stealing in the middle of the night before, but it always came to nothing. He had nothing to offer as compensation, and because he was an orphan, many people pitied him and would just let it go. No one would have thought he’d be audacious enough to climb their wall and steal while He Lang was away.

Mr. He’s face was grim. He said to He Nan, “Check if he’s dead.”

He Nan felt for a pulse and shook his head. “No, he just fainted.”

“Go get the village chief. We’ll see if we need to call the police.”

It was clear no one would be getting any sleep that night. The village chief arrived, ordered the man to be taken to the brigade headquarters, and then sent to the hospital by ox-cart in the middle of the night. The amount of blood on Lai San’s head was terrifying, and the chief was afraid he might die.

Mr. He and He Nan went with them.

Mrs. He stayed at the house to keep Xue Yue company, afraid she’d be scared on her own. She decided not to go back home.

Xue Yue didn’t sleep a wink all night, just sitting there until Mr. He returned.

“He’s awake. He has a concussion and needed a few stitches on his head.”

Mrs. He asked, “What did the village chief say?”

“What could he say? Lai San was caught red-handed. He couldn’t deny it. But he didn’t actually manage to steal anything, and he got a beating on top of it. The chief said to just let it go. He told him to pay compensation, but Lai San has no money.”

Mrs. He exploded, “How can we just let it go? Third Brother isn’t here, and Yue’er was home all by herself! It’s a good thing Yue’er caught him and gave him a beating! What if she hadn’t noticed him? What if something terrible had happened? Can’t we report him to the police? Letting him sit in a jail cell would be better than doing nothing!”

Mr. He sighed. “Lai San’s grandfather did the village chief a favor once. After he died, the chief started turning a blind eye to a lot of Lai San’s troublemaking. Besides, he’s an orphan. If we push this too hard, the other villagers will gossip.”

Xue Yue had been listening quietly. Suddenly, she felt a wave of nausea and gagged a few times.

Mrs. He was startled. “Yue’er, what’s wrong?”

Xue Yue shook her head. “Mom, I feel a little nauseous and dizzy. I’m going to get some sleep.”

Mrs. He nodded. “Alright. It must be because you didn’t sleep all night. Go on, get some rest. We’ll go outside.”

With that, Mrs. He pulled Mr. He out of the room.

Xue Yue lay under the covers, her head spinning. The nausea lingered, but she couldn’t fall asleep. She just lay there with her eyes open.

She only drifted off when her eyelids finally became too heavy to keep open.

She slept straight through until evening, when Mrs. He woke her up.

“Yue’er, time to get up and eat something. You haven’t eaten all day.”

Xue Yue slowly sat up and glanced outside. The sky was already growing dark.

Mrs. He held out a bowl of rice porridge. “Here, eat this. I made it in the kitchen.”

Xue Yue’s stomach was indeed empty. She took the bowl and quickly finished it.

“Do you want more?”

Xue Yue shook her head. “Mom, have you eaten?”

“Not yet. I’ll eat in a bit. I’m not going back tonight; I’ll stay here with you. We’ll wait until Third Brother gets back.”

Xue Yue didn’t object. “What about Dad?”

“He can make something for himself, or take some grain and go eat with First Brother’s family. It’s fine. He’s a grown man, he won’t starve.”

“Have Dad come over to eat, too. He can stay here as well.”

Mrs. He nodded. “Alright, don’t you worry about it.”

He Lang returned five days later, in the middle of the night.

He never would have imagined that after being gone for just over ten days, he’d be welcomed home by a club swinging at his head. Luckily, his reflexes were fast, and he caught it with one hand.

“It’s me.”

“Third Brother?” The moment Mrs. He heard He Lang’s voice, she cried out.

“Mom? What are you doing here?” He Lang was completely shocked to see his mother suddenly appear in his room.

Just then, Xue Yue lit the kerosene lamp.

Only then could Mrs. He see He Lang’s face clearly. She slapped him on the shoulder.

“You brat! Why can’t you break that habit of climbing the wall? You scared me to death! I thought another thief had broken in.”

He Lang’s gaze darkened. “Someone broke in at night while I was away?”

“That’s right.”

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