Chapter 4: Don’t Steal Money—It’s a Crime Punishable by Death!

One hundred—that’s the fee for fortune-telling!

Su Chen promptly folded up the newspaper and put it away. “Let’s go.”

Seeing this, Lin Jingyu turned to the shopkeeper behind the stall. “Brother Biao, please watch the stand for me. I’m taking Grandma to Jiangwei for a bit.”

The man called Brother Biao ran a hardware store. Broad-shouldered and rugged, he had a cigarette dangling from his lips. Hearing the request, he stood up. “Mom, you watch the shop and the stand. Ah Yu and I will go to Jiangwei.”

He stepped out of the shop. “Ah Yu, I’ll gather a few people to come with us. The folks over in Jiangwei are rough; we’d better not go unprepared.”

“Right, right, Brother Biao, you’ve got the brains,” others chimed in.

The group left the west street entrance and headed toward a red taxi parked in front of the New Hui Department Store. Ten of them squeezed into two vehicles, setting off eastward in a grand procession.

An hour later, the taxi stopped beneath a large banyan tree in a riverside village.

Lin Jingyu supported Grandma, with Brother Biao leading six men carrying sticks behind them. Su Chen calculated their position and quickly took the lead moving forward.

Soon, they stopped in front of a courtyard.

Lin Jingyu was stunned. “Guys, this... this is it?”

Grandma was also shocked. “This is Yingying’s home? Could the calculation be wrong?”

Su Chen said nothing and pushed open the door.

The courtyard was empty. Brother Biao hurried over to Lin Jingyu’s side. “Ah Yu, I remember that Yingying’s husband, A Bao, used to visit Grandma every holiday, right? He was quite filial.”

Lin Jingyu nodded, still suspicious. “Yeah, but is this calculation really accurate?”

At this moment, Lin Jingyu regretted impulsively bringing such a large group.

To be honest, he had doubted whether Yingying was harmed by A Bao. But every holiday, A Bao would bring large bundles to visit Grandma. He was even careful not to enter the house, fearing it might upset Grandma by reminding her of Yingying. He left the goods at the front store. Sometimes, Lin Jingyu even saw him going to the police station looking for someone. Gradually, Lin Jingyu’s suspicions eased.

If A Bao had really killed someone, he’d have fled long ago. Why would he keep doing this?

While lost in thought, Su Chen stopped beside a pigpen in the corner of the yard.

Inside, two large white pigs grunted. Nearby was a stove with two large pots on it. Su Chen pointed at the stove.

“Smash it—there’s someone inside.”

Brother Biao and Lin Jingyu exchanged glances.

Lin Jingyu clenched his teeth.

“Damn it! Smash it!”

“We’ve already spent a hundred. What’s the worth of this broken stove? If A Bao finds out, we’ll just compensate him.”

With a wave of his hand, the men rushed forward, unloading the two large iron pots and began smashing the stove fiercely.

All were young and strong. Within ten minutes, half the stove was demolished.

Lin Jingyu craned his neck, squinting nervously. Just then, voices and footsteps sounded at the courtyard gate, followed by two men entering, both appearing to be in their thirties or forties.

The man leading the pair froze upon seeing the people in the courtyard. His gaze landed on the stove, eyes narrowing, and he grew furious.

“What are you doing?”

“A Bao, sorry, we were just fortune-telling...” Lin Jingyu started to apologize, but a shout interrupted him.

Brother Biao’s booming voice called out, “It’s bones!”

Startled, the men beside A Bao glanced at him incredulously, then hurried over to look. Immediately, one screamed and ran out, wailing, “Bad news! Bad news! There’s a dead body!”

A Bao tried to chase after him, but before he could leave the yard, Brother Biao kicked him against the wall.

“You killed Yingying and now want to run?! Who gave you the nerve? Everyone, tie him up!”

Soon, villagers from Jiangwei flocked to watch. Lin Jingyu borrowed the village committee’s phone to call the police. About two hours later, the corpse was dug out from inside the stove. Grandma identified it by the unusual bone in the big toe—it was Yingying. She cried until she nearly fainted.

The courtyard was sealed off. Lin Jingyu spoke at length with a man in police uniform before hurrying over to Su Chen.

“Brother, let’s go. This will probably drag on till night. I’ll take you back to the city.”

“Oh, and your money—I don’t have that much on me right now, I’ll need to go home to get it.”

Su Chen rode back in the same car with Brother Biao and Lin Jingyu. The three sat in silence.

After a long moment, Lin Jingyu finally spoke, “Brother Biao, do you regret it?”

Brother Biao said nothing. Su Chen, sitting in the front passenger seat, heard faint sobbing.

When they reached the west street entrance, Brother Biao had returned to his fierce demeanor.

The promised one hundred was quickly handed over, and Brother Biao turned to slip him an additional fifty, saying, “Brother, thanks!”

Su Chen patted his shoulder. “My condolences.”

Before the one hundred and fifty yuan could even warm his hand, he spent it.

A pair of women’s leather shoes cost eighteen yuan. Two children’s cotton jackets, after bargaining down the wholesale price, came to a total of 106 yuan. Su Chen’s stomach growled. He eyed a nearby noodle shop, hesitated, but kept walking. He spent thirteen yuan on a bag of milk powder, then caught the bus to the station to catch the last bus.

Winter nights fall quickly. By the time the bus reached the town, it was pitch black.

Su Chen hurriedly crossed two mountains to return to the village, arriving an hour later.

Though the village had electricity, most people couldn’t afford the electric bills and turned off their lights early.

The Su family house was lit. From afar, Su Chen saw a small figure standing under the eaves, occasionally tiptoeing to peer toward the road.

No need to guess—it was definitely Honghong.

Sure enough, before Su Chen could get closer, Honghong called out joyfully and ran over.

“Dad!”

“Hey, Honghong, have you eaten?”

Honghong said nothing, her gaze fixed on the bulging bag. She looked puzzled.

Su Chen smiled. “Dad made some money in the city today. Bought jackets for you and Ah Peng. Later, we’ll try them on to see if they’re warm enough.”

“Really?” Honghong brightened but soon her small face darkened as she bit her lip. “Dad, Third Aunt is back.”

“Oh? That’s good, right? It’s nothing.”

Hearing this, Honghong reluctantly followed him into the yard.

The commotion outside couldn’t be hidden indoors. When they reached the house, Old Su came out carrying his water pipe.

“Oh, so you spared some money...” He had planned to tease his youngest son about stumbling home late the other night, but seeing the bag in Su Chen’s hand, he froze, momentarily stunned.

From behind came Liu Chunhua’s voice, “Ah Chen, you’re crazy to go to the city in this cold. You didn’t fall, did you?”

Before Su Chen could answer, Liu Chunhua noticed the bag. “What’s this?”

Su Chen greeted Su Xiaoyan, his third sister, standing behind Liu Chunhua, then said, “Mom, I made some money in the city today. Your cloth shoes were worn out, so I bought you a pair of leather shoes. Since the year’s end is coming, I also got jackets for Honghong and Ah Peng. The little one isn’t even a month old yet. Drinking only rice soup won’t do—he needs milk powder. I bought a bag of that too.”

“That must have cost a lot, right?” Liu Chunhua took the bag and looked through it, then nervously looked up at Su Chen. After a moment’s hesitation, she pulled him aside. “Ah Chen, our family is poor, but your mother’s never been short on money. It’s fine to spend, but don’t steal—it’s a crime punishable by death!”