Chapter 328: The Chicken‑Stealing Plot

The senior staff at the factory, still clouded by the open and covert battles over the workshop foreman's position, had not yet cleared the smoke of rivalry, when a more down‑to‑earth, courtyard‑life kind of smoke, in a hilariously absurd way, first spread through the courtyard— in the back courtyard at Xu Damao's house, a laying hen had gone missing!

That hen was the apple of Xu Damao and Wang Cuihua's eyes. Since the "Naked Incident," Xu Damao could not hold his head high in either the factory or the courtyard, and he began to cherish this private asset at home even more, hoping the hen's eggs would improve their meals, and sometimes even trading eggs for a few coins.

Wang Cuihua even treated the chicken like a treasured baby, feeding and watering it on schedule each day, waiting for the cluck‑cluck of good news.

That afternoon, Wang Cuihua went to the hen coop to collect eggs as usual, but was shocked to find the coop door ajar, and the plump, most prolific Lu Hua hen missing! Only a few disheveled feathers and a vague child's footprint were left on the muddy ground beside the coop.

"Damn it! Who the hell stole my chicken!!" Wang Cuihua's wail instantly echoed through the entire back courtyard, even reaching the central and front courtyards. "My Lu Hua hen, it was laying eggs every day! How am I supposed to live now!"

Her shout was like a bomb dropped into the otherwise calm (at least on the surface) courtyard house. Neighbors poked their heads out, some curious, some sympathetic, some gloating.

Upon hearing the news, Xu Damao burst out of his house, staring at the empty coop and the few feathers, his already simmering anger from the factory faction dispute erupting all at once, his face twisted with fury! It was like a leaky roof meeting a night rain, salt on his wound!

"Investigate! Must investigate! Damn, who dares to steal right under my nose! If I catch them, I'll chop off their hand!" Xu Damao stomped and cursed, spittle flying. His first suspect was his old rival Sha Zhu! In this courtyard, Sha Zhu held the biggest grudge against him, and Sha Zhu is a cook, knows food, so the chance of him stealing a chicken is the highest!

"It's definitely that bastard Sha Zhu! No one else!" Xu Damao grabbed Wang Cuihua, storming toward Sha Zhu's house in the central courtyard.

At that moment in the central courtyard, the aroma of stewed meat drifted from Sha Zhu's home. Sha Zhu was in a good mood today, having used meat coupons from the factory to buy some meat, and was improving meals at home with Ma Dongmei.

"Sha Zhu! Get out here!" Xu Damao kicked at the door, and standing at Sha Zhu's doorway he shouted, "Did you steal my chicken? Hand it over right now!"

The curtain lifted, Sha Zhu emerged holding a rice bowl, still chewing meat, muttering incompletely, "Xu Damao, what the hell are you blabbing about! Who stole your lousy chicken? I'm eating meat here, what do I care about your two‑ounce chicken bones?"

"Stop pretending!" Wang Cuihua pointed at Sha Zhu's window, "How do you explain that stewed‑meat smell? You stole my chicken and stewed it!"

Sha Zhu, furious, slammed the bowl onto the windowsill: "This is pork! Bought it properly! With a receipt! Which of your eyes saw me stewing chicken? Xu Damao, you damn it didn't guard the chicken, lost it and now pin the shit bowl on me? I even said you hid the chicken yourself to frame me!"

The two argued in the central courtyard until the heavens turned upside down, each insisting the other stole the chicken, each swearing they never did. Ma Dongmei stepped out to mediate, only to be berated and sent back by Wang Cuihua. The commotion grew louder, startling the three elders as well.

Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bu Gui arrived at the central courtyard in turn. Yi Zhonghai frowned, "Stop arguing! It's the New Year, what's this? Can't we just talk it out?"

Since something happened at home, Liu Haizhong's authority had waned, but he still held his posture, "Exactly! Without evidence, how can we casually accuse someone?"

Yan Bu Gui adjusted his glasses, his small eyes scanning back and forth between Sha Zhu's house and Xu Damao's, calculating how the matter might turn and what benefit he could gain, or how to avoid trouble.

Xu Damao dragged the three elders, pointing at the footprints and feathers beside the coop, then at the meat aroma drifting from Sha Zhu's house, insisting it was Sha Zhu's doing.

Sha Zhu stuck his neck out, giving the three elders no courtesy: "First Elder, Second Elder, Third Elder, give your judgment! Which of Xu Damao's eyes saw me steal a chicken? Just because my house is stewing meat? There are dozens of households stewing meat today in the courtyard, all accusing me of stealing their chickens? I think he's just looking for trouble!"

Yi Zhonghai looked at Sha Zhu, "Zhuzi, you really didn't take it?"

"I, He Yuzhu, swear to heaven! If He Yuzhu stole Xu Damao's chicken, may I be struck by five thunderbolts and die a terrible death!" Sha Zhu glared and swore.

The scene stalled. Without concrete evidence, only suspicion and the smell of meat, Sha Zhu could not be proven guilty. But Xu Damao had lost a laying hen; he would not easily settle.

At that moment, Qin Huairu, who had been silent beside them, glanced unintentionally at her own doorway, saw her son Bang Geng's mouth corner apparently stained with a bit of oil, his eyes darting away, and felt a sudden gasp! A terrifying thought surfaced. She recalled Bang Geng's usual mischief and today's unusual honesty…

Could it be… really Bang Geng?

She turned pale with fear, cold sweat breaking out. If this were discovered, the theft reputation would be confirmed and Bang Geng's life would be ruined! The Jia family's face would be disgraced! She dared not speak up, not even look at the three elders or Xu Damao, only bowed her head tightly, racing through possible plans in her mind.

Yi Zhonghai watched the endless quarrel between Xu Damao and Sha Zhu, then the watching neighbors, realizing the matter needed resolution or the courtyard would never be peaceful. He cleared his throat, ready to wield his First Elder authority to smooth things over.

"Alright, stop arguing!" Yi Zhonghai raised his voice, "The Damao family's chicken is missing, understandable. But Zhuzi also swore a poisonous oath; without evidence we cannot wrong a good person. I think we should put this aside for now, everyone keep an eye out for clues. Damao, keep looking; maybe the chicken ran off on its own."

His words clearly aimed to suppress the matter.

How could Xu Damao agree? He'd lost real property! "First Elder! This…"

"Enough!" Yi Zhonghai cut him off, tone unyielding, "It's settled! Disperse! Damao, calm down!"

Sha Zhu hummed, smugly glancing at Xu Damao, then turned back inside to continue his meal. Xu Damao trembled with anger, seeing Yi Zhonghai's bias, and the varied stares of the neighbors, a wicked fire building in his chest, nearly spitting blood. Wang Cuihua sat on the ground, slapping her thigh and wailing, "There's no justice! No one cares that the chicken's gone!?"

Hiding behind the crowd, Qin Huairu watched Xu Damao's couple's misery, then thought of her own wayward son, feeling a mix of dread and guilt, but more so a numb resolve to harden herself to protect him. She quietly pulled Bang Geng aside, whispered stern questions, and his stammering answers shattered the last sliver of hope in her heart.

In the western courtyard, Li Ping'an returned from work, just in time for the tail end of the commotion. He stood at his doorway, coldly observing the chaos in the central courtyard. As for who stole the chicken, his mind was as clear as a mirror; the original plot's power still seemed strong. Yet he had no intention of intervening.

One chicken revealed the myriad facets of life. He shook his head, turned and went inside. No matter how fierce the noise outside, it didn't concern him. As long as no one died or his family was affected, the courtyard's grudges were merely post‑meal chatter.

The storm sparked by the old hen finally subsided temporarily under Yi Zhonghai's smoothing, but the lingering resentment and suspicion are like thorns buried in the soil, waiting for the right moment to break out again and spark a larger clash. And the real "thief" is now being fiercely protected by his mother, whose heart is gradually darkening.