Chapter 329: The Ripple Effect of the Stolen Chicken

The storm caused by the disappearance of Xu Damao's old hen did not truly subside because of First Elder Yi Zhonghai's He Xini (smoothing over); instead, like a Stone tossed into a dead pond, the ripples spread round after round in everyone's heart within Siheyuan, and the private gossip and speculation are far more turbulent than the open‑handed quarrels.

In the Central Courtyard Jia household, the curtains were tightly drawn, and the atmosphere inside was as oppressive as a low rumble before a storm.

Qin Huairu's face turned iron‑blue, her chest heaving violently, as she stared fixedly at her son Bang Geng, curled up in the corner of the kang and refusing to meet her gaze. Just outside, she was nearly certain that this boy was the culprit—the oil stain at his mouth corner, his evasive eyes, and his normally lawless yet unusually quiet behavior all unmistakably indicated the truth.

"Bang Geng! Tell me the truth! Was the chicken from Xu Damao's house stolen by you?" Qin Huairu's voice trembled, both angry and scared.

She could compromise for livelihood, even sacrifice face to trade benefits, but she would never let her son, at such a young age, be branded a "thief"—that would ruin him for life.

Bang Geng, frightened by his mother's unprecedented severity, shivered, his face turning pale, his lips muttering, about to collapse under the pressure and speak the truth.

"Aiyo! My good grandson! Why are you scaring the child?" Before Bang Geng could answer, Jia Zhangshi, like a hen shielding her chicks, sprang forward and clutched Bang Geng tightly, Sanjiao Yan glared viciously at Qin Huairu, "How can you act like a mother? Huh? An outsider wronged my grandson, and you, his own mother, join the clamor? Bang Geng is such a well‑behaved child—how could he steal? It must be that Xu Damao didn't watch his chicken, or that Sha Zhu, that despicable, smoking‑dry one! If you want to frame my grandson, you'd have to kill me first!"

As she spoke, she pounded Bang Geng's back hard, seeming to comfort but actually warning and hinting: "Good grandson, don't be scared! Grandma's here—see who dares to slander you! You didn't steal, right? We didn't steal!"

Bang Geng, in his grandmother's embrace and the implication, found immense security and brazen courage; he instantly buried his head in Jia Zhangshi's lap, crying, "I didn't steal! Grandma, I didn't steal! It was Sha Zhu! It must be Sha Zhu who stole!"

"Listen! Listen!" Jia Zhangshi, as if brandishing a royal sword, raised her voice even higher, "The child says he didn't steal! Qin Huairu, you still don't believe? Can't you stand to see us grand‑child happy? You have to slap the thief's hat on your own son before you're satisfied?"

Qin Huairu stared at her mother‑in‑law's tangled, indecisive, morally muddled demeanor, then at her son's blatant lie, now emboldened by someone's backing, and felt a cold rush from the soles of her feet up to the crown of her head, her whole strength drained. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something—to tell her mother‑in‑law that drowning a child is like killing, to tell her son that stealing is wrong…

However, seeing Jia Zhangshi's "whoever dares touch my grandson I'll fight to the death" shrewish stance and Bang Geng's completely twisted perception, all her words got stuck in her throat, turning into a feeble sigh and deep despair. In this household, she is forever the isolated, helpless one. Educating a child? With such a mother‑in‑law, it's sheer wishful thinking!

"Mom… I didn't mean that…" In the end she still chose to submit, her voice hoarse and faint, "I'm just… afraid he'll learn to be bad…"

"Learn bad? My grandson is clever! Do you need to worry pointlessly?" Jia Zhangshi snorted proudly, clutching Bang Geng as if she'd won a battle.

Meanwhile, the courtyard's gossip was quietly fermenting, displaying an astonishingly uniform direction.

By the well, a few women washed vegetables while whispering.

"I think it's almost certainly Bang Geng, that kid!"

"Exactly! That kid's hands are never clean, stealing from one house to another!"

"When Xu Damao's chicken disappeared, I think I saw Bang Geng skulking nearby…"

"Right, right, I saw it too! He ran pretty fast!"

At the Front Courtyard Yan Bu Gui household, the dinner table also debated the matter.

Yan Jiefang swore solemnly, "Dad, Mom, it's definitely Bang Geng! We were playing nearby and saw him slip toward Xu Damao's back yard!"

Yan Bu Gui adjusted his glasses, a sharp glint in his small eyes: "Hmm, eight or nine times out of ten. That kid, it's his nature, but don't say it out loud, otherwise Jia Zhangshi will never stop!" He completely forgot his own New Year's Day incident, now appearing as someone who sees through the world.

In the back yard, Liu Guangtian muttered to the listless Liu Haizhong, "Dad, I think it was that Jia kid who did it; no one else in the courtyard could have done it."

Liu Haizhong let out a low hum, saying nothing; he could barely safeguard himself now, had no energy for these idle matters, yet in his heart he also concluded it was Bang Geng.

Even Sha Zhu, while having a meal at home with Ma Dongmei, pursed his lips and said, "It must be that little brat! Xu Damao's grandson may be a scoundrel, but this time he really framed me! Hey, let that old pious Jia Zhangshi protect him, and see how long she can keep it up!"

Almost everyone in the courtyard, based on their knowledge of Bang Geng's usual behavior and the clues at the time, internally passed judgment on this "chicken‑theft case"—the thief was Bang Geng!

Xu Damao could not swallow his anger. He had lost a laying hen, and in front of the whole courtyard was rebuked by Sha Zhu and smoothed over by First Elder He Xini (smoothing over); if he didn't let it out, he felt he could be suffocated to death!

He stopped counting on the three First Elders and began his own covert investigation. He secretly sought out children who might have witnessed the scene, using threats and bribes; he carefully examined the size and pattern of the tiny footprint beside the coop; he even scoured nearby trash heaps and secluded corners for any chicken feathers or leftover bones.

Wang Cuihua also joined the "brigade", spending the whole day in the courtyard making veiled accusations; her voice wasn't loud, but she made sure every neighbor could hear:

"Hmph, don't think immoral deeds go unnoticed! Within three feet of your head there are deities!"

"Stealing food, beware of rotten guts!"

"Things born of a mother but never taught by a mother!"

Those words, like poisonous thorns, precisely pierced the Central Courtyard Jia family. Qin Huairu heard them, her heart cut like a knife, yet she could not argue, only pretended not to hear, and her inner anguish grew each day. Jia Zhangshi, each time, stomped and cursed, but her resolve was clearly weaker than before, merely reiterating "My grandson didn't steal," which felt like the old saying about trying to hide a silver coin where there is no silver—self‑incriminating.

In Xi Kua Yuan, Li Ping'an took in the whole scene. He came home from work, heard the neighbors' chatter, saw Xu Damao's furtive investigation, and felt the Central Courtyard Jia family's strange atmosphere; the truth was already clear in his mind.

The countless rumors erode gold and wear away bone. He shook his head. Bang Geng, that child, had been completely warped by Jia Zhangshi. This chicken theft, even without solid proof, had already cemented his image in everyone's mind. Qin Huairu's helplessness and Jia Zhangshi's overbearing attitude were driving the family further down the wrong road.

He felt no sympathy, nor any intention to stand up for "justice". Each person bears their own karma. At dinner, he casually mentioned to Lin Xueqing, "The chicken‑theft incident in the courtyard has become quite a stir."

Lin Xueqing, ever clever, instantly understood her husband's implication, sighing softly, "That child… if not reined in, will likely cause a great disaster later."

"Control? Who's in charge?" Li Ping'an said evenly, "If someone's protecting them, what can anyone else say?"

He stopped discussing the matter, turning to ask his son about today's homework. The outside commotion was someone else's drama; he only needed to guard his own slice of tranquil world. As for the chicken‑thief and the resulting chaos, let the "enthusiastic" neighbors and the relentless victims deal with it. This farce was clearly far from its conclusion.