Chapter 3: Searching for the Chicken and Holding a Full Courtyard Meeting

"Yo, you know quite a lot, don't you? 'Imperial Jade Liquid Wine'?" Hearing about playing basketball gave He Yuzhu a start, and he asked with some suspicion.

"What are you doing? Haha, ouch, what kind of nonsense is this? Xiaoe, look at this chicken." Xu Damao did not pick up the thread of conversation and gestured toward Lou Xiaoe, who had run in.

"Shazhu, you are too greedy. Even if you are greedy, you can't steal our family's chicken. This is one my husband and I were saving to lay eggs; we couldn't even bear to eat it ourselves." Lou Xiaoe looked at the pot full of chicken, feeling somewhat angry.

"Hey, Xiaoe, take a piece of advice from your brother: hurry up and leave this piece of trash. He can't even produce eggs."

Xu Damao stomped his feet in anger and, cursing, grabbed a fire poker: "You're making personal attacks, aren't you? Xiaoe, go call the three Elders!"

Before long, the Second Elder hurried over. Looking at the chicken in the pot, he pointed at Shazhu: "You, oh you, it's been so many years, and our Courtyard hasn't even lost a needle or a thread. How could you steal a chicken? Hold a Full Courtyard Meeting!"

Seeing the Second Elder turn to leave, He Yuzhu hurriedly stopped him.

"Second Elder, don't do that. Losing a chicken is no small matter; it must be reported to the Public Security Station. Otherwise, how will I, Shazhu, keep my reputation? It must be reported to the Public Security Station."

Xu Damao's eyes lit up: "Right, Second Elder, report it to the Public Security Station. I want to make sure Shazhu gets what's coming to him."

Watching the two of them storm out, Lou Xiaoe stomped her feet: "Shazhu, you really are a fool. Once you get into the Public Security Station, you'll have to be paraded through the streets."

"It's fine, Xiaoe, don't worry. My friend, I'm upright enough not to fear a crooked shadow, haha." Seeing Lou Xiaoe clutching her head, He Yuzhu hurriedly laughed a couple of times and stopped her.

He Yuzhu took a Down Hat out from under the quilt on the bed and handed it to Lou Xiaoe: "Hey, it's cold out, your head hurts, right? Here, it's down, wear it."

"This..."

"Just take it, it's fine."

"Sigh, what am I supposed to say about you, Shazhu." Seeing the hat stuffed into her arms, a flash of complexity crossed Lou Xiaoe's eyes; she sighed and walked out.

In all the years they had been married, it seemed Xu Damao had never cared for her like this.

Xu Damao's parents were even worse; other than scolding her for not laying eggs, they had nothing else to say.

For a moment, holding the hat, Lou Xiaoe felt her heart in a state of utter confusion.

Watching Lou Xiaoe leave, He Yuzhu picked up a spoon, tasted the chicken soup, and smiled beautifully: "Little thing, trying to play games with me? I'll start by setting your Back Yard on fire."

Before long, the Second Elder led two comrades inside.

"Comrades, this is the place. Look, this is the evidence." The Second Elder pointed at the pot of chicken on the stove and explained, wearing the face of a traitor.

"What's the situation? Tell us, Comrade He Yuzhu."

He Yuzhu smiled and picked up the pot: "Let's go, comrades. Let's talk about it in the Courtyard. This matter involves my reputation and must be resolved in front of everyone."

The group followed He Yuzhu to the courtyard, while the others hurried to notify the rest of the people in the Courtyard. Before long, everyone in the Courtyard had gathered.

He Yuzhu looked around; everyone was almost there. He nodded to the crowd and then said to Xu Damao: "Please, tell everyone what happened."

Xu Damao shot He Yuzhu a dirty look, then smiled and nodded at the crowd. Just as he was about to speak, the Second Elder cut him off.

The Second Elder cleared his throat: "Uh, this, a few days ago, Damao went to the countryside to show movies, and someone gave him two chickens. Everyone knows this, right?"

Seeing the crowd nod in agreement, the Second Elder continued: "These two old hens, Damao's family was saving them to lay eggs, but who would have thought that today, as soon as he got back, hey, they were gone. You guess where they went?"

"In Shazhu's pot! You tell me, what should be done about this?" Xu Damao hurriedly interjected.

"Hey, hey, hey, I say Xu Damao, stop spouting manure. What evidence do you have that the chicken in my house is yours?" He Yuzhu couldn't help but interrupt: "Everything must be based on evidence; you can't just slander people with empty words."

"That's right, Xu Damao, it's such a small matter, and you're reporting it to the Public Security Station? Is it worth it?" Qin Huairu hurriedly stepped up to smooth things over.

While speaking, she glared at He Yuzhu and asked through gritted teeth in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Didn't you say there were only a few steamed buns? Where did the chicken come from?"

The First Elder also stepped out with a righteous look: "Zhuzi is right, you can't slander people with empty words. Damao, stealing a chicken isn't just a matter of character, it's against the law. What evidence do you have?"

The Third Elder adjusted his glasses: "An old hen that lays eggs is worth quite a bit of money. Let me calculate, at the very least, it must be worth two yuan."

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. Speak up, you two, and provide your proof." One of the comrades interrupted the crowd; if they kept going back and forth like this, they wouldn't get off work.

"My house lost a chicken, and there's an extra chicken in Shazhu's pot. Does this need proof? Shazhu, you tell us yourself, where did your chicken come from?" Xu Damao looked indignant.

"Forget it, I won't waste the comrades' precious time messing around with you. See for yourself." He Yuzhu smiled and picked the chicken head out of the pot.

"Take a look, a rooster!" He Yuzhu held up the chicken head, circled the courtyard, and finally returned to the side of the two comrades.

The two of them immediately nodded. The one lost was an old hen, and the one being boiled was a rooster; naturally, they couldn't be the same one.

One of the younger comrades rolled his eyes in annoyance and said: "You should have said so earlier. Why waste all this time?"

He Yuzhu nodded with a smile and carried the pot back into the room. Yushui would be back soon, so he had to hurry up and get it stewing.

Just as he reached the door, He Yuzhu seemed to remember something and said: "Such a big chicken, the Courtyard is only so big. If someone stole it, you'd find it right away. If you can't find it, well, everyone just got off work and hasn't eaten yet—just have everyone gag themselves; whoever throws it up is the one who stole it."

After saying this, He Yuzhu chuckled and ran into the room.

"Hey, this Shazhu, he's actually quite clever." The Third Elder sighed.

"Right, let's do exactly as Shazhu said." The Second Elder squeezed up to the two Public Security Station comrades and, while speaking, led the two of them to check house by house.

After checking around, there was no harvest. Except for the First Elder's house having a bit of meat, the Second Elder's house just had an extra plate of scrambled eggs. As for the other houses, it went without saying—other than coarse grain buns, there was only thin porridge.

The crowd, having returned to the courtyard, had no choice but to start gagging themselves one by one.

Everyone had just finished work and their stomachs were empty; at most, they brought up a little stomach acid, and the rest just dry-heaved a couple of times.

He Yuzhu grabbed a handful of peanuts, leaned against the doorframe, and laughed while eating.

Heh, good heavens, one after another sticking their fingers down their throats—it's like a nucleic acid test. You've never seen a scene like this, have you?

Finally, after all the adults were done, it was the children's turn.

Bang Geng led his two younger sisters, dragging their feet and leaning toward the back, unwilling to come forward.