Chapter 47: My Chicken

Seeing Xu Xu Damao stop shouting, the entire courtyard fell silent, all eyes fixed on him.

Li Li Xuewu retorted to Xu Xu Damao, "Why do you care where the chicken came from? Just because your family lost a chicken, does that mean no one in the entire country can eat chicken tonight?"

Xu Xu Damao wanted to explain but found himself unable to: "I..."

Unable to explain himself, he could only shoot a pleading glance at Third Master Yan, who usually took advantage of him.

Third Master Yan coughed once and said to Sha Zhu, "Sha Zhu, if Xu Xu Damao wants to know, just tell him; with a pure heart, the world feels wide."

Seeing he had Li Li Xuewu backing him up, He He Yuzhu made up a lie: "Bought it at the vegetable market."

Third Master Yan, sleeves tucked in and looking utterly self-assured, asked, "Which vegetable market? Was it the Dongdan Market or the Chaoyang Market?"

This was digging a pit for Sha Zhu, restricting the scope of his lies.

Li Li Xuewu watched Third Master Yan with amusement; indeed, they say a scholar kills without using a knife.

He He Yuzhu widened his eyes and continued lying: "The Chaoyang Market."

Third Master Yan thought to himself, 'Finally got you,' and stated emphatically, "That doesn't add up. From here to the Chaoyang Market, even taking the bus, a round trip would take at least forty minutes, not counting the time to buy and slaughter the chicken. What time did you get off work?"

Qin Qin Huairu listened nervously to Sha Zhu's defense, torn between wanting him to be cornered into admitting he stole the chicken and not wanting to lose this 'top donor.'

She was secretly anxious that Sha Zhu had fallen into the trap, but there was no way for her to speak up and remind him.

Sha Zhu was rendered speechless by the question; what could he say? If he said he didn't steal it, Banggeng would be finished; if he admitted stealing it, he would feel wronged.

Xu Xu Damao and his wife secretly rejoiced.

At this moment, Second Master seized the opportunity to pin an even bigger crime on Sha Zhu, provokingly saying, "There is perhaps another possibility: the chicken in this clay pot isn't from Xu Xu Damao's family. As everyone knows, Sha Zhu is a cook at the canteen of our No. 3 Rolling Steel Factory; perhaps Sha Zhu brought this back from the factory canteen."

These words sounded like they were helping Sha Zhu out of a predicament, but in reality, they were cementing a much heavier charge against him, especially with the head of the Public Security Section listening right there.

Naturally, He He Yuzhu was unwilling to bear such responsibility.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't drag that into this! Stealing one of his chickens is one thing, but stealing a chicken from the factory is called embezzlement of public property; we wouldn't just be holding a meeting here, the entire factory would hold a struggle session against you, so cut that out."

Third Master Yan said with a sarcastic tone, "That depends on how you look at it. Every day when you get off work, you carry a mesh bag containing a lunchbox; what's inside that lunchbox?"

Is it any of your business whether I can manage it or not!

Third Master Yan's family had long envied this; every time they saw Qin Qin Huairu bringing Sha Zhu's lunchbox home, and hearing the boasts of Qin Qin Huairu's three children about the big fish and meat, they had been holding back their resentment for a long time.

However, they couldn't go to Sha Zhu's house to snatch it from Qin Qin Huairu, as they had no legitimate reason; every time he heard Little Little Huaihua say this was delicious or that was tasty, Third Master Yan felt as though he had lost a hundred million.

Third Master Yan's life motto was that not picking up money when passing by was equivalent to losing money.

He was the type who would even poke a finger into the dung carried by a night-soil collector passing his gate just to taste if it was salty or bland.

Li Li Xuewu tapped the table in front of Third Master Yan and said, "Third Master, you say Sha Zhu didn't have time to buy the chicken, which implies there must be a problem; in other words, you support the view that Sha Zhu stole the chicken."

Hearing Li Li Xuewu's words, Third Master Yan nodded and said, "Yes, if the source cannot be explained, doesn't that mean he stole it from Xu Xu Damao?"

Li Li Xuewu turned to Xu Xu Damao and asked, "Was your chicken a rooster or a hen?"

Xu Xu Damao answered confidently, "Of course it was a hen; a village cadre from Hongxing Commune gave it to me when I went there to screen a movie, and I was saving it to help my wife produce milk."

Li Li Xuewu ignored his rambling nonsense and asked again, "Are you sure it was a hen?"

Xu Xu Damao looked at Li Li Xuewu as if he were an idiot, but dared not say it aloud, answering firmly, "Certain."

Li Li Xuewu lifted the lid off the clay pot on the table, picked out the chicken head from the bottom, and asked Xu Xu Damao, "Does your hen have a comb?"

This left Xu Xu Damao dumbfounded; indeed, there was a small comb on top of that chicken head.

The chicken had clearly been killed before it was fully grown, and when Sha Zhu cooked it, he had tucked the head inside the cavity.

Lou Watching Lou Xiaoe, unwilling to believe it, stepped forward to take a look herself.

At this moment, Sha Zhu finally reacted, grinning widely with bared teeth: "Lou Watching Lou Xiaoe, your family can't even tell a rooster from a hen; no wonder you can't lay eggs. Could it be that Xu Xu Damao is a hen that doesn't know how to tread?"

"You bastard, you!"

Lou Watching Lou Xiaoe, her face now flushed red, cursed at Sha Zhu.

Half of this blush was because her family had wrongly accused someone, and the other half was due to her inability to bear children.

But Lou Watching Lou Xiaoe had been raised since childhood by a concubine and didn't know how to curse; this single phrase was something she had learned from Xu Xu Damao, only spoken when pushed to the brink.

Sha Zhu, carried away by his triumph, didn't care about Lou Watching Lou Xiaoe's cursing and only looked at Qin Qin Huairu, chuckling.

Seeing Sha Zhu land safely, Qin Qin Huairu was also very happy, because her meal ticket had been secured.

Li Li Xuewu glared at Sha Zhu, who then restrained himself somewhat.

Ignoring Sha Zhu, Li Li Xuewu turned again to Second Master and said, "You claim Sha Zhu's chicken came from the Rolling Steel Factory; do you have any evidence? It's fine, speak up today, and I will detain him immediately."

"Against the Gods"

Hearing these words, Sha Zhu was stunned.

Holy crap, brother, you've gone berserk with the killing!

I'm one of your own!

It's me, it's Sha Zhu!

Second Master was also somewhat bewildered; since when did the three masters of the courtyard need evidence to judge a case? Whenever the three of them stepped in, petty criminals would naturally feel ashamed and inevitably bow their heads in submission, admitting guilt and accepting punishment.

Li Li Xuewu looked at Second Master without speaking, then tapped the enamel mug awarded to him by the Rolling Steel Factory, saying, "You are an old comrade; your words carry responsibility. We all live in the same courtyard; how can you speak about He He Yuzhu like that?"

Third Master Yan was an elementary school teacher and did not work at the Rolling Steel Factory, so he naturally feared Li Li Xuewu less, asking orally, "Then where does his daily lunchbox come from?"

"Is it any of your business? Are you a teacher or a police officer?"

"I... I am the Third Master of this courtyard."

Li Li Xuewu's ruthless words caused Third Master Yan to lose face; he wanted to say something in retort but could find nothing, so he merely emphasized his status.

Looking at the unconvinced Yan Lao Kou, Li Li Xuewu said to Sha Zhu, "He He Yuzhu, did you hear that? From now on, every day after work, go to Third Master's house and report what you brought back and what you ate."

Sha Zhu, being adept at playing along, grinned and agreed, "Understood; from now on, even when I go to the toilet in the middle of the night, I'll go report to Third Master's house first."

Third Master Yan was so angered by the duo's coordinated performance that his eyes rolled back.

Seeing Li Li Xuewu settle Second Master and Third Master with just a few words while also extricating Sha Zhu from trouble, Xu Xu Damao was dumbfounded; had he ended up with neither the chicken nor the egg?

"Section Chief Li, my chicken is gone!"

Damn! You can actually say that?

This clears up the case of your wife being unable to bear children.

Li Li Xuewu patted the lid of the clay pot and said, "You've seen this pot yourself; it's not your chicken. Since you rushed everyone out here to create such a huge scene, shouldn't you say something?"

Xu Xu Damao didn't react immediately, but Third Master understood and pointed in Sha Zhu's direction.

Only then did Xu Xu Damao realize, and with some embarrassment and reluctance, he said to Sha Zhu, "Um... I wrongly accused you. I'm sorry."

Sha Zhu chuckled, intending to make a few sarcastic remarks, but seeing Li Li Xuewu staring at him, he quickly dropped his grin, straightened his attitude, and said, "It was partly my fault too; we live in the front and back courtyards, so let's just let it go."

Seeing Sha Zhu speak this way, Xu Xu Damao looked again at Li Li Xuewu: "My chicken..."