Chapter 48

Seeing Xu Damao admit his mistake but still looking for his chicken,

Li Xuewu nodded, lit a cigarette, and said to everyone in the courtyard: "We have dozens of people living in this courtyard. No one can guarantee that no one saw who took that chicken. I hope the person can stand up voluntarily and admit it. I make a promise here: as long as you guarantee not to make the same mistake again, this matter will be let go. I'll give everyone the time it takes to smoke a cigarette."

Hearing Li Xuewu's words, everyone in the courtyard looked at each other and discussed who might have taken the chicken.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Jia family were the most uncomfortable, sitting on pins and needles.

It felt as if everyone was talking about their family stealing the chicken.

Qin Huairu looked at Li Xuewu, who was standing in the middle of the courtyard smoking, and wanted to take the blame, but Jia Zhangshi grabbed her daughter-in-law and whispered: "Stay still. He can't find out."

Qin Huairu couldn't resist her mother-in-law and had to sit back down.

Watching the small movements of that mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair.

After waiting for three or four minutes, no one confessed.

Li Xuewu chuckled, and under the mocking gazes of the Second and Third Masters, he pinched out the cigarette butt with his thumb and forefinger.

"Fine, you won't admit it, right? Then let's analyze this."

Li Xuewu asked Xu Damao and Lou Xiaoe: "When was the last time you saw Xu Damao's chicken?"

The couple felt Li Xuewu's question was a bit strange, but Xu Damao still replied: "This morning! My chicken was still there when I went to work this morning."

Lou Xiaoe denied it: "No, it was noon. It was still there when I got up to make lunch at noon. I even fed it. I lay down for a while because I had a headache in the afternoon, and the chicken was gone when Damao came back in the evening."

Li Xuewu looked at the crowd and said: "Then the time the chicken was lost is confirmed—it was lost in the afternoon. Let's confirm one more thing: how was the chicken lost? Xu Damao, was your chicken coop broken?"

Xu Damao shook his head and denied it: "How is that possible? There were two chickens. If the coop were broken, both would have been lost. Someone must have stolen it on purpose."

Hearing this, Qin Huairu's heart skipped a beat. Bang Geng had lied. How did such a small child learn to lie?

This woman's thinking was quite unique; the first mistake she thought of was telling a lie.

Xu Damao's IQ was still online. Li Xuewu waved his hand to tell him not to get excited, then said: "Since it's confirmed that someone stole it on purpose, let's determine who was in the courtyard this afternoon."

The First Master stood up and said: "Our courtyard is very tight. Outsiders don't dare to come in on their own, and besides, everyone is at work. The only ones at home are the old and the young."

As he spoke, he pointed to the people in the courtyard: "Counting from the back to the front: Deaf Old Lady, Second Master's wife, First Master's wife, Jia family's Zhang mother and the children, Third Master's wife, and your family's old lady and Liu Yin."

《Diamond-Hard Village Master》

Why didn't he mention Liu Guangfu and the other children? Because they were in higher grades and had classes all afternoon; it was impossible for them to have come back to steal a chicken.

Li Xuewu nodded and said: "Then the targets are narrowed down significantly. Let's start from the front courtyard and work our way back. You all know the situation in my family now, hehe, we have pork, so there's no need to go to the back courtyard to steal a chicken."

Third Master's wife said at this time: "That's right. Yu Li wasn't feeling well today, and we went to Old Li's house to get medicine for her. We spent the whole afternoon at your place."

At this time, housewives loved to visit each other, often sitting for half a day.

"Hehe." Li Xuewu knew what was going on; it was about the children, and the fact that Yu Li hadn't conceived after being married for more than half a year.

The First Master nodded and said nothing. The First Master's wife was an honest person and sat on the side without speaking.

However, everyone in the courtyard who had received help from the First Master said in unison: "The First Master's family couldn't have done it."

"Exactly."

Just as Li Xuewu was about to speak, Jia Zhangshi asked with a cold face: "Are you talking about our family? I didn't go to the back courtyard this afternoon."

Li Xuewu chuckled. This was truly a case of "the thief crying thief": "You were at home, and Bang Geng and the two children were also at home. Let's put your family aside for a moment and talk about the back courtyard."

Seeing that Li Xuewu didn't mention her family, Qin Huairu's heart, which had been in her throat, relaxed slightly, but she still looked at Li Xuewu nervously.

Since they didn't admit it just now, they shouldn't think about admitting it now. If I don't nail you to the wall and shame you, you'll really think you can do whatever you want in this courtyard.

Li Xuewu pointed to the middle courtyard and said: "Except for the First Master's family and the Jia family, there's only He Yu Shui, who doesn't come home much every month, and He Yuzhu, who is temporarily excluded from suspicion."

Seeing that Sha Zhu was a bit confused, he said: "You are temporarily excluded because you wouldn't steal a chicken when you have chicken to eat. That's one possibility."

Seeing that the Second Master's family was left, Liu Haizhong sat up straight, afraid that Li Xuewu would frame his family, ready to stand up and push back at any time.

Li Xuewu pointed to the Second Master and said: "Logically speaking, the Second Master's wife is the most likely to steal a chicken."

The Second Master got anxious: "Li Xuewu, you are slandering me!"

The First Master grabbed his arm and interrupted: "Second Master, sit down. Listen to what Xuewu has to say. What are you in such a hurry for?"

Seeing the First Master's obstruction, although the Second Master didn't sit down, he stood there glaring at him, but didn't speak again.

Li Xuewu smiled and said: "The Second Master is a seventh-grade bench worker with a monthly salary of 84.5 yuan. He only has to support his wife and two sons. The Second Master's wine is never-ending; the Second Master's wife wouldn't wait until today to steal a chicken if she wanted to eat one."

Lou Xiaoe then interjected: "Exactly. Usually, when Damao brings back local specialties, the Second Master's family doesn't accept them. Only the Third Master fights to take them."

The Third Master looked at Lou Xiaoe, who looked down on him, with a blank expression. He wanted to say something but couldn't, so he just drank water from his jar, feeling depressed from being rebuffed twice while sitting there.

The Second Master's face turned from cloudy to sunny, and he even looked radiant. He held his head high, nodded at Li Xuewu, and said:

"I felt that Li Guzhang going to the Security Section was the right move. The leadership wouldn't arrange someone incompetent. I'll fight anyone who says Li Guzhang isn't qualified from now on."

Qin Huairu cursed inwardly: "Isn't this the same sour talk you were saying this afternoon?"

In fact, it wasn't that the Second Master's family didn't want to accept Xu Damao's local specialties, but that the two families didn't get along. Xu Damao was a bit arrogant, relying on his wife's wealth and the convenience of his work in the countryside, and he couldn't help but show it when he sent the specialties.

The Second Master was a man who cared about face and only ate soft, not hard. He already looked down on Lou Xiaoe's capitalist daughter attitude and felt that his status as a worker was superior. So, although they lived in the same back courtyard, the two families looked down on each other.

Qin Huairu cursed secretly: "Isn't it the sour words you said in the afternoon."

Actually, the Second Master's family didn't want to accept Xu Damao's local specialties, but the two families were not right. Xu Damao relied on his wife having money and himself having the convenience of going to the countryside, so he was a bit arrogant, and when he sent local specialties, he couldn't help but bring it out.

The Second Master is a person who wants face, eats soft but not hard, originally looked down on Lou Xiaoe's capitalist daughter's face, felt that the worker identity was higher than others, so although they all lived in the back courtyard, the two families looked down on each other.