Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 640 Chapter 639 The Chicken is Lost

After chatting with Ma Wei for a while, Tang Zhitong became distracted because he had to go and pick up his wife and two younger sisters.

After all this trouble, it was dark when I got home.

However, it was quite lively outside my house, with a crowd of people gathered around.

Tang Zhitong could hear the crowd outside whispering about something.

"What's going on?" When Tang Zhitong saw this situation, his nerves immediately tensed up and his heart was in his throat.

"Oh, Anzi is back? Your chicken is lost and your mother is sad." Someone among the onlookers heard Tang Zhitong's movement, turned around and explained.

"The chicken is lost? Come, come, uncles, aunts, please make way so I can pass." When Tang Zhitong heard that it was a lost chicken, his heart was immediately relieved. It didn't matter if the chicken was lost, as long as the person was fine.

It was not a good idea to block someone's door, so after hearing Tang Zhitong's request, the onlookers stepped back and made way for Tang Zhitong, Xiao Wang, and Feng Zhen.

The younger generations were all worried about Zhang Guifang, so they didn't push their bicycles inside and just left them outside.

When I walked in, I saw Zhang Guifang sitting on the doorstep wiping her tears.

Zhang Guifang blamed herself when she saw her son and daughter-in-law coming back: "It's all my fault. I didn't lock the door when I went out, and the chickens are lost."

"It's okay, Mom. It's lost. When we raised it before, it was often taken away by weasels." Tang Zhitong stepped forward and helped Zhang Guifang up.

As it was afternoon, the temperature dropped. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, her hands were cold. Fengzhi stayed by her side with her small schoolbag on her back.

"It wasn't taken by a weasel, it was stolen." Zhang Guifang stood up with the help of her son.

"Wow, we haven't lost anything in this area for years. How many were lost?" Zhang Guifang's words surprised Tang Zhitong a little.

Student Xiao Wang supported the mother-in-law on the other side, took out his handkerchief and gave it to her, and then helped to brush away the dust behind her.

"One." Zhang Guifang took the handkerchief handed over by her daughter-in-law, wiped her tears, and replied.

"The thief still remembered to leave some for the owner?" Tang Zhitong knew that his mother felt sorry for the lost chicken. After all, she couldn't bear to eat it during the New Year. But he didn't care much because there were still many chickens in the space.

"Maybe they can't carry it?" someone interrupted.

"Hey, if you say so, we have to be careful from now on. There are only thieves who can steal for a thousand days, but there is no one who can guard against thieves for a thousand days." Tang Zhitong was not in a bad mood at the moment and could even joke with the neighbors.

"It's all my fault. I had to drag your mother to the grocery store." Aunt Ma said in annoyance.

"Auntie Ma, how can you be blamed for this? It was intentional. Even if they didn't steal this time, there will be another time." Tang Zhitong comforted Auntie Ma.

If someone was not familiar with the family, this sentence would put them on the suspect list, and they would be at the top of the list. However, the two families have been neighbors for more than ten years and know each other well, so Tang Zhitong believes the Ma family.

Not to mention just one chicken, as long as Aunt Ma asked, all the chickens in the house would be given to them. After all, her friendship with the third brother is there.

"Don't blame you, I forgot to lock the door." Zhang Guifang also advised.

Not locking the door only gradually became popular after the liberation. On the one hand, there was not much stuff at home, and on the other hand, there were neighbors who had known each other for many years and everyone trusted each other.

"Okay, it's getting late, let's all go." Tang Zhitong didn't intend to let his family be treated like monkeys by others, so he waved his hand and sent them away.

"Eanzi, are you just going to let it go? This is a chicken!"

"Eanzi, why don't you look for the chicken? Maybe it got lost."

"Alas, life is good now. I don't care about chickens anymore."

……

Hearing the sarcastic voice outside, Tang Zhitong turned around and bowed to the neighbors outside the door: "Who said I don't care about chickens? But compared to a chicken, I care more about my mother. Let my mother go in and rest first, is there anything wrong with that?
We have been neighbors for many years. If anyone can identify the chicken thief, please come and tell me tonight so that I can help him.

Find the chicken and stew it, and it will be a dish for both our families.

If there is an elderly person in someone's family who is in poor health, and the younger generation is unable to think straight and steals my chickens to honor the elderly, I can understand that, but my mother cannot be embarrassed in vain. Come here and apologize to my mother, and then we can discuss what happens next.

Okay, let's go. It's getting late, let's go home and have dinner."

After Tang Zhitong finished speaking, he winked at Xiao Wang and asked her to help Zhang Guifang go home, while he pushed the bicycles outside into the door one by one.

Although the chicken was lost, Tang Zhitong did not close the door. The door was still open. He was waiting for someone who knew the situation to come and tell him who stole the chicken tonight.

Tang Zhitong returned home, turned on the outside light first, and then carefully looked around the chicken coop.

Because the soil had been turned over a few days ago, it was relatively soft, and there were obvious footprints around the chicken coop, both large and small, and of different sizes.

"Mom, don't feel bad. It's just a chicken. Just treat it as eating it." Tang Zhitong returned to the house and saw Zhang Guifang's swollen eyes and comforted her.

"It's fine if I eat it. I don't feel bad at all. But I would feel bad if I lost it. It's fifty yuan!" Zhang Guifang felt even more bad when she mentioned this. Fifty yuan was enough to cover the family's expenses for one and a half months.

"Wow, so expensive? It's okay, it's okay. You see, Wenwen and I have heating bills in winter, which add up to thirty or forty yuan. Doesn't this make up for it?" Tang Zhitong was very surprised to hear the price. When he went to Shangzhuang to attend the market before the New Year, a chicken was only fifteen yuan.

No matter how unexpected it was, he couldn't show his heartache, so Tang Zhitong could only talk about the heating bill.

The full name of the heating fee is "winter heating subsidy". All employees of enterprises, institutions, and state organs whose houses do not have heating will receive a subsidy every month during the four-month heating period in winter, which will be paid together with their wages.

At the beginning, 6% of the monthly salary was paid out. If the total amount was less than 18 yuan after four months, it would be made up to 18 yuan.

In 1956, the heating fee in the old city was reduced to 4% of the monthly salary. If the cumulative subsidy in four months was less than 4 yuan, it would be increased to 16 yuan.

Tang Zhitong received it once when he was at the Hujialou branch.

The next year, I went to escort transport. The salary of senior officials was reduced once, and the heating subsidy rules were changed. It was no longer linked to salary and was changed to 16 yuan, four yuan per month, paid with salary. Whether the rules are changed or not, it will not have much impact on ordinary people. After all, only those who earn more than 100 yuan per month will be affected.

Tang Zhitong liked this heating fee very much. The couple spent a total of 32 yuan, which was enough to buy two tons of ordinary coal and kilograms of top-grade anthracite, enough for the family to survive the winter.

"How can they be the same? Isn't the heating fee you pay your own money? Why should it be used to replace our chickens?" Zhang Guifang wanted to open her eyes wide, but they were swollen, so she could only squint and stare at her son.

"You're right. Who has come to our house since the chicken was lost? Approximately what time was it lost? I'll try to see if I can find the chicken back." Although he was trying to comfort her, Tang Zhitong didn't intend to let it go. One chicken was lost from his home, but there were still four. If he didn't solve the case this time, the remaining four would not be saved.

"It was your Aunt Ma. It was around five o'clock. When your Aunt Ma and I were queuing in the grocery store, the clock at the station rang five times. When we came back, Fengzhi had just finished herding the chickens. She told me that the chicken coop was open and the chickens were all out, but there was an old hen missing." Zhang Guifang recalled and said.

"When I came back, the chicken coop was open. I drove the chickens in and closed the door." Fengzhi boasted.

"Isn't it your fault? You are so careless. If you had the key, I could have just left the door open." Zhang Guifang could no longer maintain her rationality after hearing Fengzhi say this and started to complain.

"Isn't the key rope broken? I don't want a chicken missing from my house." After hearing this, Fengzhi's eyes turned red and she defended herself in a low voice.

"Okay, I got it. Let's eat first. After dinner, I'll go to the police station." Tang Zhitong touched his sister's head to comfort her.

"Just now, Aunt Zhang from the backyard was surrounding me outside, and I was embarrassed to say anything. A few days ago, when I went to fetch water, she was outside shouting that we have several chickens. She said that each chicken is fifty yuan, and that our chickens can be exchanged for a bicycle or something." Zhang Guifang mentioned the suspect suspiciously.

"Okay, I'll talk to the police later. Wenwen, find a strong rope for Fengzhi to tie the key. Fengzhi, hang the key around your neck in the future and keep an eye on it, don't lose it." After Tang Zhitong said this, he packed out the pickles and steamed buns. Let's just make do with this for tonight's meal. He didn't have the heart to cook at the moment.

Until the end of the meal, Tang Zhitong didn't see anyone come to provide any useful clues.

After leaving the door, Tang Zhitong did not go to the police station immediately, but drove around.

Since no one has provided any clues, I have to look for it myself first, and then lead the public security comrades in the direction of my findings.

Tang Zhitong drove east first. A while ago, Wang Da'erduo was beaten because he went there to look for a sled. Could it be that he was taking this opportunity to take revenge?
After standing outside the gate of someone else's yard for a while, Tang Zhitong didn't find a single chicken feather, so he went to the yards behind his own house.

Aunt Zhang, who was known for her big mouth, didn't have any live chickens, not even chicken feathers or bones. But she did find something at Liu Chengzhi's house. There were a few relatively large chicken feathers in the schoolbag of her eldest son Liu Jiaming.

Other than that, nothing.

Tang Zhitong was at a loss. He couldn't conclude that his chicken was stolen by Liu Jiaming just because of a few chicken feathers, right?
Leave professional matters to professionals, and Tang Zhitong simply went directly to the police station.

Due to the current great security pressure, not only are security guards organized to patrol the streets, but even the police stations have begun to keep people on duty at night. After all, communication is very inconvenient at the moment, and if there is a case, there is no way to find the person immediately.

As soon as Tang Zhitong arrived, he was recognized.

"Comrade Tang, is there something wrong?" The person on duty today is the police station chief Wang Yang. He was there when Tang Zhitong's family went to visit during the Spring Festival. He was particularly impressed by "Sister Ye" as mentioned by Director Xu of the Street Office.

"Hello, I'm reporting a case. What's your name?" Tang Zhitong had no dealings with the police station. There were a lot of people at the reunion party that day, and it was impossible for him to recognize them all in just a few minutes.

"My surname is Wang, Wang Yang, and I'm the person in charge here." Wang Yang said as he extended his hand towards Tang Zhitong.

"Hello, Director Wang, this is Tang Zhitong." Tang Zhitong stretched out his hand and shook hands with Wang Yang. He opened a pack of cigarettes and gave one to Wang Yang. He put the cigarette on the table and then told him about the lost chicken.

"Let's go and take a look." Wang Yang took note of it and without saying anything, he stood up, put on his coat, holstered his gun, put on a small bag, and was about to go out with a flashlight.

"I'm sorry to bother Director Wang to make this trip so late in the evening." Tang Zhitong went out and said politely to Wang Yang.

"It's not a problem. It's our job to help the people solve their problems." Wang Yang spoke in a friendly manner.

Although he spoke in a gentle manner, he was very efficient. As soon as he entered the Tang family's yard, he turned on the flashlight and started to survey the area next to the chicken coop.

There was no power cut in the area today, so Tang Zhitong first went into the house and turned on the lights outside, then stood next to Wang Yang and introduced to him who these footprints on the ground might belong to.

Wang Yang measured the size of several footprints, then stepped on one next to them to compare the depth, and said, "There are four different sizes of footprints. According to what you said, we have eliminated the two adults and your sister's, so there is only one left. Can you ask your sister to come out and measure her feet?"

"What's wrong with that? Fengzhi, come here." It was the first time that the police came to the house. Fengzhi was still a little curious. She huddled behind the door curtain and poked her head out to look. Tang Zhitong waved to his sister and called her over.

Wang Yang asked Feng Zhi to step on the empty space nearby, and he had an idea in his mind: "The suspect is about 1.2 meters tall and weighs no more than 60 kilograms."

After hearing this, Tang Zhitong ruled out Wang Da'erduo in his mind, because the kid was more than 1.2 meters tall.

After that, Wang Yang stroked his stubble and thought for a while, then analyzed it to Tang Zhitong: "Either he is a dwarf or a child.

If he was committing the crime while on the run, the timing would be too coincidental, and it is impossible for him to just steal one chicken while on the run.

It happened just after school, and I think it was done by kids from the neighborhood.

Did the little sister come back from school? Was she delayed outside?"

"It wasn't a delay. I came back after school today." Fengzhi answered straightforwardly and affirmatively.

"Then the scope has been narrowed. How about I go to a few nearby schools tomorrow to ask if there are any children who didn't come to school or left early today." After hearing what Feng Zhi said, Wang Yang further narrowed the scope.

"Liu Jiaming didn't go to school today." Before Tang Zhitong could say anything, Feng Zhi interrupted.

"Anzi, are you home?" As soon as Fengzhi finished speaking, a voice came from the direction of the gate. The voice was not loud, but very clear.

Because Wang Yang came over, Tang Zhitong did not close the door when he came back.

The person who came was Aunt Zhang mentioned by Zhang Guifang. When she entered the room and saw the police, there was obvious surprise on her face.

"Aunt Zhang, is there something wrong?" Tang Zhitong hated people who talked too much. If the person in front of him hadn't yelled a few times that day, he might not have lost the chickens in his house.

However, in front of Wang Yang, Tang Zhitong could not show disgust and could only be polite on the surface.

"Um...does what you said at the door still count?" Aunt Zhang looked conflicted. After hesitating for a while, she finally asked.

(End of this chapter)