Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Sha Zhu was so angry he was trembling all over; damn it, they stole it from him.

He'd been a chef for so many years and still hadn't managed to steal it, but someone else did. No wonder he was furious.

So he stood at his own doorstep, hands on his hips, and yelled, "Which son of a bitch stole my ribs and dumplings? Get them back to me right now, and I'll let it go."

Sha Zhu's shouts and curses attracted many neighbors to come over.

Yi Zhonghai naturally heard this as well, and the three liaison officers exchanged glances, all feeling that it was best for them to handle this matter today, as it would also demonstrate their authority as liaison officers.

Xu Fugui was the first to speak:

"Zhu Zi, what did you say was stolen?"

Upon seeing that they were the three liaison officers from the compound, Sha Zhu immediately made up his mind. He decided to let them handle it for him, and explained:

"Uncle Xu, Uncle Yi, Uncle Yan, my senior brother and I made dumplings together on the Winter Solstice. We put a lot of them in the ice tank, about three pounds of dumplings."

"There are also two pounds of pork ribs in there, and my wife and I haven't touched them for the past three days."

"My wife opened it and looked at it this morning. When I got home from get off work, I was thinking of getting some to eat, but there wasn't a single hair in the ice tank."

"You're the liaison officers, you need to help us handle this. It seems there's been a thief in our compound."

Upon hearing this, the neighbors began to condemn it, saying that if someone could steal from Sha Zhu today, they could steal from someone else tomorrow, which was not surprising.

Yi Zhonghai frowned slightly and looked at Yan Bugui's wife, Yang Ruihua, asking:

"Yan family, did you see any strangers enter your yard in the front yard today?"

Yang Ruihua shook her head: "No outsiders usually come to our courtyard. Even if they did, all of us old women would be here, so it's impossible for us not to see them."

A group of older women also started chattering away:

"Yes, no outsiders came today."

At this moment, Madam Jia Zhang came out and said:

"Silly Zhu, are you mistaken? You ate the ribs and dumplings a long time ago, didn't you?"

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu immediately replied, "Impossible. Apart from the winter solstice, my family hasn't eaten any ribs or dumplings for the past three days."

Madam Jia said again, "Why don't we ask Jiuzhou? Your two families are so close, maybe his family took it but forgot to tell you."

Everyone agreed that what Jia Zhangshi said made a lot of sense, and even Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu were a little unsure.

Just then, Li Jiuzhou and his family came over and overheard what Jia Zhangshi said.

Bingbing stepped forward and said, "Zhuzi, we didn't take it. Even if we were going to, we would have told you."

"Oh dear, that's terrible! Our courtyard has really been robbed!" Jia Zhangshi said nervously, slapping her thigh.

No one thought there was anything wrong with her attitude. She had no criminal record, just a sharp tongue. No one had ever heard of Jia Zhangshi stealing other people's things.

Li Jiuzhou looked at Jia Zhangshi with suspicion; something was off.

Yi Zhonghai's three liaison officers didn't know what to do either. It was alright if the residents lost their things; at least they lost them themselves.

But being stolen is a serious matter; two pounds of pork ribs and three pounds of dumplings—that's all meat!

It's worth at least two or three yuan, which is not a small amount.

But the key question is, where are the thieves? Where the hell are we supposed to catch them?

Yi Zhonghai, Yan Bugui, and Xu Fugui were all feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"Should we call the police?" Xu Fugui was the first to speak.

Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui exchanged a glance and nodded in unison; this matter was beyond their capabilities.

However, I had a feeling that the thief was in this courtyard, in one of the households.

How can I find it?

What do we do after we find it?

Are you really going to go all out to destroy them?

This involves many aspects, including interpersonal relationships between neighbors.

At this point, Madam Jia began to speak again, her tone so righteous and awe-inspiring, as if she were mortal enemies with the thieves:

"Report it! We must report it to the police. If they can steal from Sha Zhu's house today, they can steal from mine tomorrow."

After hearing what Jia Zhangshi said, Li Jiuzhou was even more puzzled and even doubted his own judgment. Could it be that Jia Zhangshi didn't steal it?

Actually, Sha Zhu also suspected that Jia Zhangshi stole it, but how could anyone suspect her with her appearance?

I've seen thieves cry "Stop thief!" but I've never seen a thief want to report to the authorities.

Jia Zhangshi's behavior dispelled Sha Zhu's suspicions about her.

Thinking that reporting it to the police would be quite troublesome, he said:

"Forget it, consider it money I lost."

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai said, "Zhuzi, it's better not to report it to the police. How about this, your Uncle Yan, Uncle Xu, and I will help you investigate, and we'll let you know when we have the results."

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu nodded: "Then you'll have to trouble yourselves."

Just as everyone was about to leave, Yang Ruihua suddenly asked Jia Zhangshi:

"Where did your son and daughter-in-law go?"

Madam Jia was very unhappy to hear this, and said to Yang Ruihua in a bad mood:

"Hey, you son of a bitch, who are you anyway?"

"Did your head get stuck in the door and move up to your butt?"

"I've told you so many times this morning that the couple went to Changping and won't be back until tomorrow."

"Yang Ruihua, do you have a grudge against the Jia family and want to destroy us?"

The other older women naturally stepped forward to act as witnesses for Jia Zhangshi:

"Yes, Dongxu and his wife left early this morning to go back to Changping. We all saw it. Yan family, what's wrong with you? Weren't you there at the time?"

They had reason to suspect that Yang Ruihua had really lost her mind, how could she ask such a stupid question?

By asking such a question in front of the neighbors, Yang Ruihua was clearly implying that Jia Dongxu and Tong Jie were suspects.

Even Yan Bugui felt a little embarrassed, thinking to himself, "After the last incident, my wife probably has a lot of resentment towards the Jia family. She'll find an opportunity to get rid of them."

Yang Ruihua blushed deeply, feeling very uncomfortable being insulted to her face, but she had no legitimate reason to refute it and could only swallow her pride and accept her fate.

"I've been too busy today and didn't remember that Dongxu and his wife went back to Changping. I'm sorry."

Jia Zhangshi certainly wouldn't let Yang Ruihua off so easily; she had a very sharp tongue.

She looked at Yang Ruihua with disdain and said:

"Tch~ You useless piece of trash, you're completely worthless. Don't show your face unless it's absolutely necessary. From now on, sit at the kids' table at any banquet in the yard!"

Yang Ruihua covered his face and withdrew from the center of public opinion. He couldn't stay in the Intermediate Court any longer, so he scurried back to the front yard with his big buttocks twitching.

Yang Ruihua was filled with resentment. Not only had she lost face today, but she had also been scolded by Jia Zhangshi in front of so many neighbors. She was utterly humiliated.

Yang Ruihua had always held a grudge against the Jia family, and today, by some strange twist of fate, she suddenly felt compelled to confront it.

She genuinely suspected that the ribs and dumplings in Sha Zhu's ice tank were stolen by the Jia family.

If you ask her why she's so sure, it's simply based on intuition.

Yi Zhonghai waved to the crowd:

"Everyone, disperse. The three of us liaison officers will investigate this matter discreetly."

"Yes, we'll let everyone know as soon as we have the results," Yan Bugui chimed in.