Chapter 110: A Thief in the Family

Chapter 110: A Thief in the Family

Jiang Ye climbed the tree like a monkey.

"Sis, just chill. I'll pick 'em, and let Bro handle the opening down here."

Jiang Yu grinned and took out two pliers and a pair of gloves she had brought up. "I'm prepared. Just pick them."

He Tingyue pulled out a folding knife from somewhere. "Let's pick."

Though there were many chestnuts that had fallen to the ground, Jiang Yu only wanted the freshly picked, big, plump ones.

Jiang Ye worked quickly, filling a basket and passing it down. He Tingyue emptied it to the side and handed the basket back up.

He sat with Jiang Yu and started opening chestnuts.

Jiang Yu clearly wasn’t new to this; her movements were smooth and skilled.

In no time, the three of them had opened a full basket of chestnuts.

Jiang Yu lifted them. "This should be dozens of jin."

Too many chestnuts weren't good either; this was enough to eat.

"A Ye, come down. That's enough!"

Jiang Ye jumped down from the tree and looked up.

"We worked our butts off, but it barely looks like we did anything."

The chestnut trees had been growing for many years, with chestnut burrs (the spiky shells that encase the nuts) hanging densely.

They had only picked one tree, and after dozens of jin, there were still many left.

"Should I ask Sixie if he wants some? If he does, I'll bring Fei Yan over to help pick next time."

She had money on her mind, always looking to sell whatever she could get her hands on.

Jiang Yu looked at He Tingyue for his opinion.

He Tingyue, with a smile in his eyes, said, "That's a good idea. Otherwise, letting them fall is a waste. We'll go ask later."

Jiang Ye nodded eagerly. "Alright, then I'll stay here and pick more. It won't spoil anyway. I can help out, no need to specially bring people over to pick."

He Feiyan, a city girl who'd never done hard labor, wouldn’t know the first thing about picking chestnuts.

If Sixie didn’t want them, they could just give them away.

"These chestnuts are a pain to carry. Why don't we leave 'em here and head over to the persimmon trees?" Jiang Yu weighed them and found them cumbersome.

They would need to sneak back, or these wouldn’t stay hidden.

With that said, Jiang Yu led them to find the persimmon trees.

"These persimmons are huge and sweet. Give 'em a try."

Jiang Yu casually picked one, wiped it with her sleeve, and took a bite.

It tasted just like it always does.

Jiang Ye sighed, "Sis, no wonder no one's found this place—it's so out of the way that most people wouldn't even dare to come."

It's not that people love going up the mountain. There are wild beasts, and if you're unlucky enough to run into one, it could be life-threatening.

Jiang Yu found a clean spot and sat down.

"When you're starving, you'd chew on tree bark if you had to. Who cares about danger at that point?"

Especially in autumn and winter, when there aren't any wild vegetables to eat, these are the only things left.

"Enough said, let's hurry and pick more. Once we're done, we'll head back."

Persimmons are easier than chestnuts; you just pick them and put them in the basket.

"Don't pick too many. You won't be able to carry them."

He Tingyue planned to carry the basket of chestnuts and take some persimmons, leaving the rest for Jiang Yu to carry.

If we pick too many, we won't be able to carry them all back. Better to leave some on the tree and come back later.

Jiang Ye said, "You should check if Sixth Brother wants any of the persimmons. We have more than we can eat, and leaving them on the tree is just feeding the birds."

"Okay, this should be enough. Let's head down."

Jiang Ye nodded. "I'll go pack the hens and eggs for you. Go ahead and descend the mountain. Uncle He still has a chicken at his place. Sister, don't forget."

Jiang Yu patted her head, realizing she had almost forgotten.

"Don't worry about the chickens here. I'll just take the one from Uncle He's place. I might need to come back tomorrow."

Bringing back three chickens at once would raise too much suspicion.

"Alright, then put the basket down, and I'll carry it for you."

Jiang Yu waved her hand. "You still need to go back and pick chestnuts. Go ahead. Don't worry about me. Your sister and I aren't going home. We're heading straight back to the city."

With that, Jiang Ye didn't waste any time and headed straight for the chestnut trees.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yu and He Tingyue went down the mountain with the chestnuts and persimmons, stopping by He Youfu's house to pick up a chicken.

"Auntie, we're leaving some chestnuts for you. We're heading back to the city now. We'll visit again next time."

Before Liu Junmei could react, Jiang Yu had already poured out some chestnuts and left with He Tingyue.

After they left South River Village, Wang Meili overheard Yang Cuilan asking, "When Jiang Yu left, she was holding a chicken. Did you give it to her? Wang Meili, I didn't expect you to be so generous."

Wang Meili cursed, "That little thief stole my chicken!"

After counting two or three times when she got home, she realized her chicken was still there.

"Where did she get that chicken from?"

Later, she found out that Jiang Yu had taken it from the captain's house.

Yang Cuilan guessed, "Maybe she and Liu Junmei bought it? Tsk, even with money, your own daughter won't let you make a profit. Seems like Jiang Yu isn't that close to you."

Wang Meili spat. "You're talking nonsense! My Jiang Yu knew her brother was injured and needed chicken to nourish his body. How dare she ask me for it? She even gave me a big jar of Ya Shuang cream, which costs fifty cents in the city. Let's see if your old husband will give you something like that!"

No matter what goes on at home, when it comes to outsiders, she and Jiang Yu stick together.

She knows the difference between public and private affairs.

Auntie Du, upon hearing this, wasn’t quite convinced: “Wang Meili, are you just boasting? If Jiang Yu really gave you something that expensive, why haven’t we seen you use it?”

“She must be lying. I don’t believe it. Nobody tells bigger lies than Wang Meili. Nothing she says is believable.”

“Fifty-cent snow lotion? What fool would use that?”

“Are you trying to throw your money away like that? This is no way to live.”

Wang Meili scoffed, “My son-in-law earns over a hundred a month in the city. Fifty cents for Ya Shuang is nothing to him. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you home and show you!”

Yang Cuilan, lagging behind, hurried to catch up. Although she was a bit envious, she still wanted to see for herself.

When they got home, Wang Meili made them wait outside while she went in to get it.

That jar of Ya Shuang was locked away.

But when she opened the lock, she saw that the unused jar of Ya Shuang was gone!

Wang Meili searched the entire house but couldn’t find it.

She screamed, “Oh no! Who took my snow lotion!”

She rushed out of the house, screaming in despair, “My Ya Shuang is gone! My Ya Shuang, fifty cents a jar, is gone!”

Yang Cuilan sneered, “She’s probably just making it up.”

But after Jiang Li gets married, she might ask Jiang Li to buy her a jar.

Auntie Du muttered, “I don’t think she’s lying. It looks like she’s really lost it.”

Wang Meili seemed genuinely anxious.

“Meili, if you don’t have it, there’s no need to shout. We’re not going to make fun of you,” Yang Cuilan said with schadenfreude.

Wang Meili slapped her thigh, “I really had it. I’m telling the truth. My Jiang Yu just gave it to me, and she even gave her father a pack of Big Front Door cigarettes (a popular brand at the time)! But somehow, the things are gone.”

Auntie Du and the others looked at each other, “Could it really have been stolen?”

Wang Meili panicked, “But I had it locked. It was in the cabinet, locked.”

Auntie Du said, “Then it must have been someone from inside the house. Otherwise, who else would know where you kept your keys?”

Wang Meili froze, then thought carefully. Everyone else had gone out, only Jiang Hao was at home!

Her face went pale as she pushed open Jiang Hao’s door.

“Jiang Hao, did you take my snow lotion!”

Jiang Hao, looking guilty, got up from the bed.

“Mom, Du Juan came to see me just now. I thought since she had come all this way, I couldn’t let her leave empty-handed, so I gave her the Ya Shuang.”

Wang Meili, furious, hit him a couple of times and glared at him with exasperation.

“Are you even worth anything? You just broke up with her last week, and yet the moment she shows up, you act like a pushover!”