Chapter 411: Yelling – Daily Gossip in the Sickly Aunt’s Courtyard

**Chapter 411: The Commotion—Frail Sister-in-Law’s Daily Drama in the Courtyard**

In the Zhang household, Lao’er’s wife didn’t work and stayed home every midday to cook lunch, waiting for Old Mrs. Zhang to bring the kids back to eat.

Like always, she had taken the children out that morning to socialize, and when it was about time to head back, she started making her way home to prepare lunch.

Before going home, though, she left the kids with her mother-in-law, asking her to watch them and bring them back later for the meal. If she brought everyone home at once, she wouldn’t be able to handle both cooking and looking after them.

As soon as she got inside, she went straight to the pantry to get what she needed for lunch.

But the moment she opened the pantry door, her mind blanked out. Her eyes widened in shock.

She gulped hard, then screamed, “Ah! There’s a thief!”

The scream was impulsive—but also calculated.

She sometimes sent money to her birth family, but never took extra grain. That would leave her own family short on food, and she couldn’t bear to do it.

Still, her family of origin was struggling, and she worried if the grain went missing, her in-laws would blame her.

By raising the alarm now, with neighbors as witnesses, she could prove she had no chance to steal it—clearing her name.

Her scream set the whole building abuzz.

Old Mrs. Zhang heard the noise upstairs and hurried up from downstairs.

Holding a child, she was breathing hard by the time she reached the top floor. When she arrived, she found a crowd of neighbors gathered at her door. “What’s going on? Let me through!”

After finally squeezing her way in, she saw Lao’er’s wife standing there, eyes red and looking helpless. Her heart sank. “Tell me what happened!”

At the sight of her mother-in-law, Lao’er’s wife burst out crying. “Mom! We’ve been robbed! All the grain in the pantry is gone!”

Old Mrs. Zhang staggered, nearly dropping the child in her arms—if not for a neighbor catching her just in time.

“Be careful—you’re holding a baby!”

Lao’er’s wife rushed forward and grabbed the child before anything worse could happen. She was scared half to death.

Once the child was safe in her arms again, Old Mrs. Zhang snapped out of her shock. “How could the grain be gone? That was our entire family’s food for the next week!” With so many mouths to feed, even a week’s worth was barely enough. The thought nearly broke her heart.

Though their family earned decent money, food rations were tight. Each month’s supply was strictly limited. Now they’d lost a whole week’s share—how would they survive?

Panicked, Old Mrs. Zhang’s suspicion fell instantly on her daughter-in-law. Could Lao’er’s wife have stolen it herself?

The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became. But Lao’er’s wife understood the look in her mother-in-law’s eyes immediately. She knew she’d done the right thing by raising the alarm. If she hadn’t made a scene and gotten witnesses, she might have been wrongly accused.

She began explaining, “Mom, I only just got back a few minutes ago. As soon as I opened the pantry and saw the grain was gone, I screamed!”

Her words made it clear she hadn’t had time to do it.

“Was there really a thief?”

“Oh no, oh no—I need to check my place too!” Many neighbors rushed off in a panic to inspect their own homes.

Even though some had just checked their pantries earlier, hearing about someone else’s theft made them uneasy.

Soon, those who had run off came hurrying back. Realizing she might have unfairly suspected her daughter-in-law, Old Mrs. Zhang quickly asked, “Any news?”

"It's nothing, really. Everything's fine at our house."

Mrs. Zhang’s mood only got worse. If it was a robbery, why would they target only her family?

Some quick-witted neighbors had already caught on—when someone steals from just one household like this, it’s either a personal grudge or... there's a thief among them!

At noon, with no choice left, they had to use up their money and ration coupons for a meal at the government canteen.

Mrs. Zhang wasn’t being cheap, but feeding so many mouths every day would be impossible like this.

She also used the lunch break to tell Deputy Factory Manager Zhang what had happened. He came home briefly, asked his wife and daughter-in-law a few questions, and quickly reached a conclusion.

He took a drag on his cigarette and sighed. There was no need to guess anymore—the family definitely had an inside thief!

"Has Zhang Mengyun been back?" Deputy Factory Manager Zhang thought of her first.

Both Mrs. Zhang and the second son’s wife were stunned. What did she have to do with it?

Could the thief actually be her?

Mrs. Zhang couldn’t quite believe it. She’d rather suspect her daughter-in-law than her own flesh and blood. "Honey, you’re joking, right?"

He exhaled smoke. "Who’s joking? When Zhang Mengyun got married, we didn’t give her extra money—to teach her a lesson. The Jin family isn’t rich either..." He didn’t need to say more.

The second son’s wife was furious. Ever since her sister-in-law came back, the house had been in chaos. That girl was good for nothing but eating them out of house and home—and even after getting married, she still caused trouble like this. If she hadn’t spoken up first, she might’ve been the one blamed later!

...

Lin Qing was at a loss for words. In the time it took to eat a single meal, she’d already heard about the theft at Deputy Factory Manager Zhang’s house.

As soon as Lin Qing and Fu Huihui heard that only food had been stolen, they started suspecting something.

"This must be an inside job!"

Lin Qing nodded. Exactly—if it were a professional thief, they wouldn’t just take food. They’d go straight for the money and ration coupons!

In fact, more and more people were figuring it out too. Now the big question was—who was the thief?

Some suspected the eldest son’s wife, others pointed to the second son’s wife, and some even guessed it was the third son’s wife. The daughters-in-law, always seen as outsiders, were the usual suspects.

Gossip spread like wildfire.

When Lin Qing returned home in the afternoon, even her mother mentioned it.

"Mom, how do you know about this already? Did word spread that fast?"

"Tsk, don’t underestimate me. Your mom’s connections are top-notch."

"Can’t compete, can’t compete~" Lin Qing teased playfully.

"Hah! Of course I’m better than you!" her mother boasted proudly.

With something like this happening in the Zhang family, the whole building knew. And with so many people talking, it didn’t take long for the news to spread. No wonder her mother had heard about it.