Chapter 265: All the Firewood Is Gone
Chapter 265: Chapter 265: All the Firewood Is Gone
Uncle Deng was always an honest and kind man, and rarely was he ever this flustered.
Shen Ningning blinked her big, round eyes. "Uncle Deng, take your time. What’s wrong?"
She appeared calm on the surface, but her little feet were a blur, rushing back toward the village.
’Did something happen to Grandma?’
But to her surprise, Uncle Deng said, "We’ve been robbed!"
Shen Ningning immediately frowned in confusion. "Robbed?"
"Yes, half a shed full of firewood I’d stored up has been stolen." Uncle Deng was on the verge of tears as he spoke.
Shen Ningning’s heart sank. "How could that be? Firewood isn’t exactly easy to hide. With so many people coming and going in the village, how could half a shed’s worth be stolen without anyone noticing?"
She stopped to listen as Uncle Deng explained what had happened.
It turned out that in the afternoon, three or four strangers had come to the village to see the old village chief.
They claimed they were there to buy any surplus cotton cloth and quilts.
The old village chief had already sold some before, but he considered that selling more could earn him a bit more silver.
So, he had Uncle Deng take two of them to the inner room to look at the quilts and mink pelts.
Meanwhile, the remaining two gathered around the old village chief, chatting and making small talk with great enthusiasm.
The old village chief was wary at first, but he saw that the men were well-dressed and didn’t look like bandits.
Besides, they were in the middle of the village, with villagers passing by outside. Even if these men were criminals, they wouldn’t dare try anything.
But the group spent a long time looking, either complaining that the quilts were too thin or that the mink quilted clothes were too expensive.
In the end, they didn’t buy anything and left in their horse-drawn carriage.
It was a while after they had left that Uncle Deng went to the woodshed to get firewood to start a fire for dinner.
That’s when he discovered that half the woodshed had been emptied!
By the time Uncle Deng finished explaining the situation to Shen Ningning, they had arrived back at the old village chief’s house.
Many villagers had already gathered inside. The old village chief, his hair completely white, looked haggard and exhausted in the lamplight.
He had just fainted and was now clutching his chest.
He mumbled to himself, "It’s over, it’s all over. Most of the firewood is gone. How will what’s left be enough?"
"I’m not going to make it through this disastrous year. I’m not going to make it..."
The villagers all tried to console him at once.
When Shen Ningning entered the house, everyone instinctively fell silent and moved aside, clearing a path for the little girl.
Seeing Shen Ningning, the old village chief looked as if he’d seen his savior.
He said, almost choking up, "Ningning, what are we going to do!"
Shen Ningning remained composed. "Grandpa Chief, don’t worry. Let me get the details. If all else fails, we’ll report it to the government. Those people can’t have gone far."
With that, the little girl looked at the surrounding villagers.
"Did any of you get a clear look at their faces?"
The villagers glanced at each other.
Sister-in-law Liu said with difficulty, "It was dusk. The sky was dim, so you could only really see their silhouettes."
Another villager added, "I did see them carrying things in and out."
"But I just thought they were outsiders who had come to buy something from the old chief."
"When I passed by the door, I even saw our chief laughing with one of them. Who would have thought they were stealing!"
’They chose to come at dusk, before the lamps were lit.’
’They divided the labor well—two to keep Uncle Deng busy, and two to watch the old village chief.’
’Their accomplices outside were in charge of hauling everything away.’
’Half a woodshed of firewood... one carriage definitely wouldn’t be enough to carry it all.’
Just now, Shen Ningning had looked at the carriage tracks outside the house. She estimated they had used three different carriages, making trips back and forth.
Uncle Liu said in a serious voice, "Why don’t we grab our tools and follow the tracks? We’ll catch them for sure!"
Everyone chimed in with agreement.
But Shen Ningning shook her head. "No, that won’t work. About a li past the village entrance is the main road."
"The tracks there are a tangled mess. They came prepared, so they definitely wouldn’t leave an easy trail for us to find."
The old village chief wiped the tears from his eyes. "Some of that wood was what Ningning gave me."
"To have it stolen by those bastards... It’s infuriating!"
Shen Ningning said soothingly, "Grandpa Chief, don’t worry. We’ll report it to the government in a little while."
Hearing this, the old village chief could only shake his head and sigh silently, his face full of sorrow.
Everyone knew that once something like firewood was stolen, the thieves would surely split it up and store it in different places.
Even if they reported it to the government, what good would it do?
The wood didn’t have names written on it, so how could they prove it was what the old village chief had lost?
Shen Ningning’s voice was soft and sweet, full of childlike innocence, yet it carried a reassuring weight.
"The investigation might take some time. Too many people are reporting crimes right now, and the government officials are overwhelmed."
"But that’s alright. In the meantime, Grandpa Chief, you can use the emergency supply of wood."
Previously, Shen Ningning had reminded the villagers to find a place to store some wood for emergencies.
Now, it was coming in handy.
The old village chief seemed to wake from a dream and quickly looked at Uncle Deng. "That’s right! Son, hurry and get Heiwa Zi to help you bring our wood back here."
Uncle Deng paused for a moment, then nodded.
Shen Ningning generously lent them her own horse-drawn carriage.
After everything was sorted out, the villagers returned to their homes, leaving two men behind to stay with the old village chief in case he fell into despair.
Shen Ningning returned to her house in the village. Lang Si and a few other wolves had come down from the mountain at some point and were now frolicking in the snow-covered yard.
Hearing the commotion, Grandma Qin leaned on her cane and slowly walked to the doorway.
"Ningning, you’re back? What happened over at the chief’s place? It was so noisy. I wanted to go see, but your friend, Mr. Jiang, wouldn’t let Grandma leave the house."
Grandma Qin said with a cheerful laugh.
Jiang Zhi was in the kitchen, helping wash vegetables and tend the fire.
Hearing this, he called out, "Grandma Qin, you can’t be running around right now! Be careful you don’t fall again."
"Once I get the rice cooking, I’ll go find out what happened. Don’t you worry."
Shen Ningning smiled and patted the snow from her pant legs, her cute, round face beaming as she walked into the yard.
She casually ruffled the fur of Lang Si, who had trotted over to her.
She said to her grandma, "It’s nothing much. Someone stole the firewood from Grandpa Chief’s house."
Grandma Qin was startled. "There are thieves, even with everyone watching?"
After all, Xiangyun Village was now famous for being situated at the foot of Wolf Mountain.
Never mind thieves—during the worst of the drought, they had killed a band of vicious bandits. Since then, no one had dared to cause trouble in Xiangyun Village.
Travelers passing by Wolf Mountain would go out of their way to avoid it.
Shen Ningning took a washed red fruit from her basket and took a bite.
The sweet juice flowed over her tongue.
She made a soft "mhm" sound. "It was most likely an inside job, orchestrated by someone familiar with them."
"That person must know the Deng Family very well, to know that there’s only an old man and Uncle Deng at home."
"That’s how they could so perfectly arrange for a few people to come and keep the Deng father and son occupied separately."
"And they chose to come at dusk, which means they must know Xiangyun Village like the back of their hand."
"The person knew that at this time, every household in the village is busy making dinner, so even with people coming and going, they wouldn’t attract much attention."
"If anyone asked, they could just explain they were there to buy something from the old chief, which would dispel any suspicion."
Grandma Qin’s expression turned serious. "Targeting the Deng Family... could it be the chief’s former daughter-in-law, Wang Qiao’er?"
Shen Ningning finished her red fruit and gave a faint smile.
"Who knows?" In any case, she hadn’t mentioned this suspicion to the old village chief, afraid he would faint from anger again.
Shen Ningning and Jiang Zhi finished dinner with Grandma Qin.
Just then, the Black Wolf King also happened to stroll down the mountain.
Shen Ningning had just settled on the Black Wolf King’s back, ready to return to the mountain, when she saw Sister-in-law Liu hurrying toward them.
"Ningning, it’s terrible! You have to go to the chief’s house, quickly! This time, they’re in for some really bad luck."