Lin Changyou walked into the main hall, holding a wooden stick in one hand and a flashlight in the other. He saw that Lin Lan’s door was open and asked, "Little Lan, did you hear anything?"

"No." Lin Lan walked into the main hall. Lin Changyou opened the front door, and Wangcai ran up to the two of them, wagging its tail.

Lin Lan rubbed its head. "I’ll cook you two big bones tomorrow to reward you."

"WOOF WOOF... WOOF WOOF..." Wangcai barked cheerfully a few times, licked Lin Lan’s palm, and wagged its tail so hard it looked like it might break off.

Hearing the voices, Wu Shuqin opened her door and came out. "Wangcai’s barking is so intimidating. It set off all the other dogs in the neighborhood."

Lin Changyou said from the yard, "There’s a meat bone and a chunk of braised pork here. Those sons of bitches wanted to poison the dog and steal our things."

Hearing this, Lin Lan figured it was probably because Li Xiangyang had brought over all those things today. Someone with bad intentions must have seen them and decided to target their house.

Wu Shuqin looked at the meat bone and braised pork and said with a laugh, "Your Wangcai is so clever, not even touching such a big piece of meat."

"Wangcai only eats food given by family. It never eats things from strangers," Wu Shufen said, walking over with a dustpan.

Lin Changyou came back after dumping the meat bone and braised pork into the latrine pit. He said to the others, "Let’s get back to sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll go out and ask if anyone else got robbed."

"Right, we’ll ask around tomorrow." Wu Shuqin pulled her jacket tighter and ran back to her room.

The three of them—Lin Lan, Lin Changyou, and Wu Shufen—went back into the main hall and closed the door. Lin Changyou looked at the pile of things and said, "Little Lan, tell Xiangyang not to bother installing the antenna for the TV. We should move all this to the house in the city to keep it safe, so people don’t keep eyeing it."

Lin Lan wasn’t interested in watching TV at all. She nodded and said, "Alright. Tomorrow, I’ll have someone move the TV and the sewing machine upstairs at the department store for safekeeping. We’ll keep the bicycle here to use."

Lin Changyou nodded, and he and Wu Shufen went back to their room to sleep.

Lin Lan returned to her room and tucked Little Douzi in. On the small bed next to his, a sleepy-eyed Qiaohui asked, "Cousin, what’s wrong with Wangcai?"

"It’s nothing." Lin Lan pulled back the covers, got into bed, took off her jacket, and slipped under the quilt. She lay down and closed her eyes, but she couldn’t fall asleep.

She recalled Yao Xiuyun’s warning and what happened to Su Xiaoyong, who had been abducted by traffickers. She felt that things had been far from peaceful lately.

Lin Lan remembered hearing people say that before the "Strike Hard" campaign, theft was rampant. Even gangsters and local thugs collecting protection money was a common occurrence.

’And Xiangyang is leaving for Yangcheng City the day after tomorrow. I have to remind him to be careful...’

Lin Lan’s mind raced with these thoughts for a while before she finally drifted off, not waking until her alarm clock rang.

Little Douzi sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Mama, I heard Wangcai roaring last night."

"Mhm! Someone ran past last night, so Wangcai started roaring." Lin Lan handed him his small padded jacket. "Hurry up and get dressed, then go to the toilet, or you’ll run out of time."

"Okay!" Little Douzi quickly threw on his clothes, got out of bed, and ran outside, his cotton-padded slippers shuffling on the floor.

Lin Lan tied up her hair and went outside to see Qiaohui heating up yesterday’s leftovers on the stove. "Cousin, there’s still some sweet steamed pork. Do you want any?"

"Yes, please! I didn’t even know you were up." Lin Lan reached for her toothbrush and cup, which were on top of the cupboard.

Qiaohui put all the sweet steamed pork together and placed it on the steamer rack. "I saw you were sleeping soundly, so I didn’t wake you."

Lin Lan poured some warm water into her cup, squeezed a bit of toothpaste onto her toothbrush, and went to the backyard to brush her teeth. GARGLE GARGLE.

Outside, Wu Shufen and Lin Changyou were fertilizing the stem mustard in their private plot. The plants had already sprouted seven or eight buds, the largest of which was as long as an index finger. In a few more days, they would be ready to be harvested and eaten.

Lin Changyou broke off a layer of outer leaves from the napa cabbages in the furrow and said to Wu Shufen, "While we’re here in Lexing, let’s pick some of these old cabbage leaves to take back for Little Lan to make some pickled greens."

Wu Shufen nodded. "Good idea. After we eat, I’ll go over to Liying’s and ask her to save us a bucket of her pickling brine. Pickled cabbage made with old brine tastes better and has a better color."

He Cuicui walked up to the edge of the vegetable patch and asked Wu Shufen with a smile, "Auntie, your dog was barking so fiercely last night. Did a thief try to get into your house?"

Her own dog had been poisoned to death by a chicken thief last night. Luckily, they had acted quickly, or the thief would have climbed over the wall and gotten inside.

Wu Shufen glanced at her, then shook her head with a smile. "We didn’t see anything when we got up. I heard the dogs out back were barking up a storm too. Did you see any thieves?"

She remembered that He Cuicui and Zhang Yazhen were sisters-in-law and that they had argued with Little Lan in the past. ’She must be here today because she wants something from Little Lan,’ Wu Shufen thought.

He Cuicui moved closer to the edge of the vegetable patch and said quietly to Wu Shufen, "I heard people saying that Accountant Jin had a few chickens stolen. They didn’t catch the guy."

Wu Shufen sighed. "It’s always unsettled around the end of the year. When I was on the bus to Lexing, I heard people saying that in their villages, some families have had chickens and ducks stolen. Some people’s dogs were even beaten to death and stolen in broad daylight."

He Cuicui said with an envious look, "Auntie, where did Lin Lan get Wangcai from? Can you still get one?"

Wu Shufen smiled and shook her head. "My son-in-law got him for Little Lan. You’d have to ask him."

Seeing that Wu Shufen was easier to talk to than Lin Lan, He Cuicui hesitated for a moment before saying, "Auntie, could you please do me a favor and ask for me? If there are any more, I’m willing to pay for one."

Wu Shufen agreed readily. "Alright. I’ll ask Xiangyang for you when he comes over."

He Cuicui thanked her happily and went back home.

After washing up, Lin Lan went out to the yard. She saw Tong Xinglan and Wu Shuqin helping to cut ramie, while Little Douzi was squatting in front of Wangcai, petting the dog.

Wangcai had its head held high and its eyes narrowed in pure enjoyment.

"Yang Xiaoguo, go wash your face and brush your teeth. It’s time for breakfast."

"Okay!" Little Douzi rubbed Wangcai’s head, stood up, and walked toward the kitchen.

Wu Shuqin said with a laugh, "Little Lan, I think your Little Douzi is more obedient than some of the children in our production team."

Lin Lan thought so too and replied with a smile, "Douzi has always been obedient. He’s never given me any trouble."

"People say that sensible, obedient children are here to repay a debt of gratitude, while naughty, disobedient ones are here to collect a debt." As Wu Shuqin spoke, she gestured toward Tong Xinglan twice with her sickle. "This one of mine is here to collect a debt." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Mom~" Tong Xinglan whined, stomping her foot. "When have I ever not listened to you? Do I have to do exactly as you say all the time? I’m not an idiot."

"You think you’re so smart?" Wu Shuqin shot her a look. "If you don’t listen to your elders, you’ll suffer the consequences."

"Just leave me alone! Go back and ask Dad, see what he says!" Tong Xinglan impatiently threw the ramie leaves into the carrying basket and stalked off to the kitchen.

Wu Shuqin looked at Lin Lan with a helpless expression. "Little Lan, you see? The older she gets, the less she listens, right?"

Lin Lan could only offer some words of comfort. "Auntie, don’t worry about Xinglan. She’ll grow out of it."

Lin Lan figured Tong Xinglan had probably told Wu Shuqin last night that she didn’t want to learn how to make pastries. ’This is her way of indirectly scolding her,’ she thought.

Just then, the brothers Wang Zhixue and Wang Zhilin entered the yard with Zhang Yuru. "Auntie, we’re here to pick up the pastries."

Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "Have Yuru take a seat. I’ll go get them for you."

Zhang Yuru glanced at Wangcai, who was lying on the steps, and moved behind Wang Zhixue.

Wang Zhilin saw her reaction and laughed. "Sister-in-law, don’t be afraid of Wangcai. He’s very sharp-eyed; he won’t bite you."

Zhang Yuru blushed. "I’ve been chased by a dog before. I’m afraid of all dogs except my own."