Chapter 350: Chapter 350: Inviting Thieves Chapter 350: Chapter 350: Inviting Thieves “Oh dear! Mother, Aunt Li, both of you stop arguing. It was I who opened the courtyard gate. I went out last night for a bit and forgot to close it upon returning,” Xuexue intervened to stop their ongoing squabble.
The two stopped their argument upon hearing this.
Madam Xie glanced at Aunt Li and said, “See, I told you I closed the gate, but you wouldn’t believe me, accusing me of being senile.”
Aunt Li had always held Xuexue in high esteem, as the girl was clever and quick-witted, possessing the makings of a businesswoman and bound to have a bright future. Thus, when she heard it was Xuexue who had forgotten to close the gate, her anger dissipated immediately, her face breaking into a smile as she apologized to Madam Xie, “Yes, yes, the fault was mine; I wrongfully blamed you. It’s my memory that’s failing. We’re good now, right?”
Madam Xie was kind-hearted and gentle. Having lived with Aunt Li for some time, she knew her to be harsh in words but soft at heart, and took no offense, merely smiling and continuing to eat her breakfast without saying another word.
Last night, being utterly exhausted, Xuexue didn’t get up to chase after the thief even when Xiao Taohong called her. Xuexue decided she would take the opportunity later, when no one else was around, to ask Xiao Taohong in detail about the thoughtless thief who had dared to rob their home. She intended to teach the thief a profound lesson, ensuring they would never dare to steal from them again.
“Wife, are we going to town today?” Big Bull asked while eating.
“Yes!” replied Xuexue, and then added, “Big Bull, once you finish breakfast, go and see Uncle Yu and tell him we need to rent his ox cart for the day.”
Considering that just one night after hunting so many wild boars had already lured a thief into the house, it was urgent to deal with it. Though the boars were safe in her special space and couldn’t be stolen by thieves, Xuexue was still concerned about the possibility of theft–such worries were unpleasant. She resolved that it would be best to handle it as soon as possible.
Big Bull slurped down his last strand of noodle, picked up his bowl, and drank all the soup with loud gulps. After wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he quickly stood up and said, “Wife, I’m going to rent the ox cart,” and strode out of the house with long steps.
Upon hearing this, Xuexue quickly finished her noodles, set down her bowl and chopsticks, and ran to the room where the pork had been stored the night before. She took out several more pieces from her space, as she was wary of Madam Xie’s and Aunt Li’s suspicions. After all, her secret space was too bizarre, and she feared it might frighten them–it was better they didn’t know about it.
After everything was settled, she leisurely returned to her room, changed clothes, put on her shoes, and was just getting organized when she heard Big Bull calling her from the courtyard.
“Wife, come quickly, the ox cart has arrived.”
Xuexue responded and hurried out of the room to see–sure enough, Coachman Yu had already brought the ox cart into the courtyard.
Big Bull sure moved fast.
“Big Bull, come help move some pork onto the cart,” Xuexue said and then ran to the room where she had just put the boars, opened the door, and called out loudly.
Big Bull jumped off the cart and walked swiftly over, preparing to load the boars onto the cart.
In no time at all, Big Bull had all six boars hoisted onto the ox cart. Xuexue had kept one boar for their own consumption, and the remaining six large wild boars filled the cart to the brim, leaving no room for anyone to sit.
“Oh my, what shall we do?” Madam Xie looked at the ox cart, starting to worry. The boars were loaded, but where would people sit? This was indeed a problem.
“Wife, how about we all just sit on the outside?” suggested Big Bull, after examining the structure of the ox cart, turning to Xuexue.