The shop opened for business on the tenth day of the lunar month, so on the ninth everyone returned to Zhuma Town to prepare. As soon as Lin Yuan’s carriage arrived at the shop entrance, she saw a crowd gathered in front of Mo Sanniang’s fabric shop across the street, which upon closer inspection turned out to be the owners of the other businesses on the same street.
"Sister Mo, what happened? What’s going on?" Concerned that someone might be causing trouble in Mo Sanniang’s shop again, Lin Yuan hurried over to ask.
Mo Sanniang was standing in front of her own shop with a grim face, staring at the mess inside. She was completely silent no matter what anyone said or asked, leading everyone to believe she had been shocked and were promptly consoling her in soft voices.
It was only when Lin Yuan spoke up that Mo Sanniang snapped out of her daze, turning to her with a forced smile, although that smile looked worse than a cry.
Without her saying a word, Lin Yuan could already tell from the scene that the shop was in disarray, with fabrics and a few finished clothes scattered on the ground, and the counter was a complete mess. The ledgers and such were thrown about, and the cash box, which contained silver pieces, had been turned upside down—the few scattered silver pieces and some copper coins that were once inside had vanished without a trace.
Lin Yuan’s face darkened, instantly thinking it had to be that Li Chang causing trouble again. Hadn’t he learned his lesson from last time? To think he couldn’t even keep Zhuma Town safe during the New Year.
"Did any of your shops get stolen from too?"
Lin Yuan looked at the other shop owners, who all shook their heads, which eased her mind somewhat. But that relief was just momentary—it quickly turned into concern. There were thirty to forty businesses on West Street, some doing better than Mo Sanniang’s, some worse, and there were not a few run by a woman just like her. So why then had the thief specifically targeted her?
"Sister Mo, could it be that the door wasn’t locked properly?"
Mo Sanniang shook her head and glanced at Lin Yuan, her eyes turbulent.
Lin Yuan was startled, sensing that Mo Sanniang had something to say. She quickly turned to Loudmouth, who had come with her, and instructed, "Seventh Sister, go back and check thoroughly if everything in the shop, the doors, and windows, are secured. What if the thieves are all in cahoots? Today they hit this side, and tomorrow they might target our shop."
Loudmouth furrowed her eyebrows; hadn’t they just overhauled every door and window in the shop before the holiday, even Lin Yi had said they were very secure. Why check them again?
Even though she was puzzled, Loudmouth still agreed and quickly went back to her shop.
After Lin Yuan said this, the other shop owners were all spurred into action, hurrying back to their own shops to inspect them.
In a short time, the crowd in front of the fabric shop had dispersed, leaving only Lin Yuan, Mo Sanniang, and Meng Liangdong, who had come to help.
Seeing Meng Liangdong, Lin Yuan recalled something and asked, "Mr. Meng, haven’t you been staying at Rice Flower Fragrance? Did you notice anything unusual or see any suspicious people?"
Meng Liangdong had no family, and his only shop had been transferred to Lin Yuan, so for the New Year, Lin Yuan had let him stay in the shop, partly to give him a place to stay and partly so that he could help watch over the store. Even though there wasn’t much of value left in the shop, having someone there was more reassuring than no one at all.
But unexpectedly, while their shop hadn’t encountered any troubles, Mo Sanniang’s had. The two shops weren’t exactly face to face, but they weren’t far apart either; if there had been any loud noises around here, Meng Liangdong should have heard them.
However, to Lin Yuan’s disappointment, Meng Liangdong hadn’t heard anything.
"Um, that, that..." Meng Liangdong, blushing, stuttered, glancing at Lin Yuan and then at Mo Sanniang, swallowing hard before finally pushing out a few words: "You see, nothing happened while I was there."
"While I was there"? Lin Yuan looked puzzled. Then, seeing Mo Sanniang’s face turning as red as a monkey’s behind, what more was there to understand?
Could it be? These two, they were so open about it?
Lin Yuan looked at them with a hint of teasing, which made Mo Sanniang’s face turn even redder, almost as thick as her neck. Catching Lin Yuan’s unfathomable smirk, Mo Sanniang could not help but quickly explain, "You, don’t get the wrong idea. During the New Year, since he was alone and it looked so pitiful, my, my parents let him, let him spend the New Year at my place. That’s all there is to it, nothing else."
As she spoke, even Mo Sanniang felt her voice trailing off, her eyes darting about, not daring to meet Lin Yuan’s gaze.