The rest of the monkeys and Er Leng immediately stopped when they saw what was happening.
Seeing them stop, Cui Hongyu regained her composure and started running down the main road.
When Chen Ermao saw her running, he gritted his teeth and shouted in pain, "What are you doing standing there? Hurry up and chase her!"
Although Cui Hongyu had taken a head start, the monkeys and Er Leng quickly caught up with her.
Cui Hongyu knew that if she kept running with the heavy sack of silk, she would soon be caught, so she had no choice but to abandon it and save herself.
Thinking this, she dropped the sack of silk and shouted at the monkeys, "There's some silk inside, take it and exchange it for money."
After saying that, she tossed the sack into the monkey's arms.
It must be said that this was a clever move by Cui Hongyu. When Er Leng saw the monkey grab the sack, he immediately abandoned Cui Hongyu, reaching out to grab the sack from the monkey's hands. "You can't keep it all, we need to share it."
While the two of them were tugging at the sack, Cui Hongyu took the chance to make a turn and dart into the nearby bushes.
By the time Chen Ermao arrived and couldn't find Cui Hongyu, he was furious. He stormed forward and kicked both the monkey and Er Leng to the ground.
"You two, idiots! How could you lose her over something so trivial? How much is Cui Hongyu worth at the House of Flowers?"
Cui Hongyu, panicked, ran back to the house.
The sound of footsteps woke Chen Xiaobei, who was taking a nap.
He clearly didn't know what had happened, and looked at Cui Hongyu confused. "What happened?"
Chen Qiao'er, even more surprised, asked, "Sister, didn't you go to your parents' house?"
To her parents' house? Chen Xiaobei looked at Cui Hongyu with confusion as well.
Cui Hongyu hesitated for a moment and nodded. "Yes, but I changed my mind halfway and came back."
Chen Qiao'er was easily deceived, but Chen Xiaobei was not. Just going to your parents' house? Why was she so panicked and out of breath? Clearly, Cui Hongyu was lying.
Without saying anything, he sent Chen Qiao'er away and pulled Cui Hongyu into the room. "Tell me the truth, what did you really do?"
"You know, seeing how panicked you were, I was really worried."
The sudden concern broke down Cui Hongyu's defenses, and she suddenly threw herself into Chen Xiaobei's arms, crying.
From this gesture, Chen Xiaobei knew that something serious had happened.
Finally, Cui Hongyu revealed the truth, and after hearing it, Chen Xiaobei was filled with rage.
He pulled out the kitchen knife from under his pillow. "I'm going to chop this bastard up."
Cui Hongyu quickly grabbed his arm. "Husband, don't go. They are many, and you can't fight them."
At that moment, Chen Qiao'er suddenly ran in from outside. "Brother, Sister-in-law, what are you doing?"
Faced with Chen Qiao'er's innocent and naive gaze, Chen Xiaobei could only suppress his anger. He raised his hand and patted her head. "It's nothing. I was just letting your sister-in-law check if the knife is sharp."
Chen Qiao'er then pulled Cui Hongyu out.
Before leaving, Cui Hongyu turned back and softly said, "Husband, I'm fine."
Chen Xiaobei sat on the bed and hit his head hard.
He really felt useless, unable to even protect his own woman.
After hitting his head, he realized that if things continued like this, he might be taken advantage of by Chen Ermao at any moment, and the consequences could be severe.
He then remembered the night when Chen Ermao and the others barged into his house.
Cui Hongyu had given them a piece of silk, which had set things in motion.
Given Chen Ermao's character, he would undoubtedly still be eyeing the rest of the dowry.
If he set a trap and made Chen Ermao believe that his family was away, he would certainly come to steal.
With this thought, Chen Xiaobei had an idea.
Chen Xiaobei grabbed three wild eggs, tucked them into his sleeve, and walked to the village head Chen Anbang's house.
When Chen Anbang saw him, he greeted him warmly, invited him to sit, and even offered to fetch him some water.
Chen Xiaobei quickly stopped him, handing him the three wild eggs. "Grandfather, I won't have water. There's something I need your help with."
Chen Anbang, holding the three wild eggs, smiled broadly. "We're from the same family. Just tell me what you need; no need to be so polite."
"Grandfather, today a piece of silk that Hongyu left out in the yard was taken. This morning I went to the county town, and she was out in the village's wasteland gathering wild vegetables, but someone took the chance to steal."
When Chen Anbang heard this, he couldn't help but feel a bit distressed. "That was part of my grandson's dowry."
His expression became serious, and he said, "The audacity of those thieves! To rob a house in broad daylight, if I catch him, I'll break his legs."
Chen Xiaobei shook his head. "Grandfather, I was thinking, in the evening, I'll take Hongyu and Qiao'er out. If the thief sees the house empty, he will definitely come back."
When Chen Anbang heard this, he understood. He stroked his beard and nodded.
"I understand what you mean. I'll personally lead the village patrol team and lie in ambush around your house. We'll make sure to catch this vile criminal."
Chen Xiaobei felt a bit emotional. In the past, Chen Anbang had been indifferent to him, but now, with just three wild eggs, he had managed to get his help.
Actually, little did he know that the reason Chen Anbang was so proactive and enthusiastic wasn't just because of the three wild eggs.
In the evening, after dinner, Chen Xiaobei invited Cui Hongyu and Chen Qiao'er to go for a walk with him.
Cui Hongyu was surprised. "Husband, it's already dark, where are we going?"
Chen Xiaobei pointed outside the village. "Let's go by the river and see if there are many fish. In the future, I'll catch some fish for you to eat."
Cui Hongyu shook her head helplessly, thinking to herself, what is her husband thinking? He's not going to look at the fish during the day, and now at night, we can't see anything.
She felt helpless, but Chen Qiao'er was excited. "Yes, yes, I love eating fish! Sister-in-law, let's go!"
The three of them held hands and walked out of the courtyard. Chen Xiaobei turned back and locked the door.
Speaking of which, the door was almost no different locked or unlocked.
The three of them chatted and laughed as they left the village.
In the evening, there were a few people by the river, all coming to fish. After all, they had to work the fields during the day, so it wasn't bad to come in the evening to catch a few fish and improve their meal.
Ahead of them was a person from the western part of the village, Li Dong. "Brother Dong, how was the harvest today?"
Chen Xiaobei greeted him enthusiastically.
Li Dong pointed to a fish basket next to him. "Today, the luck was good. I caught two big fish. I'll take them to the county tomorrow and sell them for a good price."
Chen Xiaobei crouched down to look at the two fish in the basket, each about half a foot long.
He thought back to his past life, recalling grilled fish, hot pot fish, spicy fish.
He couldn't help but swallow hard.
"Brother Dong, how much will you sell these for in the county?"
Li Dong sighed. "Ah, two dead fish, at most I'll get one copper coin."
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaobei's thoughts raced. "What if they're live fish? How much can you get?"
"Live fish, at least one copper coin for each fish. Take them to the county's taverns, they'll love them."
Just then, the sound of a hurried gong came from a distance.