The sound of the gong was urgent, echoing through the night sky of Hetou Village, and everyone quickly put down their work and ran toward the village.
This was the signal, the signal of the Hetou Village guard team. The urgent gong sound meant that something was happening.
Hetou Village had its own guard team, and the leader was the village chief, Chen Anbang's grandson, named Chen Ping.
Following his grandfather's instructions, Chen Ping had long been lying in wait around Chen Xiaobei's house.
As soon as he saw someone sneak into Chen Xiaobei's house, he immediately hid quietly outside the wall.
The ones who entered Chen Xiaobei's house were none other than Chen Ermao and his group.
Chen Xiaobei had guessed correctly. In the afternoon, after getting the satin from Cui Hongyu, Chen Ermao's greed was completely stirred. He couldn't stop thinking about the dowry when Cui Hongyu arrived. His mind itched when he thought about the things on the cart.
Chen Ermao and his group didn't expect Chen Xiaobei would set a trap for them, so when they saw that Chen Xiaobei and his family had left, they immediately rushed inside, eager to loot all of Cui Hongyu's dowry.
The group put the bundles of satin that were on Chen Xiaobei's bed onto their backs. After seeing there was nothing else worth taking, they leisurely began to prepare their retreat.
What they didn't know was that Chen Ping and the guard team were already waiting outside the wall.
As soon as the three of them jumped over the wall, they were pinned to the ground by the village guard team.
Seeing that they had caught the thieves, the village guards immediately rang the gong to signal.
Hearing the gong, Chen Xiaobei felt relieved, but Cui Hongyu's heart skipped a beat.
"It seems the sound came from our house," she said.
Chen Xiaobei feigned surprise. "Oh no, let's hurry back."
By the time Chen Xiaobei arrived, the villagers who had come earlier had already surrounded his house inside and out.
Village Chief Chen Anbang had also arrived at the scene. Holding a torch, he looked over the thieves one by one, his beard twitching with anger.
"Chen Ermao, you all have some guts."
"According to Hetou Village's rules, anyone who commits wrongdoings shall be expelled from the clan, left to fend for themselves, and never allowed to return to Hetou Village again."
Hearing this, Chen Ermao was stunned. With a thud, he knelt to the ground, and Monkey and Erleng hurriedly knelt behind him, kowtowing and begging for mercy.
"Village chief, we won't dare anymore. Please, forgive us for our wrongdoings."
At this moment, Village Chief Chen Anbang's gaze searched the crowd. He was looking for Chen Xiaobei and Cui Hongyu.
First, scare Chen Ermao with words, and then have someone intervene to beg for mercy.
Therefore, the person who intervenes to beg for mercy would naturally be the rightful owner.
So, when he saw Cui Hongyu, he waved her over.
"Hongyu, come quickly and check if anything is missing."
Chen Xiaobei and Cui Hongyu stepped forward to open a few bundles and check.
Chen Xiaobei had tampered with the bundles, and aside from a bit of satin on the top, the bottom was filled with the tattered bedding and sheets from his own bed.
This was to be on the safe side, in case the village chief played tricks, so that he wouldn't suffer too much of a loss.
So, when Cui Hongyu saw the rags at the bottom, she had no idea what was missing. She could only look at Chen Xiaobei with a puzzled expression.
Chen Xiaobei slapped his thigh. "Ah, village chief, the most important thing missing is the big red satin that Hongyu was saving for her wedding dress. It's worth several hundred coins, and now it's gone!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Ermao inwardly cursed.
In a rush, he blurted out, "Chen Xiaobei, you're talking nonsense! We got that satin this afternoon."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized he had said too much, and quickly stopped talking. But the confused Erleng immediately added, "Yes, I can testify along with Monkey."
Village chief Chen Anbang nearly spat blood.
Damn it, you guys really stole it this afternoon.
At this moment, the person who stirred things up was Xiumei, the neighbor from the west.
Xiumei was quite the actress. Upon hearing this, she immediately started causing a scene, rushing up to Chen Ermao, grabbing and scratching at him.
"You bastard! You dared to blatantly steal Hongyu's things. Today, I will tear you apart!"
Seeing Xiumei causing such a scene, Cuihua and Dachun quickly stepped forward to stop her, while Chen Xiaobei pulled Hongyu aside to watch the drama unfold.
Now, the ball was in Village Chief Chen Anbang's court.
Just then, a few more people squeezed into the crowd, namely Chen Ermao's mother, Monkey's father, and Erleng's mother. The three of them knelt in front of Chen Anbang, kowtowing and begging.
"Village chief, the kids are young and don't understand. Please forgive them for their first offense."
Chen Anbang didn't speak. If a few pleas could spare them, then what kind of authority would he have in the future?
He gestured towards Chen Xiaobei and Cui Hongyu with his chin.
The others understood at once, and quickly turned to kneel in front of Cui Hongyu. "Miss Hongyu, please have mercy and spare our children. We are willing to work like oxen or horses, serving you however you please."
The parents were pitiful, and Chen Xiaobei felt sympathy for these three parents, but he also knew that if he didn't deal with Chen Ermao, he would never have peace.
Thinking of this, he cleared his throat and spoke, "If these three were only here to steal, out of respect for our shared lineage, I would let them go. But as you all heard, this afternoon, they forcibly took a piece of satin from Hongyu. Robbery in the road is the act of mountain bandits."
Xiumei, the second aunt, immediately added, "Yes, robbery in the road! Send them to the county office, and let them spend a few years in prison."
Indeed, my second aunt truly understands me. Her words were spot on.
At this point, the atmosphere became a bit awkward.
The situation had reached this point, and the village chief, Chen Anbang, could no longer back down. The three parents begged, but their pleas were in vain.
Chen Ermao and the others were already terrified. In this era, prison was easy to enter but hard to leave.
If they went in, they might not die, but they would certainly be badly beaten.
Cui Hongyu, being a woman, was compassionate and soft-hearted. After a moment of hesitation, she tentatively spoke to Chen Xiaobei, "Husband, since they know they were wrong, shouldn't we..."
This was the exact moment Chen Xiaobei was waiting for.
He needed to teach them a lesson but also wanted them to owe Hongyu a personal favor.
He walked over to Village Chief Chen Anbang and said, "Grandfather, since we are all of the same clan, there's no need to make this matter so difficult. As long as the satin is returned, I can forgive them for the robbery. As for the other matters, I'll leave it to your judgment."
Hearing this, Chen Anbang snapped back to reality.
He understood very well. This afternoon, Chen Xiaobei had told him the satin was stolen from the yard, but he didn't expect it was actually taken by Chen Ermao and his group.
This meant Chen Xiaobei had no intention of blowing the robbery out of proportion.
Of course, Chen Xiaobei had made himself clear. By saying "leave it to your judgment," he was implying that he did not intend to let the theft go without consequences.
Chen Anbang quietly sighed. Oh, how troublesome. If he didn't handle this properly, Chen Xiaobei might report the theft to the county office, and his position as village chief could very well be over.