The group had engaged in petty theft before, but breaking into a house was a first for them—like a virgin bride riding a sedan chair!
To ensure things went smoothly, Lin Baozhu gave them a stern warning, "Once we’re inside, follow my lead. Don’t act like blind men who’ve never seen the sky—don’t touch anything you shouldn’t!"
"Don’t worry, bro, we know what we’re doing," the others nodded in agreement.
But in their hearts, they were thinking, Is Lin Baozhu an idiot?
The Jiang Family was wealthy beyond measure. Even if they just pocketed a couple of random items, they’d be set for months.
Only a fool would pass up that chance!
Besides, once they were inside, what difference did it make whether they stole one thing or ten?
If they got caught, they’d be going to jail either way.
And what could Lin Baozhu do about it? If he had the guts, he could report them.
They were all in this together—sink or swim.
Their confidence was high, but the moment they stepped into the living room, Lin Baozhu froze.
"What’s wrong, bro?"
"Something feels off. I remember a TV was right here last time I came. And over there—there used to be an electric fan!"
"Maybe they moved them into another room. Forget about it, let’s focus on finding what we came for."
The man with one ear brushed it off impatiently. "Hurry up, Third Brother, pick the lock."
The tall man beside him immediately pulled out his lock-picking tools.
"Got it! Bro, which room is the girl’s?"
Lin Baozhu frowned, still uneasy, but there was no time to dwell on it. He pointed toward Jiang Si’s room. "Over there."
In just two or three minutes, the tall man had the door open.
Once inside, they began ransacking the place.
Before coming, Lin Baozhu had been cautious—he’d only told them to look for a brown paper package, about the size of a textbook.
He hadn’t mentioned what was inside.
During their first search, they were full of confidence.
The room wasn’t that big, and with five pairs of eyes, how hard could it be to find a single package?
By the second search, doubt started creeping in.
What the hell? Where did that damn girl hide it?
By the third search, they couldn’t take it anymore.
"Bro, what exactly are we looking for? Maybe she took it out of the brown paper?"
"Impossible!" Lin Baozhu snapped.
If she had, he’d have seen the money by now—it was a huge sum!
But they’d checked everywhere—the floor, the ceiling, even the toilet tank.
Not a single banknote in sight, not even a penny!
Just then, the skinny lookout outside suddenly called out.
"Come here quick! The locks on these other rooms have been smashed!"
What?
Smashed?
Lin Baozhu’s heart sank as he rushed over.
Sure enough, the rooms had clearly been ransacked.
A thought struck him, and he bolted straight to Shen Qingqing’s room.
Among his cousins, Shen Qingqing lived the most comfortable life—even better than Jiang Si.
But now, everything in her room was gone!
Staring at the empty space, the one-eared man exploded.
"Damn it all! We spent two days watching this place, and someone beat us to it!"
"No wonder we couldn’t find anything!"
"If I find out who did this, I’ll stab them to death!"
"Keep it down," the scar-faced man muttered before turning to Lin Baozhu.
"Bro, what do we do now?"
"How the hell should I know?"
Lin Baozhu’s mind was in chaos. He was ruined!
That money—his aunt had promised him two thousand if he got it!
Now it was gone, along with everything else in the house!
Worse, if he told his aunt, would she even believe him?
Would she think he’d pocketed the money himself?
Heaven knew he hadn’t seen a single cent!
The others didn’t care about Lin Baozhu’s crisis—after two days of work, they weren’t leaving empty-handed.
The tall man cleared his throat.
"We’re already here. Might as well take something useful."
"No!"
Lin Baozhu’s face darkened. "Don’t touch anything in this house."
If they did, he’d never be able to clear his name—even if he jumped into the Huangpu River!
The scar-faced man sneered. "Bro, if that’s how you’re gonna be, then this isn’t worth it."
"We risked our necks for two days on this job. You can’t expect us to walk away with nothing."
"Exactly! If we can’t take anything from here, at least pay us for our time!"
The skinny one chimed in.
They’d agreed on a hundred each!
That demand made Lin Baozhu’s face twist in fury.
"Pay you? If you’d done your damn job and kept watch properly, someone else wouldn’t have cleaned this place out!"
"You’re lucky I’m not making you pay for this mess!"
"So you’re not paying, is that it?"
"That’s ri—"
Before Lin Baozhu could finish, the one-eared man punched him in the face.
"Right my ass! I hate cheapskates who don’t pay up!"
He ordered the skinny one to fetch a sack, and the group began looting every room.
Lin Baozhu clutched his nose and shouted a few more protests, but a swift beating shut him up.
By the time Jiang Si returned from her errands, the house was in complete disarray.
The thieves couldn’t carry off the heavy furniture, but they’d taken every last one of the old clothes, shoes, and worthless trinkets she’d deliberately left behind.
Oh, this was perfect!
Jiang Si let out a dramatic scream and ran into the alley. "Help! Thieves broke into my house! Someone catch them!"
It was just after dinner, and the commotion brought the whole neighborhood out.
Within minutes, the police arrived.
A crowd swarmed into the Jiang Family’s old residence, where Jiang Si’s eyes were swollen nearly shut from crying.
Ugh… the chili peppers in this era are way too strong! I shouldn’t have rubbed so much on my eyes.
The local police took the burglary seriously. While taking Jiang Si’s statement, they also questioned the neighbors.
Soon, an elderly woman from the opposite alley shared a crucial detail.
"Early this morning, when I went to empty the chamber pot, I saw a few unfamiliar young men—four or five of them. I didn’t get a good look at their faces."
Hearing this, a woman from the nearby residential area remembered something.
"Yesterday, when I picked up my grandson from school, I saw them too!"
"At the time, my Yuanbao was hopping around carelessly and accidentally bumped into one of them."
"That person... was really strange. It seemed like he was missing an ear!"
"Missing an ear?"
"Yes, and he even glared at my Yuanbao. If Yuanbao hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have noticed either."
"Alright, I understand. Thank you all for your cooperation."
The police officer recorded all the details provided by the witnesses. At this point, Jiang Si chimed in with a timely addition.
"Officer, I suspect this might be the work of someone familiar with the situation..."
The officers nodded in agreement—they had the same suspicion.
"Comrade Jiang, rest assured, we will do everything in our power to uncover the truth and bring these criminals to justice!"
"Thank you for your hard work, officers."
"It’s no trouble at all. This is our duty!"
The officer glanced around the empty house and added sincerely,
"If there’s anything you need help with, don’t hesitate to ask. Please don’t feel embarrassed."
Jiang Si had no intention of feeling embarrassed.
After all, she had been waiting for this very offer.
Pressing her lips together, she feigned hesitation before speaking.
"Officer, there actually is one difficult matter I could use your help with—"
