CHAPTER 239: CHAPTER 239: PIG THIEVES

Immediately following, there were faint footsteps outside the door.

Su Jianwu had just clamped a piece of lotus root with his chopsticks and stuffed it in his mouth, burning himself and grimacing in pain, involuntarily making a sucking sound.

The next moment, his mouth was suddenly covered by Su Xiaoxiao.

"Shh, don’t make a sound! Someone’s here!"

As she spoke, she hurriedly blew out the candle and tiptoed over to the window.

The moonlight was lovely tonight, casting its pale glow, stretching the shadows in the courtyard.

Su Jianwu’s eyes widened, and just as he opened his mouth, Su Jianwen grabbed and pinched it shut.

The three of them cautiously peered out the window and saw two shadowy figures stealthily creeping towards the pigsty.

The fat pigs in the pigsty sensed someone approaching and started snorting, but the sound abruptly cut off, as if silenced.

Oh boy, someone’s actually here to steal their pigs!

Su Jianwu immediately began to struggle, for these pigs were fed by him and his fourth brother with fresh pigweed every day, and they were nearly ready to be sold at the year’s end! He couldn’t just let them be stolen.

Su Xiaoxiao patted his shoulder signaling him not to rush: "Let’s go meet those little thieves."

She pulled a bottle of pepper spray from her pocket and handed it to Su Jianwen: "Fourth, take this, spray it straight into their faces later, okay?"

After instructing Su Jianwen, she stuffed something into Su Jianwu’s hand: "Once you get a chance, turn this on and press it against them, but be careful not to touch yourself."

Su Jianwu looked down and nearly threw the thing in his hand. Wasn’t this the very self-defense gadget that knocked him, his big cousin, and his second aunt flat earlier today?

The memory of the electric shock it gave them was still fresh in his mind—very unpleasant indeed.

Su Jianwu shook his head like a tambourine: "Third Sis, I’m... I’m too scared. Can’t you give me something else?"

"Look at you, such a scaredy-cat. Don’t worry, as long as you don’t touch the electric end, you’ll be fine."

After her detailed explanation, Su Jianwu carefully held the self-defense gadget in his palm.

Seeing her empty-handed, Su Jianwen couldn’t help asking, "Third sis, what about you?"

Both of them now had weapons, but Su Xiaoxiao was still empty-handed.

Su Xiaoxiao giggled, pulling out a baseball bat and two burlap sacks from behind her.

The two younger brothers stared in confusion—where had she pulled those out from?

With their gazes growing more bewildered, Su Xiaoxiao flicked each one of them on the head: "Hurry up, someone’s trying to steal our pigs."

The moment the word "pig" was mentioned, both snapped back to reality.

Outside, the two thieves were struggling to carry the pig out of the pen when the one behind suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder.

Instinctively turning around, he was immediately sprayed in the eyes with some cold, spicy substance, stinging and burning them.

"What the—"

The one in front looked up in surprise, and both clutched at their eyes, screaming in agony.

Su Xiaoxiao swung the baseball bat twice with a thud, knocking both thieves to the ground, while Su Jianwu bravely switched on the self-defense device and jabbed at them, leaving the little thieves twitching, their howls reduced to intermittent groans.

The commotion woke up Liu Cuilan and the others inside the house.

Three people rushed out from inside, freezing in surprise at the scene in the courtyard.

"What’s going on here..."

Even though Liu Cuilan’s gaze only stayed on the two men for a second, she promptly noticed the motionless large pig next to them, letting out a shriek and rushing over: "Which heartless scoundrel dared to lay hands on our pigs!"

"Mom, don’t worry; it’s probably just sedatives, nothing serious."

Liu Cuilan reached out to feel the pig’s neck, and since it was still breathing, she finally relaxed.

She turned and looked at the two people bagged on the ground, striding over to deliver two solid kicks: "Dare to steal our pigs? You must have a death wish."

The people inside the sacks were already unconscious, not responsive at all.

Su Xiaoxiao glanced at them and asked Liu Cuilan: "Mom, what should we do with these two?"

"Tie them to a tree for the night. In the morning, we’ll take them to the village head; these two are likely repeat offenders. Have the village head check if anyone else got robbed."

Having decided on the fate of the two little thieves, Su Xiaoxiao yawned, ready to go back to bed, when she noticed Liu Cuilan sniffing in the air with a frown: "What smells so nice?"

Su Xiaoxiao suddenly remembered the two unopened self-heating hotpots in her room.

Just thinking of this, she saw Liu Cuilan already heading to her room door, pulling it open.

The two younger brothers suddenly realized, lunging forward, but it was too late.

Liu Cuilan’s gaze landed on the two steaming boxes of self-heating hotpot in the room, her brow slowly furrowing: "Eating like this in the middle of the night when you’re not even doing any work? Are you planning to put us out of house and home?"

Su Xiaoxiao quickly clung to her arm, whining: "Mom, it’s called self-heating hotpot, it’s so tasty, you should try it."

She quickly picked up a bowl and chopsticks, serving a portion to Liu Cuilan: "It’s already cooked, not eating it would be wasteful."

Liu Cuilan, who hated waste the most, took the chopsticks up to taste, and experienced its delightful, spicy flavor—she had never tasted anything so delicious.

Seeing her looking pleasantly surprised, Su Xiaoxiao hurriedly waved towards the others: "Come on, Sister Zhaodi, Shuangshuang, come have some too."

Ultimately, the midnight snack for three turned into a feast for six.

After the midnight snack, everyone returned to their rooms, falling into a deep, satisfied sleep.

The family went to bed sated and slept well, but the two tied to the apricot tree in the courtyard weren’t as comfortable.

Waking up around five a.m. from the cold, regaining consciousness and realizing what had happened, the duo simultaneously let out pig-like screams: "Help! Someone! Help us!"

Their piercing screams drew several early risers, who traced the sound to Su Xiaoxiao’s doorstep.

"Am I hearing things, or is someone screaming for help in the courtyard?"

"I heard it too; geez, they’re really yelling—what happened?"

In the midst of the chatter, the courtyard gate swung open from inside, and Liu Cuilan stepped forward confidently to open it wider.

"Last night our family caught two pig-stealing thieves; neighbors, you all better go home and check if anything’s missing."

With that single sentence, everyone turned serious, no longer in the mood for gossip, and hurried home in haste.

Moments later, a flurry of exclamatory cries rang out.

"Oh no, my sheep! My sheep!"

"Goodness! My chickens! My chickens!"

"Who the heck dared steal my panties!"

Instantly, the village erupted into chaos—a cacophony of shrieks, chickens, and barking dogs.

Minutes later, the drowsy village chief appeared to take control of the situation.

"Everyone, calm down for a moment and listen to me..."

The village chief hadn’t even finished speaking when someone interrupted excitedly.

"Chief, no time for calmness; make those thieves return our stuff immediately."

"Yeah, make them give back our things, quick!"

"These awful little thieves dared to show up in our village, must have a death wish."