Chapter 36: The Thief

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

When the group of them arrived at the entrance of the village, they saw that Uncle Li, who was driving the bullock cart, was already waiting there. Shangxin Village was in a remote location and there were no public buses nearby. In order to go to the county, one could only take the only means of transportation in the village – the bullock cart.

“You guys are here. Hurry up and get on the cart,” Uncle Li jumped off the bullock cart and smiled at the group of them.

“This cart is so small. How can so many of us sit in it?” Zhan Yiping shot a pointed look at Su Jinyue. She just did not want Su Jinyue to tag along.

“In that case, you don’t have to come,” Zhan Yihan said sternly. It made him very uncomfortable to see Yiping targeting Jinyue.

“Big Brother!” Zhan Yiping looked at Zhan Yihan incredulously. Am I less important than Su Jinyue in Big Brother’s heart? I’m his younger sister!

Zhan Yihan ignored Zhan Yiping. He held Su Jinyue’s hand and got onto the bullock cart.

Wang Meizhen shot Zhan Yiping a reproachful gaze and shook her head. She really did not understand why her daughter kept targeting Su Jinyue.

Zhan Yiping stomped her feet in anger before following everyone up onto the bullock cart. If she did not go, she would be granting Su Jinyue’s wish. She was not that stupid.

The bullock cart creaked the entire way as it slowly headed towards the county. Only the county had a direct public bus to the railway station.

Zhan Yihan passed Su Jinyue a note and said, “This is the phone number of my friend, Wei Yuanxing. Call this number if you want to look for me.” He was now a specially-invited instructor, so it was usually inconvenient for him to answer the phone. As such, he could only give Wei Yuanxing’s number to Jinyue.

“Okay!” Su Jinyue took the note from him and kept it properly. She knew who Wei Yuanxing was. He was Yihan’s best friend. In her past life, whenever she encountered difficulties and Yihan was not free, he would get Wei Yuanxing to help her resolve the issue. Over time, she and Wei Yuanxing also became very good friends.

“You don’t have to worry about the matter of attending school. I’ll arrange it for you, then get someone to bring you the letter,” Zhan Yihan said. Jinyue had told him that she planned to attend night school for one year and take the university entrance examination in June of next year, with this year’s candidates. It so happened that he had connections in the capital and could help her to arrange for that. Of course, the biggest reason was that if she went to the capital, it would be much easier for him to meet her.

“Okay!” Su Jinyue smiled and nodded. Naturally, she wanted to be closer to Yihan.

“Brother, I have the college entrance examinations in another year. I want to attend university in the capital. You can help me to arrange for that too,” Zhan Yiping interrupted. From very early on, she had heard that the capital was very prosperous. Be it in terms of food or clothes, they were things that a small county could not match up to. Hence, she had had the idea of attending school in the capital for a long time.

“Alright!” Zhan Yihan nodded. Although Yiping was a little willful, she was his younger sister after all. He could take better care of her if she attended school in the capital.

Zhan Yiping immediately beamed from ear to ear and exclaimed, “Thank you, Big Brother!” That’s great! Next year, I’ll be able to go to the capital that I’ve been dreaming about for a long time.

The bullock cart travelled for more than two hours before finally reaching the county.

When the cart came to a halt, Zhan Yihan jumped out of the bullock cart and said to the rest of them, “Don’t send me off any further. I can make my way to the railway station alone.”

Wang Meizhen got off the cart and said, “It’s convenient to take a bus anyway. We can accompany you to the railway station.” She really couldn’t bear to part with Yihan so quickly.

Zhan Dafeng nodded in agreement, “Anyway, we’ve finished our work in the fields, so there’s nothing to do even if we go back. Let’s go together.” It was rare for Yihan to come back, so of course he felt more reassured to watch him get on the train.

Zhan Yifeng took out five yuan and handed it to Uncle Li, “Uncle Li, take this money. You can find a place nearby to eat. We’ll come back after sending my Big Brother off.”

Uncle Li grinned and took the money, “Okay! Then I’ll wait for you back at this place in the afternoon.”

“Okay!” Zhan Yifeng replied to him.

When the group of them got to the bus stop, they saw that there were already many people waiting for the bus at the bus stop. Judging by the luggage at their feet, it was obvious that most of them were also going to the railway station.

“The bus is coming.” Wang Meizhen was a little excited when she saw a bus approaching. She had yet to take a bus before and wondered if riding a bus felt different from riding a bullock cart.

The bus stopped at the bus stop. When the doors opened, everyone at the bus stop rushed towards the bus.

Zhan Yihan protected Su Jinyue in front of him, for fear that she would be squashed by the crowd.

Su Jinyue was just about to get on the bus, when she caught sight of a young man jostling his way next to a middle-aged man. A cold gleam flashed in his hand, and the middle-aged man’s pocket was torn. Without even guessing, she knew that the young man was a thief. Thieves were rampant in this era, especially at bus stops and railway stations.

Noticing that Su Jinyue was looking at him, the young man raised his fist in warning.

“Uncle, your pocket is torn,” Su Jinyue said to the middle-aged uncle. She was not a good person. She simply did not like being threatened.

The middle-aged man looked down at his pocket and realised that there was really a hole and knew that he had ran into a thief. He quickly took out the money in his pocket and clutched it tightly in his hand. Gatefully looking at Su Jinyue, he said, “Thank you, Miss.” This money was his life-saving money. He really wouldn’t be able to live on if he lost it.

“It’s okay.” Su Jinyue smiled and shook her head.

The young man furiously pointed at Su Jinyue, and was just about to leave when Zhan Yihan sent him flying with a kick.

Zhan Yihan stepped forward, hauled the youth up and strode towards the nearby police station.

When Wang Meizhen saw Zhan Yihan hauling the youth and walking off, she was bewildered. “What happened?”

“That person is a thief. Yihan already brought him to the police station.” Su Jinyue walked forward to keep up with Zhan Yihan.

Zhan Yiping caught up to Su Jinyue and bellowed angrily, “You know that he’s a thief but you still went to provoke him. Don’t you know that the thieves all have gangs?” It’s still fine if Big Brother is around, but what if those thieves come and take revenge after he leaves? Does this woman have any brains?

When all of them arrived at the police station, they saw that Zhan Yihan had already handed the thief over to the police.

Zhan Yiping walked up to Zhan Yihan and asked worriedly, “Big Brother, you handed the thief over to the police. What do we do if his accomplices retaliate against us?”

“You guys wait here. I’ll be back soon.” After saying that, Zhan Yihan walked towards the office of the Chief of the police station. Even if Jinyue had not opened her mouth to remind that uncle, he would also have intervened in this matter.

Zhan Yihan came to the door of the Chief’s office and knocked gently on the door.

“Come in!” A deep voice rang out from inside.

Zhan Yihan pushed the door open and walked in.

In the office, a tall and slightly tanned policeman was sitting there. Seeing Zhan Yihan coming in, he stood up in surprise and said, “What brought you here?” He and Zhan Yihan were classmates in high school, and the two were very good friends.

Zhan Yihan cut to the chase and said, “I was on my way back to the capital and ran into a thief at the bus stop.”

Yang Tao walked to the side to pour a cup of tea and handed it to Zhan Yihan. He said, “That temper of yours is still the same. Don’t worry! I have already made arrangements regarding this matter.. We’ll take action in the next two days.”