Chapter 58: Uncle Lin, Take Your Time

Inside the courtyard.

Except for the young children who were already fast asleep, almost all the adults had come out. A few of the tougher ones were even holding sticks and sickles.

Regardless of how well they got along with Lin Shaowen, a thief in the courtyard was a major incident. People of this era might have their flaws, but their sense of justice was still quite strong.

Bang!

Lin Shaowen single-handedly tossed the petty thief onto the ground, causing many people to twitch their eyelids.

This petty thief was quite burly, probably weighing around one hundred and sixty to seventy pounds, yet Lin Shaowen could hoist him with just one hand. It seemed they had still underestimated Lin Shaowen's combat strength.

"Search him."

Lin Shaowen lit a cigarette and handed one to Xu Damao and Yan Bugui each.

Silly Zhu, Yan Jiecheng, and other young men who liked to show off immediately stepped forward, pulled off the thief's mask, and started rummaging through his pockets.

"Whoa, gold bars!"

"So much money?"

"There are rings and bracelets too."

……

The moment the thief's mask was removed, Mrs. Jia and Jia Dongxu were scared out of their wits.

Isn't this Daoist Priest Feng who came to the courtyard this afternoon to read feng shui for them?

Looking at the pile of items in front of him, Yi Cheghai's eyelids twitched involuntarily. This was enough to earn several bullets.

Watching the dazed crowd, Lin Shaowen chuckled, "What are you all staring at for? Go back and check if your own homes have been robbed."

"Right!"

The crowd snapped out of their trance and sprinted back toward their respective homes.

The bruised and battered Daoist Priest Feng glared at Lin Shaowen with resentment, wishing he could kill him on the spot.

"Get lost, you dare give me attitude?"

Silly Zhu stepped forward and delivered a kick straight to his chin.

Spit!

Daoist Priest Feng spat out a mouthful of blood along with a few teeth.

"Don't beat him to death. Who knows, our courtyard might even win some merit this time." Yi Chenghai stopped Silly Zhu.

"That's right." Liu Haizhong also perked up.

All these valuables in front of them surely weren't stolen from just their courtyard alone. When they handed him over to the street office later, they might actually get some benefits.

"Nothing missing from my house."

"Mine neither."

"Could it be that this guy came straight to Section Chief Lin's house upon entering the courtyard?"

The crowd whispered among themselves.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "I've seen this guy! He was at Mrs. Jia's house this afternoon!"

"Nonsense!" Mrs. Jia instantly blew her top.

Jia Dongxu's face turned pale; if Qin Peiru hadn't been supporting him, he would have fainted.

"Mrs. Jia, confess honestly, are you in cahoots with him?" Yan Bugui rebuked sternly.

He had finally seized an opportunity. Even if Mrs. Jia didn't die this time, she would lose a layer of skin.

"I'm not, I didn't!" Mrs. Jia shook her head frantically.

"Mrs. Jia, you'd better think carefully. He stole so much stuff, he's definitely going to be executed by firing squad. Since you're his accomplice... Heh heh heh."

Liu Haizhong also jumped in. If Yan Bugui hated Mrs. Jia, did Liu Haizhong hate her any less?

She had spent every day performing ghost-summoning rituals outside his door, almost driving him to a nervous breakdown.

"I... I didn't!"

Mrs. Jia sat on the ground and burst into tears, crying hysterically. "I ran into him at the courtyard entrance this afternoon. He said he was here to read feng shui. I never thought this thousand-times-damned bastard would be a thief..."

With that, she lunged forward and frantically scratched Daoist Priest Feng's face. No one stepped in to stop her, and within moments, Daoist Priest Feng's face was practically ruined.

"Mrs. Jia, this is a capital offense..." Yan Bugui frightened her further.

Hearing this, Mrs. Jia immediately stopped what she was doing.

Suddenly, a strange odor wafted through the crowd.

Lin Shaowen covered his nose and took a step back. The smell was so strong... Mrs. Jia's anger must have really thrown her system into overdrive.

"I didn't, I didn't..."

Mrs. Jia covered her face and wept.

"Alright, this idiot Mrs. Jia probably really had no idea about this."

Lin Shaowen rarely stepped out to say a fair word.

It wasn't that he was feeling charitable; it was just that framing Mrs. Jia over something like this seemed rather pointless.

"You little beast—no, Section Chief Lin, I really have nothing to do with this person!" Mrs. Jia crawled over to grab Lin Shaowen's foot, but he sidestepped.

"So how should we handle this now?" Yi Chenghai looked at Lin Shaowen.

"If you want to claim the credit, lock him up for the night and send him to the street office at daybreak. If you don't want the trouble, send him to the joint-defense office right now... Discuss it amongst yourselves, I'm going to sleep." Lin Shaowen yawned and prepared to walk toward the backyard.

"Hey... wait," Yan Bugui called out, stopping Lin Shaowen. "You caught this guy; if anyone's claiming the credit, it should be you."

Swish!

Countless pairs of eyes turned to fixate on Yan Bugui, filled with lingering resentment.

Even the Third Matriarch gave Yan Bugui a fierce pinch. Usually, the man was shrewd enough—how could he play the fool at such a crucial moment?

Catching a thief was a major meritorious deed; the street office would definitely reward them in some way. Especially since this thief had stolen so much stuff, the street office might even issue a commendation.

Realizing how everyone was looking at him, Yan Bugui instantly snapped to his senses and mentally slapped himself.

"Old Yan, how about you have Jiecheng call me 'Uncle Lin,' and I'll give you an idea? How does that sound?" Lin Shaowen said with a beaming smile.

"In your dreams..."

Yan Jiecheng instantly flew into a rage.

This bastard actually dared to take advantage of him generation-wise.

If he weren't completely unable to beat him, he would have beaten him to death today.

Yan Bugui also put on a stern face, reached out, and patted Lin Shaowen's shoulder. "Little Brother Lin, what kind of talk is that? You and I are brothers, so Jiecheng is naturally a junior... Jiecheng, how did I teach you when you were young? You cannot mess up generational titles."

"Dad..."

Yan Jiecheng was grinding his teeth to dust, but seeing the man-eating glare in his father's eyes, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and call out, "Uncle Lin."

Pfft!

Silly Zhu burst out laughing on the spot, and the others couldn't help themselves either, laughing so hard they bent double.

Qin Huairu covered her forehead and smiled wryly; why did this fellow Lin Shaowen act like he never grew up?

Glaring resentfully at Lin Shaowen, Yan Jiecheng turned around with a red face, ready to head back to his room.

Only to hear Lin Shaowen leisurely say with a smile, "There, that's more like it. Old Yan, lock him up in your house first. Tomorrow, tell the street office that everyone caught the thief under Yan Jiecheng's leadership. Then ask Director Wang for a commendation letter, and have the street office send it directly to the textile factory. Won't Yan Jiecheng's transition to a regular worker be secured then?"

The courtyard fell dead silent.

Yan Jiecheng, who had been furious just moments ago, suddenly had clarity in his eyes. He spun back around, "Lin Shaowen... Bah, Uncle Lin, are you serious?"

"You're my big nephew, would I lie to you?"

Lin Shaowen patronizingly patted the young man's head and turned to walk back to the backyard.

"Uncle Lin, watch your step..."

"Uncle Lin, just give the word if you need anything."

"..."

Watching Yan Jiecheng act like a total bootlicker, the rest of the crowd felt no more mockery, only intense envy.

Just calling someone uncle could secure a regular staff position—where on earth could you find such a great deal?

"As expected, someone who's actually studied has a clever brain." Liu Haizhong sighed with a sense of loss.

If he had Lin Shaowen's brains, he probably would have been an official long ago.

"No wonder this kid climbs up so fast." Silly Zhu chimed in with sour jealousy.

"Yan Jiecheng, if you need anything in the future, just come find your Uncle Damao..." Xu Damao mimicked the gesture and patted Yan Jiecheng's head.

"Xu Damao, get lost." Yan Jiecheng bared his teeth.

"Yan Jiecheng, that's not polite of you. Lin Shaowen and I are brothers, which makes me your elder as well," Xu Damao glared.

"I'll fight you to the death..."

Yan Jiecheng grabbed a stick and rushed forward. Xu Damao bolted, running for his life while yelling back, "Old Yan, are you going to control your son..."

"Bah, Jiecheng, beat that turtle-grandson to a pulp!"

After spitting at Xu Damao's retreating figure, Yan Bugui instructed his younger sons, Yan Jiekuang and Yan Jiefang, to fetch a rope and tie up the lingering, half-dead Daoist Priest Feng tightly.

Furthermore, he ordered all six members of his family to stay awake; they were going to keep watch through the night.

Although everyone else was green with envy, there was nothing they could do. The thief was caught by Lin Shaowen, and since he had designated Yan Jiecheng to take the credit, who else dared to say a word?