Hung at the Door
Su Daqi shouted at the top of his lungs for a while, but no one came in from outside; instead, he heard footsteps going from near to far, obviously someone was running away.
Sun Ning peeked at the door, then turned back and said, "I think I saw two people running along the wall!"
Zhang followed over to look, and sure enough, in the night she could just barely make out the silhouettes of two men running away in the distance.
Zhang chuckled and rolled up her sleeves, walking over to kick Su Daqi twice. "Didn't you say those two outside were your dad and your son? If you called them, why didn't they come in? Why did they run away?"
Sun Ning said, "They must be the thief gang that got caught, so they ran away out of guilt!"
Brother Sun also said, "Exactly, if they were really Su Sanyun's family, why sneak in by climbing the wall at midnight? Why run the moment they got caught? That's obviously thieves from outside; once their comrades were caught, they ran away immediately!"
At this moment, Su Daqi felt like he had been screwed over by a dog; he never expected his own father and son to abandon him and run away!
Wasn't it said that brothers fight side by side like tigers, and fathers and sons fight on the battlefield? Yet his own father and son could betray him—truly a bitter pill to swallow!
"Ugh, these thieves are so cunning, pretending to be Su family members to fool us, how hateful!" Zhang spat and slammed her stick down hard, scolding, "Stealing, lying, you bastard, never learn your lesson! Brothers, beat him up good!"
"Ow ow ow! Don't hit me!" Su Daqi howled like a tortured wolf, burying his head into the quilt from the pain.
The Sun family beat him for a while until tired. Zhang threw down the wooden stick, panting, and commanded, "Let's tie this thief up and hang him on the main gate, so other thieves can see what happens when they steal from my little sister-in-law's house. This will serve as a warning!"
The three Sun brothers gave a thumbs up and said, "Great idea!"
Thieves in the countryside are also cowards who pick on the weak. Doing this lets other thieves know this family has several strong men. Anyone who tries to steal will never return, making it much safer in the future!
So the three Sun brothers tied Su Daqi up tightly with the quilt. By now, Su Daqi and the quilt were both stiff from the cold, hanging on the doorframe of Su Sanyun's house, suspended in midair. The cloth covering Su Daqi's face was also pulled off and stuffed into his mouth.
Zhang went up and kicked Su Daqi a few times, watching him swing like a hanging sausage in midair. She was very satisfied, clapping her hands happily: "When little sister-in-law sees this tomorrow, she'll definitely praise us for catching the thief!"
Sun Ning said, "Of course, big sister is leading such a great business. It's only right for us to help her guard the house and catch thieves!"
The four Sun family members chuckled together. Seeing the time was about right, Zhang went into the kitchen to cook, preparing to eat and then head to the fields early to pick vegetables to sell.
Zhang finished making breakfast, and the group gathered around the stove to eat.
Meanwhile, the Su Sanyun family, who lived at Su Li's house, had already gotten up. Today, Su Sanyun went alone to the fields to pick vegetables, while Sun Shi Rong was taken home by Zhang, planning to have her join her maternal family’s vegetable-selling team to earn extra money for the household.
"Listen to your uncles, work hard, and be diligent, okay?" Zhang said as she walked, whispering into Sun Shi Rong’s ear.
Sun Shi Rong obediently agreed. As the mother and daughter walked, they approached their own yard. Zhang noticed something hanging on the doorframe—it looked like a silkworm cocoon. What was that?