Traveling through the 1970s: The young wife loves to make trouble

Chapter 302 Wanting to impose a crime
The middle-aged man was someone who listened to advice, and he and the two younger men who came in later started smashing things inside the house.

Three strong young men smashed whatever they could find. Even the stone table wasn't spared, but they couldn't break it, so the three of them had to work together to push it over.

The bamboo screen used to separate the inner and outer rooms was also piled up and trampled. The bedding and pillows on the bed were thrown on the ground, and even the straw used to make the bed was scattered everywhere.

"Hey, look what I found!" The old woman had sharp eyes and bent down to take a thermos from under the bed.

The three men who were smashing things stopped and looked at the old woman.

The old woman's eyes widened when she saw the old woman take a thermos from under the bed. She walked over and reached for the thermos, but the old woman slapped her hand away.

"This is what I found, and you're trying to steal it?" the old woman glared at the aunt.

The woman smiled apologetically and said, "How could that be! You're overthinking it. I just wanted to take a look. These prisoners can't even afford enough to eat, how could they possibly afford a thermos?"

"They stole it; they must have stolen someone's thermos."

"It wasn't stolen, the thermos wasn't stolen." Han Ying, enduring the pain all over her body, staggered in. Just then, she saw the old woman and the aunt fighting over the thermos.

When he heard the woman say that the thermos was stolen, he quickly refuted her.

The old woman looked at Han Ying with a mocking expression, "If it wasn't stolen, where did it come from? You couldn't have bought it yourselves, could you? Where did you get the money? When did you ever go to town?"

The old woman bombarded Han Ying with a series of questions, leaving him completely bewildered.

"He couldn't explain where the thermos came from, so he must have stolen it," the old woman concluded definitively.

"No, I didn't steal it," Han Ying murmured, mustering his courage to look up at the old woman. He was about to say that Sister Tao had brought the thermos when his hand was grabbed, interrupting him.

Looking down, he saw Grandpa Tao holding his hand, and he could feel that Grandpa Tao's hand was trembling. Han Ying didn't care about anything else and quickly squatted down to ask, "Grandpa Tao, how are you? Is your leg hurting or is something else?"

In the end, Han Ying burst into tears.

It's all his fault; he's the one who ruined Grandpa Tao's life.

"Little Hanying, Grandpa Tao is alright, don't cry." Grandpa Tao hugged Hanying's thin body and whispered in his ear, "Don't tell us where the thermos came from."

Han Ying is still young and doesn't understand how sensitive their current situation is, and how anyone who gets close to them will be implicated. Saying that the thermos was sent by Tao Qiuyi could clear her name of the alleged theft, but it would also implicate Tao Qiuyi.

So I can't say it, I absolutely can't say it.

"But they..." Han Ying was initially confused, but he quickly understood and broke out in a cold sweat. He had almost betrayed his sister.

"It's just a trumped-up charge." Grandpa Tao gently patted Han Ying's back, offering silent comfort. At the same time, he sighed inwardly, knowing that Han Ying might be traumatized by this experience.

To outsiders, it looked like Grandpa Tao was trying to cheer up and comfort the frightened child.

“Yes, it must have been stolen.” The middle-aged man agreed. “I went to see what was going on the day this convict came to our village. He had nothing but a few clothes.”

The old woman nodded in satisfaction and said, "I also think this thermos was stolen."

"This thermos looks familiar, could you take a look?" The woman continued smiling, her face beaming. This thermos is so new, it'll definitely last for years.

The woman had already started making plans in her mind.

"Huang Lao Er's wife, you're really joking," the old woman was no pushover either. Hearing the aunt's words, she immediately realized that the aunt wanted to take the thermos from her.

"There are only a few types of thermos flasks, you'll find them all familiar." The old woman said sarcastically, while inwardly cursing the auntie for being shameless. "Look at what you're saying." The auntie's smile faltered as her thoughts were seen through.

She was unwilling to give up such a nice thermos to this shameless old man.

A young man said, "Hey grandma and auntie, what's the point of you fighting over a thermos? I heard that this ex-convict surnamed Tao is from Beijing, he must have something at home."

"If you don't believe me, look at his granddaughter, that young woman named Huang Lingyu. The clothes she wears are all made of fine materials."

The young man winked and made faces at the old woman and the auntie as he spoke.

The meaning was very clear: another young man had already started searching the house.

The old woman and the older woman were shrewd enough to exchange a glance. Not wanting the two thugs to take advantage of them, they also hurriedly searched the small room.

The house was a complete mess. Listening to their conversation and watching them rummage through the mess, Grandpa Tao, lying on the floor, was filled with disbelief. Who...who were these people?

Since arriving in this village, he has witnessed far too much of the evil in human nature. Today, his understanding has been shattered once again. Aren't rural people supposed to be simple and honest?

How are they any different from bandits? Where is their simplicity and honesty?

"You...you...have you no law at all?" After uttering these words, Grandpa Tao could no longer speak.

"The law?" The middle-aged man sneered when he heard Grandpa Tao's words. "Of course we have the law. In my territory, I am the law."

"You stinking convict, you dare to talk about the law? Today I'll teach you what the law really is."

As he spoke, the man raised his leg to kick Grandpa Tao again...

"Brother, brother, you can't kick him anymore, you really can't kick him anymore, if you keep kicking this old geezer he'll really be kicked to death." A young man hurriedly came over to stop the middle-aged man.

"Brother, it's okay to beat him half to death, but if you really kill him, you'll be facing a murder charge. It's not worth it, not worth it at all."

Grandpa Tao had already closed his eyes, waiting to be kicked again. After hearing the young man's words, he opened his eyes and looked at the young man.

He remembered this man; he was a local scoundrel who usually did petty theft. No wonder everyone in the village knew about his thievery, yet no one could do anything about it.

Turns out he's a sly one.

The man thought about it and realized it wasn't worth it. As he withdrew his foot, he couldn't help but threaten, "You stinking convict, remember this: I only let you go today because Li Ermazi pleaded for you."

"Brother, you're my own brother," Li Ermazi said with a forced smile.

"Get out." The middle-aged man kicked Li Ermazi away and turned to walk out of the bamboo house.

After the middle-aged man left, the old woman and the aunt exchanged a glance and also left dejectedly.

Of all the commotion, the old woman was the happiest; she got a thermos. The other woman, who got nothing, was envious and felt she had really lost out.

Seeing that the troublemakers had all left, Li Ermazi saw no need to stay. He called the young man who had come with him and they left together, spitting as he passed Grandpa Tao.

He cursed, "Poor bastard."

They don't have anything of value, so they're just poor bastards.