Courtyard House: Home Alone

Her gaze seemed to want to devour him whole: "Lin Yifan, I'm asking you, did you take that piece of salted meat I left drying in the yard yesterday?"

Lin Yifan raised an eyebrow, understanding dawning on him; so that's what it was about. He said calmly, "Aunt Jia, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. When did I take your pork belly?"

"Hmph! Who else could it be but you?" Madam Jia raised her voice, spitting everywhere. "Yesterday, you were the one who was wandering around the yard the most!"

Who else could it be but you? My Dongxu said he saw you standing under the rope where we hang meat to dry! You must have been tempted by the money and sneakily stole it!

"Just because I stood under the rope at your house, does that mean I took it?" Lin Yifan found it somewhat amusing. "Aunt Jia, according to you, whoever walks past your door is a thief? What kind of logic is that?"

"I don't care about logic!" Madam Jia Zhang acted like a rogue. "Anyway, my meat is gone, so you have to pay for it! That piece of meat was something I went through a lot of trouble to get, and it cost me a lot of money! If you don't return the meat to me today, or pay me back, don't even think about leaving this house!"

Lin Yifan's eyes turned cold: "Aunt Jia, I'll say it again, I didn't take your meat. If you can't find it, you can ask the other people in the yard."

Or look carefully again to see if it was taken by a cat or dog. Don't accuse someone without first knowing the facts.

"You're being framed? I think you're just feeling guilty!"

Jia Zhangshi stepped forward, reaching out to shove Lin Yifan. "Let me tell you, this isn't over! If you don't pay up, I'll go to the gate and shout it from the rooftop, so everyone knows you, Lin Yifan, are a thief with dirty hands!"

Lin Yifan dodged her shove by sidestepping, his anger rising. He hadn't wanted to cause trouble, but this Jia Zhangshi was really going too far.

He was about to explode when he heard a weak voice from the inner room: "Alright, alright, what's all the noise about? Can't a person have some peace and quiet!"

A middle-aged man lay on the bed, his face sallow, coughing a few times. It was Jia Dongxu's father, Jia Gui. He had reportedly been injured at Lou's Steel Rolling Mill and had been bedridden at home for over a month.

Upon hearing Jia Gui's voice, Lin Yifan quickly called out, "Uncle Jia, you're lying inside, and your wife is spouting such nonsense. It seems you haven't disciplined her enough."

Jia Gui frowned, clearly annoyed by the noise outside. He glared at Jia Zhangshi: "What are you yelling about? Can't we have some peace and quiet at home? Yifan is still a child, why are you arguing with him!"

Hearing her husband's voice, Jia Zhangshi's arrogance subsided somewhat, but she still said to Lin Yifan resentfully, "Hmph, I'll spare you for now for my old man's sake."

However, you have to pay for the meat! I won't ask for much; that piece of meat was worth fifty cents. Give me fifty cents, and we'll call it even!

Lin Yifan was so angry he almost laughed. This Jia Zhangshi was really asking for an exorbitant price; even the most expensive piece of pork belly couldn't be worth five cents.

He looked coldly at Jia Zhangshi: "Aunt Jia, I won't give you a single penny. Because I didn't take your meat. If you continue to act so unreasonably, don't blame me for being impolite!"

"You're welcome? What can a little brat like you do to me?" Jia Zhangshi didn't take Lin Yifan seriously at all and started throwing a tantrum again.

"Hey everyone, come quick! This is bullying! Some orphan is bullying us! He stole my meat and won't admit it, and he's even trying to hit me!"

She shouted and slapped her thigh, preparing to unleash her ultimate tantrum. Lin Yifan's eyes narrowed; he knew that giving in to this kind of person was useless.

He was just about to use some tricks to teach her a lesson when he suddenly heard a cheerful voice from the courtyard gate: "What's going on? All this noise all day long, what kind of behavior is this! Aren't you afraid of attracting the locust army?"

Following the sound, a burly man in blue overalls walked in; it was Yi Zhonghai, who lived in the central courtyard. Yi Zhonghai was not yet thirty years old and also worked at the steel rolling mill. It was said that he had ingratiated himself with a Japanese foreman and was doing very well in the workshop.

Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai mention summoning the Japanese soldiers, Jia Zhangshi's crying abruptly ceased, though her face still bore a trace of grievance and resentment. She muttered, "Little Yi (she followed Jia Gui's address, though Jia Zhangshi was actually three years older than Yi Zhonghai), you've come at the perfect time! You be the judge! This Lin Yifan stole my family's salted meat and still refuses to admit it!"

Yi Zhonghai frowned, his gaze sweeping between Jia Zhangshi and Lin Yifan before finally settling on Lin Yifan. His tone remained relatively calm: "Xiao Fan, Aunt Jia said you took some of her salted meat. Is that true?"

Lin Yifan met Yi Zhonghai's gaze and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Uncle Yi, I guarantee with my integrity that I absolutely did not take any salted meat from Aunt Jia's house."

Yesterday I went to Peking Union Medical College Hospital to see my mother. When I came back, it was your Aunt Xiaolan who served me dinner. As for standing under the meat drying rope at her house, I have absolutely no recollection of it. Even if I had passed by, I would never have stolen anything.

"Listen to this! Listen to this!" Madam Jia immediately interjected, "He even vouched for his integrity! What integrity does a mere teenager have! Xiao Yi, don't be fooled by his honest appearance! My Dongxu saw it with his own eyes!"

Jia Dongxu immediately jumped out and shouted, "Yes! Uncle Yi, I saw it! Just yesterday afternoon, I saw him standing under my house!"

Yi Zhonghai then looked at Jia Dongxu: "Dongxu, did you see clearly? He really took the meat?"

Jia Dongxu's eyes flickered, then he stiffened his neck and said, "I...I just saw him standing there! If he didn't take it, who did? Anyway, the meat is gone!"

Lin Yifan sneered, "Jia Dongxu, you need evidence to back up your claims. Just because you saw me standing there, does that prove I took the meat? Did you see how I took it? And where did I hide it afterward?"

A barrage of questions left Jia Dongxu speechless, his face flushed red, unable to utter a word.

Yi Zhonghai was extremely shrewd; he could tell what was going on just by looking at Jia Dongxu's expression.

He sighed and said to Jia Zhangshi, "Sister-in-law, Dongxu only saw Xiaofan standing there, but he can't confirm that it was Xiaofan who took the meat."

This matter probably needs further investigation. Xiao Fan doesn't seem like the type to be dishonest. Did you perhaps misplace it, or... was it snatched away by some stray cat or dog?

"Impossible!" Madam Jia insisted. "I hung it up properly, so high up, how could the cat and dog reach it! He must have stolen it! Xiao Yi, you can't take his side!"

"If we don't teach him a lesson, who knows what he might do in the future!" That was a rather harsh statement.

Lin Yifan's eyes turned completely cold; Jia Zhangshi's words had crossed his bottom line. He was about to retort when Yi Zhonghai's face darkened, and he said, "Sister-in-law! You can't say that!"

Xiao Fan's parents aren't home, so we, as neighbors, should show more care and concern, not slander him! We shouldn't make things up without evidence; how much damage would that do to the child's reputation if it got out!