OFTLHFRO C36

Chapter 36: This Is Stealing

When they returned to the village as usual, Luo Mingchen spotted figures standing at their doorway from afar. Looking closer, he recognized one of them as Yang Cuifen, holding a basket of vegetables and arguing about something.

Judging by the sight of the basket, those must have been stolen straight from their fields.

With that thought, Luo Mingchen jumped off the cart and strode over.

Mimicking him, Huo Xiang also leapt off—only to stumble and fall. Picking himself up, he dashed after him. “Little Daddy!”

“Ah…” Huo Yuhui sighed helplessly at his foolish younger brother.

If he hadn’t stopped her, even Huo Xinyue had looked ready to try jumping off.

The ox-cart’s pace along the muddy road wasn’t slow. Huo Yan could only quicken his driving.

Hearing Huo Xiang call him, Luo Mingchen glanced back, grabbed the boy’s hand, and walked him forward.

Seeing them return, Yang Cuifen tried to flee with her basket. “I won’t argue with you anymore!”

“Don’t go!”

The village head’s wife yanked her back. “Didn’t you say Huo Dalang’s family let you pick those vegetables? Why run the moment they appear?”

Yang Cuifen had picked so much that she couldn’t break free. Angry, she snapped, “What’s it to you?!”

The woman scolded, “I told you before not to steal again. Yet here you are, sneaking in while they’re away to grab vegetables, stuffing a whole basket full! Why don’t you just haul off the entire mu of cabbages while you’re at it?”*

That morning she had seen Luo Mingchen greet her and even heard him mention selling their produce at the tavern. Knowing the vegetables were for sale, she couldn’t just turn a blind eye when Cuifen brazenly lugged off enough to fill a man’s basket. She blocked her square in front of the Huo family’s door.

Arriving, Luo Mingchen greeted politely. “Auntie Wang.”

Wang Xiulan nodded. “You came just in time, Mingchen. She claims you gave permission for her to pick all this. True or not?”

“Of course not. We’ve never been close with her, and we never said such a thing.”

At that, Yang Cuifen panicked, blurting, “I’m Huo Yan’s cousin-in-law. What’s the harm in me taking some vegetables? Do you expect to kill me over it?”

“Taking without asking is theft. And do you call this ‘some’ vegetables?”

Luo Mingchen pointed at the massive basket. “At least twenty catties here. We sold cabbages to the tavern today—two and a half coins a jin. Either pay up, or leave the vegetables.”*

Her eyes bulged. “Two and a half coins for cabbage!? You may as well rob people!”

“If you don’t believe me, go ask yourself.”

Too lazy to waste words on her, Luo Mingchen folded his arms.

Wang Xiulan saw his seriousness and faltered. Their cabbages had grown well; asking a higher price wasn’t impossible.

Spotting Huo Yan approaching with the cart, Yang Cuifen cried out as if to invoke mercy. “Huo Yan! Your husband wants to charge me two and a half coins a jin for these measly greens. Your second aunt told me to come pick them!”

She thought dropping her elder’s name would work, but Huo Yan merely said, “Then let Second Aunt bring the money over. I’ll hold onto the vegetables for now.”

Luo Mingchen had to suppress a laugh. “That works too.”

Furious, Cuifen snapped, “But I picked them!”

“Then thank you, cousin, for your hard work.”

That was all Huo Yan said, refusing to argue further.

Even Wang Xiulan was hiding a smile.

Grinding her teeth, Cuifen countered, “Huo Yan, you grew up in your uncle’s house. We never took a single coin from you. Now Qingfeng’s back, and still you refuse to share food or tofu. Now you can’t even spare a basket of vegetables? When he rises to glory one day, you’ll regret it!”

“I grew up in Big Uncle’s house. It had nothing to do with Second Uncle. I never ate a grain of his rice, never used his things. Even had he demanded money, I wouldn’t give it.”

He paused before adding calmly, “Frankly, waiting for Lin Qingfeng’s ‘glory’ will take longer than waiting for Yuhui or Xiang to achieve theirs.”

Inwardly, Luo Mingchen gave him a thumbs-up. That was sharp.

Yang Cuifen nearly fainted from rage. Luo Mingchen simply yanked the basket from her grasp.

“Cousin, you can go. We’ll return the basket later.”

Powerless against two men, she could only curse and stomp away, already plotting to slander them to her in-laws.

Seeing her gone, Wang Xiulan sighed, “Still, Lin Qingfeng is your cousin. He’s a licentiate, and he does know people. Better not cut ties completely.”

Luo Mingchen sneered. “Licentiate? With how he spends every day in the pleasure house? Him, pass an exam? Last time, we even saw him getting thrown out by the madam for not paying. That’s probably why he came back—out of money. He looks decent on the outside, but rotten inside. Didn’t he demand we kneel before his gambler drinking friends last time? If we didn’t draw lines now, we’d be nothing but his doormats later—even if he did pass someday.”

He truly despised men like Lin Qingfeng. Such people never remembered kindness, only considered their own climb. Even if you helped them succeed, they’d scorn you as fools, not allies.

So when Huo Yan said their sons had better odds than Qingfeng, it wasn’t just for argument—it was what he believed.

Wang Xiulan felt bittersweet, like she’d been handed heavy gossip. Whether true or not, the fact Huo Yan hadn’t denied it made it seem credible.

After all, Qingfeng was the village’s only licentiate. As headman’s wife, her household had invested plenty of silver into him. To learn he squandered it in brothels? It was a bitter pill.

Feeling her chest tight, she excused herself. “Then that’s settled. I’ll be going. Just be careful—Yang Cuifen won’t let this rest so easily.”

“Thank you for the warning, Auntie Wang.”

With her gone, Luo Mingchen carried the basket inside and stored the vegetables in his space. Then, frowning, he asked Huo Yan, “Why insist on returning it yourself? Couldn’t we have just let her carry it back?”

“Some things must be said directly to Second Uncle and Aunt. If too much time passes, they’ll forget their place.”

For a split second, Luo Mingchen thought he saw a chill in Huo Yan’s eyes. If he’d said he was going to kill them, it would have sounded believable.

“…Alright then.”

Leaving the children home with little Xinyue, Luo Mingchen and Huo Yan took the basket to Lin Tianlei’s house.

Footnotes:

• Mu (畝) – traditional unit of land in China, roughly one-sixth of an acre. Mentioned when referring to cabbages. 
• Catties (斤, jīn) – a measure of weight about 500 grams. Selling vegetables by catties was standard in premodern China.