Transmigration: Becoming the Wicked Stepmother of Four Children

Chapter 93 Rice Thieves

Just then, a commotion broke out outside.

Lu Qingqing walked out.

Then I saw the village chief and other villagers walking towards their homes.

Lu Qingqing was puzzled, but quickly went to greet her.

"Village chief, folks, what's wrong?"

The village chief said anxiously:

"My dear,

Our second crop of rice is almost ready for harvest.

But last night, I don't know which bastard...

He stole our rice!

This rice was entrusted to me by the county magistrate for safekeeping.

"The rice has been stolen. What if the magistrate blames us?"

Lu Qingqing frowned deeply:

"Village chief, please don't worry."

Let's first assess the extent of the losses.

The village chief wiped the sweat from his brow:

I just went to check it out.

Several families' rice paddies have been stolen! What are we going to do?!

A villager shouted angrily:

"That rice thief is despicable!"

We must find him!

Another villager chimed in:

"Exactly! We can't let him get away with this!"

Lu Qingqing calmly said:

"Everyone, please don't get agitated. Let's think of a solution first."

"Village chief, have any strangers visited the village recently?"

The village chief thought for a moment:

"I hadn't noticed that. Oh dear, what should I do?"

Lu Qingqing pondered for a moment:

"Let's go and take a closer look in the rice paddies first."

Let's see if we can find any useful clues.

Lu Qingqing explained to Wang Xiuxiu:

"Sister-in-law, could you please look after Shuang'er?"

I went with the village chief and the others to check out the rice paddies.

Wang Xiuxiu quickly replied:

"Qingqing, these rice thieves are so hateful!"

Go quickly and check on her; I'll look after Shuang'er.

Lu Qingqing gave her a grateful look.

Lu Qingqing gave him a grateful look.

Then, taking Dian Dian and Dou Dou with him, he hurriedly followed the village chief and villagers toward the rice paddies.

As they walked, the village chief spoke to Lu Qingqing:

"Ever since the magistrate gave the instructions..."

People in our village take turns keeping watch until the early hours of the morning before going home.

That despicable rice thief!

It must have been done after the person on duty went home.

Lu Qingqing frowned and pondered:

"It seems this thief knows our shift schedule very well."

They might have already scouted the location.

The village chief was deeply worried:

"Oh dear, what should we do?"

If these rice grains cannot be found,

How am I going to explain this to the county magistrate?

Lu Qingqing comforted her:

"Village chief, don't worry too much."

Let's look carefully for clues; we're bound to find a way.

The group arrived at the rice paddy.

The rice paddies were missing patches here and there.

Lu Qingqing discovered that

The missing rice paddies all have one thing in common.

They're all right by the roadside.

Lu Qingqing said:

"It seems this rice thief is quite clever."

To prevent others from discovering more clues,

So he only harvested the area around the edge of the rice paddy.

The village chief looked worried.

"What should we do?"

Wouldn't that mean even fewer clues?

Lu Qingqing comforted her:

"Village chief, don't be discouraged."

The more this happens, the more it shows that the thief is guilty.

They'll eventually slip up.

At this moment, a villager said:

"Could it have been done by someone from another village?"

They are not familiar with the situation in our village.

That's why they chose to target the rice paddies by the roadside.

Another villager countered:

How would people from other villages know that we have a second crop of rice that is almost ripe?

I think it's more likely that they're from this village.

Lu Qingqing pondered for a moment and said:

"Whether they are from other villages or from this village"

Let's all look for clues together.

Check if any other traces of the thief have been left.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

They began to search carefully around the rice paddies.

Lu Qingqing saw that everyone was carefully searching for clues.

She took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention

Call the two wolf cubs, Dian Dian and Dou Dou, over and say:

"DianDian, DouDou, this thief is very clever."

It seems I'll need your help.

Dian Dian said:

"Mother, don't worry."

I'm going to go see my field mouse friend.

DouDou also said:

"Mother, I'll go ask my frog friend for help."

Lu Qingqing patted their heads:

"Go quickly and come back quickly, be careful."

Dot and Bean turned and ran away.

Lu Qingqing continued to search for other clues with the villagers.

Not long after,

Dian Dian was the first to run back, and said anxiously:

“Mother, I found out from my field mouse friend that…”

The rice thief is the village chief of Wangjia Village next door!

Lu Qingqing was startled:

"The village chief of Wangjia Village? Why would he do this?"

Just then, DouDou ran back, panting, and said:

“Mother, I also asked my friend Tianwa about it.”

It turns out that the county magistrate intended to promote Lin Feng to the position of judge.

The village chief of Wangjia Village was jealous; he also wanted to become the village head.

They brought people to steal rice and deliberately caused trouble.

They wanted the county magistrate to blame Lin Feng.

Lu Qingqing was furious:

"This village chief of Wangjia Village has gone too far!"

Lu Qingqing learned the truth about the rice thief.

But she was thinking,

How can we tell the village chief and villagers the truth without them noticing?

After thinking for a moment, Lu Qingqing finally came up with a good idea.

He called the village chief and the villagers over.

Ask them if they have found any clues.

The village chief muttered angrily:

"That damned thief, I hope I don't catch him."

A villager shouted:

"I didn't find anything here!"

Another villager said anxiously:

"I haven't found it on my end either."

Lu Qingqing said:

"Village chief, I have a good idea."

My children, Diandian and Doudou, are exceptionally smart.

They can find their way by smelling the scent and locate the thief.

How about we have Diandian and Doudou lead the way?

We all followed behind.

Let's see if we can find the rice thief.

The village chief looked puzzled:

"Will this work? After all, they are just two little wolfhounds."

Lu Qingqing calmly explained:

"Village chief, don't underestimate them."

I've found things before by following their scent when I lost them.

A villager nearby also said:

"Village chief, why don't we give it a try?"

Anyway, there's no other good way right now.

The village chief hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded:

"Alright, let's give it a try."

If they help us find it

Those are the great heroes of our village.

I'll buy them a chicken and stew it.

Lu Qingqing hurriedly called out to Diandian and Doudou:

"Dian Dian, Dou Dou, come here quickly, it's up to you two."

Two wolf cubs ran over happily.

Lu Qingqing whispered a few words in their ears,

Then Dot and Bean started sniffing the ground.

Soon they ran off in one direction.

"Everyone, hurry up and keep up!"

Lu Qingqing called out, and the crowd followed behind with hope.

When Dian Dian and Dou Dou led everyone to the village entrance...

I just happened to see Lin Yunlan and the others returning after delivering the herbal tea.

Lu Qingqing had a sudden inspiration and said:

"Village chief, there are so many of us..."

How about we ride in an oxcart and follow Dot and Bean?

I saw that Dot and Bean seemed to be walking towards the edge of the village.

The village chief looked at everyone and nodded, saying:

"That's good, it'll be faster that way and saves everyone from getting tired."