Chapter 135: Beaten Beyond Recognition

Tang Banxia waited for quite a while, but the two people outside still hadn’t managed to pry the door open.

She felt a bit speechless. With such poor skills, they actually dared to attempt a break-in? Growing impatient, she quietly fiddled with the latch, making it a little easier for them.

With her subtle assistance, the duo’s progress improved significantly.

Once the door was pried open, the two figures crept inside, squinting as they made their way into the house. Tang Banxia stood silently by the door, watching them cross the threshold and head toward the inner room. To lure them in, she had left the inner door ajar. Holding her breath, she waited until they had taken two steps inside before swinging her rolling pin.

She moved with precision, striking the leg of the man on the left. As a doctor, she knew exactly where to hit to quickly incapacitate someone.

Taken aback by the sudden blow, the two men lost their composure. Tang Banxia seized the opportunity to strike the second man’s leg as well, then bolted out of the yard.

"Thief!"
"Help! There’s a thief!"
"Catch the thief!"

Her voice rang out clearly in the silent night. As she ran, she didn't forget to pull the main door shut and lock it. It was a joke to think she would let them escape; if they got away, there would be no evidence left.

"Thief!"

At Hu Ping-shi’s house, the couple was fast asleep when they heard the commotion. They hurriedly threw on their padded jackets and rushed over to find Tang Banxia holding a rolling pin, her face deathly pale and her eyes brimming with tears. Seeing them arrive, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Sister Ping-shi, there’s a thief!"

Before the couple could even enter, more villagers arrived, drawn by the noise. Among them were Xu Sheng and Geng Zhengfei, whose expressions darkened immediately upon hearing Tang Banxia’s account.

Geng Zhengfei led the charge, kicking the door open. By the time he entered, the two intruders were attempting to scramble out the window. Their arms were stuffed full of stolen goods—it was clear they had taken quite a haul.

Exuding a murderous aura, Geng strode over, grabbed the two men by their collars, and dragged them back. As others crowded into the room, Hu Ping-shi gasped in shock.

"Baozhu? Laimao?"

What?

A flashlight beam revealed two familiar faces. Hu Baozhu and Chen Damao were well-known loafers in the village. Unlike others like Hu Qixin and Sun Wenming—who were merely lazy, avoided work, and wandered around aimlessly without doing anything productive—these two were different. While the village frowned upon the lazy ones, at least they didn't do anything malicious.

But people like Hu Baozhu and Chen Damao, who stole chickens and dogs and peeked at young women bathing, were viewed with a different kind of contempt. They were thick-skinned; even when caught and beaten, they would just curl up and take it, never changing their ways. They were like hardened scoundrels.

Seeing it was them, the villagers were both surprised and unsurprised. Given their reputations, it wasn't strange at all. As they were being held, the two had already curled into defensive balls, looking like "dead pigs not afraid of boiling water," confident that they wouldn't actually be beaten to death.

Song Weimin arrived in a hurry, his anger surging the moment he saw them. However, maintaining his composure, he turned to Tang Banxia. "Educated Youth Tang, what do you suggest we do?"

Supported by Sister Sun and Xu Sheng, Tang Banxia exhaled, feeling the weight of everyone's gaze upon her. "Report them to the police."

The room fell silent for a heartbeat.

Huang Xiaocui stammered, "Little Tang, this... this..."

Accountant Hu also looked troubled, and the faces of the other villagers showed their disapproval. Their village had just been named an "Advanced Model," and such a scandal would surely make them a laughingstock. Yet, remembering Tang Banxia’s contributions to the village, they couldn't bring themselves to protest.

After a moment, seeing no one object, Tang Banxia felt a bit relieved. The villagers might have their petty calculations, but they still possessed a conscience.

After a pause, Song Weimin swallowed his pride and said, "Educated Youth Tang, could we do this instead? I'll lock them up for tonight, and we can discuss it tomorrow?"

It was indeed late, and the wind was howling outside, so Tang Banxia agreed.

However, as they were leaving, someone suddenly realized something. "Where is Educated Youth Wen? Why haven't we seen him?"

With a thief in his home, why was Tang Banxia the only one dealing with it? Where was Wen Mubai?

Tang Banxia’s heart skipped a beat, but Geng Zhengfei spoke up immediately. "Educated Youth Wen came to me for a travel permit this evening; he said he was going into the city."

Geng was aware of Wen Mubai’s small side business. While he didn't exactly approve, his superiors hadn't said anything, so he had no room to interfere and was willing to provide cover in a moment like this.

"That's right, I ran into him at the village entrance tonight," Xu Sheng added. "I asked him where he was going, but he didn't say."

Tang Banxia followed the lead smoothly. "I asked him to deliver some things to my sister."

Oh, so that was it!

The villagers had a collective epiphany. They had been wondering why Wen Mubai was nowhere to be seen during such a major event. It turned out he wasn't home. It all made perfect sense—no wonder these thieves chose tonight to strike; they must have known Wen Mubai wasn't there.

Satisfied with this explanation, the villagers felt they had uncovered the truth. Filled with sympathy for Tang Banxia and disgust for the thieves, they headed home. Only Song Weimin cast a deep look at the three of them, but said nothing before following the crowd. He had spent the whole afternoon measuring land at the village entrance and hadn't seen Wen Mubai leave the village until dinner.

He didn't know why Secretary Geng would lie, or why the other educated youth would help cover it up, but he was a smart man. He knew what to ask and what to leave alone. Besides, his mother had already told him about Tang Banxia’s position, so it was better to play dumb.

Geng Zhengfei and Xu Sheng left with the others. Once everyone was gone, Tang Banxia slowly latched the door, lit a candle, and tidied up the messy main room. She went into the inner room to change the sheets that the intruders had stepped on, then poured herself a cup of hot water and sat in the main room to wait.

Sure enough, before long, Xu Sheng and Geng Zhengfei climbed over the wall one after the other.

"Professor Tang, are you hurt?"
"Professor Tang, this was our negligence!"

Both men kept their heads low. The day's events were caused by their failure to do their jobs properly, and they were willing to accept any punishment Professor Tang deemed appropriate.

Tang Banxia sipped her tea slowly from an enamel mug and waved a hand. "Sit down and talk."

This wasn't their fault; human hearts were unpredictable. Geng and Xu were only two people; they couldn't possibly guard against everyone with malicious intent, especially when they didn't live in the same house. Seeing their self-reproach, Tang Banxia offered a word of comfort: "This was an accident. Don't take it to heart."

Despite her words, the two men felt deeply guilty, feeling they had betrayed the organization's trust. The organization had entrusted Professor Tang’s safety entirely to them, and they had failed.

"Now, the priority is to find out who is pulling the strings behind the scenes," Tang Banxia said, shifting the topic.

She had been in the countryside for a year and a half, and it wasn't as if she had only just come into money. How could these two have known exactly when Wen Mubai would be away?

The three of them knew full well that Wen Mubai hadn't gone to the county town, nor was it a coincidence that the thieves had encountered him away. The question remained: how did they know he was leaving today?

Was it pure luck, or was someone watching them?

They had to find out.

Geng and Xu clearly understood the implication. "Professor Tang, please rest assured. We will give you an answer."

Tang Banxia nodded slowly. "Good."

The night deepened, and the two did not stay long before leaving. They still had to report today’s events to their superiors.