"I've noticed something," someone muttered. "The ones who got robbed are all the better-off families in our courtyard. That thief's incredible."
Another quickly chimed in. "Must be some master thief. Ordinary thieves don't have that kind of skill. I heard about Yan Zisan before—came and went like a shadow. Even officials couldn't catch him."
"I've heard of him too. But he should've died long ago. And someone like that—why target our courtyard? Shouldn't they be robbing high officials?"
"Who knows? Maybe they're afraid of getting caught. Still, thank goodness we're poor. Didn't even bother with my house. Otherwise, how would we survive?"
"That's right. Good thing we weren't robbed."
Voices overlapped with relief.
Some even began convincing themselves that this thief had a code—like a chivalrous bandit who spared the poor.
Then someone said, with a hint of schadenfreude, "We're lucky. But First Uncle and the others? They were so angry they ended up in the hospital. Must've been cleaned out completely. And Third Uncle—you saw his face. Scary."
A quiet chuckle followed. "Well, Third Uncle's always calculating, always squeezing out small advantages. Losing money like that? It's like half his life was stolen."
Another voice cut in. "Compared to him, I'm more curious about the Jia family. Who would've thought Zhang-shi had over a thousand yuan saved? Plus gold jewelry! And she still cried poverty and had First Uncle organize donations for them."
Murmurs of indignation spread.
No one had expected the Jia family to be sitting on that much money.
If it hadn't already been stolen, some of them might have marched over demanding their previous donations back.
"And Qin Huairu too," someone added. "Seven hundred yuan!"
A man smirked knowingly. "Her money? That's her ability. Got it from Sha Zhu and First Uncle. If they're willing to give, what's it to us?"
Several men caught the implication and exchanged meaningful smiles.
Not everyone did.
"Well, Sha Zhu's like his father," someone remarked. "Always soft on widows. Spends money without thinking."
A neighbor who knew He Daqing better snorted. "Don't compare him to his father. Sha Zhu's just foolish. Qin Huairu wraps him around her finger with a few sweet words. I'll bet he's never even gotten anything in return."
"How do you know that?"
"Just watch long enough. You'll see."
As more crude laughter rose, someone uncomfortable quickly shifted topics.
"Speaking of Sha Zhu—I heard his house was emptied too."
"Yeah, I overheard. The five hundred-plus yuan he'd saved for marriage—gone. He was practically begging Director Wang to recover it."
Someone scoffed. "With his situation, he still wants to marry? Dream on."
"I thought he'd saved more after working so many years. Only five hundred? Guess most of it went to Qin Huairu."
Before the laughter could continue, a sharp voice cut in.
"What are you laughing at? Five hundred isn't a small sum. Can your family produce that?"
Three questions in a row silenced him.
After a pause, he muttered awkwardly, "Fine, I misspoke. But at least my family wasn't robbed. For now, I've got more than Sha Zhu."
Another cold reply followed. "So what? He's a cook. Lives alone. Even without savings, he won't go hungry. Give him time and he'll save it again.
Unlike us—if we lose our money, our families might starve."
That settled it.
The earlier mockery faded into uneasy reflection.
One man sighed. "We were laughing at them. But with their wages, even after losing money, they'll recover quickly. In a few months, they'll be better off than us again."
Bitter smiles spread.
They worked just as hard, yet struggled every month.
Meanwhile, even robbed, the uncles' households would not truly fall behind.
After a while, someone remarked, "The only family that might really struggle now is the Jia family."
That earned an immediate rebuttal.
"With Qin Huairu's 'abilities'? And Sha Zhu and First Uncle backing her? They won't starve."
Suddenly, someone asked cautiously, "Do you think… the uncles might ask us to donate to the Jia family again?"
The courtyard fell silent.
The possibility sent a chill through everyone.
After a long pause, someone declared firmly, "Not donating. Even if I do, it's one mao at most."
Others quickly agreed.
"We've donated so many times before, and they turned out richer than us."
"This time, not a cent."
"I'd rather buy my kid an extra egg than give it to them."
The volume rose. Emotions flared.
Sensing things escalating, someone intervened.
"Enough. It's late. We all have work tomorrow."
That reminder cooled tempers.
"Right. We can't afford to lose wages."
One by one, people returned home.
Soon, the once-buzzing courtyard sank into uneasy silence.
—
During all the gossip, two households remained strangely quiet.
Third Uncle's family in the front courtyard.
The Jia family in the central courtyard.
Third Uncle didn't step out—not because he hadn't heard.
He had always taken advantage of others under the guise of hardship.
Now that his substantial savings had been exposed, he felt too ashamed to face the crowd.
He prided himself on being a man of letters. He still had his dignity.
So he endured the criticism in silence.
But truthfully, he had little energy to care what others said.
All he could think about was his lost money.
Each thought felt like a needle to the heart.
—
As for Jia Zhang-shi, she nearly burst out several times upon hearing the insults.
Only to be stopped quickly by Qin Huairu.
After some hurried whispering, Jia Zhang-shi swallowed her anger.
She feared provoking public outrage.
Feared someone might storm in.
More than that, she feared alienating the courtyard entirely.
Now that their money was gone, even with Sha Zhu and Yi Zhonghai as fallback options, she still hoped for another round of donations.
Without her "retirement savings," she couldn't sleep peacefully.
When she later heard clearly that no one intended to donate again, she almost exploded.
Once more, Qin Huairu restrained her.
In the end, Jia Zhang-shi could only mutter curses under her breath—
At the neighbors.
At the thief.
At her misfortune.
But she did not dare raise her voice.