Ch 52: Guide to Feeding a Villainous Husband

It’s been years since there was a thief in Furong Alley. Suddenly, every household poured out into the street, and many people even armed themselves with whatever they could find.

Some had fire pokers, others held broomsticks, and a few carried shoulder poles, while others grabbed copper basins or buckets.

“Where’s the thief?”

“What thief? Who lost something?”

“Whose kid is that running out? Hurry up and take him home, or he might get kidnapped!”

The alley was full of noise, with people saying all sorts of things.

Some wanted to join in catching the thief, some were just there to watch the excitement, while others were skeptical.

“Who ever heard of a thief strolling around in broad daylight? What a fool!”

Someone took the opportunity to murmur, “If you ask me, maybe it’s not about stealing things, but stealing people!”

As soon as those words were spoken, many people suddenly felt it made sense, and the curiosity to see what was happening grew even stronger.

So, everyone followed the direction of the noise, heading to one side of the alley, eager to see what kind of thief was bold enough to act in broad daylight.

However, when this crowd arrived and saw who had caught the thief and who was caught, they were all dumbfounded.

After a long pause, someone was the first to react, pointing towards the corner of the wall and tentatively asking, “Why does this look like… the big goose that the Qin family raises?”

When Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque rushed out, what they saw was Da Fu clamping down on a man’s calf, refusing to let go.

“Whose goose is this! It’s going to kill people! Get this beast off of him!”

The man screamed in pain, but none of the people surrounding them dared to step forward.

Are you kidding? This is a big goose!

Who doesn’t have a childhood memory of being chased by a goose for miles? These creatures aren’t even afraid of snakes. Once they see someone as an enemy, they’ll give you a good pecking, leaving big bruises all over your body. They’re not something you mess with lightly.

The man tried desperately to shake Da Fu off by kicking, but the more he kicked, the tighter Da Fu bit down.

Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque had no idea when Da Fu had sneaked out of the house, let alone that it had injured someone.

“Da Fu, come back!”

Yu Jiuque’s head buzzed as he quickly scolded Da Fu.

Da Fu was usually well-behaved and never bit anyone for no reason. Who would have thought it would get so stubborn today, fixating on this man, and no matter how much Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque called out, it wouldn’t let go.

The crowd that came to catch a thief suddenly turned into a crowd watching the fun.

“I bet you must have done something to provoke the goose.”

“I know the Qin family’s goose, it’s usually well-behaved! If you bullied it, you deserve a few bites!”

“Wait a minute, could this guy actually be a thief?”

This remark suddenly reminded Qin Xia.

It’s one thing for Da Fu to bite someone, but who was it that yelled “thief”?

Seeing that talking was getting them nowhere, Qin Xia rolled up his sleeves, ready to grab the goose.

If this man was just passing by, they would probably have to pay him some silver to make up for it.

At that moment, a young man came running up, holding a net attached to a bamboo pole.

Qin Xia looked closely and realized he actually knew the person.

“Yang ge’er?”

The young man in front of him was the same one who had been searching for his cat in the alley a few nights ago.

At that time, Qin Xia had received some clues from Zhuang Xing about the cat thief and had gone to the Street Office.

Upon meeting Hu Laosi, he learned that cases of missing cats and dogs had become increasingly common in Qinan County recently.

At first, only a few households lost their pets and assumed the animals had simply wandered off. But when more and more pets started disappearing, including guard dogs tied in courtyards, the affected families began to realize something was amiss. They banded together and reported the matter to the authorities.

“The constables have been troubled by this lately, unable to figure out why these thieves are stealing animals. But after hearing what you’ve said, I think there might be some truth to it,” Hu Laosi had said, rubbing his hands together as if eager to report the matter to his superiors, hoping to earn some credit.

After returning from the Street Office, Qin Xia had met the couple again and learned that the man’s surname was Dai, and his husband was called Yang ge’er.

Qin Xia had repeated the same information to them and reassured them, “Since the authorities have already sent people to investigate, there should be results soon.”

Upon hearing that their cat was likely caught for its meat, Yang ge’er’s face had turned pale. Over the next couple of days, Qin Xia hadn’t heard any more sounds of them searching for the cat in the alley and assumed they had finally given up.

Who would have thought they’d run into each other again?

Seeing that the man was still there, Yang ge’er seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, then angrily threw the net he was holding to the ground and said indignantly, “You must be the thief who’s been stealing cats! Just now, you were trying to catch the stray cat on the wall with this net, but my husband and I saw everything! We’ve even recovered the net, and now we’re taking you to the authorities!”

Qin Xia suddenly felt a chill.

Could this man really be the cat thief?

Taking a closer look at the man, he appeared to be in his thirties, thin and gaunt, with a face that could only be described as shifty.

He had a basket on his back, covered with something, though it was unclear what was inside.

The man, of course, denied the accusation and even tried to turn the tables.

“I’m just a deliveryman passing by! I saw that cat and thought it looked like the one I lost, so I tried to catch it to take a closer look. But because of your shouting, the cat ran away! I was about to confront you, and now you’re accusing me of being a thief? Where’s the justice in that?”

Hearing this, the residents of Furong Alley were also displeased.

“What’s going on? So, he’s a cat thief, not a burglar?”

“I say, Yang ge’er, it’s really a shame that your four-paw snow-footed cat went missing, but you can’t just grab someone off the street and accuse them of stealing it.”

“Exactly! After all, a cat is just an animal. It’s common for them to wander off and not come back. Who knows, you might see it again in a few days.”

Everyone seemed to think Yang ge’er was making a big deal out of nothing, except for Yang ge’er himself, who insisted, “I saw him with a cat-catching net! Who carries something like that around on the street?”

He then picked up the net from the ground and showed it to the bystanders.

“See for yourselves! There’s a lot of fur stuck on this, clearly from a cat!”

Suddenly, the crowd began to murmur again.

Since it seemed likely this man was the cat thief, Qin Xia looked at Da Fu, feeling that his big goose wouldn’t have attacked for no reason.

He suddenly remembered that geese have a keen sense of smell and that stray cats often came to their home for food. Da Fu was already quite familiar with them.

Could it be that the goose had smelled something on this man?

He leaned over and whispered something to his husband. Upon hearing it, his husband’s eyes narrowed as he carefully examined the man’s pant leg where Da Fu was biting. Upon closer inspection, he indeed noticed something suspicious.

“There’s blood on this man’s pants.”

His sudden statement startled everyone, and some even instinctively took a step back.

“Blood? Where did the blood come from?”

“Could it be from the goose bite?”

Qin Xia stepped forward and stared at the man, saying, “That blood isn’t fresh. Da Fu often plays with stray cats at home. That blood is most likely from a cat, which Da Fu smelled, leading to the attack.”

This statement seemed to hit a nerve with the man, who started looking around frantically, clearly considering making a run for it.

Unfortunately for him, it was too late.

“Make way, make way!”

The crowd parted, revealing two patrol officers with swords at their sides striding over, followed closely by Yang ge’er’s husband.

Upon seeing the scene of the big goose biting the man, the officers were momentarily taken aback.

After a brief pause, one of them asked, “Is this the thief who has been stealing cats?”

Yang ge’er’s husband firmly nodded.

“Yes, my husband and I saw him with a net, trying to catch a cat. The basket on his back is also very suspicious!”

The thief never expected such bad luck. Who would have thought that the other side would quietly call the authorities!

Seeing that the officers had arrived, Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque quickly worked together to forcibly pull Da Fu back.

With the officers present, there was no way this man could escape.

Indeed, the thief couldn’t run. He was almost certain that the big goose had bitten a chunk of flesh off his calf—how else could it hurt so much with every movement?

Before he could even cry out for justice, the two officers had already rushed over, forcibly removing the basket from his back and inspecting its contents.

One of the officers, upon seeing what was inside, furrowed his brows deeply. He then bent down, reached in, and pulled out a small, furry bundle.

“Dear heavens, it really is a kitten!”

“Why is it soaking wet? Could it be that after stealing the cat, this man tried to drown it in a barrel?”

The officer knew immediately that this case matched the string of thefts they’d been investigating.

And the thief’s methods were exactly the same as those reported by the Street Office.

With everything adding up in his mind, the officer’s expression grew even more serious.

A moment later, he called for a few more officers to help tie up the thief and retrieve all the kittens from the barrel.

The kittens were soaked and trembling.

Someone in the crowd, moved by pity, offered a bamboo basket, while another person brought an old cloth.

The officers, who were fretting over where to place the kittens, accepted the offerings, placed the kittens inside the basket, and wrapped them in the cloth.

“Everyone, disperse. These kittens are evidence and must be taken to the authorities. We’ll take good care of them.”

Soon after, Yang ge’er and his husband followed the officers who were escorting the thief away.

Before they left, the officers exchanged a few glances at Da Fu, remarking that the goose was no ordinary bird.

With that, the matter was settled, though the final outcome would depend on the decisions of the county yamen and the Street Office.

Da Fu, having made a great contribution, was rewarded with plenty of fish and shrimp treats, which it devoured happily.

Before heading to the restaurant, Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque fetched a large basin of water for Da Fu, even placing two small wooden duck carvings in it for the goose to play with.

Knowing they couldn’t delay any longer, they hurried out. By the time they arrived at the restaurant, they were slightly later than usual. As soon as they entered the kitchen, Qin Xia got straight to work preparing the dishes.

As the fragrant smoke curled up, the enticing aroma of duck meat grew stronger and spread farther.

Qiu Chuan, who was wiping tables and chairs in the front hall with his little sister, couldn’t help but swallow as he wondered what divine dish the big boss was preparing this time. He was sure that once the diners arrived, they would be asking him where that delicious smell was coming from, what dish it was, and whether they could order it.

Just after noon, two exquisite sedan chairs stopped in front of the Qin Family Eatery. From them emerged a young man in green robes and a lady in a fragrant-colored dress—none other than Song Yunmu and Song Dongling, who had come as promised.

The two stood at the entrance, drawing the attention of many, though they seemed oblivious.

After a few moments, Song Yunmu finally spoke, “Let’s go in.”

Song Dongling silently took her brother’s arm.

Whether or not that dish of immortal duck, which they hadn’t tasted in years, would make an appearance at the birthday banquet all depended on today.