Chapter 123: There Is a Thief, a Farce
Mother Sheng knew it was best not to act on her own whims. If she ended up embarrassing her daughter in front of the in-laws, it would be a disaster. Although she was prone to wild ideas and possessed a sharp temper, she was at least someone who listened to sound advice.
This was a quality many mothers lacked, as most felt their children should remain under their absolute thumb forever. But Mother Sheng was different. She might nag, but she would never stand in the way of her children choosing their own future.
After finishing their meal, the family had nothing to do, so they all lay down on their bunks to rest. A little later, Father Sheng escorted Grandpa and Grandma Sheng to the restroom at the end of the hall, leaving Mother Sheng and Wanyan behind to guard their compartment.
As soon as Father Sheng and the elders returned, the mother and daughter took their own turn, grabbing their enamel mugs to fetch some hot water. In the soft-sleeper carriage, a large metal boiler sat near the restroom area for passengers to use.
“Mom, you go use the restroom first. I’ll wait in line to get the water,” Wanyan said.
Seeing that the hot water station was right next to the restroom door, Mother Sheng nodded in relief and hurried inside. In this era, people hadn’t yet developed the habit of queuing up neatly as they would in later generations; it was common practice for people to cut ahead if they spotted an acquaintance in front. Fortunately, Wanyan was quick on her feet and managed to slip into a good spot. By the time her mug was filled with steaming water, it was almost Mother Sheng’s turn at the restroom door.
Mother Sheng hurriedly waved her over, terrified that if she missed her turn, she would have to wait all over again. Once they finished, the mother and daughter returned to their compartment. Father Sheng stood in the corridor, watching them securely latch the door before heading back to his own cabin next door.
Five days slipped by in a blur. The journey had been entirely peaceful and uneventful, and the family was now eagerly counting down the hours until they arrived in the Capital the following morning.
“Catch the thief!”
“Catch the thief! My money… all my money has been stolen!”
Suddenly, a piercing shriek shattered the quiet corridor. An old lady was sitting flat on the floorboards, slapping her thighs in despair, her voice raspy and hoarse from crying.
Passengers popped their heads out of their compartments to see what the commotion was about, and it quickly became clear that someone’s savings had been lifted.
“Waaaaah… all my money is gone! That was everything I had!” the old lady wailed.
The conductor came rushing over. Learning that a passenger had been robbed, he immediately stepped into her compartment to help her search through the berths.
“What’s going on out there?” Mother Sheng asked.
Hearing the noise, Father Sheng opened his cabin door to look. He discovered that the weeping old lady was actually his own cabin-mate. When they had first boarded the train, he had kindly offered to switch bunks with her so she wouldn’t have to struggle up to the top berth. After all, sleeping near the door made her an easy target for pickpockets. Since he only brought a single change of clothes, he had nothing of value to lose.
But the suspicious old lady had assumed he was just lazy and trying to trick her out of a lower bunk, and she had sharply scolded him for his trouble. Now, a thief had actually made off with her savings.
“There’s been a theft in my cabin,” Father Sheng told his family through the door. “I need to go over and cooperate with the conductor. You stay inside and keep the door locked.” The conductor was bound to question everyone in the immediate area, so it was best to comply.
The moment Father Sheng returned to his cabin, the conductor turned to the old lady to begin his inquiry. “Where exactly did you keep the money?”
Weeping loudly, the old lady pointed at a worn canvas luggage bag tucked into the corner of her berth. “I hid it right inside the secret inner pocket! It was there when I lay down, but when I woke up, it was gone!”
“How much was it in total?”
“One hundred and twelve yuan and sixty cents!”
“Is anything else missing besides the cash? Is anyone else in the compartment missing their belongings?”
Hearing this, the other two passengers in the cabin quickly checked their bags, but their items were perfectly intact. When the old lady realized she was the solitary victim, her hysterics reached a whole new level.
“Waaah… why did they only target me? There are so many people on this train!” she shrieked, slapping her thighs and wiping her tears. “That was my entire life’s savings! What am I supposed to do when I get off the train? How am I supposed to go back home?”
The conductor sighed, patiently turning to question the other three passengers. However, no one had heard a single suspicious noise the previous night. The thief had clearly been a professional, striking during the deepest hours of the night when everyone was dead asleep.
“It was you, wasn’t it? You stole my money!” the old lady suddenly barked, glaring at her cabin-mates. “We’re sharing the same room. It would have been incredibly easy for one of you to slip into my bag!”
The other passengers’ faces darkened. Was this woman seriously trying to extort them just because she had been careless with her funds?
“You didn’t guard your own belongings properly and just left your cash loose in a bag, and now you’re blaming us because it’s gone?” one passenger snapped.
“Exactly!” the other chimed in. “Good intentions really don’t yield rewards. To think we actually felt sorry for you!”
“You… if it wasn’t one of you, then who else could it be? It has to be you!” the old lady screamed. “Conductor, search their bags this instant! My money must be hidden in their luggage!” She tightly gripped the conductor’s sleeve, demanding a full inspection of their backpacks.
“Are you out of your mind?” a passenger yelled, losing his patience. “Why should we subject our personal belongings to a search just because you lost your own money?”
“Seriously, what kind of person behaves like this? She loses her cash and immediately tries to drag innocent people down with her.”
The conductor was also taken aback by her aggressive demands. Passengers who could afford a soft-sleeper ticket generally hailed from well-off families and possessed decent upbringing; they rarely stooped to petty theft.
“Ma’am, you don’t have any actual evidence,” the conductor explained strictly. “Administrative protocol dictates that we have no right to rummage through a passenger’s personal property without cause.”
Hearing this, the old lady launched into a furious tirade. “My money is gone, and this is how you handle it? What a useless conductor! You’re nothing but a coward! Fine, if you won’t do your job, I’ll search them myself! Move out of my way!”
She lunged forward, shoving the conductor aside, and violently grabbed the luggage of the passenger sleeping on the adjacent bunk.
“Have you lost your mind? Why are you tearing through my things?!” the passenger roared, aggressively snatching his bag back. A fierce argument erupted, and the two nearly came to blows.
With a grim expression, the conductor stepped between them, forcing them apart. He turned to the old lady, his voice dripping with authority. “Auntie! If you continue to disrupt the peace and violate train regulations, we have the legal right to remove you from this train at the very next station!”
The threat only added fuel to the fire. Her money had vanished inside this specific cabin, yet everyone else was perfectly fine. She refused to believe it was a coincidence. She scanned the room, her eyes landing on Father Sheng, who was quietly watching from the edge of his berth.
She pointed a trembling finger at him. “He stole it!” she shrieked. “It must be him! He vanishes from the compartment for the entire day and only sneaks back here at night to sleep! He must have spent the day coordinating the crime with his accomplices outside! It’s him!”
Father Sheng’s blood boiled. How could a person be so utterly shameless as to hurl wild accusations at whoever happened to catch her eye?
“Comrade, is what this passenger claiming true?” the conductor asked, turning to Father Sheng. Although Father Sheng hadn’t been able to wash for days due to the long journey, his clothes were crisp and entirely free of patches; the conductor didn’t think he looked like a thief.
“It’s true that I spend my days in my family’s compartment next door and only return here to sleep at night,” Father Sheng answered calmly.
“See! He admitted it!” the old lady yelled triumphantly. “He admitted he sneaks around! Arrest him this instant!”
Before anyone could stop her, she scrambled onto Father Sheng’s bunk, frantically tearing his blankets apart. But aside from his single spare set of clothes, the bed was entirely empty.
“How can it not be here? How is that possible?” she muttered, her eyes wild. “He must have already passed it off to his accomplice! That has to be it!”
The conductor’s brow furrowed heavily. Turning back to Father Sheng, he asked, “Comrade, can you specify exactly where you spend your daytime hours?”
