Fusion System: Rebirth in a Courtyard - Bird Fighting Chronicles

Chapter 22 Stealing Eggs in the Cold Night: A Malicious Intent Uncovered, Ironclad Evidence Reveals

The cold wind of December made the locust tree branches in the Hongxing Courtyard tremble. As soon as night fell, every household closed their doors and windows early, with only the public light bulb in the central courtyard casting a dim yellow light that dappled shadows on the ground. Lin Chen had just wiped the improved mold clean and put it away in his toolbox when he heard Jia Zhangshi's hushed curses coming from outside the courtyard wall, mixed with Qin Huairu's faint words of dissuasion. He frowned slightly and casually activated the system's "environmental monitoring" function.

"You stubborn fool! Lin Chen's offer to teach you the skills was a pretense; he really wants to steal our family's backer!" Jia Zhangshi's voice, chilling, pierced the receiver. "Who is Yi Zhonghai? An eighth-grade fitter, even the factory leaders have to give him some respect! If he thinks we're useless, who will help us control Sha Zhu in the future? We must steal these eggs; it'll nourish Gengzi and pin the blame on Lin Chen—a win-win situation!"

"Comrade Ke Lin just helped me out of that predicament today, it's really not fair to do this..." Qin Huairu's voice was hesitant, "Besides, Director Zhou has already said that I should focus on learning the skills. If I'm found out, I'll lose my apprenticeship!"

"Can you eat dirt?" Jia Zhangshi sneered. "That Lin Chen, relying on his skills, just got promoted and already trampled on Old Liu. Sooner or later he'll try to ride roughshod over us! Listen to me, when I go to steal, you just say you saw Lin Chen loitering around Master Yi's house. Yi Zhonghai will definitely believe us then!"

Lin Chen turned off the listening device, a cold smile curving his lips. He had long anticipated that Jia Zhangshi wouldn't let the matter rest, but he hadn't expected her to target Yi Zhonghai. Yi Zhonghai saw Qin Huai as a key pawn in binding Sha Zhu, and he valued his reputation for "fairness" immensely. This scheme of framing someone for stealing eggs had precisely struck at Yi Zhonghai's weakness. He got up and walked to the window, where, in the moonlight, he saw Jia Zhangshi, wrapped in a tattered cotton-padded coat, furtively approaching Yi Zhonghai's window, clutching a thin wire in her hand.

The windows of Yi Zhonghai's house had old-fashioned wooden frames, and the latches were long since flimsy. Jia Zhangshi squatted under the windowsill, first wetting the wire with saliva, then carefully reaching into the crack to pry it open. Her movements weren't practiced, but they carried the composure of a seasoned criminal, clearly indicating she'd done this kind of petty theft many times before. Lin Chen activated the system's "night vision" function, clearly recording the scene. A notification popped up on the panel: "Target item detected: Osmanthus hair oil residue; Matched person: Jia Zhangshi."

Not long after, Jia Zhangshi pried open the window and reached inside to pull out a ceramic egg jar. She grinned smugly, and just as she was about to put the jar in her pocket, she heard Yi Zhonghai cough from inside. Startled, her hand trembled, and the egg jar crashed against the windowsill with a "clatter" and shattered on the floor. Five round eggs rolled out, one of them getting a drop of osmanthus hair oil from her hair—something she had specially bought at the flea market that day to impress Yi Zhonghai.

Ignoring the distress over the broken egg jar, Jia Zhangshi hurriedly stuffed the eggs into her cotton-padded coat, kicked at the broken porcelain shards on the ground, and turned to run home. Passing Lin Chen's house, she deliberately slowed her pace, scratched a mark on the doorframe with a twig, and left a footprint covered in coal dust on the steps. Only after doing this did she slip back into the house and whisper to Qin Huairu, "Tomorrow morning, go to Master Yi's house and tell him you saw Lin Chen lurking suspiciously outside his door last night and heard noises inside."

Lin Chen stood behind the door, having heard everything clearly. He didn't immediately expose them, but instead retrieved a clean cotton cloth from the storage room and carefully collected the broken porcelain shards and oil-stained eggshells from the floor. The system panel showed that the oil composition on these eggshells perfectly matched the osmanthus hair oil that Jia Zhangshi often used, enough to constitute irrefutable evidence. After doing all this, he went to Old Wang's house next door and knocked on the window.

Grandpa Wang was a well-known fair-minded person in the neighborhood. He had worked as a low-level clerk in the government office in his younger days and was extremely particular about evidence. After Lin Chen explained the situation, he put on his cotton-padded coat and followed Lin Chen to Yi Zhonghai's window. Seeing the broken porcelain shards and footprints on the ground, his brows furrowed: "That Jia Zhangshi really doesn't learn her lesson! She didn't even admit her mistake when she stole Aunt Li's pickled radishes last time, and this time she dared to steal from Yi Zhonghai! I'll go with you to confront her first thing tomorrow morning. We can't let her wrongly accuse an innocent person."

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Yi Zhonghai's cursing echoed throughout the courtyard. Standing under his window, looking at the broken porcelain shards and scattered eggshells on the ground, his face turned ashen with rage: "Which bastard dared to steal my eggs! These eggs were for my sick old mother; he's utterly heartless!"

Madam Jia immediately pulled Qin Huairu over, plopped down on the ground, and burst into tears: "Master Yi, you must do justice for us, a widow and her orphan! Last night when I got up in the middle of the night, I saw Lin Chen loitering around your door with a wire in his hand. I felt something was wrong then, but I never thought he would actually dare to steal your eggs!"

Qin Huairu, her face pale, was being pulled by Jia Zhangshi's arm. She moved her lips as if to say something, but Jia Zhangshi glared at her fiercely. Turning to the surrounding neighbors, Jia Zhangshi shouted, "Everyone, come and judge this! Lin Chen just got promoted and he's already acting like he owns the place, bullying us because we're poor. He stole eggs and tried to frame someone else! If he's not severely punished, will our courtyard ever have a peaceful day again?"

Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui also came over. Liu Haizhong crossed his arms and said gloatingly, "Hey Lin, you just got promoted and you're already doing this kind of thing? That's not very ethical, is it? Master Yi is the technical authority in our factory. How could you steal his things?" Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses and said while calculating, "According to the rules, you have to pay three times the amount for stealing. Master Yi has five eggs, so Lin Chen has to pay for fifteen, plus the cost of the egg jar. It'll be at least two yuan."

Yi Zhonghai's gaze fell on Lin Chen, tinged with disappointment and anger: "Lin, I always thought you were a promising talent, but I never expected you to do something like this. If you admit it and compensate me for the eggs, I might not tell the factory leaders, otherwise..."

"Master Yi, don't rush to conclusions." Lin Chen calmly walked out, holding the cotton cloth used to collect broken porcelain shards. "Whether I stole eggs or not, you'll know by looking at this evidence." He placed the cloth on the stone table and pointed to the eggshells on it, saying, "Look, everyone, there's a layer of light yellow oil on these eggshells, and they even have a fragrance of osmanthus. This must be the osmanthus hair oil that Aunt Jia bought from the secondhand market yesterday, right? I smelled this scent on you in the workshop yesterday."

Madam Jia's face changed, and she hurriedly explained, "I accidentally brushed against it! Who knows how it got on the eggshell!"

"Then where's the wire used to pry open the window?" Lin Chen took out a thin wire from his pocket, with some wood chips still stuck to it. "I found this this morning at Aunt Jia's door. The thickness of the wire matches the width of the gap in Master Yi's window perfectly, and the wood chips on it are the same material as the window frame of Master Yi's house."

Grandpa Wang stepped forward, holding a piece of cloth covered in coal ash. "Last night, Lin Chen and I found this under Master Yi's window. The coal ash on it is exactly the same as the coal ash on Grandma Jia's shoes. And Grandma Jia's coal stove broke yesterday; it wasn't burning any coal at all. Where did this coal ash come from?"

The neighbors immediately began to whisper among themselves, their eyes filled with suspicion as they looked at Jia Zhangshi. Jia Zhangshi, sweating profusely, slapped her thigh and shouted, "You've all conspired to frame me! Qin Huairu, tell me quickly, did you see Lin Chen at Master Yi's door last night?!"

All eyes were on Qin Huairu. Looking at the evidence on the stone table, and recalling how Lin Chen patiently taught her to read the blueprints and helped her escape Jia Zhangshi's harassment yesterday, the scales in her heart finally tipped. She took a deep breath, raised her head, and said, "I didn't see Comrade Lin at Master Yi's door. Last night, my mother-in-law made me lie. She also said that we stole eggs to nourish Jia Geng, then framed Comrade Lin, so that Master Yi would side with our family."

"You traitorous wretch!" Jia Zhangshi jumped up in anger, about to strike Qin Huairu, but Lin Chen stopped her. Lin Chen's hand gripped her wrist like an iron clamp, his voice as cold as ice: "Aunt Jia, the evidence is conclusive. You still want to hit someone? Should we go to the police station right now and let the officers settle this?"

Yi Zhonghai's face turned pale and then flushed. He finally understood that he had been used as a pawn by Jia Zhangshi all along. If things really escalated to the police station, and word got out that he had favored his apprentice and condoned the theft, not only would his reputation for "fairness" be ruined, but even his eighth-grade fitter title might be affected. He quickly tried to smooth things over: "Forget it, forget it. We're all neighbors, we'll see each other again soon. Let's just let this matter rest."

"Master Yi, you're wrong." Lin Chen released Jia Zhangshi's hand and said firmly, "Stealing is stealing, and framing someone else is even worse. If we just let it go, there will only be more and more petty theft in the yard. I suggest that Aunt Jia compensate you for the stolen eggs and apologize in front of the whole yard. Otherwise, I will have to report the situation to the factory security department and the street office."

Seeing Lin Chen's firm attitude and solid evidence, Liu Haizhong quickly changed his tune, saying, "Little Lin is right. If you steal, you have to admit your mistake and make compensation. Master Yi, what do you think of this matter..." Yan Bugui also chimed in, "Follow the rules, follow the rules, that's the only way to convince everyone."

Seeing that no one was helping her, Jia Zhangshi knew she was doomed and slumped to the ground, crying, "I'll pay! I admit my mistake, okay? I'll pay for the eggs, and I'll pay for the egg jar too!" With a mournful face, she pulled out the few cents she had left—the money she had intended to use to buy cigarettes to appease Yi Zhonghai. Yi Zhonghai looked at the few cents, feeling a surge of annoyance. He waved his hand and said, "Forget it, I don't want the eggs. Just don't do this kind of petty theft again."

"Master Yi, this won't do," Lin Chen insisted. "The rules can't be broken. If Aunt Jia doesn't admit her mistake, she'll continue to bully Sister Qin and steal from the neighbors. We need to give everyone an explanation for what happened today."

Under pressure from Lin Chen and his neighbors, Jia Zhangshi had no choice but to confess in front of the entire courtyard to stealing eggs and trying to frame Lin Chen. Seeing Jia Zhangshi's disheveled state, Qin Huairu felt a mix of emotions. She walked up to Lin Chen and bowed deeply: "Comrade Lin, thank you. If it weren't for you, I would have become an accomplice today, and I wouldn't be able to focus on learning the skills in the workshop anymore."

Lin Chen smiled and said, "No need to thank me. You chose to distinguish right from wrong yourself. Focus on learning the skills. Only when you have the ability can you truly hold your head high." He turned to look at Yi Zhonghai, his eyes carrying a hint of warning: "Master Yi, Sister-in-law Qin is a good prospect. Teaching her the skills properly is much more effective than treating her as a tool."

Yi Zhonghai nodded awkwardly, but inwardly he felt even more wary of Lin Chen. This young man was not only technically skilled, but also incredibly meticulous and decisive. If things continued like this, he feared Lin Chen would eventually replace him in the yard and workshop. He watched Lin Chen's retreating figure, a sinister glint in his eyes, and quietly slipped behind the crowd.

That afternoon, when Qin Huai went to the workshop to learn the technology, she specially brought a basket of pickled vegetables she had made herself. She placed the pickled vegetables on Lin Chen's workstation and said shyly, "Comrade Lin, these are pickled vegetables I made myself. They taste pretty good. Please try them. I really owe you a lot for what happened yesterday."

Lin Chen took the pickled vegetables and smelled a refreshing aroma. "Thank you, Sister Qin. It was nothing. Today we'll continue learning chiseling. You already mastered the basic posture yesterday, so today we'll practice precision." He took out a metal plate with lines drawn on it. "Try chiseling away the excess parts on this metal plate. Make sure the lines are smooth and the error is no more than one millimeter."

Qin Huairu picked up the chisel and hammer and carefully began to chisel, following Lin Chen's instructions. Her movements were much more skillful than yesterday; although she still occasionally missed, she could now generally chisel along the lines. Lin Chen patiently guided her, "Keep your wrist steady, the hammer should fall vertically, with even force... Yes, that's it, very good."

Seeing Qin Huairu learning so diligently and making such rapid progress, her coworkers praised her, saying, "Sister-in-law Qin is progressing so fast; it seems she's met a good mentor." "Who would have thought that Sister-in-law Qin could learn these technical skills?" Hearing everyone's praise, Qin Huairu's face showed a long-lost smile, and she gripped the chisel in her hand even more firmly.

As Lin Chen was leaving get off work in the evening, Sha Zhu suddenly stopped him. He held a package of oiled paper and stuffed it into Lin Chen's arms: "Lin Chen, this is braised pork I brought back from the cafeteria. Take it and eat it. Qin Huairu told me about yesterday's events. Thank you for helping her break free from Jia Zhangshi's control and for teaching her the skills."

Lin Chen opened the oil paper package and smelled a rich aroma of meat: "Brother Sha Zhu, thanks. But the main reason why Sister Qin has changed today is that she figured things out herself. I just gave her a push."

Sha Zhu scratched his head, looking embarrassed, and said, "I used to think she couldn't live without me, so I kept supporting her. I never expected that it would only make her more vulnerable to Jia Zhangshi's control. Now that she's learning a skill and supporting herself, I'm finally at ease. If Jia Zhangshi bullies her again, just tell me, and I'll take care of her for you."

Lin Chen smiled and nodded. He knew that after this egg-stealing incident, the dynamics of the courtyard had subtly changed. Jia Zhangshi's arrogance had been suppressed, Qin Huairu had begun to get back on the right track, Yi Zhonghai's authority had been challenged, and he himself had further solidified his position in this power struggle.

Back home, Lin Chen opened the system panel and smiled with satisfaction as he looked at the 500 points he had gained. The system notification read: "Completed the mission 'Frustrate Jia Zhangshi's Plot to Steal Eggs and Frame Her,' gaining 500 points and unlocking the skill 'Trace Evidence Identification.'" He clicked on the skill description for "Trace Evidence Identification" and discovered that this skill could accurately analyze the origin of traces on items, making it more precise than the previous "Item Identification."

Just then, a hushed conversation could be heard outside the courtyard wall between Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui. Lin Chen activated his system's listening function and overheard Yi Zhonghai saying, "That kid Lin Chen is too much of a nuisance. We have to find a way to get him out of the workshop. I'll make sure he embarrasses himself in the next technical innovation competition." Liu Haizhong grinned sinisterly and said, "Don't worry, Master Yi, I've already spoken to the people in the factory office. They'll give Lin Chen the most difficult question; he definitely won't be able to solve it." Yan Bugui added, "I can rig the scoring; I guarantee he won't get a ranking."

Lin Chen turned off the listening device, his eyes sharpening. He knew an even greater challenge was approaching. But he wasn't afraid; instead, he was filled with fighting spirit. With his own skills and the system, plus the support of Qin Huairu, Sha Zhu, and others, he was confident he could handle any conspiracy. He picked up the braised pork on the table and began to eat heartily, already plotting how to completely defeat Yi Zhonghai in the technological innovation competition and solidify his position in the workshop.