In the courtyard, everyone is afraid of the little boy who is so smart!

They nodded together, indicating that they agreed to Liu Erzhu staying. Cheng Hai raised his hand slightly, waved in the direction of Liu Erzhu, and said weakly:

"Erzhu, thank you for your hard work. Let's work together to keep an eye on these two little thieves. We can't let them harm our village again."

Wang Jianguo also patted Liu Erzhu on the shoulder and said:

"Erzhu, I feel more at ease with you here. We will take turns on duty, and we must not let down our guard."

So, on this quiet and tense night, Wang Jianguo, Liu Erzhu and Erhua took on the responsibility of guarding the little thief.

With the help of everyone, Cheng Hai slowly left the house and dragged his weak body towards home.

His back looked a little thin in the night, but he was full of concern and responsibility for the supply and marketing cooperative and the village.

At this time, the afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on the earth, giving the entire village a layer of warm golden light.

As it was getting dark, everyone started to pack up their belongings, said goodbye to each other, and headed home.

Dali Village, where Yang Chan lived, was some distance away from here. Considering the safety of the journey, Cheng Erhua offered to take Yang Chan home.

Li Xinyan's home was also on the way, so Cheng Erhua took her back.

The three of them walked slowly along the country road. From time to time, the sound of insects chirping could be heard from the grass beside the road, as if they were playing a country nocturne.

Yang Chan and Li Xinyan walked side by side, talking softly about what they had seen and heard today, with faint smiles on their faces.

Cheng Erhua walked quietly by the side, occasionally interjecting a few words, and the atmosphere was relaxed and harmonious.

Soon, they arrived at Li Xinyan's home. After saying goodbye to the two, Li Xinyan turned and went into the yard. Cheng Erhua and Yang Chan continued to walk towards Dali Village.

After walking for a while, they finally saw the lights of Yang Chan's house. Yang Chan said to Cheng Erhua gratefully:

"Thank you so much today, Brother Erhua. If you hadn't sent me off, I would have been scared to walk alone."

Cheng Erhua smiled and scratched his head and said:

"What's the big deal? We're all neighbors, and we should take care of each other. Go in quickly, and write me a letter when you get home."

After watching Yang Chan enter the house, Cheng Erhua turned around and started his journey home. It was already late at night, and the sky was filled with stars.

Cheng Erhua quickened his pace and rushed back to the supply and marketing cooperative. The supply and marketing cooperative was silent, with only his footsteps echoing in the empty room.

In that long and tormenting night, time seemed to be infinitely stretched, and every minute and every second passed extremely slowly.

Wang Jianguo, Cheng Erhua and Liu Erzhu were in the dim room, their eyes fixed on the two thieves tied up in the corner, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

The three of them agreed to take turns to rest so that they would have enough energy to keep watch.

When one person was resting, the other two sat there like sculptures, watching the thief's every move without blinking.

The atmosphere in the room was tense and depressing, and the air seemed to be frozen.

The occasional twisting of the two thieves' bodies would arouse their high alert, for fear that the two restless guys would come up with some crooked ideas to break free from the ropes and escape.

Finally, a ray of dawn came through the cracks in the window, the long night gradually faded away, and day broke.

But the tossing and turning of the night made everyone exhausted, and their mood was as lifeless and dull as the sky that had just brightened.

Cheng Hai arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative early as usual. The moment he pushed open the door, the old door panel made a creaking sound.

This slight movement seemed particularly clear in the silent supply and marketing cooperative.

Wang Jianguo, who was dozing against the wall, was instantly awakened. He stood up quickly, with some sleepiness and alertness still in his eyes.

He first looked at the tied thieves vigilantly, and after confirming that they were still there, he turned his gaze to Cheng Hai at the door.

I let out a sigh of relief, as if my nerves, which had been tense all night, could finally relax a little.

The faint light of morning light shone through the windows of the supply and marketing cooperative, casting light on the slightly messy floor inside the house.

Wang Jianguo was rubbing his sleepy eyes and looking at the movement at the door with a tired look on his face.

When he saw that it was Cheng Hai walking towards him with steady steps, he couldn't help but frown, his eyes full of doubt and concern, and said:

"Brother Cheng Hai, so many things happened yesterday, and you were beaten up by thieves. Why didn't you stay at home for a day to recuperate? Why did you come here so early in the morning?"

Wang Jianguo's voice was a little hoarse, obviously he was still tired from being on duty last night.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Shuzhuo slowly walked out from behind Cheng Hai with deep regret and self-blame on his face.

Zhao Shuzhuo's steps were a little heavy. He lowered his head slightly, not daring to look directly into Wang Jianguo's eyes. He stammered and said:

"Jianguo, this is all my fault! I was so greedy yesterday that I had to drink so much wine that I became confused and unconscious."

"I didn't even notice that the supply and marketing cooperative was robbed, and I didn't help at all. In order to protect the supply and marketing cooperative, Brother Cheng Hai was beaten by those hateful thieves. I feel so sorry!"

As he spoke, Zhao Shuzhuo's eyes reddened slightly, and his hands rubbed the corners of his clothes nervously. He stood there like a child who had done something wrong, with guilt evident on his face.

Seeing this, Cheng Hai gently patted Zhao Shuzhuo on the shoulder and comforted him:

"Shuzhuo, you can't be blamed entirely for this. Those thieves came prepared, and none of us expected it. I'm fine, don't take it too seriously."

Although Cheng Hai's words were gentle, they could not hide the fatigue and pain on his face.

Wang Jianguo looked at the two of them, sighed deeply, and said:

"It's useless to say these things now. The most urgent thing is to think about how to deal with the two thieves who were caught, and how to strengthen the security measures of the supply and marketing cooperative. We can't let such things happen again."

The atmosphere in the room was solemn and depressing. The three of them fell into deep thought, thinking about how to deal with this series of difficult problems next.

The sunlight outside the window seemed to be affected by this solemn atmosphere and became less bright and dazzling.

Wang Jianguo slowly raised his hand, patted Zhao Shuzhuo's shoulder heavily, looked at him firmly, and comforted him gently:

"Brother Zhao, please don't blame yourself anymore. Who could have predicted this? No one could have predicted what happened yesterday. How can you be blamed for this? Don't take the blame on yourself."

After that, he paused for a moment, his expression became serious, and then he continued:

"Now that you're all here, the supply and marketing cooperative has been taken care of for the time being. I'll take this opportunity to quickly send these two thieves to the police. We can't delay this matter. They must receive the punishment they deserve."