Caiyun looked at Wang Qingchen, who had been somewhat stunned ever since learning about his second cousin-in-law’s pregnancy, and asked puzzledly, “Second Brother, what’s wrong with you? Aren’t you happy that Second Cousin-in-law is pregnant?”

Wang Qingchen turned his head toward Caiyun, shaking his head inwardly. He couldn't very well tell Caiyun that he wasn't unhappy, but simply couldn't accept that his second cousin-in-law was pregnant at fifteen. Calculating the timeline, the child would be born next year, meaning his second cousin-in-law would become a mother at sixteen?

Wang Qingchen stroked Caiyun’s hair. “What nonsense are you speaking? Why would I be unhappy? I’m just surprised Second Cousin-in-law conceived so quickly. You know, our first cousin-in-law hasn’t been able to conceive for so many years.”

Caiyun nodded, taking on the air of a little adult. “That’s true! Alas, I wonder when First Cousin-in-law will be able to conceive as well.”

Hearing this, a flicker of doubt crossed Wang Qingchen’s mind. Logically, after he had suggested to Madam Yang last time that He Shi should visit a doctor in town, Madam Yang had agreed. Given Madam Yang’s personality, she surely would have persuaded He Shi. Why was there suddenly silence on the matter? Had He Shi actually gone to see a doctor in town?

Lost in thought, Wang Qingchen suddenly had an epiphany. That day, the villagers mentioned that He Shi, after visiting town, had been crying and laughing as if possessed. And that incident seemed to have happened after he suggested the doctor visit to Madam Yang. Could He Shi’s trip to town that day have been precisely for the doctor? Perhaps the doctor had said something unfortunate, leading to her hysterical state upon return?

No, if she had heard something bad from the doctor, crying would be a normal reaction, but the laughter? That clearly didn't fit. What was going on? Right, wasn't He Shi accompanied by Wang Qingshan that day when they went to town? Wang Qingshan had also returned looking completely drained of spirit. Wang Qingshan's demeanor certainly indicated something bad had happened, coupled with He Shi’s extreme excitement, crying and laughing. Could it be that the doctor diagnosed a physical ailment in Wang Qingshan as the cause of He Shi’s infertility? The more Wang Qingchen considered it, the more convinced he became that he had stumbled upon the truth.

If Wang Qingchen were truly a native of this era, perhaps he wouldn’t have overthought things so much. In this period, if a woman couldn’t bear children, it was generally assumed to be the woman's fault; no one would suspect the man unless a professional physician was involved. But Wang Qingchen was different; he knew from his past life that male factor infertility was quite common, making it easy for him to consider this possibility.

While Wang Qingchen was still pondering, judging by the intense reactions of He Shi and Wang Qingshan that day, could the doctor have said the condition was incurable? That would truly be disastrous. In an age that placed such high importance on heirs, Wang Qingshan and He Shi would likely face condemnation for life. Hadn't the ancients said, "Of the Three Unfilial Acts, having no heir is the worst"? One could imagine how serious the lack of children was in the eyes of people from ancient times. Furthermore, even arranging an adoption had restrictions; one couldn't simply adopt any child they chose.

Wang Qingchen sighed and let the thought go. Although he sympathized with the couple, there was nothing else he could do. Setting aside his complete ignorance of medicine, even if he were an expert, he wouldn't dare practice—lest he be accused of demonic possession.

Wang Qingchen dismissed the matter, but later that night, an unexpected event occurred at Wang Youfu's house, something neither he nor the entire Wang Youfu family had anticipated.

In the dead of night, while Wang Qingchen was deep in sleep, he was jolted awake by a noise in the courtyard, followed by what sounded like footsteps. Initially, Wang Qingchen thought he had misheard, but upon listening intently, the sound resurfaced. Wang Qingchen wondered grimly if thieves had broken in.

Before Wang Qingchen could dwell on it, he heard the sound of a door opening—likely Wang Youfu or Madam Yang waking up to investigate. Wang Qingchen quickly scrambled off the kang bed. To his surprise, Wang Qinghua was also awake and followed suit when he rose.

Just as they were about to go out, they heard Wang Youfu roar, “Where is this petty thief? I’ll beat you to death!”

The two were startled—was there really a thief inside? They rushed out. It was too dark to see clearly outside, only silhouettes, but they heard the sickening thud of a wooden club striking flesh, punctuated by Wang Youfu’s furious curses, and the barking of dogs from a few neighboring houses further off, apparently alerted by the commotion.

Inside, Madam Yang had lit the kerosene lamp and was comforting Caiyun, who had been woken by Wang Youfu’s shout, on the kang. The thief in the courtyard, seeing Wang Qinghua and Wang Qingchen emerge, realized the situation was dire. At the cost of enduring several heavy blows, he scrambled out the courtyard gate and fled rapidly into the distance.

Wang Youfu considered giving chase and catching the thief, but knowing how difficult it was to catch someone in the pitch dark, he refrained. It was then that Wang Qingchen clearly saw Wang Youfu was wielding the door-bolt; no wonder he heard the sound of wood hitting flesh. It seemed the little thief had been badly beaten.

The sounds carried far that night, reaching several nearby households. Soon, a few neighbors gathered at Wang Youfu’s place.

“Wang Second, what happened at your place? Were you robbed?”

“Yes, I heard you shouting about a thief. Did you catch him? Did you lose anything?”

“…”

“Nothing seems to be missing. He hadn't managed to get inside the house before I heard the noise. I meant to catch him, but the scoundrel was too cunning and got away. Still, the thief didn’t come out unscathed; I landed a few good blows.” Wang Youfu replied.

“That’s good, as long as nothing was lost.”

“Yes, but where did this little thief come from? Our village hasn't had any trouble with thieves in years!”

“Exactly. We all need to be more vigilant when sleeping from now on.”

“Alas, sleeping won't be peaceful anymore. If I ever catch that thief, I’ll beat him half to death…”

“Enough! With your physique, it’s not even certain you could beat a thief!”

“How dare you speak to me like that? Want a beating?” the accused retorted angrily.

“Go ahead and try. We’ll see who beats whom!”

“…”

Seeing that Wang Youfu’s house had suffered no actual loss, the neighbors chatted for a while longer before leaving. However, what they didn't voice was the thought that Wang Youfu's family had recently prospered, accumulating considerable wealth, which was likely why a thief would target them.

Wang Youfu went and securely closed the courtyard gate again. After ensuring everything was in order, he told his two sons to go back to sleep and prepared to retire himself. Having been up so late dealing with the disturbance, he needed to catch up on rest.

The next morning, Wang Qingchen was up early. The whole family likely hadn't slept well after last night’s drama, but having grown accustomed to rising early, he woke up automatically at his usual time and couldn't fall back asleep.

When Wang Qingchen stepped into the courtyard, he immediately felt something odd. He hadn't noticed clearly in the dark last night, but in the morning light, everything was visible. The items scattered around the yard were all askew, clearly having been rummaged through by the thief. But this was also strange: why would a thief overturn such things instead of stealing valuables? Was the thief looking for something specific?

Madam Yang also found it peculiar. “Husband, what do you make of this? Why did the thief turn over everything in the yard? These things aren't worth much, are they?”

“Who knows what that little thief was thinking? Maybe he’s a beginner and not very skilled yet!” Wang Youfu found it strange too.

Wang Qingchen shook his head upon hearing this. “Father, I actually think the thief wasn't a novice. Look at how he endured your blows to maneuver toward the gate to escape last night—he must be an experienced burglar. If it were his first time, he would have dodged your stick entirely, and we certainly would have caught him!”

Wang Youfu wasn't convinced. After all, if the thief were experienced, why would he rummage through worthless items? “Perhaps he was flustered last night and just got lucky, moving toward the gate by chance?”

Wang Qingchen fell silent. He now held a strong suspicion. Without this suspicion, he too might have believed the thief was simply lucky to stumble toward the gate. But their family was different now. Others might assume the thief targeted them because they were rumored to be wealthy, but he knew better. They possessed something far more valuable: the exotic flowers intended for Boss Xue.

That thief must have been after those flowers. He simply miscalculated, thinking they would be stored in the courtyard, which is why he ransacked the yard. He didn't know that Wang Qingchen brought those flowers inside the house every night.

Even having guessed the motive, identifying a suspect was impossible. He had brought the flowers home openly that day; many in the village knew about that transaction. However, giving the flowers to Boss Xue had been done discreetly. The villagers would naturally assume the prized potted plant was still in their house. This meant the list of potential suspects was extensive.

Though Wang Qingchen had his theory, he kept it to himself. On one hand, it was merely his personal conjecture; on the other, voicing it might tempt others who hadn't considered stealing the flowers to start eyeing them after hearing about the thief’s attempt. That would be disastrous.

It seemed he would have to be more vigilant at night. But even a fierce tiger dozes sometimes—what then? Perhaps they should keep a few dogs? That seemed like a good idea.

“Father, let’s raise a few dogs. That way, if anything happens at night, we’ll know,” Wang Qingchen suggested.

Wang Youfu nodded. “You’re right. We need some dogs. I’ll start looking around in the next few days to see if anyone’s puppies are ready to wean.”

Caiyun, who had been silent until then, brightened considerably upon hearing the news of getting puppies. Having a few more little dogs following her sounded quite appealing.