Chen Lishu learned about the burglary when she arrived at the factory the next day.
"Stop loitering around here. Get back to work," she said, her expressionless face turning towards Wang Dazhu. "You come with me to the office."
Wang Dazhu followed her silently towards the office building.
"The thief had quite the audacity, and was incredibly wicked. Of all things to steal, they took the sewing machine heads. Without the heads, the entire machines are useless."
"Someone was watching the warehouse. Why else would they steal the heads? Hey, who do you think did this?"
"If it wasn't the nearby villagers, it must have been those construction workers. They just left a couple of days ago, and then this happens. They must have cased the place beforehand. But these things weigh over ten jin, and they had to climb the wall. One person probably couldn't have managed it..."
Chen Lishu asked, "What happened last night?"
"When we discovered it, the perpetrators were already gone. I checked the surroundings carefully. Outside the courtyard wall, there were trampled footprints in the cornfield, belonging to two people. From the moment I entered the room until I came out, it was less than an hour. They must have scouted the place in advance."
Chen Lishu frowned. The factory had barely been established before it was targeted.
Wang Dazhu added, "Sewing machine heads aren't light, each weighing dozens of jin. For them to go to such trouble to move them out, I reckon they must live not far from us."
Chen Lishu said nothing. "Go to the police station later and ask the public security officers to come over."
Wang Dazhu nodded and turned to leave.
"Captain, what did President Chen say?" The other two security guards, seeing Wang Dazhu emerge, stepped forward nervously.
"She told me to go to the police station."
Relieved that they weren't being blamed, the two men felt a slight ease. The most valuable part of a sewing machine was its head; losing it rendered the entire machine scrap.
Soon, two officers from the township police station arrived. They circled the factory, took notes, said they would inform them of any progress, and then left.
The theft at the factory did not cause much of a stir. The workers continued their jobs as usual.
Although Chen Lishu said nothing, Wang Dazhu kept the matter in mind.
With no progress from the police station, he decided to investigate himself.
The thieves stole the items to sell them for money. He focused on this angle, and whenever he had free time, he visited various scrap metal recycling stations. To his surprise, he actually found a lead.
"There's a scrap metal recycling station near the train station. Yesterday, they received two sewing machine heads. I took a close look; there's no mistake, they're from our factory."
Chen Lishu looked at the sweat beading on his forehead, his collar damp with perspiration, making the fabric a darker shade than the surrounding area.
"I'll go tell the police right away. I've already inquired. The person who sold the sewing machine heads was an old man over sixty, who often scavenged in that area. The owner said his name might be Chen something cang. Now that we have witnesses and evidence, he'll definitely be in trouble."
Having a sense of responsibility, and feeling that the loss of the items was his fault, he had been determined to find the culprits.
Hearing Wang Dazhu's words, Chen Lishu paused. "What did you say his name was?"
Wang Dazhu replied, "The owner of the scrap metal recycling station said his name was Chen something cang. Apparently, it's an old couple with a child. The owner didn't know any more details. Sister, do you know him?"
Chen Lishu let out a cold laugh. She knew him all too well.
She had been wondering why the factory was targeted so brazenly, only to realize it was an inside job.
"Sister, I'll head to the police station now. If we catch the person soon, everyone can feel at ease."
Wang Dazhu started to walk out, but Chen Lishu called him back.
"Dazhu, wait a moment."
...
The two sewing machine heads were sold for fifty yuan. Chen Mancang and his accomplice split the money, each receiving twenty-five yuan.
This was much more profitable than scavenging.
Beyond the money, Chen Mancang felt a sense of vengeful satisfaction.
He knew that one sewing machine cost at least over a hundred yuan, meaning the two sewing machine heads represented two machines. Chen Lishu's factory had lost nearly three hundred yuan.
Thinking of his son, Baozhu, he felt he was merely reclaiming a small portion of what was owed.
"Where did you get the meat?" Zhang Chunhua took the bag from him, her eyes widening as she saw over a kilo of high-quality pork.
This was good meat!
Chen Mancang said, "Our grandson has been asking for meat. After we use the lard, we can use the cracklings to make steamed buns tonight."
"This must have cost over a dollar a jin, right? Did you find money?"
Chen Mancang snorted. "Something better than finding money."
Zhang Chunhua was about to ask more, but Chen Mancang didn't intend to elaborate. "Hurry up and cook. I have something to do after dinner."
Although Zhang Chunhua felt puzzled, she took the meat to the kitchen.
In the evening, after dinner, two men suddenly arrived at the house.
They were in their late twenties or early thirties, wearing baggy blue clothes and worn-out green rubber shoes with gaping holes.
Zhang Chunhua recognized them as two local troublemakers who were unemployed and idled around all day.
The fact that Chen Mancang associated with them made Zhang Chunhua feel a sense of unease, but Chen Mancang was a man of his word, and she knew that if he didn't want to say anything, questioning him would be fruitless.
"Uncle, I found another person today and borrowed a bicycle. We'll definitely be able to bring back more things today."
Having tasted success yesterday, they planned to continue their venture and go again tonight.
They had made preparations today, even gathering the necessary tools.
After dark, the three set off towards the direction of Sanjiazi.
"Captain, will the people come today?"
Wang Dazhu stubbed out his cigarette butt, dropped it on the ground, and then crushed it with his toe before looking up. "If not today, they'll definitely come in the next couple of days. You two, keep your wits about you. President Chen has taken care of us, she hasn't punished us, nor has she said anything negative. If we fail to complete the task she assigned this time, we'll be packing our bags and leaving."
"Don't worry, Captain. With me guarding here, I guarantee not even a fly will get in."
As soon as one of the young security guards finished speaking, his back was slapped. "If you don't let people in, how are we supposed to proceed?"
The young security guard chuckled sheepishly.
As the night deepened and the moon rose high in the sky, the entire factory compound was quiet, except for the lights at the gatehouse.
Suddenly, the ears of the young security guard stationed in a corner outside the workshop twitched.
Seeing three figures stealthily enter the workshop in the dim light, the security guard quickly crouched and ran towards the gatehouse.
"Captain, they're here."
Wang Dazhu, who had been dozing in his chair, jolted upright as he heard the voice.
Shaking his head to clear his mind, he said to another security guard, "Xiao Zhang, go call the police. Gangzi and I will go intercept them."
Soon, the three of them split up and set off.