From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him-Chapter 27: Theft

Ancient Wen Heng simply fell back, grabbing his robe and pulling it over his head.

There had been constant bickering for one reason or another throughout the journey, and this wasn’t the first time someone had discovered something missing.

’This is just the beginning; there will be plenty more drama to come. Instead of wasting time on such trivial matters, I might as well catch up on sleep so I can travel again tonight.’

"Seventh is really carefree, to be able to sleep at a time like this." Liu Liu sneered. "If that petty thief comes sniffing around our things, he’ll be crying his eyes out."

Jin Qianqian flashed Liu Liu a toothy grin. "Fourth Sister-in-law, with what little we own, I doubt even a petty thief would be interested. But you, on the other hand, should be careful. With all your large and small bundles, it’s impossible not to attract attention."

"You jinx!" Liu Liu, apparently forgetting she had started the provocation, glared at Jin Qianqian.

Jin Qianqian, unfazed, gave her a provocative smile and, copying Ancient Wen Heng, covered her head to sleep.

’I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep,’ but as soon as she lay down, she quickly fell into a deep slumber.

"That couple, Seventh and his wife, are really something," Li Cuicui muttered as she gathered her belongings one more time. After confirming nothing was missing, she was finally in the mood to check on the younger families.

"Tell me the truth. How much did Seventh and his wife really get in the exchange?" Gu Dashishi stared thoughtfully at Li Cuicui. ’This old woman keeps saying she doesn’t know, but how can I believe that?’

He had seen her and their son whispering to each other that day. If the old woman really didn’t know the details, she’d likely be even more antsy than he was.

"What are you asking so much for? That’s their own little family’s savings. We can’t help them with much, so we shouldn’t cause them any trouble either."

Li Cuicui shot him a sideways glance. After decades of marriage, how could she not know what he was plotting?

"Who’s causing trouble? I’m just worried your son will go astray and squander his savings.

I just heard the youngest say that he spent twenty copper coins on water in one go. There are only two of them, why do they need to be so wasteful?"

Li Cuicui retorted, "Haven’t the families already been divided? Seventh is the head of his own household, so he must have his reasons for doing things.

I just scolded the youngest, actually. He bought too little water. What if we can’t find any at the next stop?"

"I have so many sons! Are they going to just stand by and watch us die of thirst?" Gu Dashishi spread his hands. "I see now that you can’t be trusted with money, old woman. Better hand it over to me for safekeeping!"

Li Cuicui shot back, "In your dreams! I’ve managed this household for decades without a single mistake. You can’t even count properly, what business do you have managing anything?"

"There’s one benefit to me managing it: those little brats underneath wouldn’t dare get any funny ideas. You’re always too soft on them. What if they trick you? Will we ever get that money back?"

Li Cuicui was displeased. "Are you saying you don’t trust your own children? And you don’t have to beat around the bush trying to get information from me. Seventh paid back every single coin he borrowed, and he even gave us a little extra out of filial piety. We didn’t lose out. Are you satisfied now?"

Gu Dashishi asked, "Really?"

Li Cuicui shot him a look and, deciding to follow her son and daughter-in-law’s example, covered her head to sleep.

Everyone had thought it was a minor incident, perhaps even a misunderstanding. But who would have known that upon waking up, many more people would discover their belongings had been stolen.

This time, several village chiefs were alerted. They gathered everyone together, announcing they would inspect each family’s belongings. If anyone was found with items that weren’t theirs, they would be expelled from the group.

Gu Mingchun was paired with Ancient Wen Heng for the mutual inspection. They quickly looked through each other’s possessions, and both felt a pang of sympathy for the other.

Gu Mingchun’s family was considered middle-of-the-road in the group, but even so, his supplies consisted of only a few wild vegetable buns, a few pounds of yellow millet, a few pounds of black flour, and some plantain and dandelion. That was the extent of his possessions.

Of course, the family’s Silver Coins were not part of the inspection, so it was possible the other person had more hidden away.

Gu Mingchun patted Ancient Wen Heng’s shoulder encouragingly. This clansman of his was truly living in poverty. Half a small bag of rice bran and a few simple daily necessities... how could he possibly survive the rest of the journey with just that?

"You should sleep less during the day. When you have free time, go look around the area. Even if you can’t dig up wild vegetables, you can still find some edible roots."

Ancient Wen Heng could easily detect the preachy tone in his voice and silently rolled his eyes. Inwardly, however, he was quite smug. ’I have a wife to provide for me. You have no idea how much better off I am than all of you.’

But he couldn’t let any of that show. Instead, he nodded with a receptive look on his face. "I do search diligently every day, but there’s never anything left over. If I don’t eat a few extra mouthfuls, my body won’t be able to hold up."

Gu Mingchun sympathetically patted his shoulder again and turned away without another word. Every family was dealing with its own mess right now; he had just been making a casual comment.

"Could all this grain have just vanished into thin air?" Jin Qianqian was full of doubt when the search turned up nothing.

It wasn’t just a few small items that were missing. It was the grain from several families. Piled together, it must have been at least one or two hundred pounds.

"There are only two possibilities now. The first is that the thief isn’t from our group," Ancient Wen Heng said, glancing at Jin Qianqian. "The other is that this person also possesses some unfathomable means, allowing them to make things disappear out of thin air."

Jin Qianqian’s eyes widened. "No way! Are you suspecting me?"

Ancient Wen Heng replied, "It’s just a guess. Just because you have such an ability doesn’t mean others don’t. It’s possible."

"..." ’He made it sound so logical,’ but Jin Qianqian was still unwilling to believe the second possibility.

"It’s not impossible to find out who it is. The families that lost grain were all among the more well-off in the group. If you tell me there isn’t a mole, I won’t believe it.

We just need to keep an eye on the other families with abundant grain, and the culprit will soon be revealed."

"What if they stop after this one time? We just searched everyone and didn’t find anyone with extra grain. I think it’s more likely someone from the outside."

Regardless of which possibility was true, panic was spreading through the group, and everyone grew wary of one another.

But even so, things continued to disappear day after day. It got to the point where no family dared to relax. They took turns standing guard, but the moment they couldn’t hold out any longer, their things would mysteriously vanish again.

Although Jin Qianqian and he didn’t have much out in the open, the thought that their own "territory" could be invaded at any time left them both sleeping restlessly, even if they weren’t standing guard every day.

Unable to bear it any longer, people began to group together by entire clans again, hoping that with more people, their defenses would be more comprehensive and the losses would stop.

The situation did improve, but now the entire group found itself in a new predicament.

The further they traveled, the lower their chances of finding water became. Besides buying it at exorbitant prices, their only other option was to line up for free drinking water every time they reached a city gate.

This, in turn, wasted even more time. With their grain depleting quickly and such a long journey still ahead, everyone was nearing their breaking point.