Wang Yan did not receive the retaliation he had imagined. Perhaps the thieves had not yet reacted.
It took time for news to spread, time to probe the facts, and time to formulate a response.
Of course, perhaps they had been frightened and did not dare take any retaliatory action for the moment. But that possibility was relatively small, because "refusal to submit" and "not believing in evil" were common traits among people.
Like children—tell them not to do something, and they would insist on doing it. Only after suffering a loss and feeling pain themselves would they learn their lesson. Other people's warnings alone were never enough...
After cooperating with the police officers who had come to investigate, Wang Yan spent a few peaceful days. Then Thursday evening arrived.
Wang Yan bought some cooked food to bring home again: sausage and roast chicken. He still had to consider the impression it made; he could not cook meat dishes at home every day.
The smell of meat was simply too tempting, disturbing the peace of the neighboring households. Adults might be able to bear it, but children could not control themselves. If a child said they wanted meat, their parents and elders would have trouble comforting them and might even snap at them. If the child kept crying and making a fuss, they would get beaten until they wailed.
So, to avoid trouble and grant himself some peace and quiet, Wang Yan did not cook meat dishes at home every day. He only bought cooked food to eat.
He leisurely pedaled his bicycle back to the courtyard. The moment he entered, he saw smoke rising from the tin pipe extending out through his own glass window. Another bicycle was parked against the wall.
Wang Yan parked his bike, took down