My first reaction was to run away quickly. I wanted to pick up the box and dash out, but it was too heavy for me to lift on my own. I managed to push it a few steps, but in my panic and confusion, the box got stuck on the floor and wouldn’t budge. When I looked back, I saw that the person had crawled out from under the bed, covered in mud, looking like a creature that had just emerged from a swamp.

Suddenly, it hit me that this wasn’t a zongzi (a traditional rice dumpling), but a person! Why was I so scared? I remembered the shovel that the fat guy was using earlier, so I ran outside, grabbed it, and rushed back in.

When I returned, I saw that the person had picked up the metal box and was stumbling towards me. I swung the shovel at him, but he dodged by crouching and rolling to the side, then elbowed me hard in the back. I felt a sharp pain and almost fell to the ground. Without looking back, he dashed out the door.

Although I wasn’t used to fighting, I was quite stubborn at heart, with the blood of a rural man running through my veins. I was furious and grabbed the shovel to chase after him.

As soon as I exited the door, I saw the fat guy crouching down, peering under the high wooden platform. The man was very strong, stumbling past him while carrying the metal box.

I shouted at the fat guy, “Stop him!”

The fat guy, still confused about what was happening, turned to look at me. I yelled again, “He stole the box!”

The fat guy reacted quickly; in that moment, he pulled on the thief’s clothing just in time. The box was too heavy, and the thief lost his balance and fell to the ground, causing the box to be thrown out. He scrambled to grab it, but the fat guy wasn’t as easy to deal with as I was. He knocked the thief down again with a forceful shove.

By this time, I had rushed to the box and grabbed it tightly. This was a serious mistake; I should have helped the fat guy subdue the thief first. If we had caught him, the box would have been safe. But the situation was too urgent for me to think clearly. As a result, the fat guy couldn’t hold him down, and when the thief realized he had no hope of getting the box back, he got up and ran away.

The fat guy yelled, “Don’t let him go!” and immediately chased after him. I followed closely, but I soon realized that the thief was incredibly fast. He dashed into the village and quickly disappeared from sight. The houses in the village were interconnected by winding stone paths, and it was easy for someone unfamiliar with the area to get lost; I had no idea where he had gone.

The fat guy was panting and wondered how the man had come out of the building. I explained what had happened, and he cursed loudly, regretting that he hadn’t acted sooner.

Looking in the direction the thief had vanished, I felt puzzled. Who was that person? Why did he suddenly appear to steal the metal box? We shouldn’t have any enemies here, and not many people knew we were around! Could he just be an ordinary thief? But his methods were too unusual.

The fat guy continued to curse, and at that moment, the quiet oil bottle (a nickname for a friend) arrived. He had been stationed on the other side, and if he had been there, I was sure that guy wouldn’t have escaped.

As we walked back into the house, I noticed that the metal box had fallen into the mud and was covered in dirt. The fat guy said, “Thank goodness for divine protection; the box didn’t break open. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know what would have happened.”

I said, “It seems that this thing can’t be returned to its original place now. I think it’s better to take it back to Agui’s house and give him some money; he will know what to do.” The fat man nodded in agreement and said, “Although the most dangerous place is often the safest place, it’s still more secure to keep it close to ourselves.” Without saying another word, he went to move the box. However, as he grasped the seam of the box and pulled up, there was a sudden “crack” sound, and the lock unexpectedly broke away from the box. The box fell to the ground and opened up, spilling its contents everywhere.