Chapter 31: Ingenious Mechanisms

Lu Qiaoge never expected that it would actually blow up.

She couldn't help but look toward Old Lu, who was sitting under the jujube tree sipping tea.

Old Lu gave her a subtle shake of his head.

Lu Qiaoge understood immediately; he didn't want anyone to know, not even the family.

Lu Da took full responsibility for it.

By this time, the lights of ten thousand homes were flickering, but smoke could be seen billowing in the distance.

That location should be the warehouse.

And right at that moment, in a household on the second floor of Building 32, several stern-faced plainclothes officers burst in, pinning two men who were attempting a frantic escape to the floor...

Meanwhile, at a certain warehouse, a precision demolition had been successful. Facing the ruins of the warehouse, Qin Hengzhi's expression was cold, his sharp gaze fixed intently on one particular spot.

A piece of iron machinery, looking like a gear, peeked out from behind the shattered heavy iron door.

Jia, the head of the security department, pointed at the door in shock, speechless for a long while.

The warehouse door was encased in thick iron, an old-fashioned kind where even the rivets were bronze-colored.

It had been inspected previously and the composition was normal; who could have imagined there was such a clever mechanism hidden inside?

Looking at the fractured hinge of the door, Qin Hengzhi saw countless tough steel and copper wires hidden there, and he couldn't help but marvel at the designer's exquisite craftsmanship.

As the saying goes, there is always someone better, and there are always heavens beyond heavens; a person's life is a process of continuous learning.

Master Lu had performed a great service this time.

However, since he had promised to keep Master Lu's involvement a secret, he could only provide a reward discreetly.

Lu Qiaoge also breathed a sigh of relief. She checked the time; it was only a little past seven, so she decided to head over to the Qi family's place.

The Naughty Swallow had just come by to tell her that this afternoon, Old Li's neighbor, Qi Shuang, had gotten into an argument with Old Li's family. The main issue was that the Naughty Swallow was being called a thief, causing unrest, and they were suggesting it would be better to just tear down the swallow's nest.

Swallows are considered auspicious birds; anyone whose home they nest in is happy about it.

There was no logic in tearing them down.

Especially since elderly people actually believed in such things quite strongly; Lu Qiaoge decided to go and check.

She didn't know that the results of the vote from the neighborhood committee had already come out.

There was no suspense, no twists and turns, and no one was acting out of jealousy. Nowadays, grassroots cadres were mostly pragmatic. Thus, Lu Qiaoge passed the recruitment exam with the top score.

She could complete her onboarding procedures tomorrow.

Huang Juan went to the Lu house in high spirits, missing Lu Qiaoge, who was heading to the Qi house.

Since Lu Qiaoge walked fast, she arrived at Qi Shuang's house with the tabby cat in no time.

Qi Shuang lived alone now.

There were many people outside at the moment; it had been somewhat muggy these past few days, so many were out enjoying the cool air.

In Qi Shuang's courtyard, Qi Shuang was speaking civilly to Old Mrs. Li's second daughter-in-law.

"Sister Cui, what I mean is that there are still eggs in the nest. They seem almost ready to hatch. Once they come out and can fly, they will naturally fly away."

Cui Min leaned against the wall, her expression dark and suggestive: "Since someone actually suspects that I intentionally placed a gold ring in the swallow's nest, then I might as well just prove it to her once and for all."

In just a few sentences, Lu Qiaoge understood the situation.

Old Mrs. Li's expression was also unpleasant: "Cui Min, you've been giving me the cold shoulder for the past few days. I was just speaking casually, but look at you, making a huge deal out of nothing and even wanting to tear down the nest. You've certainly got nerve!"

"Am I making a big deal out of nothing? It was clearly the swallow that stole the gold ring; everyone saw it with their own eyes! I thought the matter was over, but you—you went and told your youngest son that I'm calculating, and that maybe I stole it and put it in the nest! Is this how you speak? Is this how you act as an elder? Do you want me to jump into the river and die just to prove my innocence?"

Facing Cui Min's hysterical questioning, Old Mrs. Li's face flushed red: "I was just speaking casually, I really didn't mean it that way."

"I'm not the only one living in your Li house; your eldest son's family lives there too. On what grounds can you say that about me? Li Zhenhui, come out here! Tell me if this life is even worth living anymore. If it's not, then let's divorce!"

Caught in the middle, Li Zhenhui had long wanted to come out, but what could he do?

He swore to heaven that his mother had just spoken casually, but unfortunately, his wife had overheard.

Not only had she overturned the dining table earlier, but she had also run to the Qi house to demand the destruction of the swallow's nest.

"Can you all stop fighting, please?" Li Zhenhui shouted from the main gate, clutching his hair.

However, no one took his words seriously.

Old Mrs. Li and Cui Min began arguing again.

Qi Shuang looked helplessly at the bickering mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, while Lu Qiaoge watched the two swallows huddling together, trembling in the nest.

They were so terrified that they had even lost their ability to project their thoughts.

The tabby cat didn't step forward; there were too many people and rowdy children, and it didn't like that. Instead, it jumped onto a nearby courtyard wall, but it also told Lu Qiaoge that it could not communicate with the Naughty Swallow.

In the next moment, the infuriated Cui Min, feeling insulted by the words, grabbed a bamboo pole to tear down the nest. She was acting like a madwoman: "This thing is the culprit! Without it, today wouldn't have happened! Don't go blaming me whenever something goes missing in the future—even if it's found, you'll still claim with your eyes closed that I stole it and put it in there!"

Some bystanders tried to stop her, thinking it was improper. There weren't many swallows nesting in the city to begin with; wasn't it crazy to just tear one down like this?

Old Mrs. Li clutched her chest, claiming she felt unwell from anger.

A few children were jumping around, one of them shouting excitedly, "Auntie, Auntie, can I do it? I want to eat roasted bird eggs!"

Qi Shuang couldn't stop her, nor did she dare to.

If she provoked Cui Min, the woman might turn around and falsely accuse her of stealing and planting the ring in the nest; at that point, no amount of explaining would clear her name.

Old Mrs. Li had a foul mouth, and Cui Min had a terrible temper.

Qi Shuang had no choice but to take a few steps back.

The two swallows in the nest still provided no mental voice, as if their minds had gone blank like humans. They didn't even notice Lu Qiaoge's arrival, huddling in the nest as if stunned, guarding three eggs, unable even to fly away.

Lu Qiaoge had no choice but to push through the crowd and grab Cui Min, who was truly about to strike the nest.

She was strong; the women who had been trying to pull Cui Min away earlier were all tossed aside, but they couldn't break free from Lu Qiaoge.

She held Cui Min's arm and said with a bright smile, "Sister Cui, you're right. The swallow is indeed the culprit. I support you on that point."

First, she offered affirmation rather than persuasion, and combined with Lu Qiaoge's good looks and clear, pleasant voice, Cui Min's anger subsided slightly.

Lu Qiaoge took the opportunity to take the bamboo pole and handed it to the approaching Qi Shuang.

Lu Qiaoge then said, "Sister Qi, let's move the nest."

Qi Shuang froze for a moment and asked, "Where do you plan to move it?"

At that moment, the two swallows in the nest finally regained their senses. Seeing Lu Qiaoge, they looked as if they had seen a savior.

【Waaaah, save us!】

【We'll move, we'll move immediately!】

【Waaaah, can we go to your house?】

Lu Qiaoge could hear the swallows' weeping in their voices.

She comforted them in her mind: "It's okay, I'll take you away right now."

Lu Qiaoge said softly to Cui Min, "Sister Cui, I'll move the nest in a moment. Please don't be angry anymore."