She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 282 - 281: Robbed

Chapter 282: Chapter 281: Robbed

With Ye Xinyan’s modern experience as a foundation, products like cheese and other dairy delights had been doing well. Xie Chun managed personnel, and Zhang Baokui supervised the processes. For nearly half a year, there had been no significant incidents; at most, a block of fermenting cheese might spoil, but even that was rare.

Xie Chun paced back and forth outside the gate of the dairy farm, frequently glancing in her direction. When he saw her come out, he quickly stepped forward to greet her and, after a customary bow, glanced at Bi Ning.

Bi Ning looked at Ye Xinyan, who turned to Xie Chun and said, "What’s the matter? Speak."

Xie Chun spoke in a low voice, "This morning, when Zhang Baokui checked the fermentation workshop, he discovered a piece of cheese was missing."

Ye Xinyan’s eyes flickered as she asked, "Only one piece? Big or small?"

Bowing slightly, Xie Chun replied, "Just a small piece of experimental cheese."

Ye Xinyan looked at Xie Chun with a puzzled expression. What kind of thief was so content and Buddha-like, going to the trouble of entering the workshop, only to steal a small piece of cheese?

"Let’s go and have a look," Ye Xinyan said, heading towards the Dairy Products Store.

Xie Chun followed closely and continued, "Both Zhang Baokui and I are perplexed about why the thief only took a small piece, and it was the one that had fermented the longest, obviously singled out."

Ye Xinyan frowned. The Dairy Products Store was in the business of food, and she had plans to promote cheese as a premium ingredient, which would undoubtedly attract various kinds of attention. If this place could easily be breached, then the business would be at risk.

"How did they get in? Do you know?" asked Ye Xinyan.

Shaking his head, Xie Chun said, "We’ve checked; the two locks on the door are intact, and there’s no trace inside the workshop. The only possibility is the ventilation window up high, which was ajar and might have been used."

"And the keys? Are they always in your possession, or have they left your side?"

Xie Chun gave a wry smile, "The only time they were off me was when I took off my jacket to rest at night."

Ye Xinyan gave a smile and said, "I’m just asking to see if there’s anything we’ve overlooked. Steward Xie, don’t overthink it."

Upon reaching the cheese fermentation workshop, the workers had been sent away, leaving only an anxious Zhang Baokui waiting inside.

Ye Xinyan waved her hand, "No need for formalities; tell me, has there been anything unusual with the cheeses here?"

Zhang Baokui spoke in distress, "The thief took one piece and then moved the others around, probably trying to disguise the gap left by the missing cheese. Other than that, nothing else was touched." He walked forward and pointed at the racks that, at first glance, seemed unremarkable.

Zhang Baokui took Ye Xinyan on a full tour, but they spotted nothing suspicious. Ye Xinyan looked up at the ventilated windows high above; they were indeed ajar, but far too high to be easily reached.

"Who else knows about this?" Ye Xinyan inquired.

Xie Chun spoke up from beside her, "When Zhang Baokui found the missing cheese this morning, he didn’t spread the word; he came straight to me, and I immediately informed the Chief Steward. No one else is aware of the situation. Perhaps we shouldn’t alarm anyone and instead discreetly place more people to keep watch, to see if the thief returns."

Shaking her head, Ye Xinyan said, "How many days can you stay in ambush? And if he goes to another workshop, how many can you secure?"

Indeed, securing all the workshops would require a massive amount of manpower. Feeling somewhat deflated, Xie Chun said, "I’m puzzled too, we’ve only been tasting cheese for a few days. On the first day, we didn’t even like it that much, and it was only during yesterday’s dinner that we started to appreciate the flavor—and that very night, the cheese was stolen. Looking at it this way, it must be someone who knows the ins and outs."

Zhang Baokui interjected, "But yesterday evening when we tasted the cheese noodles, we were too busy savoring the flavor to chat. The other workers and craftsmen only tried it once on the first day; aside from those who threw it away, there were those who just didn’t like the taste of cheese. So who could’ve done the theft last night? Could it really be one of us?"

Ye Xinyan took another look around the workshop, still without a clue.

Truth be told, in this world, the only people who had tasted fermented cheese were a few among them, some house servants from Prince Yu’s Mansion and Duke An’s Mansion, and Fan Zhengyuan and Cui Chengxi from the dairy farm—all trustworthy individuals. And besides, none of them had reason to take such a risk of getting caught and fired, just for a small piece of cheese.

And the thief indeed had an interesting approach, making the effort to come in, yet only taking such a small portion. Even if the larger pieces were harder to carry, taking a few more small ones would’ve reaped a greater reward.

"Since there are no clues, let’s focus on prevention. Steward Xie, bring in a few craftsmen from the Construction Industry to fortify all the workshop windows of the Dairy Products Store with sturdy iron bolts from the inside. Try to lock up the ventilation windows as well, or at least fit them with iron guards," Ye Xinyan instructed.

Xie Chun agreed to each task, saying, "I’ll arrange for more night patrols. In the next few days, Wang Shengxin, Zhang Baokui, and I will take turns leading the patrols, staying on guard to see how things develop."