The Chen family members were all smiling when they received the gifts brought back by Xu Miaomiao, except for the second wife who was gritting her teeth in hatred, but unfortunately there was nothing they could do about her.

Now that the work in the fields is done, it is the slack season, but we cannot really relax.

In the northeast, the winter is bitterly cold and the mountains are covered with snow, so you must prepare enough food and firewood before the cold winter.

Now that this year's food rations have just been distributed, there is plenty of food, so every household has gone up the mountain to collect firewood recently.

Chen Chen originally didn't want to take her with him, but she was bored staying at home and was throwing a tantrum, so he had no choice but to take her along.

Their family combination is the strangest. Not only did they bring Xu Miaomiao, but they also brought Xiao Mu.

I don’t know if Uncle Wang trained it when he went to deliver something, but now Little Mu can hunt.

At the end of the day, it could bring back a pheasant, rabbit or something like that. Xu Miaomiao didn't embezzle its food. She went home to process it and it ended up in her stomach. So she became more enthusiastic about catching fish.

When Xu Miaomiao first followed into the mountains, she was still dreaming, wondering if she would find some ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum or the like.

Facts have proved that I was really dreaming. I don’t know how many times people have walked around the periphery of this mountain. Not to mention ginseng, there are not even a few wood ears.

Chen Chen was quick and strong. The firewood he collected in a day was enough for his family to burn for a week. Every time he went down the mountain, he carried a large bundle of firewood.

In just a few days, the wood in their firewood room was piled up almost to the roof, and he also dragged back several large trees from the mountains.

After cleaning it up and drying it for a few days, even if they don't stop burning firewood this winter, there will be enough firewood.

After their family had enough food, Chen Chen went up the mountain with Chen Jianghe, hoping to help his father collect more firewood. After all, he was old and didn't want him to freeze to death.

At this time, Xu Miaomiao no longer followed him up the mountain. She started thinking about other things at home.

She had bought a lot of wool on the black market and had been thinking about knitting something these days.

She also thought that it was too cold in winter and everyone would be too lazy to move, so now she could prepare some food.

Today, the rapeseed that she had planted in her space two days ago has grown out. It is at its tenderest stage, and she thought it would be perfect for making wontons.

She started wrapping it up when she thought Chen Chen and the others would be back soon, so that she could put it in the pot when he came back.

After running in the mountains for a whole day, it is so relaxing to have a bowl of hot wontons.

She hadn't finished preparing the wonton filling when someone came and banged on the door. She was so scared that she shook out all the salt in her hand.

After Xu Miaomiao came back to his senses, he angrily picked up a rolling pin and was about to settle the score with someone. He better have something urgent to do!

She opened the door with an angry look on her face, but before she could curse, the person outside grabbed her.

He asked anxiously, "Miaomiao, have you seen Zhao Sumei these two days?"

"Lin Fang? What's wrong with you being so anxious?" Xu Miaomiao thought for a moment and replied, "I haven't even left the house these past two days. I haven't seen her."

Lin Fang must have been running for a long time and was out of breath. Xu Miaomiao took her into the house and poured her a bowl of water.

"Drink some water first and speak slowly. Don't be in a hurry."

Lin Fang picked up the bowl and drank it in one gulp before answering the question.

"We just came back from the mountains carrying firewood today, and Aunt Zhou came to our place to make a fuss."

"They told us to hand over Zhao Sumei, but Zhao Sumei is not at the educated youth site."

"The old lady didn't believe it, so she came in and searched everywhere but couldn't find anyone. That's when she said Zhao Sumei was missing."

Xu Miaomiao was a little confused, "Gone?"

Lin Fang nodded. "Yes, Aunt Zhou said so. She said she was going to the educated youth camp to pick up something she had left behind this morning, but she didn't return until the afternoon."

The village was in an uproar tonight because they searched every corner of the village but couldn't find Zhao Sumei.

They even sent people to look in the river, but found nothing.

Chen Jianghe's frown was so tight that it could have pinched a mosquito to death. This Zhao Zhiqing was really...

At this time, everyone in the village gathered together, hoping that anyone who had seen her could provide clues.

In the end, there were no useful clues, but a bunch of random guesses.

"Did she feel that life in the countryside was hard, so she ran away?"

This guess is unlikely. She doesn't have a letter of introduction and can't even buy a train ticket. Where can she go?

"Could it be that a wild animal took it away when it went into the mountains?"

Well, it's possible but the probability is not high. To be able to carry a person away, it must be a large wild beast. No one saw footprints or anything, and no one even heard any sound.

"Could he have been abducted by some kidnapper?"

Kidnappers are human traffickers. When Xu Miaomiao heard this guess, a flash of inspiration suddenly came to his mind, but it was too fast for him to catch it.

Chen Jianghe looked at the noisy people in the room and slammed the table impatiently.

"Okay, let's all go. I'll go to the county police station tomorrow."

It is a big deal if a living person disappears in the village, especially since he is an educated youth from the city.

If the person really cannot be found in the end, he, as the team leader, will also be held responsible.

Chen Chen looked at his wife, who had been distracted since the meeting, and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Xu Miaomiao scratched her head worriedly, "I feel like there's a clue right next to my lips, but I just can't grasp it."

Chen Chen looked at her with amusement at how she had messed up her hair, and comforted her softly while smoothing her hair.

"It's okay, don't worry. The more anxious you are, the harder it is to remember."

There was no wonton to eat tonight, so after Xu Miaomiao got home, she quickly cooked a pot of dumpling soup.

Although simple, it is well-made with diced lean meat, small green vegetables, and a plate of pickled mustard greens mixed with sesame oil.

Chen Chen drank the hot soup and talked to her, "In two days, I have to go to the black market with Uncle Wang."

"We need to sell all the prey he's caught recently and buy some other stuff."

"This way he won't have to go through all that trouble before the New Year."

After hearing this, Xu Miaomiao slammed the bowl on the table and exclaimed, "Black market!"

Chen Chen thought that she had never been to the black market before, and she had heard people say how terrible the black market was, so when she heard that he was going there, she was a little worried.

I quickly spoke to comfort him, "We're just going to sell some things and will be out soon. It's okay, don't worry."

Little did he know that his young wife was very familiar with the black market.

Xu Miaomiao looked at him and said in surprise, "I remembered what the clue was!"

Chen Chen was confused by her sudden change of expression and asked, "What clue?"

Xu Miaomiao was a little anxious, "This is the clue that Zhao Sumei is missing!"