Chapter 45

Han Shengyi doesn't like the taste of tomatoes.

He felt that the sweet and sour taste of tomatoes was very strange. In addition, people nowadays eat tomatoes without peeling the skin, but eat them with the skin and flesh together. The feeling of half of the tomatoes melting in the mouth and the other half sticking to the mouth was very uncomfortable.

However, now, Han Shengyi silently looked at the big bowl of steaming tomato and egg noodles in front of him, and finally raised his chopsticks helplessly.

It was a special dish, a big bowl of noodles with egg and oil floating on top, only eight cents, the same price as plain plain noodles. If he dared to say he didn't want this and replaced it with the plain plain noodles he liked better, Chu Jiujiu would condemn him to death with her eyes.

…

Han Shengyi spent half of the meal eating noodles and the other half peeling tomatoes, peeling Chu Jiujiu's and then his own. Some people praised the delicious tomato and egg noodles, but in fact, they hated tomato skins just like him.

After dinner, the two returned to the village. This time they were lucky as they happened to run into a tractor that was pulling fertilizer to the village. Before the tractor arrived, a group of grandmothers and aunts from Qingzhu Village were waiting at the street corner. One of the aunts recognized Chu Jiujiu, greeted her warmly, and asked her to go back with them.

When Chu Jiujiu came over, they saw Han Shengyi following behind her. The originally lively atmosphere suddenly became cold. Everyone looked at Han Shengyi with curiosity. Only a few people were unwilling to even look at him because of their deep prejudice.

With a slight smile, Han Shengyi greeted them, "Hello."

After a moment of silence, these mothers-in-law and aunts smiled sparsely and nodded to him, "Hello, hello, Jiujiu, what are you doing in town?"

They chatted and waited, and after twenty minutes, the tractor drove over. Some people got on the tractor, and some people moved things. Because it was carrying so many people and goods, the tractor was overwhelmed and it even stalled once on the way. By the time they returned to Qingzhu Village, an hour had passed.

...It would be better to walk back by yourself. Taking the bus will only make things slower.

When autumn comes, it rains and gets colder. You may feel scorching hot in the morning and have to eat a popsicle to survive. But in the afternoon, a strong wind blows and the sky becomes sharply divided. There are dark clouds in the north and clear skies in the south. The line in the middle looks like it was drawn by someone. If you look closely, you will feel like the end of the world is approaching.

Having lived in Qingzhu Village for several months, Chu Jiujiu had never encountered such strong winds. She got off the tractor and hugged the large vegetarian buns she had brought for Chu Shao tightly to her chest. Her hair was blown up into the air, and her clothes were desperately flying in the wind. She was eager to go on a spontaneous trip. Chu Jiujiu was holding the buns while holding down the corners of her clothes to prevent them from flying away. At this moment, fallen leaves blown by the wind slapped her eyelids with a loud bang. She screamed in pain and ran away, unable to bear it any longer.

"Brother Shengyi, run! It's going to rain heavily!"

Han Shengyi: “…”

It seems that his grandfather's condition has really improved. He hasn't had any rheumatism pain in the past few days, and he thought today was a sunny day.

The wind was blowing hard here, and high fog had risen from the mountain over there. The whole mountain was covered by thick fog the same color as the sky. If an uninformed person passed by, they would probably think that the village was like this, with only water and no mountains.

The storm is coming. Chu Jiujiu is right. This kind of situation is likely to lead to a heavy rainstorm.

Han Shengyi ran with her all the way to the cowshed. Han Shengyi stood at the door of his house and watched Chu Jiujiu run into his yard in panic and quickly. Then he pushed open the door of Han's house and rubbed his arms that were covered with goose bumps from the wind.

On the other side, at the Chu family's house, Chu Shao was sitting in the main room. He kept looking towards the gate. Ever since the strong wind started, his brows had never relaxed. He was thinking that if Chu Jiujiu didn't come back, he would take an umbrella to pick her up. Then, Chu Jiujiu ran in with disheveled hair and a dirty face.

She was really disheveled, with two ginkgo leaves that had not yet turned yellow stuck in her hair, and a lot of dirt was blown onto her face. The first thing Chu Jiujiu did when she entered the house was to spit out the sand that had entered her mouth while running with three "Pooh" sounds. Then, she sat down on the bench with a thud like a dead dog, and after panting for a long time, she took out the big vegetarian bun from her arms.

"Here, I exchanged my life for it."

Chu Shao: “…”

Sometimes you really exaggerate, you know?

After a moment of silence, Chu Shao took the buns and finally said nothing humanely. He put the buns under the vegetable cover and sat down opposite her. "Next time, if you see it's about to rain, don't linger outside."

Chu Jiujiu: "It has nothing to do with me. I didn't dawdle. When we came back, we took the village tractor that was transporting fertilizer. The tractor broke down and the driver took a long time to fix it. If we had walked back, I would have been home ten minutes ago."

Ten minutes ago, when a strong wind suddenly appeared, Chu Shao was speechless for a moment, not knowing whether she was unlucky or lucky.

"Forget it, it's good that you're back. I'll get you some water. Go wash your face. It's so dirty, you look like a kitten."

Chu Jiujiu recovered a little and nodded, then suddenly remembered something and quickly shook her head, "No, you can't leave. Tell the truth."

Chu Shao was puzzled: "What do you want to tell me?"

Chu Jiujiu: "Tell me about the cotton! I asked Brother Shengyi today. Our family needs a total of 22 kilograms of cotton, and you've only saved 6 taels. You can't even make a pair of ear hats. You're kidding me!"

Chu Shao refuted her: "Who said that? Six ounces of cotton can make two pairs of ear hats."

Chu Jiujiu: "...Is this the point?"

Chu Shao was silent for a moment, cursing Han Shengyi in his heart. Then, he sat down again and said, "Han Shengyi didn't tell you the truth. Our family doesn't need so much cotton. Fifteen kilograms is enough."

Chu Jiujiu: "What's the difference between 15 kilograms and 22 kilograms? Aren't we both unaffordable? Tell me the truth, where are you going to get all that cotton?"

Chu Shao took a look at her expression, and then he understood: "Han Shengyi has already told you, otherwise how would you know that I could buy cotton somewhere else."

Chu Jiujiu: “…”

Is her expression so obvious?

Since Chu Jiujiu already knew, Chu Shao didn't need to try so hard to hide it from her. He switched his expression to one of as if it was natural in a second, and then put on the look of an adult doing the work and a child not asking questions.

"My family only gives me two taels of cotton coupons every month. If I rely on saving them, it would take me years to save them up and exchange them with others. Not to mention that most people don't have that many cotton coupons. Even if they do, they save them for their children's weddings and there's no way they'll exchange them with us. So I'm going to buy them on the black market. This is my last resort. Don't ask too many questions and don't worry too much. Many people go to the black market to buy things when they don't have coupons. As long as you're careful, you won't get caught. Besides, things are not as strict as they used to be."

Chu Jiujiu looked at him suspiciously. She still doubted the truthfulness of his words. But after thinking about it, she felt that what Chu Shao said made sense. The legitimate path had been blocked, so they had to use their brains to come up with some unleash some unleash ways.

After thinking for a moment, Chu Jiujiu asked, "How much is cotton on the black market?"

Chu Shao had never been to the black market, he had only heard about it from others. "Low-grade cotton costs between one and two yuan, and I'm not sure about high-grade cotton. The price on the black market fluctuates greatly and changes every day. But if you can bargain, it's probably not much more expensive than the supply and marketing cooperative."

Chu Jiujiu looked so naive. "Even someone like me who has never been to the black market knows this is impossible! They take risks to trade, so they will definitely make as much money as they can. Grandpa, you can't do it, so take me with you and let me bargain."

Chu Shao didn't even think about it and flatly rejected her: "What nonsense, why are you going to the black market? What if we catch you?"

Chu Jiujiu: "You just said that if you were careful you wouldn't get caught. Well, you lied to me again!"

Chu Shao: “…”

As they were talking, raindrops as big as beans began to fall outside, hitting the ground with a crackling sound, as loud as beads breaking off a string. The tiles were the first to be hit by the rain, and soon, the noisy sound of rain was heard in the ears of both of them.

The house gradually darkened. Chu Shao walked over and opened the front door. Dark clouds moved over their heads, and the sky became as dark as if it were eight o'clock in the evening. The new vegetable seedlings in the yard were beaten to the ground by the rain, and their delicate leaves trembled miserably. Two little yellow chickens, who had foreseen the coming of the rain, were now shivering in the same chicken coop. They were still young, foraging together during the day and sleeping together at night. Although the chicken coop was a little crowded, it was warm this way.

Chu Jiujiu and Chu Shao stood together at the door. Chu Shao looked at the little yellow chickens huddled together for warmth for a while, then turned his head and said without letting anyone else interfere, "I'll take care of buying the cotton. Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and the weather is getting colder. If we don't buy the cotton, how will we survive the winter? Will we rely on your integrity?"

Chu Jiujiu: “…”

Chu Shao: "I'm going to buy it, and you're not allowed to follow me. It's settled."

After saying that, he turned and left. Chu Jiujiu was angry but dared not say anything. She could only make a slight expression to him from behind.

…

Heavy rain and thunderstorms—this time the rain was truly terrifying. Chu Jiujiu wasn't usually afraid of thunder, but as she sat at the door, watching terrifying flashes of lightning split the sky apart, followed by the explosive roar of thunder, even though she had mentally prepared herself for the lightning, she couldn't help but shudder. Clearly frightened to death by the thunder, Chu Jiujiu still tilted her head back to gaze at the sky, as if addicted.

Chu Shao sat next to her to encourage her. After an unknown amount of time, a huge lightning flashed across the sky. Chu Jiujiu immediately stood up excitedly. She opened her mouth and wanted to ask Chu Shao to watch with her. Turning her head, she found that there was an open notebook on Chu Shao's knees. The notebook was filled with formulas, and Chu Shao was concentrating on doing the physics problems that Deng Guoyuan had given him.

Chu Jiujiu: “…”

Chu Shao's excessive diligence made Chu Jiujiu look like a lazy child. She obviously studied hard, too. In school, she was always top of the class, a master of getting 100s in both exams. But now, everyone around her was more talented than the last. It felt like even if she possessed a rare gift of photographic memory, she would slowly fall behind.

Oh my god.

Isn’t this the story of “The Injury of Zhongyong” that Professor Fang Weiping told?!

She doesn't want to become Chu Zhongyong, no!

…

She was a world away from Zhongyong. Even if she stopped studying, her exceptional memory wouldn't fade. However, the superiority of her peers caused Chu Jiujiu anxiety. After a moment of agitation, Chu Jiujiu simply gave up watching the lightning and ran into the house to get today's newspaper. She followed Chu Shao's example, sitting by the doorway, using the little light from outside to read the print.

Chu Jiujiu kept saying she wouldn't study day and night like Chu Shao, and that she wanted to be her own person, but she was still influenced by Chu Shao. She didn't realize that this era was subtly influencing her. Compared to a few months ago, she was becoming more and more like a girl of this era. She was subtly changing this era, and this era was also quietly changing her.

A heavy rainstorm caused the river level, which was originally within a safe range, to rise a lot in an instant. In addition, the thunder was so loud yesterday that the whole town was affected. The city had a power outage for more than 24 hours and a water outage for eight hours. In the countryside, every village was struck by lightning. Some struck on the mountain, knocking down a big tree, and some struck in the village, scorching the windows of a household. There was only one casualty, which was downstream. The person left in a hurry. After the rain got heavy, he hid under a tree to avoid the rain. As a result, he was struck by lightning and died on the spot.

Everyone was still frightened, because although there had been scientific popularizations long ago that prohibited standing under a tree during thunder, many people still had a lucky mentality. After Chu Shao heard about it, he added another prohibition for Chu Jiujiu: no one was allowed to go out during thunder. If you were outside and it was thundering, you had to throw away your umbrella and run home in the rain.

Chu Jiujiu: ...too brutal.

Chu Shao was unmoved. Catching a cold was better than being struck by lightning.

——

In the morning, after Chu Shao finished his breakfast, he went out to plant peanuts. Chu Jiujiu sat in the yard, fed the chickens first, and then took out yesterday's newspaper. While reading it, she was still waiting for today's newspaper.

The newspaper delivery man and the postman are the same person. If he is delivering newspapers, he will come in the morning. Since Chu Jiujiu found out the time he comes, she has been sitting at the outdoor table next to the windlass every day waiting for him. When she is halfway through, the familiar bicycle bell rang. Chu Jiujiu immediately threw down the newspaper and ran out of the yard.

The postman doesn't call her by her name anymore, since they know each other anyway.

Slowing down, the postman slammed on the brakes, continuing to sit on his bicycle. He turned around and took out two newspapers from his bundle, then pulled out a letter from the deepest part of the bundle. "People's Daily, Reference News, and a letter from Chu Jiujiu. Your family receives letters quite frequently. I remember I just sent you the last one not long ago, and this one arrived right after."

Chu Jiujiu: "Uncle, you remembered it wrongly. The last letter was from many days ago. It's been half a month!"

Postman: “…”

Is half a month considered a long time? Others only write once a month, while others don't keep in touch often, only writing a greeting every few months. Shaking his head, the postman rode away on his bike. Chu Jiujiu tucked the newspaper under her arm and walked back to the yard while reading the envelope.

It’s so thick, twice as thick as last time. Chu Jiujiu touched the envelope and felt that the things inside didn’t look like letter paper. Could it be money? Did great-grandfather put the money in the envelope and send it together?

Chu Jiujiu was a little curious. She stretched her neck to look outside. Chu Shao had just left for half an hour, and it would take several hours for him to come back. Chu Jiujiu felt that she could not wait any longer, and Chu Shao would not mind her reading the letter first.

After successfully persuading herself, Chu Jiujiu happily ran into the house, found a pair of scissors, and carefully cut open the envelope.

She stood up the envelope and dumped it onto the table. In addition to a stack of folded letter paper, dozens of colorful papers fell down together, like flowers scattered by a fairy, falling on the Eight Immortals Table.

ticket!

So many tickets!

Chu Jiujiu opened her mouth in surprise. She quickly picked up all the tickets and counted them carefully one by one. There were 50 kilograms of national grain tickets, 14 feet of national cloth tickets, and 23 kilograms and 4 ounces of national cotton tickets!

Chu Jiujiu: “…”

Oh my goodness.

That wasn't all. There were seven more coupons for daily industrial goods. Chu Jiujiu had seen these before; Chu Shao had used them to buy soap. Then there were the 1.2-pound meat coupon, the 8-pound oil coupon, and the special meat coupon, but no one knew what they were used for. There were also coupons for snacks, vests, menstrual belts, military soap, eggs, cotton shoes, travel supplies, and, most importantly, the 500-pound general-purpose coal coupon!

The hand holding the ticket was shaking slightly.

Chu Jiujiu was stunned.

Is this the legendary feeling of becoming rich overnight?

This, this feeling...

It’s so cool!!!

Chu Jiujiu put away all the bills. Like Chu Shao, she stuffed them into the big closet in her bedroom. Then, she ran out and ran all the way to the fields.

Chu Jiujiu found Chu Shao with her sharp eyes. She jumped in front of him like a rabbit, and was so excited that she couldn't say anything more: "Chu Shao! There's a letter! There's a letter! In the letter... Come back with me and read it!"

Chu Shao was frightened by her appearance and did not ask for leave. He hurriedly followed Chu Jiujiu away, leaving a group of villagers watching them running away in confusion.

A letter? What kind of letter is this? I'm so excited.

Chu Jiujiu pulled Chu Shao and they ran to the door of their house, already out of breath. Chu Jiujiu took out the tickets, and as expected, Chu Shao's expression gradually changed.

How many tickets are these...

When his father was the political commissar, his family had so much money in bills, but now his father is no longer the political commissar, so how come he still has so many bills? Where did they come from?

Chu Shao was not as excited as Chu Jiujiu. Holding the pile of tickets, Chu Shao suddenly remembered and asked her, "Where's the letter?"

Chu Jiujiu was stunned for a moment and pointed at the table. "I saw so many tickets, so I went straight to you. I haven't even read what's written on them yet."

Chu Shao returned the ticket to Chu Jiujiu and unfolded the letter. Chu Shao found that the beginning of Chu Liqiang's address had changed. It used to be Chu Shao, but now it is Chu Shao, Jiujiu, and Zhan Xinjia.

Chu Liqiang wrote this reply after receiving their letter. He began by saying how pleased he was that the two of them were living together. He also gave the two children some advice on the difficulties they were facing in the village, urging them to be cautious and to call him first if they ran into any unsolvable problems. He also sent them two travel vouchers, enough for them to go anywhere. This was his life-saving gift to the two children, and he urged them to keep them safe and not use them unless absolutely necessary.

Later, he talked about the source of these tickets. Half of them were his own. Since he came to this unit, Nie Bai had given him a lot of monthly allowances and supplies, but he had hardly used them before. He remembered that the last time he called, Chu Jiujiu said that they had no cotton tickets or cloth tickets, and there seemed to be many inconveniences in life. So, he borrowed some tickets from Nie Bai and other comrades, mainly for things that could keep them going through the winter.

At the end of the letter, Chu Liqiang asked Chu Shao to stop reporting good news and not bad news. If he needed anything, he should just tell him directly. He was his only son and the last family member he had. If he was not doing well, Chu Liqiang would not be at ease even though he was so far away.

After Chu Jiujiu and Chu Shao finished watching it, they were filled with joy and envy.

"Grandpa is so good to you~"

Hearing the envy in Chu Jiujiu's voice, Chu Shao tilted his head to look at her, "He treats me well, and I treat you well, which is equivalent to him treating you well."

Chu Jiujiu: “…”

That's not how it's calculated.

Taking the letter, Chu Jiujiu sighed and said, "Grandpa probably hasn't received the things I sent him yet. He didn't even mention it in the letter."

Chu Shao: "It's only been a short while. Packages travel slower than letters. Wait until the next letter arrives and then take a look."

Okay, Chu Jiujiu accepted this and put the letter back into the envelope.

Chu Shao flipped through the bills. He was the kind of person who only realized things after they hadn't. He hadn't been excited just now, but now, looking at the five coal bills with the words "100 catties" printed on them, he couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion. Cities rely on burning coal for heating. In winter, honeycomb coal stoves are everywhere. Rural areas rely on burning wood to heat their kangs. However, the house Chu Shao and his family lived in didn't have a kang.

Chu Shao had been worried about this problem, but at the time, he was even more worried about him and Chu Jiujiu not being able to buy quilts. Now, they could burn coal, and Chu Liqiang had sent them industrial product coupons, which he could use to buy an iron stove. He would put it in the bedroom and keep it hot day and night.

As he was flipping through the pages, Chu Shao suddenly frowned. "Menstrual period ticket, what is this?"

Chu Shao had never seen one before. His mother always avoided him when she used it. Chu Jiujiu heard it and looked up. "I don't know either. I wanted to ask you before, what is a menstrual belt?"

Chu Shao: "Is it a belt?"

Chu Jiujiu came over and guessed, "It could also be a tie."

…

Chu Liqiang heard Chu Jiujiu's voice and recognized her as a little girl, but he didn't know how old she was. Because Chu Shao had reminded him, Chu Jiujiu didn't include any specific information about herself in the letter. Chu Liqiang thought, since he had no use for these tickets, he might as well send them to Chu Jiujiu first, regardless of whether she could use them or not. What if she did?

Unable to guess what it was, Chu Shao decided to ask the salesperson next time he went to town. Unaware that he was already very close to his first social death, he put the letter and ticket away and returned to the fields. Chu Jiujiu, on the other hand, read the newspaper for a while before happily going out to look for Han Shengyi.

Han Shengyi finished all the work in the vegetable garden. Chu Jiujiu came over with her lunch and the dry food that Grandma Han had just prepared. They ate and chatted at the same time.

Chu Jiujiu focused on describing how she felt after becoming rich overnight, feeling as light as if she was about to fly.

"I've never seen so many tickets in my life! It's so strange. When I hold the money, I don't feel like, wow, that's a lot of money. But once I got the tickets, I tell you, it felt like I owned the world!"

Han Shengyi: “…”

Chu Jiujiu has been speaking in an exaggerated manner for a long time, but until today, he still hasn't been able to get used to it.

Han Shengyi reminded her, "The national general ticket has a longer validity period. You can use up all the tickets issued here first, and then use the general ticket."

Chu Jiujiu nodded repeatedly, "Chu Shao said the same thing. By the way, Brother Shengyi, haven't you finished your work here? Let's go up the mountain to pick mushrooms."

It had just rained, and the mushrooms must have popped up again. Chu Jiujiu really wanted to pick up another big Ganoderma lucidum. She had sent that Ganoderma lucidum to Chu Liqiang, and she had never tasted it herself.

Han Shengyi glanced at the still foggy mountain and said, "I want to go in the evening. There's a kind of fruit growing on the mountain these days. They're called Mid-Autumn Fruit here. It only grows around the Mid-Autumn Festival and can only be picked at night. If you pick it during the day, you have to eat it right away. Otherwise, you won't be able to get down the mountain and it'll go bad."

Chu Jiujiu was surprised to hear this. "So fast, this fruit must have a strong oxidizing ability."

Learn and apply immediately. Although Chu Jiujiu has not started to formally study chemistry, she was listening when Deng Guoyuan taught Chu Shao and Han Shengyi. No matter whether she understood or not, she remembered it anyway.

…

Chu Jiujiu also looked up the mountain. After hesitating for a moment, her mind gradually became active. She stood up and pulled Han Shengyi's arm: "Let's go now. Pick mushrooms first, and then look for Mid-Autumn fruits. If we find some first, we can wait aside and pick them in the evening."

Han Shengyi couldn't persuade her, so he had to stand up with her.

Because they forgot to bring the basket when they came, they went back home. At noon, Chu Shao had already returned. Chu Jiujiu asked him if he wanted to go with them. When he heard that they were going up the mountain, Chu Shao frowned and said, "The basket is over there. You go by yourselves. I need to study."

Chu Jiujiu: “…” I knew this would be the answer.

Before leaving, Chu Jiujiu waved to Chu Shao and told him that she would be back late tonight. Chu Shao understood, and then they left.

When walking towards the mountain, Chu Jiujiu met Captain Zhao, who was also riding a bicycle with a flashlight hanging on the handlebars. His big black dog was running beside the bicycle. When he saw Chu Jiujiu and Han Shengyi from a distance, he nodded to them and then rode away.

That big black dog is like the military dog of their Qingzhu Village. All the villagers like it. It is also very smart and protects all the villagers diligently. For example, when Chu Jiujiu encountered the human traffickers, it was thanks to this big black dog that the traffickers were scared away.

But Chu Jiujiu had always had some unspeakable psychological trauma towards it because she had been chased by it before. She didn't dare to move when she saw the big black dog. It was not until Captain Zhao rode away that Chu Jiujiu breathed a sigh of relief.

Han Shengyi: "It's not chasing you anymore, why are you still afraid of it?"

Chu Jiujiu waved her hands in pain, "It caused serious psychological trauma to my young mind, and I will never be able to recover in this lifetime."

Han Shengyi: “…”

It was clearly a very sad sentence, but after hearing it, he was not only indifferent, but also wanted to pretend that he didn't hear it.

Captain Zhao had heavy responsibilities and he often rode his bike around the village. Chu Jiujiu and Han Shengyi didn't pay any attention to him. They continued to move forward, and when they reached the mountain, they began to look for mushrooms as they knew the way.

This time, Chu Shao was not with them, and the morning had passed, so all the good things had been picked. Their harvest was not as much as last time. They didn't even find the Mid-Autumn Fruit that Han Shengyi mentioned.

Han Shengyi's description of the Mid-Autumn Fruit as something mysterious and magical piqued Chu Jiujiu's interest. She was determined to find one today. As they picked mushrooms, they made their way to higher ground. Slowly, Han Shengyi's backpack filled to the brim. They found a rock and sat on it to rest.

The weather today is not hot, the temperature is probably only 27 or 28 degrees, but there is a lot of fog on the mountain. When they first went up the mountain, the fog was very thick and the visibility was very low. The two of them did not dare to go up, for fear of accidentally encountering some ferocious beasts or snakes hanging on the trees. Later, the fog gradually dissipated, and now, the fog is slowly rising again.

This means that the day is about to end and it will be dark soon.

Han Shengyi said, "Let's go down the mountain. If we can't find it, forget it. It will get dark soon and we won't be able to go down."

Chu Jiujiu couldn't help but complain: "Why is the fog so thick today?"

Han Shengyi: "Today is the White Dew Festival. Every year on this day, the temperature drops. When the temperature drops, we have more foggy days here."

Chu Jiujiu walked downstairs, holding Han Shengyi's hand. After walking for an unknown amount of time, Han Shengyi suddenly stopped and said, "Wait, there seems to be someone here."

Chu Jiujiu was concentrating on going down the mountain. When she heard this, she quickly raised her head and asked, "Who is it? Are you going down the mountain too?"

Han Shengyi didn't answer her. In the quiet air, the sounds of footsteps and whistles came from afar. Chu Jiujiu and Han Shengyi frowned at the same time. They both felt that the sound was a little familiar.

After taking two steps in the direction of the whistle, Chu Jiujiu saw the other person's face first, then she grabbed Han Shengyi and took him to hide behind a tree.

She widened her eyes and mouthed to Han Shengyi: "Chen Sanzhu!"

Almost at the same time, they both remembered Captain Zhao whom they saw in the afternoon. At that time, they didn't realize why he rode away on his bike. Now it seems that he must have gone out for something, or went on patrol.

Mallard

Chu Jiujiu's heart was pounding. What was going on with this feeling of fear and eagerness? Was this the charm of catching an adulterer?

…

Before they met, Chu Jiujiu was willing to listen to Chu Shao, pay attention to her own safety first, and then wait for an opportunity to look for evidence. But now that the evidence is right in front of her, Chu Jiujiu doesn't want to let it go.

It was late at night and it was getting dark soon. If Zhou Xiaohe said that Chen Sanzhu went up the mountain to see the moonlight or hunt owls, she would never believe it!

Han Shengyi watched Chen Sanzhu's footsteps. To be honest, he didn't quite understand why Chu Jiujiu instinctively pulled him away and hid when she saw him. It was obvious that Chen Sanzhu was the one having an affair, and they didn't do anything.

But after turning his head back, Han Shengyi understood when he saw Chu Jiujiu's eyes shining brightly in the dim environment.

“…”

“…”

"I'll follow him, and you follow me. Don't make any noise."

Chu Jiujiu nodded immediately.

They always thought that Chen Sanzhu and Zhou Xiaohe would meet at Zhou Xiaohe's house, but they didn't know that they were so cautious and would rather risk being eaten by wolves to meet in the middle of the night. Fortunately, Chen Sanzhu's destination was not that far away, otherwise, with the two children, they would never know when they would be discovered.

The direction Chen Sanzhu was heading was unfamiliar, at least Chu Jiujiu had never been there, and she didn't know how long she had been walking. Finally, through the fog, Chu Jiujiu vaguely saw a dilapidated thatched house opposite. It was built by hunters who went up the mountain to hunt in the past. Sometimes they needed to spend the night in the mountains, so they collectively built a simple house with beds and pots. However, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, people's lives improved, and the hunters in the mountains all went down to work as butchers. Few people continued to engage in such a hard job.

It was unknown how long this thatched house had been abandoned, and ivy was growing outside the door. Seeing this kind of house at this time and in this environment, Chu Jiujiu shuddered reflexively.

Thick fog, dilapidated house, deep mountains, my goodness, can Chen Sanzhu come out after going in?

Chen Sanzhu had never seen those brainwashing horror movies, so he walked in without any pressure. After entering, he closed the door again. Chu Jiujiu and Han Shengyi looked at each other outside, then walked into the house silently.

A dilapidated house has its advantages. It is a great place for people who violate ethical standards to have a secret meeting, and it is also a great place for people who want to catch an adulterer to eavesdrop.

After all, these walls are all broken, none of them is intact.

…

Han Shengyi tiptoed to a wall, then pointed next to him. Chu Jiujiu came over, squatted beside him, pricked up her ears, and listened carefully to what the people inside were saying.

Zhou Xiaohe: "Didn't I tell you? Don't come looking for me recently. Chen Erzhu is still incarcerated, and I have to avoid suspicion with you!"

Chen Sanzhu: "Oh my, I've seen all kinds of you. It's too late to avoid suspicion now, isn't it?"

Zhou Xiaohe: "I don't want to waste time talking to you. What's the matter?"

Chen Sanzhu: "Tsk, can't you be gentle for once? Zhao Qianjin won't touch you, but I am your last refuge. If you continue to be so mean to me, be careful or I will tell Zhao Qianjin about you."

Zhou Xiaohe: "You dare!"

Chen Sanzhu: "Hahaha, just kidding, how dare I mess with you? No one who messes with you will have a good ending. Tsk tsk, look at Chen Dahong, look at Zhang Fengjuan, and then look at Zhao Qianjin. Honey, you are so cruel."