Chapter 327 Where is everyone?!

After saying that, realizing his tone had been a bit too harsh, he clenched his fist, coughed lightly, and added, "Tell Aunt Li and Old Man Su that my mother has realized her mistake, but she's too embarrassed to come herself, so she asked me to bring Erniu to apologize to Aunt Li..."

"Wow."

The child in his arms was startled awake by his increased volume. Arno frowned, glanced at him, and said, "He's really gone. If you don't believe me, come in and see for yourselves. Sister Erniu, I have no reason to lie to you."

She held the child and gently coaxed him, then stepped aside.

Fang Erniu stood still; she believed Arno's words, and Arno had no reason to lie to her.

Seeing that she didn't understand, Brother Fang called out "Er Niu" and pushed her. Fang Er Niu didn't react in time and stumbled and fell in.

Arno exclaimed, "Sister Erniu!"

Fang Erniu steadied herself and waved her hand, saying she was fine.

"Erniu, are you alright? I'm sorry, it's my fault. I was a little hasty and lost my temper..." Brother Fang apologized immediately.

Fang Erniu glanced at him and shook her head. "Big brother, I'll go in and take a look."

Brother Fang responded with a sigh.

Fang Erniu quickly went inside to check Su Laosan's room, which was indeed empty. There was no one in the kitchen or Li Da Niang's study. She was a little stunned and came out to shake her head at Fang Dage.

"Really not home?" A hint of annoyance flickered in Brother Fang's eyes.

Fang Erniu nodded, "I've checked, she's not home."

"...Do you know where he went?" Brother Fang asked Arno, frowning.

"have no idea."

Arno shook his head and said, "...She looks quite unhappy, listless, like she's lost all her energy. Second Sister, didn't your aunt and Third Brother go to your house to talk about marriage? Why is your mother suddenly unwilling for you to marry Third Brother?"

Fang Erniu's eyes reddened, and she sniffed, "My mom..."

"Erniu, we don't have time for this sentimental stuff."

Brother Fang interrupted her and asked, "Do you know which villages Su Laosan usually visits?"

Fang Erniu nodded.

He said, "I know, but there are too many villages. It would be dark by the time we searched dozens of villages. Why don't we wait here for him to come back?"

Wait for him to come back?

The vote is tomorrow morning. If the eldest son's family uses underhanded tactics to get more votes than their own, they could take the results to court and bring him down.

He cannot allow this to happen.

The only one who can break the ice now is Su Laosan. As long as he appears at the voting site early tomorrow morning and finalizes the cooperation, his votes will definitely be more than those of the eldest son!

After all, if rice intercropping is successful, the villagers will have a lot more money, and nobody wants to turn down money!

With political achievements, he could leverage his in-law connections with the Su family to demonstrate his capabilities to his superiors.

"Third Brother said he won't be coming back today. He'll probably stay overnight at a fellow villager's house. Why don't you come back tomorrow?" Arno said, shaking his head.

Brother Fang's eyes turned slightly cold. "Tomorrow? By tomorrow, it'll be too late."

“Let’s go, let’s go to the countryside to find someone.” He lowered his eyes and called to Fang Erniu.

Fang Erniu said "oh" and was dragged out by her older brother Fang.

"Arno, if Su Laosan comes back, have him call my house and say we need to talk to him urgently."

"good."

After watching the two leave, Arno closed the door and went back inside.

Aunt Qiu had put the older child to sleep, then took the younger one from her arms, who had been woken up by Brother Fang, and asked, "Er Niu, is there something you need from Su Laosan?"

Arno shook his head.

She said, "It looked like her eldest brother was looking for her third brother. When he heard that he wasn't there, his face turned green and he looked terrible. His voice was so loud that it woke Lele up."

Aunt Qiu frowned. "Didn't you say what it was about?"

"She didn't say, Grandma, should I call Aunt Li?" Arno asked.

Aunt Qiu glanced at her and said, "No need. They're looking for the third son. Why would they call your aunt?"

Arno smiled and said yes.

Aunt Qiu told her to mix the dough and knead it until it was firm.

"Your sister-in-law wants to eat knife-cut noodles, so we'll have that for dinner."

"……good."

On the other side, Brother Fang was worried about delaying his important business, so he hailed a taxi on the street after leaving the alley and took Fang Erniu straight to the countryside to find someone.

The two first went to Su Laosan's great-uncle's house. The great-uncle was quite happy to see Fang Erniu. "I heard from your aunt that your wedding date has been set. I've prepared several jars of good wine for you. Your great-uncle will cover the cost of the drinks..."

Fang Erniu's eyes reddened, feeling extremely wronged. She opened her mouth to complain to her great-uncle, but was stopped by her older brother.

He exchanged a few pleasantries with a smile, then got straight to the point. His great-uncle frowned, shook his head, and said he hadn't seen her. He told them to look elsewhere and that when he came to their house, he should call Erniu's family.

Brother Fang thanked his great-uncle, then took Fang Erniu into the car and headed to the next village. They visited more than a dozen villages in a row but didn't see anyone.

The rural dirt roads were full of potholes, and the driver complained, "...I can only go to two more villages at most. If you want to go further, you'll have to pay extra. This is too much for my tires. If I can't go any further, I'll turn back. What kind of roads are these?"

Brother Fang agreed haphazardly.

After finally arriving at the next village, the villagers recognized Fang Erniu. Seeing her, they sighed and asked, "Erniu, what happened between you and Su San? You were fine the day before yesterday, how come you broke up so suddenly? Didn't you tell us to wait for your wedding candy just a few days ago?"

"...There's a misunderstanding, Auntie. I've come to explain things to Su Laosan."

Fang Erniu forced a smile and asked her, "Do you know where he went?"

The aunt slapped her thigh.

He said, "You should have come a little earlier. This person has been gone for quite a while. Why don't you go and chase after them?"

Fang Erniu thanked him and was about to get in the car with Brother Fang to go to the next village when the driver quit.

He said, "Either pay more, or you settle the bill with me. I'm taking a shortcut back to the city. Look at all these roads, so winding and full of potholes..."

Brother Fang had no choice but to agree to pay more.

The brother and sister got in the car and chased after him to several more villages. Once, they had just left when they arrived at the next village but found nothing. So they turned back, and the villagers said he had gone to another village. When they arrived at that village, the villagers said they hadn't seen him there.

The three of them spent most of the day chasing after the person until dark, but they still couldn't catch up with them.

The driver looked speechlessly at the exhausted brother and sister and said, "Why don't we stop chasing them? Maybe they've gone back to the city?"

Brother Fang didn't believe in superstitions, so he got out of the car and stopped the villagers to ask them questions.

The villagers were still wary of him, but when they saw Fang Erniu peeking out, they immediately let go of the hoe and greeted her with smiles.

Fang Erniu asked him if Su Laosan had come by, and the villager replied, "Yes, he came by, but he just left. You can guess whether he came close to leaving."

Brother Fang's eyes lit up, and he asked if anyone knew where the other person had gone.

The villager glanced at him and said, "How would I know where she went? People have hands and feet. You're really funny."

Brother Fang, "..."

His forehead veins bulged, and he called out, "Erniu."

Fang Erniu quickly chimed in, smiling as she asked the villager, "Uncle, did he say where he was going when he left?"

"No."

The middle-aged man shook his head. "I don't know if he went back to the city or went to someone's house for a drink. Do you need to see him? Or I can tell you if I run into someone later?"

Fang Erniu had no choice but to turn to look at Brother Fang.