Xu Fanyuan looked at the crowd of onlookers in the courtyard, cleared his throat and said, "On the day Ge Erping got married, did anyone notice anything unusual?"

Among the onlookers, Hu San raised his hand and shouted, "Does the fact that the big man on the cart threw gold bricks at Ge Erlin count?"

The man next to Hu San asked, "Does it count if the groom didn't dismount?"

Another person said, "If you want to see the betrothal gifts, does it count as not being allowed to?"

Another person said, "If I want to help carry the box, does it count if I'm not allowed to?"

Xu Fanyuan's head was starting to ache from all the shouting.

Amidst the shouts, the constable surnamed Yu clearly asked, "Gold bricks?"

The constable surnamed Yu, now suspicious, looked at Hu San, who had shouted out the gold brick, and asked, "Who is Ge Erlin? Where is he? Where is he?"

No one made a sound that afternoon, and the villagers hadn't seen Ge Erlin and Ge Sanlin appear in public in the past two days.

In the western corner, Hu Zhushi pushed through the crowd and walked into the courtyard, saying, "That night, I saw the two brothers driving an oxcart, seemingly heading towards the town."

"Hasn't he come back yet?" Xu Fanyuan asked the onlookers, his doubts resurfacing.

The onlookers, besides shaking their heads, didn't know anything.

Xu Fanyuan then turned his gaze to Da Lingzi and asked, "Da Lingzi, have you seen Ge Sanlin these past few days?"

Xiaoyue looked at Dalingzi, whose slightly plump body had obviously lost weight, and who had dark circles under her eyes. At this moment, she glared at Xu Fanyuan and said, "I have nothing to do with him anymore. You should ask someone else about this."

Xu Fanyuan wasn't angry despite being rebuked by Da Lingzi. He glanced at the onlookers, sighed, squatted down, and went to Ge Daming, who was crying on Xiao Sunshi's body.

Reaching out, she lifted Ge Daming from Xiao Sun's arms, took out a handkerchief, wiped away Ge Daming's tears, and asked softly, "Ge Daming, did you see your father and your third uncle yesterday and the day before?"

When Xu Fanyuan picked Ge Daming up, he didn't dare to cry loudly anymore. He just said aggrievedly, "Ever since the night my aunt got married, my father and third uncle left, and I've been living with my grandmother."

Xu Fanyuan stood up, holding Ge Daming, and asked him softly, "Your aunt got married and left. What have your father and third uncle been doing?"

Ge Daming wiped away his tears and sobbed, "I wanted to play with those golden bars, but my dad pushed them aside. My grandma wanted them, but he wouldn't give them to her either. Instead, my third uncle and I sat down at the table on either side of her and watched them."

As I watched, the gold brick turned into paper.

Xu Fanyuan was startled by Ge Daming's words and looked at Yu San, who leaned closer and said, "Little friend, say it again."

Upon hearing Yu San speak, Ge Daming, in Xu Fanyuan's arms, twisted and fought, crying loudly: "I want my mother, I want my father, I want my mother..." The onlookers couldn't help but sigh.

Grandma Ge, who was lying on the ground, was also awakened by Ge Daming's crying. She also let out a wail: "My son, my son, where are you?" She sat down on the cold ground, crying pitifully.

At this moment, Xiaoyue and Niu Lishi stepped forward to help Old Madam Ge up and escorted her into the house.

Xu Fanyuan handed Ge Daming to Niu Lishi and let Niu Erzhuang play with Ge Daming.

They ushered the constable surnamed Yu and another constable of short stature into the room.

Xiaoyue poured hot water for the yamen runner, while Ge Daming was still crying beside her mother.

After taking a sip of hot water, the two constables, now warmed up, said to Xu Fanyuan, "I reckon Ge Sanlin and Ge Erlin are also nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead. In the past month, adult men have been going missing in various parts of the village and town."

The constable surnamed Yu said, "We're leaving now. If anything happens, come to the town's government office and let us know. My name is Yu San, and his name is Fei Yuan."

After Xu Fanyuan's distant relative helped the yamen runners onto their horses, Xu Fanyuan quickly arranged for the people in the courtyard, including Hu Zhushi and Hu Wu, to drive the donkey cart to deliver a letter to Ge Dalin's family the next morning.

Xu Fanyuan then sent Niu San and Gao Sheng to inform Xiao Sun's family of the death.

Xu Fan still needed to stay at Old Man Ge's house to help out. Xiaoyue returned home thoughtfully, and as soon as she entered the house, she called Li Lei over and asked, "Have you seen your father recently?"

Li Lei shook his head and said nonchalantly, "I ran into him that day when I was selling chickens, and he even robbed me of my money. I haven't seen him since."

Xiaoyue was still worried about Yang Danian's injury and the two grown men, Ge Erlin and Ge Sanlin, who had been missing for three days without a trace. So she said to Li Lei, "Could you please go to Uncle Liang's house and call Liang Qi to go to Yang Danian's house? I'll go to Yang Danian's house now."

Xiaoyue glanced at Li Qianqian and Lu Xiaomei, who were sewing clothes, and said, "If I don't come back, you and the child should eat first, don't wait for me."

After giving Xiaoyue her instructions, she rushed into the swirling snow and arrived at Yang Danian's house. She saw that the lights were already off inside. Xiaoyue lingered outside the gate for a while, and then Liang Qi arrived.

Xiaoyue told Liang Qi about what happened at Old Man Ge's house during the day, and then said, "I want to ask about how Yang Danian got injured. Now that so many people have gone missing in the village, I'm feeling uneasy."

Liang Qi draped his overcoat over Xiaoyue's shoulders and pulled on the sleeve, saying, "It's too late today, and Brother Yang is recovering from his injuries. Let's go to Brother Yang's house tomorrow to ask. I'll take you home."

He then instructed Xiaoyue, "I'll come find you first thing tomorrow morning, and we'll go to Brother Yang's house together."

After waiting all night, Xiaoyue ate breakfast in the morning but still didn't see Liang Qi. Xiaoyue's heart was filled with anxiety. Li Lei said to Xiaoyue, "I'll go and call Brother Liang Qi again."

Xiaoyue stopped Li Lei.

Just then, Sister Yang came into the house with the sewn clothes.

The clothes were handed to Li Qianqian, who was sewing on the kang (a heated brick bed). Li Qianqian took the finished clothes and carefully inspected them. She jumped off the kang, put on her shoes, and said to Sister Yang, "Sister-in-law, I'll put these clothes away first."

Then he asked Sister-in-law Yang, "Are you going to accept it or not?"

Sister Yang smiled and said, "Of course, you still need to get another code."

Li Qianqian smiled and said to Sister Yang, "Sit on the kang and wait. I'll go to the storeroom and get you the cut fabric."

Watching Li Qianqian open the door and leave, Xiaoyue said to Sister Yang:

"Sister Yang, have you heard? Ge Erlin and Ge Sanlin, two grown men, have also disappeared, and Little Sun died in a mass grave."

Sister Yang showed no shock on her face and calmly said to Xiaoyue, "I only know how to take care of your Brother Yang all day long, and I can even sew clothes. I wouldn't have come out if it weren't for handing over the clothes."

Xiaoyue thought about it and realized that made sense.

He then said to Sister Yang, "Sister-in-law, have you ever heard of a solid gold brick turning into paper right under your nose?"

Sister Yang raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Then, out of curiosity, he asked, "Did you see it with your own eyes? I don't believe it."

"I don't believe it either, but someone saw them, and those two have been missing for four days."