Chapter 41

After Xun Yi began to recount the events of the previous night, Shu Wanxiu's strength gradually waned.

Xun Yi, who was always watching what was happening behind him, turned around to help her carry Shu Shouyi.

Shu Wanxiu only showed embarrassment after handing the person in her arms over.

Her absent-minded look clearly indicated that she had something on her mind. Xun Yi raised his eyes and saw through her thoughts: "Are you worried about where you'll stay tonight?"

In Shu Wanxiu's mind, Xun Yi was a very meticulous person, so she wasn't too surprised that he guessed her thoughts.

She is indeed worried about this matter.

Looking back on last night's experience, it was no different from walking through the gates of hell. Especially the dream she had during those two hours of rest today, it felt so real that the more she recalled it, the more frightened she became.

In the past, I was always happy and eager to go home. Now, the closer I get to home, the more hesitant I become, not to mention the fear and lingering apprehension I feel.

She had to admit that she was now somewhat reluctant to return to that house where she felt utterly helpless and desperate.

Shu Wanxiu's nails dug deep into her flesh. After a moment, she asked Xun Yi, "I heard the village chief say that there were six or seven culprits in the grain robbery case. Two of them were arrested last night. Is there any news about the rest?"

"I heard that the county government arrested a group of people yesterday during the day. It is still unknown how many were arrested or whether they were the perpetrators of the grain robbery."

I don't know if the county officials have interrogated the murderer yet. Even if they have, it will take time for the news to reach Wupai Village.

The information Xun Yi hurriedly obtained this morning through his brother-in-law was ultimately limited.

However, he thought there was another piece of news that Shu Wanxiu probably didn't know.

"The grain robbery case has enraged the county magistrate, who has given his subordinates ten days to solve the case."

This pleased Shu Wanxiu.

If the grain robbery case remains unsolved and the other perpetrators go unpunished, it will be like a sword hanging over the heads of the refugees, who never know when it will fall.

Perhaps it's during the next food distribution, or perhaps it's while staying at home warming themselves by the fire; in any case, no refugee family can live in peace.

If the county government can solve this case within ten days...

Shu Wanxiu calculated that since the grain robbery on the 24th, today has been—

“Today is the fourth day. It’s not safe for you to stay in the mountains right now. Perhaps you could stay at your uncle’s house for a few days,” Xun Yi said.

Shu Wanxiu blinked, neither nodding nor objecting.

Because what Xun Yi said was exactly the thought that had just popped into her mind.

After a long silence, Xun Yi pondered for a moment, "Could it be that you're worried about the safety of your uncle's house because those two people ran away from Wuli Village last night?"

Xun Yi was wrong this time; Shu Wanxiu had never thought of this.

Her uncle's house was not as remote as her residence. Not to mention that they had neighbors around them, her uncle's family consisted of three able-bodied men and a large family of all ages.

Living at my uncle's house, unless someone drugged me, it's impossible for me to have ended up in the same situation as yesterday.

It's understandable that Xun Yi said he had never been to his uncle's house.

Shu Wanxiu said, "I'm not saying anything because I'm worried about my uncle's house being unsafe, but because I think the same way you do."

“I also think I should take Shouyi to stay at my uncle’s house for a few days.”

There was only one thing that made Shu Wanxiu hesitate.

She believed that her uncle would be willing to take them in, but Shu Shouyi needed to take medicine these days, and it was not quite appropriate for him to stay at his uncle's house while he was ill.

Therefore, when Xun Yi asked her, "Should we go directly to Wuli Village or go home to pack some things before going?", Shu Wanxiu chose the latter.

Not only did she need to think about how to take medicine and recuperate at her uncle's house, she also needed to go back and check how badly the door had been damaged last night.

Last night's unexpected disaster not only cost her seventy-two coins—money for medical treatment and medicine—but also meant that of her remaining four hundred and twenty coins, she would have to spend some money to hire a carpenter to repair the door.

Since it's an unavoidable expense, it's best to go back to the village now and ask a carpenter to fix it as soon as possible.

That way, when we return from my uncle's house a few days later, we won't need to ask someone to fix the bedroom door again.

...

After entering the village, the road suddenly became difficult to travel.

I don't know what kind of chaos happened in the village after they left last night, but starting from the village entrance, the ground was covered with messy footprints, the snow was trampled hard, and some footprints even had yellow mud on them.

They didn't go to their neighbors' houses by the roadside, nor did they return to their own homes. Instead, they knocked on the door of Village Chief Pang with a clear purpose.

Chen Sanhe, who hadn't slept all night, had caught up on some sleep during the day and had just woken up.

Just as they were getting worried about Shu Shouyi's illness, the three of them had already arrived at their doorstep.

Shu Shouyi was wrapped tightly in the blanket. Chen Sanhe, unaware of the situation, carefully controlled his expression, but the worry in his eyes was unmistakable.

"How is it?" she asked softly and carefully.

Shu Wanxiu said, "He's much better now. The doctor prescribed some medicine for him to take back. He just needs to take good care of himself from now on."

The four medicines were tightly bound together with rope, and Shu Wanxiu lifted them up to show Chen Sanhe.

"It's truly a blessing from the gods!"

Chen Sanhe breathed a sigh of relief, clasped his hands together and bowed to the sky before turning to welcome them in.

Chen Sanhe was the first one in the family to wake up. She had just started the fire when Shu Wanxiu and the others came over.

"Please have a seat, I'll add some more firewood."

She was clearly an expert at starting a fire; she casually pulled a few pieces of firewood from the pile and added them in, and the flames instantly blazed up.

After such chaos, both sides were eager to know what had happened after they separated last night.

Shu Wanxiu's situation was simple and was explained in just a few words.

The situation in the village is rather chaotic.

"After you left those two people behind, we were in a bit of a panic."

According to Chen Sanhe, they tried their best last night but failed to get Liu Yinxue and his son to talk.

After Xun Yi left, no one could control Liu Yinxue. He was completely unyielding and impervious to reason.

With the determination to drag someone down with him even if he dies, he stubbornly refused to speak.

Fortunately, when Chen Sanhe spoke up for Shu Yanrong's family before, he went to the village to inquire about the character of Liu Yinxue's family, and even met Liu Yinxue once from afar.

She didn't recognize Liu Yinxue in the dim light. But when the villagers were gathered by Pang Zhishan and were holding torches to go up the mountain to look for him, the lights were so bright that Chen Sanhe felt Liu Yinxue looked familiar. After thinking carefully, she suddenly remembered Liu Yinxue's identity.

Although Wuli Village and Wupai Village are several miles apart, having a direction is better than wandering aimlessly in the mountains like headless flies.

Pang Zhishan gathered everyone together and set their starting point as the barren mountain where Shu Wanxiu and the others lived, and their destination as Wuli Village.

Regardless of whether the trap or the people trapped are found, whoever reaches Wuli Village first should go to the village head to inform him so that the village head can also mobilize the villagers to search together.

After making this plan, Pang Zhishan followed the men up the mountain, leaving behind a dozen or so women carrying sticks, who gathered at Pang Zhishan's house and kept a close eye on Liu Yinxue and his son.

Time flowed by like water, and half an hour passed without any response from the men on the mountain. Instead, people from another village came knocking at the door.

Chen Sanhe said, "Everyone in the village, young and old, had gone out. It was terrifying when people from another village suddenly came in the middle of the night!"

Shu Wanxiu listened with a heavy heart, worried for the women who stayed behind. She was so nervous that she didn't dare to utter a sound, staring straight at Chen Sanhe as she listened to her continue.

"Guess who's coming?"

"Thank goodness he wasn't a bad person!"

The two people who came were a villager from Wuli Village who was leading the way, and a yamen runner from the county town.

Some women were worried that the people outside were Liu Yinxue's accomplices, and even after they explained their origins, they dared not open the door.

But Wuli Village is Chen Sanhe's maternal home, and there is no original resident in the village that Chen Sanhe does not know.

After her initial panic subsided, she realized the voice outside the door did sound familiar. After asking a few more questions, she decided to open the door.

Only after the door opened could everyone speak clearly.

It turned out that Liu Yinxue and his son were the criminals who had been interrogated for robbing grain. They were exposed by the yamen runners in the evening, but they were prepared and fled into the mountains as soon as their shameful act was exposed.

At that time, the yamen runners were short-handed and could not arrest the two men immediately. After the son of the village head of Wuli Village reported the news, the county government sent more men over overnight...

Expecting a dozen or so constables to search this entire mountain range is clearly wishful thinking.

So the villagers of Wuli Village led the way, taking the yamen runners to the homes of the village chiefs in the nearby villages to explain the situation, and then the village chiefs gathered the villagers to go up the mountain to find the person.

The first thing Chen Sanhe did was to hand over Liu Yinxue and his son. The second thing was to inform the yamen runner that Liu Yinxue and his son had set a trap to harm someone.

The yamen runner, who knew the situation perfectly, guessed that the person in the trap was his colleague, Mo Daowan.

Although they sometimes clashed while working together, the constables were naturally more willing to side with their colleagues than with the criminals.

The bailiff immediately tortured Liu Yinxue and his son.

Fortunately, there were no children present at the time.

Knowing that delaying too long would mean certain death at the evening party, the constable showed no mercy, and Liu Yinxue and his son lost a total of five teeth!

Blood was everywhere!

I can't go any deeper into the past.

Chen Sanhe shook his head, rubbing his forehead. "I had several nightmares last night."

On another note, after being severely beaten, Liu Yinxue and his son finally revealed the location of the trap. Just then, Pang Zhishan led the villagers down the mountain carrying a person, who was none other than Mo Daowan, who had fallen into the trap.

While they were on the mountain, everyone checked on Mo Daowan and found that he was still breathing, but he had multiple knife wounds and injuries from being hit by rocks.

Perhaps due to injury or the cold, he was already unconscious when they carried him down the mountain.

Such a severe injury was beyond the ability of most doctors in the nearby villages to treat.

The constable took charge, asked around which village had a donkey, borrowed a donkey cart, and drove Mo Daowan back to the county town overnight.

"It was freezing cold, and the villagers were worried he wouldn't make it on the way, so they pooled together five quilts to cover him with."

"Then, as dawn broke, your Uncle Pang and the village head of Wuli Village, along with the remaining yamen runners, escorted Liu Yinxue and his son to the county, and they haven't returned since."

It seems the villagers were also quite exhausted last night after they left to seek medical help; no wonder the footprints were messy and the snow was hardened by their footsteps along the way into the village.

After Chen Sanhe finished explaining the important matters, he started thinking about the minor ones.

She reassured Shu Wanxiu, "I've stored all your grain next to my own granary. Don't worry, it's all fine all night, not a single grain is missing."

Shu Wanxiu stood up and bowed deeply to Chen Sanhe, "Thank you, Auntie."

"Don't be so polite," Chen Sanhe waved for her to sit down.

"Do you want to take the food home now or leave it for a while?"

As she had planned on the way, Shu Wanxiu said apologetically, "Auntie, I'll need to trouble you to keep this for me for a while. The door at home is broken, so I plan to stay at my uncle's house for a few days."

Chen Sanhe was not surprised.

“After this incident, even though I didn’t go up the mountain, I heard about it. Your door is in terrible condition.”

“Repairing the gate does take time. It would be good for you to stay in Wuli Village. You know where your aunt’s family lives. If there’s anything you can’t ask your uncle or the others for help, go to your aunt’s family home.”

These words are heartwarming to hear, especially since Shu Wanxiu knows that Chen Sanhe is not the kind of person who speaks casually; every word she utters carries weight.

"Thank you, Auntie."

Chen Sanhe touched her face, "That damned thief! Your auntie sees that the layer of flesh you worked so hard to grow on your face has all gone away after this whole night."

As if his own junior had been bullied, Chen Sanhe cursed Liu Yinxue fiercely.

Yu Guang glanced at Shu Shouyi under the covers, and his mood worsened. "What a rotten, heartless bastard! Such a good kid, and he's ruined him!"

Shu Wanxiu, the person involved, had already resigned herself to her bad luck and didn't have much energy left to curse Liu Yinxue.

Hearing Chen Sanhe's scolding made him feel much better.

...

"Auntie, it's getting late. Will the village chief be back today?"

"They should be able to come back, right? If they really can't, they'll just have to stay in the county town for one night."

Knowing that Shu Wanxiu was going to stay in Wuli Village, Chen Sanhe stopped talking nonsense and got up to take her to the village carpenter.

"Your aunt has some dried fir wood at home, which you can use to make door panels."

Repairing a door requires wood, and the price differs depending on whether you bring your own wood or not.

Xun Yi, who had been silently listening to their account of the entire night, suddenly interjected, "Auntie, your Qingshui's son will be getting married in a couple of years. You'll need to build a house then, right?"

"The cedar wood you have at home is useful, so don't use it. Why don't you use mine instead?"

It would have been better if Shu Wanxiu hadn't known what was going on, but now that Xun Yi had pointed it out, she naturally wouldn't be willing to use the timber that Aunt Chen had prepared for her grandson.

Chen Sanhe pointed at him helplessly, "You little rascal."

Xun Yi explained in a calm tone, as if discussing the matter at hand: "I don't need to build a house, and the timber will just be left to be eaten by insects anyway, so I might as well use it this time."

Before Shu Wanxiu knew it, the matter of the timber was settled.

She couldn't stop him in time, because Xun Yi had already left to go home and carry timber.

Chen Sanhe took Shu Shouyi in his arms and even urged Shu Wanxiu, "Let's go, your aunt will take you there."

News travels fast in the same village, especially since Wupai Village is quite small.

The elderly but still energetic carpenter, Pang, took on the job of repairing the door. He specifically told Shu Wanxiu not to worry, that once his son went up the mountain to measure the door's dimensions, he would use his best skills to build her the sturdiest door.

"Clang!"

The sound of wood hitting the ground came from outside.

"Let's make two doors."