It was already dark, the sky was overcast, there was no moon or stars, it was pitch black.

When the moon is out, villagers would sit together in groups of three or four and chat. They could see each other's faces clearly without the help of kerosene lamps.

On cloudy days, I couldn’t bear to light the kerosene lamp, so I went to bed early.

It was the same at the Qi family’s house. The house was dark, but no one was sleeping.

Qi Fusheng squatted in the yard, smoking a pipe. The light and dark scarlet brought a little light to the dark yard.

Gao Qiufeng sat with Liang Lu, holding her sleeping grandson in her arms, patting his little butt gently from time to time, staring at the scarlet blood with lifeless eyes.

"Dad, Mom, why don't I go out to look for Zhongcai and Qingmei tomorrow." Ranlu has lost a lot of weight in the past few days, and her eyes are sunken.

Qi Fusheng sighed, knocked his pipe on the ground, filled it with tobacco leaves, lit it and took a sip before speaking.

"All the young men in the village went to look for him, but they couldn't find him. How could a woman like you find him?"

If something really happened to Zhongcai, his grandson would be left without a father or a mother.

Liang Lu stopped talking and sobbed softly, her tears falling on the mud at her feet.

"Qingmei's heart is with Jiang Zhiqing, and she was so stubborn that she had to go find Jiang Zhiqing. Why did you also ask Zhongcai to go find them? Now... you can't come back."

When she finished speaking, Liang Lu burst into tears.

Qi Fusheng had been feeling angry these days. When he heard what his daughter-in-law said, he wanted to scold her, but when he heard her crying, he couldn't bear it.

"Lulu, don't worry, Zhongcai will be fine." Gao Qiufeng took out a handkerchief from her pocket and put it into her daughter-in-law's hand.

"Mom, it's been so long and there's still no news." Liang Lu clenched the handkerchief tightly in her hand and said in tears.

"Everyone in the village said that they would not survive..."

"Don't say such unlucky things!" Qi Fusheng couldn't help cursing, "People in the village say this, and 80% of them are making fun of us. Do you think so too?"

Liang Lu suddenly didn't dare to speak.

Of course she didn't want anything to happen to Qi Zhongcai, and she hated Qi Qingmei to death.

When Jiang Zhiqing was washed away by the flood, the young and strong laborers in the village would go to look for him. Why would she join in the fun? It wouldn't matter if she got lost, but she would also lose Zhongcai.

"Okay, just say less." Gao Qiufeng said to Qi Fusheng.

Qi Fusheng stopped talking and continued smoking, with the scarlet mark flashing more and more frequently.

Boom boom boom.

There were three knocks on the door.

The three of them were stunned!

"Who could be coming?" Gao Qiufeng murmured in a low voice.

Qi Fusheng glanced in Gao Qiufeng's direction, then stood up and went to open the door in the dark.

"Oh, you're in the house. It's so dark in winter. I thought you were all asleep."

Outside the door was the commune secretary Liu Weijun.

Ever since Qi Qingmei and Qi Zhongcai got into trouble, Qi Fusheng has never attended any of the commune meetings.

People in the commune also heard about this and sent someone to take a look at the situation.

"Weijun, come in quickly!" Qi Fusheng recognized Liu Weijun's voice, stepped aside to let him in, and turned back to Gao Qiufeng and said, "Qiufeng, light the kerosene lamp quickly, Weijun is here."

Gao Qiufeng groped for help and hurried into the house to light the kerosene lamp. She put on the cover and carried it to the yard. Then she went back into the house and lit the kerosene lamp to make the room brighter. She then went to the kitchen to boil water to make tea for Liu Weijun.

Liang Lu carried her son into the house and placed him on the kang, then went to the kitchen to help Gao Qiufeng.

Gao Qiufeng saw her daughter-in-law’s red and swollen eyes and realized that she had cried a lot these days.

He consoled her, "Lulu, your father is a little upset and speaks harshly, don't take it to heart. Zhong is his only son, how can he not worry?"

"Mom, I know." Liang Lu's tears started to fall again. She quickly reached out to wipe them away and said in a choked voice, "Qingmei shouldn't have looked for Jiang Zhiqing. There were so many people looking for her."

If Qi Qingmei hadn't insisted on going to find Jiang Zhiqing, her father-in-law wouldn't have let Qi Zhongcai go find Qi Qingmei.

Gao Qiufeng glanced at Liang Lu, not knowing what to say.

Liu Weijun took a sip of tea from the teacup and looked at Qi Fusheng, "No news about Qingmei and Zhongcai yet?"

"Alas!" Qi Fusheng sighed, "I was so anxious that I couldn't find the person."

Liu Weijun glanced at Qi Fusheng. He hadn't seen him for a few days and he seemed to have aged a few years. He hesitated and didn't speak.

"Weijun, what do you want to say?" Qi Fusheng looked up, understood what Liu Weijun meant, and wiped his face with his hand, "We are brothers, there is nothing we can't say to each other."

"Then I say, don't be angry." Liu Weijun said.

Qi Fusheng nodded and motioned for him to continue.

Liu Weijun took a few more sips of tea before speaking, "It's said that Qingmei and Zhongcai are in danger, you should make plans early."

There was no news for several days. It might have been washed away by the water.

"What do you mean?" Qi Fu's face was trembling with anger, and he glared at Liu Weijun, "Are you asking me to hold a funeral for the two children?"

Liu Weijun looked at Qi Fusheng without saying anything.

It's not just him who has this idea, it's what many people think.

There has been no news for several days and I can't find him. He must be dead.

No one dared to say this in front of Qi Fusheng. He and Qi Fusheng were old friends, so he would be the bad guy.

In just these few days, Qi Fusheng was almost boiled into dried pickles.

If he was cruel enough to hold a funeral for the two children, he would be depressed for a while, but it would not last forever.

Knowing there is no hope, but still waiting for that slim hope.

"My old friend, I am doing this for your own good."

"Bullshit!" Qi Fu angrily threw away the pipe in his hand and pulled Liu Weijun's arm out, "Get out of here, I don't have an old friend like you."

How can an old friend say such hurtful words?

"Fusheng, listen to me." Liu Weijun was forced to walk out and turned back to persuade Qi Fusheng again.

Qi Fusheng pushed Liu Weijun out of the door with force, slammed the door shut, and yelled through the door.

"I don't want to hear you. My baby will be fine. Go away."

Liu Weijun stood at the door for a while, sighed, and rode away on his bike.

"What the hell, you come and say this to me." Qi Fu was so angry that his whole body was shaking.

When he turned around, he saw Gao Qiufeng slumped at the door of the kitchen, her face pale.

He hurried over and wanted to help her up, but he was so angry that he had no strength left in his body and fell to the ground.

He took Gao Qiufeng's hand and said, "Qiufeng, don't listen to the Weijun's nonsense. Qingmei and Zhongcai will be fine."

"But they haven't come back for so long."

The emotions that had been suppressed for several days burst out at this moment, and Gao Qiufeng burst into tears.

Immediately afterwards, Liang Lu's crying voice was heard in the room.

Qi Dongming was woken up and seeing his grandmother and mother crying, he also opened his mouth and howled.

There was a lot of crying in the room. Qi Fusheng wanted to tell them to stop crying, but as soon as he opened his mouth, tears flowed down his old face.

"Oh my God, if I, Qi Fusheng, did something wrong and you punished me, why did you punish my two children? They did nothing wrong."

Qi Fusheng sat on the ground, holding his head in his hands and crying silently.

Gao Qiufeng thought of something and forgot to cry, staring blankly at Qi Fusheng.