Chapter Ninety-Three: Maybe I'm seeing things?
The next morning, Zhou Congsheng took out the unprocessed smoked meat and other things to clean up. He also prepared the meat and bones needed for the mutton hot pot at noon, and washed the vegetables.
He didn't let Shen Yuzhu touch it at all.
After breakfast, Shen Yuzhu dressed warmly, put on a hat and scarf, and went out.
She had only been at Shen Yuming's house for a short while when she heard sobbing coming from inside. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly went inside.
Several women were sitting together in the main room doing needlework. One of them was crying with her head down, and the others looked sad as they silently comforted her.
The door was suddenly pushed open, letting in a gust of cool air. Everyone greeted Shen Yuzhu as she approached.
The person who was crying nodded at her, somewhat embarrassed.
"Sister, come over to my place for lunch, and bring the kids along."
"Okay, sure."
Several girls were playing inside with Qiancheng when they heard her voice and ran out, surrounding her and laughing.
"Oh dear, I've never seen Zhang Jie smile before. Look, she still prefers her aunt."
"That's right. This child has been honest since she was little. She doesn't talk much to anyone, but every time she sees her aunt, she can't stop smiling."
The sisters-in-law chatted for a while, and knowing that they had something to say to each other, they made an excuse and left one by one.
"Sis, what's wrong? I saw that young woman crying?"
"Sigh, isn't it all because of hunting wild game? She's Guo Rou's sister-in-law, the wife of Zhang's fourth son. She's pregnant and heavy-set, so her husband thought he'd go up the mountain to hunt wild game for her to nourish her. Who knew that he'd fallen down a ravine not long after he went up the mountain and hurt his leg? But it's not serious, he'll be fine after some rest. He went up the mountain alone, but he insists that someone pushed him and caused him to fall. Zhang's fourth son's mother won't let it go, tearing up cassia branches and saying it's all her fault."
Shen Yuzhu: "......."
"Yuzhu, please put scarves and hats on them. I'll go get some bean sprouts and tofu. I just sprouted some, and they're really good."
"become."
Shen Yuming packed half a basket of bean sprouts and a few pieces of frozen tofu. These were things Zhou Li had bought for her before the winter. There had been some trouble at home before, and the educated youths Qiao and Liang had helped her. She didn't have anything of value, but she could give them some.
“I also brought some bean sprouts and tofu for Qiao and Liang, as well as some red dates that I had someone bring me, just in time to help Wang get better.”
"Alright, alright, bring them if you want, but don't bring too much. They're not short of meat these days."
"knew."
The wind was a bit calmer today, and the sun came up early, making people feel warm and cozy. However, the roads were a bit difficult to walk on. After the snow was cleared, a new layer of snow was added, and after it melted, the roads became muddy and slippery. I slipped and fell all the way, and my leg was covered in mud.
Ya Ya walked carefully, but still almost slipped. Luckily, Pan Pan pulled her from behind, and the two sisters almost fell over. After sliding a few times, they actually stood up safely.
“You scared me to death! Walk to the side, on the snow. Oh dear, walk in front of Mom. Didn’t you hear your Aunt Guizhi say that your Uncle Kela slipped and fell into the ravine? Be careful.”
"Mom, I'll go ahead of you."
Panpan led Yaya and walked over carefully. When they turned the corner at the educated youth settlement, Shen Yuming suddenly exclaimed. Shen Yuzhu turned her head and looked outside in the same direction.
The dark area across the ditch is the forest near the foot of the mountain.
Everything was white, which made the other side look exceptionally black, like a black hole, and you couldn't see anything even if you looked hard.
"What's wrong, sis?"
"I just saw something dark pass by. I thought it was a big black bear coming down the mountain!"
Shen Yuming patted his chest. Black bears are not uncommon here, but they usually don't come down from the mountain in winter. Moreover, those things are difficult to deal with; inexperienced people can't catch them and might even get slapped to death.
So if you want to hunt a black bear, it would definitely take a dozen experienced hunters to go up the mountain together to hunt just one.
She must have been seeing things!
Shen Yuzhu looked across at the other side again and again, her eyes lowered, seemingly lost in thought.
When they arrived home, Zhou Congsheng had already started cooking. Shen Yuzhu thought to herself that this brother-in-law was really good, and that she hadn't made a mistake in choosing him.
The mutton, cabbage and tofu stew in the old-fashioned clay pot was bubbling and steaming. Before long, Shen Yuzhu brought over two more dishes, one of which was particularly large and had several round rice balls on top.
"This is eight-treasure rice. A friend from the provincial capital sent it to me. I tried one; it's filled with red bean paste, and it's delicious. The kids should like it."
The eight-treasure rice smelled sweet and fragrant, and looked delicious. Shen Yuzhu gave each of the children a little bit.
In the afternoon, she prepared to fry meatballs, sugar cakes, and sweet fruits, so she asked Shen Yuming to stay and work as a laborer. They made half of each of the two families' portions.
After the children went to take their afternoon nap, Shen Yuming went to the kitchen, while Shen Yuzhu pulled Zhou Congsheng to his room.
After entering, they immediately closed the door.
"What's wrong?"
She was so enthusiastic; she even held his hand once we got inside!
“Zhou Congsheng, there’s something I need to tell you, but this is just my suspicion. You’ll have to verify it yourself to see if it’s true.”
"What?"
It was rare to see her so serious, so Zhou Congsheng also straightened his expression.
“A few days ago, we went to the brigade leader’s house. Zhu Qiangying said she had a photo of Lü Jianshe. When I heard that, I was suspicious. You know, nowadays, photo studios are managed by the Public Security Bureau. If a private person wants to buy a camera, they have to register with the Public Security Bureau. Zhu Qiangying is an old educated youth who went to the countryside in the same batch as Wang Liping. She had been living in poverty for the past few years, but her life has suddenly become better in the last two years.”
As Shen Yuzhu spoke, Zhou Congsheng slowly began to think.
"Later, I asked Manxiu to keep an eye on her. Unexpectedly, the day before yesterday, Manxiu came over and said that she found a camera in Zhu Qiangying's bedchamber and gold bars in the quilt. In addition, today I heard from my sister that Zhang Ershun's younger brother, Zhang Kela, was pushed off a ravine while hunting wild game. I suspect..."
"There are spies."
Upon hearing this, both of them became extremely solemn.
After liberation, the mere mention of these two words sent chills down people's spines. Everyone deeply hated spies, yet they were omnipresent, and no one knew who might be a spy in their daily lives.
"This is just a suspicion. With such harsh weather, even if they exist on the mountain, how do they survive? Don't they make fires?"
“Perhaps it’s not just in this production team; there might be accomplices. Yuzhu, don’t make a fuss yet. Didn’t they say they were going to ice fish in the village today? Let’s go together. While we’re at it, can you call Lü Jianshe over for me?”
"good."
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