Her turn was sudden and unexpected, catching Zhang Laowu completely off guard. She managed to catch him just in time to capture the sinister smile that hadn't yet faded from his lips.
Although it was a bit unexpected, Zhang Laowu was not embarrassed by being caught red-handed. He just paused for a second, then lifted his foot, turned around and walked away.
Fang Yan's mind was in turmoil once again. Could it be that Xiao Yuzai and Qi Bei's disappearance was related to him?
Chiba is a large dog that has received rigorous professional training and is very intelligent. I've heard that its intelligence is equivalent to that of a six- to eight-year-old child.
It's so clever that ordinary tricks don't work on it at all, and food is even less likely to fool it.
So, if Zhang Laowu really did this, how did he get past Qibei first?
If Zhang Laowu was so heartless that he killed Qibei first, how did he manage to prevent Qibei from making a sound?
However, Fang Yan immediately refuted this guess.
Because Zhang Laowu had said that Da Pangdun had taken a liking to Qibei, and for the sake of his precious darling, Zhang Laowu would not kill Qibei.
Should we knock Qibei unconscious first?
These days, there are indeed numbing needles, but the key is that even a small fry like Zhang Laowu, no matter how long his reach is, can't catch such a thing.
Market trade today is not as convenient and simple as it will be decades later, so it won't be easy for Zhang Laowu to find things like drugs...
Therefore, Fang Yan concluded that today's incident might not have been the work of Zhang Laowu.
It was either because Little Fish was playful or because he was tricked by someone and ran away with them, which is why Qibei silently ran after him.
Fang Yan felt that this was more likely.
"No matter what, we still need to find someone first!"
Suppressing all the random guesses in her mind, Fang Yan continued to look around for people while calling out loudly, "Little Fish, Qibei."
Unfortunately, she shouted herself hoarse, but no one responded.
Fang Yan and Aunt De had agreed that she would start from the left and search along the stream behind the village.
Aunt De and the others searched from the right, which meant they had searched the entire village.
"Aunt De, there is..." Soon, Fang Yan met Aunt De. Seeing Aunt De's expression, Fang Yan didn't need to ask any further questions.
Aunt De was also sweating profusely with anxiety, but she didn't forget to comfort Fang Yan, "Third brother's wife, don't worry, I've already sent someone to find the old man and the others."
Today, Zhang Zongde, the village chief, and several key village committee members went to the town to discuss some matters.
The village committee's loudspeaker was unusable, making it impossible to mobilize the entire village to search for the person.
How could Fang Yan not be anxious? Not only was she anxious, but her mind was also starting to race. She didn't even know where to start looking next.
The only two dangerous places in Gouzi Village are the big stream behind the village and the stream behind the village.
Fang Yanzai had searched carefully along the way and found no children's footprints, which meant that Xiaoyuzai had not been there.
There is another place, Lion's Roar Ridge.
"No, I have to go up the mountain to take a look." Fang Yan didn't dare to stop for a moment and turned around to run up the mountain.
Aunt De grabbed her arm and whispered, "Do you think Zhang Laowu might have done this?"
“He is indeed a suspect, but we have no evidence,” Fang Yan said truthfully. “With his personality, unless he is caught red-handed, even if there is irrefutable evidence in front of him, he can still shift the blame onto someone else. Aunt De, we don’t have time to argue with him now, we need to find the child first.”
Rather than wasting precious time on Zhang Laowu, Fang Yan preferred to try her luck and search every place she could think of first.
Aunt De thought she was right. Zhang Laowu was a scoundrel. If they went to confront him, there would definitely be a lot of trouble. It was better to go find him first.
As for finding Zhang Laowu, let Zhang Zongde and the village chief talk to him about it.
"Third daughter-in-law, we'll go into the mountains with you." Lion's Roar Ridge is huge, and Aunt De was worried that Fang Yan might have another accident, so she brought her two daughters-in-law and planned to go into the mountains with Fang Yan.
The four of them had just arrived at the foot of the mountain when they saw Chu Chun and Chu Xia, one in front, gritting her teeth and pulling on the rope of the bamboo frame, and the other behind, pushing with all her might.
"Chuchun, what are you doing here..." Fang Yan asked from afar when she saw them, but before she could finish her sentence, she saw that the basket Chuchun usually used to store firewood was actually filled with small fish and clams!
Upon seeing Fang Yan and the others, Chu Chun burst into tears, "Third Aunt, sob... Xiao Yu Zai and Qi Bei... sob..."
Zhang Chuchun and Zhang Chuxia are siblings, one fifteen years old and the other thirteen years old. Their father passed away when they were young, and their mother also passed away last year due to illness.
The two children were thus orphaned.
There wasn't a single orphanage in the entire county, so no one ever thought of sending the two children to one.
In addition, Chu Chun is already fourteen or fifteen years old, very independent, and can grow some vegetables on her own, so she can barely support herself.
The Zhang family usually took good care of them, and would often send the siblings rice or other supplies to help them out.
Fang Yan's kitchen had a large earthen stove.
This type of stove is usually only used for roasting firewood or dry leaves and pine needles.
Fang Yan didn't have time to go up the mountain to collect firewood, so Chu Chun would usually take Chu Xia up the mountain to collect firewood. There was so much firewood at home that they couldn't burn it all.
Fang Yan then bought firewood from her, which also helped the siblings generate income.
Occasionally, when she was too busy, Fang Yan would ask Chu Chun to come and help wash the pig intestines.
Of course, after helping out each time, Fang Yan would pack a large bowl of pig's head meat and pig intestines for the siblings to take home and improve their meals.
She received all the wages she was owed, without missing a single penny.
Thanks to Fang Yan's generosity, I finally got to taste the flavor of meat in early spring and early summer, even though I hadn't eaten pork for many years.
The money they earned from Fang Yan allowed them to buy their first new set of clothes, and the siblings were extremely grateful to her.
Today, Chuchun brought Chuxia up the mountain to collect firewood again. Unexpectedly, as soon as they got up the mountain, they saw Xiaoyuzai and Qibei lying motionless under a few dony bushes.
Children who grew up in the mountains in early spring and early summer soon noticed that the little fish had two small bloodstains on its feet.
"She must have been bitten by a snake." Chu Chun was quite frightened, but seeing Fang Yan, her pillar of support, she felt relieved and couldn't help but want to cry.
She cried as she spoke haltingly, finally managing to explain what had happened.
Upon hearing that Xiaoyuzai and Qibei had been bitten by a snake, Fang Yan's mind went blank, and her body swayed. For a dog like Qibei to be bitten unconscious, the snake's venom must be quite potent.
Wouldn't that mean the little fish...?
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