Ever since Xiao Qiao came back that day, Liu Fang would ask about her well-being whenever she had time. She would either help her wash clothes or serve her tea and water, and even bring meals to her bedside.
In fact, Xiao Qiao didn't have any broken bones, so there was no problem for her to walk. She just had to pay attention to the injured leg and not exert too much force to avoid the stitched wound popping open.
However, Liu Fang yelled, "Xiao Qiao, don't move. Be careful. What if the wound breaks open? Leave the work to me." She always rushed to do the work for Xiao Qiao.
Lin Shu saw Xiao Qiao's mouth twitching several times, but he had no choice but to let her refuse him no matter what he said or what he refused.
A wounded person can't move faster than others.
What made Lin Shu speechless was that every time Liu Fang did work for Xiao Qiao, she would give her a smug look.
Lin Shu wondered, what was there to be proud of? She couldn't figure it out, so she gave up and just watched the show.
After working for twelve consecutive days chopping corn stalks, Lin Shu's initial back pain has now become accustomed to it. She can't help but marvel at the human ability to adapt.
By the fifteenth day, the team leader announced that the task of cutting corn stalks and breaking corn had been successfully completed.
Then they can rest for two days.
On the first day of rest, Lin Shu came to the captain's house with brown sugar.
"Shu Lin, why are you here?" Wang Fang asked in surprise when she saw Lin Shu after opening the gate.
"Come in and sit down." Then, Wang Fang said enthusiastically, walked up to Lin Shu, took her hand, and led her into the yard.
"I came to ask the captain something." Lin Shu said with a smile.
She told Wang Fang that she hoped to find a vacant house in the village and move out of the Youth League Home.
Wang Fang frowned and said after a moment's hesitation, "This is not going to be easy."
Lin Shu was curious, did something happen in this?
Soon they arrived at the main room, where the team leader was holding a bowl and chasing his grandson to feed him.
Seeing Lin Shu, the captain's eyes flashed with surprise: "Miss Lin, why are you here?"
Wang Fang stepped forward to take the bowl, grabbed her son and made him sit on a stool.
The captain asked Lin Shu to sit down.
Lin Shu directly told the team leader his purpose: "Team leader, I want to find a vacant house in the team and move in."
After hearing this, the team leader frowned like Wang Fang.
Then he reached out and picked up the pipe leaning against the wall, knocked it on the ground, pinched a small handful of tobacco from the pipe at his waist, put it into the pipe bowl and pressed it, lit it with the rope, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.
He didn't say anything either, as if he was lost in some memories through the drifting smoke.
Lin Shu was curious, but didn't speak directly.
"In the winter of 1968, the first batch of educated youth arrived in the brigade."
The captain raised his pipe, took another puff, and spoke slowly.
Lin Shu sat up straight and pricked up his ears.
"That afternoon, those educated youth found me," the team leader continued.
"Captain, we are not prisoners. We came to the brigade with knowledge to contribute to the development. Why are you keeping us penned together like livestock?"
"Yes, you see, we work hard all day, and when we come back we have to live in a dormitory where it's hard to even turn around. Is that reasonable?"
"That's right, there are still empty houses in the brigade, why not give them to us?"
"Yes, why don't you give it to us?"
“…”
"Captain, just give it to them. The house is empty anyway."
"Yeah, look at them, they don't have the heart to work anymore, sooner or later there will be trouble."
"I think so too. The house is empty, so let them do as they please." The captain said after exhaling a puff of smoke.
Lin Shu nodded and listened carefully.
"But..." The captain took a deep puff of his cigarette and suddenly started coughing.
Wang Fang ran over, poured a glass of water and handed it to the team leader.
The captain waved his hands repeatedly.
Lin Shu frowned slightly and looked at the captain worriedly.
Fortunately, the captain quickly calmed down. He took a long breath and continued, "It was really cold that morning!"
"ah!"
"Captain, Captain, something's wrong!"
"What's wrong? What's wrong? What happened?"
"Come with me, come with me."
"Murder, murder."
"Oh my God! So much blood, so much blood."
"Dead? Dead?
"Dead..."
“…”
"That's the house where two young educated youth lived." The team leader's face was filled with grief. "When I arrived, one girl was lying at the door covered in blood, and the other girl was lying on the floor inside the house. Her clothes were..."
The captain didn't continue speaking, his face full of grief and regret: "It's terrible! It's terrible! If I hadn't agreed..."
Lin Shu was in a heavy mood, she understood the meaning of what the captain had not finished saying.
After a long while, Lin Shu looked up and asked, "The murderer..."
There was silence for a moment.
"The murderer has not been found." The captain said with disgust.
"Didn't find it?" Lin Shu said in surprise with his eyes wide open.
"Yeah." The captain took another puff of his cigarette, this time calming down. "The police arrived quickly. But it snowed heavily that night, and the house the two educated youth girls lived in was located on the edge of the brigade. Plus, the crime happened around midnight. The snow buried all traces of the murderer."
"So..." The captain glanced at Lin Shu and took a sip from the water glass on the table.
Lin Shu nodded, feeling a pang of sadness in his heart.
In the absence of any clues, it is indeed difficult to investigate with the technology of this era. And the longer the case is delayed, the harder it is to track down the murderer.
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