In the early morning of summer, the sun slowly rose in the east. A ray of sunlight penetrated the clouds and illuminated the earth. A corpse floated quietly on the water.

"Ah——" A scream broke the tranquility of the early morning.

Hearing that someone had drowned in the Dead Lake, people in the village ran over, and the village chief and Li Zheng followed. The body had been soaked overnight and had already swollen and deformed, but there were still people who could recognize at a glance that this was a boy from the village.

When the village chief heard who the boy was, his face changed.

There was a sound of footsteps, and a man hurried back home. Once he entered the house, he looked around vigilantly and then closed the door.

"That little boy is also a pitiful one. His mother died early, and his father married a step-son, who later gave birth to two boys. The step-son Wang always beat and scolded him..." Chen Hong came from the village and told everyone about the death in the village. She also said that the dead boy's life story was also pitiful.

"I heard that his step-son Wang took..." Chen Hong made a gesture, and lowered her voice for the rest of the words. She didn't dare to speak too loudly, for fear that someone would hear it.

"This vicious step-son! Isn't he afraid of being struck by lightning?" Sun Bailian said angrily after hearing this.

They now live outside the village, and they don't know what happened in the village. After hearing about this, Qi Wanfeng sighed, not knowing what to say, "Why are you so pessimistic?"

"That's right, a good life is gone just like that." Chen Hong also sighed.

Cao Xiangnan, who happened to come out of the kitchen, heard what Chen Hong said. Why did he come to tell his son Wanfeng such a bloody and dark thing so early in the morning? This didn't seem to be good for prenatal education, so he found an excuse to send Wanfeng away.

Qi Wanfeng didn't doubt him and went into the kitchen to help.

"Bai Lian, go help Wan Feng too. I'm afraid he can't do it alone." Cao Xiangnan saw that Sun Bai Lian was still here. With Sun Bai Lian's impulsive personality, he was more likely to fail than to succeed. Cao Xiangnan didn't dare to let Sun Bai Lian know anything. Cao Xiangnan might not settle accounts with him later.

"Okay." Sun Bai Lian was still immersed in anger and injustice the moment before. The next moment, when he heard that Wan Feng needed his help, he quickly stood up and walked inside.

"I should go too." He should also go to work. There were still many things waiting for him.

"Wait." Cao Xiangnan moved a stool and sat down, asked Chen Hong to sit down, and said, "Chen Hong, tell me what you just said carefully again."

"Ah, Silang, you want to know, then I will not hide it from you, I will tell you. This is the case..." Chen Hong slowly told the story from the beginning.

The little brother who died was the eldest brother of Cao Gui's family. After Cao Gui's ex-wife died, he married a step-brother, who gave birth to two boys for him. Naturally, the two boys born later were the favorites in the family. The eldest brother was not loved by his father and his mother. Everything in the family was decided by stepmother Wang. If there was a stepmother, there would be a stepfather. The eldest son born by the ex-wife was beaten and scolded by stepmother Wang at home, and he had to do all the housework.

But that was not the reason for the death of the little brother. What made him die was that stepmother Wang sold him to the stupid son of the village chief as a daughter-in-law.

It turned out that the village chief had a little son, who was originally a smart child, but unfortunately he became a fool after a serious illness when he was young. Even though he was stupid, his mother loved him. Now that he was old enough to understand the world, his mother wanted to find a wife for this youngest son.

The old woman of the village chief's family fell in love with the eldest son of Cao Gui's family. It happened that the son's mother died early, and the father of the family didn't care about him. No one was in charge of him. The stepmother Wang was a greedy woman, so she thought she could buy her back as a daughter-in-law for a few taels of silver. The old woman of the village chief's family gave the stepmother Wang a few taels of silver, and the stepmother Wang sold the eldest son. At night, the old woman of the village chief's family took the eldest son of Wang's family home.

No one knew how, but the man ran away from the village chief, jumped into the lake, and died. This matter was not known to the people in the village.

If it weren't for this incident, everyone in the village would have forgotten that the village chief had a stupid son. The stupid son was kept in the backyard of the house. He ran out and hurt someone, so he was locked up at home. Everyone in the village knew about this. How could such a stupid son who beat people be able to marry a wife and live a good life? The village chief's family was also doing evil, and they even bought a boy back to be the wife of his son.

Now even if the person is dead, no one will go to take the body back.

People in the village said that this kind of dead brother had a lot of resentment, and his spirit tablet could not be placed in the ancestral hall after his death, and his body could not be placed in the ancestral tomb. At most, he was rolled up in a straw mat and thrown into the mountains to feed the wild animals in the mountains. Not even a body was left. He became a lonely ghost in the mountains and could not find his way home.

Now that he is dead, his parents at home don’t care, and don’t expect the village chief to care. There is not even a person who can say a fair word.

"Hey, he is also a pitiful one." Chen Hong sighed.

After listening to Chen Hong's words, Cao Xiangnan narrowed his eyes.

He was worried that he would not have the opportunity to deal with the village chief and those old guys in the clan, and now the opportunity is in front of him? ! It's a pity that a fresh life is gone just like that.

"Jumping into the lake? It's hard to say whether he jumped into the lake himself or was killed and thrown into the lake!" The concepts of suicide and homicide are completely different. Anyway, someone is dead and there is no way to escape. As for the truth, who has the final say? The village chief? Li Zheng? Or the elders in the village? Or the county magistrate?

Chen Hong is a smart person. When she heard what Cao Silang said, her eyes widened and she looked at Cao Silang.

"Chen Hong, there is something I need you to do. Put your ear close to me..." Cao Xiangnan smiled and motioned Chen Hong to put her ear close to him. After Chen Hong put her ear close to him, he leaned over and whispered.

Taking advantage of the fact that Chen Hong usually moves around the village and is on good terms with many of the village's buddies, Cao Xiangnan asked Chen Hong to go into the village and discuss this matter loudly with the buddies in the village.

The more you want to cover it up, the more I will let everyone in the world know about it!

Isn't he just a village chief? Do you think you can take human lives lightly with your high position? Just pretend nothing happened when someone died?

"Okay."

"Okay, I'll go into the village now." Chen Hong stood up with a serious expression on her face after hearing what Cao Xiangnan said, and said, "I will definitely get this done for you." I

don't know when Cao Gang stood at the door. I think he also heard what Chen Hong said just now. Cao Xiangnan turned around and saw Cao Gang. He winked at him, and the two of them walked into the house tacitly.

After the two men had agreed, Cao Gang came out and asked Wang Dahu to drive the carriage to the town, and they went into the village. "Is there no justice in this world? It's simply, simply... How can this be possible!" Li Zheng also knew the whole story, and he slapped the table with his hand, his old face turned red with anger.

He didn't dare to say anything outside, because he knew that this was the evil done by the village head's family, and the elders of the Cao clan, but none of them said anything when they should have spoken, and they all became dead. Now that someone is dead, they just treat it as nothing, and just let it go?

There is actually such a father in the world, allowing his step-son to harm his own flesh and blood.

And Cao Ageng, as the village chief of Caojia Village, should not set an example for the villagers, and now he has done such a thing. Can other people's boys be treated badly like this?

"Grandpa, don't be angry." Mrs. Li Zheng beside him gave him a sip of hot tea and said, "Don't be angry, be careful not to get angry and hurt your health. This matter has come to this. It's a pity that he is so young and he is gone like this."

Wang Lan also heard what Zhao A'ma said about the outside world. His father and mother didn't help him, not to mention that it was related to the village chief's family. Could they still help him? Although her husband was the Li Zheng of this village, they couldn't fight against the village chief and those people in the clan.

Seeing Silang and Cao Gang coming over, Aunt Zhao hurriedly ushered them in, whispering to them that the old man was angry and asked them to help persuade him.

"Aunt Zhao, I know, let's go in and take a look." Cao Xiangnan said.

"Xiangnan, A Gang, you are here." Wang Lan saw the two boys coming and smiled and welcomed them in.

Li Zheng's face was not very good. He was still angry. When he saw that it was Cao Xiangnan and Cao Gang who came, he sat there and said sullenly, "I, the Li Zheng, am also a loser. So many things have happened in the village over the years. Those people have done so many unscrupulous and evil things. I can't even help them get justice. I, I might as well not be the Li Zheng here."

"No, Seventh Master, if you are not the Li Zheng anymore, who else can be the Li Zheng?" Cao Xiangnan didn't want Cao Gaozhi to stop being the Li Zheng. Then where could he find someone who could compete with the village chief and the Cao clan?

"Brother Cao Gang and I came to you because of what happened in the village today. I also heard about this."

"It makes sense. Justice is in the hearts of the people. The whole Caojia Village will not be decided by the village chief alone, nor by the third or fourth uncle or whoever. It should be decided by all of us. Seventh Uncle, don't you think so?" Cao Xiangnan led Li Zheng to another road. This was also the purpose of his coming here.

Li Zheng heard Cao Xiangnan's words, looked at him with bright eyes, and asked, "Boy, do you have an idea about this matter?" "That's right. If I didn't have an idea, how could I dare to come to you, Seventh Uncle." Cao Xiangnan said with a smile.

Seeing that they were talking about business, Wang Lan asked Zhao A'mo to serve tea, and he also took his grandson back to the house.