As everyone was trying to figure out how to find out the whereabouts of Gan Tao Niang and her younger brothers, a timid voice suddenly came from the edge of the crowd:
"I...I might know where they are..."
Although the voice was soft, it immediately attracted everyone's attention. All eyes turned to the source of the sound, only to find that the speaker was Gan Yingzi.
Gan Yingzi felt uncomfortable under everyone's gaze and nervously twisted her fingers.
Gan Li was somewhat surprised to see that the person speaking was Gan Yingzi. She carefully examined the girl's expression and realized that she did not seem to be lying.
Could it be that Gan Yingzi really knows something?
At this moment, Gan Li didn't want to let go of any clue. She stepped forward, gently patted Gan Yingzi's shoulder, and said softly:
"Did you see something? Don't worry, as long as you tell us, we will protect you and never reveal to anyone that it was you who said it."
Ganli's voice seemed to have a magical power, gradually calming Gan Yingzi down. Everyone nodded vigorously in response to Ganli's words, and the last bit of hesitation in their hearts disappeared.
She took a deep breath and said, "I... I went to my uncle's house a few days ago. It's about a mile into the small path on the left side of our village that leads to Caotougou. I saw that my uncle's old house... it seemed like people lived there. And I even saw... I saw Gan Tao's two younger brothers running out of there to play..."
Gan Li was excited upon hearing this, but also somewhat doubtful. It wasn't that she didn't believe Gan Yingzi, but wasn't this all too coincidental?
She was looking for Gan Tao's younger brother, and Gan Yingzi just happened to know that?
Just to be on the safe side, she asked Gan Yingzi one more question: "Since you went to your uncle's house, you should have gone to the new house, so why did you go to the old house?"
Gan Yingzi's face stiffened.
She didn't go there for no reason; the story goes back a few days.
That day, she finally managed to get a day off. Thinking that she hadn't seen her mother in a long time, she couldn't wait a moment longer. So she went back to the village with Gan Zhu's wife that very day. By the time they got home, it was almost dark.
To her surprise, after all the trouble she had gone through to get back home, there was no one there at all. Not only was her mother not home, but she hadn't even returned that night.
Not only that, there wasn't a single grain of rice in the house. Gan Yingzi went back excitedly, but slept hungry all night.
Finally, the next day arrived, and my mother returned with a radiant face. When asked, it turned out she had gone to my uncle's house again! Naturally, all the grain in our house had also been sent to my uncle's house.
"Anyway, you're not home, so you won't be eating that much food..."
Gan Yingzi was speechless as she listened to her mother's explanation: "Just because I'm not home, does that mean you don't need to eat?"
Yingzi's mother replied matter-of-factly, "Didn't you need money for this? Then you'll have the silver to buy it!"
After saying that, perhaps she herself felt that what she did was a bit unreasonable, so she hurriedly changed the subject and mentioned that her family’s old house had been rented out, and that they had paid one tael of silver in rent in just half a month!
Gan Yingzi found it strange at the time. Her uncle's old house was far from the village and was an old house from more than ten years ago. It was so dilapidated that it looked like a haunted house. The surrounding neighbors had also moved away long ago, and it was creepy at night.
Which fool would spend so much money to rent such a shabby place?
Out of curiosity, Gan Yingzi asked her mother, but she hesitated and refused to say more, telling her not to meddle in other people's business.
Gan Yingzi became even more curious, and at the same time worried that maybe the person rented it to do something bad. If that were the case, her uncle had taken the money from the person, and when the truth came out, wouldn't he be implicated?
She wasn't worried about her uncle, but she knew that if something happened to her uncle's family, her mother would definitely not stand idly by, and her own family would be implicated as well!
Thinking of this, Gan Yingzi became even more worried. So she pretended to go back to work at the restaurant, but actually took another day off and secretly went to Caotougou to find out what was going on.
When she arrived at Caotougou, she went straight to her uncle's old house. She didn't feel anything when she was on the main road, but when she turned into the side road, she felt that it was very desolate and there was not a sound of anyone. It was really creepy.
She mustered her courage and walked inside. Only when she got close to the old house did she hear sounds coming from inside. But the old house was tightly closed and the courtyard was quiet. She waited for a long time but no one came out.
Gan Yingzi watched from afar for a long time. Seeing that it was getting late, she was about to leave when she suddenly saw two half-grown children sneaking out. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be Gan Tao's younger brothers!
The two boys must have been itching to play, so they sneaked out to play, only to be caught red-handed by Gan Yingzi.
She was puzzled at the time: why was Gan Tao Niang moving so mysteriously with her sons to such a horrible place?
Although she found it strange at the time, she thought that their living there had nothing to do with her, so she didn't say anything.
After hearing what Ganli said today, I finally understood that the Wu family probably found the place for them to hide people! They rented it at a high price because they thought it was safe because the area around her uncle's old house was remote and there were few pedestrians.
After hearing Gan Yingzi finish speaking, Zhao suddenly realized: "You silly girl, I knew you were going to take two days off for no reason, it turns out it was..."
Ganli was overjoyed, for it was like finding a needle in a haystack!
At this moment, she was very glad that she hadn't been petty and hadn't argued with Gan Yingzi about the fish, otherwise she probably wouldn't have been able to get such an important clue from her!
Upon hearing this, Gan Mingyi excitedly said, "Little sister, I think we need to hurry over there and catch them! What if they run away again?"
Ganli was also worried, but she dared not make any rash moves.
They were all unfamiliar faces. If they all rushed to Caotougou, what if they alerted the Wu family and they moved the people away in advance?
Upon seeing this, Gan Yingzi immediately volunteered:
"Shopkeeper, I used to go to Caotougou with my mother when I was a child. I know that place very well! Everyone there knows me, so they won't suspect anything when they see me."
"How about I go again and try to sneak Sister Gan Tao's brother out?"
"I think it's a good idea!" Gan Li thought it was a good idea, but she was a little worried about Gan Yingzi going alone. After all, she was just a young girl, what if something happened to her?
After a moment's thought, she arranged for Gan Quan to go with Gan Yingzi.
She carefully instructed, "Yingzi, take Ganquan and quietly go over there to coax the person out. Also, Quan-ge'er, when you see the person come out, pick him up and leave. Remember, don't let him make a sound!"
Just to be on the safe side, Second Brother, you drive the oxcart and meet them halfway there. Once they're on the cart, immediately drive it back!
With everything arranged, Ganli finally breathed a sigh of relief.
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