"We were tricked by that Jin guy! Our family and the Song family are both respectable families, how could we fight against Jin? He was a rogue and scoundrel in his younger days, he has done all sorts of bad things, and he has several lives on his hands!" In her old age, Grandma Sun regretted her actions, but it was too late. Now her family was no longer a family, and she had brought disaster to several generations.
Sun Miao'er guessed that since Jin was pregnant, Sun Yuanhu should have gotten together with Jin before the engagement. They were trying to force the Sun family elders to agree by having sex with her.
Song became a living cannon fodder. Her marriage to Sun Yuanyong was a blessing in disguise. Sun Yuanhu was uneducated and did not learn anything good. On the other hand, his brother Sun Yuanyong was indeed a stutterer, but he was hardworking, capable and willing to endure hardship. In the first few years of their marriage, the couple lived a relatively comfortable life.
Even after Sun Miao'er sorted out the entanglement between them, she still had many doubts. "Then why did my father go out to work later? Didn't we still have land at home?"
Grandma Sun covered her face, heartbroken. "Your grandfather, he was so foolish! Your father and your second uncle were never interested in herbs when they were young. But your father was obedient. Even if he didn't like it, he would force himself to learn. He often helped your grandfather. Your second uncle was different. He idled away his days, making friends with bad people. Before your aunt came into the family, your grandfather and your father always managed the herb garden."
At this point, Grandma Sun choked up, but still managed to hold back her tears. "I was hoping that this family business, passed down through generations, would have a successor. But when your aunt married into the family, she insisted that your second uncle get involved. Your second uncle knew nothing about herbs and just followed along, trying to make a quick buck. He lost several businesses. Your father is stubborn and couldn't get along with your second uncle on this issue. It was clearly your second uncle who was in the wrong, but your grandfather was clearly biased towards him, saying that your father, as the older brother, had done a bad job!"
"So, my father went out to work in a fit of anger?" Sun Miao'er sighed inwardly. It seemed that Jin Shi was really good at this. First, she made the situation irreversible, and then she knew Sun Yuanyong's stubborn temper well. She used this trick to force the eldest son of the Sun family to leave.
Grandma Sun slowly closed her eyes, her eyes slightly moist. She dropped her cane and slumped onto the bed. "Yes, after your father passed away, your second uncle became unambitious. He made your grandfather and me manage the medicinal herb field every day, and he would come back every few days asking for money..."
At this point, Old Lady Sun could hardly continue. Sun Miao'er could guess what would happen next with her toes. Sun Yuanyong went out to work, holding his anger. Sun Yuanhu was useless and angered Old Man Sun to death. He and Jin Shi jointly seized the medicinal herb land, but they were too lazy to manage it. Their lives became poorer and poorer, and they were also heavily in debt.
"My mother, when she went mad, didn't she show any signs?" Sun Miao'er couldn't understand why Song Shi hadn't lost her mind when Sun Yuanyong left, so how did she go mad later?
Grandma Sun recalled the scene from back then, it was still vivid in her mind. "There were no signs at all. Yuanyong was swept away by the flash flood, without even leaving a body. Now his grave is empty. Your mother arranged his funeral, and a few months later, one day, your mother suddenly said that your father was not dead. She said she wanted to see him alive or dead. Everyone advised her to think positively, that there were still two children waiting for her, but she just wouldn't believe it..."
"That's why everyone's been saying my mother has gone mad." Sun Miao'er said calmly before standing up. She didn't believe that a perfectly healthy person could lose their mind overnight, nor did she believe that her mother had simply wandered off on her own.
If we're going to investigate, we have to start with the Jin family.
She talked to Grandma Sun for a while, calming her down.
There were too many clues, and the things she needed to do were also complicated, so she could only do them one by one.
The important thing is Aunt Liang's bill. She has spent the one tael of silver very carefully and there are still four coins left. She will keep these coins as capital and not use them for anything else for now.
In order to finish Liang's order as soon as possible, Sun Miao'er rushed to complete the work. She searched for balsam flowers, prepared mulberry leaf ash and wood ash, and even went to Fu Yuchi's place to "buy" some alum. She was going to pay for it, but Fu Yuchi refused to accept it and specifically asked to eat the big carp from last time.
By nearly midnight, the fabrics were finally dyed and hung out to dry in the courtyard. The summer night was hot and humid, and Sun Miao'er estimated that they would be completely dry overnight.
By the time she fell into a deep sleep, the moon had already sunk to the east.
Having worked too late the night before, Sun Miao'er, who usually gets up early, slept until noon the next day.
Walking into the yard, I looked up and realized that the cloth I had hung out to dry the night before was gone!
"Xiaoman, have you seen the cloth that your sister hung out to dry here?" She looked around but couldn't find the cloth.
Xiaoman shook her head, "Don't worry, sister, I'll go outside and look for it for you!"
Sun Miao'er thought that the wind wasn't strong when she went to sleep yesterday, and she even nailed two wooden boards up. But now the wooden boards were on the ground, and the cloth was gone. Could it be that her house had been burgled?
"Sister, I looked outside too, but I couldn't find the cloth you mentioned." Xiaoman returned empty-handed, but seeing his sister's anxiety, he couldn't sit still any longer.
Sun Miao'er told herself that she had to stay calm. "Xiaoman, go walk around the village and see if you can find a piece of cloth like this. If you find anything, don't say a word. Come back and tell your sister." She handed the sample to her younger brother and then tried to find out who the suspect was.
Who would steal this cloth? Not many people knew that she dyed cloth: Aunt Liang, Grandma, Mrs. Jin, and a few neighbors...
Sun Miao'er's first thought was of Jin Shi, but then she thought again that Jin Shi was not such a stupid person. Besides, she knew that these were Aunt Liang's things. Even if she stole them, she couldn't wear them openly just to ruin her own business.
No, that's unlikely. This could easily lead to a beating at the yamen. Besides, Jin Shi lives in the same courtyard as me, so a search would be enough to find her; she can't be hidden at all.
Could it have ended up in someone else's hands through the Jin family? The Jin family is elusive at home; she's either out playing cards or gossiping at other people's houses, rarely staying at home properly.
This possibility cannot be ruled out, but Jin can chat with almost anyone in this village, so who would she give this to?
Hua Gu, Xiao Zhang Shi, or the Wei family... there are too many possibilities. Sun Miao'er thought that she couldn't possibly search every household here. If she couldn't find the items, these people would have something to hold against her.
"What?! It's been stolen!" When Liang Lao Er's wife came to collect her clothes, she found nothing but the fact that they had been stolen.
Sun Miao'er pulled her into the inner room. "Aunt Liang, it's only been one night, and I haven't made a fuss yet. After all, it's your stuff, and it's hard to find right now. We need to think of a way to lure the snake out of its hole."
"Niece, tell me, your aunt will listen to you." Liang Lao Er's wife never expected this to happen to her. When she heard about the theft, her mind was buzzing. The money wasn't the most important thing; what mattered was that the bad guy had succeeded, and she couldn't swallow her anger.
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