"That's right. It's rare for me to come back here. I'm tired of the scenery at home. Why don't I take a walk here?"
Wen Shuangnian nodded in agreement with Shen Mingzhu, "Yes, the scenery here is also nice. Anyway, this uncle promised to take us home, so it doesn't matter if it's earlier or later."
Hearing that the two were willing to stay, the elegant man put away his solemn look and said, "Why not let the eldest sister-in-law of the old Li family accompany you for a walk? Our village has important guests to entertain today. I'm afraid I don't have time to play with you."
Shen Mingzhu still had a standard smile on her face. "It's no trouble. We are just kids and like to go shopping by ourselves."
The elegant man's eyes fell on Shen Mingzhu's face. Shen Mingzhu met his gaze without hesitation, her eyes flashing with the clarity of a young man who is ignorant of the world.
The man quickly looked away and formed a rough assessment of the two of them.
They are just two innocent kids who are a little wary, but not too wary.
There shouldn't be any big waves.
"In that case, I will get busy. If you have any requests, you can go to them. We villagers are simple and honest and will be happy to help you."
The man disappeared from their sight, and many villagers went about their business.
Grandma Wang said nothing and left the crowd.
In order to make the people here believe that they really had no intention of escaping, Shen Mingzhu and Wen Shuangnian took a walk around the area.
But every time they passed by a house, the people inside always gave them strange looks.
There were even several elderly men and women of similar age gathered under a tree, commenting on the two's clothes and appearance.
Shen Mingzhu couldn't stand this aggressive gaze, so she pulled Wen Shuangnian and finally stopped at the door of Grandma Wang's house.
There were very few villagers approaching this place, so they were able to temporarily shake off the stares that made them feel uncomfortable.
"Cough cough!" A series of violent coughing sounds came from the inner room. Shen Mingzhu and Wen Shuangnian exchanged glances, thinking that Grandma Wang was unwell, and immediately pushed open the half-open door and went in.
Granny Wang happened to come out of a simple room holding a bowl. "Why are you back?"
Shen Mingzhu suddenly felt that it was a bit rude of them to come uninvited, and could only smile apologetically at Grandma Wang.
"I'm really sorry, those people outside always look at us strangely, and we have no choice but to hide here with you."
"If you don't want to leave when I tell you to, don't blame anyone when you can't leave!"
When Grandma Wang said this, she didn't even look at them, but just went on to fetch water from the old pressurized well.
However, this water pressurized well is a bit old, and it is a bit difficult for Grandma Wang to use it. After some operations, apart from hearing a squeaking sound, no water came out.
Wen Shuangnian stepped forward and took the joystick from Grandma Wang. Relying on her own experience, she quickly made a small flow of water appear in the water pressure well.
Shen Mingzhu held up her chin with some curiosity, "Why not use a faucet? I saw other people's houses have one."
Granny Wang was washing dishes as the water flowed. When she heard Shen Mingzhu's doubts, she laughed self-deprecatingly, "I'm an old woman. It's good enough to be alive. Who cares whether I can drink water or not?"
Such an answer inexplicably made Shen Mingzhu feel nervous. She pursed her lips and finally bowed to Grandma Wang.
"I'm sorry, I said this without knowing the real situation. Maybe you have your own difficulties, and I shouldn't have spoken so rashly."
Grandma Wang suddenly turned to look at Shen Mingzhu, "You are quite polite, little kid."
Wen Shuangnian finished checking the water well and said, "Grandma Wang, do you have any tools? I can help you find out how to fix it. Otherwise, you won't be able to get water every other day, and it will be inconvenient for you."
"Yes, wait a minute."
Grandma Wang placed the washed dishes in the old closet and then walked into the room she had just been in.
At this time, the sound of coughing was heard again, this time it was extremely violent and did not stop for a long time.
Wen Shuangnian and Shen Mingzhu looked at each other and walked into the room together.
But as soon as they reached the door, they could smell a rotten smell mixed with a foul odor, and they also saw the scene inside clearly.
An old man with white hair and wrinkles on his face was leaning against a simple bed made of wooden boards with cloudy eyes. The person who was coughing was not Grandma Wang, but this old man.
Grandma Wang seemed to be accustomed to the old man coughing inside. She handed him a bowl of water and continued to search for the toolbox under the bed.
"Ahem, old lady, what time is it now?"
Grandma Wang didn't respond, and the old man didn't react much either. He picked up the water, took a sip, and looked at the light coming through the broken window.
Grandma Wang found the toolbox and turned around, only to discover that the two of them were standing at the door.
"What are you doing here? It's a mess here, get out now."
Grandma Wang handed the toolbox to Wen Shuangnian, then pushed the two men out and half closed the door.
The old man inside didn't seem to see the two girls who broke in unexpectedly, and just kept looking out the window.
Granny Wang sighed, "Some things are not as simple as you think. This place is really not suitable for you to stay for long."
"We didn't mean to do that, but the guy inside seems to be very ill. I'd like to ask, can't we take him to see a doctor?"
Shen Mingzhu regretted what she said, "I'm such a bad mouth. Grandma Wang's family is so poor that they can't even find anyone to fix the broken water well. Wouldn't it make her sad if I mentioned this?"
Thinking of this, Shen Mingzhu lowered her head in frustration. Before she could say sorry, Grandma Wang spoke.
"Heh, this is a place where people are eaten. Once you come in, don't even think about leaving."
"Since you don't want to leave now, listen to my story."
Shen Mingzhu was a little surprised, but she still found a chair for Grandma Wang to sit down and talked slowly.
"Go and close the door first, in case there are ears on the other side of the wall."
Shen Mingzhu did as she was told, while Wen Shuangnian nodded to Grandma Wang while repairing the water pressure well.
What Grandma Wang said next completely tore off the hypocritical fig leaf of this village.
The village was originally named Fule Village.
About seven or eight years ago, a few outsiders came to this dilapidated village.
There are only a few elderly people left in the village. Except for the Chinese New Year when each family comes back to clean the old house and live there for a few days, most of the time the old houses are empty and dilapidated.
At that time, Grandma Wang's husband, who was also the village chief, warmly entertained these strangers who came from afar.
The one who has the highest say among these people is the elegant man wearing glasses in the morning.
They proposed to buy residential land in the village and settle down there.
This put the village chief in a very difficult position. After all, the policy decades ago no longer allowed the buying and selling of homesteads, let alone settling there.
Once discovered, the village chief will be sentenced.
At that time, the village chief was already seriously ill and urgently needed a large sum of money for treatment. If he was not treated, he would not have much time to live.
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