In the main room, Jiaren took a book and lay down next to his younger sister, keeping watch over her.
Perhaps the kang (heated brick bed) was too hot, and he actually fell asleep because he had been reading too late last night.
When Wu Cuihua entered the room, she was startled. Seeing that her son was fast asleep, she mustered her courage and began to search through the trunk.
Unfortunately, Grandma Li's box was locked and couldn't be opened.
She was furious. When she turned her head and saw the chubby white girl on the kang (a heated brick bed), she had a wicked thought.
Isn't it said that this girl is lucky? Indeed, the family's luck is getting better and better.
If her younger brother carried her to gamble, would she be able to win more money...?
Wu Ergou's nose was running from the cold, and he finally waited for his sister to come back.
Not only did they not give him any money, but they also gave him a fat girl, which angered him.
"Sister, are you out of your mind? I need money, why are you giving me a little girl? Am I supposed to find someone to sell her? How many coins can she fetch!"
"Hey, keep your voice down!" Wu Cuihua was terrified.
She looked around and, seeing that there was no one nearby, then she spoke.
“I’m your sister, would I ever harm you! The old lady’s trunk is locked, I can’t find the silver. Besides, Jiaren is watching inside. I can only give you this little girl!”
"You don't know, this girl's a bit different. That old hag in our family is always going on and on about how lucky she is. If you take her gambling, she's sure to win a lot!"
Wu Ergou, disgusted, tried to stuff the swaddling clothes back in, not believing it.
"Don't trick me! If I poop or pee, how am I supposed to gamble?"
"Why don't you listen to me!" Wu Cuihua exclaimed anxiously.
"This girl is indeed a bit eccentric. Ever since she was born, our family has never been without chickens and rabbits, and we can even bring back a whole bucket of fish when we fetch water."
She became more and more excited as she talked, and the more she felt she was smart.
"Also, the eggs at home! We don't raise chickens, nor have we bought any from anyone. We eat eggs every day without fail! In short, just take her to try it out, you can't go wrong!"
Wu Ergou seemed to have been persuaded, or perhaps he was getting impatient, so he picked up the swaddled baby, turned around, and left.
Wu Cuihua became a little scared again and chased after him to give him some instructions.
"Remember, you can only borrow this girl for two hours. You must remember to bring her back to me. Otherwise, my family will probably beat me to death if they find out."
"Okay, stop nagging, I'm in a hurry to win back my money."
Wu Ergou left in a hurry, regardless of whether the little girl was truly blessed or not.
He has two taels of silver in his hand, so he can have a good time.
Seeing her younger brother walk away, Wu Cuihua didn't dare to go home. After thinking for a moment, she sneaked to the village entrance.
The villagers were all watching the Yangko dance, and no one cared whether there was one more person or one less.
"That's really strange. This Yangko dance troupe hasn't come to the village for several years. Why are they here again this year?"
"They probably heard that our village benefited from paying more grain tax this year."
"That's possible. In the past, many people said our village was unlucky. Now that our lives are getting better, they're all trying to curry favor with us."
"The village chief is really something. How did he manage to keep the Li family here? We all benefited from it."
Everyone chatted and laughed, with smiles on their faces.
The Li family also watched with great interest, and their two sons, Jiaxi and Jia'an, even squeezed in with the other boys from the village.
The Yangko dance team didn't mind the children's noise and threw each of them a colorful ribbon.
The mischievous boys then started twisting and turning wildly, making everyone laugh again.
In the end, each family took a handful of copper coins, which together amounted to eight or nine hundred coins.
The Yangko dance team was very satisfied and continued on to the next village.
The group, still enjoying themselves, chatted and laughed as they went home.
The Li family courtyard was unusually quiet, and Old Lady Li took the lead and ran into the house.
"I wonder if Fu Niu'er has woken up yet?"
Tao Hongying and Zhao Yuru went to the kitchen; it was already lunchtime.
"Mother, don't worry, Fu Niu'er has been sleeping soundly lately, and she sleeps for at least an hour at a time."
Grandma Li didn't listen. Her granddaughter was her precious treasure, and she would stay by her side even when she was asleep.
She listened outside the door for any sound from inside, then carefully pushed the door open.
Jiaren was sleeping on his side, snoring softly.
Grandma Li couldn't help but feel sorry for her grandson, who worked very hard studying and whose room was lit up until midnight every night.
She grabbed a small blanket to cover her grandson, but when she glanced to the side, she instantly felt a chill run through her body…
"Where's Fu Niu'er! Fu Niu'er, Fu Niu'er!"
Jiaren was suddenly woken up by the noise. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. When he saw his grandmother in front of him, he asked her what was wrong.
Grandma, you're back?
Grandma Li couldn't care less about anything else, and pulled her grandson aside to ask.
"Where's Fu Niu'er? Weren't you watching Fu Niu'er sleep?"
Jiaren was a little confused. He pointed to the side, but his face turned pale as he was about to speak.
The little mattress where my younger sister sleeps is completely empty!
"Ah, where's Fu Niu'er? She was just here a moment ago!"
"How long have you been sleeping? Jiaren, where's your sister? Did someone take her to play?"
Grandma Li was trembling uncontrollably, trying her best to calm down.
Jiaren's mind was buzzing, and his face turned even paler. "You just left, I was a little sleepy, so..."
"It's over... Fu Niu'er! My Fu Niu'er!"
Grandma Li collapsed to the ground and couldn't get up again.
Hearing the commotion, the family members outside rushed in.
When Tao Hongying saw that the kang (a heated brick bed) was empty, she went mad.
She searched everywhere in the house, even behind the cabinets, but there was no sign of her daughter!
Just then, Li Laosi ran in from outside, and she rushed forward and burst into tears.
"Fourth brother, Fu Niu'er is gone, boohoo, Fu Niu'er is gone!"
Li Laosi held her tightly, trying his best to comfort her, "Don't panic, don't panic, maybe someone took Fu Niu'er to play."
"Find them, hurry up and find them, go door to door!" Li Lao Er was the calmest of them all, and he shouted to his family to go out and search.
Soon, everyone in the village knew that the Li family's Fu Niu'er had gone missing.
More and more people gathered in the Li family courtyard, asking questions one after another.
"What on earth happened? How could a child who can't even walk yet be lost?"
"Yes, is there no one at home to look after the children?"
"I haven't heard of anyone filming Hanako lately?"
"They only want older children for the flower shoots. These little ones need to be breastfed, and nobody wants them."
The Li family members were all pale and completely lost.
Grandma Li was so weak that she couldn't even walk. She slumped on a chair, tears streaming down her face.
"My heart has been ripped out! My little Fu Niu'er, please find my little Fu Niu'er again!"
Tao Hongying fainted from crying several times.
The Li brothers were inwardly furious, and Jiaren simply knelt on the ground and refused to get up.
When everyone heard that Jiaren had been watching over the sleeping Fu Niu'er, but Fu Niu'er had gone missing, they were all furious.
"Needless to say, someone stole the child."
The village chief walked around the ground a few times with his hands behind his back, and then gave instructions to the villagers.
“Every family has children, and everyone knows that children are their lifeblood. Especially the Li family's Fu Niu'er, such a young child. If an evil person were to leave her in the snow, she would probably freeze to death. We must find her as soon as possible!”
“Village chief, you say what you want, we’ll all listen to you, the whole village will go out and search.”
"Yes, we must find it!"
The villagers readily agreed, saying that even if the Li family had always taken good care of them, they would do their best because they loved their child.
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