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When Qin Yuji ran to the army crying to find Xiao Li, the lights had just been turned off and the sentry on duty heard a choking "woooo" sound coming from afar. Before they could go out to check the cause, they saw a barefoot, dirty little boy with blood on his body and feet running towards them.
The little boy ran over with his head down, rushed towards the gate and ran into the army. The sentry on duty reacted very quickly and hugged him as he rushed in, "Where did you come from, kid? Why are you barging into the army?"
"Where is your master? What happened?" The sentry held Qin Yuji in one hand. He seemed to smell blood vaguely, and he quickly carried the person to the duty room with light.
In the dim light, he saw Qin Yuji's bloodstained feet. Her clothes were torn into tatters and many parts had turned into strips. There were even bloodstains on her body.
Qin Yuji kept struggling, tears streaming down her face like water, she sobbed and said, "Let me go, please let me go, I want to find Uncle Xiao, I want to find my Uncle Xiao."
"Please let me go, my grandma is dying, she's going to be killed by them, wuwuwuwu~~~~" Qin Yuji was sent out by old lady Qin who protected her with her life. When he was thrown out of the crowd, he heard his grandma's voice in his ears: Run, don't look back.
He didn't listen to his grandmother and turned back.
He saw his grandmother surrounded by a group of people, their fists raining down on an elderly woman. Another group of people were chasing him with torches. He was terrified and wanted to rush back to save his grandmother, but he kept hearing his grandmother's urgent voice: "Yu Ji, run, run!"
He ran, escaped from a group of hungry people. His shoes were lost on the road at some point. His two little feet were scratched by the stones and thorns on the ground while running on the uneven mountain road, but he didn't feel anything. There were only two words in his mind: Run!
"Stop crying, I'll take you to find Xiao Tuan." The soldier on guard listened for a long time before he understood what the other party was saying from his crying voice. After saying something to his comrades around him, he quickly carried Qin Yuji, who was crying uncontrollably, to find Xiao Li.
Xiao Li is on duty today, and right now he is chatting with Wang Tiezhu outside the dormitory, commonly known as bragging.
As the two talked more excitedly, they heard a "woooooo" sound approaching them. The sound was particularly miserable in the dark environment.
Wang Tiezhu was so frightened that he jumped up and down, hiding behind Xiao Li and rubbing his arms vigorously. "Oh my god, who is this? Who is crying outside in the middle of the night?"
"Get out of the way, go check it out."
Who says soldiers shed blood and sweat but no tears? Since the famine began, the army often received letters from home, and soldiers would run out to cry secretly in the middle of the night instead of sleeping. Xiao Li had also read those letters and knew the situation at the other party's families, so he gradually lost his temper towards those soldiers who ran out to cry after lights out.
He would also give the soldiers enough time to adjust themselves. After all, the departure of family members could not be solved with just a few words.
Wang Tiezhu walked in front of Xiao Li resignedly. Soon, they saw the soldier holding Qin Yuji. He put Qin Yuji on the ground, saluted, and said, "Captain Xiao, this child is crying and wants to see you."
"Looking for me?" Xiao Li didn't recognize the person crying sadly beside him for a moment. Countless children he knew flashed through his mind, but in the end, it seemed that none of them matched.
But after Qin Yuji was put down, she rushed forward like a cannonball and hugged Xiao Li's thighs, raising her tearful face and saying, "Uncle Xiao, please save my grandma, I beg you."
It was not until this time that Xiao Li recognized Qin Yu Ji. He held Qin Yu Ji's arms and lifted him up so that they were facing each other at the same level. After looking him up and down, he finally understood why he did not recognize him at the beginning.
The little fat boy from before had lost a lot of weight in just half a year. Seeing how miserable he looked like a little beggar, Xiao Li could easily guess that something might have happened to the Qin family.
This was the first time Xiao Li saw Qin Yuji cry after knowing her for so long. She cried in extreme pain and despair, choking as if she was about to faint at any moment.
Xiao Li quickly hugged him in his arms, patted Qin Yuji's back with his big hands to calm him down, and whispered, "First explain the matter to Uncle Xiao clearly before crying. If you keep crying like this, Uncle Xiao won't be able to hear what you are saying."
Perhaps it was because he had met someone familiar, or perhaps it was because Xiao Li's embrace was too gentle, giving him a familiar sense of security. Qin Yuji hugged Xiao Li's neck, buried her face in his arms, and cried even harder, sobbing and wailing as she said, "They wanted to give me to the Dragon King as a sacrifice. My grandmother didn't want to stop them, so they surrounded our yard. My grandmother threw me out from the crowd. They were beating her when I ran away. They looked ferocious and terrifying."
"Uncle Xiao, they are starving. Not only do they want to kill me, they also want to eat my flesh. They are so scary now. Grandma will be beaten to death in their hands. I am Xiaonuo's child husband. Can you save my grandma? Please, Uncle Xiao." Qin Yuji raised his head and grabbed Xiao Li's clothes on his chest with both hands, looking at Xiao Li with pleading eyes.
Child adopter? ? ?
What the hell!!!
The thought of Tong Yangfu flashed through Xiaoli's mind, and then he was immediately attracted by the sacrificial activities. Thinking of how he had once asked Xiaonuo to participate in the rain-praying ceremony, and thinking of the current sacrificial activities, Xiaoli felt very scared after hearing it, and the fire in his heart was instantly ignited.
Xiao Li felt uncomfortable all over, and his face immediately fell. "Fuck! They're actually practicing feudal superstition right under my nose! Wang Tiezhu, quickly get everyone up and tell them to grab their weapons and follow me to Longgang Village. I'm going to take their witch away right under their noses today. I want to see if arresting their mortal agent will bring retribution and divine punishment!"
"What the hell is this? Are you so hungry that you even forget you're a human being!" There is no humanity at all.
Wang Tiezhu was quite perceptive. Seeing Xiao Li getting angry, he directly asked the soldier who sent Qin Yuji to find Dong Shiyi. He then called a group of people, and the group went to Longgang Village in a mighty manner.
Along the way, Xiao Li held Qin Yuji and walked in front, followed by a group of soldiers in plain clothes. The group of people looked so imposing and made Xiao Li feel like he was the boss of a gang.
If it weren't for the wrong timing, Xiao Li would probably still brag to the child in his arms about how great he is.
Longgang Village was not too far from the army, and they quickly reached the village at their speed. Under Qin Yuji's command, a group of people quickly found the Qin family's small courtyard.
"Grandma, grandma, I'm back with Uncle Xiao. Grandma~ Where are you, grandma..." When Qin Yuji arrived home, she struggled to slide down from Xiao Li, and ran to the yard despite the pain in her feet. However, the Qin family's yard was quiet and no one was there. After running into the house and looking around and finding no one, Qin Yuji couldn't bear it anymore, and sat in the yard and cried again.
"Why are you crying? A real man will only cry when encountering problems. Aren't you ashamed? Wipe away your tears!" Although he knew that the other party was only a seven-year-old child, Xiao Li couldn't hold back his angry emotions when he saw him sitting on the ground crying helplessly.
Qin Yuji was frightened by Xiao Li and stopped crying instantly. He stood there hiccuping and lowered his head at a loss. Xiao Li saw him like this and walked over to pick him up helplessly with one hand, "Don't cry, uncle will take you to find grandma."
When Qin Yuji entered the house to look for someone, Xiao Li and the others discovered a pool of blood in the yard, as well as bloodstains and footprints dripping on the ground as people moved. The scouts who came with them had now followed the marks. He picked up Qin Yuji and quickly followed.
Old Lady Qin wasn't hard to find. Following the trail, they soon found the bound woman in the village's main square (the wheat field). Surrounding her was a group of skinny people, their faces brimming with excitement as they danced and twirled around each other, holding torches. An old man, muttering something, knelt in the middle and kowtowed repeatedly. The scene reminded Xiao Li of the bizarre rituals of primitive people surrounding their prey he'd seen on television.
Weird and mysterious, comparable to a cult.
Crazy, that was Xiao Li's only thought after seeing this scene. He even saw people he used to know in the crowd. Those people were once kind and honest, but who would have thought that they would now be like madmen, using living people for sacrifice.
"Go, bring over the witch kneeling on the ground in the middle." Xiao Li's eyes were filled with rage. "Capture all the people involved. Beat anyone who resists. Beat them to death."
The soldiers who received the order began to carry it out, and the situation was out of control for a while. Fortunately, they quickly subdued the villagers to the ground and brought the cursing witch directly to Xiao Li.
Seeing the other party, Xiao Li couldn't help but burst into anger and wanted to kick her. Before he could lift his foot, Dong Shiyi rushed over and stopped him, "You are crazy! She is so old, she will not survive if you kick her. What's more, you are wearing a military uniform. Soldiers can't beat civilians at will. If you kick her, your clothes will be stripped off no matter what."
"Xiao Li, can't you consider the consequences before you do anything!" Dong Shiyi is worthy of being the political commissar. He is always calmer than Xiao Li. After he came over, he directly took over Xiao Li's position and arranged the follow-up in an orderly manner.
Although Xiao Li was a little unhappy, he had to admit that he did a better job than himself, so he just let him do whatever he wanted.
Qin Yuji and Old Lady Qin were sent to the August 1st Hospital that night, and the witch was temporarily locked up in a small dark room in the army. She would be taken to the public security bureau at dawn the next day. As for the villagers, Dong Shiyi found all the production team leaders and village heads nearby overnight and gave them a direct and clear lesson: an anti-superstition course.
He made it clear to everyone, "I know everyone's life is difficult right now, and I know how unpleasant it feels to be hungry, but that doesn't give you a reason to be superstitious and harm others. Are you openly engaging in superstitious killings right next to the troops? Do you think we soldiers are in your sight? Or do you have some sort of anti-D plan?"
The village head and production team leader were so frightened by the accusation that they broke out in a cold sweat on that freezing winter night. They kept saying, "No, it won't happen again. This was a pure accident. We will definitely keep an eye on them from now on."
"Commissar Dong, you know, they weren't like this before. It's just that every household has no food now, and everyone is so hungry that they came up with this method. They didn't do it on purpose... Tomorrow, tomorrow we will hold a meeting to eliminate superstition in the nearby villages. Anyone who has those things will be severely punished! Commissar Dong, let them go this time!"
"Hunger is not a reason for you to make mistakes..." But it has to be said that everything now is caused by hunger, and even the government is powerless.
After a long time, so long that everyone's backs were wet with cold sweat, Dong Shiyi finally spoke again: "The law does not punish the masses. This time, we will not arrest anyone other than the mastermind. I hope the village head and production team leaders will manage their villagers well. Next time, don't take the hat on your head. I think it will be more appropriate to hand it over to someone more capable."
Xiao Lichu was listening and wanted to say something, but he was pulled away by Dong Shiyi as soon as he opened his mouth. He could only turn around and make a gesture of wiping his neck to a few people. The timid ones were so scared that they sat on the ground on the spot.
Dong Shiyi couldn't stand it anymore and pulled him aside: "You are a soldier, not a bandit. Can you pay attention to your image when you go out?"
Xiao Li yelled in dissatisfaction, "I didn't say a word. He's just too timid. They're still obsessed with feudal superstitions. Look how scared they are."
"Boss, I think your punishment is too light. They're not just engaging in superstition, they're trying to kill people. These people will never know their mistakes unless they're punished! You just brushed it off with a simple sentence. Don't you think it's too easy for them?"
"Lao Xiao, who are you going to arrest? Are you going to arrest everyone in this village? Will the police take them? Don't you know why the police don't arrest so many people who steal and rob in the city? Just hand the witch over, and don't force anything else. This world is not that ideal."
The famine led to an increase in crime, but the police did not arrest anyone mainly because the prisoners in jail also needed to eat, and the police had no food. In the end, as long as the crime was not too extreme, they would ignore it, and those with serious crimes would be arrested and sent to labor camps.
This is the general environment now. Xiao Li is a military man after all. He has no control over and cannot interfere in local affairs. So even if he is angry and dissatisfied, there is nothing he can do and he can only go back angrily.
The next day, he personally took the witch to the Public Security Bureau and reported it to all the villagers in Longgang Village. Just as Dong Shiyi said, after the Public Security Bureau learned about it, they only sent two people to Longgang Village to preach, and then went back immediately.
The witch was sent to a labor camp. However, she was old after all and was already very afraid of going to the Public Security Bureau. She was scared to death when she heard that she was going to be sent to a farm.
This was very surprising, but no one sympathized with her or shed tears for her.
Everything seems to have returned to the original state...
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