"Hey, what are you doing? Let me go! I didn't kill anyone! I just kicked my nephew. I didn't kill him. Let me go!" Zhou Laosan struggled desperately, but Zhou Fagen and the others held him down and tied him up with straw rope behind their backs.
"What are you standing there for, you dead man? Come and help!" Zhou Laosi, who was being held down by Zhang Fagen and his men and couldn't move, yelled at his wife.
Zhong Mailian was terrified. Her husband's shout brought her back to her senses. "I... I can't beat them either. How can I help you? You're a grown man and you can't break free. What can I, a woman, do?"
She lowered her head dejectedly, not foolish enough to actually listen to Zhou Laosi and go forward to cause trouble.
Zhang Cui pressed down on the hoe slung over her shoulder with her left hand, while the sleeve of her right arm, which had been missing, fluttered in the breeze. Her face was expressionless, and her eyes were dull and lifeless. She had been like this ever since she lost an arm, her mindset negative, as if nothing in the world concerned her anymore.
Seeing Zhou Laosan being tied up, she merely raised her eyelids slightly and showed little reaction.
The village chief ignored the two women and only ordered Zhou Fagen and the others to take Zhou Laosan and Zhou Laosi to the cowshed next door and lock them up. "Fagen, Shugen, you guys stay here and watch over them. I'm going in to see how Dafa is doing."
When Zhao Guihua and the village chief entered the house, Zhou Laoda had already finished feeding Zhou Dafa ginseng soup. Just as he put the bowl down, Dafu walked in and said that the village chief had arrived.
"You've come at the right time. I'll go get the oxcart. We can't delay any longer; we need to get the person to town quickly." Then, Old Zhou went out of the house and informed the village chief.
"I thought he was beyond saving, but he came back to life after drinking a bowl of ginseng soup. However, that thing only kept him alive. We still need to call a doctor to treat him, otherwise it's doubtful whether he will survive."
Hearing that the person could still be saved, the village chief was relieved and didn't have the mind to think about where Zhou Laoda got the ginseng. However, it is true that old ginseng can prolong life, so it can only be said that Dafa's life was not meant to end.
"Then hurry up and go, I'll go with you," the village chief said.
"Village Chief, leave Dafa to my husband. You stay and handle other matters." Zhao Guihua hesitated for a moment, as if she didn't know how to speak, but in the end she said it directly.
“Zhou Laosan and Zhou Laosi harmed Dafa, and we can’t guarantee he’ll come back to life. Only a few of us know about this, so let’s not tell anyone. My point is…”
Seeing that Zhou Lao Er and Chen Cao Cao were both greatly traumatized, Zhao Guihua thought about how her nephew had been kicked off the cliff because of picking herbs. She regretted that she should not have taught her younger brother and sister-in-law to identify herbs. Now that something had happened, she felt very guilty.
Her idea was to keep a close eye on Zhou Laosan and Zhou Laosi, and not to release them until it was certain whether Zhou Dafa would survive. If Zhou Dafa really died, then the two of them would have to pay with their lives and be handed over to the authorities.
If the child can still be saved, then don't tell the Zhou family yet. They need to divide the family property first, and Zhou Laosan and Zhou Laosi need to pay compensation.
The village chief had no objection to this, and he was willing to help Zhou Lao Er. Zhou Lao San and Zhou Lao Si had gone too far this time and must be severely punished, otherwise it would be against all reason.
Zhou Laoda drove the oxcart away from the backyard. Zhou Lao Er and Chen Caocao were also there. Zhou Daya wanted to go with them, but Zhao Guihua stopped her.
“Da Ya, it’s getting dark, and the road is difficult to travel. The oxcart needs to go fast to get your brother to the doctor in town. If there are too many people on the cart, the ox won’t be able to run fast and it will delay the journey. Let’s just wait at home.”
Zhou Daya was already ten years old and had always been sensible. After hearing what her aunt said, she stopped insisting and watched the oxcart leave while crying.
As night fell, Old Zhou drove his oxcart and quickly disappeared into the darkness.
Old Man Zhou and Old Woman Zhou came to make a scene outside the door, their wailing echoing throughout Yegou Village, sounding particularly noisy and even a bit jarring.
"The third and fourth brothers both said it wasn't intentional. Dafa is their nephew; they wouldn't harm him. It was just an accidental kick. He's not dead. Why are you tying him up and not letting him go home? Village chief, what you've done is unethical."
"We fled here together, we're all on the same side, why are you driving people to their deaths?" Old Zhou pointed at the village chief's nose in the darkness, stamping his feet and cursing.
The village chief's face was grim, his expression unreadable in the darkness, but his cold voice clearly reached Old Zhou and the others' ears, "Everyone in the village knows you two are biased, and we outsiders have no right to interfere in your affairs, but now someone has been killed."
"Let me tell you straight, this matter needs to be handled by the authorities. Zhou Laosan and Zhou Laosi must pay with their lives for that kid Dafa. If this isn't handled properly, everyone in the village will look down on each other. Is it just a matter of killing someone and that's it? After all, murder doesn't come at a price."
By the end, the village chief was practically shouting, "Everyone with eyes can see what Zhou Lao Er and Chen Cao Cao have been driven to. They'll definitely seek revenge on Lao San and Lao Si. If Lao Er and his wife take a knife and kill their two younger brothers, they'll deserve it."
"The second son wouldn't dare!" Old Zhou said, his face contorted with rage.
"Let's see if he dares to do it. He'll just have one son." The village chief sneered.
"No, I need to take the third and fourth sons back now. We can't let them stay tied up here." Old Man Zhou and Old Woman Zhou came over to untie the third and fourth sons.
But Zhou Fagen and others blocked their way, preventing the two from getting close.
The village chief coldly warned Old Man Zhou and Old Woman Zhou, "You'd better not cause any more trouble, or we'll send them to the yamen right now."
"You..." Old Zhou clutched his chest, so angry he almost vomited blood.
But he also knew the village chief's temperament. This young man was decisive and resourceful; otherwise, he wouldn't have become the village chief at such a young age, and later, during the escape, he led everyone all the way to the south.
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