It was almost midday when Xing Zhaozhao was holding Xiao Hongling and scooping apple puree for her to eat. Suddenly, Aunt Hao came over, looked at Xing Zhaozhao, and said with an unusually serious expression, "Something bad has happened, Zhaozhao, something's wrong."
Xing Zhaozhao's heart tightened, and she stopped what she was doing.
Little Hongling had her mouth open, waiting for the next bite of apple puree, when she saw Xing Zhaozhao suddenly stop. She anxiously patted Xing Zhaozhao's arm with her little paws and cried out, "Ah ah!"
Xing Zhaozhao then placed Xiao Hongling in Hongfei's arms and gave the unfinished apple to Hongyu, asking her brothers to help feed her.
As long as there is food, Xiao Hongling doesn't care who feeds her and immediately stops fussing.
Xing Zhaozhao got up and went to greet Aunt Hao, asking, "What happened?"
“Zhang Wenming is dead,” Aunt Hao said.
Xing Zhaozhao was shocked: "How could he be dead?"
"Just got word from the Public Security Bureau. After he was taken there and locked up yesterday, he kept making a fuss, complaining of aches and pains. The officers even got a doctor from the clinic to examine him, but they couldn't find anything wrong. They just assumed he was faking it and didn't take it seriously. But when they went to check on him this morning, he was already dead inside. His body was cold. It seems he took off his belt in the middle of the night, tied it to the headboard, and strangled himself to death." Aunt Hao whispered to Xing Zhaozhao, afraid the children nearby would hear and it would be inappropriate.
Xing Zhaozhao's face paled upon hearing this: "Is it because of the pain? Or..."
"The people from the public security brigade said he probably committed suicide out of fear of punishment, but I think, even if he was going to die anyway, is being shot more painful than being hanged alive?" Aunt Hao said, shivering involuntarily.
Xing Zhaozhao understood what Aunt Hao meant: "So you think it's still because of... the beating yesterday?"
Aunt Hao nodded: "That Chen Dachuan doesn't look like someone you can easily get along with. He often goes from street to street collecting scrap. Who knows what kind of people he's met? He might use some underhanded tricks, you never know."
As Aunt Hao spoke, she looked at Xing Zhaozhao with concern and said, "I'm worried about you now. After what happened yesterday, I wonder if he will hold a grudge and seek revenge on you."
Xing Zhaozhao's expression was somewhat solemn. She shook her head and said, "I'm not afraid of him coming to find me. I'm more worried about Fu Lan." Their target has always been Fu Lan. She originally thought that after yesterday, they should be able to calm down for a while, but now it seems that she can't be too optimistic.
"Auntie, could you please watch my three children here for me? I'm going to town to find Fu Lan, I'll be right back," Xing Zhaozhao said, turning to leave.
Suddenly, there was a rapid knocking sound at the door.
When Xing Zhaozhao opened the door, she saw Gao Qingshan standing anxiously outside, with Qin Shi, who was running around with a flushed face and covered in sweat, beside him.
"Something terrible has happened, Aunt Xing! Xiao Lan is in trouble!" Gao Qingshan cried out anxiously as soon as he saw Xing Zhaozhao.
Xing Zhaozhao's expression hardened, and she immediately looked at Xiao Qinshi, asking, "What happened?"
Xiao Qin Shi said with a tense expression, "They took Sister Xiao Lan to Qingxi Town early this morning. I tried to stop them, but I couldn't."
"Them? Besides Lin Wan, who else?" Xing Zhaozhao asked.
"Grandma Fu and Sister Xiao Hong went too," Xiao Qinshi said.
Hearing that Fu Hong had also gone, Xing Zhaozhao breathed a slight sigh of relief. Thankfully, she had at least listened to her advice. However…
"Why go to Qingxi Town?" Xing Zhaozhao frowned and asked Xiao Qinshi, puzzled.
Xiao Qin shook his head; he didn't know.
Xing Zhaozhao pondered for a moment, then looked at Gao Qingshan and asked, "Did Uncle Dahan go to town today?"
Gao Qingshan shook his head: "I just saw Uncle Da Han go to work."
"Could you go and ask Uncle Da Han if he could take me to Qingxi Town right away? I'll go find him later," Xing Zhaozhao said.
Gao Qingshan's eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded in agreement, "Okay." After saying that, he quickly turned around and ran away.
"Is Sister Xing going to Qingxi Town to find Sister Xiaolan?" Xiao Qinshi looked up at Xing Zhaozhao and asked.
Xing Zhaozhao nodded: "Yes, I'm worried, I have to go and check, I hope I can make it in time."
“I want to go too,” Xiao Qin said.
Xing Zhaozhao patted his head and said, "You're still young. What help can you be if you go? If something really happens, how can I take care of you and your sister Xiaolan by myself? Listen to your sister Xing, go home and wait obediently, don't let your grandparents worry."
Xiao Qinshi originally wanted to try again, but after hearing Xing Zhaozhao mention her grandparents, she finally gave up and said, "Well... okay, I'll go back in a bit. You should bring Sister Xiaolan back quickly."
Xing Zhaozhao smiled and nodded in agreement: "Okay."
After saying that, Xing Zhaozhao turned her head and glanced at Hongfei and Hongyu in the main room, who were holding their younger sister and feeding her apple puree. She looked apologetically at Aunt Hao and said, "I'm sorry to trouble you again today, Aunt Hao."
Aunt Hao didn't take it seriously: "It's alright, you can go ahead, I'll take good care of the child for you."
"I'll be back as soon as possible," Xing Zhaozhao said as she went into the house. She told the two little ones as well, and to prevent the clever little girl from overhearing and making a fuss, she covered Xiao Hongling's ears. Xiao Hongling thought she was playing with her and giggled, stretching out her arms for Xing Zhaozhao to hug her. Hongyu quickly stuffed some apple puree into her mouth, and the little girl immediately forgot about her mother and continued to stare at her brother.
Xing Zhaozhao went back into the house, put some money in her pocket, thought for a moment, then put two packs of cigarettes in her pocket, and hurriedly went out. As soon as she reached the foot of the mountain, she saw Uncle Da Han already waiting for her in his tractor, with Gao Qingshan sitting in the back of the truck.
"What are you doing here?" Xing Zhaozhao asked, looking at Gao Qingshan.
“I want to go with you to Qingxi Town to find Xiaolan,” Gao Qingshan said, looking at Xing Zhaozhao with a dissatisfied expression. “Why didn’t you tell me about something so important? I trusted you so much, you’ve disappointed me so much, Aunt Xing.”
Xing Zhaozhao: "..." It was still her fault.
"Does your grandfather know?" Xing Zhaozhao asked.
“I talked to Grandpa, and he agreed. He said that he should pursue his own daughter-in-law himself anyway,” Gao Qingshan said.
"Well... alright then." Since Captain Gao had already agreed, what else could Xing Zhaozhao say?
Xing Zhaozhao climbed onto the truck bed and stuffed a pack of cigarettes into Da Han's hand: "I'm sorry to trouble you again, Uncle Da Han."
Da Han initially wanted to refuse, but upon seeing that it was a cigarette, he immediately accepted it with a smile: "Mingcheng's wife, you're too kind. Please sit down and we'll set off now."
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