25 years ago, Lao Liu was still young, only in his thirties or forties. His wife was always sick, and Lao Liu did not have a very good relationship with his wife. However, he had a very good relationship with his cousin's family in the same village.
His cousin was also a very honest man, almost as honest as Liu Yuyuan was back then, but he was working as a construction worker in another place. When the case happened, he was still at the construction site and had not returned at all.
So no one suspected Lao Liu's eldest nephew back then.
As for Lao Liu's nephew, since he was not at home, Lao Liu helped with some of his family's farm work. Although there were some rumors in the village, after Lao Liu's niece-in-law scolded him a few times, no one said anything to his face.
25 years ago, when the two children had the accident, some villagers saw Lao Liu dragging yellow mud to repair the tobacco drying house, and some people also saw him burning a fire outside the tobacco drying house.
As everyone in the countryside knows, tobacco-curing houses are specially made. The inside has to be plastered with yellow mud, and then a fire is lit underneath. It takes three or four days to cure a kang of tobacco leaves.
Moreover, when roasting, the fire in the kang where the tobacco leaves are roasting must not be extinguished, and someone has to keep adding fuel to the fire.
So after the case happened, no one suspected Lao Liu. What's more, Lao Liu's family and that family didn't live far away, and the two families were relatives. The children of that family called him "Uncle" every time they saw him.
The important thing is that when the crime happened, Lao Liu was busy burning tobacco leaves and never left. Many people in the village saw it, so when Lao Liu moved out, people at most laughed at his romantic history and said he was a playboy, but they would not doubt him.
But there are exceptions to everything. After Lao Liu brought his niece-in-law back to renovate the house, people in the village started to grumble again.
It was said that Lao Liu had been having an affair with his niece's wife before his wife died, and that they often had trysts together and were almost caught by someone. Some even said that the two children might have caught something going on.
The person who spoke was Liu Yuqing, and he said it in a joking tone, but before evening, Old Liu rushed to the door angrily and wanted to fight with Liu Yuqing, and started cursing at him.
"You are such a good barefoot doctor. You don't even check yourself when you are sick. You are old but still bite people like a wild dog. Who was so dirty that he was caught? Those two children were killed by Liu Yuyuan. What does it have to do with me? You are sick, so take medicine quickly. You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say anything. My wife is crying at home and says she wants to die in your house..."
Old Liu blocked Liu Yuqing's door and kept scolding him.
He even threatened his niece-in-law, meaning that if Liu Yuqing dared to make random guesses again, he would hang his wife at the door of his house.
Liu Yuqing was not annoyed at this moment. He just chuckled twice. Seeing that there was a group of villagers watching the fun in the room, and the two colleagues he brought back, he was not afraid.
"Old Liu, there is no such thing as a wall that is impenetrable. If you don't want others to know, then don't do it. You thought you kept the little things between you and your niece's wife a secret, but who doesn't know about it now? Of course, everyone has only known about it in the last twenty years. 25 years ago, not many people knew about it. If I remember correctly, your tobacco drying house is the closest to your niece's wife..."
As soon as Liu Yuqing said this, the people sitting there burst into laughter and made fun of Lao Liu.
"Old Liu, you must have slept with your niece's wife a long time ago. Otherwise, as soon as your wife died, your niece's wife would have eloped with you to another place. Hehe, your eldest nephew must have been pissed off to death..."
"Yes, his tobacco-curing house is not the closest to his nephew's house, and it is shaded by trees and remote. Who would know what they want to do all day long..."
"Old Liu is really capable. How could it be such a coincidence that your niece-in-law and Shui Lingling were so different in generation and age? Actually, it's nothing. Your wife is gone, and her husband is gone. This matter is open. Back then, your niece-in-law cursed people in the bay..."
…
Many people in Liu Yuqing's room were joking. No one had any ill intentions at the time, but some people thought that what Liu Yuqing said was a bit too much. Although there was something unclear between Old Liu and his niece's wife, they are now married and old, so it's nothing!
All the people from that time are gone, and now everyone just makes fun of him and envies Lao Liu's good fortune.
"That's right. I remember those two kids loved playing hide-and-seek. Do you think if they hid in the house with Kang Yanye, would they..."
Before someone could finish speaking, Lao Liu jumped up and started to hit them, threatening them.
"You are all crazy and talking nonsense. I will sue you and put you all in jail. You all have nothing better to do than to eat. The murderer is locked up in the cell. Who did I offend that you are putting the blame on me?"
"And you, Liu Yuqing, if you dare to talk nonsense again and if any rumors spread in the village, I will not care about my life anymore and burn down your house. This is really too much..."
Old Liu still had some rage left in him, and he kept cursing and swearing. Everyone was just venting their anger, and sometimes making jokes about anything, but when they saw that Old Liu was getting angry, no one dared to say anything.
Everyone kept quiet and spoke the truth.
Old Liu's fight at Liu Yuqing's house stopped the rumors in the village all of a sudden, and the village seemed to have returned to peace. Until a day or two later, Old Liu's niece-in-law said she had diarrhea and was going to the town to see a doctor, but was dragged to Liu Yuqing's place by the neighbors.
He said that his family had two doctors, and that medical treatment was free and very effective. Even if Liu Yuqing was talking nonsense, the two doctors did not say anything nonsense, so Old Liu's niece-in-law still took some medicine back and took it.
Oddly enough, after taking the medicine, her stomachache went away, but she tossed and turned all night and couldn't sleep.
He was lying in bed like a pancake, and always thought there was someone behind the window.
"Don't be suspicious. Tomorrow, we'll hire an excavator to push down that house with a stove. I'll stay in the city for a day or two and never come back. Go to sleep..."
Old Liu went to touch his wife and pulled her to sleep, but he saw his wife scream and suddenly pushed him hard.
"Don't, don't sleep. Listen, there's crying outside, the sound of a child crying. It seems, it seems to be the voices of Dabao and Xiaobao..."
Old Liu's wife's voice changed. The Dabao and Xiaobao she was talking about were the two children who died that year. They were only a few years old at that time. If they were still alive, they should have been married and had children by now.
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