Chapter 99: Too Horrible
Just after passing the educated youth site, I saw from a distance on the edge of the field that there were a lot of people standing on the road not far from Lu Dongping's home. They seemed to be walking back from work in the fields. Some lived here and some didn't, all of them were there, as if they were watching something very exciting.
"What are they doing?"
Lu Chun'e had no idea: "Let's go and take a look." Anyway, that was the only way to go home.
Zhang Hongying, who had left earlier, was also there. Seeing Lu Chun'e and Wen Wan coming over, she said, "You can't get through here. Go around the ridge over there. Go back with your sister Wen Wan first. It's getting late. Let's cook."
Wen Wan asked curiously, "Is there something going on here?"
Zhang Hongying said, "I'll go back and talk to you later. You go back with Chun'e first."
Wen Wan responded. Although she was a little curious, Zhang Hongying had said so and asked her and Lu Chun'e to take a detour. It was obvious that she didn't want them to see it, so she decided not to be curious for the time being.
The reason why Zhang Hongying didn't let her and Lu Chun'e go there was because they were young and girls. There was a rumor that someone had died in the ditch below the road, and just hearing about it made her feel creepy. How could she let them go and see it?
The one who died was the idiot from the Zhou family. He didn't die of starvation. It's hard to say how he died. His head was covered in blood. It didn't look like he died from falling off the road.
Someone suddenly died out of the blue. This is a serious matter. Lu Dongping has already rushed to the commune to look for people. Lu Minghai, Lu Mingjiang and Zhou Mingqing are temporarily guarding the place. No one is allowed to move.
A fool's death is nothing, it's not that important. But his condition is a bit scary. He didn't die of starvation or illness, his head is covered in blood, as if he fell, more like he was hit. That's scary. Who would go to such a fool and do such a cruel thing? He must be found out. Otherwise, it's too scary to have such a dangerous person on the team.
Wen Wan didn't know what had happened. She helped Lu Chun'e to light the fire. Lu Chun'e chopped grass to feed the pigs and chickens. Zhang Hongying came back when the meal was almost cooked, but Lu Mingjiang and Lu Dongping were nowhere to be seen. Even Lu Donglin, who had been crying out for hunger all day, was nowhere to be seen.
As soon as Zhang Hongying arrived home, Lu Chun'e couldn't help but ask her out of curiosity: "Mom, where are my dad and brother? Why haven't they come back yet? What happened in the creek?"
Zhang Hongying entered the kitchen and said, "That idiot from the Zhou family is dead. He couldn't have died anywhere else but right there. I have to pass by that place every time I go back and forth. Although I don't believe in ghosts and gods anymore, I still feel very uncomfortable."
Lu Chun'e was stunned for a moment: "Why did he die suddenly? Did he starve to death? For someone like him, death would be a relief. Uncle Zhou Mingqing and his two brothers are also relieved."
Nowadays, even a father cannot support his children for their entire lives, let alone his brother. Zhou Mingqing is already a man with grandchildren, but she still has to drag around such a burden. If she takes care of him, how can the whole family take care of such a burden? If she ignores him, there will always be those who are free to point fingers and make sarcastic remarks.
It's always difficult to do.
This death really made him feel relieved.
Wen Wan didn't say anything, but listened to the mother and daughter's conversation with her ears perked up.
Zhang Hongying's face looked a little ugly, and she instructed Lu Chun'e: "When you go to school, go with Lu Donglin in the morning. It's best to wait for a few more people to go together. Also make an appointment with a companion when you leave school. If that doesn't work, go with your brother. Don't dare to go alone." After that, she looked at Wen Wan again: "You too, you must wait for the brother and sister to be together in the morning, and go with Donglin in the afternoon. If that doesn't work, stay in school for a while and let Dongping pick you up." She broke out in a cold sweat on her back when she thought of Zhou Shazi's appearance. It would be terrible if he was hit to death by someone. With such a person in the team, she felt unsafe.
"Mom, what's wrong with you?"
Zhang Hongying said, "Shazi Zhou didn't die of starvation or illness. Some say he was blinded by hunger and fell off the road, but I don't think that's the case."
She was unwilling to elaborate when Lu Chun'e asked her again.
"When will my father and brother come back?"
"It's uncertain when they'll be back. Let's not wait for them. Let's eat first when the meal is ready."
Just as he raised his hand to eat, Lu Donglin came back running, sweating all over.
Zhang Hongying asked him, "Is your brother here?"
"How can it be so fast? The commune is quite far from here. It will probably take a while." Lu Donglin called Wen Wan, went into the house, scooped up some food and came out and said to her: "Sister, why don't you sleep here with my sister tonight? It's getting late after dinner. I don't know when my brother will be back. You'd better not go back to the educated youth center."
Wen Wan waved her hand: "It's okay, I have a flashlight!"
Lu Donglin looked at her and hesitated to speak. There was a dead body on the roadside. Wasn’t she afraid?
Zhang Hongying also advised her: "I don't know if you're afraid of those things. Even though you have a flashlight and the road below is full of people, we still don't know what's going on. Even if you go over there and stay with us, I'm still worried. Chun'e sleeps alone in a room, and she's not the kind of person who doesn't like cleanliness. If you live with her, no one will say anything even if they find out."
After she said that, it would be too much for Wen Wan to refuse again.
She thought about it and decided that since she had already decided to get the marriage, she might as well live here.
"Okay, then I'll stay with Chun'e tonight."
Zhang Hongying achieved her goal and finally had a smile on her face.
After dinner, it was getting dark, so Lu Chun'e lit the oil lamp and waited for Wen Wan to wash up and go to her room.
The room where she slept was separated from Lu Dongping and his room by a wall. It was very simple, with a bed and a table taking up most of the space. There was no window in the front, so a small window was left on the back wall for ventilation.
Wen Wan knew the quilt on the bed. It was similar to Lu Dongping's. It was made of cotton quilt that had been used for many years and had shrunk small and thin. The outer cover was so old that it was almost rotten, with patches piled on top of patches.
But Lu Chun'e was a diligent girl, and she would take the quilt out to dry every now and then, so there was no smell. But there was no light in the room, so it was much cooler than before.
Only after both of them lay down did they faintly hear Lu Dongping's voice coming over.
He was talking to Zhang Hongying: "Wanwan went back?"
"No, I left you here if you wanted to go back. There's not a single one of those educated youth in that room that I can rest assured about. And with something like this happening and you not coming back, how can anyone be at ease?"
Lu Dongping remembered that the last time he was locked outside, the little girl was so stubborn that she would rather sit outside all night than come to stay. Has she changed her ways today? Could she be scared by hearing about a dead body on the roadside?
He walked into the house and called out to Wen Wan at the door: "Wan Wan? Are you asleep?"
Wen Wan responded, "I just fell asleep. You're back? Are you done with the work?" Then she got up, groped her way down and prepared to go out.
It's just getting dark, so it's actually still early. I just have nothing to do and I don't want to waste kerosene, so I can only go to bed early.
It was her first time living here, and she was still a little unfamiliar with the place. She bumped into the table when she got out of bed. She cried out softly, and Lu Chun'e sat up: "Sister, do you want to get up? Wait a minute, I'll turn on the light."
"No need, Lu Dongping, my flashlight is still in your room." After dinner, the room was dark and she didn't go in to get it.
Lu Dongping walked into the room and held her hand at the door. "Why are you awake again? Can you cover yourself with the quilt? If not, I'll go to the educated youth camp and get your quilt."
Wen Wan nodded: "Okay, just make do with it for one night. They must be asleep by now, and it would be difficult for you to go into the house."
Then he turned around and looked at Lu Chun'e and said, "Chun'e, you go to sleep first. I need to wait for a while. I'm not sleepy yet."
Lu Chun'e responded and lay back down.
Taking advantage of the darkness in the room, Lu Dongping directly put his arm around her waist and carried her out. When they were outside, he reached out and scratched her nose. Wen Wan shrank back and heard his smiling voice: "Not sleepy, can't sleep? Are you sure you're not thinking about me?"
Wen Wan reached out and poked him: "Beautiful you, have you eaten yet? Why don't you go quickly?"
Lu Dongping said, "Then you wait here for me, I'll go get some rice." After saying that, he turned around and went to the kitchen. He felt that he could see even at night and would not be affected by the darkness.
An oil lamp was lit in the kitchen. Lu Mingjiang was eating. Lu Dongping scooped a bowl of rice and was about to go outside when he was stopped by Lu Mingjiang: "You can't even eat quietly. Can you please finish it here in a few seconds so we can turn off the light?"
"Just eat yours and don't worry about me." After saying that, he disappeared into the night.
There was a bench on the eaves outside the main hall. Lu Dongping and Wen Wan sat on each side with their bowls in hand.
"Have you eaten enough? Do you want to eat some more so I can feed you?"
Wen Wan shook her head: "Eat your meal well and don't talk to me."
It was a nice day, and the night sky was full of stars, twinkling and so beautiful. Since I came here, I was always tired and went to bed early, but I haven't had such a leisurely time to watch the stars!
Lu Dongping ate two pieces of bread, scooped a bowl of porridge, and quickly cleaned up the bowl and washed up.
Zhang Hongying was about to go into the house. She glanced at him and wanted to ask him about the situation with Zhou Shazi, but after thinking about it, she didn't ask. The son was no longer hers. If she wanted to know something, she should go into the house and ask her husband!
As soon as the old couple entered the house, Lu Donglin also fell asleep, leaving only Lu Dongping and Wen Wan outside.
Wen Wan then asked him, "Who is Zhou Shazi?"
Lu Dongping said, "That's Zhou Lanhua's third uncle. He's a bit of a fool and a bit afraid of people. He either stays at home or in the woods looking for food to fill his stomach. He doesn't come down here easily. You haven't seen him before."
"My cousin's aunt gave Chun'e and me some instructions this afternoon. It sounded quite scary. Was his death very strange?"
Lu Dongping didn't need to try to coax her about this matter. He nodded and said, "He was hit on the head. It must have been in the ditch. He died in broad daylight. It's impossible for him to be killed somewhere else and then moved there. The trouble now is to find out who hit him. He's just a fool. He has no grudges against anyone. Who is so vicious? No matter what, we have to find a way to find the person. Otherwise, no one on the team will feel at ease."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
