Xie Zhuo had never run so fast in his life.
After hearing the auntie give him a general location, he hurriedly took out the fifty cents he had left over from buying meat from his pants pocket, stuffed it into the woman's hand, and asked her to look after Da Bao and Xiao Bao as he ran up the mountain.
The aunt was probably stunned by his sudden act of stuffing money into her hands, and stood there for a few seconds in a daze.
Then, looking at Xie Zhuo's retreating figure, then at the money in his hand, he finally turned to look at the two children who were also somewhat bewildered.
Although Da Bao and Xiao Bao didn't hear what their third uncle and grandmother were saying, they guessed from their third uncle's anxious and flustered appearance that it was related to Lin Dong.
The two little ones quickly strode off, wanting to follow along.
But to their surprise, the grandmother in front of them, who looked thin, had surprisingly strong hands. As soon as the two of them turned around and took a step forward, she grabbed them by the back of their necks.
Da Bao: "..."
Xiao Bao: "..."
“You can’t go with us,” the auntie said, taking the money and gripping their hands tightly. “There are foxes on the mountain over there. They’ll carry you away.”
“Then my third uncle went too,” Xiao Bao said anxiously when he heard that Xie Zhuo was in danger.
“The adults are fine,” the aunt said earnestly. “They’re afraid of adults, but when the little ones go, they eat them one by one.”
After scaring the two boys, the aunt wanted to take them home first.
After all, we've already taken the money. Let's not let these two kids get sunburned outside.
Although there are no particular customs in the countryside, in their production brigade, many children don't even have a decent set of clothes. They all wear just a pair of shorts, and many are shirtless and barefoot.
However, these two children looked like they were from the city; their faces were fair and delicate, their clothes were clean, and they were carrying pretty schoolbags.
It's obvious that they were spoiled and pampered growing up.
"Thank you, Grandma. We won't go to your house. We'll just stand here and wait for Uncle San to come back," Da Bao said first, then refused to let the aunt take him and Xiao Bao away.
She held Xiaobao's hand firmly and stood stubbornly in place.
The aunt tried to persuade them, but no matter how much she talked, the two of them just squatted next to the bicycle and wouldn't move.
The aunt had no other choice but to go into the yard and get two small stools. Seeing that they were covered in sweat, she poured two cups of water and brought them out.
"Thank you, Grandma," Da Bao and Xiao Bao politely thanked her again.
The auntie already thought the two of them were good-looking, and now, hearing how eloquent this girl was, she found a wooden stool nearby, sat down, and chatted with them for a while.
They got along quite well here. Da Bao and Xiao Bao each received a steamed bun because they were good at talking.
On the other side, in the mountains.
Xie Zhuo's legs were about to break from running, and his chest felt like it was on fire, aching from the fumes of his own breathing.
He searched the place the aunt pointed to very carefully, but not only did he find nothing, he also got a bloody cut on his arm from the bushes.
It wasn't very deep, but when sweat dripped onto it, it caused a stinging sensation.
At this time of year, the temperature is low in the mornings and evenings, but still hot at midday. The vegetation on the mountain is still lush and green, and if you don't look closely, you can't tell that there's a half-grown child lying there.
Xie Zhuo walked forward with a hunched back, calling Lin Dong's name repeatedly.
From the intense sunlight until the sun began to set, the cicadas fell silent, Xie Zhuo's voice became hoarse, and his throat was so swollen that it hurt to swallow.
Lin Dong still hasn't been found.
That's true. This mountain is so big. Since that old widower decided to throw the child here, it's impossible for anyone to find him easily. Perhaps, perhaps he just buried him somewhere...
Xie Zhuo became increasingly anxious, but there was no use in being anxious.
While he was thinking about whether to go out and find the old widower to get some answers, he was also afraid that Lin Dong was not far from him and he might miss him if he turned around and left.
As darkness fell, visibility in the mountains decreased further.
Xie Zhuo walked a few hundred meters further, thinking that if he still couldn't find it, he would really have to leave. Just then, he heard a noise in the bushes to his left.
Da Bao and Xiao Bao squatted on the road, staring intently at the spot where Xie Zhuo had run off to.
Some villagers came over to inquire several times out of curiosity, but the two of them remained silent. The aunt who accompanied them explained a few words to the people of the brigade.
When someone heard that they had come to see Lin Dong, their expression changed.
One of the women said, "It's been a year already. Why didn't they come looking for us sooner? They only came looking for us after the child was beaten to death. I don't know what they were thinking."
As soon as she finished speaking, the two children, who had been expressionless the whole time, turned to look at her at the same time and asked, "Who hit him?"
Xie Zhuo had given up hope, but then he found Lin Dong.
Lin Dong was lying on a small mound of earth, his face covered in dried blood from some unknown cut. He was not wearing any clothes, only a pair of tattered shorts. When he heard Xie Zhuo call his name, his fingers twitched.
Xie Zhuo went over to hug him and then noticed that there was actually a tombstone sticking out at an angle next to the small mound of earth.
Hold!
Xie Zhuo didn't know how to describe his current feelings—whether it was relief, anger, or something else—he felt like his blood was running cold.
Having grown up from childhood to adulthood, spanning over twenty years, and including some years from his previous life, this was the first time he had ever witnessed such a scene.
He had heard of cases where babies were drowned or young children were not buried; if there were mountains, they were thrown into the deep mountains, and if there were no mountains, they were buried directly. But he still couldn't accept it when he encountered it for the first time.
What's more, Lin Dong's condition is clearly due to being beaten to a pulp!
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