Chapter 64: The Case of the Missing Sister (9) The Outline of the Truth
Sang Luo identified the words on the tombstones and found the graves of the fourteen children one after another. The wind in the mountains was sobbing, as if the children's cries were still echoing there.
Sang Luo wrapped his coat tightly around himself, sat down in front of Zhou Yueyue's tombstone, looked at it carefully, and soon found the problem - Zhou Yueyue's grave was overgrown with weeds, and the entire grave was almost covered by weeds.
Moreover, there was nothing in front of her tombstone, without any trace of sacrifice, which was in stark contrast to the other tombs nearby. In front of the other tombs, there were more or less some food residues, wine glasses or bowls and chopsticks, but there was nothing in front of Zhou Yueyue's tombstone, which could only mean one thing -
No one has come to worship for many years.
Zhou Kailong is Zhou Yueyue's father. He loves his daughter deeply, but he never comes to pay his respects to her once and lets her grave be overgrown with weeds. Is this reasonable?
Sang Luo recalled the previous conversation with Zhou Kailong. When Sang Luo asked about his family situation, he said naturally that he had a wife and a daughter, and his daughter was seven years old. He should be referring to Yuan Xiaoyu and Zhou Yueyue who had passed away. Perhaps because the trauma he suffered was too deep, he has been unable to face the reality and wanted to escape the current situation that his wife and daughter were dead, so he used this method to deceive himself.
Is it the same reason why he refuses to visit his daughter's grave?
Sang Luo frowned, stood up and continued searching, trying to find the grave of Zhou Kailong's wife Yuan Xiaoyu, but she couldn't find it after searching the entire back mountain. She was a little confused. Yuan Xiaoyu was Zhou Yueyue's mother, and the mother and daughter should have been buried together, but Yuan Xiaoyu's name was not on the tombstone, and there was no Yuan Xiaoyu's grave in this mountain.
Sang Luo went down the mountain and knocked on the door next to Zhou Kailong's house again. Chen Xiujuan's mother came to open the door quickly. Seeing that it was Sang Luo, she was very enthusiastic:
"Little girl, why are you here again? Don't you have a place to stay in the village? Why don't you just come live with us?"
Sang Luo waved her hand: "No, Auntie, I just called my mother. My mother was very sad after knowing Auntie Yuan's situation. She asked me to burn incense for Auntie Yuan. So I went to the back mountain, but I couldn't find Auntie Yuan's grave. Where is her grave?"
Mother Chen waved her hand and said, "Hey, why didn't you tell me earlier? You should have asked me before you went, so as not to make a wasted trip. Xiaoyu's grave is not in our village. Xiaoyu was buried in Yuanjia Village. After she died, her family came to make trouble several times, blaming Zhou Kailong for not taking good care of Xiaoyu and refusing to leave Xiaoyu's body to him. They wanted to take Xiaoyu's body back and bury it in Yuanjia Village. Zhou Kailong couldn't handle so many people alone, so he had to let them take Xiaoyu's body away. If you want to pay tribute to Xiaoyu, I'm afraid you have to go to Yuanjia Village!"
Sang Luo nodded: "So that's how it is. No wonder I didn't find her just now. Aunt Yuan is so miserable. She lost her daughter when she was alive, and she can't rest in peace even after she died. She has to be fought over and over."
Chen's mother agreed very much: "Who said it wasn't true? Besides, this is not the worst. I heard that -"
She looked around and lowered her voice and said, "Her family members have no good intentions either! They took the body back not to bury Xiaoyu, but to find a ghost marriage for an old man who just died! Isn't this outrageous? There are actually such things in this world!"
Sang Luo was also very moved, but she still did not forget the purpose of her visit. She said:
"Although I didn't find Aunt Yuan's grave this time, I did find her daughter's grave. I think her name is Yueyue. Uncle Zhou is really something. Why didn't he visit the grave once? Yueyue's grave is so messy. I even helped her clean up the weeds!"
Chen's mother was a little surprised: "Girl, you didn't find the wrong person, why didn't Zhou Kailong visit his daughter's grave? When he lived here before, he often went to the back mountain to visit his daughter, sometimes several times a day, and even ignored the family's land. People in our village said he was an infatuated man."
Sang Luo thought for a moment and said, "I see. It must be because Uncle Zhou moved away from the village. He lives far away now, so it's not convenient for him to come here. That's why he hasn't visited the grave in recent years."
Mother Chen shook her head. "What's that? He moved to Huaishu Village, which is not far from here. He can drive a donkey cart or a horse cart and go back and forth in a day. For us farmers, traveling this distance is nothing. With Zhou Kailong's love for his daughter, he will definitely come!"
Before Sang Luo could say anything, Chen's mother said, "Oh, I know - this Zhou Kailong must have remarried! He must have remarried and had children in Huaishu Village. With a new child, he definitely won't care about the old one. Oh, men are like this. There are so many things like this. We thought he was a good man!"
Sang Luo smiled and said nothing more. She went to Huaishu Village to inquire and found out that Zhou Kailong had not remarried. He had been alone all these years, so this explanation didn't make sense.
After leaving Chen's mother's house, Sang Luo returned to the place where she was staying. She called Ruan Yu and asked him to do something for her. She asked Ruan Yu to hire two local villagers in Daliushu Village, and let these two villagers go to Zhou Kailong's stall to buy candy figures and deliberately chat in front of him.
"What to talk about?" Ruan Yu asked.
Sang Luo: "It's said that the hills behind Tianye Village caught fire and many graves were burned."
Ruan Yu got anxious when she heard this: "How can this be possible? When Zhou Kailong heard that the mountain behind was on fire, he would definitely rush back immediately. Now you are in Tianye Village. I am afraid that you will run into each other head-on. If I am not by your side, you will be alone..."
"Don't worry," Sang Luo said, "I don't think Zhou Kailong will come back. Not only will he not come back, he may not even care about this matter at all."
"Why?" Ruan Yu asked in surprise.
Sang Luo did not answer, but just said: "You do as I say first, remember to let the villagers observe his reaction when he hears these words, and call me when you are done."
Although Ruan Yu was a little worried, he still took on the task.
After hanging up the phone, Sang Luo looked at the sky outside. It was still early and she still had some time.
The last time Sang Luo came to Tianye Village, she met a grandfather and grandson who made sugar figures - Zhao Dazhui and Zhao Aiguo. She remembered what Chen's mother said, that Zhou Kailong started learning to make sugar figures after the accident that year. Zhao Dazhui was young at that time, and Zhao Aiguo was probably the only one in the village who could make sugar figures. It is very likely that Zhou Kailong learned the skill of making sugar figures from Zhao Aiguo.
Thinking of this, Sang Luo decided to try her luck at Zhao Aiguo's place. She first went to Zhao Aiguo's house. There was no one at home. The grandparents and grandchildren should have gone to the market to set up a stall. Sang Luo also quickened her pace and walked towards the market. Sure enough, she found the stall of the grandparents and grandchildren in the corner.
This time, the grandparents and grandchildren did not separate, but pushed a small cart out directly. Zhao Dazhu was in charge of making sugar figures in the front, while Zhao Aiguo was supervising him in the back. When Zhao Aiguo saw the sugar figures made by Zhao Dazhu, he shook his head and criticized:
"This is ridiculous. How can we do this? Don't think that the children are young and easy to fool. Their parents are not easy to fool! Look at you. You are already old, but you haven't even found a wife. You can't even learn a skill. Do you really want to be like your father, farming for the rest of your life?"
Zhao Dazhu was scolded but he didn't take it to heart. He continued to tease the child next to him with a playful smile, which made Zhao Aiguo very angry.
When no one was in front of the stall, Sang Luo walked up and took the initiative to greet Zhao Dazhu. When Zhao Dazhu saw her face, he screamed:
"Ah, why are you here again? That man didn't come with you, did he? Don't try to hit on me again. I'm telling you, I'm a decent person and I won't do that kind of ass-selling stuff!"
Sang Luo smiled and handed over a bag of oranges that she had just bought from the market:
"Okay, I was just joking with you last time. Have an orange. I bought this specially to apologize to you. I hope I didn't scare you."
Seeing Sang Luo's smile, Zhao Dazhu was completely stunned, as if he had lost his soul. He took the orange stupidly, without even peeling it, and put one directly in his mouth. Grandpa hurriedly snatched it out of his mouth:
"What are you doing? Are you stupid?"
Zhao Dazhu realized his behavior and smiled embarrassedly. Then he looked up at Sang Luo with a slightly red face. After all, he had always lived in the village and seldom saw such an elegant woman.
Sang Luo tilted his head and said, "If you eat this orange, does that mean you forgive me?"
Zhao Dazhu hurriedly said, "No, no, no, I don't blame you. By the way, what do you want to see me for this time?"
Sang Luo raised his head and looked at Zhao Aiguo: "Actually, I didn't come here to see you this time. I mainly wanted to see your grandfather, Grandpa Zhao. I'm very interested in the craft of blowing sugar figures. I want to ask if you will accept apprentices?"
Zhao Aiguo shook his head, glanced at his grandson, and then sighed: "Alas, I already have an apprentice, why should I take in another one?"
Sang Luo said sincerely: "Are you afraid that I won't pay? I really want to learn, I am willing to pay the tuition!"
Zhao Aiguo hesitated to speak, and finally said: "It's not a matter of money. I know you city people are not short of money, but you can see that this is my family's craft, and I have already taught it to my grandson. If I teach it to outsiders, wouldn't it ruin my grandson's job?"
Sang Luo said hurriedly: "After I learn it, I will definitely not set up a stall here. I will go back to the city to do business. This way, it won't be considered as destroying his job. We can each do our own things and have nothing to do with each other. Isn't this okay?"
Zhao Aiguo sneered, "Tsk, sweet talk, everyone says that. When they became apprentices, they said they would not steal our business, but after learning, they turned their backs on us. Haven't I seen enough people like this? The guy surnamed Zhou is an example... Forget it, it's all in the past, let's not talk about it. Anyway, I won't teach you, so go back."
Sang Luo was relentless: "What's the matter, Mr. Zhou? If you don't explain it to me clearly, I won't go back. I am determined to learn this craft!"
Zhao Aiguo wrinkled his nose and said nothing. Zhao Dazhu couldn't bear to see Sang Luo being ignored, so he took the initiative to say:
"My grandfather didn't tell you, so I will tell you! I also remember that incident. Zhou went back on his word and secretly learned our craft. Then he came to the market openly to steal our business. He is a piece of shit!"
Then, Zhao Dazhu recounted what happened back then:
Ever since the school collapsed, Zhao Dazhui refused to go to school anymore. No matter how others persuaded him, he just refused to go. Seeing his condition, his family members had no choice but to let him learn how to blow sugar figures from his grandfather, which was a skill after all.
Grandpa reduced the frequency of setting up the stall and found time to stay at home to teach him how to blow sugar figures, but Zhao Dazhu was not serious about learning. No matter what grandpa said, he just listened with one ear and let it out with the other.
One day, when he was daydreaming, he suddenly saw a face on the wall. Both the grandfather and grandson were frightened. The grandfather thought it was a bad guy, so he picked up a machete and walked out. It turned out that the person lying on the wall was Zhou Kailong from the same village. After the grandfather went out, Zhou Kailong came down from the wall embarrassedly.
Faced with his grandfather's questioning, he explained that he wanted to learn a skill secretly. His daughter died in the accident and his wife also left. Now he was the only one left at home. He had no intention of continuing farming and wanted to learn a skill to divert his attention.
After hearing his explanation, the grandfather was moved. As they were both people with children at home, Zhao Aiguo could understand his feelings, so he made an exception for him and agreed to pass on the skill of blowing sugar figures to him without charging him any money, with only one request -
Zhou Kailong was never allowed to set up a stall at the market in Tianye Village.
Zhou Kailong readily agreed and even swore to the sky on the spot. Only then did his grandfather feel at ease to let him come home and learn skills from Zhao Dazhui. Half a year later, Zhao Dazhui had not learned anything, but Zhou Kailong had learned almost everything. He left Zhao Aiguo's home and started to set up a stall on his own.
"This guy is really a piece of shit. At first, he kept his promise and went to another village to set up a stall. But after a few years, he turned his back on me and started to come to the market in Tianye Village to steal my grandfather's business. He even set up a stall right across from my grandfather and took away most of my grandfather's customers. He is simply shitting on people's necks. What a ruthless person!"
Zhao Dazhu was full of foul language, but Sang Luo caught the key point. She asked, "How long did it take for him to start stealing business?"
Zhao Dazhu was stunned by the question: "This... seems to be two or three years? I can't remember clearly, why would anyone remember it!"
"In 1975," Zhao Aiguo said calmly, "I remember it very clearly. He moved away from the village in that year."
Sang Luo's heart sank. 1975 was the year Chen Xiujuan disappeared, and everything started from then.
Zhao Dazhu slapped his thigh and said, "Oh, yes, now I remember that. That bastard moved away later. It was all thanks to my dad. When my dad came back from working in the city, he saw that my grandpa had suffered such a great injustice and he quit on the spot. My parents organized relatives and friends to spread the news in the village. My grandpa is popular and has helped many people. The villagers are on his side. After hearing about this, some people went to Zhou Kailong's door and cursed him on the street. Some people even deliberately talked about him in front of him. Just like that, he moved away not long after and never dared to appear in front of us again!"
Sang Luo pretended to be ignorant and asked, "Since he can set up a stall in other villages, why does he have to come to Tianye Village to compete with you for business?"
Zhao Dazhu shrugged his shoulders and said, "What's there to not understand? Going to other villages requires taking a long detour and setting off early every morning. The market in this village is close, so people from several nearby villages will come. Of course, it's better to set up a stall in this village!"
"So that's how it is," Sang Luo said with emotion, "Your grandfather really can't recognize people. If Zhou Kailong is such a ruthless person, why did he accept him as his apprentice? Didn't he see that when he first accepted him as his apprentice?"
Zhao Dazhu slammed his fist on the ground. "Who knew? When that guy first came, he acted like a decent person and was very nice to me. He played with me every day, arm wrestled with me, and wrestled with me. I always thought of him as a good brother. How blind I was!"
Sang Luo nodded. She already knew the whole story.
Zhao Dazhu advised: "So, my grandfather will not teach you how to blow sugar figures, so just give up on this idea. If you really want to learn, you can come to me. Although I am not very skilled, I am willing to teach you!"
After saying this, he laughed a few more times.
Sang Luo thanked them and turned to leave the market. Before leaving, he heard the conversation between the grandparents and grandchildren.
Zhao Dazhu asked his grandfather, "Grandpa, you have always been deaf, why do you suddenly hear so clearly today?"
Zhao Aiguo patted him on the back of his head: "Silly boy, looking at your expression, I know you are thinking about something beautiful again. This involves your lifelong event, how can I not listen carefully? Although you are still unmarried at your age, you can't want to marry anyone you see. She is from the city, we are not worthy of her, don't be wishful thinking..."
Sang Luo returned to her lodging place and summarized the general contents of her apprenticeship in her notebook. When she first came to Tianye Village, she heard Zhao Aiguo's mumbling beside the campfire, and now she wanted to talk about this incident.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, Sang Luo received a call from Ruan Yu, who talked about what happened in the afternoon:
"I did as you said and found two honest-looking villagers. I asked them to buy candy figures and deliberately mentioned the fire in the back mountain. It's really strange that Zhou Kailong didn't react at all after hearing it. He didn't even blink. Logically, his wife and daughter were buried in the back mountain. He should be very anxious when the mountain caught fire. How could this happen?"
Sang Luo smiled slightly. She had already got the answer she wanted.
After hanging up the phone, Sang Luo began to draw a tree diagram on paper, sorting out all the clues he had collected.
The outline of the truth gradually became clear in her mind.
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