"Achoo, achoo, achoo, achoo!" Yan Xiaonan sneezed several more times. Yan Xiaoqiang and the other children started taking off their clothes at the same time. Grandma Yan took Yan Xiaoqiang's clothes and wrapped Yan Xiaonan up from head to toe, leaving only his eyes showing.
Grandma Yan held Yan Xiaonan tightly, tears streaming down her face. She felt an overwhelming sense of relief and joy at having found him again, and she refused to let go. Yan Xiaoqiang was worried that his mother wouldn't be able to carry the child on the mountain path, so he reached out to help her, but his mother scolded him and told him to stop.
Yan Xiaoqiang had no choice but to lower his hand and prepare to walk in front of his mother, just in case anything happened, he could protect her. Cuihua and Xuemei quickly supported him on both sides as they walked down the mountain.
A sharp crack came from the bushes behind him—the sound of a tree branch snapping underfoot. Yan Xiaoqiang was startled. Could it be some kind of big monster from the mountains? His eyes darted around, and he unconsciously prepared for battle.
The two men behind him, Southeast and Southwest, gripped their carrying poles and shovels tightly, looking tense. With a whoosh, a brownish-yellow Siberian tiger with black stripes darted out and disappeared into the deep mountains.
Seeing the tiger flash by, Yan Xiaoqiang's clothes were soaked with sweat. He turned around, grabbed Yan Xiaonan, pulled Grandma Yan up, and ran down the mountain, calling out "Cuihua, Cuihua, run!"
After a period of chaos, the group reached the foot of the mountain. Grandma Yan, being quite old, collapsed to the ground due to her weak legs. The boys, also covered in sweat, lay on the ground, unable to run any further.
Cuihua rushed over to help Grandma Yan up, panting, "Mother, Mother, how are you? Can you still walk? We're down, we're safe now."
Grandma Yan was furious. It was safe from the start. The big insect was clearly protecting Nan Nan and only left when it saw the family arrive. Why did it run away? It was incredibly stupid.
The village chief led the police to Yan Xiaonan's house, but the house was empty. He felt a pang of anxiety, remembering that Yan's sister-in-law had gone to the mountains to look for someone. He quickly led the police to the foot of the mountain and saw a group of people lying down or sitting down, all with panicked expressions. He rushed up to ask what was going on.
Yan Dongnan had many questions in his mind. For example, how come Nannan hadn't frozen to death in such cold weather on the mountain? Why was Widow Zhang still at the foot of the mountain, seemingly paralyzed with fear? And what about that tiger? It left as soon as it saw them; he didn't believe a tiger would be afraid of them. Therefore, how he answered the police was crucial; one wrong move and he could drag Nannan into the abyss.
Southeast stood up and said, "When we found out that Nan Nan was missing, the whole family went to look for her. Uncle Village Chief knows this. We came here and started looking. I saw a red ribbon floating on that tree. That was what Grandma bought for Nan Nan for the New Year."
We rushed over, thinking that since the red ribbon was there, Nan Nan must be nearby too. So we ran uphill and sure enough, we found Nan Nan sleeping in the woods, already unconscious from the cold. We managed to revive her and were just about to take her to the village doctor when you all arrived.
Oh, by the way, we also saw that widow Zhang sitting there with her head in her hands. We don't know what happened, but it looks like she broke her leg.
The police officer found it strange. Wasn't it supposed to be lost grain? How did it turn into lost children? What was going on? He looked at the village chief with a puzzled expression. The village chief had no idea and could only look southeast, hoping he could answer.
Southeast looked at his grandmother and said, "Grandma, you take Nannan back first. I'm going to the village committee with Uncle Village Chief." Grandma Yan nodded. She recognized Southeast's intelligence, as evidenced by his words just now.
The family returned home, but there was no food left. The two younger children took the initiative to pick up fishing rods, buckets, and machetes, and prepared to dig for wild vegetables and catch fish.
Grandma Yan stopped the two brothers and told them to go wash up. She then took Nan Nan back to her room and had Nan Nan conjure up several dozen kilograms of white rice, which she said she had hidden away.
When Grandma Yan handed the tattered rice bag to Xue Mei, Xue Mei was stunned. She had just searched and found no grain of rice. Grandma must have just appeared out of nowhere.
Grandma Yan said proudly, "Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows, so how can I put all the food in one place? Besides, this is Nan Nan's food, so I have to hide it even better."
Xuemei hesitated, "Grandma, this is Nan Nan's food. If we eat it, what will Nan Nan eat?"
Grandma Yan smiled and said, "Don't worry, the police are here, they'll catch the thief, and then the grain will be back."
Xuemei finally felt half relieved and hurriedly ran towards the kitchen. Southwest and North South exchanged a glance and decided it would be better to go out and dig up some wild vegetables and catch some fish, since there was still some time before the rice was cooked.
Grandma Yan wholeheartedly approves of her grandsons' maturity; after all, children should learn to endure hardship from a young age.
Southeast led the police to the door and pointed out the pipe under the window and two small holes to the police. The police officers were all experienced veterans, and they could tell at a glance that this was a low-class sleeping potion. Don't underestimate this small stick, it's very powerful. No wonder the whole family was affected.
The next step is to visit the old bachelor's house. According to Southeast's analysis, Widow Zhang and the old bachelor have been in contact, and Widow Zhang has a grudge against his family. Most importantly, it is common knowledge in the village that his family has grain.
There was also a stranger named Tang Jianjun, who was the first to openly steal his own grain. If it weren't for Yan Xiaoqiang's whip, all that grain would have been stolen, and then what would have become of Mushroom Village's reputation?
The police officers listened and took notes, nodding repeatedly. One officer's eyes fell on Yan Xiaonan, wondering how she could have survived a night in the mountains unharmed after being stolen. He went up to talk to Yan Xiaonan.
"Little girl, what's your name?" Cuihua quickly came up and picked up Yan Xiaonan, saying, "Officer, my daughter is still young, only one year old, and can't talk yet."
The police officer nodded, but not giving up, he asked Yan Xiaonan again, "Little sister, would you like some candy?"
Yan Xiaonan was secretly laughing to death. What a good comrade! He's observant and thoughtful. But unfortunately, she's not a real baby, so how could she be fooled?
"Ah, ah, ah ah ah pfft." She made meaningless noises, leaving the police officer extremely embarrassed. The girl's mother said a one-year-old couldn't talk yet, and she was still going up to her like that—it was truly...
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