He looked at his wife sternly and said, "Don't do anything reckless. You'll end up in trouble."

Zhou Sanniang cast a look at her husband, "What a piece of shit. By the time you thought about it, the duck that was about to be in your mouth had flown away."

But even though he had many thoughts in his mind, he did not dare to do anything privately. He just took off his outer clothes, extinguished the candles, and went to sleep.

The next day, Wang Guixi got up early and had breakfast. He arranged for several people to handle some matters and personally took Xiao Xingjian to the office.

Wang Guixi was unwilling to let someone else do the job even if it got his pants wet. He was not that stupid.

Going up the slope, Xiao Xingjian followed Wang Guixi forward.

Following behind were some half-grown children, and of course Wang Ailian.

After walking for a while, Wang Guixi looked back, glared and yelled, "You little bastards, go home. Who asked me to find you and you are still following me? I will deduct your work points and let your father spank you."

After hearing this, the children dispersed and went back. Some went to cut grass, some went to pick fruits.

The higher they went, the steeper the terrain became, and Wang Guixi was also worried that something might happen to his child.

The three of them walked up for more than three hours, and it was already past 1:00.

They found a shady place and the three of them sat down.

Wang Ailian handed the two-piece pancake she had packed to Wang Guixi and Xiao Xingjian.

Then he trotted to the side and sat down, nibbling on the biscuit with a hint of barely perceptible excitement.

Xiao Xingjian sighed inwardly, but pretended to know nothing and ate the cake slowly.

Wang Guixi glanced at the young man next to him, took a bite of the biscuit and chewed it.

Seeing that this boy didn't like his daughter at all, he couldn't really blame her for not liking him.

He is a serious doctor from Beijing. If you don't say that he is trying to curry favor with the powerful, then this can be considered a case of one person's success bringing benefits to everyone else.

The young man has seen all kinds of people in Beijing, so why would he be interested in this taciturn person in my family?

If you think about it, it's not natural, it must be someone's doing, but... given my situation, the girl was forced to marry him.

I'm afraid they have no control over how your life is going.

The girl is marrying far away, her parents are not around, and the marriage is a set-up and deception, so it is probably not a good outcome.

I am the village chief after all, and I married her right under my nose, so why am I just looking at her?

But if Ai Lian had a hot-tempered personality like her elder sister, he wouldn't be worried.

It seems that I should go back and discuss it with my wife. Instead of worrying about it, it is better to keep some personal connections.

The three of them were tired from walking, so they didn't say anything. They just ate their cakes and drank water quietly.

It was hot and stuffy even in the hottest days of summer. After walking for a while, your clothes would become wet and stick to your body, making you feel uncomfortable.

After eating the cakes and taking a rest, Xiao Xingjian followed Village Chief Wang and walked for more than two hours before reaching a piece of land where the terrain was flatter.

Wang Guixi took a sip of water, sighed, and pointed to an old pine tree in front of him.

"That's where I found the woman holding the child."

Wang Guixi thought about the situation back then. The woman's body was covered with scratches, and it seemed that she had been wandering in the woods for a long time.

The skinny baby in her arms was also dying, and it seemed as if the mother and daughter would die at any moment.

"Uncle Wang, wasn't there anyone else there at the time, just the mother and son?" Xiao Xingjian looked around.

In five years, rain, snow, wind and frost were enough to cover up all traces.

"She was holding the child, there was no one else, and I'm sure the wound on her lower back was caused by a knife."

Wang Guixi recalled with certainty that although the knife wound was not serious, he could still distinguish it clearly.

Xiao Xingjian looked solemn. He had been investigating all the way from the hospital, but it seemed that all the clues had been cut off here.

Shen Zhu's hometown was nowhere to be found. He was an orphan after the great famine. People went their separate ways, and no one would care about a half-grown child.

After walking a few steps forward, I saw a steep slope more than ten meters away. Further ahead was not a dense forest but wild grass taller than a person.

"Uncle Wang, what did she tell you?" Xiao Xingjian continued to ask. He looked around carefully but found no clues at all.

The three of them walked towards the village, and it was probably dark before they returned to the village.

"You are not the first person to ask about this. I guess that woman and her child are very important to you. I remember that less than half a year after I sent the mother and child to the city hospital, someone came to ask about it. Are you sure you are cousins?"

Wang Guixi looked at Xiao Xingjian calmly, "What they asked is almost the same as what you asked."

Wang Guixi shook his head. "That woman hardly spoke. Even the two words she said were very polite, such as thank you or please."

Xiao Xingjian turned around and looked at the other side of the cave. If he guessed correctly, Shen Zhu had crawled over from that side. It seemed that he was going to check there again.

Moreover, although Wang Guixi looks honest and simple, he is actually very smart.

Xiao Xingjian just smiled faintly, neither admitting nor denying it.

The next morning, Xiao Xingjian handed the collected herbs to Wang Guixi and said, "Uncle Wang, please help me mail it out. Here is the address and postage. I'll go check out another place."

Xiao Xingjian had a righteous look on his face, and his words showed that he believed in Wang Guixi.

"Don't worry, young man. Your uncle will definitely make everything clear for you." Wang Guixi felt that having more friends meant having more options. His daughter was definitely not worthy of the young man in front of him.

Xiao Xingjian picked up his luggage bag, which contained the dry food prepared for him by the Wang family.

Of course Xiao Xingjian didn't take it for nothing. He gave ten yuan to Zhou Sanniang, who was so angry that her mouth was pulled to her ears.

Wang Ailian looked at Xiao Xingjian's back and chased after him.

"Comrade Xiao..."

Xiao Xingjian stopped and turned back to look at Wang Ailian who was chasing after him.

Wang Ailian looked at the man in front of her, her heart beating like a drum, pounding against her chest. Her whole face was unconsciously hot, and her ears felt like they were blocked.

A pair of eyes looked at Xiao Xingjian's face, met Xiao Xingjian's gaze, and then shyly avoided the gaze.

He swallowed the saliva in his mouth nervously, reached into his pocket and took out a handkerchief.

The handkerchief is square, as if something is wrapped inside.

Wang Ailian quickly raised her head and glanced at Xiao Xingjian. "I found this in the area you went to two years ago. It doesn't look like something that people in our village would bring.

I don’t know if it has anything to do with the person you’re looking for, but I still hope I can help you.”

Wang Ailian stuffed the silk into Xiao Xingjian's pocket and ran back to her room shyly.

Xiao Xingjian opened the silk and found a silver women's silk chain inside.

I don't know what the silver chain here has to do with Shen Zhu.