After asking her cousin's wife and her sister-in-law, Qin Xiaoyu was stunned. The two children had simply vanished. Undeterred, she searched every corner of the yard with a flashlight, hoping they might have fallen asleep somewhere after playing, but there was no sign of them.
She caused quite a commotion in the courtyard, with some people watching through the glass doors. Grandpa Hanhan was the most anxious and came out with an umbrella.
"Tang Long, come out here!" Qin Xiaoyu suddenly remembered something and ran to her cousin's house shouting.
"What's wrong?" My cousin's wife answered first.
"My name is Tang Long, not you!" Qin Xiaoyu ignored her.
"What is it?" Tang Long is usually quite aloof and ignores everyone, but tonight he seems unusual and has finally come out to say something.
"Was the front door locked when you got back?"
There is a lock inside the Tang family's gate. Usually, the top is just left open, but the inner lock is locked only when the whole family returns.
"Yes, Longlong knocked on the door, and it took me ages to hear him. He even complained to me. I don't know who locked the door from the inside, or didn't know someone hadn't come back?" My cousin-in-law was furious.
Qin Xiaoyu was starting to understand. Had the two children gone out and been locked outside? It had been raining all night, and Hanhan certainly couldn't leave her little sister in the rain for too long. But where could they have gone?
"Find him! If you can't find my son, I'll burn your whole family down!" Qin Xiaoyu heard a roar, but it wasn't her voice anymore; it was filled with despair and anger.
"What are you looking for? How could a child this big get lost?" The old woman ignored her and turned to walk back. Seeing the old man still hesitating at the door, she pulled him inside.
The sister-in-law gave the brother a look, and the two of them slipped back inside.
Although Hanhan's grandparents didn't get along with Qin Xiaoyu, they were still worried about their grandson being lost. They turned around, put on their raincoats, and hurriedly went out the door.
My cousin's wife has a straightforward temper and always argues with people, but she's not a bad person. She wanted to ignore it but couldn't bear to, so in the end she still took an umbrella and went out.
The whole family searched the front and back yards, even the outhouse, but they couldn't find Hanhan and her younger sister.
Qin Xiaoyu was burning with anger, and she was walking on air. Her voice was already hoarse from shouting, and the rain was getting heavier and heavier. She didn't need to shout anymore, because the rain would swallow her voice.
They had searched the surrounding area but found nothing. Tang Long, worried about his mother, followed her after his sister-in-law, who had fallen and was limping.
"What should we do? What should we do?" Grandma Hanhan cried, then suddenly raised her hand and punched Qin Xiaoyu several times, cursing, "You jinx! It's all your fault! You killed my son and now you're ruining my grandson! Why can't you just stay at the textile factory? Why did you have to be so reckless and learn hairdressing? If you hadn't been out there all the time, would my grandson have gotten lost? If my grandson is never found, I'll make you pay with your life!"
"If you had treated your grandson any better, would he have been lost?" Qin Xiaoyu said this, then walked blankly out of the alley, calling out as she went, "Hanhan, come back, come back quickly!"
She had a new idea: Hanhan was probably locked out. The rain was too heavy, and he wasn't strong enough to hear her knocking. Even someone as tall and strong as Tang Long had to knock for ages, let alone him? He was a smart boy; he wouldn't let his little sister get soaked in the rain forever. He might take her to find their mother. Qin Xiaoyu had told him about her apprenticeship location; Hanhan might remember it. Perhaps she could try looking for her there.
"Little Qin? Is that Little Qin?" A woman with an umbrella slipped and slid as she walked towards them. It turned out to be Master Wang. Qin Xiaoyu hadn't guessed wrong; Hanhan and her younger sister had gone looking for her, but they had taken a detour, wandering through the alleys for a long time and missing Qin Xiaoyu.
When the mother and her two children returned home, she quickly boiled a kettle of water, washed the two children clean, and fed them hot brown sugar ginger water to ward off the cold.
She asked Hanhan, and it turned out that being locked out was an accident. While he was washing the dishes, his younger sister disappeared. He ran out to look for her and brought her back, but the door was locked from the inside. This way, it's unlikely anyone did it intentionally. Since his younger sister can't speak, they couldn't get any information out of her. They don't know if she went out on her own or if someone took her out. They'll just have to be more careful next time.
She slept restlessly that night, tossing and turning, thinking about what Tang Wenwen had said. She could no longer live as carefree as before; she had a weakness, and for Hanhan's sake, she had to do something.
The next day was National Day. She was supposed to go to Master Wang's place earlier, but Master Wang specifically told her last night to go later and take care of the child first.
She touched her younger sister's forehead. She had a slight fever late last night, but now she was sweating a little and seemed to be fine.
While cooking porridge, Qin Xiaoyu observed the situation in the courtyard. Several families lived in this large courtyard, each with their own agendas. She had to find a weak point to exploit. While Hanhan was closest to her grandparents, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were natural enemies, and she feared Hanhan's grandmother would find it difficult to be on her side. She decided to put them aside for now.
Watching the two children drink their porridge, Qin Xiaoyu took out a large bowl and filled it with walnuts. She had bought these for Hanhan and her brother; they were good for their health and brain. Before leaving, she turned back to get a small bowl, filled it with a few pieces of rock sugar, and then headed south.
My cousin's wife was steaming buns, and the room was filled with steam. She heard someone come in, but couldn't see the person clearly. When she saw that it was Qin Xiaoyu, her expression changed.
"Sister-in-law, does your foot still hurt? This is for Longlong; he's been studying hard and his brain is sore from all the studying, he needs some nourishment." Qin Xiaoyu interrupted before she could react. Seeing the large bowl of walnuts, her cousin-in-law's eyes lit up. Ordinary people wouldn't buy this; but having received a gift, she felt obligated to help, and her tone changed accordingly.
"You're too kind. How could I not be worried if my child was lost? Here, let me empty the bowl for you. Please come in and sit down." Her sister-in-law gestured for her to come in, but Qin Xiaoyu wanted to chat a bit more, so she went inside without being polite.
The south room was much brighter than hers, and Tang Long was home, sitting at the table by the window doing his English homework. Qin Xiaoyu glanced at him and immediately realized that the boy's grades weren't very good. There were several obvious mistakes, and after hesitating for a moment, she pointed them out.
"There's a missing 'is' here. Read it again, does it flow smoothly?"
Tang Long was shocked that Qin Xiaoyu would say such a thing, and stared at her in astonishment.
"What? You're not convinced? And here, isn't there an 'O' missing?" Qin Xiaoyu continued to tease him.
"Longlong is doing his homework." His sister-in-law brought in a large bowl of steamed buns. She was a little unhappy to see Tang Long pointing at his homework, but she felt a little insecure when she thought of walnuts, so she could only gently remind him.
"Look at how to do this!" Tang Long, provoked, snapped and pointed out the next reading comprehension question. Qin Xiaoyu sneered inwardly, "Little kid, you're too naive. I'm an English major with a passing grade of 8. Do you think I'm afraid of something like this?"
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