Shen Heng continued, "On the return journey, the wind was very strong, and the boat was very unstable. Some people said they saw something following the boat. They said I was cursed and that something in the sea didn't want me to go back. If they didn't leave me behind, none of the people on the boat could leave."
This is a folk tale from the sea. Bai Jiaojiao had never heard of it since she was a child, but once Shen Heng told her about it, everyone else understood.
"And then they threw you overboard?"
This explains why all the crew members unanimously said that Chen Heng fell off the ship on his own.
They don't need to protect anyone; they are all executioners.
Bai Jiaojiao clenched her fists upon hearing this ridiculous reason.
Bai Shiman calmly replied, "That's pretty much what I was thinking. Things I couldn't understand before are now clear to me."
Bai Jiaojiao said, "They harmed someone, and now they want to cover it up together?"
Shen Heng thought the same way; he had survived a great calamity, and those people's unlucky days were about to begin.
Seeing their expressions, Bai Zhiman simply said, "This time, there are about twenty crew members, both young and old, which means there are about twenty households. If you offend them all, what will you do in the future?"
"Father, I can't let them get away with this."
"I just want you to understand what you plan to do. I won't stop you."
Bai Zhiman was afraid that Bai Jiaojiao and Shen Heng would act impulsively, but he also didn't want to swallow his anger.
Bai Jiaojiao isn't even afraid to offend the village chief, so what is she afraid of in Shili Village?
"Brother Heng, do you think there's some truth to this, or is someone deliberately spreading rumors?"
This reason is important.
"Every man for himself" goes the saying. If those crew members were just afraid and did this to save their lives, Bai Jiaojiao was willing to punish them lightly as a warning. However, recalling Zhou Fukun's attitude that night, she knew that was probably not the case.
Perhaps some crew members were misled and had no choice but to cooperate once they boarded the pirate ship.
But Bai Jiaojiao was certain that there was a mastermind behind it all.
"The wind and waves at sea are real, but not as exaggerated as some people think. The weather at sea is always like this, and the wind is always very strong here in winter."
Shen Heng paused for a moment: "The person who said there was something following the boat was Zhou Fukun's son, Zhou Yanshan. The story came from him. Ever since I boarded the boat, Zhou Fukun has been acting like a jerk towards me, saying that I am strong and wanting me to do more work, but I will not listen to his orders."
Zhou Fukun wanted to make things difficult for Shen Heng, so he would make him work more shifts, but Shen Heng only did the same work as the other crew members, and refused to do any extra work.
Zhou Fukun was ridiculous. Shen Heng was a troublemaker in the village, let alone on the boat, far from the emperor's reach, yet he still tried to suppress him.
But it's also possible that this offended Zhou Fukun, or that he had planned it all along, and that on his way back, near his home, a few days of strong winds caused this mess.
Chen Heng lost track of time at sea. He was a good swimmer and kept swimming and swimming, thinking of Bai Jiaojiao and telling himself that he must go back.
He didn't know how long he had been swimming, nor was he sure whether he had exhausted himself or lost consciousness first.
Bai Jiaojiao said, "Big brother, let's not tell anyone about Heng-ge waking up yet. There's a lot of trouble involved. Heng-ge's illness isn't fully recovered, and I don't want to expend my energy on these things, or make those people panic for a while."
"Okay, whatever you say. Don't worry, Jiaojiao, no matter how difficult things get in the future, your big brother will help you."
Bai Shihai was truly terrified by Bai Jiaojiao's reaction yesterday.
"Let your brother-in-law get some rest. We've seen enough."
Deng Min tugged at Bai Shihai, and the group of people, sensing the danger, left.
Bai Jiaojiao fed Shen Heng his medicine and helped him lie down.
Shen Heng wanted to hold Bai Jiaojiao, but she refused.
"How about you rest your head on my lap?" Bai Jiaojiao coaxed Shen Heng to lie down, as if she were coaxing a child.
Shen Heng rested his head on Bai Jiaojiao's lap, and by turning to the side, he could wrap his arms around Bai Jiaojiao's waist and bury his face in Bai Jiaojiao's soft belly.
He rubbed against it contentedly, his head still feeling like paste. Lying in a comfortable spot, Shen Heng unconsciously fell asleep again.
This time, Shen Heng's breathing was much more steady. Bai Jiaojiao held Shen Heng's head and felt his body temperature slowly drop.
Looking at the bulging skin on Shen Heng's body, Bai Jiaojiao felt distressed. Leaning against the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), she thought about how to deal with that group of people.
Shen Heng slept until noon, when Deng Min woke him up when she came in to bring him lunch.
"You said your brother-in-law can't eat eggs, so you told your brother to kill the old hen at home."
Deng Min brought over two bowls of steaming hot chicken noodle soup. One bowl had a chicken leg on it, and the noodles at the bottom were made from refined flour without any black flour mixed in. These were the noodles Bai Zhiman ate on his birthday, and they were made from second-crop black flour.
"Sister-in-law, this..." Bai Jiaojiao didn't know what to say.
"Oh dear, we've been raising them for several years, but this year their egg production can't keep up with those two little hens. They'll have to be slaughtered sooner or later."
Deng Min could tell that Bai Jiaojiao was embarrassed, so she cut her off directly.
As the eldest sister-in-law, it's only right that she treats Bai Jiaojiao well. Moreover, Deng Min has seen the help Bai Jiaojiao has given to her family. Now that Shen Heng is in trouble, isn't it the perfect time for them to repay her?
Bai Jiaojiao was deeply moved: "Sister-in-law, please take this chicken leg back to Manzhi Manlin. I won't eat it."
"How could I possibly leave them out? Just eat without worry. Look at your pale face. You two just need to take good care of yourselves."
Deng Min put down the noodles and went out the door.
Shen Heng was also hungry, so he thanked Deng Min along with Bai Jiaojiao, picked up his chopsticks and started eating.
After a nap, he felt about 80% better: "At worst, I'll just bring a chicken from our house during the New Year. Why are you so embarrassed to talk to your own family?"
Shen Heng had always envied Bai Jiaojiao for having a family. In his opinion, such a relationship where they always thought of each other was too rare. Therefore, he never disliked Bai Jiaojiao helping her family like other men did.
"You're one to talk! Sending a chicken is too formal. You should send something else instead."
"I haven't even asked you how you ended up at your father-in-law's house. There was a whole room of people surrounding me, like a trial."
Shen Heng was so hungry that he slurped down the bowl of noodles in just a couple of bites.
Seeing that he could eat, Bai Jiaojiao felt much relieved and gave him most of the noodles from her bowl.
Shen Heng covered the bowl with his palm and said, "I don't want it. Give me what's left after you finish eating."
Bai Jiaojiao thought that Shen Heng had just woken up and it would be good for him to eat less and digest slowly, so she stopped what she was doing and answered him: "After you left, Liu Ying came to our house and splashed a basin of black dog blood. She even tried to come into our house to harm me. My parents thought it was bad luck and were worried that it would be unsafe for me to live alone, so they let me move in to sleep here."
"Is Liu Ying out of her mind?"
In Shili Village, no one dared to offend Shen Heng like this.
"She's already been locked up; they say she was sentenced to five years."
Are you alright?
"I'm fine. Li Lide happened to come over at that time, and Liu Ying killed his dog. Oh, by the way, Li Lide has been removed from his post, and the current village chief is Li Shiqing."
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