"Gather at the square at six o'clock tomorrow morning. We agreed to come!"
Afraid that Shen Zhizhu would go back on his word, he left quickly with a group of people without saying a single unnecessary word. His speed was so fast that it was astonishing.
After they left, Uncle Li spoke tremblingly.
"Why would you agree to them? You can tell they have bad intentions. You can tell at a glance that Du Manjun is not a good person. His father treats you so well. You should not go. They will pay you 45 yuan to go with them. You don't have to do anything, and you get free stuff. How can it be so good?"
Uncle Li saw through everything and thought that Shen Zhizhu agreed because he wanted the forty-five yuan. He thought that Shen Zhizhu was young and didn't know how evil people could be.
Shen Zhizhu nodded.
"I know. I just want to see what they are up to. I can also make 45 bucks for free. Why not?"
Seeing that Shen Zhizhu knew the intricacies of the matter, he stopped trying to persuade him. Shen Zhizhu and Xu Haonan's brains were much better than his, so they shouldn't suffer any loss.
Thinking of this, he felt relieved.
"Okay, now that you know what's going on, I'm relieved. Let's go back and have dinner at home today. I'll let you taste my cooking skills. Woohoo, it's freezing cold. Let's go inside."
Seeing Uncle Li shivering in the cold wind, Shen Zhizhu pulled Xu Haonan towards Aunt Li's house, smiling and talking as they walked.
"Okay, then let's have dinner at uncle and aunt's house today, but I'm sorry to bother you."
Uncle Li sniffed and rubbed his arms.
"What are you talking about? You can counsel my son, that's better than anything else. Let alone a meal, even if you and Haonan eat here every day, your aunt and I will be happier."
Xu Haonan also joined the conversation. Although it was unknown why Shen Zhizhu agreed to go even though she knew the other party's motives were not pure, she definitely did not do so for the mere forty or so yuan.
"I'm going to take a break today and try Uncle Li's cooking."
Shen Zhizhu spoke again.
"Uncle Li, please go in first. I'll go get the vegetables we saved. We can't waste them."
Uncle Li responded and told them to go and come back quickly.
"I should have gone with you guys, but the weather is so cold that I can't stand it anymore. I'm going to go back and wait for you guys now. Hurry up."
Shen Zhizhu took Xu Haonan to the kitchen to get some leftover food from the morning. Xu Haonan tried to hold as much as possible in his own hands.
"Put your hands away. It's cold outside. Don't let them freeze."
Shen Zhizhu was considering how to start the conversation, after all, his guess was somewhat unusual.
[How should we start? Du Manjun has invested so much money, and he is definitely not after some small fight. This may be related to our lives.]
When Xu Haonan heard this, he was busy picking up things in his hands and walked out with Shen Zhizhu, pretending to ask casually.
"It's clear from the first glance that Du Manjun has bad intentions. He is very likely to avenge us for his father and make us pay for our lives. You should have seen that, so why are you still going?"
"So you guessed it. I did guess it, but it's not a good idea to keep avoiding it. He has done this out in the open. If we refuse, what if he is doing something bad in the dark? We are in the open while he is in the dark. If he wants to retaliate against us, we won't be able to defend ourselves. We might as well take this opportunity to see what he is going to do."
Shen Zhizhu thought that it would be best if he could find evidence to prove the crime and send the case to the police station so that the whole family could be reunited.
"He just kept insisting that I drive the tractor. I guess he would tamper with the tractor and pretend that we accidentally broke it so that we would have to pay for a new one, or he would use the tractor to kill both of us."
"If he wants to tamper with the machine, he will first confirm whether we agree to it. Once we agree to his request, he will definitely go to the tractor to tamper with it."
Xu Haonan was no fool either. He sensed from Du Manjun's attitude that this matter was not simple. Combined with Shen Zhizhu's guess, he felt that Shen Zhizhu's guess was very accurate.
We have to gather early tomorrow morning. If we want to do something, then...
"Tonight is the best time for him to take action!"
Xu Haonan and Shen Zhizhu said this at the same time.
Shen Zhizhu patted Xu Haonan's shoulder, but felt that it was very cold with his hands exposed, so he quickly retracted his hand.
"Sometimes, even if we are patient and give in again and again, they won't be grateful, nor will they reflect, and they won't stop. They will just think that we are afraid and want to take the opportunity to get rid of us."
When Shen Zhizhu said this, his mind kept flashing back to how he had always been tolerant in his previous life, but gained nothing but death.
Thinking of the tragic death of herself in her previous life, her eyes gradually became firm. She looked at Xu Haonan and slowly spoke.
"Instead of avoiding it, it's better to face it head on!"
Xu Haonan inexplicably felt a surge of enthusiasm after hearing these words, and he suddenly smiled.
"Don't worry, no matter what happens, no matter when, I will protect you."
These words made Shen Zhizhu feel sad. She knew that the other person was speaking from the heart. Just like how she had treated him in her previous life, he still collected her body and brought it home for a proper burial regardless of the danger.
He found the person who hurt him and died with him.
"Why are you crying? Are you scared? I can go by myself tomorrow. It's too dangerous. Just wait for me at home."
It turned out that Shen Zhizhu burst into tears without realizing it. Xu Haonan thought Shen Zhizhu was afraid, so he offered some thoughtful suggestions.
From the bottom of his heart, he didn't want Shen Zhizhu to step into danger.
Shen Zhizhu shook her head. She had died once before, so she was not afraid of this. She was just touched and felt a little sentimental.
"I'm fine. I'm not scared. Will you always protect me?"
Xu Haonan really wanted to free one hand to touch Shen Zhizhu's head, but his hands were full of dishes, so he couldn't do it.
Shen Zhizhu saw through it and took the two dishes.
Xu Haonan chuckled softly, and used his free hand to pull Shen Zhizhu into his arms. He spoke every word as if it was a vow.
"I, Xu Haonan, will protect Shen Zhizhu no matter what happens. I am not lying. I mean it from the bottom of my heart."
Shen Zhizhu held the dishes in his hands to prevent them from falling. He held them with both hands for a while before feeling his arms sore and had to let go.
"I'll go with you tomorrow. I'm not afraid. After nightfall tonight, we'll go and wait and confirm our guess."
Shen Zhizhu did not return the dish to Xu Haonan, but walked happily in front.
"Let's go, Uncle Li and Aunt Li can't wait any longer."
"Oh my goodness, my brother and sister are hugging each other outside the door."
It turned out that Uncle Li did not close the door when he went back. Seeing that they had not returned for a long time, he thought that they had a lot of things to take, so he asked Erdan to go and pick them up.
As a result, when Erdan came out, he saw Shen Zhizhu and Xu Haonan hugging each other. He did not disturb them, but ran back and waited.
Now as soon as they came in, they saw Erdan teasing them with a smile.
"Good for you. You even dare to tease your elder brother and sister. You have to do five extra pages of homework today."