Shen Heping sighed: "Xiao Tong, come on! Put your luggage in our room first! We'll stay together for the next two weeks."
"Thanks, Peace!" Su Tong handed over his luggage, but didn't move.
That's when everyone realized he was crying.
"Sigh!" Li Wang sighed, pointing to the dusty west room. "Comrade Su Ruyi, I'll fetch you some water. You can clean the room first! No one has lived there for two years!"
Shen Heping rushed over: "I'll do it, I'll do it!"
Ji Xuchang also rolled up his sleeves.
Su Ruyi's eyes were also filled with tears at this moment.
The last glimmer of hope they had held along the way was shattered by the harsh reality.
Su Tong wiped away his tears: "Ruyi, now is not the time to cry. Let's pack our things and settle down first. I don't believe Xiao Tie would go into the mountains alone. I don't believe a word Ding Daguo said."
Su Ruyi nodded and said, "Fifth Brother is never reckless. But it seems difficult to find out the truth of this matter now."
Shen Heping brought water, and Ji Xuchang took the rag: "I'll wipe it. Ruyi, you stay with your brother."
He turned around and asked, "Ruyi, aren't you afraid to live in this house?"
Su Ruyi shook her head: "Living alone is peaceful."
She was naturally not afraid.
Because this house is just a smokescreen; she's actually going to live in the real space.
Shen Heping and Ji Xuchang worked together seamlessly, one changing the water and washing the rags, the other wiping the dust. In less than half an hour, they had cleaned the west room spotless.
Su Tong and Su Ruyi tried to snatch the rag several times, but they protected it like a treasure and wouldn't give it to them.
Su Ruyi's bedding and another bundle were placed on the clean kang mat.
Shen Ji and his companion remained discreet and did not touch the girl's belongings.
After cleaning, the whole room looked brand new, and the air was filled with a fresh scent.
Su Ruyi thanked them and went into the room.
This room has the same structure as the other rooms in the educated youth settlement, with a large kang (heated brick bed) occupying the half of the space near the window.
On this kang (heated brick bed), against the wall, stands a large kang qin (a type of zither) decorated with flowers, and on top of it is a low kang table.
Everything was very old. The drawer under the kangqin (a traditional heated brick bed) had lost its handle; a nail had been hammered in and bent to serve as a handle.
On the open ground against the wall, there was a three-legged wooden table, with the missing leg propped up by broken bricks.
A wooden stool was tucked under the table.
It has all four legs intact, but the paint on the stool is as mottled as the table.
Su Ruyi looked up at the roof beam.
It was covered with a large piece of red cloth.
Shen Heping and the others did not take it down.
That place should be...
She knew that the female educated youth who had been sent to the countryside two years ago had hanged herself from the roof beam.
She sighed and began to untie the bundle.
As she made the bed, tears began to fall uncontrollably onto the kang (a heated brick bed).
A year ago, the person Su Dazhi originally arranged to go to the countryside was her, who was only 14 years old.
Fifth Brother quietly went and signed up all by himself.
It could be said that Fifth Brother went to the countryside in her place.
Fifth Brother was only 19 years old last year.
A 19-year-old boy was tricked into marrying a vicious village woman.
She now deeply understands what Su Tong meant when he said, "The water in Dingjiatun is indeed very deep."
Judging from the current situation, it is very likely that Ding Daguo is the one who controls everything here.
Su Ruyi quickly tidied up, put her personal belongings back in their place, and then went out the door.
She took out the padlock she had brought and replaced the original lock.
The door clicked shut.
Su Tong, Shen Ji, and the old educated youth Li Wang were already waiting at the courtyard gate; they were going to find Ding Xiuling.
Su Ruyi adjusted her satchel: "Fourth Brother, are we really going? I don't think you'll get any information from asking like this."
Su Tong, also a party involved, stubbornly insisted, "We should at least ask her and see what Ding Xiuling's attitude is."
She nodded: "Then let's go."
Her original thought was that the Ding family was full of suspicious people, and if Fifth Brother's disappearance was their doing, someone would eventually see it.
Especially children, who speak without thinking... her handbag was full of White Rabbit candies.
But given Fourth Brother's attitude... well, it's good to ask.
The group headed towards the village.
Su Tong asked Li Wang, "Li, where does Ding Xiuling live?"
Li Wang said, "Do you see that biggest locust tree over there? That's the courtyard over there—the Ding family hasn't separated; it's a large family living together. Su Zhiqing, Comrade Su, Shen Zhiqing, Ji Zhiqing, I... I can only lead you through the door; I won't follow you in."
As he spoke, he stood still in place.
"Thank you!" Su Tong and the others said hurriedly, "You've already gone to so much trouble, Li Zhiqing!"
"Sigh!" Li Wang patted Su Tong on the shoulder. "Be careful in everything you do. By the way, they have a very fierce dog. Be careful not to get bitten!"
The group thanked him again and walked towards the big locust tree.
The location of the big locust tree appears to be a very large and orderly courtyard with about ten rooms along the four corridors.
Su Ruyi paused for a moment.
This place, this tree...
In her previous life, she was tricked into this house and imprisoned there for several days before being transported overnight to Zhang Biao's house in the mountains via a small path behind the house.
Su Ruyi steadied herself and caught up with the others.
When they were still a dozen or so steps away, they heard a loud and powerful bark from the yard.
These days, not many families keep dogs.
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