No matter how much Xu Songyuan pressed him for answers, Cao Dashan refused to say anything more.
Xu Songyuan felt a chill run through his body. He didn't know how he got back, and sat under the eaves for a long time without moving.
That was fourteen years ago.
Xu Songyuan and his wife fell in love on their own. They met while working together. His wife's name is Chen Zhi. She was raised by her grandparents and no one else in her family.
After the couple got married, Chen Zhi was unable to conceive due to health reasons.
Xu Songyuan had no parents and no one to care for him. He didn't care whether he had children or not. The couple had a good relationship. Three years after they got married, Chen Zhi went to the mountain to pick mushrooms. Mushrooms were easy to find on the mountain after the rain.
But Chen Zhi never came back that day.
A passing villager noticed someone in the pond and realized something was wrong, so he went to call Xu Songyuan.
Chen Zhi's body was floating on the water, and mushrooms were rolling on the shore.
The villagers guessed that he slipped and fell in because the road was slippery after the rain.
At that moment, Xu Songyuan felt like the sky was about to fall.
Chen Zhi was his only family member, and before they could even enjoy a good life, she was gone.
The villagers advised Xu Songyuan to remarry, but Xu Songyuan refused. However, he couldn't live a lonely life, so his second uncle, Xu Chenggang, suggested that Xu Xue be adopted by Xu Songyuan.
This way, Xu Songyuan would have something to look forward to, and someone would take care of him in his old age.
Now, Cao Dashan's words were swirling in Xu Songyuan's mind.
There are suspicious circumstances surrounding Chen Zhi's death.
How could Cao Dashan know?
Fourteen years ago, Cao Dashan was only ten years old, and he was already considered an idiot.
Why did I suddenly bring this up...?
Why was this specifically mentioned to Xu Songyuan...?
Xu Songyuan clutched his hair, licked his chapped lips, and felt a jumble of emotions running through him.
The next morning, Xu Songyuan went to the back mountain.
The back hill was uncultivated and surrounded by trees.
Chen Zhi is buried there. Xu Songyuan comes here almost every month to talk to Chen Zhi and pull out the weeds around the grave.
After making sure no one was around, Xu Songyuan whispered about Xu Guiying.
After he finished rambling on and on, the surroundings became completely silent.
Xu Songyuan clapped his hands and stood up.
If there are any doubts, he must investigate thoroughly and give Chen Zhi an explanation.
Xu Songyuan planned to go see Cao Dashan again.
He carried a basket and a hoe on his back as cover when he went home, and on the way he met Xu Xue, who was returning home from town.
When father and daughter met in the past, they were no different from enemies.
Xu Xue, carrying several bags, snorted coldly at Xu Songyuan with a disdainful look on her face. Just as she passed by Xu Songyuan, she was suddenly grabbed.
Xu Songyuan stared intently at the silver bracelet on Xu Xue's hand.
"Let me go!"
"You're not my dad anymore, and I'm not your daughter. I'm never coming home again. Stop daydreaming!"
Three seconds.
Xu Songyuan looked away from the silver bracelet, his face darkened, his eyes filled with anger, and he used so much force that he almost broke Xu Xue's hand.
Xu Xue was startled.
Xu Songyuan let go of her hand, but Xu Xue lost her balance and fell to the ground.
Xu Songyuan: "The thing I regret most in my life is that I adopted you."
Xu Chenggang favored sons over daughters, and it's easy to imagine what kind of life Xu Xue would have had if she had stayed in that family.
Xu Songyuan turned and left, his chest heaving with anger.
When he married Chen Zhi, there was no bride price or dowry. The following year, Xu Songyuan asked Master Chen, a craftsman in town, to make a silver bracelet for Chen Zhi.
At the time, lotus flower patterns were popular, and even the gaps in the leaves looked exactly the same.
Xu Songyuan was certain that it belonged to Chen Zhi.
Just a few days before Chen Zhi's accident, the silver bracelet suddenly disappeared.
Chen Zhi herself said she didn't know, and that it probably fell off by accident.
The silver bracelet that disappeared more than ten years ago suddenly reappeared on Xu Xue's hand.
Xu Songyuan almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
He swayed, almost tripped, and felt all the blood rush to his head.
This matter is definitely related to my second uncle's family; there's definitely something wrong with it...
Cao Dashan was sitting at his doorstep.
With red eyes, Xu Songyuan dragged the person into the house. Once the door was closed, only light shone through the low wall of the pigsty.
Xu Songyuan's face was grim. "What exactly did you mean by what you said yesterday? Did you see something back then?"
Cao Dashan had a dark complexion and rarely took a bath. His dark eyes darted around as he stared at Xu Songyuan with a silly grin.
Xu Songyuan: "Big Fool, just say something since I've given you steamed buns all these years."
Xu Songyuan pleaded in a voice, saying that if Chen Zhi's death really had nothing to do with Xu Zhongtang's family, then Chen Zhi would not be able to rest in peace after all these years, as Xu Zhongtang's family is still alive and well.
Cao Dashan chuckled, "On the mountain, in the water, people drown..."
Xu Songyuan stared intently at him.
Cao Dashan still had a smile on his face, but gradually the smile faded, and he said slowly and deliberately, "Xu, Zhong, Tang."
Xu Songyuan felt as if he had been doused with cold water; his face turned deathly pale. Just as he thought, just as he thought.
Cao Dashan's expression remained unchanged. "You won't let me say it."
Xu Songyuan leaned against the wall, his hands buried in his hair, his face contorted in a grimace. He was panting heavily, his fists clenched.
Suddenly, Cao Dashan's expression changed.
His gaze lingered for a moment before he grasped Xu Songyuan's hand.
Let me demonstrate.
"Steal, take away."
Xu Songyuan's expression changed drastically. "You saw it? Xu Zhongtang snatched the bracelet, and Xu Zhongtang pushed the person down? You saw it both times?"
Cao Dashan suddenly seemed to have regained his senses.
"I was bullied. First they snatched my bracelet, then I was pushed into the water." Cao Dashan scratched his head. "I can't remember..."
Cao Dashan is a fool, but not for decades; he has moments of clarity.
He said that the first time he saw Xu Zhongtang looking for Chen Zhi in the grove, he didn't know what they said, but Chen Zhi's bracelet was stolen.
The second time was on the mountain. Cao Dashan was going to steal cabbage when he heard a noise. Thinking he had been discovered, he quickly hid, but then he saw Xu Zhongtang hugging Chen Zhi. Chen Zhi struggled incessantly. Finally, someone passed by, and Xu Zhongtang hastily pushed Chen Zhi into the water.
Cao Dashan was startled. He was in a daze at the time and screamed in fright, which alerted Xu Zhongtang.
Xu Zhongtang wanted to kill Cao Dashan as well, but he was no match for Cao Dashan's strength and couldn't overpower him. Xu Zhongtang didn't know if Cao Dashan was truly stupid or just pretending, so he threatened him that if he dared to tell anyone, he would kill him too.
Everyone in the village knows that Cao Dashan is an idiot, so how much of what he says can be believed?
He himself was not clear-headed, and after returning, he forgot about the matter. If it weren't for the uproar caused by Xu Songyuan and Xu Xue's separation of the family property, and the fact that everyone in the village was talking about it, Cao Dashan would not have remembered it either.
Xu Songyuan leaned against the wall, unable to move.
Fourteen years...
For fourteen long years, the murderer was right there, and he didn't notice anything. He was a complete failure!
Cao Dashan tilted his head and watched Xu Songyuan stand up and leave.
He wanted to say something, but couldn't remember what.
Cao Dashan sat under the eaves again, facing the muddy road, staring blankly at the villagers working in the fields.
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