After Huo Xiao brought Ye Weiwei and Xiao Xingxing back from the county town, he left first, and didn't have time to spend the Lantern Festival with them at home.
Ye Weiwei ate black sesame dumplings at the old house that evening.
When Liu Guilan brought the person back after dinner, she was afraid that the person would feel upset, so she said a lot of nice things to Huo Xiao.
Ye Weiwei chuckled inwardly.
She really didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
Huo Xiao had been worried that she had already spent two days with him in the county town and that she couldn't stay home for the holiday, which must be because of work.
A man should have his own career. She never thought that just because she married Huo Xiao, she would have to keep him by her side and do nothing but accompany him.
This isn't marriage and living together; it's building a cage.
If it were her, she wouldn't be able to stand it either.
Originally, Liu Guilan wanted to stay and keep Ye Weiwei company, worried that she and Xiao Xingxing would be scared living alone at home.
After all, there are no neighbors around here.
However, Ye Weiwei refused; she genuinely didn't need it.
Moreover, she knew that her mother-in-law, Liu Guilan, was busy preparing for her second brother's wedding with Zhao Lingdang, and she knew she couldn't help much, so why should she cause trouble?
Finally, after much persuasion, Liu Guilan persuaded Ye Weiwei and Xiaoxing to stop cooking at home and eat all three meals at the old house. Ye Weiwei agreed, and only then did Liu Guilan leave satisfied.
Huo Jiang has been in high spirits these past few days, as his new bride will be arriving in three days. He's been busy preparing for her arrival and is all smiles.
Because the family had separated and this was his second marriage, Huo Jiang didn't ask his parents to subsidize the betrothal gifts; he paid for them himself. After discussing it with Liu Guilan, they took out one hundred yuan and one hundred jin of grain.
Zhao Dayong was extremely satisfied with this and praised the Huo family for their honest and reliable service to everyone he met.
Liu Guilan prepared a new set of clothes for Zhao Lingdang, as well as a large piece of new cloth, estimating the sizes of the other members of the Zhao family, so that Zhao Dayong and Zhao Lingdang's two nephews and one niece could each have a new outfit made.
Looking at the large piece of cloth, Zhao Dayong burst into tears, saying that Lingdang had found the right person and that she should live a good life with Huo Jiang and be filial to her parents-in-law.
During this period, Zhao Lingdang was kept at home by Zhao Dayong and not allowed to go out to work. In addition, she ate better than usual during the New Year, so her skin recovered a bit and she didn't look so dark anymore. Her complexion was much better.
The two families are not planning a big celebration this time. They just plan to invite a few close relatives and neighbors in the village, about three or four tables.
After all, we're all from the same village, and everyone knows what's going on. There's no need to put on such a show. It's more practical to save the money for everyday life.
Just as the two families were happily preparing for the wedding, Zhao Dabao suddenly rushed to the riverbank and shouted to Huo Jiang, who was catching fish, "Second Brother Huo! Second Brother Huo! Go back and see! Something has happened to your family!"
"What?!" Huo Jiang was so startled that his hand trembled, and the big fish he had just caught fell back into the water and escaped.
He didn't even bother to pack up the buckets and tools, and went up to Zhao Dabao, asking, "What happened?"
Zhao Dabao was panting heavily as he ran, shouting, "Your house, your Xiaochun is missing!"
Upon hearing this, Huo Jiang immediately took off running home.
When he got to his doorstep, he found a crowd gathered there. He immediately spotted his mother, Liu Guilan, wiping away tears with red eyes. He quickly pushed through the crowd and asked, "Mom, what happened to Xiaochun? Why is he missing?"
When everyone saw that it was Huo Jiang, they made way for him.
When Liu Guilan saw that it was her second son who had returned, she grabbed his hand and burst into tears. "Second son, Xiaochun is missing. I can't find her anywhere. Nobody in the family knows where she went. I've searched the whole village, but I can't find her. What should we do?"
Xiaochun is the eldest child in the family. She is usually the most sensible and capable. She would never run away without a word. Something must have happened.
Huo Jiang turned pale with fright, but tried his best to remain calm. "Mother, don't panic. Let's search carefully again!"
Su Xuemei and Huo Hai were on their way to find Ye Weiwei's child. "We've searched the whole village, but we haven't gone to Lao San's house."
Ye Weiwei, along with Xiaoxing, Xiaoshan, and Xiaochuan, caught up from behind. "Xiaochun would never leave her sister behind to go out and play alone. I suspect she was taken away by someone."
Xiaochun is a very sensible child. She is hardworking and not playful. She is either helping with chores at home or taking care of the children. I have never seen her sneak out to play by herself.
"Is this some kind of beggar gang that came to the village?"
People with children at home are getting nervous.
Ye Weiwei shook her head. "There are plenty of children in the village playing outside every day. If someone were really after Xiaochun, they wouldn't only be interested in her. Besides, Xiaochun hardly ever goes out. The only person who could make her disappear so quietly is someone they know. Did anyone in the village see Sun Hongying come over today?"
Liu Guilan's eyes widened. "Weiwei, do you suspect that Sun Hongying took Xiaochun away?"
Ye Weiwei nodded: "Most likely."
Huo Jiang clenched his fists in anger: "What is that woman trying to do?"
They didn't mention the child at all when they divorced, but now they dare to come to our door and sneak away with Xiaochun.
Ye Weiwei's expression was subtle: "I guess he's not happy with his own life, and seeing that you're about to get married again, he wants to make you unhappy?"
Huo Jiang: ...
Seeing through it but not saying it, that really hurts, sister-in-law!
Liu Guilan was so angry her chest ached: "If she dares to ruin your second brother's marriage with Lingdang, I'll tear her house roof off!"
Huo Hai was furious. They had been divorced for so long, and he heard that Sun Hongying had remarried just a few days after the divorce. Why was she still bothering their second son?
Do they think the Huo family is easy to bully?
Now that we have a suspect, things become much easier.
Zhao Dabao and Wu Dayou asked around in the village and found out the answer in no time.
This morning, some villagers saw a woman enter the village. Although she had her head covered with a scarf and her face was not clearly seen, she did look somewhat like Sun Hongying.
Enraged, Huo Jiang immediately went to Sun Hongying to demand the child back.
Liu Guilan quickly followed.
The second son was clumsy with words, but he couldn't out-argue the wolves of the Sun family.
Ye Weiwei glanced at Zhao Dabao and said, "Brother Dabao, the children in our village were taken away by people from other villages in broad daylight. This is no small matter, and you have to do something about it."
Zhao Dabao immediately patted his chest and said, "We people from Daqingshan Village are not cowards. If we can't even protect a kid from the village, how can we face our families in the future! Brothers, grab your weapons and come with me!"
At his shout, more than a dozen young men from the village immediately followed with sticks.
Ye Weiwei also joined in the fun, and the group headed towards Sunjia Village in a grand procession.
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