Ye Weiwei pointed to the character "Yu" and asked Fang Ming and Li Hao, "Are there any families in Qingshan County with the surname Yu who have lost or searched for children?"
Fang Ming and Li Hao, reminded by Ye Weiwei, also discovered the secret of the jade pendant. However, since too much time had passed, they couldn't make a move immediately and it would take a lot of time to find out the truth.
Moreover, it's quite possible that nothing will be found.
All they can say is that they did their best.
Huo De breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, officers. I'm sorry for the trouble."
Knowing that he was not Old Lady Huo's biological son had relieved a great deal of his heartache. As for whether he could find his biological parents...
He was already in his fifties or sixties, and after being separated for so many years, he had no hope left.
After the trial, all members of the Huo family were imprisoned.
Old Mrs. Huo was sentenced to six months in prison, and her sons and daughters-in-law who caused trouble were also sentenced to half a month of re-education through labor.
Liu Guilan and Old Man Huo were very satisfied with the result, and their steps were much lighter as they walked back.
After Ye Weiwei and the others left, Old Lady Huo gradually came to her senses. She recalled what she had said earlier and immediately reached out to touch the small jade pendant on her chest. Finding nothing, she made a scene in the prison, insisting that her things had been stolen. As a result, she was severely reprimanded by the prison guards and finally calmed down.
However, after that day, her mental state deteriorated. She became delirious, often confused, and seemed to have dementia. She passed away less than two months after being taken in.
The Huo family's main branch came to cause trouble, which was the talk of the town in Daqingshan Village for several days. After hearing that Old Man Huo was not a member of the Huo family at all, everyone first showed an expression of "I knew it," and recounted many of the evil deeds that Old Man Huo and Liu Guilan had committed against them by the Huo family's main branch. Then, they turned their attention to Huo Xiao's background.
Although Ye Weiwei quickly shifted her attention that day, the fact that Old Madam Huo so confidently stated that Huo Xiao was not Huo's biological son still aroused suspicion among some people.
Especially Aunt Zhang, who has always been at odds with Liu Guilan, has made a lot of trouble behind her back by using this incident to smear Liu Guilan.
Most people in the village looked down on Aunt Zhang's foul mouth and spoke up for Liu Guilan quite a bit.
"You, surnamed Zhang, are kidding me! Everyone saw with their own eyes what kind of heartless and rotten old woman that Huo is! She's a dog who can't say anything nice, how can you believe what she says?"
"Exactly! That family is full of scoundrels and ruffians, and the only good one they have is Howard. What they say is completely unbelievable!"
"Besides, everyone in the village knows how Liu Guilan treats Huo Xiao's son. How could she not be his biological son!"
Aunt Zhang sneered, "You're all just sucking up to Liu Guilan! Why don't you think about why that old man Liu would be so kind as to take Huo De as his son-in-law and then not let the children in the family change their surnames? What kind of logic is that? I think it's all just to cover up Liu Guilan's shameful deeds!"
Aunt Zhang's question really stumped a lot of people.
Logically speaking, children born to a son-in-law who moves into the wife's family should take the wife's surname, or at least one child should take the wife's surname. I've never seen a family like the Huo family where all the children take Huo De's surname.
Seeing that everyone was speechless, Aunt Zhang was so proud that she said, "What's so strange about Liu Guilan being nice to Huo Xiao? Maybe it's because Huo Xiao looks like the lover she's been having an affair with that she's so nice to him."
Huo De's appearance was just average, nothing particularly outstanding. The eldest and second eldest brothers of the Huo family resembled Huo De more, while Huo Xiao's appearance was rare even in the surrounding villages, and he looked completely different from the rest of the Huo family.
The more Aunt Zhang talked, the more she felt she was right, and the more vulgar her words became.
"Hmph! That Liu Guilan is no good at all, a real old slut. She only married a spineless coward like Huo De, who's always under her thumb and doesn't dare utter a sound. Don't let her seemingly respectable appearance fool you; she's a restless woman at heart and has cheated on countless men with her..."
Aunt Zhang became more and more excited as she spoke, and all the unhappiness that had been suppressed by Liu Guilan during this period burst out all at once. She spared no effort to smear Liu Guilan, and she could almost see in her mind Liu Guilan being arrested, forced to write a self-criticism, and being pelted with rotten vegetable leaves and stones and thrown into a pond.
But she didn't notice that the eyes of the people standing with her had changed.
"Zhang, I didn't know you knew so much about our family's affairs. Come on, tell me in front of everyone, how many times have I cheated on my husband?"
Liu Guilan grabbed Aunt Zhang's hair and pulled it back forcefully. Before Aunt Zhang could cry out in pain, she slapped her face with the sole of her shoe.
"You despicable, foul-mouthed bastard, do you drink piss and eat feces every day?!"
He cursed and slapped Aunt Zhang hard with the sole of his shoe, making her scream in agony, completely powerless to fight back.
The people around just stood there watching the commotion, and no one stepped forward to help break up the fight.
Seriously, Aunt Zhang's mouth is so foul and vicious; the things she says are deadly. No one would be able to get away with it.
Even Aunt Zhang's usual friend didn't step forward to help this time.
For no other reason than that Ye Weiwei donated money to build a primary school in the village, none of them dared to offend Liu Guilan.
They all have grandchildren at home. What if they offend Liu Guilan and she doesn't let their children go to school after the school is built?
They had all heard that any child from the village could attend school without paying tuition or textbook fees, and that children with good grades and excellent exam results would receive rewards.
Such a good thing is hard to find even with a lantern!
Their leader had repeatedly emphasized at home that everyone should show respect to the Huo family and not get into conflicts with them.
Finally, Liu Guilan got tired of beating her, so she dragged Aunt Zhang like a dead dog and threw her into the village's septic tank, giving her a good bath.
On a dark and windy night, Ye Weiwei sneaked into Aunt Zhang's house and took away a small dressing box full of jewelry, five silver dollars, and six small yellow croakers that Aunt Zhang had hidden.
She also followed Lu Mingcai and collected all the treasures he had secretly hidden in the dilapidated temple in the village.
The cash alone amounted to over 1,300 yuan, along with more than a dozen large yellow croakers, over fifty small yellow croakers, and some jewelry and jade items, all of which were of decent quality.
Needless to say, all of this was amassed by Lu Mingcai when he was the brigade leader a few years ago.
With such a family fortune, it's no wonder that even after Lu Mingcai fell from power and became less motivated to earn work points, the Lu family still lived a better life than most people in the village.
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