Song Jinxiu also felt that the situation was strange, so she had to comfort him, "Don't cry, I'll go to her house tomorrow to see her. Do you know which village she is from?"
"I know, it's from Xiaqiukou Village." Tian Xiaomei said.
"Okay, then you go back quickly. Wear my clothes first, put yours here to dry, and come back to change in a few days." The rain just now was a bit heavy, and the clothes were almost soaked.
"By the way, bring an extra pair of cotton shoes. Even though they're a little big, they're warmer than your wet ones."
"Well, thank you, Teacher Song." Tian Xiaomei wiped her eyes. Fortunately, Teacher Song was there.
In the evening, Song Jinxiu told Liu Ankang about this.
"Then I'll take a leave of absence tomorrow and go with you," said Liu Ankang.
"Yeah, I've also found someone to take my place. We'll go to your school tomorrow to ask for leave and then leave directly." This was what Song Jinxiu meant.
Now it’s really scary for her to travel far away alone, especially to someone else’s village.
The next day, Song Jinxiu ran over to say hello to Aunt Cuihua, saying that she was going to Xiaqiukou and then went to school with Liu Ankang to ask for leave.
Song Jinxiu saw what it meant for a top student to ask for leave with just one word.
The two men rode towards Xiaqiukou.
"By the way, do you know where Xiaqiuku is?" Song Jinxiu asked. She didn't know and was going to ask while riding.
"I know." What he gained from getting into the children's circle in the past six months was that he was already familiar with the approximate locations of all the towns and villages nearby.
It’s just that I haven’t conducted an on-site investigation, so it’s not that specific yet.
He had heard a lot of secret histories, such as this Xiaqiukou, where there were not many villagers and they were extremely poorly organized, which was considered patriarchal in a rural area where men were valued more than women.
Girls are like commodities in their village, so when I first learned that she was from Xiaqiukou, I was quite surprised. This might be a unique one.
After crossing a bridge, Xiaqiukou is on the riverside, and there is also Shangqiukou upstream.
Just as Song Jinxiu was about to ask, she saw a little girl washing clothes by the river. She looked so much like Qiu Rou. She walked over and saw that it was really Qiu Rou.
"Why are you washing clothes here at this hour?" How cold is it at this hour? The river water, while not frozen, feels like icy shards to the touch.
She was the only one in the entire river. Song Jinxiu looked at the basin full of clothes, both men's and women's, big and small.
Qiu Rou turned her face away, and the numb expression on her face hurt Song Jinxiu's heart. Her little face was red from the cold.
Looking at Qiu Rou again, she was wearing a tattered cotton jacket. From the holes in it, you could see that it was stuffed with grass. The straw sandals on her feet could no longer cover her feet that were covered with frostbite.
All ten fingers were swollen like little radishes.
Song Jinxiu's tears immediately flowed down. This is still a child! How could he become like this after just a few days of coming back?
"Wow, my father is gone, he is gone." Qiu Rou seemed to have just realized who the person was. Or perhaps Song Jinxiu's tears awakened her sadness, and she began to sob.
Song Jinxiu went forward, hugged her, and wrapped her in her coat.
"That night, my house collapsed and my dad was trapped underneath. He wasn't found until the next day, but no one went to school to inform me. They just buried him.
She even said that it didn't matter to me, a girl, whether I knew or not. I didn't even see my father for the last time, and I didn't even know where his grave was. Woohoo!
Then my uncle and his people occupied my family’s land and the foundation of the house. They said that I would be theirs to support me from now on and the things I had would be my compensation.
But they expelled me from school, took away my clothes and shoes, and made me do housework at home. I even heard that they were planning to sell me to an old bachelor as a wife. "Wuwuwu!"
Song Jinxiu felt her fists stiffen. What kind of beasts are these?
"Don't be impulsive, this is the custom of their village." Liu Ankang said.
This is a family matter and outsiders have no control over it. The best we can do is to stop her from being sold, but can we stop it forever?
"Are we just going to leave it at that?" Song Jinxiu asked Liu Ankang.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" A group of people ran out of the village, pointing at Song Jinxiu and questioning her.
Qiu Rou grabbed Song Jinxiu's clothes in fear, paused, let go and said to them: "It's okay, it's okay, they..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Liu Ankang: "You came at the right time. Who are her family members?"
"I'm her aunt. Who are you? Do you want to kidnap children in our village? Let me tell you, we are not to be trifled with." A short woman walked out of the crowd and pointed at the two people and cursed.
"You are her parent, right? It just so happened that the temperature dropped a few days ago and we saw that she had no clothes, so we lent her a cotton jacket and a pair of cotton shoes. She said she would return them to us after she got home and changed into her own clothes.
But we waited for so many days and she didn't come. What's wrong? Is she trying to steal our clothes? Let me tell you, the clothes and shoes are all new.
"That old shop in the city has labels on their clothes. If you don't believe me, just go and ask. I lent her clothes and many people saw me. I can easily find a lot of witnesses if I ask." Liu Ankang looked around.
Pointing at Aunt Qiu Rou, he said, "Where are the cotton shoes on your feet and the coat?"
"I, I don't know what cotton shoes and coats you are talking about. I made these myself. The shoes are all the same. If you say they are yours, then they are yours!" Qiu Rou's aunt hid in the crowd guiltily.
When this dead girl came back, she was wearing nice clothes, but she just took them off. There was no need for a valuable item to be dressed so nicely. As for other people's things, once they were in her hands, they were hers.
“The clothes and shoes of old brands all have their unique marks, and our clothes are all made by them.
The one I lent her was newly made this year, made of high-quality cotton and materials, costing 560,000 yuan. The shoes were higher and thicker, costing 200,000 yuan.
This adds up to a huge sum of money. Since we all claim it's ours, let's just report it to the police." Liu Ankang said word by word to the crowd.
The crowd immediately sighed. Seven hundred thousand or eight hundred thousand! They would have to go without food and drink for several years to earn that much money.
City kids are just wasteful. What are they spending this money for? They can buy so much food with it.
"Mom, why haven't you eaten yet? I'm hungry." At this time, a person ran over and shouted to Aunt Qiu Rou.
"Very good, we caught the man red-handed. The shoes were on her and the cotton-padded jacket was on him. You either pay compensation or come with me to the police station." Liu Ankang said, pointing at the mother and son.
"Who are you? What's the matter? Are you the lover of that little bitch? Are you here to seek justice for her?" The man did not respond to Liu Ankang's words.
"Uncles, these two have bullied our village directly. How can we tolerate this? Just tie them up and throw them into the river.
It's so slippery in the winter, who knows how they fell in there! " As soon as the man finished speaking, everyone prepared to surround and catch the two men.
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