Hua Xiangyun also noticed that the villagers who arrived at the threshing ground early were all yawning, indicating that they had stayed up all night.
No one was in the mood to talk, and each person dejectedly found a corner to stay in.
Even when they saw educated youth who hadn't returned to the village for many days, they only glanced at them and no one came over to say hello.
The educated youth exchanged glances and secretly decided to keep a low profile today. After all, the incident happened in the village, so they should stay out of it.
Hua Xiangyun found it even stranger, wondering to herself if these people were just scaring themselves.
As everyone gathered, Captain Ren also arrived at the threshing ground. However, his expression was rather grim today, and even the children who used to be somewhat unruly and prone to fighting were now quiet.
"Everyone's here, so get to work. Go ask the scorekeeper what tasks are being done today. Don't all get stuck here."
"Captain, didn't you hear the commotion last night?" Xu Damei said, her voice trembling with tears. "It was right outside our house. Who was yelling and shouting at the door last night?"
She didn't say a word, but everyone knew what she was asking.
"Who went to Xu Damei's house last night?" Captain Ren asked loudly. "If I catch anyone staying up all night, playing tricks on others, don't blame me for being ruthless as the captain."
These people really don't learn their lesson; they just have to cause such a commotion.
According to Captain Ren, some people were restless and wanted to cause trouble in the village.
Xu Yingxiong walked over quickly and grabbed Xu Damei, saying, "My cousin hasn't been resting well these past few days and is just talking nonsense."
"You are the one..." Xu Damei wanted to say something, but Xu Yingxiong covered her mouth tightly.
"Sis, can we stop making a scene? Can't we talk about this at home in private? Look, everyone's keeping quiet, and you're the only one sticking your neck out."
Xu Yingxiong was furious. His cousin was still as stupid as before. She didn't even realize how angry the brigade leader had been these past few days, yet she insisted on being the first to run into him.
“Someone saw it yesterday; the shadow looked like our uncle,” Xu Yingxiong whispered in Xu Damei’s ear.
Xu Damei felt a chill run down her spine, her face turned pale, and she trembled uncontrollably, staring at Xu Yingxiong with terrified eyes.
Could it really be true? Some time ago, my uncle Xu Youzhi suddenly died. As an elderly man living alone without any children or grandchildren, he and his siblings went to his home to divide his property.
No one expected that the uncle, who had always lived alone, was actually so wealthy, with seven or eight cousins. They converted all those items into cash and each person received about four or five hundred yuan.
The cousins even had a fight over this money, because the elders in the family said that the male members should get a larger share, without considering that they, the younger generation, had been the ones taking care of them all these years. Why didn't they say back then that the nieces should get a smaller share and contribute less?
At the time, they were only concerned with dividing the family property, and they also dealt with Xu Youzhi's funeral in a perfunctory manner.
My cousin says he saw my uncle's shadow. Could it be that he's unhappy with the arrangements for his funeral and has come back to find them...?
Xu Yingxiong was also very annoyed, because the places where the noises had been coming from these past few days were all near where he and his siblings lived. Last night, his family was also wondering if it was because their uncle was dissatisfied and had come back to settle scores with them.
But what is there to be dissatisfied about? It was all agreed before he died that his children would be responsible for his care in his old age and his funeral, and that his estate would be divided equally among them.
My uncle had bad luck and died suddenly; we can't blame it on them.
Although they were somewhat perfunctory at the end, they did not miss any of the gifts during the several festivals in the year before they died.
Seeing that Xu Damei was no longer causing trouble, Captain Ren urged everyone to get down to the ground.
He approached several educated youths and said, "After you finish the exam, work hard. If you are capable of passing the exam and leaving, I can give you these work points in advance."
I wonder how those educated youths did on the exam. If they could get out of the village, I'd be willing to sell my skills. Sure enough, city people have a much better starting point than those from the village.
This time, they couldn't find a single high school student in their village to take the exam. It seems they need to work harder with the villagers to get them to educate their children properly.
In the past, everyone thought that studying was useless; as long as a child knew a few words and wasn't illiterate, that was enough. Now that a good opportunity has finally come, it's hard to seize it.
How wonderful it would be if college students could leave the village, so that the village could gradually change its fate and not have to be so fixated on its small plot of land.
Hua Xiangyun and the others, having received Captain Ren's kind offer, all cooperated with his work with smiles.
To be honest, Captain Ren was really good to them. He was fair in assigning tasks and didn't show any favoritism.
They receive the same treatment as other villagers, regardless of the number of work points they earn. If they can't handle the work, they can choose easier tasks.
It can be said that being sent to the countryside in Qianjin Village is much better than in other places. For example, before they took the college entrance examination, although they still had to do work, they were not limited to a few work points. The village did not care, and even gave them a holiday in the last week.
When they went back to take the exam, they learned that the educated youth in other villages did not receive the same treatment. It was said that they had to work in the fields the day before the exam.
"Comrade Hua, we can't talk in private," Captain Ren called out to Hua Xiangyun.
Hua Xiangyun looked puzzled. Usually, the brigade leader wouldn't talk to them, the educated youth, in private. As they followed Brigade Leader Ren to the other end of the threshing ground, several other friends were waiting not far away.
It seems they want to wait until things are settled here before going down to the fields together.
This thoughtful gesture earned Hua Xiangyun's grateful smile.
"Captain, is there anything I can help you with?" Hua Xiangyun asked first when Captain Ren didn't speak.
Captain Ren pondered for a moment before finally speaking, "I heard you live at the home of the witch doctor in the county town."
Hua Xiangyun was not surprised that he knew these things. Although the residents at the end of the county received supplies from the residents, they actually came to this village to exchange many things.
"Yes, is there something wrong with it?" Hua Xiangyun didn't think that Captain Ren was there to cause trouble. Wu Chenxi had lived in the end of the county for so long without being bothered, so she must have her own way of surviving.
“You’ve been away from the village these past few days. Something has happened here. There’s been a strange shadow wandering around the village every night.” Captain Ren didn’t believe it at first, but he had witnessed it with his own eyes last night, though he didn’t say it today.
The shadow haunted the village every night, causing widespread panic, so they wanted to use Hua Xiangyun's connection to find out more.
"Captain, we must believe in science and not spread misinformation." Hua Xiangyun knew that the special period was not over yet.
Captain Ren pondered for a moment, then changed his question, "...I know that too, but I just want to know what kind of speed allows someone to disappear instantly."
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