Chapter 263 Tracking the Ruan Family
Mrs. Wei made a big fuss at the Xiang family, but in the end she let Shuangyun take the basket containing the rabbit's corpse and leave.
She hated Ruan and didn't trust her.
It would be better to take the rabbit's body away and let Shuangyun find a wild place to bury it.
It seemed that the matter was barely over.
Ruan still didn't allow Ya Mei'er to go out.
The Xiang family's dog hole was also blocked tightly.
Xingxing had completely lost all contact with Yamei'er.
Mrs. Wei hated Ruan more and more, and when she went out for a walk, she asked people about Ruan directly.
Only then did Mrs. Wei realize that the Ruan family was from Shuiganji, which was separated from her by a mountain and most of a valley.
Her previous husband died, leaving behind a daughter. Ruan wanted to remarry with her daughter, but her parents-in-law refused to allow her to do so. In order to leave this last bit of blood for her son, Ruan had no choice but to leave her sick daughter at her parents-in-law's house and marry in Nantuo Village herself.
Mrs. Wei curled her lips.
She pretends to be a loving mother to Yamei every day at Xiang's house, it's not like she doesn't have a daughter!
As for the other members of the Nguyen family, no one can find out much about them. At most, the Nguyen family is not actually local, but their grandfather’s generation migrated to this endless mountain area.
These are just some idle things.
When Mrs. Wei realized that she couldn't find out anything useful, she put the matter of Ruan aside for the time being.
Because, the second most important day of the year after New Year’s Eve - Winter Festival - has arrived.
The Winter Festival is the Winter Solstice among the 24 solar terms. It has always been said that "the Winter Solstice is as important as New Year's Day". It is also the day with the heaviest yin energy, and sacrifices have always been held.
In the past, the Yu family was poor, so they would just celebrate the Winter Solstice casually. But now the Yu family is different from before, so naturally, they have to celebrate it properly.
The school where Bo Ge'er and Gui'er were studying was on holiday. When Old Lady Liu heard that the Yu family was going to stay after the winter holidays, she brought Liu Ge'er back to have a meal. Even Huai Ge'er, who had been learning martial arts in the mountains, came back as well.
The Yu family was having a great time, and the whole family gathered together in great style.
Lamb bone soup had been cooking in the kitchen since early morning. The aroma aroused Xingxing's cravings even though she had been feeling a little down in the past two days.
"Grandma, Grandma Daxi will be lonely spending the winter solstice alone, won't she?" Xingxing asked Grandma Wei in a low voice.
Mrs. Wei smiled and glanced at Xing Xing: "Do you want to invite Mrs. Da Xi to your home to celebrate the winter festival together?"
Xing Xing nodded repeatedly and looked at Grandma Wei expectantly: "Grandma, is it okay?"
Mrs. Wei waved her hand and said, "Of course you can."
Grandma Daxi always complained about Xingxing's shortcomings, but Grandma Wei knew the truth. If Grandma Daxi put the finished pills in the sachet for Xingxing, she would not dare to calculate the price if they were sold outside.
Xingxing danced with joy and was about to run outside to personally invite Grandma Daxi to come to their home to celebrate the Winter Festival.
Shuangyun wanted to follow immediately - he couldn't let Xingxing, a little kid of four or five years old, go to Daxisi Po Na alone.
Huai Ge'er said quickly: "I'll go with Xing Xing."
He rushed towards Xingxing, picked her up from the ground while running, and then lifted her up with his hand, and Xingxing sat on Huai'er's right shoulder.
Xing Xing screamed in surprise and excitement: "Wow!!!"
The laughter of the brother and sister could be heard from a distance.
When we arrived at the place where Daxisipo lived in the mountains, Daxisipo was taking a nap on a wooden lounge chair in the house.
When Xingxing said that she had come to invite her to spend the winter festival at Yu's house, Daxi Sipo's face flashed with surprise, but she was still not happy and said, "No, no, I don't want to go out on such a cloudy day."
Xing Xing pulled the withered vine-like hand of Da Xi Si Po and shook it: "Grandma Da Xi~"
Da Xi Si Po looked unhappy: "...You are the only one who is annoying me!"
As he said this, he slowly stood up, glanced at the coquettish Xing Xing, and said, "Let's go."
Xing Xing responded happily: "Okay!"
Grandma Da Xi locked the wooden door of her courtyard and walked towards Yu's house with Xing Xing and Huai Ge'er.
The place where Daxisipo lives is through some narrow paths with many forks in the road.
The path that Daxisipo was taking them this time was a secret path.
However, as they walked, Da Xi Si Po uttered a "hmm" and looked down at a certain place in the valley with a sad look.
Xingxing followed suit out of curiosity and looked down into the valley.
Before she could notice anything, Da Xi Si Po had already said faintly: "I think I saw your little friend."
Xing Xing didn't react yet: "What?"
Daxi Sipo simply pointed downwards and said, "Did you see that? A woman is carrying your child, walking deep into the mountains."
Xingxing looked in the direction that Daxi Sipo pointed and identified it carefully.
Huai'er has the bones of a tyrant, and with an old Taoist priest, a hidden master, teaching him martial arts, his level of cultivation can be said to be improving by leaps and bounds.
He had sharp ears and sharp eyes, and he recognized it without Da Xisi Po pointing out anything.
"...it seems to be Yaya." Huai'er frowned and said, "Who is the woman holding her? I don't think I've seen her before."
Xingxing had to work very hard to spot the two people in the lush weeds.
"That should be Yaya's mother..." Xingxing couldn't help feeling a little depressed when she thought that ever since Yaya had a mother, her mother wouldn't let them play together.
"No—" Huai Ge'er suddenly spoke.
Xingxing looked at Huai'er in confusion, waiting for him to tell her what was wrong.
Huai Ge'er's brows furrowed higher and higher: "... I saw Yaya lying on her stepmother's shoulder without moving... Could it be that she fell asleep?"
"Whether they slept together or not," Grandma Daxi suddenly spoke up, "On the day of the Cold Elimination Festival, they carried a little girl and went straight into the mountains. This is very strange... Could it be that they have someone in the mountains who they need to invite home to celebrate the festival together?"
There was something eerie about Daxi Sipo's voice, and Xingxing was quickly drawn into the same mood.
She was a little anxious: "Ah? Grandma Da Xi, don't scare me..."
Da Xi Si Po glanced at Xing Xing and said with a sigh: "What's the big deal? Why don't we just follow them and see what they are going to do?"
Xing Xing's eyes immediately lit up: "Really?!"
Da Xi Si Po snorted: "What else? How can an old woman like me deceive a little girl like you?"
Having said that, Da Xi Si Po walked straight ahead.
She could walk through this mountain range with her eyes closed, and she knew countless hidden and convenient paths.
The three of them, one old, one young and one child, quietly followed Ruan and Ya Mei'er at a distance of about ten feet, and followed them all the way to a somewhat secluded house.
The house looked like a small house usually used by hunters as a place to stay, and it looked very shabby.
Ruan's eyes showed a bit of joy, and before entering the house, she couldn't wait to call out: "Yaya!"