Chapter 24 Herbs and Wildflowers Covering the Mountains and Fields
On the third day of waiting, as the sun rose directly overhead, there was finally some movement at the village entrance.
Several unfamiliar figures walked up the steep mountain path. The path was so narrow that only one person could pass at a time, with a cliff on one side and a precipice on the other. Four people in dark blue uniforms, led by the village chief Wang Fuguo, were panting heavily, their trousers splattered with mud, and their backs soaked with sweat.
The lead detective, Old Zhou, appeared to be in his forties, with a dark complexion and furrowed brows. He fanned himself with his hat while panting heavily, saying, "This road is so difficult to walk on!"
Behind him followed the younger detective Xiao Zhang, forensic doctor Lao Sun, and assistant Xiao Zhao. Lao Sun carried a heavy wooden box, and Xiao Zhao carried an equipment bag; both of them were exhausted.
Li Wenshu, who had already recovered from his injuries, hurriedly got up upon receiving the news, forcing a smile: "Officer Zhou, you've worked hard. It will be fine once the road is repaired. It's just that this project is too big, and we still have to wait for funding from higher authorities."
Old Zhou waved his hand and said no more. They had been walking on the mountain road for most of the day and now just wanted to get the case done as soon as possible.
The news spread like wildfire throughout the entire village.
Villagers gathered from all directions, crowding the threshing ground and whispering amongst themselves. Granny Wang was the first to rush over, kneeling on the ground with a thud, grabbing Old Zhou's leg and crying, "Officer, you must do justice for me! That vicious woman killed my son..."
Old Zhou frowned and gestured for Xiao Zhang to help her up: "Auntie, we're here to investigate a case, and we'll definitely find out the truth."
Village chief Wang Fuguo quickly stepped forward to smooth things over: "Comrade Zhou, why don't you come inside and have a drink of water?"
"No need, let's go directly to the site," Old Zhou said decisively.
The group walked towards Wang Dazhu's house. The further they went towards the east end of the village, the heavier the atmosphere became. The dilapidated mud-brick house stood alone at the foot of the mountain, its doors and windows tightly shut.
Old Zhou pushed open the creaking wooden door, and a stench of blood and decay hit him. Without batting an eye, he gestured for Old Sun and Little Zhao to begin their work.
The autopsy was conducted in this dark, mud-brick house. Old Sun opened the wooden box, took out the instruments, and skillfully put on a mask and gloves. Little Zhao assisted him, recording the data.
Three days later, Wang Dazhu's body had become somewhat swollen, and his skin had turned an unnatural bluish-purple.
The villagers crowded around the entrance, craning their necks to look inside. Granny Wang tried to rush in again, but Xiao Zhang stopped her.
“Let me see my son!” she cried.
Old Zhou turned to look at her, his eyes stern: "The scene must not be disturbed."
Granny Wang was frightened by that look and dared not make a fuss anymore; she could only wipe away her tears on the side.
Time ticked by, and the room was so quiet that only the clanging of instruments could be heard. Old Sun carefully examined the wound on his neck, then checked his mouth and fingernails. He occasionally exchanged a few words with Xiao Zhao in hushed tones.
More than an hour later, Old Sun finally straightened up, took off his gloves, walked to Old Zhou's side, and whispered a few words.
Old Zhou nodded, walked to the door, and faced the villagers who had gathered around. The sunlight shone on his serious face, making him appear particularly dignified.
"The examination is complete." His voice was loud, making sure everyone could hear. "Wang Dazhu was drunk and passed out. His vomit got stuck in his trachea, causing him to suffocate. The injury on his neck was caused after his death."
The villagers, who had been whispering just moments before, suddenly fell silent. They looked at each other, and a few seconds later, the chatter resumed.
"That writer is right! Chunni didn't kill anyone."
"Even the police say so, so it must be true."
"So, after all that, the fortune teller was wrong?"
Granny Wang became very agitated and screamed, "Impossible! You're talking nonsense! It was Chunni who killed her!"
Old Zhou's face darkened: "The forensic doctor's conclusion is based on scientific testing! If you continue to cause trouble, you are obstructing justice!"
After saying that, he turned to the village chief and said, "You can release the people now."
Wang Guofu nodded, and after communicating with the clan elders, the heavy wooden door of the ancestral hall creaked open.
Chunni squinted and staggered out. The sunlight was so bright that she couldn't open her eyes. She raised her hand to shield her eyes, swayed, and almost fell.
"Mother--"
Daya and Erya emerged from the crowd, crying as they rushed into her arms. Chunni hugged her two daughters tightly, her thin arms trembling with the force. Tears streamed down her dirty cheeks, dripping onto the children's hair. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but no sound came out; she could only hold her children even tighter.
Seeing this, Lu Zhe felt a huge weight lifted from his heart. He quickly walked to Old Zhou's side and lowered his voice, saying, "Officer Zhou, although Chunni's case is cleared up, there is still a serious problem of women trafficking in this village. Chunhua, the wife the Wang family recently bought, was also trafficked! Please, you must rescue her!"
Old Zhou frowned again and looked at Wang Fuguo: "Village chief, is this true?"
Wang Fuguo stammered, sweat beading on his forehead: "This...this..."
Old Zhou gestured to Xiao Zhang: "Go and bring Chunhua here, let's find out the situation first."
Xiao Zhang nodded and walked towards the Wang family's courtyard. Upon hearing that her daughter-in-law Chunhua was to be taken away, Granny Wang's anger, which had just subsided, flared up again. She plopped down on the ground, slapping her thigh and wailing, "No! You can't take my wife away! I bought her for a cow! She's a member of the Wang family!"
Her shout was like igniting a powder keg. The crowd stirred, and many villagers joined in the commotion.
"You can't take anyone with you!"
"This is a matter for our village!"
"Mind your own business!"
Some people picked up hoes, while others picked up stones.
Xiao Zhang was protecting Chu Yanxi when they were blocked halfway. A stone flew over and hit Xiao Zhang's arm. He gasped in pain, but still stood in front of Chu Yanxi.
Seeing this, Old Zhou knew that force wouldn't work. He raised his voice: "Folks, calm down! We are acting in accordance with the law. Let's find out the situation first."
But the angry crowd wouldn't listen; more and more people gathered, and the atmosphere became increasingly tense.
Old Zhou gritted his teeth and made a decisive decision: "Retreat! Retreat first!"
He gestured for Lao Sun and Xiao Zhao to pack up their equipment, and together with Xiao Zhang, they protected Lu Zhe and slowly retreated towards the village entrance. The villagers chased after them, cursing for a while, before gradually dispersing once they saw that he was truly gone.
Wang Erzhu pulled Chu Yanxi back to his side, and Granny Wang rushed over, pointing at her nose and cursing, "You jinx! All you do is bring trouble!"
Chu Yanxi lowered her head and let her scold her. When she was pulled back to the courtyard, she looked back at Lu Zhe who was gradually walking away, her lips moved silently, and her fingers gently made a "fifteen" gesture on her side.
Lu Zhe was stunned for a moment, not fully understanding what was happening, before the person was already being taken away.
Inside the mud-brick house, Granny Wang cursed for a while longer. Seeing that Chu Yanxi remained silent, she lost interest, spat, and went inside. Wang Erzhu stood guard to the side, silently smoking.
In the days that followed, Chu Yanxi continued to work as usual, feeding the pigs, chopping wood, and cooking. But some things were different.
Her complexion grew rosier day by day, and her hands and feet became more and more nimble. When chopping firewood in the morning, she swung the axe steadily and powerfully, splitting thick pieces of wood with a snap, no longer needing to rest several times as before. When Wang Erzhu wanted to lend a hand, Chu Yanxi lifted a full bucket of water with one hand and poured it into the vat, the splashing water startling him.
Once, Granny Wang complained that Chu Yanxi was sweeping too slowly and picked up a broom to hit her. Chu Yanxi stopped, straightened up, and looked at her coldly. Her gaze was calm, but it made Granny Wang's hand holding the broom freeze in mid-air, and she didn't dare to bring it down.
"Don't worry, I'll sweep the floor clean." After saying that, Chu Yanxi continued to bend down and sweep the floor, the sound of the broom slicing across the ground was neither too fast nor too slow.
Granny Wang opened her mouth but couldn't say anything, and left dejectedly.
Wang Erzhu watched from the side, not daring to utter a sound. He vaguely felt that this wife he had bought was no longer the sickly woman he could easily manipulate when she first arrived.
When it was time to feed the pigs in the evening, Chu Yanxi carried the pig feed bucket to the pigpen. The two emaciated pigs were squealing with hunger and scrambling to get to the feeding trough.
Chu Yanxi scooped up a spoonful of pig feed, about to pour it in, when she suddenly felt someone approaching from behind. She turned around abruptly, gripping the pig feed spoon tightly in her hand.
It was Wang Erzhu. He rubbed his hands together, a smile plastered on his face, but his eyes still held a lingering desire: "Wife, I, I'll feed her."
Chu Yanxi didn't speak, she just looked at him. Wang Erzhu felt uncomfortable under her gaze, his smile freezing on his face. After a while, Chu Yanxi handed him the spoon and turned to tidy up the other things.
Wang Erzhu watched her departing figure and breathed a sigh of relief, only then realizing that his palms were sweaty.
In the stillness of the night, Chu Yanxi lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), listening to the footsteps lingering outside the door, staring blankly at the dark ceiling.
The police came and went, like a gust of wind that rippled a stagnant pool but failed to stir it up. Chunni was temporarily given a way out, but Chu Yanxi was still trapped here.
The "fifteen" she gestured to Lu Zhe meant fifteen days, or half a month.
Half a month is enough for her to do a lot of things.
Her body had recovered and her strength had returned; she was no longer afraid of the Wang family mother and son.
These past few days, she'd taken advantage of the work to thoroughly explore the village. The wife of the Li family at the west end of the village was acquired through a marriage exchange from an even poorer mountain village; the Zhang family at the north end of the village had bought a mentally challenged wife last year, who was locked in her room all day; and there were several other households where she could occasionally hear women crying…
She wanted more than just to leave. She wanted to find out how many other women like her had been sold into the village, and to help those who wanted to leave. She wanted Granny Wang and Wang Erzhu to pay the price for what they had done, and to make the people of Shijian Village tremble with fear at the mere mention of "buying a wife."
Moonlight streamed in through a hole in the window paper, illuminating her face. She was expressionless, except for a cold glint deep in her eyes, like a knife hidden in its sheath.
The next morning, Chu Yanxi got up to cook as usual. Granny Wang was still asleep, and Wang Erzhu had already gone to the fields. After she finished cooking the porridge, she served herself a bowl and ate it at the kitchen door.
Just then, Chunni passed by the door, leading her two daughters. She had washed her face and changed into clean clothes. Although she was still very thin, her eyes had brightened. Daya and Erya skipped and jumped around, their faces beaming with smiles.
"Chunhua, my dear." Chunni stopped and greeted Chu Yanxi softly when she saw him.
Chu Yanxi nodded without saying anything.
Chunni hesitated for a moment, then took out two hot boiled eggs from her bosom and stuffed them into Chu Yanxi's hand: "They were laid by our own chickens, they're here to help you recover."
Chu Yanxi was taken aback for a moment, and was about to decline when Chunni had already pulled her daughter away quickly.
At this moment, Granny Wang came out of the house rubbing her eyes. When she saw the egg in Chu Yanxi's hand, she glared at her and asked, "Where did this come from?"
"Chunni gave it to me," Chu Yanxi said calmly.
Granny Wang spat, "You dare keep that jinx? Throw it away!"
Chu Yanxi ignored her and peeled an egg and started eating it. Granny Wang glared angrily, but ultimately didn't dare to snatch it.
After breakfast, Chu Yanxi picked up her basket and said she was going up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables. Granny Wang wanted to stop her, but seeing how efficient she had been lately, she didn't say anything more, only cursing fiercely, "Come back early! If you dare to run away, I'll skin you alive!"
Chu Yanxi walked up the mountain path, deeper and deeper into the mountains. She wasn't really going to dig for wild vegetables, but rather to find some medicinal herbs.
This mountain is home to many medicinal herbs that can cure diseases and save lives, but it also harbors many poisons that can cause hallucinations, coma, and even death.
That clump halfway up the mountain is datura, also known as juniper, which has a strong central nervous system depressant effect. Adding its flowers and leaves to food can induce drowsiness.
That clump of bright yellow flowers is Rhododendron molle, scientifically known as Rhododendron molle. The entire plant is poisonous, with the flowers being the most toxic. It was a major ingredient in ancient sleeping potions and can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and even coma.
Tripterygium wilfordii is even more dangerous; it is one of the infamous "heartbreak herbs," and poisoning can cause severe abdominal pain, vomiting, coma, and respiratory failure.
Seeing the flowers and grass covering the mountains and fields, Chu Yanxi felt very happy.
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