Chapter 37: Leaving a Criminal Record
Song Liyun and his group passed directly through the town and were taken to the military camp.
There is a row of simple wooden sheds here, where migrant workers live separately by gender.
Time was urgent for building the barracks, so the workers only had a brief rest before starting work the next day.
What men like Song Zhenping had to do was to carry gravel from the Huangsha River and send it to the river pass ten miles outside the town.
Song Liyun worked in the kitchen with several other women, preparing three meals a day for the laborers.
Xiao An was a child and could not do any work, so the military camp did not register him as a migrant worker, and thus he became a non-staff member.
During the day he stayed with Song Liyun, helping her to light the fire and cook in the kitchen.
At night, they went to Song Zhenping's bed and the two brothers slept under one quilt.
Although Xiao An is small and looks like a five or six-year-old child, he is serious in his work and is obedient and sensible.
The cooks in the kitchen were generally kind to him, and everything was peaceful for a few days.
He has enough food and drink every day, and no one beats or scolds him, but Xiao An still doesn't talk much. From time to time, he sits in the corner with a dull look in his eyes.
Only when he saw his brother Song Zhenping, or when Song Liyun talked to him, would Xiao An's eyes light up.
Song Liyun did not force him to change immediately. From the day he was born, all Xiao An felt was hunger, cold, beatings and scolding.
Hiding his thoughts was the only way he could protect himself.
The kindness of strangers around him is ultimately superficial, and it is the result of Xiao An's hard work. It is not enough to change a child's habits. This takes time.
It has been four days since they arrived in Suijin Town. The three Song siblings have settled down temporarily, but Song Laoer in Xiaoshi Village is in dire straits.
On the day the incident happened, the villagers who were going to perform labor service were all stopped as soon as they reached the outside of the county town. They were then escorted back to Xiaoshi Village overnight by the county constables.
These country men were escorted without knowing anything. They were shocked and scared. They also had to walk hundreds of miles back and forth. No one could bear it.
Finally, he paid some money to hire an ox cart and arrived home at dawn.
When they learned that Song Lao Er said that Song Liyun had run away from her marriage and that her house had been robbed, and that they had all become suspects, they were all furious: What did Yun's escape from marriage have to do with them?
But it was useless to cry out for justice, and he could only hold his nose and cooperate with the government investigation.
By the afternoon, the county police chief had questioned everyone and reached a conclusion.
This case involves Song Zhenping escaping from marriage with his sister Song Liyun, and the evidence is conclusive.
But the three siblings disappeared along the way, and now they need to wait until Song Zhenping is captured before they can take any further action.
The theft of Song Defu's property was so bizarre that it could only be temporarily filed as a case.
That was the end of the Song family's affairs. As soon as the officials left, the men in the village surrounded Song Lao Er.
These men were not just fighting with Mrs. Gu to play with those women. They also ignored the fact that they were exhausted after two days and two nights of hard work and grabbed Song Lao Er and started beating him up.
Song Lao Er was also extremely unlucky. He had just been whipped by Master Xue, and now he was being beaten again. He had no power to fight back at all.
By the time Song Lizheng arrived, he was already lying on the ground groaning with a bruised face and nose.
Mrs. Gu is old, and after a few days of trouble, she has lost her former majesty.
Little Gu was still sleeping on the kang to recuperate after giving birth.
Fortunately, Song Shuirong was lying in the quilt that night and Song Liyun did not take it away, so now little Gu has bedding to use.
Hearing the noise outside, she was helpless and could only howl hoarsely.
"Forget it, everyone, stop fighting. Liyun and the others haven't come back yet, and this wasn't done by anyone in the village. Don't overthink it. The case has already been filed, and as long as the thief shows up, they'll definitely be caught."
Song Lizheng had a sad look on his face and was in no mood to explain or comfort Song Laoer.
He learned from the people who returned to the village that his sons Song Dekui and Song Zhenping, brother and sister, had been taken away by soldiers, saying they were repairing the border wall.
Those officers and soldiers robbed the people and ran away. Now we have no clues to find them.
Qingping Town is more than three or four hundred miles away from the border. Even if they were to build a border wall, they would not mobilize people from so far away. He was worried that he was being forcibly conscripted.
I have just sent someone to deliver a letter to the town government office, asking the eldest son Song Dequan to quickly find out about Dekui.
If you are drafted into the army, you must get it back even if it costs money. It would be fatal.
As for Song Liyun's two siblings, he could no longer take care of them.
Just thinking about it made Song Lizheng hate Song Laoer so much.
If he had not treated his nephew harshly and forced Yun Yatou to run away from her marriage, why would he have sent San'er, who was making a good living in the town, to do labor service?
Now there is no news from him at all, and he doesn’t even dare to let his wife know.
Song Lao Er was now convinced. Even after being beaten, he dared not be arrogant anymore. He stood up weakly and begged, "Uncle Lizheng, I know I was wrong. Since you have to wait for the government to investigate the case, I will wait.
But now my family has nothing. Can the village give me some money so I can buy some things and send my children to school?"
Song Lizheng knew that Song Laoer's house was empty now, and little Gu was in confinement after giving birth. The weather was getting colder day by day, so he really needed to buy bedding, clothes and food immediately.
In the past, all Mrs. Gu needed to do was make a fuss and maybe she would get some help from the village.
But now things are different, and Song Lizheng no longer indulges him: "If your family wants to live, you have to buy more things.
Since the case has been reported, the village can also provide evidence to recover the lost house deeds and land deeds.
Don't think I don't know that if you have five taels of silver in your hand, it is enough to eat for a year even if you do nothing.
If you still think it's not enough, then sell the land!"
When Song Laoer heard what Song Lizheng said, he thought the villagers were going to give him money.
When he heard that he had to use the money from selling his daughter to sell his land, he immediately shouted, "No, you can't sell the land."
His family owned fifteen acres of land, including a portion that he had inherited from his eldest daughter, and they were considered a wealthy family in the village.
Song Lao Er is not a fool. He naturally understands that a well cannot be filled and a money tree cannot be cut down.
Just hold on for a year or two, and when the fields have a few harvests of grain, you will be able to gradually supplement your family income.
If I sell the land, my family will be finished.
Seeing that Song Lao Er didn't know what was good for him and was still trying to scheme against others by playing the victim, Song Lizheng snorted coldly: "It's up to you then. Anyway, the town's public housing officials said that the theft in your house is a serious matter. Once the government gets any information, they will send you to court for questioning. You can't go anywhere. Just wait at home anytime."
Seeing that Song Lizheng was no longer weak, Song Laoer could only bow his head and agree, hiding the vicious hatred in his eyes.
This old guy could obviously lend me some money, but he deliberately asked me to sell my land. He was deliberately trying to ruin my family.
Also, when did that bitch hook up with the old man and sneak away to do labor service, ruining Shuirong's life.
Old Song dug his nails into the flesh, and he would never show mercy as long as that bastard came back.
Unable to get money from the village head, Song Laoer had to use his own money to buy winter clothes, food and bedding that the whole family urgently needed. He then went to his father-in-law's house to cry and complain, blaming Song Liyun and Mr. Xue for the fact that he had beaten Xiao Gu and caused her to have a miscarriage.
The incident happened suddenly, and the two Gu families just got to know the news. They refused to agree at all. First they grabbed Song Lao Er and beat him up, and then forced him to go to Master Xue and bring Shui Rong back.
Xiao Gu's family also found Xiaoshi Village and asked Song Lizheng to hand over the three children of the Song family's eldest wife, which naturally caused another commotion.
But no matter how big the quarrel was, it had nothing to do with Song Liyun and his sister anymore.
(End of this chapter)
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