The commotion at Song Lao Er's house had already attracted most of the village, and now a large crowd was standing outside the gate.
In the courtyard, Granny Gu was pounding her fists and shouting, "Stop him! That Xue guy is trying to kidnap someone from our village!"
At this moment, she still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that as long as the villagers helped, one punch from each of them could drive away Master Xue's five or six men, and her Shui Rong could stay.
However, things were not as she had imagined.
Everyone could hear Granny Gu's hoarse voice, but no one stepped forward to stop her; they even made way for Master Xue and his party.
This is truly a case of evil being punished.
Over the years, under the tyrannical rule of Granny Gu, the people of Xiaoshi Village have long been accustomed to avoiding trouble. Even when the Song brothers wanted to torment them to death, they only sighed a few times and were now unwilling to take action.
Besides, Song Lao Er claimed this morning that the villagers who were performing corvée labor had stolen things, and even reported it to the authorities to arrest them. Everyone was a suspect, and he had already offended everyone in the village, so no one wanted to take the lead.
Master Xue was no kind man either, and he came with a contract of indenture to demand the person back. He had the upper hand in terms of both reason and sentiment, and even the village head could only say, "Serves him right."
Seeing that Master Xue was about to leave with his daughter, Song Lao Er became anxious. He picked up the five taels of silver and chased after him out of the house, saying, "Master Xue, I'm handing over a pure and innocent young woman to you. You should at least give me another twenty taels."
The villagers were in an uproar. Although Xiaoshi Village was not wealthy, there were no families selling their daughters. For Song Lao Er to ask for money to their faces was truly outrageous.
Master Xue merely snorted coldly: "I bought Song Liyun, not Song Shuirong. You broke the contract first and are trying to extort money from me. Then come with me to the government office to file a complaint."
If he hadn't seen Song Lizheng and his men blocking the courtyard gate, making it difficult for him to escape, he wouldn't have even wanted to give the last five taels of silver.
Watching his daughter leave, Song Lao Er slumped to the ground, his heart filled with hatred for Song Liyun: if she were at home, Master Xue would definitely have made up the difference in money and wouldn't have taken Shui Rong away.
It's all that bitch's fault; she ruined her family.
And these people in front of me, each one of them is vicious and cruel. They are all from the same village and share the same surname, Song. They actually watched their daughter being taken away without helping to save her.
Once the officials have escorted the laborers back to Xiaoshi Village and found the thieves, I will not let anyone off easily, no matter who comes to plead for mercy.
Song Lao Er didn't even consider where he had gone wrong. His eyes were red as he glared at the villagers gathered in front of his door and gritted his teeth, saying, "There will come a time when you'll all beg me for help."
As soon as the ungrateful wretch and the jinx return, I will break their legs in front of everyone and kick them out, letting these heartless people watch them starve and freeze to death.
Little Gu stumbled out of the courtyard, her mouth agape as she cried out in despair, her face filled with anguish: "Shui Rong, Shui Rong, my son!"
Turning around and seeing Song Lao Er, all the heartache turned into anger.
This man, who was always calculating money, has now ruined his own flesh and blood.
She lunged at Song Lao Er, grabbed his collar, and started hitting and scratching him, yelling, "Song Lao Er, give me back my daughter!"
Song Lao Er was already holding a grudge, and when he saw Xiao Gu Shi throwing a tantrum at him, he became even more enraged and kicked her.
He kicked Xiao Gu in the stomach, sending her stumbling back several steps before crashing heavily to the ground. She didn't get up, but instead clutched her stomach and groaned.
At the same time, a pool of blood spread out from beneath her.
"My God! What a terrible mess this is!"
When Granny Gu heard her son and daughter-in-law arguing, she came out and saw the glaring blood. She screamed and fainted.
The villagers stopped watching the spectacle; seeing what had happened, they all took a few steps back in fright.
Song, the village head, could no longer ignore the situation. He hurriedly called for a doctor and asked several village women to help carry Xiao Gu into the house.
Hearing Granny Gu's heart-wrenching wails and seeing the panicked villagers, Song Lao Er stood there dumbfounded, knowing he had made a terrible mistake.
After shouting and yelling all afternoon, by nightfall, Ms. Gu gave birth to a baby boy who was already lifeless.
Looking at his child, who had grown black hair and was four or five months old, Song Lao Er burst into tears.
Not only did he not know his wife was pregnant, but even Madam Gu herself didn't know when she conceived.
She has always had irregular periods and is overweight, so she can't feel her pregnant belly.
Even the back pain she's had these past few days, she attributed to being upset by Song Liyun.
After a series of misfortunes befell Song Lao Er's family, someone finally remembered that there was still a male member in his family who could take charge.
Song Xiaobao, who was studying at the school in town, rushed back.
However, having this son in the family is useless except for causing trouble, so Granny Gu has to take care of another person.
Song Xiaobao was also stunned.
In just two days, the once comfortable and peaceful home was completely transformed.
The house was empty and the family was destitute. The older sister had been kidnapped and the older cousin had disappeared.
Although his father said that his cousins had run away with that slut and were the suspects who had harmed their family, Song Xiaobao didn't believe it.
He is twelve years old now and has been studying at the town's school for three years.
He didn't learn anything else, but he's quite good at bullying people.
Every time he came back, he would find an excuse to tease his two cousins. Even when he threw Xiao An into the pigsty and scared him into fainting, neither of them ever resisted.
In Song Xiaobao's mind, these two brothers were just things he could mold and shape at will; how dare they run away?
Right now, my family must be lying to me, saying they don't have money to buy storybooks.
…………………………………………
The ups and downs in Xiaoshi Village did not affect the horse-drawn carriages that were still speeding along the official road.
The wooden wheels rolled over the road, causing the people in the carriage to groan in pain, but the soldiers beside them did not stop and continued to urge the horses onward.
Song Zhenping had never ridden in a carriage before, and he had already vomited bile.
The little bit of millet cake I ate at noon was completely gone, and I could only lie there with my head tilted to the side, trying to sleep.
Song Dekui couldn't stay in the carriage. He could also drive the carriage, so he would squeeze in with the soldiers who were driving the horses and chat.
Everyone else in the carriage was drowsy, just like Song Zhenping.
Only Song Liyun was in high spirits, sitting in a corner with Xiao An in her arms, whispering to each other.
"Xiao An, eat this quietly. Your second sister got this in the city!" Song Liyun stuffed an energy bar into his hand.
Energy bars are a basic food in the apocalypse.
The main ingredients are the seeds of various mutated plants, minced meat of mutated beasts, and insect powder.
Scientifically formulated, it provides satiety with sufficient protein, fat, and carbohydrates to replenish energy and is easy to carry.
The drawbacks are also very obvious: it has no aroma or pleasant taste, and eating it can only ensure that you don't starve to death; it cannot compare to real meals.
This kind of low-grade fast food becomes unpalatable after a while. It is something that only the lowest class of people eat in the apocalypse, and it is also a necessity for their survival.
Song Liyun has many energy bars in her space, just in case.
Song Zhenan blinked, her little face scrunched up.
He didn't recognize what this finger-thick, hard, heavy, brown mud-like thing was, or if it was edible.
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