Chapter 128: Unexpected Disaster [VIP]
New Year's Eve.
From early morning, the kitchens of every household in the two villages were filled with the aroma of meat.
The adults kept their word and used the pork they were given to make lard for the children. They usually didn't want to eat it, but today they took it all out. Although there wasn't much food stored at home, if the adults ate less, the children could have their fill.
Luo Dunzi sat by the stove helping his grandmother light the fire, and watched eagerly as his mother coated the meat strips with flour paste and egg liquid and then put them into the pan to fry.
This flour was a reward from his teacher for getting first place in the final exam at school. His mother had been saving it for him and had not been willing to eat it until today, the New Year.
It is not only used to fry crispy meat, but also to make meat cakes. The dough with meat slices is also fried in the pan.
The sizzling sound is particularly pleasant.
"Mom, I also want to go to the quarry with you to bring New Year's dinner to Dad." He hadn't seen his father for a long time. Luo Dunzi said while swallowing hard.
His mother and the aunts and uncles in the village made an appointment today to go to the quarry together to deliver New Year's dinner to their family.
"Okay, I'll take you there. First, try this crispy pork for me and see how it tastes. Does it taste the same as the one your sister Ayao fries?"
Put the fried meat strips in a bowl.
Luo Dunzi couldn't wait to take it out, blew on the crispy meat with his hands to cool it down, but didn't eat it in a hurry. Instead, he put it to grandma's mouth first.
"Baby teeth are not good, let's eat it."
Luo Dunzi didn't believe that grandma had bad teeth. He could actually guess what the adults were thinking: "Grandma, today is New Year's Day, and everyone in our family has to eat meat. If you don't eat it, I won't eat it either."
"Okay, okay, grandma, just take a bite."
Luo Dunzi fed the whole crispy pork strip to Grandma, "How is it? Is it delicious?"
"Oh, this is so delicious, mom, you and the child should try it."
At noon, the women in the village all carried a bamboo basket filled with food and clothes for their families.
Luo Dunzi, Zhang Chunya, and their siblings, as well as Shitou and other good friends, were also carrying small baskets. Each of these children's baskets contained a bowl of meat and a bowl of oil residue.
It should be a lively New Year, but the village is quiet during the day.
The Shen family also prepared lunch at home early, but seeing that the aunt and others had not arrived home yet, they had to eat first and have the reunion dinner together in the evening.
At the same time, Yue A Shui led the brothers of the caravan and hurried back with the injured Tanaka Zheng's family and Huang Songbai and his son.
Huang Mei hugged her daughter tightly in her arms, covering her injured cheek with a handkerchief, feeling heartbroken. Her eyes fell on the other injured family members lying in the mule cart, and Huang Mei regretted it so much.
Originally, the two families happily returned home from Jiangnan with a truck full of goods to celebrate the New Year. Who would have thought that when they were almost home, they encountered robbers on the way out of Baihe Town.
Her husband, daughter, younger brother and Dongsheng were all injured to varying degrees in order to protect her, and now they all had high fevers.
If they hadn't met Yue A Shui and his caravan coming to Baihe Town to deliver goods, they probably wouldn't have made it home alive today.
"A Shui, how long will it take to get to Qingfeng Town?" Huang Mei lifted the cloth curtain at the front of the car and asked Yue A Shui who was driving outside.
Yue Ashui's body was covered in a thick layer of white snow, and her eyelids were covered in frost. "Don't worry, Auntie, I'll be there soon. As soon as we enter the city, I'll take you to the pharmacy, and then to the government office to report the case."
Huang Mei nodded repeatedly.
Today is New Year's Day, and those guarding the city gate are all yamen runners who don't have a good relationship with the squad leader.
Liu Chuang and Li Xin stood at the city gate and saw a caravan about to enter the city. They immediately stopped them, one checking and the other questioning them.
When Liu Chuang pulled open the car curtain and looked inside, he was shocked by the people lying inside, especially those he knew.
"What happened to you? Why are you all injured?"
Huang Mei held her daughter and answered Liu Chuang's questions honestly, and told Liu Chuang that they were robbed on the road.
Liu Chuang tightened his grip on the knife upon hearing this. After a moment's contemplation, he immediately said to Huang Mei, "Today is New Year's Day, and the pharmacy is closed. You should go back to the village first and let Dr. Zeng treat you."
"cocoa……"
"Don't worry about it, just go back to the village quickly and leave the report to the authorities to us." Liu Chuang waved at Li Xin and asked them to let him go.
Yue A Shui, who was sitting in the front, drove the carriage into the city and told his brothers to go home first. He then continued to drive Huang Mei into the city and return to Xiahe Village.
The long street that used to be bustling was now deserted, with not a soul in sight. As Constable Liu had said, all the shops along the street had closed down.
When the mule cart passed by the pharmacy, there was indeed no one sitting there for consultation, so Huang Mei had to ask Yue A Shui to take them back to Xiahe Village.
The road back to the village was too bumpy and the wound on Tian Baozhu's arm was torn open. She turned pale with pain, but she still didn't seem to be waking up.
Huang Mei looked at everyone else again and saw that they were all in the same situation. She took out a handkerchief and kept wiping the sweat from everyone's forehead.
The mule cart stopped in front of the Shen family's door. Yue A got off the cart, stepped onto the steps and banged on the door.
, open the door quickly, something happened."
The people who were sitting in the hall to keep warm and talk heard the familiar shouts outside the door, and immediately stood up from their chairs and ran out.
Tian Baolai was the first to open the door. When he saw Ah Shui, it was you. What happened?
Before Yue Ashui could reply, Huang Mei's voice could be heard from the mule cart: "Bao Lai, come and help your mother. Your sister and father are injured."
Tian Baolai heard the crying tone in his mother's voice and realized the seriousness of the matter. He immediately said, "Mom,
Shen Qingshan, who was following behind, also heard it. Without even asking, he asked Yang Jizong, Yue Ashui and Baolai to carry the people in the car back home.
As soon as Chen Yao heard the word "injured", she said hello to her mother and ran to Doctor Zeng's house to ask for help.
Everyone placed the injured in two adjacent rooms. When Yang Wenying saw the blood on Baozhu's face, her heart skipped a beat and she immediately went to the kitchen to boil hot water for everyone.
"Sister, please sit down first. Don't be afraid when you go home. We are here for you. Baozhu, Dongsheng, your brother-in-law and your third brother will be fine." Huang Xing held her sister's hand tightly to give her warmth.
When Miao saw her husband and son's bloodstained tattered cotton jackets, her hands trembled with fear: "Sister, please tell us what happened and how they got so badly injured."
After Shen Qingshan and Yang Jizong settled Huang Songbai and his son in the room, Miao went forward to check them out.
Her husband's cotton-padded jacket was soaked with blood, which had already frozen into ice due to the severe cold weather, and there was a knife wound on his chest under the clothes.
The knife wound ran from his left shoulder blade to his right chest, exposing the bones on his shoulder. If the knife had been an inch off, it would have hit his neck.
When Huang Mei thought of this, she couldn't help but feel scared.
Her son had knife wounds not only on his arms, but also on his back.
Huang Mei cried as she told everyone the truth, "That group of bandits suddenly jumped out from halfway up the mountain and tried to steal the goods we brought back. We were injured because we were trying to protect me. I shouldn't have stopped them. I should have let them take the goods away."
Huang Mei looked at her relatives lying on the couch, tears streaming down her face.
Yue Ashui stood aside and explained to Huang Mei, "It's not your fault, Auntie. Those people didn't look like ordinary bandits. The knives they held were all brand new. Although their mouths and noses were covered, we heard them clearly when we arrived. Their accents didn't sound like those of people from Fang County."
Yang Jizong grasped the key point and took Yue A Shui into the study to ask him questions in detail.
Miao originally wanted to blame her elder sister, saying that the goods were lost and that people were the most important. However, when she saw the injuries of Baozhu and Tanaka Zheng, she had to swallow the words of complaint back into her stomach.
Soon, Doctor Zeng arrived at the Shen family with his son in his arms, and Shen Yao followed behind with his medicine box.
After entering the yard, Zeng Xiaobao took out his nine-ring puzzle and stood outside the house to play with it obediently, not wanting to go in and cause trouble for his father.
Doctor Zeng looked at the people in the room and said as he opened the medicine box, "You guys go wait outside first, and leave two people inside to help."
Huang Mei and Miao immediately said that they would stay.
Shen Qingshan and Huang Xing led everyone to the living room and brought Zeng Xiaobao a plate of pastries for him to eat while playing.
"Her father, we must report this to the police and catch those bandits." Huang Xing gritted her teeth. In this world, there are still bandits who rob and injure people. There is simply no law.
Shen Qingshan nodded and motioned his daughter to go to the study. Yang Jizong asked Yue Ashui how the inquiry went.
Yue A Shui told Yang Jizong everything he knew in detail, including what those people were wearing.
"Mr. Yang, if you need a witness, you can come to me." After Yue A Shui finished his instructions, he bowed and said goodbye, preparing to leave.
Although he was also worried about Tian Baozhu's injury, the Shen family was in chaos at the moment and he couldn't stay here and cause trouble. He would come to visit after the New Year.
Tian Baolai not only personally sent Yue Ashui on the mule cart, but also brought a pile of smoked meat and silver from home as a thank you gift to him.
Yue A Shui couldn't refuse and only accepted a few pieces of rabbit meat, and said he didn't want any money at all.
"Brother Baolai, can I come to see Uncle Tian in a few days?" He actually wanted to say that he wanted to see Baozhu, but changed his mind when the words came to his lips.
Tian Baolai didn't know what Yue A Shui was thinking, so he nodded immediately.
After coming out of the study, Yang Jizong told everyone his analysis. What his aunt and others encountered were probably not bandits, but assassins sent by the aristocratic families in Beijing.
He and Zhao Xiaofu had encountered this problem before when they were promoting the cultivation of winter wheat.
He guessed that it must be because of the disaster that occurred after Li Menghong reported his political achievements to the emperor at the end of the year.
"Ultimately, this matter was caused by me. I have implicated everyone. I..." Yang Jizong felt very guilty. He had promised his father-in-law that he would never implicate his family members, but now his family members have suffered an unprovoked disaster.
Yang Jizong's words were like thunder from a clear sky, but things are different now.
Shen Qingshan suddenly slammed the table and stood up to question Yang Jizong: "I just want to ask you one thing, can you seek justice for everyone? Punish the real villains?"
Yang Jizong looked at Chen Yao who was standing beside him, then bowed and said, "I can."
"Alright, then I'll trust you once more. If you don't expose the mastermind behind this and make them receive the punishment they deserve, we won't let it go. Even if we have to file a complaint in the capital, we will still seek justice."
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