"Back then, I was taking Da Niu's wife down the mountain. We had walked about two-thirds of the way when her water broke. Then the blood started flowing everywhere. There was nothing we could do, so we took her directly to my house and had my wife call the village's barefoot doctor. Fortunately, both mother and daughter were safe in the end, and my wife was also fine. She has been recuperating at my house ever since."
Su Ran was puzzled upon hearing this, "Wasn't he taken to the hospital afterwards?"
The driver shook his head, his face flushed. “Da Niu is an only child and he’s mentally challenged. He can’t earn money. I have elderly parents and children to support, so I can’t lend him any money. But that barefoot doctor came up with a solution and prescribed some common Chinese medicine for his wife. They can be picked in the mountains. So Da Niu’s wife stayed at my house for postpartum care. After all, you can’t move around too much during pregnancy.”
Su Fuling picked up the teapot, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to the driver. "Uncle Li, have some tea. How's the situation in the village?"
Realizing he had gone off-topic, Old Li blushed and said, "I'm sorry, I tend to forget what I was talking about once I start talking about something else."
Su Fuling smiled and shook her head, "It's alright, you can have some water and talk slowly."
Old Li closed his eyes and recalled the scene when he entered the village. "There seemed to be forty or fifty households in the village. When I entered the village that day, I saw Da Niu and his wife. I don't know where the others went. Did they go to farm? That shouldn't be the case! At that time, it seemed that no one was home in any of the houses. No one in the village kept dogs, and I didn't hear any dogs barking. I didn't see any other animals or birds. They were probably locked in the yard and didn't come out."
Old Li opened his eyes and said, "It seems that when we entered Da Niu's house, there were surveillance cameras installed. There were chickens, ducks and geese in the yard. They were probably installed to prevent wild wolves from stealing them. Also, when we arrived, Da Niu's wife was naked. Luckily, I hid quickly and directed Da Niu from outside the door to put some clothes on his wife. Then, I helped Da Niu carry his wife down the mountain."
Old Li thought about it carefully, and finally shook his head. "The situation was a bit urgent at that time, so I didn't stop to look around. I hurriedly took his wife down the mountain. But the whole village was strangely quiet. That's when I found out that there were so many households in the village that didn't want to move down. There were more than a dozen fewer households than in my village."
Su Ran finished her breakfast, took the tissue from Can Ling and wiped her mouth. She smiled and looked at Old Li, "Uncle Li, since we can't go up the mountain today, I wonder if you could take us to your house for a visit? I heard your wife makes really good osmanthus cakes, and I'm getting a little craving."
Upon hearing this, Old Li readily agreed. His wife's cooking skills had been recognized, and by a big boss no less!
"Let's go upstairs and pack our things first, then we'll set off."
Upon hearing this, Old Li waved his hand with a smile, overwhelmed with joy. All he could think about was that his wife's cooking skills had been recognized by the big boss. With that in mind, Old Li quickly called his wife and asked her to prepare some good things to entertain the big boss.
...
Inside the room.
The three sat around the bamboo table, and Su Fuling spoke first, "Miss, Tongnan Village might be a bit dangerous."
Su Ran nodded upon hearing this. Even if it was a bit dangerous, judging from Old Li's description, Tongnan Village was not a good village.
A pregnant woman in the village gave birth, but no family was willing to help take her down the mountain.
It is a relatively underdeveloped village, yet it has forty or fifty households.
The police also tried to persuade the villagers to move down the mountain, and it was indeed an elderly person who came forward.
Why would a relatively poor village install surveillance cameras to monitor its poultry?
This is suspicious no matter where you look at it.
Da Niu is mentally challenged, yet he still got married. When Lao Li came to Da Niu's house, his wife was completely naked.
This sounds exactly like a story about a young female college student being abducted to a remote area and forced to give birth.
Upon hearing what the young lady and Canling were saying, Su Jia frowned and asked, "Are we still going to Tongnan Village?"
Su Ran looked at Su Jia and said with a smile, "We're not going until tomorrow. It's still early. Let's go to Osmanthus Village first to eat some osmanthus cake and drink some osmanthus wine."
Su Jia only knew martial arts and only listened to his young lady. He nodded and solemnly said, "Alright! Let's eat osmanthus cake and drink osmanthus wine!"
...
Osmanthus Village.
Su Ran looked at the osmanthus trees around her. Osmanthus trees only bloom in September and October, and it's only May now, so it will be a while before they bloom.
Old Li led the way, and people around asked him questions. Old Li only replied that they were the bosses and invited them to his home as guests.
The middle-aged women around shook their heads and whispered among themselves.
"Why does the Li family always have guests?"
"Don't tell me that Da Niu is here as a guest. He's an idiot. He's probably here to ask for help, not to be a guest."
"The Li family is kind-hearted. They even have a woman who is in confinement at home. I don't know how Da Niu, who is so silly, could marry such a beautiful wife."
"I'm afraid it was bought from somewhere."
"I don't know what the situation is like in Tongnan Village on the other side of the mountain. So far, I've only seen one big cow. I don't know why the others aren't coming down the mountain."
“There are probably only elderly people and people with limps left in the village, and it would be troublesome for them to go down the mountain.”
"Speaking of which, it's been years since you've been to Tongnan Village, hasn't it? Didn't Sister Fen come to our Guihua Village from Tongnan Village with your husband?"
The person called Sister Fen was holding a bowl of cold boiled water. "Me? It's been more than ten years. When I left, there were only seven or eight elderly people in the village, some of whom were lame, and there were also three or four families with mentally challenged people like Da Niu."
Upon hearing this, the surrounding middle-aged women let out a soft sigh. "Oh dear, if that's the case, there probably aren't many households left on this mountain. The old ones who were supposed to die are probably all dead, leaving only a bunch of cripples?"
...
Su Ran walked slowly. The sounds around her were neither too loud nor too soft, but they were still audible.
"Big boss, we've arrived. Wife, come out and greet the big boss!" Old Li opened the iron gate surrounding the yard and shouted loudly into the house.
"Here we are!"
Immediately afterward, a middle-aged woman wearing an apron ran over, wiping her hands on the apron. Upon seeing Su Ran, who was in the lead, she nervously lowered her head and bowed, saying, "The big boss is really handsome!"
Old Li awkwardly chuckled and pushed his wife away, saying, "Bring some osmanthus cake and osmanthus wine, and arrange the rest as you see fit, anything that goes well with the wine."
Old Li's wife readily agreed and immediately ran to the kitchen to prepare. Old Li smiled and invited them to sit on the sofa, but upon seeing the dirt on the pristine white sofa, his face flushed red. "I'm sorry, boss, let's sit on chairs; this sofa is a bit dirty."
Seeing this, Su Ran shook her head, "No need, just sit here. White gets dirty easily and is hard to wash. You can buy a sofa cover later and change it when you need to."
Old Li smiled and agreed, "Okay, okay, I'll have my wife buy sofa covers online later. When we first chose this sofa, we didn't realize that white would get dirty so easily. We just thought it looked nice, but we regretted it after we bought it. It's hard to wash when it gets dirty, and if we wipe it, the dirt just spreads even more. It's really troublesome!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
