The night grew darker.
After dinner, Chen Zhanshan thought about the five thousand catties of beets and felt uneasy. Although it was his daughter's money that was being spent, he would still be anxious if they lost everything.
In the past, many villagers would go to town to sell vegetables, but they couldn't even earn back the cost of the bus fare. This kind of beet was expensive and nobody recognized it, so no one would buy it!
The more he thought about it, the more worried he became, and he sat on the edge of the bed with a gloomy face, sighing repeatedly.
At this moment, Chen Qingqing checked the man over and turned around to see Lin staring blankly at the cabinet.
He hurriedly asked, "Mom, what are you thinking about?"
Lin raised her head, her eyes filled with worry. "Qing'er, I tied the door shut with a rope when we left this morning, but it was open when we came back."
The grain storage cabinets had also been disturbed; the firewood on top was scattered on the ground, as if someone had been there.
In fact, Chen Qingqing had already noticed something was wrong, and she knew without even thinking who had visited her house.
Seeing that the lock on the cabinet was intact, she didn't make a fuss. She didn't expect Lin to be so thoughtful.
"Mother, is something missing from the house?"
Madam Lin shook her head. "Nothing is missing, but the house looks like it's been ransacked. I wonder what the person who came was looking for?"
Chen Qingqing guessed that the elderly couple next door had come to steal the money, but they didn't expect the cabinet to be locked, which is why they failed.
Although that's what I was thinking, in order not to worry Lin, I casually said, "Since nothing's missing, don't think about it. Maybe a stray cat or dog got into the house."
Lin nodded. "That's possible. There are still a lot of wild cats in these mountains."
Chen Qingqing glanced at Chen Zhanshan, who was sitting silently on the edge of the bed, and said, "Dad, you'll have to sleep at the Wu family's old house tonight. I'm worried about all those beets sitting there."
"Okay, I'll be right there."
Just as Chen Zhanshan got up to leave, Chen Qingqing quickly stopped him, "Dad, don't rush over, I have something I want to discuss with you."
"What's wrong? Tell me."
“Dad, starting tomorrow, you don’t need to work at the docks anymore. Stay home and help me. I can’t handle all those beets by myself.”
"Okay, Dad will listen to you, but Dad doesn't understand, what are you going to do with all that beets?"
Although Chen Qingqing theoretically knew how to make sugar using the traditional method of beetroot, she had never experimented with it before. What if she failed and disappointed her parents? She felt it was better not to say anything until the brown sugar was properly cooked.
She shook her head and smiled, "Father, you'll find out tomorrow."
"You little rascal, you're keeping this a secret from your father." Chen Zhanshan said, standing up. "You and your mother should go to bed early. I'm going to the Wu family's old house."
...
Lying in bed, Chen Qingqing was anxious as she thought of the unconscious man. She had to make sugar and open a clinic in town. If the man didn't wake up soon, she really couldn't keep him any longer.
In a daze, a cry suddenly came in.
Chen Qingqing suddenly woke up, quickly dressed and got out of bed, and Lin Shi also came out.
"Mother, it looks like my second aunt."
Lin nodded and hurriedly opened the door, only to see Sun standing in the courtyard of the old house, beating her chest and stamping her feet, weeping bitterly.
Chen Zhanliang kept trying to comfort her, saying, "Honey, don't worry. What if you get sick from worrying? Maybe Da Bao will be back soon."
Chen Qingqing quickly approached and, in the dim light, noticed that Sun's eyes were red-rimmed. "Second Aunt, what happened?"
"Yes, Cuiqin, why are you crying? What's wrong with Dabao?" Madam Lin quickly asked.
Sun stopped crying. "Qing'er, Da Bao went to Wolf Valley and hasn't come back yet. I'm afraid he's in grave danger."
Chen Qingqing was startled, "What is Da Bao doing in Wolf Valley?"
"I don't know either, Erbao said so. My poor Dabao..."
Chen Erbao was already terrified and burst into tears, "It's all my fault! If I hadn't envied Xiaohan for going to school in town, my brother wouldn't have gone to Wolf Valley. I'm the one who killed my brother..."
Chen Qingqing was also stunned. It was probably around 9 PM, and if Da Bao really went to Wild Wolf Valley, he would probably be in grave danger.
"Erbao, don't cry. How do you know Dabao went to Wolf Valley?"
"Sister Qingqing, it's all my fault. Ever since I found out that Xiaohan went to study in town, I told my brother that I also wanted to study and learn to read. He told me to wait, saying that he would definitely go to Wild Wolf Valley to dig up a ginseng and sell it to send me to the academy."
Erbao cried as he spoke, "Sister Qingqing, my brother must have gone to Wolf Valley to dig for ginseng so that I could go to school. Please think of a way to save my brother."
Mrs. Sun was so anxious that she stamped her feet. "Qing'er, you have to help me! If anything happens to my Dabao, I won't be able to live."
"That silly boy!" Chen Qingqing was extremely anxious. She hadn't expected that her unintentional action would cause so many misunderstandings.
If this situation had occurred, it couldn't have been said that she had found ginseng in Wolf Valley.
Wolf Valley is fraught with danger; wolves roam the area, and poisonous insects abound. A single misstep can be fatal.
She would feel guilty if something happened to Da Bao.
"Erbao, when did your brother leave home?"
"Left early in the morning."
Upon hearing this, Chen Qingqing became extremely anxious, knowing that there was no time to lose, and quickly instructed Lin Shi beside her.
"Mother, there's no time to lose. Go find my father right away and tell him to go to the village head and tell him about Da Bao going into Wolf Valley. Tell him to quickly gather the young people in the village and take more torches to Wolf Valley to search for him."
"Okay, I'll go right away." Knowing something was about to happen, Madam Lin hurriedly ran towards the Wu family's old house.
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