Lin Shuyue and Hang Jiabai looked at each other, and Hang Jiabai asked Lin Shuyue: "Want to go see it?"
Lin Shuyue nodded rapidly. Hang Jiabai put down his bowl and asked, "Let's go?"
Lin Shuyue went to the west room to put on her cotton-padded military coat, and Hang Jiabai also went to the east room to put on his clothes. The two went out together. They came out neither too early nor too late, and many people were rushing in that direction.
Everyone in the forest farm is familiar with each other, and everyone knows Hang Jiabai. Although they haven't been in touch for a few years, they feel a little unfamiliar with each other after talking for a while, but when they meet again and exchange a few words, they become familiar with each other.
One of the men, about sixty years old, was particularly friendly with Hang Jiabai. He called the old man "Grandpa" and after a few pleasantries, he introduced Lin Shuyue to him. Hang Jiabai then asked, "Grandpa Hu, what happened with that noise just now? Did a wolf get into the village?"
Grandpa Hu said, "That's impossible. Our forest farm is surrounded by fences, so wolves can't get in. Besides, we have dogs in our village, and they're all police dogs who never leave the scene. If a wolf really came, how could they not bark?"
"I guess something happened in someone's family." Grandpa Hu said with certainty, his hands in his sleeves, a pipe in his mouth, smoke coming out as he spoke. Hang Jiabai handed him a cigarette, but he refused it, saying that cigarettes were not strong than the pipe.
Hang Jiabai saw that he didn't want it, so he put the cigarette away. Lin Shuyue looked into the forest through the gaps in the courtyards of each household. The larch trees were remarkably straight even in winter, but their color had changed from their original emerald green to a dark green.
There are thick layers of snow under the trees. They are the snow that fell since the beginning of autumn this year and have never melted.
Judging from its thickness, it can probably cover the instep of a person's feet.
Another burst of shrill crying came from the front, and Lin Shuyue and others quickened their pace at the same time.
Soon, everyone arrived at the house where the noise came from. Lin Shuyue and Hang Jiabai followed Grandpa Hu and squeezed in.
In the middle of the surrounded courtyard, a woman in her thirties sat on the ground, holding a bruised little girl of three or four years old in her arms, crying breathlessly. Beside her, a man in army green clothes crouched beside her, holding his head.
Yin Xin and Hang Yuhua were standing at the front, with Hang Yuhua's pickaxe hanging over his shoulders. Seeing Lin Shuyue coming over, Yin Xin cried out in pain and took off her headscarf to tie it around Lin Shuyue's head.
"It's cold outside, why did you come out?" Yin Xin complained, but her actions were very gentle. Her headscarf was very clean and had a faint scent of soap.
After Yin Xin finished talking about Lin Shuyue, she glared at Hang Jiabai again: "Look at you, I asked you two to eat at home when it's so cold outside, and you didn't wear a hat. Ah Yue has never been in such cold weather. If she's exposed to the wind for too long, won't she get a headache?"
Yin Xin's filter for Hang Jiabai's son only lasted for just over an hour. Now, looking at this tall and strong son, she felt a little displeased.
After glaring at Hang Jiabai, she asked Lin Shuyue, "Are you cold?"
"It's not cold, it's not cold, Auntie, what happened?"
Yin Xin didn't say anything, and a woman wearing a purple floral cotton jacket beside her took over the conversation: "The Wei family's third daughter is gone."
The crying in the yard became even more shrill. The woman who was speaking sighed repeatedly, "You know, what a curse has befallen the Wei family? The eldest daughter died two years ago, the second daughter was given away as soon as she was born, and the third daughter, whom they managed to raise until she was four, is also gone. What a sin."
"How come it disappeared?" Grandpa Hu asked in a very low voice.
"I don't know how soundly these two slept that night. They didn't even notice the child had gone to the bathroom and didn't come back. They just locked the door and went to sleep. When they woke up this morning, the child had frozen to death."
Winters in the north are cold, and winters on the dam are even colder, especially at night when the temperature can drop to minus thirty degrees Celsius.
This lady lived next door to the Wei family, and she knew best what happened in the Wei family. When she said this, everyone looked at the Wei couple with strange eyes.
How ruthless must these parents be to lock their child outside and let her freeze to death? Besides, the Wei couple weren't the type of people who are careful. On a cold day like this, who wouldn't put the chamber pot inside? On a day this cold, not only would the children, but even the adults wouldn't dare go out.
Lin Shuyue heard what they said and opened the system. The good and evil radar showed that she directly opened the information of the woman crying while holding her child: [ Name: Cao Manjin, Sin Value 10%, Good Value 30%, Gray Area: 2, Overall Evaluation: An ordinary person with a bit of kindness~ ]
Lin Shuyue closed her profile and clicked on the man's profile next to her, who was pulling her hair: [ Name: Wei Guoyong, Sin 15%, Good 10%, Gray Area: 10, Overall Rating: How should I put it, a little selfish, right? Judge for yourself~ ]
Lin Shuyue shut down the system. Cao Manjin was still crying hard, but she might have cried too much, and at this time she couldn't even shed tears.
Listening to everyone's discussion about the couple, Cao Manjin closed her eyes in pain. She gently put the child on the ground, stood up, and kicked Wei Guoyong to the ground.
"Wei Guoyong, I'm going to fight you! Last night, it was you who close the door. Before going to bed, I asked you if San Ya was asleep, and you said you saw her sleep. Tell me, is this how you saw her sleep?"
"How many times have I told you to pee in the room at night? But your mother just can't stand the smell of the urinal and insists on going out to pee. Sanya can't even pee in the room! When she pee in her room, you're fucking chiming in with your mother, saying the room smells!"
"Can you still smell now? Your daughter froze to death, does it still smell?" Cao Manjin kicked the man lying on the ground several times. The man hugged his head and dared not make a sound.
Turning around again, Cao Manjin knelt down in front of San Ya with a thud, and raised her hands to slap herself several times. Her neatly combed hair was messed up, her face was swollen, and blood was flowing from the corner of her mouth.
Her action silenced everyone present. The courtyard, which had just been as noisy as a vegetable market, instantly became silent.
She kowtowed to Sanya. "Sanya, Ningning, I'm sorry. I've made four mistakes in my life. The first one was that I ignored your grandparents' advice and found an irresponsible man like Wei Guoyong to be your father."
"My second mistake was that I was tough on the outside but soft on the inside. I always thought we were family, so I should back off if I could. That led to today's tragedy."
"My third mistake is that I should have realized it when your eldest sister died. I knew that the Wei family was like a flood and a beast. I should have taken your second sister away with me then, but I didn't. I have old-fashioned ideas. I always thought that if we could live together, we should just continue to live together. There was no need to go to the extent of getting a divorce."
"When your second sister was sent away, I should have left, but I didn't. What I deserve most is that I knew the Wei family was not a good family, but I still gave birth to you and let you suffer in the Wei family."
"My fourth mistake was that I knew you weren't liked at Old Wei's house, so I didn't take you with me when I went back to your grandma's house yesterday afternoon."
Cao Manjin's words made the old lady who spoke first slap her thigh: "Yes, yes, that's right, Manjin went back to her parents' home yesterday afternoon."
"I was just about to say this. We all know that Manjin went back to her parents' home yesterday. What she said just now was ambiguous!"
"That's right, if someone didn't know, they would think something had happened to Sanya because Man Jin was not here! Speaking of which, where's Aunt Wei? With such a big thing happening at home, why didn't she come out?"
"Hey, what's up? I saw her go out a long time ago, dressed in fancy clothes. She went to the bottom of the dam again. Isn't she dating old Han at the bottom of the dam? She has to go down there every few days."
"Say, this wife is really careless. Didn't she always sleep with San Ya in her arms? When she woke up, she didn't know whether the child was with her or not?"
"That's right, that's right."
•••••
Cao Manjin's words had no deterrent effect on the man lying on the ground pretending to be dead. She could kick him as many times as she wanted, just pretending in front of outsiders. When there was no one around, he would have plenty of opportunities to deal with her.
But the neighbors' increasingly outrageous speculations made Wei Guoyong unable to stay still. He jumped up and said, "Cao Manjin, what are you talking about?! What are you saying about us? What's wrong with the Wei family? Are we a scourge? Don't you want to live like this?"
"The eldest daughter fell into the water and died. Everyone saw it. It was an accident. What does it have to do with our family? The second daughter's case is even more confusing to me. I had a formal job, and family planning was strictly enforced at the time. Sending her away was better for both of us."
"Besides, the third daughter is already four years old. She was freezing outside and didn't even bother to call someone to get her out of the cold? Did she really have to let herself freeze to death? It's better not to have such a silly daughter!"
Wei Guoyong's words were heartless and ungrateful, but Cao Manjin smiled. She had known for a long time that Wei Guoyong was such a person, but deep down, she still held a little hope for him.
She felt that her life was a joke. She stood up and rushed towards Wei Guoyong. Wei Guoyong was a man after all. When Cao Manjin rushed over, he raised his foot. But before he could kick Cao Manjin, he was pulled back.
He couldn't kick out, so he turned his head to look at the person holding him. He saw a face that he really disliked: "Let me go!"
Hang Jiabai didn't move. His hands were like pliers, tightly gripping Wei Guoyong's arms. No matter how Wei Guoyong struggled, it was useless.
Cao Manjin rushed over and slapped Wei Guoyong in the face. As if she still felt unsatisfied, she slapped him again with her backhand and then spat a mouthful of thick phlegm in Wei Guoyong's face: "I was really blind before."
Wei Guoyong was the only son in the family and was raised by his widowed mother with great pampering. When had he ever had his face covered with thick phlegm? Just like that, he turned around and started vomiting.
Cao Manjin sighed, walked over, and gently picked up her daughter from the ground. Her lifeless daughter felt so heavy, and tears welled up in Cao Manjin's eyes again. She carried the child step by step toward the outside, and the crowd automatically made way for her.
She walked out of the yard step by step and walked on the street in the forest farm. The street was very flat and covered with a lot of coal slag.
But she stumbled and almost fell several times. Cao Manjin felt as if she had returned to ten years ago, when she was seven months pregnant and carried her daughter back from the lake step by step.
In addition, Erya, whom she had only met once, was sent away after her birth. The pain of losing a daughter twice and now made Cao Manjin feel extremely painful. She felt a fishy and sweet taste in her throat and she actually vomited blood.
Everyone watched her walk away before following her step by step.
Yin Xin pulled Lin Shuyue along as they walked in the middle of the room, saying to her, "Cao Manjin is a miserable person. Her mother died early, and her father found a stepmother who treated her badly. She's been treated like an animal since she was a child. When she was eighteen, her stepmother found her a husband, a foolish man who ripped into his trouser pockets every day."
"She wasn't happy about it, so when she was planting trees in the mountains, she met Wei Guoyong. Wei Guoyong was a decent-looking man when he was young, so when he saw Cao Manjin was capable and beautiful, he used his sweet talk to win her over."
"And now this is what happened. I was with her for twelve years and she had three daughters. The eldest drowned, the second was given away, and no one knows where. She couldn't even raise the third."
"She just said that she didn't take care of the second child, and now she gave birth to the third child to make her suffer. Where can she go? Her family is a bunch of scoundrels. If she wants a divorce and goes back, her stepmother will do something like locking the old bachelor in her room."
"Her family doesn't treat her like human beings anymore. They come here to extort money from her every now and then, complaining about their pain." Yin Xin said with a sigh.
Lin Shuyue glanced at the woman in front of her and the bloodstains on the ground, and asked, "Didn't she just say she was going back to her grandparents' house?"
"The family she was talking about was actually her grandparents' family." Yin Xin explained, fearing that Lin Shuyue might not be able to sort out the relationships, "Over here, we call our uncle 'Grandpa.' Her stepmother was a scoundrel, so her grandparents raised her. Now that she's married, she's only filial to them."
"It's bitter." Yin Xin said while shaking her head.
Lin Shuyue heard Hang Jiabai asking Hang Yuhua: "Have you called the police? Is there nothing wrong with this child?"
"Most people have noticed this. The police team is out on patrol today. Someone has already gone to the site to call the police station down the mountain. They should be on their way there now."