Chapter 164 - 164

Chapter 164 A Dark and Windy NightAfter discussing it, the group decided that Yun Zhao, Yun Ting, and Iron Pillar would go back together to rescue Tao Cairi.Yun Zhao borrowed a bicycle from Aunt Fang.The three of them then hurried towards the village.It was late at night, and everything was quiet; many people had already gone to sleep.The three of them moved very quietly to the Tao family's woodshed. Yun Ting inserted a tong into the lock and turned it, opening it in an instant.Yun Zhao's eyes widened in amazement; his little sister was so amazing! She could even pick locks."Who?" a weak female voice asked."Sis, it's me, don't make a sound..." Iron Pillarquickly went in and whispered."I've brought my cousin, Older Female Cousin, to rescue you."Tao Cairi looked at Yun Ting and his sister, "Cousin, younger female cousin...""Shh...don't speak yet, let's go now."Yun Zhao rode his bicycle ahead with Tao Cairi, while Yun Ting accompanied Iron Pillar to find their Brigade Leader.He needs to help her get a letter of introduction.Yun Ting has already planned to take her Older Female Cousin to Capital City. They'll go there first, and then decide on the household registration later. Anyway, she's not going to marry an old widower, so she can make plans later.Their Brigade Leader usually takes good care of the siblings, as they are all related by the same ancestral hall and share the same surname, Tao. That's why Iron Pillar dared to send him a letter of introduction at this critical juncture.Arriving at the Brigade Leader's door, Iron Pillarknocked, but there was no response. He then knocked a few more times with more force."Who is it? So late at night." Brigade Leader Tao Deming came out sleepily and shouted at the top of his lungs."Uncle, it's me, Tiezhu."Upon hearing that it was Tie Zhu, Tao Deming immediately woke up from his drowsiness and quickly opened the door. This child, coming to see him so late at night, must have done something serious."Tiezhu, what happened?"Seeing a girl standing next to the iron pillar, he asked curiously, "Who's this?""Uncle, hello, I am Tiezhu, Older Female Cousin, and my mother is Tao Chunju.""Oh, Yun Mus's daughter! What brings you here?""Uncle, I need you to help me get a letter of introduction for my sister. She can't stay at home anymore; they're going to sell her to an old widower..."Iron Pillar recounted his sister's ordeal over the past few days in one breath, but made no mention of his plan to take the Older Female Cousin to Capital City, something that absolutely could not be revealed."You bastard, your father is really senile... I'll go and open it for you right now."Iron Pillar had no intention of leaving. He still needed to study. Although his father wasn't very good to him, he was still his son and had grown up. He wasn't afraid of his stepmother if he stayed at home. Once his sister escaped, he would study hard, get into university, and then reunite with her.And so, Yun Ting returned with Tao Cairi's letter of introduction. Iron Pillar didn't go with him; he couldn't let his father suspect anything. He had also given instructions to the Brigade Leaderthat they should only assume Tao Cairi had run away on his own, so his father and stepmother wouldn't cause trouble for his aunt's family.By the time they got home, it was almost midnight. Mother Yun had already told her daughter-in-law to take the little girl to her room to sleep.She couldn't put her mind at ease and insisted on waiting for someone to come back. Although Father Yun was also tired, he could only stay with her."Oh! You're finally back, Cai Mei...""Auntie…" Tao Cairi, who had been very strong, couldn't help but shed tears when she saw her loving aunt."It's so late. Let Child eat and get some sleep first, then we can talk when he wakes up.""Yes, yes."Father Yun brought out the noodles that Mother Yun had just cooked. After all that fuss, Yun Zhaowas also hungry, so Mother Yun cooked a portion for him and Yun Ting, which Yun Zhaoate together."Your younger sister and Tiezhu haven't returned yet. I wonder how things are going?""Don't worry, Mom, I know what I'm doing."When Yun Ting returned on her own, Mother Yun and Tao Cairi were alarmed to find that she was alone."Where is Tiezhu?"He said he wanted to stay home to continue his studies, and he wanted to stay home tonight so that his uncle wouldn't get suspicious and come to our house to cause trouble."But he can hit iron pillars…" Cai Mei was extremely worried."Don't worry! Older female Cousin, Tiezhu has grown up and is a male child now, they won't dare to attack again. Now that you're safe, Tiezhu is even less afraid of them."Tao Cairi understood that her brother had endured it because of her; she had failed to protect him and had instead dragged him down with her." Older female Cousin, why don't you stay home for now? Come with me to Capital City in a while, okay?"" Capital City? No way, what would I do there?"Tao Cairi was terrified."It's too late. I'll talk to you properly tomorrow when I have time. Let's get some rest now!"Tao Cairi knew it was late, and everyone was staying up late because of her. Her aunt and uncle had to go to work tomorrow, and she felt very guilty....Iron Pillar went back to his room to sleep, and the next day he pretended to have just discovered that his sister was missing."Sister... Sister." Iron Pillar frantically searched for her everywhere."You're about to die, what are you yelling about?" Stepmother Du Xiao'e scolded.Tao Yuanbo heard the commotion and came out, only to find the door to the woodshed open. He went to look, but the person was gone."Where's your sister? Where did she go?""How should I know? I just got up to use the outhouse and I haven't seen my sister since. It's all your fault that my sister is like this. I'm telling you, if anything happens to my sister, I'll fight you to the death." Iron Pillar stared fiercely at his father and stepmother.Both of them were frightened by his gaze. "You...you little brat, I'm your father.""I'd rather not have a father like you, hmph..."It's summer now, and it gets light early, so the villagers get up even earlier. As soon as they hear the noise, many people come over to see what's going on."Where... where did Cai Mei go?""I don't know, could it be that she's contemplating suicide?""Oh dear, that's terrible! Tiezhu, hurry up and go check if your sister is by the river. It would be awful if she did something rash."Upon hearing this, Iron Pillar wiped away his tears and immediately ran towards the river, his acting incredibly realistic.If Yun Ting were here, she would probably say that with such acting skills, in later generations, the Oscars would owe her an award!"What a tragedy! I heard he forced Cai Mei to marry a widower who had lost his wife. No one could persuade her otherwise. She's still his own daughter. How could Tao Yuanbo be so heartless?"Among the crowd, a woman quickly left, heading towards the county.This person and Mother Yun Tao Chunju was a close friend when she was young. She married someone from the same village named Tao Chunfeng. Knowing that she doted on this niece, she quickly ran to inform her.After Iron Pillar's actions, neither his father nor his stepmother suspected anything and genuinely believed that Tao Cairi had run away on his own.Anyone who thinks about it carefully knows it's impossible. The lock was intact, so how did she get out?They were too preoccupied to think about such things; they were worried that the old widower's promised dowry of 150 yuan would fall through, and they were extremely anxious.Iron Pillar went to school as usual, but pretended to be very sad.Tao Chunfeng rushed over and finally arrived atYun's family home. Only Yun Ting, Little Girl, and Tao Cairi were home.When Yun Ting heard the knocking, she told Tao Cairi to come inside and wait, and then she went out to open the door.Who are you looking for?