Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The ground was littered with chaotic hoof prints, but Tang Qingqing managed to pinpoint the tracks of the two missing sheep among them.

"Those two sheep should be in Willow Brigade. Judging by this, they've likely mixed with the sheep from Willow Village."

Tang Qingqing half-squatted on the ground, quickly finding the shepherd's footprints and confirming her suspicions.

Wang Heizi leaned forward, his eyes wide and fixed:

"I can't tell the difference at all. How do you manage to distinguish them?"

This question had been nagging Wang Heizi, and he had tried to learn from Tang Qingqing along the way.

But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't discern any patterns. Instead, he found himself hunched over, half-squatting, or squatting down, which left him exhausted.

Sometimes he thought he saw differences, but when faced with a cluster of footprints, he was lost again.

Tang Qingqing had explained many times already and didn't feel like repeating herself.

When Wang Caoer heard this news, she breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that hope was within reach.

"Perhaps 'Whitehead' and 'Little White' got mixed up and ran off with the sheep from Willow Brigade."

Such incidents weren't unheard of; usually, the sheep would mistakenly join another group within the same brigade, rarely mixing with those from other brigades.

Wang Heizi had visited Willow Brigade with his mother before, so he was somewhat familiar with the area and led the other three into the village.

At this hour, many households were still awake. Though few had lights on, there were faint sounds of people moving around inside the houses or in the courtyards.

Wang Heizi was about to lead everyone directly to the sheep pen, but Zhai Hongyi stopped him.

"Didn't you say your aunt lives here? Go to her house first."

Wang Heizi was focused on the sheep, "We're here for business, not socializing. If my aunt finds out I came late at night, she'll scold me."

"You can't hide it forever; she'll find out eventually."

Wang Heizi frowned, reluctant, "But..."

"What if the shepherd from Willow Brigade took the sheep unintentionally? What if it wasn't an accident?"

Wang Heizi's voice rose: "Are you saying they stole the sheep...?"

Zhai Hongyi covered his mouth: "Keep it down. I'm just saying it's possible. This isn't our territory, and it's better to have someone from the village with us."

Wang Heizi had mentioned that his family and his aunt's family were close and often visited each other, which is why he knew Willow Brigade well.

Though Wang Heizi felt it unnecessary—no one would dare steal public property—he followed Zhai Hongyi's advice and went to his aunt's house first.

There was still activity at his aunt's house. When he called out from outside the courtyard gate, his aunt came to open it shortly after.

"Heizi, why did you come over so late?"

She glanced behind Wang Heizi but saw no one else.

Her face turned pale as she thought of something.

"Your mother... she didn't...?"

Wang Heizi hurriedly explained: "Aunt, my mother is fine. I'm here to look for the sheep."

"Look for the sheep?"

In a few words, Wang Heizi recounted the whole story, emphasizing that he had lost the sheep and was worried about being scolded, so he brought friends along to help find them.

His aunt was furious and pulled him over, giving him several slaps on the backside.

"I'll teach you to run around! You're getting bold, running around at night! Are you trying to feed yourself to the wolves?"

Wang Heizi jumped and cried out, "I'm not alone. There's a knowledgeable youth with me. He's so skilled that even all my cousins together can't match him. Look, I'm fine now."

His aunt soon stopped; she was just making a point, not wanting to hurt him seriously.

Losing the sheep was a big deal, so his aunt called her husband, and they led Wang Heizi and the others to the sheep pen.

Someone was always guarding the sheep pen to prevent theft by people or wild animals at night.

Willow Brigade had more people than Rongshan Brigade and thus more sheep.

As they approached, dogs started barking, and an old man emerged with a flashlight.

"Who's there? Don't move! What are you doing here so late?"

Uncle Lu spoke up: "Uncle Zhao, it's me, Lu Xiangqian. Haven't you gone to bed yet?"

Uncle Zhao shone the flashlight on Uncle Lu's face, confirmed his identity, and then turned it off.

"What brings you here so late?"

Lu Xiangqian briefly explained the situation, "The sheep went missing, and the kids are worried, so we came over late."

Uncle Zhao looked at the three children and the tall man beside them under the moonlight.

"You must be mistaken; the sheep aren't in our village."

Tang Qingqing was certain: "That's impossible. Our two missing sheep followed your brigade's sheep into the village."

"The shepherds count the sheep when they return. I confirm the numbers before letting them go."

If the sheep herder returned with fewer sheep, and if they couldn't figure out how to get the sheep into the pen, it would be hard to explain later. Such things have happened before.

Zhai Hongyi: "Can we go in and take a look? We've chased them all the way here; it's not easy. Not seeing them would leave us unsatisfied."

Old Man Zhao sized him up. Even under the dim moonlight, he could tell that this person wasn't from the village. His accent was different from the locals, suggesting he was likely an educated youth from the city.

Old Man Zhao stepped aside, allowing them into the sheep pen.

"You can look if you want. I've been guarding this sheep pen for years. I can tell at a glance if any of the sheep belong to another brigade."

Wang Caoer and Tang Qingqing entered the sheep pen, checking each sheep one by one, but they didn't find the missing ones.

Wang Caoer's face turned pale as she clutched Tang Qingqing's sleeve:

"Qingqing, there aren't any."

"I told you before, I not only remember the numbers, but I also remember what each sheep looks like." Old Man Zhao pointed to his head. "I may be old, but my mind is still sharp."

Tang Qingqing pursed her lips and thanked Old Man Zhao: "Thank you for your trouble tonight."

As they walked out of the sheep pen, Wang Heizi ran up: "Didn't find them?"

Tang Qingqing shook her head.

"So you made a mistake? I thought you were amazing."

Wang Heizi felt disappointed. Earlier, he had thought Tang Qingqing was impressive, but now he realized she was just putting on a show.

Zhai Hongyi grabbed Wang Heizi by the collar and threw him back. Seeing Zhai Hongyi's grim expression, Wang Heizi didn't dare say anything more.

Wang Caoer, eyes red, suppressed her fear and guilt, and said to Tang Qingqing:

"Qingqing, you've done your best. This is all my fault. I'm grateful for everything you've done to help me. It's hard to find lost sheep; finding them is rare."

Tang Qingqing frowned, then without a word, ran off.

Wang Heizi: "Hey, don't run! We don't blame you!"

Zhai Hongyi and Wang Caoer followed her, while Wang Heizi tried to step forward but was pulled back by his aunt.

"Aunt, let me go."

"Behave yourself! Running out at night without telling anyone, you must be tired of living."

Although Aunt didn't allow Wang Heizi to follow Tang Qingqing, she asked her husband to check on them, ensuring they weren't still wandering outside. She then took Wang Heizi home.

Tang Qingqing ran back to where she last saw the hoof prints, turned on her flashlight, and squatted down to examine the ground carefully.

Zhai Hongyi stopped a few meters away and held back Lu Xiangqian who had followed.

"Let's not get too close so we don't interfere with her work."

Lu Xiangqian was surprised. He had assumed Zhai Hongyi was leading the search, but it turned out to be Tang Qingqing, a young girl.

After watching for a while, he found it even stranger. What was she doing?

Zhai Hongyi took out a pack of cigarettes and offered them to him, "Uncle, thank you for your trouble tonight. Have a smoke."

Lu Xiangqian didn't recognize the brand, but he could tell it wasn't cheap.

He quickly refused, "What are you doing, kid? Put it away."

Initially, Lu Xiangqian was intimidated by Zhai Hongyi's height, but upon closer inspection, he realized Zhai was actually quite young. Despite his youth, he handled things maturely, truly deserving of being from the city, where minds are sharper than those in the village.

Zhai Hongyi didn't take the cigarettes back but instead took out a few and handed them over.

"Uncle, I know you're not used to these filtered cigarettes, but consider it a treat. I don't smoke, so they'd go to waste with me."

Without waiting for Lu Xiangqian's consent, Zhai placed two cigarettes behind his ears and handed him one.

"You're too polite..."

In the end, Lu Xiangqian accepted the cigarettes. After receiving the gift, he didn't say anything about Tang Qingqing's actions, and stood guard with Zhai Hongyi.

Tang Qingqing continued to follow the hoof prints, this time with greater focus and care.

Her efforts paid off as she meticulously examined the ground and eventually found the hoof prints of the two sheep in the willow grove at the village entrance.

This was not the usual path the sheep herders took to return the sheep to the pen; it was in the opposite direction.

Zhai Hongyi, who had been watching her closely, approached.

"Did you find something?"

Tang Qingqing was completely absorbed in her task, oblivious to the sounds around her. She half-squatted, her gaze fixed on the ground, silently moving in one direction.

She suddenly stopped, straightened a bent stem of grass, and examined it closely from all angles.

Lu Xiangqian, standing nearby with numb legs, couldn't help but ask, "What's she looking at?"

Zhai Hongyi didn't explain, saying only, "You'll see soon."

Tang Qingqing stood up, dusted off the dirt on her hands, and asked Lu Xiangqian:

"Uncle, how many sheep herders does your brigade have? Is there a young man around twenty, taller than you by about half a head, who walks with a lot of shoulder movement?"

Lu Xiangqian shook his head: "Our village has four sheep herders, either old or young, no young men."

Tang Qingqing furrowed her brows.

Lu Xiangqian continued, "But sometimes when they have other matters, they'll ask their family members to help with the sheep. Old Sun from Group Three hasn't been feeling well lately, so he often has his children or grandchildren take care of the sheep instead.

He's in his twenties, taller than me by half a head, and walks with a swagger. I think it's his youngest son, Sun Laifu."

After Lu Xiangqian finished speaking, he found it strange. "How did you know about him?"

Tang Qingqing pointed to the ground. "I figured it out from the footprints."

Lu Xiangqian stared at her, thinking she was talking nonsense in the middle of the night.

Tang Qingqing didn’t explain further and asked, "Uncle, does this Sun Laifu usually like to take small advantages?"

Hearing Tang Qingqing say this, Lu Xiangqian was even more surprised.

"How did you know?"

Sun Laifu was a well-known figure in their willow brigade, someone ordinary families warned their children to stay away from.

Old Sun was a decent person, but he spoiled his late-life son too much, which had ruined the child.

Sun Laifu was lazy and gluttonous; as a grown man, he could only earn four or five work points a day, and often ended up with zero.

He also liked hanging around the commune with a group of troublemakers, claiming he was building connections that would get him a job in the commune’s factory.

But now, in his twenties, there was no sign of any such job, and he had spent quite a bit of the family's money.

Saying he likes to take small advantages is an understatement.

Sun Laifu had sticky fingers and often stole chickens and dogs.

However, he had been behaving better recently, though he still liked to slack off, he at least helped with some work.

Everyone thought it was because Old Sun was sick, and Sun Laifu had finally seen the light and turned over a new leaf.

Tang Qingqing was very perceptive. Seeing Lu Xiangqian's expression, she knew what he was thinking and became even more certain of her suspicions.

She didn’t say anything else, squatted down again, and followed the footprints in one direction.

After walking for about half an hour, Lu Xiangqian stopped her.

"You can't go forward anymore."

Tang Qingqing looked up at him. "Why not?"

A gust of wind blew past, making Lu Xiangqian shiver.

"Don't you feel how eerie it is here? A few steps ahead is our village's graveyard."