Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Are you mistaken? You can't say things like that lightly."

The team leader glared at Wang Heizi, exuding an oppressive presence.

It was as if he was saying, "If you dare lie, I'll beat you to a pulp."

Wang Heizi was getting angry: "Grandpa, you really don’t trust me. I may be playful sometimes, but I know what’s important."

"How did you find out about this?"

"I stumbled upon them earlier. I had to go herd sheep outside the village and saw them together. When I saw Sister Chuanfang crying, I thought Cao Zhigao was bullying her, so I hit him on the head with a rock."

If Tang Chuanfang hadn’t stopped him in time, Wang Heizi would have beaten Cao Zhigao half to death.

It wasn’t his fault for misunderstanding; their brigade didn’t have a good impression of people from Caojiazhuang. Seeing such a scene, he naturally jumped to conclusions.

At first, Wang Heizi didn’t believe it, thinking Cao Zhigao must have threatened Tang Chuanfang.

Tang Chuanfang explained for a while before Wang Heizi reluctantly believed her.

The team leader frowned: "How did they get to know each other? Chuanfang isn’t that kind of person."

A man and a woman meeting secretly outside; if anyone found out, their reputations would be ruined.

Tang Chuanfang is a quiet and hardworking person who doesn’t talk much. It’s hard to imagine her doing something like this.

Moreover, the two brigades don’t get along well and rarely interact. How did they end up together?

"Sister Chuanfang said she fell while chopping wood on the mountain and happened to meet Cao Zhigao passing by. If not for Cao Zhigao saving her, she would have frozen to death on the mountain."

Wang Heizi got angry when he mentioned this: "Sister Chuanfang’s brother and sister-in-law are heartless. They sent her out to chop wood in the middle of winter.

Everyone prepares firewood before winter, but they’re the laziest. They didn’t prepare enough and made a young girl go chop wood in the cold, or else they couldn’t even heat their beds."

In Tang Chuanfang’s family, her brother and sister-in-law were in charge. Her father had been bedridden for years due to illness, and her mother was too weak to handle matters. So everything was decided by her brother and sister-in-law.

Tang Chuanfang’s sister-in-law was known in the village for being fierce. She was very strong-willed even before marriage, and no one wanted to marry her.

Tang Chuanfang’s brother only married her because he couldn’t find anyone else.

The reason Tang Chuanfang fell while chopping wood was because she was hungry from lack of food.

Cao Zhigao had just returned from the commune and had some food with him, so he gave her some malt sugar.

Tang Chuanfang was grateful and didn’t want to take advantage of him, so she insisted on repaying him.

Cao Zhigao refused, but Tang Chuanfang persisted.

Over time, they became familiar with each other and developed feelings.

"I often helped them pass things," Wang Heizi said proudly.

The team leader couldn’t help but hit Wang Heizi on the head: "Why do you meddle so much!"

If this got out, Wang Heizi wouldn’t escape punishment.

"The Chairman said we should help others!"

The team leader believed him and stuffed his pipe with tobacco, pondering how to explain this situation.

If he told everyone Cao Zhigao came to their village to see Tang Chuanfang, she would lose all face.

Tang Chuanfang was already engaged and preparing for marriage, but not to Cao Zhigao.

The team leader: "What is Cao Zhigao thinking! Tang Chuanfang is about to get married, yet he sneaks around our brigade. This is causing trouble."

Wang Heizi pouted: "If Sister Chuanfang has to marry someone like that, Cao Zhigao would be a coward if he didn’t do anything. If it were me, I’d just take Sister Chuanfang away."

Tang Chuanfang is only eighteen, in the prime of her life, but her brother and sister-in-law want to marry her off to a forty-year-old bachelor.

This bachelor is said to be mentally unstable and often attacks people for no reason. No decent family would marry their daughter or sister to him.

But Tang Chuanfang’s brother and sister-in-law were set on the fifty-yuan dowry and insisted on marrying her off.

Some kind-hearted villagers tried to persuade them, saying this would ruin Tang Chuanfang’s life.

However, her sister-in-law said they could stop the marriage if they paid the fifty-yuan dowry themselves, otherwise, they should stay out of it.

Their family situation was dire; her father-in-law was ill and needed constant medication, and her mother-in-law was also in poor health, unable to earn much.

Without relying on the dowry money from their daughter, how could they survive?

This was a family matter, and others couldn’t interfere much, but they felt sorry for Tang Chuanfang.

Cao Zhigao’s family didn’t have much money either and couldn’t afford such a high dowry, especially for a girl from Rongshan Brigade.

Given the longstanding feud between the two brigades, even if they had the money, they wouldn’t give it to Cao Zhigao for a wife. It would bring shame to their village.

The team leader hit Wang Heizi again.

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

Wang Heizi shook his leg, showing his usual demeanor. The team leader looked away, resisting the urge to hit him again.

Chief Zhang: "Is Tang Chuanfang still in the brigade?"

The team leader looked at the accountant, who had gone to the local police station in town before dawn and had no idea what happened afterward.

The accountant shook his head. "I don't know either. She should be there, though. There hasn't been any commotion from their family."

Chief Zhang nodded and made a note of it.

"Captain Wang, please stabilize the villagers first. The investigation isn't complete yet; we can't afford another incident. Your team has already suffered significant losses; we can't have anything else happen."

The team leader nodded in agreement. "Chief Zhang, even if this isn't related to Cao Zhigao, I still think it's connected to Caojiazhuang."

"I will investigate whether it's related or not. You must keep the villagers calm. The Public Security Bureau will also send people down to investigate. This matter will be thoroughly investigated."

Chief Zhang looked at Meng Changqing. "You need to go to Caojiazhuang later and specifically investigate Cao Zhigao's situation. Also, visit other villagers to see if you can find any clues."

Meng Changqing didn't dare delay and set off for Caojiazhuang on his bicycle, bumping along the road.

For Tang Chuanfang's reputation, Chief Zhang asked the team leader to secretly check if Tang Chuanfang was still in the team.

The team leader was very certain. "Chuanfang is a good girl. Even if she's unhappy with the marriage, she wouldn't run away with someone. In these times, without an introduction letter, where could they go?

If she ran back to Caojiazhuang, her family wouldn't let her get away with it. They would definitely bring her back."

Given the longstanding feud between the two teams, Tang Chuanfang's family could easily mobilize the team members to retrieve her.

Unexpectedly, reality proved them wrong—Tang Chuanfang was missing!

Upon hearing the news, Wang Heizi hurried back to the granary and told Tang Qingqing about it.

At that moment, Tang Qingqing was still squatting, observing the ground. She was already a couple of miles away from the granary, and Wang Heizi had circled several times before finding her.

As soon as he saw Tang Qingqing, he started talking rapidly about the incident.

"It's over, it's over. Could it really be Cao Zhigao? Did he burn down the granary just to elope with Sister Chuanfang?"

Wang Heizi paced anxiously, feeling furious if it were true.

And he had become an accomplice. If he hadn't kept passing messages and items, they wouldn't have gotten together, wouldn't have thought of eloping, and wouldn't have done such a despicable act to avoid being caught.

"How could someone do this? Truly, you can never judge a person by their appearance! I should have known that someone who steals a girl's heart can't be good!"

"If you're going to run away, why burn the granary? That's our entire team's food supply!"

"Tang Qingqing, don't you agree? Hey, why aren't you answering me?"

Wang Heizi poked her with his finger, and Tang Qingqing suddenly collapsed to the side in a twisted position.

Wang Heizi stared in disbelief at his index finger. Had he become so powerful that one poke could knock someone down?

Tang Qingqing was completely absorbed in her own world. As she tried to stand up, she felt dizzy and, before collapsing, managed to arch her body so her head hit the ground first, then fell to the side, avoiding damaging the footprints on the ground.

Seeing Tang Qingqing shaking and pale as a sheet, Wang Heizi rushed over.

"What's wrong with you?"

Tang Qingqing saw Wang Heizi almost step on the footprint beside her and glared fiercely, unable to even scold him.

Her lips trembled, and her forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Fortunately, Wang Heizi didn't step toward her but instead circled around to her back, lifted her up, and placed her on his back.

Wang Heizi tried to stand up but was weighed down by Tang Qingqing. After several attempts, he barely managed to lift her.

Though Tang Qingqing was very thin, Wang Heizi was also small and slight.

Carrying all her weight, he staggered back, shouting, "Help! Help! Is anyone here?"

Zhai Hongyi, who had just returned from town, heard the distant cries for help. He spat out the grass root in his mouth and ran toward the sound.

"What's going on?"

Wang Heizi carried Tang Qingqing, crying and struggling to walk back to the village, with her legs dragging on the ground.

Seeing Zhai Hongyi, Wang Heizi became even more emotional, wiping his nose and tears as he cried louder:

"Brother Yi, Tang Qingqing is dying. Waaah, I can barely carry her anymore, and I don't dare leave her here. Seeing you is such a relief. I didn't know what to do."

Zhai Hongyi quickly laid Tang Qingqing down and saw her pale face and cold sweat, but she was still conscious, her eyes moving.

"What happened to her?"

"I swear I didn't mean to. I just poked her lightly with my finger, and she fell to the side. Waaah, Brother Yi, did I kill her? I didn't know I was so strong. If I had known, I wouldn't have touched her."