sinovels Chapter 1688 Zhao Youcai's Pretense and the Disappearance of the Crippled Hu
Chapter 1688 Zhao Youcai's Pretense and the Disappearance of the Crippled Hu
Chapter 1688 Zhao Youcai's Pretense and the Disappearance of the Crippled Hu
The young couple worked until after 11 p.m. before finally falling into a deep sleep.
The next morning, just after five o'clock, Zhao Jun vaguely felt someone move beside him.
"Honey, why are you up so early?" Zhao Jun asked without even opening his eyes. Ma Ling, while getting dressed, whispered, "You go back to sleep, I'm going to feed the dog."
"What a day!" Zhao Jun turned over and went to sleep.
As Ma Ling walked through the corridor, she saw Wang Meilan washing rice in front of the stove.
"Oh, my dear, you're up!" As Wang Meilan spoke to Ma Ling, Ma Ling chimed in at the same time, "Mom, cooking?"
The mother and daughter then exchanged greetings. Wang Meilan continued washing the rice, while Ma Ling went to a corner to wash up.
After washing up, Ma Ling went up to Wang Meilan and asked, "Mom, is there anything I can help you with?"
"I don't need you, go upstairs and rest," Wang Meilan said, but Ma Ling laughed and said, "Mom, if you don't need me, I'll go feed the dog."
"Huh?" Wang Meilan was taken aback by his words and asked in surprise, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to put the dog food in the pan," Ma Ling said, picking up the dog food from beside the stove and walking outside.
Seeing Ma Ling leave, Wang Meilan put down the kitchen knife and rushed to the west hut.
Zhao Youcai, who got up with Wang Meilan in the morning, went out to use the outhouse, and when he came back, he went into the west hut and sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) to pet the little lynx, the little black bear, and the little black fat dog.
In the morning, as the stove was lit, the heated walls of the house became warm, and the room was cozy. Zhao Youcai, wearing a tank top, lay on the mattress and felt very comfortable.
When Wang Meilan came in, she saw one person and three animals lying sprawled on the kang (a heated brick bed), all fast asleep.
It's clear that this home provides the lynx and black bear cubs with a strong sense of security. When Wang Meilan opened the door and came in, neither of them opened their eyes.
Zhao Youcai was still asleep, and was snoring softly.
"Slap!" Wang Meilan slapped Zhao Youcai on the shoulder, jolting him awake. The little lynx, the little black bear, and the little fat black bear all opened their eyes at the same time. After glancing at Wang Meilan, the little lynx closed its eyes again, while the little black bear and the little fat black bear got up and waddled toward Wang Meilan.
"What are you doing?" It was Zhao Youcai who spoke. When he asked her what she was doing, Wang Meilan rolled her eyes at him, then pointed to the back window and asked, "Why aren't you feeding the food? Why are you letting your daughter do it?"
"What's wrong with letting her do it?" Zhao Youcai said matter-of-factly. "Do you see any daughter-in-law who doesn't do chores?"
His question stumped Wang Meilan.
Seeing that Wang Meilan remained silent, Zhao Youcai tugged at her eyelids and said irritably, "Look at you and your son, always calling her 'bastard,' you two would be happy if I did it instead of her?"
"Keep your voice down!" Wang Meilan stopped arguing about making Ma Ling do the work, and instead slapped Zhao Youcai on the shoulder again, saying, "What are you making so much noise about? Our son is sleeping!"
Zhao Youcai curled his lip, glaring at Wang Meilan with his small eyes, but also lowered his voice and said, "You've been spoiling me for a day now, haven't you? What time is it already...?"
"What time?" Wang Meilan asked. "Then how will you sleep?"
After saying that, Wang Meilan glared at Zhao Youcai, then turned and left.
Watching Wang Meilan's retreating figure, Zhao Youcai's lips trembled slightly. The moment Wang Meilan left the house and closed the door, Zhao Youcai finally spoke, saying, "What a spendthrift woman!"
Ma Ling was more considerate than Zhao Youcai. When she worked in the backyard, she made almost no noise, handling buckets and pot lids gently. She worked hard, but Zhao Jun, who was sleeping inside, was not affected at all.
"Aww! Aww!" When the potatoes boiled twice and emitted a fragrant aroma, Black Tiger, who was sitting in the corner of the room, could no longer resist.
Black Tiger's roar woke Zhao Jun, who was inside the house. It was just getting light outside. Zhao Jun took out his watch from under his pillow, looked at it closely, and saw that it was a little after 5:40. He then got out of bed.
Zhao Jun put on his clothes, folded his blanket, and got out of bed. As he walked along the corridor, he ran into Zhao Youcai coming out of the west hut.
"Dad, why aren't you feeding the dog?" Zhao Jun asked Zhao Youcai. It wasn't that he had neglected his parents after getting married, nor was it that his wife couldn't do chores. Rather, Zhao Jun believed that if you wanted us to do chores, you should just say so.
You said we'd definitely do it, but you can't just fool us! It's like you're making my wife sound like a complete idiot.
"What's wrong?" To Zhao Jun's surprise, his question offended Zhao Youcai. Zhao Youcai's small eyes widened, and he said to Zhao Jun, "Can't your wife do housework?"
Zhao Jun was taken aback, and then heard Zhao Youcai continue, "Damn it, your mother just asked me once, and you're asking me again?"
As Zhao Youcai spoke, he became more and more agitated. He raised his arm and pointed to the outer room, saying, "Your mother is a pampered young lady. Even after marrying into my family, she still has to do chores. What about her?"
"That's enough!" Wang Meilan's voice came from the outer room, "Stop going on and on!"
Upon hearing Wang Meilan's words, Zhao Youcai immediately fell silent. But before leaving, he glared fiercely at Zhao Jun.
Zhao Youcai was in front, and Zhao Jun was behind. The father and son had just reached the outer room when the door opened and Ma Ling appeared in the doorway. She saw Zhao Youcai coming over and said, "Dad, there's no salt in that jar outside."
"Damn it, quickly put down two big bowls and fill them with salt for your daughter-in-law." Zhao Youcai shouted to Wang Lan. In front of his daughter-in-law, Wang Lan gave him face and immediately put down what she was doing to fill the bowls with salt.
These days, the guard dogs and hunting dogs kept in the countryside aren't as well-cared for as pet dogs in the future; they can't eat salt or drink milk.
The dog food I put in is just potatoes and cornmeal; it's tasteless and the dog doesn't like it. If I add a little salt, the dog will eat it.
While Wang Meilan was filling the salt container, Zhao Youcai smiled at Ma Ling and said, "Dad looked out the back window and saw that my daughter was doing a pretty good job, so I didn't go out to help you."
Upon hearing Zhao Youcai's words, Zhao Jun, who was about to wash his face, and Wang Meilan, who was holding salt, both stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Zhao Youcai.
Neither of these two women said that Ma Ling shouldn't do any work. The key is, stop being so hypocritical!
"Dad, I can do it." Ma Ling smiled after being recognized by her father-in-law and said with great enthusiasm, "It's just shoveling some dog food. From now on, Dad, you don't need to worry about this. I'll do it all!"
"Oh dear, look at this!" Zhao Youcai gestured to Wang Meilan, who was carrying the salt, and said, "I'll have to keep an eye on my in-laws later. I have to thank them profusely! Such a fine girl, given to our family, hahaha..."
Zhao Youcai laughed, and Ma Ling laughed along with him. Zhao Youcai's small eyes narrowed into slits when he laughed, and so did Ma Ling's big eyes.
Speechless, Wang Meilan didn't know how to respond, so she could only try to make conversation by asking Ma Ling, "My dear girl, aren't you cold wearing this outside all morning?"
"It's not cold, Mom, I'm wearing a padded jacket." As Ma Ling spoke, she took the bowl of salt from Wang Meilan and said, "Dad, Mom, I'm going out now, or the pot will burn."
After saying that, Ma Ling picked up the bowl and went out the door.
Wang Meilan glared at Zhao Youcai before going back to chopping vegetables, while Zhao Youcai walked with his hands behind his back to the east hut, intending to watch TV for a while.
To be honest, Zhao Youcai has been living a really good life lately. The wound on his back has formed a thick scab, and once the scab falls off, he'll be completely fine.
He doesn't need to go to work. He has a group of people cooking and cleaning the house every day. He can eat well, drink well, smoke good cigarettes, and drink good wine. His life is even more comfortable than that of the farm manager.
There are only four dogs at home now, so Ma Ling's burden isn't too heavy. After she finished feeding the dogs and washing the pots, she walked to the front yard and ran into Xing San, who had come over for a free meal.
"Third Uncle." Ma Ling greeted Xing San warmly. Xing San smiled kindly and asked, "What are you doing, girl?"
You could tell from Xing Sanru's warm and gentle tone that he valued Ma Ling highly.
"Just finished feeding the dog, Uncle San." Ma Ling said, pulling open the door and standing aside to invite Xing San to come in first.
Xing San entered the house, greeted Wang Meilan and Zhao Jun, and then said, "I just went out for a walk and saw that the Xu family and the Song family have already set up tents and put the coffins inside."
"Yeah," Zhao Jun replied, "They should have brought him back yesterday afternoon."
Xu Changming and Song Laowai also died violent deaths, and their coffins could only be left outside the village.
"Xu Guangyi is alright." At this moment, Xing San nodded and said, "He also sent some to his uncles and brothers."
Hearing Xing San say this, Wang Meilan said to Zhao Jun, "Son, Mom will get you some money. Are you coming over in a bit?"
"Yes, Mom, wait until after dinner." Zhao Jun said, "I've already given them the money, and they always manage to burn a few more reams of paper money for that Master Xu."
The money Zhao Jun mentioned was two-fifths of the two bear gallbladders from Qing Shi La Zi.
Actually, he didn't give the money to the Xu family, and the Xu family didn't even know. But Zhao Jun believed that one shouldn't act that way. Money is a good thing, but if it's not money obtained through legitimate means, then it shouldn't be spent wisely.
As the old saying goes in the countryside: drinking cold water and spending dirty money will make you sick.
No one in the family disagreed with Zhao Jun's choice, and Ma Ling even developed a greater admiration for him because of it.
After the family had eaten and drunk their fill, Wang Meilan handed Zhao Jun a newspaper package containing 1,200 yuan.
Zhao Jun didn't rush to leave after receiving the money. Today, the train cars were going to Yong'an, and the workers under the Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce were going to the yard. A lot of things were waiting for Zhao Jun to take charge.
After waiting for five minutes, Zhao Jun did not receive a call from Zhang Yuanmin, Li Baoyu, or the others, but instead received a call from Chen Weiyi.
"Team Leader Zhao, where did Hu Desheng go after he left your house yesterday?" Chen Weiyi's question left Zhao Jun speechless.
Zhao Jun realized that the Hu Desheng Chen Weiyi mentioned must be Hu the Cripple. But where did Hu Desheng go? Shouldn't you be the ones investigating?
"He's not home?" Zhao Jun asked. Chen Weiyi replied, "We went to his house in Yushugou, and his wife said he hadn't come back."
"Haven't you gone back yet?" Zhao Jun asked again. Chen Weiyi answered straightforwardly, "No, I asked their village secretary and his neighbors, and they all said they haven't seen him since after the New Year."
"Did he go back to the shack?" Zhao Jun pressed, but Chen Weiyi replied, "Team Leader Zhao, do you know where his shack is?"
Zhao Jun sighed silently, then turned and called to Xing San, "Uncle San, have you been to Hu the Cripple's shack?"
“I’ve never been there,” Xing San said. “I’ve only seen him in the mountains, but I’ve never been to his shack.”
"Who knows where his shack is?" Zhao Jun asked another question, and Xing San replied, "Qin Dajiang knows."
Zhao Jun's lips twitched, and Xing San, realizing something was amiss after speaking, quickly muttered, "Who else knows? Let me think?"
"Don't worry about it, Uncle San," Zhao Jun reassured Xing San, then said to the person on the other end of the phone, "Director Chen, wait for my call and see if I can find someone for you."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Team Leader Zhao." Chen Weiyi thanked Zhao Jun, who smiled wryly and said, "It's nothing, Director Chen, it's all for the sake of the work."
Zhao Jun hung up the phone and had just come out of the small house in the east when Li Dayong and his family came in.
"Baoyu!" Zhao Jun called to Li Baoyu, "Hurry up and drive to Liu Hanshan's house to see if he's home. If he is, bring him here."
Li Baoyu agreed and turned to leave. Zhao Jun then said to Li Dayong, "Uncle, Liu Hanshan will be here soon. Take him to his workplace. After that, go to the security team and see if Liu Jinyong is there. Ask Liu Jinyong to take him to the local police station. If there's anything there, ask him for help. If Liu Jinyong isn't there, go directly to Director Yan."
"Brother!" Zhao Jun had barely finished speaking when Li Ruhai asked, "Are you looking for Hu the Cripple's shack?"
This kid is definitely smart enough. He remembered what Sun Wenjing said yesterday that Liu Hanshan had been to Hu the Cripple's shack, and guessed why Zhao Jun sent Liu Hanshan to the local police station.
"Yeah," Zhao Jun replied, "Hu the Cripple has never gone home."
"Damn it!" Upon hearing Zhao Jun's words, Li Dayong realized that something was wrong.
"Dad." At this moment, Zhao Jun turned around, stretched out his hand to Zhao Youcai, and said, "Get me a box of Shilin tea."
"What are you doing?" Zhao Youcai asked. Zhao Jun replied, "I arranged for Liu Hanshan to go. I can't let him make a wasted trip."
At the convenience store, a box of Shilin tea costs five yuan retail. If you buy it in strips, it comes down to four and a half yuan.
If Liu Hanshan took a pack of Shilin cigarettes to Wang Fu's shop, he could get four yuan in return.
In front of so many people, Zhao Youcai didn't argue with Zhao Jun, but he also reluctantly went back to his room.
Just then, a car horn sounded outside, and Zhao Youcai came out of the east wing. After Zhao Jun took the Shilin cigarettes from him, he said to Zhao Youcai, "Dad, come with me to pick someone up."
"Okay!" Zhao Youcai agreed and followed Zhao Jun out of the house to welcome Liu Hanshan inside.
Liu Hanshan, who had just sat down in the house, was a little uneasy. Zhao Jun, being cautious, did not say that he suspected Hu the Cripple was related to the murder case. He only said that Hu the Cripple might be the next victim, so he asked Liu Hanshan to take the stationed police station to check it out.
At first, Liu Hanshan looked hesitant, but when Zhao Jun stuffed the Shilin cigarettes into his hand, Liu Hanshan immediately smiled.
It's not that Liu Hanshan is mercenary; his family was already struggling financially. Even if he didn't earn any money at home, doing something like chopping firewood or repairing a tent was better than running around aimlessly in the mountains with others.
After Liu Hanshan agreed, Zhao Jun picked up the phone and asked to go to the local police station.
“Chief Chen, I’ll send someone up there for you in a bit. He knows where that shack is. Have him lead you there.” After saying this, Zhao Jun added to Chen Weiyi, “Chief Chen, this is my uncle. After he’s done his business with you, you must bring him back to me. Don’t let him walk back on his own.”
After Chen Weiyi's reply, Zhao Jun hung up the phone. At that moment, the sound of a train whistle came down from the mountain. Li Dayong led Liu Hanshan outside, and Zhao Jun, Zhao Youcai, and others saw them off out of the courtyard.
Just after seeing the two people off, the Jie family of four, along with the old lady and Li Tongyun, arrived together.
Normally, Jin Xiaomei should have sent Li Ruhai to pick up Li Tongyun, but Li Ruhai was afraid of getting beaten up, so last night he said he had diarrhea this morning and couldn't go.
"Brother Jie, Xiao Chen, let's go." Zhao Jun called to Jie Zhong and Jie Chen, and then he, Li Baoyu, and Li Ruhai got into a jeep, while Jie Zhong and Jie Chen got into a Jiefang truck. The five people in the two vehicles headed straight for Xishantun.
(End of this chapter)