Chapter 52: Makes Us Seem Sociable
Lin Jianshan hurriedly ran to the Yuan Family to tell the family members about this matter.
Upon hearing that Tie Dan was missing, Liu Shi, who had just woken up, suddenly became not weak at all as if experiencing a last burst of energy, hurriedly pulling her two daughters-in-law to go out and look for the child, not even caring about her own husband.
Village Chief Lin was also anxious, ignoring Yuan Musheng’s dissuasion, he hung his injured arm and ran out to look for people.
Although Rong Niangzi didn’t like the Lin Family people, upon hearing that the child was missing, she still put down the work in her hands, instructed her own two children to watch Yuan Musheng, and ran out to help look for people.
News in the village spread quickly. Upon hearing that Tie Dan was lost, each family sent people out to help look for the child. For a moment, the village was filled with voices shouting “Tie Dan.”
“Tie Dan! Come home for dinner!”
“Tie Dan, come out quickly, your dad won’t beat you!”
“Tie Dan!! If you hear this, respond quickly!”
“Tie Dan!!!”
Shi Tou helped shout a few times, and seeing that they still couldn’t find him, he hurriedly ran back to tell the family members about this matter.
“Sis, let’s help look too.” Shi Tou disliked the Lin Family people, but adults’ matters had nothing to do with children. Many of those openings in the ground hadn’t been filled yet, and he worried that Tie Dan might have rolled into one.
“No need to look.” Shang Wan glanced at the distant mountain forest. “Tie Dan is in the wolf den, with Xiao Hui guarding him.”
Shi Tou was astonished. “How could Tie Dan be in the wolf den?”
After asking, he felt something was off and pressed, “Sis, how do you know?”
“The Lin Family deliberately led the villagers under the old elm tree, using the quarrel to delay time, making it convenient for Tie Dan to come to our house to bury the silver.”
Shang Wan looked at Shi Tou and told him the whole story exactly as it happened.
“If not for Xiao Hui, what Lin Jianshan dug up from the field would have been the silver, and we would have become thieves who stole the silver. Lin Jianshan has your brother-in-law’s jade pendant in hand. This black pot would definitely fall on his head in the end. At that time, with the xiucai official rank gone, and your brother-in-law having crippled hands and feet, if he got into a dead end and took an extreme step, what do you think would happen?”
“He would, he would…” Shi Tou opened and closed his mouth several times before spitting out the latter words. “Commit suicide.”
Shang Wan didn’t think Lu Chengjing would commit suicide. Even if he really did, he would probably drag a few people down with him.
Shi Tou angrily clenched his fists. “Brother-in-law has no grudge against the Lin Family. Why would they want to harm brother-in-law’s life?”
“Use your brain.” Shang Wan raised her hand and patted Shi Tou’s forehead. “Think carefully. Is it really the Lin Family who wants to harm your brother-in-law?”
This pat hurt quite a bit, and Shi Tou’s forehead turned red. While rubbing it, he thought, and suddenly realized the key point. “Why is brother-in-law’s jade pendant at the Lin Family?”
Lu Chengjing’s jade pendant had disappeared without a trace in prison. If it was for money, it might have been taken by the constables, but now the jade pendant appeared at the Lin Family as evidence to frame Lu Chengjing. Clearly, the person who took the jade pendant wasn’t after money. But who had the ability to reach into the prison?
The person behind the scenes went to such great lengths to deal with Lu Chengjing, obviously having a grudge against him. But in Shi Tou’s memory, although Lu Chengjing’s temperament was a bit cold, he handled things with propriety and had never made enemies with anyone.
Shi Tou scratched his head until it was messed up but couldn’t figure out who was targeting Lu Chengjing behind the scenes, so he looked to Shang Wan for help. “Sis, I really can’t think of it. Just tell me directly who it is.”
“If I knew, why would I need you to think?” Shang Wan shrugged, her tone perfectly righteous.
Shi Tou: “…”
Wait, wasn’t his sis testing him? Why didn’t his sis know either? Was she teasing him?
Shi Tou’s dazed little expression once again pleased Shang Wan. She patted the young man’s shoulder. “Remember to use your brain. You couldn’t think of it this time, keep trying next time.”
Shi Tou: Don’t let there be a next time for this kind of thing!
He shook his head, pulling the topic back. “Sis, every family in the village has sent people to help look. Let’s shout a couple times too, to seem like we fit in.”
“No rush. Didn’t you just help look?” Shang Wan stretched. “You go help Xiao Huan set the bowls and chopsticks. I’ll finish moving the rest of the wood and come.”
“Okay.”
Xiao Huan made four dishes and one soup. The rice was steamed mixed with sweet potatoes, and it had the sweet aroma of sweet potatoes when eaten.
Shang Wan picked out the sweet potatoes, let them cool, and fed them to the little one waiting eagerly with big eyes.
Little Friend Yuan Yuan liked the sweet taste of sweet potatoes and wouldn’t even eat the steamed egg custard, just eating sweet potatoes.
“The rice and flour at home are almost gone, right?”
Hearing Shang Wan ask, Xiao Huan swallowed the meal in her mouth before saying, “Enough for two more meals, sis. Should we buy in the village or go to the county town?”
“Go to the county town, and check out the situation there while we’re at it.”
As Shang Wan spoke, she picked up a chopstick of stir-fried pork slices into Lu Chengjing’s bowl.
“Many houses in the village were damaged by the disaster. The matter of repairing houses should fall on the Zhang Family’s head. The Zhang Family definitely won’t be able to handle it all. We can’t delay building our new house either. I’m thinking of going to the city to find bricklayers. If the wages are right, we’ll hire them to come back and build our new house.”
Shi Tou couldn’t help muttering, “Sis, we haven’t gathered enough silver yet. Isn’t it too early to think about building the new house now?”
Shang Wan didn’t mind. “Won’t it be enough once the Lin Family sends the silver?”
“That’s only eighty taels.”
Xiao Huan reminded Shi Tou, “There’s also the Chen Family’s fifty taels. Adds up to a total of one hundred thirty taels.”
“No, it’s one hundred sixty taels.” Shang Wan corrected. Since the Lin Family planned to bury the silver on her land, don’t blame her for happily accepting it.
Xiao Huan didn’t yet know about Tie Dan planning to bury the silver at their house to frame them. Shi Tou simply explained it to her, and she got so angry she kept cursing the Lin Family for teaching the child badly.
After Lu Chengjing finished the food in his bowl and put down his chopsticks, he calmly added, “It’s two hundred taels. The jade pendant sent to the pawn shop can pawn for at least forty taels.”
The four exchanged glances. Shi Tou was the first who couldn’t hold back and laughed showing his millet teeth. Xiao Huan happily clutched her chest. Shang Wan was amused by the two’s exaggerated looks, and Lu Chengjing’s lip corners also curved up.
Little Friend Yuan Yuan, focused on eating sweet potatoes, smacked her little mouth. Although she didn’t understand what everyone was laughing about, it didn’t stop her from baring her two millet teeth to join in.
While this family happily envisioned their future blissful life, the Lin Family over there was shrouded in dark clouds, their throats hoarse from shouting to look for people.
“Big Brother, what exactly did you have Tie Dan go do? At this point, just don’t hide it anymore!” Lin Jianshui knew Lin Jianshan had told Tie Dan to handle affairs, but he didn’t know the specifics.
Lin Jianshan looked at his old man. Village Chief Lin’s face looked very bad, partly anxious because his grandson was missing, and partly because the arm injury really hurt.
“Dad, could Tie Dan be…”
“We’ll talk when we get back.” Village Chief Lin interrupted his eldest son’s words, glanced at the villagers still helping to look around, and lowered his voice. “This isn’t the place to talk.”
Liu Shi anxiously said, “Boss, Tie Dan hasn’t been found yet. We can’t go back!”
“Yeah, Dad.” Zhou Shi chimed in. “Whatever it is, can’t it wait until we find Tie Dan?”
Normally, Zhou Shi wouldn’t dare oppose Village Chief Lin like this, but now with her son missing, in her anxiety she couldn’t care about much. She was afraid Tie Dan would meet with misfortune and die young like Big Girl, which would be no different from digging out her heart.
Village Chief Lin glared at the two. “Both of you shut up. Second son’s wife, you stay to keep looking. Everyone else come back with me.
