Chapter 113

"Oh, okay, then let's eat a little, I'll call Hu Ge up."

"No need to call him, let him continue to sleep."

"How can that be." Tan Tan Wenbin didn't listen to the woman and still came to the bedside to shake Hu Yiwei, "Hu Ge, Hu Ge, wake up, it's time to eat."

Hu Yiwei patted unconsciously, muttering in his mouth and continuing to hold his arm to sleep.

"If you don't come, it will be cold." After Zeng Yinyin finished speaking, she turned and left.

Tan Tan Wenbin stretched out his right hand, slightly clenched his fist, learned Brother Yuanzi's way, and knocked three times on Hu Yiwei's forehead with his ring finger knuckle.

Sure enough... useless.

Hu Yiwei continued to sleep soundly.

Tan Tan Wenbin took out a clear-heart talisman from his pocket and "snap" stuck it on the other party's forehead.

The clear-heart talisman took effect.

Hu Yiwei slept even more soundly, not even talking in his sleep, only snoring like thunder.

"This..."

Tan Tan Wenbin took off the clear-heart talisman, took out the Li Zhuiyuan secret scroll lucky talisman, and stuck it.

The talisman paper didn't change color.

This meant that Hu Yiwei had long been out of the influence of evil spirits. He was now simply exhausted and couldn't get up.

And the effect of his clear-heart talisman earlier had deepened his sleep level instead.

No way, he really couldn't be woken up.

It was better to finish the following things first, and then find an excuse to go out to find Brother Xiaoyuan, and let Brother Xiaoyuan make the decision.

Tan Tan Wenbin took out toiletries from his mountaineering backpack. When walking out of the room door, he glanced at the welded well in the courtyard again.

He walked to the kitchen. The dining table was placed here, and the coffin was still there.

Zeng Yinyin was holding a basin of clothes in her hand, glanced at him, and said: "There is a water vat in the back, I'll take you there."

The water vat was behind the kitchen, with a wooden ladle on it.

When Tan Tan Wenbin was brushing his teeth, Zeng Yinyin was washing clothes on the side.

Her hands were very white, so white that there was almost no blood color.

And, Tan Tan Wenbin noticed that there were men's clothes being washed in the other party's basin.

But there were no men in this family at all.

He and Hu Yiwei came over last night, and only washed their feet before sleeping, without changing clothes.

After brushing his teeth, Tan Tan Wenbin took the ladle to wash his face, and then pretended to be casual and asked:

"Whose clothes, so big."

"My man's."

"You remarried?"

"No, these are his clothes from before. I plan to wash them clean and dry them, then give them to others. You city people don't understand how hard life in the countryside is."

"Oh, so that's it."

Tan Tan Wenbin knew that unless life was so poor that it couldn't go on, living people would still feel unlucky about the dead's supplies.

In the past, when he followed Grandpa Li to perform rituals, he often saw the host family pile up the clothes and personal items of the deceased before they died and burn them.

Although Min'an Town was a township in the mountains, life was far from being so embarrassed that the dead's clothes could be washed and given to others as a favor?

Or was it that what she was actually washing were the daily change of clothes for her man?

Although it was Hu Yiwei who was on her bed last night, the one who really did the work was not Hu Yiwei.

Zeng Yinyin was very efficient. After drying the clothes, she took a handkerchief to wipe her hands, and then signaled Tan Tan Wenbin to sit down, while she went to the stove to serve rice.

It was soup rice, yesterday's leftovers plus some vegetables, added water and boiled in a pot.

At present, this is a very popular breakfast form regardless of the region.

After all, most families are reluctant to buy buns, fried dough sticks, and soy milk in the store every morning to take home to eat.

Fearing that the amount of leftovers was not enough, noodles were also added inside.

When Zeng Yinyin turned to serve her own bowl, Tan Tan Wenbin deliberately turned his back to the coffin, took out the Li Zhuiyuan lucky talisman from his arms, grabbed the talisman edge, and flicked it into the bowl. It didn't change color, meaning this food was for people to eat.

"Hoo..."

He breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and hurriedly took the talisman paper back into his pocket.

Tan Tan Wenbin held chopsticks in his right hand and picked up the bowl with his left hand. The bowl was not hot.

After taking another bite, the taste was good, but it was a bit warm.

"How is it?" Zeng Yinyin asked.

"Delicious."

Not hot, just right to eat.

Tan Tan Wenbin finished a bowl quickly.

Zeng Yinyin: "There is more in the pot."

"Full, thanks." Tan Tan Wenbin looked around and asked again, "Why don't they come down to eat?"

"They have already eaten."

"Can I... see Miaomiao?"

"What are you doing seeing her?"

"I feel that some words might not be appropriate for the parties involved to say. As a friend, maybe I can give some opinions."

"Miaomiao is already engaged and will get married next month."

"I heard."

"Then it's not appropriate for you to participate now." Zeng Yinyin put away the bowls and chopsticks, "You can persuade Yiwei to go back early, let him forget Miaomiao and start a new life."

"This is very difficult."

At this moment, Zeng Yinyin suddenly said: "In this world, except for death, there is nothing difficult."

"I feel that what your family did is not authentic." Tan Tan Wenbin wanted to try to get more words out as much as possible, "At least it should be done from beginning to end."

Zeng Yinyin's movements suddenly paused, and then she said: "Thinking really well."

"What?"

"There is nothing fun here, leave quickly."

"I feel the scenery here is very good, very beautiful." Seeing that the other party was unwilling to continue to reveal to him, Tan Tan Wenbin could only go to find Brother Xiaoyuan, "Want to ask you one thing, there is a family surnamed Xue in this village, right? Their son is named Xue Liangliang, a student at Haihe University, quite capable of making money, very promising."

"Don't know."

"Don't know?"

"There are many families in the town, and many surnames. Except for neighbors, we don't deal much with people with other surnames."

"Oh, so that's it, then I'll go out and ask, and stroll around by the way. Again, thank you for your hospitality."

Tan Tan Wenbin left.

Zeng Yinyin looked at the kitchen door for a long time, and then she served a bowl of soup rice from the pot and placed it under the coffin.

A pair of chopsticks was placed vertically in the bowl by her.

This was not solid rice, there was more soup, and the chopsticks couldn't stand up.

But after her hands loosened, the two chopsticks stood straight.

Tan Tan Wenbin returned to the room and carried his mountaineering backpack.

On the bed, Hu Yiwei was still sleeping soundly, and the bright red in his crotch was gradually turning black by now.

Although he clearly perceived the wrongness of this house, the danger coefficient was still within the bearable range.

It was better to meet up with Brother Xiaoyuan first.

Tan Tan Wenbin left the house, walked out of the alley, and came to the main street.

Although Min'an Town couldn't compare with the population scale of Shigang Town in the plains, it was at least a town. It was normal for people in the town not to know each other.

Tan Tan Wenbin found a small shop in the town, bought a bottle of drink, and then asked the aunt in the small shop about Xue Liangliang's home.

However, the aunt's response made Tan Tan Wenbin feel stunned.

The aunt said she hadn't heard of any family surnamed Xue living in the town.

A guess immediately appeared in Tan Tan Wenbin's mind: Could it be that Xue Liangliang's father was a matrilocal son-in-law, and later stood up, and changed Xue Liangliang back to the surname Xue?

Even Tan Tan Wenbin himself felt that this guess was a bit nonsense.

After leaving the small shop, Tan Tan Wenbin began to ask the townspeople constantly. He felt that the Xue family should be quite famous here. After all, Brother Liangliang could be considered a "child of others."

But the result was that no one knew there was such a family in the town.

At this moment, Tan Tan Wenbin finally realized the seriousness of the problem.

Not finding the Xue family meant that he couldn't find Brother Xiaoyuan and Lu Runsheng who had entered the Xue family in advance.

He took out the pager on his waist, and there was no record of being paged.

It shouldn't be, it was already ten o'clock in the morning.

Last night Brother Xiaoyuan might have felt it was late, and the small shop was closed, so he wouldn't page him, but it was already this point, and Brother Xiaoyuan hadn't seen him yet, he would definitely let Lu Runsheng page him at the first time.

Tan Tan Wenbin returned to the small shop again, picked up the phone and began to dial the phone in the parity store.

"Doo... doo... doo..."

The phone kept ringing, but no one answered.

This was impossible. Even if Lu Yi was in class and not in the store, there must be someone in the store during the day business hours.

After calling continuously twice, no one answered.

Tan Tan Wenbin hesitated for a moment and called his father's office, "Doo... doo... doo...", it showed it was connected, but no one answered.

He even called Aunt Zhang's small shop in Siyuan Village, and it was still the same.

Finally, he called the paging station.

During this period, there were many paging stations in the country, and paging station operators were also a very popular profession.

But this time, no one answered the paging station, and he couldn't hear the sweet voice of the operator sister.

Hanging up the phone, Tan Tan Wenbin clenched his fist and tapped the counter lightly.

"What's wrong?" The aunt looked at the display of her phone suspiciously. After calling for so long, not a single one was answered.

"Auntie, is your phone broken?"

"Broken?" The aunt pressed the hands-free button, dialed a number herself, and the opposite side answered quickly. The aunt told the other party to send more of something next time in dialect, and after the other party agreed, she hung up the phone.

"Not broken, it's good."

The aunt was eating melon seeds, looking up and down at this young man. If it weren't for seeing this young man dressed well and carrying a mountaineering backpack, she would have suspected that this guy was deliberately taking pleasure in her.

Tan Tan Wenbin picked up the phone again and dialed the parity store, still no one answered.

Hanging up the phone, he took out money and bought some bagged snacks.

The aunt smiled and gave him things. The snacks were not expired, but there was dust on the bags. Loose fried goods were better to sell in the town.

Tan Tan Wenbin walked out of the small shop and sat down by the long corridor by the river.

There were several tables of old people drinking tea there, and there was a storyteller who was telling a story.

It was local dialect, and he couldn't understand it.

Looking at the calm river, in the distance were farmland and green mountains, very beautiful scenery, but he didn't have the mood to appreciate it now.

Either this town had a problem, or he had a problem.

Perhaps now, the most reasonable choice was to leave this town quickly, at least go to a place where he could call and contact.

But he came here for the problem. If he left when he encountered a problem, then he would go to the river for nothing.

After the storyteller finished a paragraph, Tan Tan Wenbin stepped forward to chat with the other party, left the position of the Zeng family, gave the storyteller some money, and promised that if someone found him through him, he would give another portion.

Subsequently, Tan Tan Wenbin took out paper and pen and began to write notes. He wrote many sheets in a row, all with his name and address, and then sent them to the shop owners.

After doing these, Tan Tan Wenbin didn't rush back to the Zeng family, but strolled around in this town. This appearance was really like a backpacker here for tourism.

He came in the middle of the night yesterday and couldn't see clearly, but now he could observe and savor it carefully.

It's just that although the Hui-style architectural style has cultural heritage and is beautiful, when you have anxiety and panic in your heart, the environment here can amplify this emotion of yours.

Every family with an open door feels like they have secrets, and every alley reveals a weirdness.

Strolling until almost one o'clock in the afternoon, Tan Tan Wenbin decided to return to the Zeng family. Before returning, he went to the shop to cut meat and bought some grain and oil.

Just as he entered the house with these things, he saw Zeng Yinyin standing there.

"I thought you had already left."

"No, I just went out for a stroll."

"I have already eaten lunch."

"I have also eaten." Tan Tan Wenbin put the things on the table. He ate snacks.

Zeng Yinyin glanced at it and said: "No need to buy things."

"Should be, should be."

If you don't buy something, how can you be embarrassed to continue living here.

Now Brother Xiaoyuan couldn't be contacted temporarily. What he could do was to continue to wait in the Zeng family.

Zeng Yinyin didn't say anything and put the things into the kitchen.

Tan Tan Wenbin returned to his room. Hu Yiwei was still sleeping soundly. It seemed that the consumption of him last night was indeed very large.

Of course, the consumption was not only in that kind of thing, but more importantly, it was in being possessed by evil spirits.

It's just that if he didn't wake up, he would have no reason to see Zeng Miaomiao.

Tan Tan Wenbin reached out and patted Hu Yiwei's face, but he still couldn't wake up.

All afternoon, Tan Tan Wenbin moved a small stool and sat by the well in the courtyard.

A pack of cigarettes and a bottle of mineral water were placed at his feet, looking like he was resting and sunbathing.

Zeng Yinyin didn't come out again after returning to her room. The old lady who spoke last night and Zeng Miaomiao didn't come down to the second floor either.

Plus a Hu Yiwei who was still sleeping.

There were clearly many people in this house, but it gave Tan Tan Wenbin a feeling that he was the only one.

Another thing was this well... although the well cover was welded, cold air still overflowed from the gap, a bit like the feeling of a freezer opening a crack.

At dusk, Zeng Yinyin came out of her room. She went to cook.

And at this time, Hu Yiwei finally woke up.

"So hungry... so hungry that I'm dizzy." Hu Yiwei lay on the bed, one hand covering his stomach and the other covering his forehead.

Tan Tan Wenbin took out compressed biscuits from his mountaineering backpack and handed them to him. As for mineral water, he had already finished drinking it.

No one would put a lot of water in the backpack. He still had water purification tablets in his backpack.

Tan Tan Wenbin came to the kitchen, ready to take a bottle of hot water.

Zeng Yinyin stood by the stove, holding a shovel and stir-frying vegetables, but didn't see much steam coming out.

Tan Tan Wenbin went around to the back of the stove and found that there were only sporadic sparks in the stove hole.

"Need to burn fire?"

"No, it's almost out of the pot."

"Oh."

Tan Tan Wenbin nodded, went to take the thermos, opened a bottle stopper, touched the bottom with his finger, it was warm, changed to the second bottle to try, it was still warm, about the same temperature as the water used for washing feet last night.

"That, is there hot water?"

"Isn't it all?"

"It's just warm, not hot."

"The weather is hot, it was deliberately poured warm."

"So that's it."

Tan Tan Wenbin could only choose one bottle and carry it away. When passing the stairs in the hall, he looked up at the top again, and the door was still closed.

Returning to the room, he poured a cup of warm water for Hu Yiwei and handed it to him, while reminding:

"Save some stomach, dinner is coming soon."

Hu Yiwei was full of biscuit crumbs around his mouth, and asked a bit embarrassedly: "Brother Binbin, do you have pants, can you lend me one?"

Obviously, he discovered the marks in his crotch.

Tan Tan Wenbin took out a pair of pants from his backpack and handed them to him.

Hu Yiwei borrowed a car in an emotional state and drove directly here to ask for an explanation, so except for bringing money and cigarettes to smoke on the road, he didn't bring luggage.

Tan Tan Wenbin's mountaineering backpack was in a basic full-load state.

He and Yin Meng, one each.

Lu Runsheng's was an advanced version, because he also had to bear Brother Xiaoyuan's share.

"Thanks brother, how much money, I'll give it to you." Hu Yiwei prepared to take out money from his pocket.

"No need, we are all brothers, don't mention these."

"How can that be, the refueling was all paid by you."

"Don't be polite with me, remember to do the right thing."

Hu Yiwei patted his forehead: "Oh, right, right thing!"

He was still strange in his heart, how could he forget this.

After eating, Hu Yiwei was able to recover. They were both men, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about. He took off his pants and underwear, changed into Tan Tan Wenbin's pants, which was considered hanging empty.

"Brother Binbin, I'm not afraid of you laughing, I'm really sorry, I had a wet dream last night."

Tan Tan Wenbin touched his nose. Whose man's wet dream is bleeding?

Of course, most boys generally don't give their bodies a chance to have a wet dream after seeing things.

"Hu Ge, when eating dinner later, you must ask to see Zeng Miaomiao."

"I will."

"After saying everything clearly, you should go back. You didn't ask for leave for too long. Don't delay your work because of a past relationship."

"Mm, Brother Binbin, I understand everything you say."

The room door was pushed open. Zeng Yinyin stood at the door, just like in the morning, and said: "The meal is ready, come and eat."

It was still the small kitchen table, by the coffin.

But there were only three people's meals on the table.

Hu Yiwei asked: "Where is Miaomiao?"

Zeng Yinyin held a tray in her hand, on which were two dishes, two glasses of yellow wine, and rice served in a small bowl in an arc shape.

"They are eating upstairs."

"Sister Yin, let Miaomiao come down, I will say everything clearly with her, and then I will go."

"She doesn't want to see you."

"I know she doesn't want to see me, I just want to come and ask for an explanation. Our marriage ended so inexplicably, she should come out to see me. You help me tell her, I don't want to pester her, really."

"Okay, I'll go say it."

"Trouble you, Sister Yin."

"You eat first, only after eating can you talk."

Zeng Yinyin went up with the tray.

Hu Yiwei sat by the small kitchen table, his chest rising and falling slightly, organizing his language.

Tan Tan Wenbin left the table and came to a corner of the hall. He saw Zeng Yinyin walk to the door of the second floor, grab the door ring, and knock three times gently.

Inside seemed to come the sound of the lock falling.

Zeng Yinyin pushed the door open. Before entering, she turned her head, looked down, and met Tan Tan Wenbin's gaze.

Then, she went in, and the door closed.

At this moment, Tan Tan Wenbin really wanted to use violent means to force his way into the second floor to see what was going on inside, and what state Zeng Miaomiao was in now.

But he knew very well that he didn't have the ability to bottom out after forcibly breaking the matter.

And the reason why he could be assigned to a line alone was first, Lu Runsheng's personality couldn't adapt, and he didn't have a deep friendship with Fan Shulin, so he couldn't get on this line; second, because beside Brother Xiaoyuan, there must be a powerful person to accompany. Returning to the kitchen and sitting down, Tan Tan Wenbin said: "Hu Ge, help me get a thermos."

"Oh, okay."

When Hu Yiwei got up, Tan Tan Wenbin took out the Li Zhuiyuan secret scroll lucky talisman again and tested the food, no problem.

Picking up the chopsticks, he first took a mouthful of rice, Tan Tan Wenbin froze, and took another mouthful of vegetables, his brows wrinkled.

That meal in the morning could be explained as being cooked early and he got up late, but this meal in the evening was just cooked, why was it still warm?

In this family, there was nothing hot?

After a while, Zeng Yinyin came back empty-handed. She sat at the table and began to eat.

Hu Yiwei asked: "Sister Yin, Miaomiao she?"

Zeng Yinyin swallowed the food in her mouth, and a vague and inexplicable smile appeared on her face:

"Don't worry, after the meal, you will be able to see her."

Yin Meng didn't know who the person peeking into the room at the door last night was, but after being shone once by the flashlight, those peeking eyes never appeared again.

Leaning a chair behind the door, Yin Meng returned to the bed and began to sleep.

She needed to rest and couldn't really make her state too bad, but even if she was sleeping, she was opening one eye and closing one eye.

At dawn the next day, the sound of chopping wood came from the courtyard.

Yin Meng pushed Zheng Jiayi awake. Zheng Jiayi yawned and said in a very lazy voice: "Mengmeng, I'm so sleepy, I want to sleep a little longer."

"Your parents' illness, have you forgotten?"

Zheng Jiayi sat up immediately.

"Go down and wash up first."

"Go down and wash up, do you want to carry the backpack?"

"I'm used to it."

When passing the other two bedrooms on the second floor, Yin Meng specifically paused to listen again, but didn't hear any movement inside.

Coming to the courtyard downstairs, the one chopping wood was a man under thirty, wearing a vest, shorts, and cloth shoes. He was very tall and very thin.

"Brother Daqiang!"

Zheng Jiayi greeted enthusiastically.

"Jiayi, hehe." Daqiang waved his hand, "My parents went into the mountains to pick goods early in the morning. Breakfast is on the table."

Yin Meng fetched well water, washed up with Zheng Jiayi, and the two came to the kitchen.

Porridge bowls and pickles were placed on the small table.

Yin Meng picked up the porridge and sniffed it. There was no problem. She now had a sufficiently sharp ability to distinguish food.

But after this mouthful, she found that the porridge was not only not hot, but could even be said to be cold.

But the problem was, the weather hadn't really cooled down yet.

Tasting a piece of pickle again, her teeth bit down, and it was actually a bit freezing.

This feeling was like breakfast being deliberately hung in the well and chilled.

Yin Meng's gaze looked toward the groove under the stove. All the thermoses were gone, including the one where she discovered mice last night.

Should she grab that Daqiang, tie him up with the demon-driving whip in her bag, and interrogate him about the matter?

This thought just rose and was excluded by Yin Meng.

Better find Brother Xiaoyuan first.

"Mengmeng, I'll treat you to breakfast outside." Obviously, Zheng Jiayi also felt that this breakfast couldn't be eaten.

"Mm."

When the two came out, they found that Daqiang, who was still chopping wood, was gone.

The axe fell in place, and even the chopped wood wasn't collected.

"Eh, where is Brother Daqiang?"

Zheng Jiayi bent down to help him tidy up, and then piled them all in the corner of the wall.

Yin Meng's gaze swept toward the firewood pile. Most of the firewood had moss growing on it, and in a few individual places, some mushrooms had even grown out.

Firewood is a consumable, which means this family hasn't burned firewood for a long time.

Walking out of the Zheng family, Yin Meng first went to ask about Xue Liangliang's residence. Zheng Jiayi didn't live here, and her understanding of Min'an Town was not higher than Yin Meng, an outsider.

But the two asked a big circle, and the response they got was always: don't know there is any family surnamed Xue in the town.

As for Xue Liangliang, the student who was admitted to Haihe University, no one had heard of him either.

Yin Meng came to the small shop in the town, first asked the aunt, and got the same feedback.

She picked up the phone, called the paging station, and wanted to page Xue Liangliang, but no one answered.

Then she called the parity store at school, still no one answered.

After calling several times repeatedly, she asked the aunt if there was a problem with the phone. The aunt called to order goods from a wholesaler in the county in front of her, and the opposite side answered quickly, indicating no problem.

Yin Meng realized that the problem was big.

Unwilling to give up, she pulled Zheng Jiayi to continue asking.

Then, the two came to the long corridor by the river.

Here, it could be considered the leisure and cultural center of the town.

Two tables of old people were drinking tea there, and there was an old man telling stories.

It was local dialect, and she couldn't understand it.

After the old man finished telling the story, Yin Meng stepped forward to ask him if anyone had come to him to ask about the situation. The storyteller shook his head, indicating no.

Yin Meng asked him to help pay attention, and also told him her name and the address of the old Zheng family's alley. Finally, she took out a banknote and placed it in the iron box in front of him.

"Thank you, girl, thank you, girl, shall I tell you a paragraph?"

"No need."

Yin Meng went to various shops to ask again, and then asked others to help her pay attention.

After this set of processes was walked through, Yin Meng felt an inexplicable irritability in her heart.

Because she knew very well that what she could think of, they could also think of, and they would only do it better and more carefully than her.

This town was so big, there were not many outsiders, but if someone asked like this, the people on the street or the bosses in the shops would definitely have a very deep impression, but when communicating with them earlier, there was absolutely none.

"Mengmeng, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm fine."

"Then shall we continue to look now?"

"Don't look, let's go back."

The two returned to the Zheng family, and the door was closed.

Zheng Jiayi went up to push the door, and the door was pushed open.

Immediately after, the aunt's voice came from behind the door: "Back, huh."

Then, she herself walked out, wearing the exact same clothes as last night.

"Auntie, you are back?"

"Mm, back."

"Did Uncle also come back?"

"No, Daqiang went into the mountains to find us. He took my shift, so I came back first to prepare lunch for you. Why didn't you eat breakfast, didn't Daqiang tell you?"

"Auntie, Brother Daqiang told me, but I wanted to take my friend to taste the special breakfast here, so I deliberately left my stomach to go out."

"Oh, then are you eating at home for lunch?"

Zheng Jiayi looked at Yin Meng, and Yin Meng shook her head gently.

"No, Auntie, we are still going out to eat later."

"Okay."

The aunt walked toward the house, and then went directly upstairs.

Yin Meng went to the well to fetch some water again, washed her hands, and washed her face again.

This house, and the people in this house, revealed a weirdness.

It was a pity that she couldn't find Brother Xiaoyuan. These clues had no way to be reported for the time being.

The two went upstairs again. When they reached the corner of the second-floor stairs, Yin Meng pointed to the stairs that continued upward.

"Mengmeng, that's the attic, right? I haven't been there either."

"Then let's go take a look."

Yin Meng walked up. It was called an attic, but it was not cramped, and it looked like it was often cleaned, not dirty or messy.

An old red coffin was placed there.

Zheng Jiayi was startled by the coffin and hid behind Yin Meng.

"It's okay, I used to sell coffins."

Yin Meng walked to the side of the coffin. The materials used for this coffin were not very exquisite, and the craftsmanship of the paint was also very average. Old people with slightly better conditions would not choose it as their longevity material.

"Jiayi, your grandparents passed away a long time ago, right?"

"Right, my parents came back last time to visit Grandpa's grave."

Grandparents were both gone, so why did this house still stop a coffin?

Although she hadn't seen Zheng Jiayi's uncle yet, judging from the aunt's age, the couple should be far from the time to prepare longevity materials in advance.

Just as Yin Meng put her hand on the side of the coffin, thinking about whether to open it to take a look, the aunt's figure appeared at the door.

"Why did you run here."

Zheng Jiayi replied: "We just strolled around."

"This is a relative's house renovating the house, and the old longevity material prepared by the old people in the family is temporarily placed in our house."

Yin Meng withdrew her hand and said: "Oh, so that's it."

"There are many mice in the house, don't run around, be scared by the mice hehe."

"Mm, we know."

Yin Meng and Zheng Jiayi came to the room on the second floor. Zheng Jiayi sat by the bed, while Yin Meng stood at the door.

"Mengmeng, let's go out to eat."

"No need, just eat a little." Yin Meng took out biscuits from her backpack, handed them to Zheng Jiayi, and then returned to the door to stand.

"Mengmeng, where should we start looking next?" Zheng Jiayi asked.

"Start looking from this house."

"Ah, I'm asking about looking for your friend surnamed Xue."

"The same, find his house, and you can more easily find the location of your parents' root cause of illness."

"Oh, so that's it, so that's it." Zheng Jiayi nodded, she believed it.

"Jiayi, don't you think your uncle's family is very strange?"

"I said it last night, their family's personality has always been very cold, and actually, I don't have much contact with their family."

"Full?"

"Full."

"Then let's go out."

Yin Meng took Zheng Jiayi and left the Zheng family, and began to visit neighbors, looking for those aunts and grandmothers who looked like they liked to chat.

Learned from the neighbors that the old Zheng family's personality was notoriously isolated. They didn't associate with outsiders on weekdays, and even reached the point where they wouldn't invite them when relatives and neighbors had things to do. Only the two brothers in their family would come back once or twice a year.

In the countryside, no matter how isolated and unsociable a person's personality is, they don't dare not to participate in the red and white events in the village.

Because everyone knows that such things will eventually happen to their own family. If you don't go to other people's houses, people won't come to help you here.

The neighbors here didn't get any specific information either. Yin Meng had to return to the Zheng family and sit in the courtyard.

Unable to contact Xiaoyuan, she felt a bit lost now.

It seems that now, she can only continue to walk down according to the established mode.

For example, under the premise of trying not to tear her face, explore the real secret of the old Zheng family.

All afternoon, Yin Meng sat in the courtyard.

She finally saw Zheng Jiayi's uncle. He came back carrying a chemical fertilizer bag, and there was something moving in the bag.

Zheng Jiayi went up to greet: "Uncle."

"Mm, Jiayi."

"Where is Brother Daqiang, why didn't he come back with you?"

"He is behind, I'll go tidy up things first."

Uncle went in. Yin Meng originally thought he would go to the kitchen, but he went upstairs carrying the bag directly.

Then, after going up, he didn't come down again.

After a while, Daqiang came back. He also carried a chemical fertilizer bag, and the things inside were also moving, vaguely making a "squeak squeak" sound.

Still after a simple greeting, he also went upstairs.

At dusk, the aunt came down from upstairs and asked: "Are you going out to eat tonight too?"

Zheng Jiayi: "Yes, Auntie."

"Then I won't cook for you."

"Auntie, call Uncle and Brother Daqiang down, let's go out to eat together."

"Don't go out to eat, can't afford that money."

After the aunt finished speaking, she turned and went upstairs again.

Yin Meng found a problem, that is, this family of three... never appeared together, always one person.

Before nightfall, Yin Meng and Zheng Jiayi went out to buy some food.

Carrying the bag back, when going up to the second floor, Yin Meng vaguely heard some special sounds.

But just as she stepped on the last step of the second floor, the sounds collectively muted.

She and Zheng Jiayi returned to their room.

"Mengmeng, let's eat together."

"You eat first."

Yin Meng still stood at the room door, sticking her ears to the room door.

"Creak... creak... creak..."

She heard the high-frequency sound again. Although it was slight, it did exist.

Yin Meng made a "shh" gesture to Zheng Jiayi. Zheng Jiayi nodded, and even stopped the action of eating.

Subsequently, Yin Meng carefully opened the door, trying not to make any sound. After opening the gap enough for her to turn sideways, she raised her hand, grabbed the top, and "sent" herself out while hanging.

Wooden structure, the floor is hard to avoid making a sound, but the beams on top are still strong and compact.

Zheng Jiayi, who saw this scene, opened her mouth wide: Is it that those who learn traditional Chinese medicine have to practice kung fu?

Yin Meng "came" to the second-floor corridor, and the sound was heard more clearly.

The sound came from those two rooms, but there were three frequency sources, and all of them were sticking to the room door.

Yin Meng exerted force on her waist to lift her legs up, so as not to let people see her through the crack when standing at the door.

"Squeak! Creak creak! Squeak! Creak creak!..."

All were at the beginning, urgent and painful screams, and then the sound of chewing and crushing, the screams stopped immediately, followed by the next round.

Associating with the two chemical fertilizer bags that Uncle and Daqiang brought back and the mice she discovered in the thermos last night.

A picture reappeared in Yin Meng's mind:

Daqiang stood behind one room door, Uncle and Aunt stood side by side behind the other room door;

They kept reaching out, grabbing mice one by one from the chemical fertilizer bag, and gnawing them by their mouths.

Suddenly, the sound collectively disappeared.

The meal was over.

Early in the morning, after Li Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs, Xue Ba and Xue Ma enthusiastically treated him to breakfast.

They were really enthusiastic. The staple food for breakfast was rice, and three hot dishes were stir-fried.

It was the form of Lu Runsheng lighting incense to eat that made them feel a little strange.

Li Li Zhuiyuan explained that Lu Runsheng was often sick when he was a child, and a wandering Daoist priest said that he had to light incense to eat every meal for a month every year, which could ensure no illness and no disaster.

Xue Ba and Xue Ma exclaimed in surprise, and praised the Daoist priest for being so powerful.

After all, Lu Runsheng's physique was placed here, and there was no half-point appearance of being weak and sick.

After the meal, Li Li Zhuiyuan let Lu Runsheng go out to ask people, focusing on the vicinity of the small shop.

He himself chatted with Xue Ba in the courtyard, while Xue Ma was washing clothes, and she even enthusiastically took Li Li Zhuiyuan and Lu Runsheng's change of clothes to help wash them.

Xue Ba chatted very happily. At this moment, even if he put aside the relationship of his own son, he also liked this boy very much.

And Li Li Zhuiyuan, indeed, had the ability to make a person happy.

He learned this ability since he was a child, but later, especially after receiving that phone call from Li Lan, he didn't want to continue to pretend to perform, at least not to irrelevant strangers.

After leaving Grandpa's house to go to university, he was only colder to outsiders.

It was not deliberate, but he was too lazy to continue acting.

But this "old craft" that came out of his mother's womb was not lost.

At ten o'clock in the morning, Lu Runsheng came back, but didn't find anyone.

"Brother Lu Runsheng, go to the small shop to call, page Brother Brother Binbin, and then call the store to ask if there is any phone call to the store."

"Okay."

Lu Runsheng went out, while Li Li Zhuiyuan began to try to guide Xue Ba to talk about the topic of "young expedition team."

It could be seen that Xue Ba didn't want to talk about this, but in the end, he was still constantly tricked out of words.

Before long, Lu Runsheng came back again, bringing a message:

"Xiaoyuan, can't get through, can't get through to the paging station, I called all the numbers I remembered, but still can't get through.

The phone is good, the aunt in the small shop called the wholesaler in the county to order a batch of goods in front of me."

"Brother Lu Runsheng, go to the shops on the main street to ask, and let the bosses help pay attention. Go to places where there are many people in the town... that is, the river corridor that Xue Ba took us to yesterday, it is close to the gate arch, which is considered a clear position."

"Okay."

Lu Runsheng went out again.

Li Li Zhuiyuan stayed here.

He was not lazy, one was to continue to trick words from Xue Ba, and the other was that he had to stay here, waiting for Yin Meng and Brother Binbin to come to the door.

"Uncle Xue, your family should be very famous in the town, right?"

"That's for sure." Xue Ba proudly straightened his chest, "Who told me to have a good son? Every time the town repairs roads, bridges, and everything, our family also contributes a big share."

In fact, Li Li Zhuiyuan asked this in vain, because as soon as he entered the town and asked the aunt in the small shop, the aunt didn't even care about the shop, and enthusiastically led them directly to the Xue family.

This not only meant that the Xue family was very famous in the town, but also meant that the popularity was also very good.

Lu Runsheng came back: "Xiaoyuan, all have been greeted, the storyteller by the corridor, I also let him help pay attention."

"Did you give money?"

"Ah... my money is in the backpack, I didn't bring the backpack when I went out, shall I take money out to give now?"

"Forget it, it doesn't make sense to give or not."

Lu Runsheng asked: "Xiaoyuan, did we encounter something?"

After all, the phone couldn't get through, and it seemed to be aimed at himself.

It's just that Lu Runsheng lacked a link, that is, finding the family where Tan Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng lived now, because these two lines were not clarified when everyone set off.

Without the experience of facing... not finding this family, the degree of cognition of the situation would not be so deep.

But Li Li Zhuiyuan could switch perspectives here, because he had been sitting here for so long, and Yin Meng and Brother Binbin hadn't been able to come to the door, which meant another possibility.

Lu Runsheng: "Xiaoyuan, Brother Binbin and Mengmeng, did they have something delayed on the road and couldn't come?"

Li Li Zhuiyuan shook his head:

"I think they are already in this town."

———

There will be another chapter tomorrow during the day!

(End of chapter)