Bai Youwei and Shen Mo were unaware of what happened in the house. They came to the village and found that the family where the accident happened last night also had a funeral.
White lanterns were hung inside and outside the house, and condolences came in and out, just like the previous Lizheng home.
If the frequency of one person dying every night continues, sooner or later every family in this village will have to have a funeral.
Shen Mo followed the list and found women who were nameless like Li's.
The men went to offer their condolences, and the women gathered in groups of three or five to dry beans, wash clothes, and watch their grandchildren.
They were all fifteen or sixteen years old when they got married, and now the oldest is in their seventies, and the youngest is in their fifties.
Even those village women who are only in their fifties are described as withered and gray-haired, not much different from those in their sixties and seventies.
Shen Mo asked them about Li Shi.
None of these village women knew.
All of them said that they were not familiar with Li Shi, and had no relationship with them. They only knew that she was the daughter-in-law that Li Leizi brought back from outside.
One of them said, "Li Leizi is too poor, Ren Yazi won't do his family's business!"
Another person laughed and said, "I'm lazy and poor, and I still want to buy a daughter-in-law. That's what a toad wants to eat swan meat!"
"Didn't you also ask him to get it in the end?" An old woman with a wrinkled face tutted, "It's really stupid, and I'm not afraid of causing trouble for the village, but he was lucky to abduct one from outside."
Another person said disdainfully: "What luck is there, it's all for nothing if you can't have children!"
In the old days, there was contempt for women who could not give birth to children.
Bai Youwei looked at them and asked, "You have been in the village for so many years, haven't you thought about going home?"
"Go home?" The old women smiled at each other and shook their heads. "What are you going to do? The family is poor, and there is no rice and grain to support the idlers. Even if they go back, they will be driven back."
Bai Youwei asked again, "Has the Li family ever gone home?"
This time, they looked at each other and fell silent.
Bai Youwei looked at them and said, "To this question, either answer 'yes', or answer 'no', or answer 'don't know'.
You said just now that you are not familiar with Mrs. Li, and you should answer 'I don't know', but none of you said a word, which means that the answer is between "yes" and "no".
If you "haven't" gone home, you don't need to cover up. The biggest reason why you don't speak is because she tried to go back, but you stopped her. "
"No no!"
"How could we do such a thing? Don't talk nonsense, little girl!"
"Yeah, the daily housework can't be done, who will care if she goes home or not..."
Bai Youwei tilted her head and thought for a while, and said, "Maybe you didn't stop it, but the men in your family stopped it."
The old ladies are silent again...
After a while, the youngest old woman said, "If you can stop it for a while, can you stop it for a lifetime? Don't make us so inhumane, little girl, a lost woman, even if she runs back, what's the good end? It's better to live separately and have a son and half a daughter by your side."
The old woman next to her nodded in agreement.
Bai Youwei asked, "According to what you mean, the Li family later stayed in the village voluntarily?"
However, the old ladies ignored her and did their own work, drying beans, washing clothes, and looking after their grandchildren.
Bai Youwei couldn't ask useful information, exchanged glances with Shen Mo, and could only leave.
Walking on the country road, Bai Youwei suddenly smiled.
"What did you think of?" Shen Mo asked her.
"Well~" Bai Youwei looked up at him, the corners of her mouth raised slightly, "I suddenly found out that the old woman in this village gave more useful information than the old man. I still remember the last time I went next door to Li's house and asked the old man Liu the three questions. ?"