"My Lords, please wait a moment!"
At the entrance of Tuyan Village, Pei Che, Jiang Miao and others said goodbye to Village Chief Huang and were about to leave when suddenly a figure emerged from the bushes nearby, shouting for them to wait.
Jiang Miao recognized the man at a glance. This was clearly the boy who had just served them the food. He looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, thin and dark, with a slightly childish face, but his hands were already covered with calluses.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" Jiang Miao stood beside the carriage, looking at the black boy who seemed a little at a loss.
The black boy pursed his lips and said, "I just heard you two adults say that you want to go deep into the mountains to find that kind of tree, right? If you want to go, I can lead the way!"
Jiang Miao smiled. It turned out that they came to recommend themselves. They were very brave despite their young age. Except for the village chief, no one else in their village dared to talk to them.
"No need. It's dangerous in the mountains. We have given up the idea. You are still young, so it's best not to take risks in the mountains. After a while, the government will distribute the trees on the mountains to you to take care of, and then we will give you food rations." He said in a kind voice.
"Sir, actually the mountain is not as dangerous as the village chief and the others said. I've been there several times before and came back safely every time! You guys go and have a look, there really are those trees there!" When the black boy heard Jiang Miao say this, he did not become happy, but instead he persuaded them to go into the mountain even more anxiously.
"What's your name?" Pei Che asked suddenly.
The black boy was stunned: "... My name is Zhang Quan."
"Zhang Quan, surname Zhang?" Pei Che muttered to himself, pondered for a while, and continued to ask, "The woodcutter who disappeared a few years ago seemed to also have the surname Zhang? What is your relationship with him?"
Jiang Miao looked at Pei Che in surprise. He didn't expect that he could link the two together just by using a name. And judging from the look on Hei Boy's face, it seemed that he was right.
Zhang Quan's eyes turned red, and he choked up and said, "He is my father. My father's name is Zhang Da, and he disappeared three years ago."
"So, you want to go into the mountains, not to find a way to make a living, but to find your father, right?" Jiang Miao looked at him, feeling a little uncomfortable. It seemed that the child could not accept the fact that his father might have died.
"My father is not dead!" Zhang Quan shouted excitedly, "He must still be somewhere in the mountains, he must not be dead! He—"
"Shut up!" Village chief Huang hurried forward to interrupt Zhang Quan, then bowed to the two of them, "Don't be surprised, adults. Ever since his father passed away, this child has been crazy. He wants to go to the mountains every other day, and keeps saying that his father is not dead. Alas!" When he was going back, he occasionally looked back and saw that the carriage in the distance had not left. Out of curiosity, he decided to come over to take a look. Who knew that as soon as he arrived, he heard Quan kid shouting here.
"Village chief, my father is really not dead!" Zhang Quan's eyes were red and his voice was a little hoarse. "Although that piece of clothing belongs to my father, I am sure that my father is still alive!"
Village Chief Huang said helplessly: "You said your father is still alive. Well, then tell me, if your father is still alive, why didn't he come back? How did he survive in the mountains for three years?"
Village Chief Huang's series of questions left Zhang Quan speechless. He was silent for a while, but still insisted: "Anyway, my father must still be alive!"
"You really are... Alas!" Village Chief Huang sighed as he looked at his stubborn face.
Pei Che and Jiang Miao listened for a long time, and were very confused. Was Zhang Quan suffering from delusions because he couldn't accept his father's disappearance, or was it true? Why was he so sure that his father was alive
In order to get to the bottom of this matter, they returned to the blue brick and tile house, accompanied by Village Chief Huang and Zhang Quan.
"Tell me, why are you so sure that your father is still alive?" Pei Che asked.
Zhang Quan took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Then he said, "Although my father is a woodcutter and makes a living by collecting firewood, he also knows some hunting skills and often brings back some pheasants and rabbits. He also looks for animal footprints and will not go to places where there are wild animals."
"But this doesn't mean your father has never encountered an accident." Jiang Miao said. It's true that he doesn't go to the territory of wild beasts, but the wild beasts will come out to look for food.
"But after Uncle San disappeared, my father said that there were no wild beasts in the mountains at that time that were big enough to drag a person away, let alone leave behind only a piece of blood-stained clothing!" said Zhang Quan.
Everyone was a little shocked, including Village Chief Huang: "But why didn't your father tell us? If there were no big beasts, where did they go?"
"My father mentioned it once, but at that time everyone thought that Uncle San was dragged away by wild beasts sent by the mountain god because he offended the mountain god. No one believed him at all." Zhang Quan burst into tears. "My father thought Uncle San was still alive, so he secretly went up the mountain to look for him. But he didn't expect that he himself-"
Jiang Miao felt sympathy for Zhang Quan, who was crying. When his grandparents passed away, he couldn't believe it for a long time. But he knew it in his heart, while Zhang Quan still held out hope.
"You said before that you had been to the mountain several times, so did you find any clues?" Pei Che waited until he calmed down a little before asking his question.
Zhang Quan nodded: "I went to the mountain twice at that time. The first time was the day after my father disappeared. The government officials hadn't come yet. I went up the mountain alone to look for him for a long time. I only saw the marks left by my father in a few conspicuous places, and nothing else. The second time was the day when the government officials went into the mountain to look for the bloody clothes. I followed the government officials into the mountain to look for them. I found the bloody clothes in a place where there was nothing before, and there was a pool of blood on the ground. The government officials said it was left by a wild beast. But there was clearly nothing here before!"
"Did you tell the authorities at that time?"
"I told the government officials at that time, but they didn't believe me at all. They said I was just a child and it was impossible for me to go up the mountain alone. There were other missing cases elsewhere at the time, and they thought I said that to delay and give them more time to look for me." When talking about this past event, Zhang Quan clenched his teeth and his face looked a little hideous.
Zhang Quan nodded: "Because of the disappearance of my father and Uncle San, the village chief ordered that no one was allowed to go up the mountain. But I thought my father must be alive, so I secretly went up the mountain through a small path. One time after it rained, I found some footprints on the mountain."
"footprint?"
"Yes, footprints, and they are adult's footprints. The village chief forbids villagers to go to the mountains, so who left these footprints? So I think there must be someone in the mountains!" Zhang Quan thought, maybe his father was captured by these people.
"I wanted to continue looking in the mountains, but it was raining that day and the road was slippery. I accidentally rolled down the hillside and got injured. I went back and told my mother. My mother hugged me and cried for a long time, and forced me to swear that I would never go up the mountain alone again, otherwise she would die miserably. I know she was afraid that I would suddenly disappear like my father." Zhang Quan sighed, "In the past three years, people have been missing in other places, and no one in the village dared to go up the mountain. Even if I wanted to go with someone, I couldn't find anyone. After that, I never went up the mountain again."
On the way back to the city, Pei Che was in deep thought. Only after Jiang Miao called him a few times did he turn around and look at him blankly.
"Are you still thinking about Zhang Quan?"
Pei Che said, "Well, I always feel that this matter is full of doubts. It seems that after I go back, I have to retrieve all the files of the previous missing cases and take another look."
"Well, I also think there is something fishy. But if there are really people in the mountains, then why did they capture these strong men and bring them back? They can't be cannibals, right?!" After Jiang Miao finished speaking, he shuddered a few times.
"A species that feeds on humans? Cannibalism is too tragic." Pei Che had never heard of this term before, but he could understand its literal meaning.
"I'm just talking nonsense, it shouldn't be true, right?" Jiang Miao said, "I just can't figure out what could be in this mountain that requires him to capture so many people. Could it be that they are collecting mountain products? Or digging for treasure?" Jiang Miao continued to guess based on the idea that it was true, and he felt that his guess was very absurd and bizarre.
Pei Che's eyes flashed, and it was unknown what he was thinking. Then he got off the carriage and went to the servant's room. Jiang Miao shrugged and walked towards the yard.
In the yard, the two little ones have already returned. They will have a day off tomorrow, so they were sent home early today.
"elder brother!"
"Brother Miao!"
"Meow meow!"
Three greetings sounded at the same time, and Jiang Miao laughed out loud when he saw them. The two of them and the cat were sitting on the stone steps eating in unison, and their expressions and eating habits were surprisingly similar. This reminded Jiang Miao of the phrase "Birds of a feather flock together."
"Have you finished your homework?" This is a question Jiang Miao asks his children every day after becoming a parent.
The two little ones nodded obediently, because they had always developed the habit of studying before playing, so every time they came home they would finish the homework assigned by the teacher first.
"You are so good. I'll cook something delicious for you in the evening." Jiang Miao touched their heads and felt that they were really easy to take care of, not like those naughty kids at all.
Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu cheered. Jiang Miao was very busy during this period, and the food they ate was cooked by the chef they brought with them. Although it was not bad, Jiang Miao's food was more to their liking.
Jiang Miao felt a little guilty, so he went to the kitchen that night and cooked five dishes and a soup. Although there were many dishes, the quantity was not too large, just enough for the four of them.
After the meal was ready, Pei Che didn't come back for a long time, so Jiang Miao had to leave some of each dish out and then called the two children to eat. Seeing them eating with gusto, Jiang Miao's appetite also opened up. The three of them swept away the dishes on the table in an instant.
"You guys go find Chan Yi and Wen Jing later and let them take you for a walk to help you digest your food. I'll go bring some food to your brother Che."
"Well, brother, don't worry!" Little Stone said that they would definitely be good.
Jiang Miao put the reserved food into the lunch box, then carried the lunch box to find Pei Che.
It was already dark, and Pei Che lit a candle in the office and continued to read the case files. It was not until Jiang Miao placed the food in front of him that he came back to his senses as if awakened from a dream.
"Eat quickly, these case files won't run away. Really, how long does it take to go back and have a meal? You just rely on me to deliver it to you..." Jiang Miao complained while helping him pack up the ones he had already picked.
Pei Che ate the warm food and felt warm in his heart as he looked at Jiang Miao's hypocritical expression.
(End of this chapter)