PNB Chapter 174 Heart of Stone
Chapter 174 Heart of Stone
Wu Qingfeng had to rush to the next village to take the girls home. Since the county government office was full of men, he had arranged for Lin Chang'er to help him go with them.
Since Xiaomei's family has not shown up, Lin Chang'er had no choice but to send someone to find Zhou Hai to hear the news.
It was just the right time to receive the weapons. All the weapons were registered with the government, and the large swords that were awarded as a reward last time were already an exception.
This batch will need to be managed centrally; we'll collect it only when we need it.
Although Lin Chang'er funded the bulk of the money for purchasing these weapons, Zhou Hai was the village head, so entrusting him with the management was the least controversial option, and Lin Chang'er had no objections.
Upon hearing the news, Zhou Hai rushed over from home, his forehead covered in large beads of sweat when he arrived.
After listening to Xiaomei's story and carefully examining her, and even asking several old men in the village to confirm, he finally said, "It seems to be Niu Datou's daughter."
Upon hearing this, Lin Chang'er happily said, "It's best that Uncle recognizes you. Lord Wu has to rush to the next village, so I'll trouble Uncle Village Head to take Xiaomei home."
Zhou Hai looked troubled. "Chang'er, you don't know this."
Lin Chang'er: "..." What? Is there another story?
Zhou Hai said: "Niu Datou and his wife only had this one daughter. After their daughter was abducted, his wife missed her so much that she died of illness in less than half a year."
"After suffering a series of blows, Niu Datou went mad. He wandered around the mountains all day, saying he was looking for his daughter. Then one rainy day, he fell off a cliff and died..."
"Father, Mother..." Upon hearing this, Niu Xiaomei burst into tears, sobbing and trembling all over.
Lin Chang'er felt heartbroken watching this. The hemp rope seemed to only cut the unfortunate. It was as if God didn't punish the wicked members of the Lin family, but only remembered to make things difficult for these honest people.
The Niu family is also polarized; some don't want the girl back, while others are determined to give their lives to find her.
Lin Chang'er felt a pang of sadness and couldn't find the words to express her feelings.
Xiaomei's whereabouts also became a problem. The girl had been away from home for many years, and the Niu family members were not necessarily innocent.
Lin Chang'er discussed with Wu Qingfeng that they should take Niu Xiaomei with them first, send the other girls home, and then discuss Niu Xiaomei's fate.
Little Goldfish and Gu Xiaolu had been waiting outside the crowd. They only squeezed in from the crowd when they saw that Lin Chang'er was about to leave after finishing her business.
The little goldfish spoke first, "Is Mom coming back for lunch? Auntie said she'll make your favorite potato rice for lunch."
Gu Xiaolu chimed in, "Grandma's pickled vegetables that she was thinking about the other day are delicious! My brother and I tried them this morning, and they were so refreshing! Grandma said she only pickled a little bit, waiting for Mom to come back to eat them! If Mom goes out again, please come back early!"
Mother Gu and Second Sister-in-law Gu brought over two packets of snacks. "No need to rush. I'll keep your meals warm for you later. You can eat them whenever you come back. Take these with you to tide you over on the way."
Lin Chang'er patted the two children's heads, took the two packets of snacks, handed one packet to the constables to distribute, and gave the other packet to the girls on the donkey cart. "Okay, I remember."
He then said to the two children, "I'll be back soon, be good."
The two children nodded and stood obediently beside their mother.
As for the older children, they stayed at the stall to look after things, only waving to Lin Chang'er when she looked over from afar to indicate that they had seen her too.
Lin Chang'er didn't linger any longer and drove the donkey cart with Wu Qingfeng to Zhoujia Village.
The two girls on the donkey cart were from Zhoujia Village. The two villages were only 5 li apart, and it would take about 15 minutes to drive there.
A constable went to Zhoujia Village early to report the news, so when they arrived, the families in Zhoujia Village who had lost their daughters had already gathered at the village entrance to wait.
When the two girls got off the bus, some families were overjoyed while others were heartbroken. Those who found the girls wept bitterly, while the couples who didn't find them embraced and wept.
Lin Chang'er had always loathed human traffickers in her previous life, and seeing this scene now made her even more distressed, and a plan began to take shape in her mind.
The remaining girl was from Xiahe Village, which is about 10 kilometers away from Zhoujia Village.
When they set off again, Wu Qingfeng noticed that Lin Chang'er seemed a bit listless and not in high spirits. He had originally been riding a horse in front of the donkey cart.
He tugged on the reins, slowing the horse's pace, and waited for Lin Chang'er to drive alongside him. Then he turned to her and asked, "Shall we ride for a bit?"
Lin Chang'er looked up, first stunned, then looking at the pure white foal he was sitting on, she felt a little itchy.
However, "I can't."
Wu Qingfeng reached out his hand to her, saying, "I'm here for you."
Lin Chang'er looked at him, then grabbed his hand and used his strength to leap onto the horse, sitting down behind Wu Qingfeng.
"Hold on tight?" Wu Qingfeng turned his head.
Lin Chang'er nodded, and then she heard a "giddy-up" sound. Wu Qingfeng spurred the horse, and it galloped away.
"Ah..." Lin Chang'er screamed, her hands flailing wildly in the air. In her panic, the man's large hand grabbed hers, encircling her waist, and said in a deep voice, "Hold on tight."
Lin Chang'er: "..." Armrest? No, back support? Oh, it's genuine leather, and it feels pretty good.
However, she suddenly frowned. Could he be doing this on purpose?
Lin Chang'er went through a whole drama in her mind, then shook her head at herself, thinking, "It can't be that bad."
From an angle she couldn't see, Wu Qingfeng subtly curled the corners of his lips. The yamen runners he brought on official business today were all his trusted confidants, so he didn't need to worry about the news getting out. Therefore, he deliberately indulged himself this once.
After running for three to five miles in one go, Wu Qingfeng pulled on the reins to slow down.
Lin Chang'er had been enjoying the breeze the whole way, and her mood had improved somewhat. When she saw him suddenly slow down, she was a little puzzled. "What's wrong?"
The horse nudged him as he slowly moved forward, the man's voice deep and powerful, "Changmei, even where the sunlight shines, there are still shadows. We are all just mortals."
Comfort her? Lin Chang'er raised an eyebrow. "I know. It's precisely because we are mortals that we can't let go of our emotions and desires, and we can't bear to see human suffering. Although I've always thought of myself as heartless."
Wu Qingfeng turned around with a smile, "You, are you heartless?"
The moment Lin Chang'er looked up and met his gaze, her eyes froze for a moment. Then, as if realizing something, she withdrew her hands from around his waist, gripped the saddle tightly, and nodded firmly.