Chapter 33: Where's the Children?
Su Li was a little surprised not to see He Qingyao and his brother waiting for her at the intersection. In the past, whenever she went out, the brothers would stand at the intersection and wait for her. Why didn't they come this time?
Su Li felt a little strange, but on second thought, she felt that it might be because the children's interest was short-lived. In the past, they had come to wait for her, but now that they felt that it was boring, they went to play by themselves.
Pushing open the courtyard door, Su Li shouted towards the house.
"Dang dang dang~ Look what I brought back for you!"
There was no response in the room.
Su Li searched the entire house, but she still did not find any traces of them.
Something was very wrong!
She knew a little about He Qingyao and He Qingmu's personalities. Although they were young, they were still very principled. Before she left, she told them not to run around, so they would definitely not run around!
Chen Xiang returned with a hoe on her shoulder. When she saw Su Li looking for something, she walked forward and asked.
"Sister, what are you looking for?"
Su Li said, "I couldn't find Qingyao and Qingmu when I came back from the streets just now. I don't know where they went. Sister, have you seen them?"
Chen Xiang was a little puzzled. "Qingyao, Qingmu?"
Why did these two names sound so unfamiliar? She seemed to have never heard of them before!
Only then did Su Li remember that no one knew that the brothers had changed their names. She explained to Chen Xiang, "He Qingyao and He Qingmu are Dahu and Erhu's new names. Their old names didn't sound good, so I gave them new names for them to use in school in the future!"
Chen Xiang nodded and said, "The names that you came up with are really nice."
"Don't look here anymore. When I was working in the fields, I saw your mother-in-law bringing them back to the old residence!"
Why did Wang Chunhua bring the children back to the old residence?
In the past, she couldn't wait for their family to disappear in front of her eyes. This time, she even took the initiative to bring the children home?
Su Li thanked Chen Xiang. "Thank you, Sister. I'll go look for the children first. I'll look for you at your house tonight."
Chen Xiang looked at Su Li's back view and smiled. She was the one who should thank her. After taking the medicine Su Li gave her last time, her waist was really much better. Now that she could work in the fields normally, she almost died from the pain over the past few days.
Su Li quickly walked towards the He family's old residence. She was afraid that He Qingyao and He Qingmu would be abused by that old witch, Wang Chunhua.
According to the host's memories, Su Li came to the entrance of the He family's house. Looking at the brick house in front of her, Su Li almost vomited blood.
This brick house was all thanks to He Yufeng. Back then, when the news of He Yufeng's death came, the imperial court gave the He family a sum of money. That sum of money went straight into Wang Chunhua's pocket. Although He Yufeng returned alive later, Wang Chunhua did not mention a word about the silver. She even built this brick house after they split up.
Speaking of He Yufeng going to the front line to fight, it could be said to be a huge gossip in the village.
The front line was lacking people, and the Imperial Court had sent people down to recruit soldiers and buy horses. However, going to the front line was equivalent to losing their lives. No one was willing to send their children to their deaths.
However, the Imperial Court was not so easy to deal with. They issued an order that every family had to send out a male who was of a suitable age. If they could not, they would have to fork out fifty taels of silver.
Fifty taels of silver was an astronomical figure for an ordinary family. They could not bear to part with their children, but they did not have money either. For a moment, the atmosphere in various places was not right. They did not even dare to breathe hard.
This was a difficult decision for others, but for Wang Chunhua, it was simply a simple matter.
She already had an idea who to send out of the four children in the family. The children were gradually growing up, and their appetites had grown. Moreover, they would have to get married in the future. If she sent them out now, she could save a lot of food. If they died, it's fine. If they could make contributions on the battlefield, their family could also enjoy life.
Although Wang Chunhua had already made a decision in her heart, she could not directly say this matter. In order not to be criticized, she thought of a fair idea, which was to draw lots.
The four He brothers had no objections. In the end, He Yufeng went because Wang Chunhua had tampered with it. He Yufeng's name was on all the papers. It would be strange if he didn't go.
Su Li pushed open the door of the He family's house. The dog lying under the roof bared its teeth at Su Li.
"Shut your mouth, or I'll make hotpot with you tonight." The dog seemed to have sensed the terrifying aura on Su Li and hid in a corner, not daring to make a sound.
Her eldest sister-in-law, Madam Zhao walked out of the house with a basin of pig food. When she saw Su Li standing in the courtyard, she spoke with a hint of sarcasm.
"Oh, what a rare guest! Why is Third Sister-in-law here today?"
Su Li glanced at Madam Zhao. "Where's the children?"
Madam Zhao's eyes flashed. "What children?"
"Don't play dumb with me. Did you people bring the children over today while we were not at home?"
Su Li stopped talking nonsense with Madam Zhao and started to look for He Qingyao and He Qingmu. However, even after searching the entire house, she still could not find them.
"Where are they?" Su Li asked Madam Zhao coldly.
Madam Zhao continued to play dumb. "I don't know what you're talking about!"
"You're not going to say it, right?" Su Li pinched Madam Zhao's chin. "Sister-in-law, you know that I've always been a little rough. If I'm not careful and break your chin, you should still be alive, right?"
"Let go, let go!" Madam Zhao struggled hard and even scratched Su Li's hand with her fingernail. However, Su Li did not care and pinched Madam Zhao's chin hard.
Su Li said coldly, "I'll ask you one last time. If you don't say anything, I'll break your jaw."
Madam Zhao was also a little frightened by Su Li's ruthlessness. She casually pointed in a direction.
"They're carrying shit for Mother!"
Carrying feces? Wang Chunhua actually asked two three-year-olds to pick feces for her!!
Su Li snorted and flung Madam Zhao's chin away.
"Aiya, I'm going to die, I'm going to die!"
Su Li walked towards the place that Madam Zhao was pointing at. That place was the He family's vegetable garden. It was a certain distance away from the He family's house. When she came over just now, she had not passed by that place, so she did not see the two children.
He Qingyao and He Qingmu were each carrying a bucket of feces as they walked towards the vegetable garden with difficulty.
Wang Chunhua had originally planned to let them carry the buckets with bamboo, but she realized that they were not tall enough, so she changed to carrying them in a bucket. Although it was difficult for the brothers to carry a bucket of feces, what did it have to do with her? As long as she achieved her goal, it was fine.
"Brother, I'm so tired!" He Qingmu placed the bucket on the ground and stood up, panting heavily.
He Qingyao said, "Let's rest for a while!"
When Wang Chunhua saw them stop, she couldn't help but scold, "Why are you stopping? Hurry up and bring the feces to the vegetable garden to fertilize the plants. Do you want me to beat you up?"
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