Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 11967

Wang Cuilian immediately became nervous and asked Liu in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Yang Ruoqing warmed her hands by the brazier, holding an orange in her hand as well.

The orange peel, roasted to a light caramelized aroma, combined with the refreshing scent of the orange itself, creates an invigorating and stimulating fragrance.

Upon hearing Liu's words, Yang Ruoqing couldn't help but turn to look at her: "Tell me, I want to see if this is something that deserves their scolding."

If you deserve to be scolded, even if those two men are gone, I will scold you on their behalf.

Liu took another sip of chicken soup to moisten her throat, and then began to speak.

"It's about Mai Lao Er and Tie Shi, it's really scary," she said.

"That couple..." Wang Cuilian glanced at Yang Ruoqing, then asked Liu Shi, "Didn't Qing'er's father go to the dark room to release her this morning?"

Liu said, "Yes, they went to release the people early this morning, but when Third Brother got to the dark room and opened the door, the couple inside had both fainted. Ah? You didn't know about this, did you? Didn't Third Brother come to tell you?"

This time, Yang Ruoqing and Wang Cuilian were truly at a loss for words, having no idea what to do!

Liu suddenly perked up, forgetting even to drink the chicken soup. She put down her chopsticks, sat up straight, and began to tell Yang Ruoqing and Wang Cuilian about what had happened that morning.

"At the crack of dawn today, Third Brother went to open the door to the small dark room. He opened the door and called the couple inside to come out, but they didn't respond."

"Third Brother thought they were just half asleep, so he went in to wake them, only to find that something was wrong with them; they had both passed out!"

"Third Brother was so frightened that he immediately went to call people to carry them home, and then called Wangsheng to go to Mai Lao Er's house for treatment."

"I had already gotten up by then, and as soon as I heard the noise, I went to Old Mai's house."

“When I got there, the couple had just woken up, and guess what?” Liu paused again, as was her habit.

Yang Ruoqing was listening very smoothly when she was suddenly interrupted by the pauses in her sentences, which made her a little annoyed and ready to scold her.

“What’s wrong? Keep going.” Wang Cuilian smoothly continued Liu’s sentence.

Liu smiled smugly, licked her lips, and continued, "When the couple woke up, Tie was like a madwoman. She didn't recognize anyone and couldn't speak, but she could still eat and drink."

"But Old Mai was a completely different story. He wailed and howled, saying that the small dark room was full of 'people' last night, and they tormented him and his wife all night long..."

Hiss... Wang Cuilian gasped, instinctively touching her own arm.

Despite wearing a thick cotton-padded coat, Wang Cuilian still had goosebumps on her arms.

"Fourth Aunt, you're not lying, are you? How could it all be people? Who are they?" Wang Cuilian asked in a low voice.

Liu pursed her lips, "Sister-in-law Cuilian, we all know what that dark alley next to the dark house is used for."

"What kind of people do you think those are? They're definitely not decent people!"

Huh! Wang Cuilian's scalp tingled even more. Sometimes, what makes something terrifying is not how terrifying the thing itself is, but the filling and imagination in other people's minds.

For example, Wang Cuilian at this moment is probably imagining all sorts of terrifying scenes.

"What did Brother Wangsheng say?" Yang Ruoqing suddenly asked.

Rather than those absurd claims, Yang Ruoqing preferred the doctor's diagnosis.

Liu looked at Yang Ruoqing and said, "Wangsheng said that the couple was too frightened and prescribed some calming medicine for them to take first."

Yang Ruoqing remained silent, perhaps overwhelmed by shock? Had she truly been subjected to that kind of stimulation?

Recalling the night of the trial in the ancestral hall, Yang Ruoqing slapped the couple hard across the face, but they didn't seem to be so frightened that they went insane.

As a result, after being locked up for two nights, the couple went insane. This involves two issues.

First, the couple is lying and pretending to be overly frightened.

Their purpose was clear: they had done such a despicable thing to their daughters before, and they were afraid that once they were released, they would be gossiped about wherever they went in the village.

So he pretended to be crazy to show weakness, beg for mercy, and even try to divert the villagers' attention.

If the first possibility is not true, because Yang Ruoqing felt that the couple's IQ and EQ might not be able to come up with those methods of retreating to advance.

It's highly likely the second possibility: the couple wasn't lying; they really did experience a 'miracle' in the dark room last night.

"Fourth Aunt, what else do you know? Tell me everything!" Although Wang Cuilian was terrified of those things, her innate curiosity compelled her to keep asking.

After thinking for a moment, Liu continued, "I heard from Mai Lao Er that they heard noises not only last night, but also the night before last."

"Oh? There was something like that the night before last? What kind of noise was it?" Wang Cuilian asked again.

"It's like carrying a person out of a dark alley and heading towards the ancestral hall, making a lot of noise and banging, just like the usual rituals performed by the village elders when they have a funeral." After saying that, Liu gave Wang Cuilian a knowing look.

Wang Cuilian certainly understood. Who wouldn't understand someone who had lived in Changping Village for decades?
“Last night, those things went into the dark room and gave Old Mai and his wife a good beating. They only dispersed when the rooster crowed before dawn!” Liu continued.

"The villagers all say it's really scary, but they can understand it."

"That place is connected to a dark alley, and dark alleys are definitely not clean, so it's not surprising that there are those kinds of things there!"

"Didn't the families who used to live next to the old ancestral hall all say that they heard noises coming from the dark alley at night? The dark alley used to be a pigsty, and the pigs couldn't live peacefully in it, so they abandoned the pigsty later!" Liu said, smacking her lips.

“Yes, I’ve heard that from the villagers too,” Wang Cuilian echoed Liu’s words.

"I also heard that there was a family living next to the old ancestral hall. At night, the couple would sit in the main room soaking their feet, and someone would throw small stones at their door!" Wang Cuilian also shared what she had heard.

Liu clapped her hands excitedly: "I've heard about this too. There was also a guy who went to a relative's house for drinks one night and came back late. When he got to his door, he saw a tall man in black peeking out of his window."

He initially thought it was a thief and yelled, but the man in black straightened up—good heavens, he was four or five meters tall! He was wearing a white hat, so you couldn't even see his face. The man who had been drinking was so scared he wet himself!

Wang Cuilian nodded while gasping for breath: "That's why I said that people with a weak heart should try not to live near the ancestral hall. I don't even dare to go that way at night."

Liu said, "Me too!" Yang Ruoqing sat by the charcoal stove, listening to the two of them chatting. To be honest, Yang Ruoqing felt that all the pores on her body had opened up, and a tingling sensation crept up her back.

Then she stood up, picked up the cloak next to her and put it on, and then began to put on her gloves.

"Qing'er, where are you going?" Liu asked immediately.

Yang Ruoqing said, "I'm going to visit my parents' house next door."

After this incident, Yang Huazhong, who opened the door and released the person, was the most qualified to speak on the matter. He couldn't just listen to Liu's nonsense and scary stories.

Liu immediately stood up and said, "Wait for me, I'll go with you!"

Seeing that Yang Ruoqing was indeed waiting for her at the door, Liu Shi, who had already gotten up and left the table, suddenly turned around, picked up the bowl she had put down earlier, tilted her head back and poured the remaining half bowl of oily chicken soup into her stomach in one gulp.

Wang Cuilian, who was standing nearby, was dumbfounded by what she saw. She quickly waved her hand to stop her, saying, "Don't do that, Auntie, the chicken soup has gone cold!"

On such a cold day, drinking such cold chicken soup, my goodness, won't that cause diarrhea?
"It's alright, Sister Cuilian. I can't stand seeing good things wasted!" Liu put down her bowl and wiped her mouth with satisfaction.

It's okay if the chicken soup gets cold; her stomach is warm, so she can just warm it up after drinking it!

"Fourth Aunt, let me make this clear first: if you get diarrhea later, you can't blame us!" Yang Ruoqing was truly exasperated with the person in front of her.

Putting aside whether it causes diarrhea or not, this chicken soup is made from meat, and it will become fishy when it gets cold. Doesn't that make you feel nauseous when you drink it?
Liu chuckled: "Qing'er, don't worry. I'll take responsibility for my own actions. Even if I accidentally knock down the latrine, it won't be your fault!"

"Besides, I'm made of steel, it's fine, I can do whatever I want!"

Yang Ruoqing shook her head, completely speechless: "Then let's go!"

"Okay!" Liu followed eagerly, not forgetting to wave to Wang Cuilian behind her: "Sister-in-law Cuilian, thank you for the hospitality. I'll come over and chat with you again when I have time."

Wang Cuilian waved her hand and said, "Okay, be careful on the slippery ground!"

Next door is Yang Huazhong's house.

When Yang Ruoqing arrived, she found that the courtyard gate was locked tight.

"That's strange, where are my dad and mom? Why are they both not home at the same time?" Yang Ruoqing looked at the lock, genuinely surprised.

“When I came here earlier, I saw that the door was locked,” Liu said.

“I thought your mother had gone to the vegetable garden, but it’s been so long, I’m afraid she hasn’t gone there,” Liu said again.

Since she had eaten breakfast at the Luo family's house and talked for quite a while, even if she went to the vegetable garden, it would only take a few trips.

Yang Ruoqing knew that her mother was unlikely to go to the vegetable garden, because after several days of heavy snow, the vegetables in the garden had long been covered with a thick layer of white snow.

For the past few days, the vegetables that the Sun family has been eating have all been picked from their own small vegetable garden in the backyard.

In their own little vegetable garden, there were radishes, cabbages, bok choy, spinach, and cilantro, which could fully satisfy the appetites of both Mrs. Sun and Mr. Yang Huazhong.

"Could my father still be at Mai Lao Er's house?" Yang Ruoqing muttered to herself, thinking that her mother might have gone to visit someone else.
Just as she was about to turn back, Liu suddenly patted Yang Ruoqing's arm, "Qing'er, your father, your father is back!"

Following the direction Liu pointed, Yang Ruoqing saw Yang Huazhong coming from under the old maple tree at the village entrance, accompanied by Wang Hongtao and another village elder.

The three walked and talked, and they all seemed a little serious, as if they had encountered some troublesome matter.

When they crossed the pond and arrived at the gate of Yang Huazhong's courtyard, Liu suddenly called out to them. Yang Huazhong looked up and saw Yang Ruoqing standing at the gate.

A flicker of weariness and anxiety crossed Yang Huazhong's eyes, replaced by the joy of an old father seeing his daughter, and his voice softened.

"Qing'er, how long have you been standing here? Here, use the key to open the door." The old father took the key off his waist and threw it to Yang Ruoqing, who was standing at the door.

Yang Ruoqing took the key, greeted the other two, and while inserting the key into the lock, asked about Sun's whereabouts.

Yang Huazhong also looked bewildered. "I don't know. Your mother was still in the house when I left this morning. She didn't tell me she was going out in the morning."

After saying that, he looked around and asked, "Will we go to the vegetable garden? Or will we visit your grandpa?"

“She didn’t go to the vegetable garden, nor did she come to my house. Qing’er’s mother went to the pasture!” Old Sun, carrying a water pipe, wearing a sheepskin coat and a thick cotton hat, came out of the Sun family’s courtyard behind the crowd.

"Grandpa, did my mother go alone? Do you know what she went there for?" Yang Ruoqing quickly asked Old Sun.

Old Sun said, "She went with your aunt because we slaughtered a pig last night, and your mother went to deliver some pork ribs and pig's trotters to Duo'er's family."

Yang Ruoqing and Yang Huazhong exchanged a glance. The father and daughter both remembered that when Xiaoduo visited her parents' home a while ago, they talked about curing meats in the twelfth lunar month.

Xiao Duo mentioned that she wanted to make more cured pork ribs and pig trotters this year, and Sun Shi kept that in mind.

So, Mom went to deliver pork to Duo'er's place. Yang Ruoqing and Yang Huazhong were relieved.

After opening the door, everyone entered the main room of Yang Huazhong's house.

Before leaving, Madam Sun had boiled a pot of hot water and placed it in a wooden box in the main room to keep it warm.

These days, without hot water bottles or thermos flasks, people usually insulate their bodies by lining wooden boxes with cotton wool, then placing the jar filled with hot water inside the cotton wool, finally closing the wooden box, and then covering the outside of the wooden box with an old cotton quilt or old cotton-padded clothes for insulation.

This kind of heat preservation method can usually keep the water warm for one or two hours without any problem. Of course, after half of the time, the temperature of the hot water is not enough to brew tea, but it allows the family to drink hot water whenever they are thirsty, so they don't have to go through the trouble of lighting a fire to boil water when they are thirsty.

At that moment, Yang Ruoqing picked up the thermos and made tea for everyone before sitting down.

At this moment, Yang Huazhong, Wang Hongtao, and another village elder who came with them continued their discussion from the road.

After listening, Yang Ruoqing understood that their idea was to let Mai Lao Er and his wife take the medicine prescribed by Wang Sheng for three to five days first.

If the situation improves in three to five days, that would be wonderful.

If there is no improvement, we will have to arrange for a doctor to come and take a look from a clinic in the town or county.

(End of this chapter)