After fleeing the famine, my older sister and I married the brother next door.

"Old man, why are you the only one back? Where are Xiaoyin and Dashan?"

Standing at the gate of the courtyard, Chen's mother saw Chen's father driving the mule cart back alone in the distance. Her heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly went to meet him. She looked into the cart and saw that it was empty, with only a few bundles and an old hen with its legs tied. Her heart jumped into her throat.

Chen's father tied up the mule, dusted himself off, and looked unwell, but his tone remained calm: "Dashan is fine, he's awake. Doctor Li said he needs to rest in the county town and needs to go back for a dressing change in a few days, so we didn't let them come back. Xiaoyin is taking care of him over there, so don't worry."

Chen's mother breathed a sigh of relief, but still couldn't help asking, "How did Dashan fall down the mountain? Wasn't he going to chop firewood? How could he have fallen like that?"

Mr. Chen didn't answer immediately, but first looked around the yard. Su Xiaoqing was playing with several children in the yard, Shitou was leading Aji and Afu to chase the puppy, and Qingqing was playing shuttlecock nearby. Mr. Chen didn't want them to hear, so he pulled Mrs. Chen into the main room and closed the door behind them.

"Dashan said he didn't fall on his own; he was pushed from behind," Chen's father said in a low voice, his face ashen.

Chen's mother nearly dropped the teacup, spilling the tea. Her eyes widened, her voice trembling: "What? Someone pushed him? Who? Who did it?"

Mr. Chen shook his head: "I don't know. Da Shan said he was squatting down digging bamboo shoots when someone suddenly pushed him from behind and he rolled down. He also felt that someone was following him, so he went to the bamboo forest instead."

Chen's mother's hands were trembling, and her lips were shaking as she said, "This is going to kill someone! Who in the village have we offended? We haven't offended anyone before!"

Mr. Chen's face darkened, and he didn't reply. He stood up, walked to the door, and called out to the courtyard, "Xiao Qing, come here."

Su Xiaoqing was squatting on the ground teaching Qingqing how to play shuttlecock when she heard the shout and rushed over. Seeing Chen's father's expression, her heart tightened, and she asked, "Dad, what's wrong? Is Big Brother alright?"

Mr. Chen pushed the door open, let her in, and repeated what he had just said. After listening, Su Xiaoqing's face turned pale, and she clutched the hem of her clothes, unable to speak.

Chen's mother held Su Xiaoqing's hand and said repeatedly, "Xiaoqing, you should stay home and not go out. I'm going to call Er Mu's family to come and keep you company. Your father should go and discuss this matter with the village head."

Mr. Chen nodded and said to Su Xiaoqing, "You stay home and take good care of the children. Don't let them run around. I'll be right back."

Su Xiaoqing agreed, called the children into the house, and closed the courtyard gate. She sat in the main room, clutching her embroidery frame, but couldn't make a single stitch. Qingqing came over, tugged at her sleeve, and whispered, "Auntie, what happened to Grandpa? Did something happen to my dad?"

Su Xiaoqing picked her up, held her in her arms, and whispered, "Your dad's fine. He just fell and is recuperating in the county town. Qingqing, don't worry."

Qingqing nodded, leaned against Su Xiaoqing, and remained silent.

Chen's father went out and strode towards De's house. De hadn't returned yet. The old villager was drying herbs in the yard. When he saw Chen's father coming, he put down the winnowing basket and stood up.

"Brother Chen, what brings you here? You don't look well. What happened?" The old village headman ushered Chen's father into the main room and poured him a bowl of water.

Chen's father took the bowl, but didn't drink it. He then recounted the whole story of Chen Dashan's injury. When he mentioned that someone had pushed Dashan from behind, the old village head's face darkened.

"You mean, someone deliberately pushed Dashan down the mountain?" The old village head's voice was deep.

Mr. Chen nodded: "Dashan said it himself. And he had felt that someone was following him before, so he took a detour to the bamboo forest. It wasn't that he was seeing things; someone really wanted to harm him."

The old man was silent for a moment, his fingers tapping on the table. He looked up and called into the room, "Second brother, come out for a second."

The curtain to the inner room was lifted, and a man in his thirties emerged. He was burly and his face bore a resemblance to Brother De, but he was more composed. He was the second son of the old village head, named Brother Gui. He was the manager of a restaurant in town, earning two taels of silver a month, and he didn't come home often.

"Father, what's wrong?" Gui asked.

Old Li briefly recounted the events. After listening, Gui Ge frowned, looked at Chen's father, and said, "Uncle Chen, I'll go up the mountain with you. If we can find any clues, we might be able to find out who did it."

Father Chen quickly thanked him. The village head waved his hand, "No need to thank me. This kind of thing happened in our village, it's not just your family's business. Second son, you go with your Uncle Chen and take a good look. It would be best if you could find any clues. I'll talk to a few old friends in the village. With this kind of commotion in the village, something big is bound to happen sooner or later."

Gui Ge responded, went inside to change into some old clothes, carried a bundle on his back, and followed Chen's father out the door.

The two walked up the mountain path. Gui Ge worked in town year-round, but he grew up in the village and knew the mountain paths well. He walked quickly, while Chen's father followed behind, panting.

When they reached the spot where Chen Dashan had fallen, Gui Ge stopped and looked around. He squatted down and carefully examined the marks on the ground.

"Uncle Chen, where did Dashan fall?" Gui asked.

Mr. Chen pointed to the bamboo grove on the hillside: "He said he was pushed while digging bamboo shoots over there. After rolling down, he passed out here."

Gui Ge climbed up the hillside and reached the spot where Chen Dashan was digging bamboo shoots. A machete lay on the ground, next to a half-dug pit with a tender yellow bamboo shoot tip sticking out. Beside that was a bundle of chopped firewood and a basket containing a wild rabbit and some herbs.

Gui Ge looked at the items and said, "Uncle Chen, look, nothing's missing. The rabbits, herbs, and firewood are all there. This person either came for the valuables or for Da Shan himself."

Mr. Chen nodded, his heart sinking even deeper.

Gui Ge continued to search the surroundings, parting the grass and bushes. Suddenly, he squatted down, picked up a small piece of cloth, and handed it to Chen's father: "Uncle Chen, look at this. It looks like a tear in a garment; the color is quite bright, unlike the kind of clothes we farmers usually wear."

Mr. Chen took it and examined it. It was a piece of dark blue fine cotton cloth, of good quality, not the coarse cloth that villagers usually wore. He carefully put the piece of cloth away and tucked it into his pocket.

The two searched the surrounding area again but found no other clues. Gui Ge stood on the hillside, looked down, and said, "This person pushed Dashan from behind and should have run down the hillside. This path leads to the back of the mountain, but the forest there is dense and hard to find."

Mr. Chen sighed and said, "Let's go down the mountain first. We'll discuss it when we get back."