1970s: Transmigrated into a cannon fodder female supporting character in a lucky koi novel!

"Who's so heartless? They don't even spare children!" Old Wang was so angry that he puffed out his beard and glared.

The Xie family members' faces were as black as the bottom of a pot. If they were really adults, then this was no joke!

"Thank you for reminding us, Wen Zhiqing. We'll be more careful in the future!"

As he spoke, Old Wang checked the two children's temperatures again. "Their temperatures have gone down a little. Don't sleep too soundly tonight. If their temperatures rise again, we'll have to find a way to get them to the clinic!"

"Okay, I understand, thank you Uncle Wang!" Qiao Shan wiped away her tears and looked sincerely at everyone. "And thank you, Wen Zhiqing. If it weren't for you all... Anyway, thank you!"

"It's just a small favor, Aunt Qiao, please don't be so polite. It's getting late, I should head back to the youth center now!"

"I'll take you back!" Xie Chang'an stood up.

"No need, it wouldn't be good if someone saw us!"

Xie Chang'an immediately stopped in his tracks. Wen Li was right; his current identity could not be associated with Wen Li.

After everyone left, only the Xie family remained in the house. The six of them squeezed into one room. Qiao Shan and her two daughters slept on the kang (a heated brick bed), while the three men made makeshift beds on the floor using straw.

The room was small and cramped, and had various unpleasant smells, but it was clean and tidy, and everything was arranged neatly.

"Brother, who do you think could be so heartless as to harm two young girls like this?"

Xie Chang'an's eyes darkened. "I'll go to the pond tomorrow and see if it was really the village children who did it!"

Xie Chang'an has been familiarizing himself with the terrain of the back mountain recently. His family's entire savings amount to only one yuan and sixty cents, which they need to exchange for grain.

So he decided to rely on the mountains for his livelihood, catching some pheasants and rabbits in the back mountains to exchange for money. He had also been to the pond, where the weeds were not too dense, and it had rained last night, so he could get a general idea by looking at the footprints.

Villagers almost never venture into the deep mountains. If it was an adult who did it, as long as we figure out who went into the deep mountains that afternoon, and then slowly eliminate possibilities, we can deduce who it was.

Xie Changping gritted his teeth and said, "I'll go with you!"

"No need, you stay home and take care of Xue'er and the others, I can go by myself!"

A flicker of pain crossed Xie Yuanhua's eyes. If he hadn't offended someone, his son and daughter wouldn't have had to suffer like this.

"Be careful when you go to the back mountain. There are not only wild boars, but also bears and wolves. If you can't catch any prey, our family can still eat our fill of wild vegetables. We can earn work points now, so we won't starve to death!"

"Dad, I'll be careful!"

Seeing that his father, who was only in his early forties, already had white hair, and that his once elegant and beautiful mother had become thin and sallow, Xie Chang'an became even more determined to make money.

Wen Li returned to the educated youth compound and thought about the original plot of the book again. According to the plot, Old Hou and the others died in the cowshed last winter.

In other words, after the Xie family was sent down to the countryside, there were only six members of their family in the cowshed.

Given their current condition, Xie Xue and Xie Shuang probably didn't have time to receive treatment. Perhaps because of this injury, Xie Xue didn't have time to receive treatment and may have already passed away, while Xie Shuang may still have a glimmer of hope.

She could tell tonight that this family was very harmonious and did not have any preference for sons over daughters. On the contrary, Xie Chang'an and his brother were very protective of their two younger sisters.

Could Xie Xue's injury be the trigger for Xie Chang'an's descent into darkness?

The Xie family has six members. Even if Xie Xue is gone, what will happen to the remaining four?

Logically speaking, Jiang Yue'er shouldn't know them, so why would Xie Chang'an target Jiang Yue'er and Jiang Chen so aggressively?

Wen Li fell asleep while thinking. Xie Chang'an was a character who appeared later in the story, and no one knew about his past. Wen Li could only take it one step at a time.

She was still counting on Xie Chang'an to make money for her in the future, so she couldn't let him turn evil again.

Tonight wasn't a complete waste of time; she did manage to save Xie Xue, and Xie Chang'an now owes her a favor.

After a night, the twin sisters' fevers gradually subsided. The next day, Xie Chang'an took advantage of his lunch break to go to the pool.

When he got to the vicinity of the pond, he observed very carefully, and when he saw some twisted weeds, he would lift them up to look at the footprints.

Along the way, we only saw five sets of footprints. Two of them belonged to Xie Xue and her friends, and the other three were clearly those of adults. Two of them were slightly larger and were obviously the footprints of adult men.

There was also a slightly smaller footprint that looked like a woman's, but it could also be the footprint of an older child.

However, most villagers come to the mountains to hunt, so they can't bring children with them. Therefore, he prefers women.

There aren't many women in the village who frequently venture into the deep mountains; only Jiang Yue'er and Wen Li do.

He wouldn't doubt Wen Li, because if she hadn't reminded them, they might not have even remembered it.

Moreover, as far as he knew, Wen Li always went to the back mountain alone, never with anyone. Even when she was with someone, she was always with female educated youth.

That leaves only Jiang Yue'er!

While this speculation may not be accurate, given the gossipy nature of the villagers, someone will definitely know what a woman is doing deep in the mountains.

Although he had someone he suspected, what he needed to do now was to find out who had gone into the deep mountains yesterday.

Finding information is also a problem. Given his current situation, even if the villagers know something, they probably won't tell him. So, he might have to trouble Wen Li with this matter.

When he returned to the foot of the mountain, he told Old Man Wang and the others what had happened.

Old Wang knew that he had already guessed that he and Wen Li were acquainted, so he stopped keeping him in suspense.

"Wen girl usually goes to the back mountain in the afternoons, keep an eye out and see if you can run into her!"

"Okay, thank you!"

He carried manure while observing the educated youth compound.

Around 2 p.m., Wen Li was indeed seen carrying a basket on her back as she came out of the educated youth compound and headed down the mountain.

He made an excuse to go to the toilet and then followed me to the foot of the mountain.

Wen Li noticed that Xie Chang'an was following her, so she deliberately went to a secluded place.

"Comrade Xie, is there something you need from me?"

An unnatural look flashed across Xie Chang'an's face; the only person he could think of right now was Wen Li.

"Wen, I might need to trouble you with something else!"

"Tell me about it!" Wen Li didn't refuse outright.

Xie Chang'an told Wen Li about his discovery at noon, and then made his plea.

Wen Li remained silent, lost in thought.

The longer Wen Li remained silent, the more uneasy Xie Chang'an felt. After all, Wen Li didn't owe him anything; on the contrary, he owed Wen Li. Trouble her like this might make her seem like she was taking advantage of him.

"Wen, my current situation is special, but I still have some strength. If you ever need my help in the future, just ask, and I will never refuse!"

Wen Li snapped out of her thoughts, "Okay, I'll go find someone to help me inquire in a bit!"

Seeing that Wen Li had relented, Xie Chang'an relaxed his tense shoulders.