Before everything goes out

That night.

Li Fei fell asleep as soon as his head hit the bed and slept very soundly.

After a full twelve hours of sleep, the fatigue from two days in the mountains has finally been fully recovered.

When he woke up and looked at the clock on the wall, he was surprised to find that it was already past 10 a.m.

This was the first time in a long time that he had slept so soundly and for so long.

outside the house.

I could vaguely see the sky brightening, and I could hear the laughter of children.

The door was closed, and light shone through the window, casting several square, mottled patterns inside the room.

One of the pieces landed right on a box next to him.

The tin box is badly rusted.

The word "newlywed" was faintly visible on it, probably a wedding candy box from before the disaster. When you opened it, it didn't contain wedding candy, but all sorts of other candies.

Most are hard candies, but some are soft ones.

Among them were the toffee that Bai Xiaowu had given him before, and he had a deep impression of its expired taste.

"You're awake."

Turning around, I realized that Lin Wen was sitting in a corner of the living room.

She held a thick book in her hands, and a patch of light shone on the open page. As she moved her hand slowly, the patch of light moved across the page, like a lamp.

"I was worried the children would disturb you, so I let them go out to play. This morning was supposed to be class time."

"Class time?"

Li Fei sat up in bed and stretched his aching body.

He had indeed heard in the past few days that there were classes being held in the cabin.

"Yes, that's why they call me Teacher Lin. As I told you before, I teach them to recognize and write characters. You just arrived a few days ago, so I had them take a break from class for a few days."

"I remember now, so this candy is..."

"Xiao Wu gave this to you, saying it was to thank you for helping her find her mother. She said to eat sparingly, as she herself is usually reluctant to spend money on food."

"Um."

Li Fei hesitated for a moment, picked out a fruit hard candy from the box, closed the box, and put it back on the table.

"I only need one; there are plenty of these things inside the wall."

"Get dressed, I'm not looking at you."

Lin Wen changed direction and turned her back.

"It's okay, I didn't take my pants off."

Li Fei smiled sheepishly.

In fact, he hasn't taken his pants off to sleep in the past few days.

It's not that he has this habit, but he's just afraid that if something really happens in the middle of the night, sleeping with his pants on will make it easier to run away.

"This time, I've finally survived..."

After getting dressed, Li Fei stood by the stove and washed his face with cold water.

Only after escaping from the mountains and sleeping safely at home for one night did he truly feel a sense of security, as if he had survived a disaster.

"It's dangerous in the mountains, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's more than just dangerous; you could die inside if you're not careful."

"It seems the village chief was right; Shuanghe Village is the only place we can stay."

"You haven't been to the mountains in all these years?"

"The last time was many years ago. I used to go for a walk at the foot of the mountain, but I haven't been there since my parents passed away."

"Your parents left the village too?"

"Yes, many years ago, right after the catastrophe, before Xiao Wu and the others came to our house."

Could it be that Liu Yongxiao turned her into a dog?

A terrible thought popped into Li Fei's mind, but he still comforted her aloud:

"It's okay, they might be living a better life than us now."

"Thank you for your kind words."

Lin Wen smiled.

As the two were talking, the noise from the fight outside the door gradually stopped.

A chubby boy pushed open the door and shouted at the two of them:

"Teacher Lin, someone is looking for Uncle!"

Looking for me?

Li Fei and Lin Wen exchanged a glance, somewhat surprised.

Liu Yongxiao said last night that the next two days would be his rest days and that he wouldn't be bothered.

so...

Those who come knocking on your door are likely to be dealing with trouble.

"Who is it?"

Lin Wen asked.

There are a lot of people.

The chubby boy answered.

"It should be fine."

Li Fei glanced at the gun on the table, slung it over his shoulder, pushed open the door, and went out, with Lin Wen following closely behind.

The sunlight outside was blinding, and the two squinted to adjust their eyes briefly.

Before I even opened my eyes, amidst the dazzling light, I heard a woman's shrewish voice.

"Huanzi, you killed my Ah Ji and Ma Zi! You deserve an explanation today!"

Open your eyes.

Seven or eight people were crammed into the small courtyard.

Men and women, young and old, the old ones were seventy or eighty years old with completely white hair, and the young ones were fifteen or sixteen years old with fierce eyebrows and stern eyes.

After scanning the room, Lin Wen leaned close to Li Fei's ear and reminded him:

"Most of them are Ah-Ji's family members, and a few are villagers who are familiar with them. I guess they came to support him."

Li Fei nodded and went into the courtyard.

Seeing this, Bai Xiaowu, who was swinging on a swing, pulled his younger siblings into the house and then peeked through the window.

"His death has nothing to do with me, and the Niu brothers can testify to that."

Li Fei's explanation was sincere.

The ringleader of the shrewish women sneered upon hearing this:

"It has nothing to do with you? My son was so smart and quick-witted, how could he possibly die in the mountains by himself? It must be related!"

What kind of logic is that?

Isn't this just being unreasonable?

really.

Children are often just like their parents.

Li Fei was about to speak when he was silenced by the support of those around him.

"After going into the mountains, Ah Ji died, and Ma Zi also died."

"Our family is alright, we have a lot of people. But that pockmarked man's family was just him, and now that he's dead, there are only two old people left. What are we going to do?"

"Yeah, what do we do?"

They chimed in with their own opinions, creating a menacing atmosphere.

Li Fei wasn't buying it; he just gave a cold laugh.

"What do you want to do? Make me pay with my life?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone in the courtyard changed slightly.

life for a life?

That's impossible.

Their initial decision to take action against Li Fei was driven by impulsive emotions and a lack of judgment. Now, having calmed down, they realize that if Huanzi were to die at their hands, she would undoubtedly face retaliation from the other Huanzi...

This is why Liu Yongxiao forbade them from touching the ring.

If Li Fei really dies at their hands, then the next time Huanzi comes, it won't just be a matter of kidnapping a few people.

Furthermore.

They hadn't missed the submachine gun on Li Fei's back.

If it really comes down to a fight, even if they have 20 people, they might not necessarily have the upper hand.

"Pay with my life? What's the point of killing you? Even if I kill you, my son can't be brought back to life..."

Li Fei's words had a good effect, and the shrew's momentum weakened by three points.

Seeing that she had softened, the man next to her immediately encouraged her.

"We don't care about your life, we want you to pay! You have to pay something back!"

"Where did I get this from?"

Li Fei shrugged, his hands empty.

"If you don't have any, let Teacher Lin cover it for now, and you can make it up to her later. If there's no food, winter is coming soon, so a few clothes would be fine too!"

"I think you guys are fucking desperate for money..."

"Whose mother are you calling a 'mother'?!"

Seizing on the key words, several young men excitedly stepped forward, grabbing Li Fei with several arms, but they dared not actually lay a hand on him.

They're not stupid. If Li Fei really gets desperate and pulls out a gun, things will get complicated.

During the scuffle, Lin Wen joined in, fighting alongside Li Fei.

Although she was a woman, she was exceptionally strong and managed to pull Li Fei out of his predicament with a single forceful tug.

"Hey! Teacher Lin, why are you siding with an outsider!"

"He's no longer an outsider!"

"Not outsiders? What do you mean? We don't understand."

"He helped us go into the mountains to look for someone, and he almost lost his life in the process. Don't you all remember?"

"Isn't this his? He's the one who kidnapped that person!"

"He has amnesia, it has nothing to do with what happened before."

The shrew choked for a moment.

With a quick glance, she changed her angle and splashed dirty water directly.

"I get it. You've been helping Huanzi in every way. Could it be that you...slept with him?!"

"I'll sleep with your mother!"

Lin Wen was stunned for a moment after she uttered those curses.

This is only the first round.

Soon, the second round of the verbal battle began.

As the shrew continued her tirade, more and more people gathered around her, and she became increasingly animated in her speech.

He would even occasionally ask the audience for help.

"Fellow villagers, be the judge! How can someone kill a man's son and then not be compensated for anything?"

But things didn't go as expected, despite her expectant gaze.

Perhaps it was because they knew she was morally corrupt, or perhaps their attitude towards Li Fei had improved...

In short.

The villagers watching the commotion simply stood with their hands behind their backs, offering no support.

Some of them even spoke up for Li Fei.

"Sister Feng, that's enough."

"Exactly, these days, who doesn't have someone die in their family?"

"Take Guatou and Mazi, for example, the two families who went into the mountains together this time. Why didn't they come to make trouble?"

"Also, Huanzi almost lost his life searching for someone in the mountains, so he definitely deserves credit, don't you all agree?"

"That makes sense to me!"

"If you're so tough, go find the village chief. What are you doing, bullying a little girl like this?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Xiuhui's eyes widened in surprise.

She glared at the villager and explained loudly:

"What do you mean, bullying a little girl? I came here for this ring, he killed..."

She took her words back before she could finish.

Because on the path not far away, a dark shadow was running quickly along the ground.

It was Liu Yongxiao's big black dog, Ertong.

However, following behind him were not Liu Yongxiao, but the Niu brothers.

"Sister Feng, stop making a scene here. Your son's death has nothing to do with him. You can only blame yourself for not being calm enough."

As Niu Wenbing spoke, he followed Niu San and squeezed into the small courtyard.

Upon seeing this, Feng Xiuhui twitched her nose and her eyes reddened:

"Fine! I've lost my son, and now even you, Niuwa'er, are bullying me. Have you forgotten that six years ago, I shared five and a half jin of corn with your family for the winter? Have you forgotten all that?"

As she spoke, Feng Xiuhui rolled over and was about to lie down on the ground.

According to the procedure, the first step is to cry, the second is to make a scene, and the third is to threaten suicide.

If the conditions for hanging weren't unsuitable here, she wouldn't have just rolled around a few times; she would have threatened to kill herself on the spot.

"stand up."

Niu San stepped forward with a cold face and lifted Feng Xiuhui up from the ground.

"It's no use arguing with us. The village chief is back. If you have any complaints, go tell him."

Following the gaze of the Niu brothers, a group of villagers, including Feng Xiuhui, looked towards the village entrance.

On the way back to the village, Liu Yongxiao was walking slowly with his hands behind his back.

Behind it, four large dogs were pulling a cart, bumping along a country road.

Looking at the cart, I saw it was bulging with something, but most of it was covered by white cloth, so I couldn't see it clearly.