jdhmnovel Chapter 139 A strange death
Chapter 139 A strange death
After walking for a short while, we could see a large cluster of houses on the opposite bank of the river.
The woman pointed to the large rocks laid out across the river, "Look, you can go over there, I won't go, I'll wait for you here."
"Auntie, you go back first. We know the way, we can get back by ourselves later."
Jiang Mianmian was trying to find an excuse to send her away, but it's good that she didn't go.
"Alright, I'll go to the village chief's house to borrow grain first."
The woman turned and left in a hurry.
"Come on, let's go over and take a look."
The two crossed the river, first circling around the outside.
The Zuo family home was indeed quite large, with more than twenty rooms in a large brick and tile house, as well as a front yard and a back yard. The back yard, in particular, was a huge enclosure, larger than the front yard and the house combined.
Despite the fire, the backyard remained completely unaffected. However, according to the tall man, where did the short man's sheep go? And what about the other animals in the Zuo family's livestock shed, which is so big?
Were they all stolen by the villagers, or were they taken away by the arsonists?
Jiang Mianmian thought of the two tall men. "Do you think they might have started this fire?"
"It's possible, let's go in and take a look."
On the 26th, she casually plucked a tender yellow flower and held it between her fingertips, playing with it slowly.
His expression was a little strange, and there seemed to be a hint of heartache in his eyes.
The thought flashed through her mind, but Jiang Mianmian was faster than her brain. She had already entered Zuo Caizhu's house and was immediately attracted by the burnt things inside.
Those things weren't completely burned; half were charred black, and the other half still showed their original color—all were high-quality wood.
Jiang Mianmian felt a pang of heartache. "I wonder if taking it into Peach Blossom Spring will allow it to be repaired?"
After all, those farm tools, once they entered Taoyuan, went from being dilapidated to being nearly new.
Give it a try; it won't cost you any merit points anyway.
Except for those that were burned too clean, all the other furniture and porcelain were taken inside.
She found a crowbar and a shovel. "Come on, pry up the floor tiles!"
"it is good."
Twenty-six didn't ask any more questions, and rolled up his sleeves to get to work.
If I could continue doing odd jobs for her like this, that wouldn't be bad.
Jiang Mianmian was very satisfied and told Twenty-Six to continue removing bricks while she went to the other rooms to start sweeping them up.
This trip was a few days late, and I didn't manage to get the lamb. I have to find something else to get, otherwise it would have been a wasted trip.
They entered from the backyard and continued forward, where the fire got worse and worse. They could salvage some of the damaged furniture and two more rooms, but then everything was burned to the ground.
The main house in the middle, which should have been the courtyard where the wealthy man Zuo lived, was completely reduced to ashes.
Such a severe condition could not have been caused by an accident.
Walking into the front yard, I saw it filled with corpses, all covered with white sheets, and an old man was dozing in a corner.
Afraid of startling him, Jiang Mianmian deliberately moved quietly, squatted down beside him, and poked him with her fingertip, "Uncle~~~"
The old man, half asleep, felt a tickle near his ear and groggily opened his eyes. He saw that everything around him was pitch black, and a fair-skinned human face was smiling at him.
"Uncle, you're awake!"
The old man's heart skipped a beat, and he jumped up, shouting, "A ghost!"
He turned and ran, saying, "I told you this money wasn't easy to earn, but they insisted on making me stand guard. Isn't this sending this old man to his death?"
"..."
Jiang Mianmian glanced at the direction he ran in, but didn't chase after him.
Instead, they lifted the white cloths one by one to look at the Zuo family's corpses, all of which were burned beyond recognition.
There wasn't much left to collect in the front yard, so she threw some paper money into the brazier, saying, "Those who have done bad things, don't take this."
Just then, she heard the old man's wailing coming from the inner room. She went over and saw the two of them staring at each other.
"Old man, why are you running?"
The old man looked at her, then at Twenty-Six, and slapped his forehead. "I thought it was a ghost, but it's a thief! You two have some nerve, daring to steal from Master Zuo's house?"
"Which eye of yours saw us steal?"
Jiang Mianmian stretched out her empty hands and waved them. "What did I steal? Did I steal air?"
Twenty-six also raised the shovel in his hand, "This is my own stuff."
"You! You're just making excuses! If you're not stealing, why are you carrying this thing?"
The old man remained silent, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
Jiang Mianmian didn't explain, but instead took out a roast chicken from under the old wooden table. "Want some? How about we make a deal? Besides the roast chicken, I have a lot of other food."
The old man crawled under the table, staring at the empty space, his head full of questions. "Where did you conjure up from?"
Taking advantage of his obstructed view, Jiang Mianmian placed a bag of rice and a bag of flour on the table. "Don't ask so many questions. Just tell me if you want to make a deal with me. I'll ask you a few simple questions, and these things are yours."
The old man was startled and said he was only keeping watch for money.
What she has is now far more valuable than money; rather than testing the woman, it's better to get it directly from here.
The old man crawled out from under the table and immediately smelled the aroma of rice. "Rice! Really for me? So much!"
"of course."
Jiang Mianmian put away the rice and flour bags. "How is it?"
"You ask!"
The old man stared intently at the food, his mouth watering at the smell of roast chicken.
"Here, let's talk while we eat."
Jiang Mianmian tore off a chicken leg for him. "Are you from this village? The Zuo family is gone, why did they call you here? Where are the village chief's family?"
"You think I'm easy to bully?"
The old man ate with his mouth full of oil, and didn't hide anything.
He was an old bachelor in the village who used to freeload a few meals whenever there was work to be done. Since the wealthy Zuo family had all died, no one dared to come, so the village chief made him keep watch at night, paying him one hundred coins a night, until the village reached a decision.
"What outcome were discussed? With such a serious incident, shouldn't the government take over?"
Jiang Mianmian didn't see any government officials near the Zuo family's residence.
The old man waved his hand, refusing to say any more, "You little girl, don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."
Do you still want this rice and flour?
Jiang Mianmian threatened him.
To everyone's surprise, the old man swallowed hard and said, "Earning enough to eat is enough. I can't say any more. You should leave now and not go back to the village. This is not a place for you."
Jiang Mianmian wanted to ask more, but Twenty-Six tugged at her, "Someone's here, it's that aunt from earlier."
Sure enough, footsteps came from outside. "Miss? Why hasn't Miss returned yet?"
"Don't say that we gave you the things!"
Jiang Mianmian shoved the rice and flour into the old man's hands, saying, "The Zuo family's deaths were suspicious; it's best if you don't get involved, old man!"
After saying that, he and Twenty-Six returned the way they came. "Auntie, what brings you here?"
The woman stood at the gate of the courtyard. When she saw them, she seemed relieved. "It's so dark now. I was worried about your safety. Come on, come back with me."
The three of them returned to the woman's house together.
The inner room was locked this time, and it was very quiet.