As soon as he saw Mrs. Liu, Mr. Bai quickly asked about this matter.
Mrs. Liu asked someone to serve him tea, and asked the kitchen to prepare some sweet soup for Mr. Bai to temporarily fill his stomach. Then he said, "You may not believe it, but I think they are here for my Bai family."
Mr. Bai couldn't understand and asked "Why?"
Liu didn't answer, but asked, "Lizhi, they seem to be looking for someone in the village. It should be a young man. At Zhou Jin's house, there was a big reaction from both sides. Do you know that he has a younger brother named Zhou Yin?"
?”
Mr. Bai was shocked, "Are they here for Zhou Yin?"
Mrs. Liu couldn't help but sit up straight and asked, "Do you know him?"
Mr. Bai coughed slightly uncomfortably, turned around and asked, "Why is Auntie suddenly interested in these things?"
Mrs. Liu said, "You tell me first, and I'll tell you later."
Sensing Mrs. Liu's wariness, Mr. Bai was not sad, but even more shocked. How serious this matter was, his aunt didn't even believe it.
Mr. Bai pondered for a while before saying, "Zhou Jin has a younger brother. When my family moved here, he was not in the village, but I could often hear the villagers talking about him."
But in the past six years, everyone has subconsciously avoided talking about Zhou Yin, as if it was a taboo, but in fact it was.
Mr. Bai organized some words and said, "In the eleventh year of Dade, there was a serious drought in this area. The family situation of Zhou Jin's family was not good at that time. Because the ancestors had a small population, and there were many children in their generation, so the family was very difficult. This
When a disaster strikes, their family is the worst affected."
It was only after the founding of this dynasty that land was divided among people, and so far it has only been divided among three generations.
So Zhou Jin's father only left a share of Yongye Field to the two brothers.
But Zhou Jintai was able to give birth to six sons and a daughter. At that time, Zhou Dalang had just gotten married but had not yet grown up, so another person was added to the family.
A drought directly forced their family into dire straits.
Mr. Bai said, "I heard that Zhou Yin was raised by Zhou Jin's daughter-in-law Qian. He was very filial and clever. He was only fourteen years old at the time. He sold himself to a caravan while no one was paying attention.
I brought back a bag of grain for the Zhou family."
Ms. Liu listened silently.
"Not only that, he was also very righteous and thought about the villagers. He did not talk about the things he had done for the village before, but said that he followed the villagers and came back with the caravan not long after. In the caravan, he helped the villagers
The young and middle-aged people got a part-time job and introduced people from several families to work as coolies in the county. Many people survived with that little food."
"But after that, he left with the caravan and never came back." At that time, the village chief asked Mr. Bai to help cover up, and told all these things about Zhou Yin like rice pouring out of a bamboo tube, and Mr. Bai said to
Zhou Yin was also deeply impressed, and since this matter has always been in his heart, he kept remembering it, "Later, the Zhou family went to look for him, including the caravan that passed by here again. I heard that he had caught a cold not long after he left.
, he contracted the epidemic, and the people in the caravan left him some money and left, and there has been no news since then."
Liu said, "It is lucky that people who have contracted the epidemic are still alive."
"Yes, Zhou Yin was indeed still alive at that time. The first time my nephew met him was in the early summer six years ago. At that time, he returned home with his wife and children in fine clothes. I talked to him for a while and felt that he was a clear and bold person.
.”
Because of this, he invited the other party to go home for a drink. Mr. Bai felt that if Zhou Yin had been alive at that time, they might have become good friends.
As for Mr. Liu, when she heard the word "early summer", she couldn't help but hold the handle of the chair tightly and asked, "What happened next?"
Mr. Bai lowered his eyes and said, "The second time we met, they were already dead."
Mr. Bai paused and said, "Zhou Jin said that his brother wanted to return to his hometown to live, so he asked someone to send all his belongings to the county. At that time, he and his wife went to the county to pick up things, but they did not come back that day. They went up the mountain.
The villagers looking for mushrooms found them lying on the mountain, covered in blood and their faces scratched, but the villagers were familiar with the two of them and recognized them at a glance, so they carried them back."
"They had nothing on them at the time, and all the donkey carts they bought were missing, so the Zhou family thought they had encountered robbers and were about to go to the county town to report the crime. Who knew there were officials?
The soldiers came to the village first to inquire."
Mr. Bai said, "I received them first. They were not doing much at that time. I saw the portraits of Zhou Yin and his wife first, so I asked more questions. They said they were arresting bandits, but how could Zhou Yin be a bandit?
"
But Mrs. Liu asked, "Do they have a donkey cart?"
Mr. Bai was stunned and nodded in confusion, "Yes, it was brought back by Zhou Yin. He took his wife and children back to his hometown and couldn't walk back, so he bought a donkey cart. What's wrong?"
Liu shook his head slowly, "What then?"
Mr. Bai was a little embarrassed. At that time, he had just lived in Qili Village for more than a year. Although the villagers were very enthusiastic, he always felt out of place because of his identity.
For the sake of Zhou Yin and to improve the relationship between the two parties, he delayed the official at that time and sent someone to notify Zhou Jin's family.
Then when the officials went to inquire again, almost everyone claimed that they did not recognize the two people in the portrait.
Mr. Bai said, "Almost everyone in the village has the surname Zhou. Even if they are not from the same ancestor, they are all related to each other. Moreover, everyone in the village has received favors from Zhou Yin, and these officials are not local officials in Luojiang County. They have to hide it."
They're easy."
"But even so, Zhou Jin's family did not dare to erect a monument for Zhou Yin and his wife, and they were buried quietly on the mountain."
Mrs. Liu seemed a little uncomfortable and leaned her elbows on the table and asked, "What about their children? Didn't they say they were wives and children?"
Mr. Bai paused and said softly, "My aunt has seen that man too."
A bright light flashed through his mind, and Mrs. Liu asked, "Yes, is it Zhou Man?"
"Yes, it's that child, but she doesn't know it."
Mrs. Liu nodded, her tears could no longer be held back and began to fall.
Mr. Bai was startled, and hurriedly stepped forward and handed the veil to her, "Auntie, what are you..."
Ms. Liu wiped her tears and said softly, "Maybe this is fate."
Master Bai...
"Qi'er did not die at the hands of bandits."
Mr. Bai was startled and asked quickly, "How could that happen?"
"Why not?" Mrs. Liu said excitedly, "Qi'er shouldn't come to Luojiang County even if he wants to suppress bandits. Shu County is not close to Luojiang County."
"Didn't Ziqi die while suppressing bandits in Shu County?"
"No," Ms. Liu said with certainty, "They transported Qi'er's body to Shu County to disguise it."