Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Eldest Brother is Missing

Xiao Qingya also had been full of anticipation for this whole month, waiting for their eldest brother to return. However, almost two months passed and there wasn’t even any news back.

The letter they had delivered to Xiao Jingran remained unanswered until now.

Last time, Xiao Jingran had delivered the letter through a merchant caravan which passed by their county. Physician Li often went to the county to get medicinal herbs, that’s why he sometimes helped the Xiao family to fetch the letter.

Speaking of Physician Li, he was actually a distant relative of Aunt Li who lived in the same village as the Xiao family. They shared the same great-grandfather.

"Hao’er, what did Physician Li say?" Zhou Anran asked her second son worriedly.

Xiao Fenghao had gone to Physician Li for another check up. A week ago, Physician Li told him that he could take off the wooden splint.

Even so, he was still forbidden from doing any work that required him to use his left arm.

Xiao Fenghao’s forehead was marred with a deep frown and he shook his head. Although he didn’t want his insidious eldest brother to return, he didn’t want anything to happen to him.

Now, he wanted him to return home more than anything.

"Mother, Physician Li said that there is no letter from Eldest Brother. He had just asked a few inn owners yesterday." Xiao Fenghao mumbled.

Xiao Qingya’s hand slowed down, and she bit her lip.

[System... nothing happened to us during this month, but we received points...] She trailed off.

Zhou Anran and others subconsciously tensed when they heard Xiao Qingya’s words. They were even more worried about Xiao Jingran.

[Host, there might be another mission soon. I can sense it.] The System told its host carefully.

This time, Xiao Qingya was certain. [It must be related to Eldest Brother.]

She was very sure of it. Chen Huayun had her household authorities taken away from her, and now she was busy racking her brain to get it back from her husband.

It was unknown what Zhou Wenzhi had done to make her so obedient. The household authorities must not have been the only reason.

Even though Chen Huayun’s heart might be itching with hatred for Zhou Anran and her children, she actually could hold herself back from finding trouble with them. The most surprising was Liu Hua. She also had been quiet.

From the gossiping aunties, they had heard that Liu Hua sometimes was still going to the fields with Zhou Shiming.

Sometimes, they even saw Chen Huayun.

[What should I do?] The little one sighed.

She had used the points to buy pesticide a week ago, not willing to miss the best time to deal with the pests and deter the birds. One field had entered the grain filling process.

Another two weeks, and the grain would be fully mature. Alas, their Eldest Brother wasn’t there to witness the process.

Even if they wanted to help him solve his problem, they couldn’t. They didn’t even know his current whereabouts.

[Since the mission most likely be related to your Eldest Brother, it means that he is still alive.]

The System became the most rational one and could assess the situation better. Still, even though its words made sense, it didn’t stop them from worrying.

After all, most of the missions Xiao Qingya received were always followed by instant emergency. In the matter of minutes to hours, the incident described in the mission objective would instantly happen.

[Little Ya, do you know what it means that you will receive a mission, right?] The System suddenly threw a random quiz out of nowhere.

The little one was taken aback. She scrunched her little nose, deep in thought. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.

[I know, I know! It means that it is most likely recorded in the plot!]

***

The case of Qiu Mu’s death brought the yamen officials to often linger at the Hejia village. Although the result of the investigation wasn’t publicized, people could already guess from the yamen officials’ behavior.

If Qiu Mu’s death wasn’t so unusual, why would they linger around?

The Hejia village people were only commoners. Hence, the presence of the yamen official made everyone tense. Even the people who usually made trouble didn’t dare to do anything out of line anymore.

They wished that the yamen officials would immediately catch the culprit soon, so that their lives wouldn’t be shrouded in worry and fear anymore.

Compared to a month ago, the fear had indeed subsided, but it was still there. The moment they saw the yamen officials, they would be reminded of Qiu Mu’s case.

They avoided them like plague. On top of that, they were also worried the yamen officials would arrest them, finding a random person to be convicted as Qiu Mu’s murderer so that they didn’t need to dwell on this case anymore.

Everyone had many worries.

However, today, many people also saw an unusual sight.

Sun Daniu, Qiu Mu’s husband finally returned from God-knows-where, leading his ox cart back to Hejia village.

They hesitated whether to tell him the news, but upon remembering the yamen officials who were still investigating the case, they refrained from doing so.

"Even though he wasn’t at home when the incident happened, the yamen officials will still interrogate him. It’s best if we don’t associate with him for the time being." A villager whispered.

Another one added, "His kids are home. They are still there to tell him."

No one approached Sun Daniu to tell him about his wife.

Sun Tiezhu had just returned from the fields with his brothers when he saw that their father had finally returned. He pursed his lips, and opened the door, letting his brothers enter the house first.

"Father," he greeted once Sun Daniu got down from the ox cart.

Sun Daniu greeted his son back warmly, and his tone was excited. "Son, you will be surprised if you know what your father has been doing!"

Taking a deep breath, Sun Tiezhu didn’t interrupt his father and let him continue. His silence convinced Sun Daniu that his son was very curious.

"I found a job in the county market and earned a lot of silver taels!" Once he said that, he grabbed his son and dragged him inside the house.

Sun Daniu pulled a few silver notes, shaking them in front of Sun Tiezhu proudly. "Look, son, your father made a lot of money!"

"I am not a useless person," he snorted. "Your mother was blabbering nonsense, wasn’t she? How dare she call me useless. If I am useless, how can I make this much money?"

Sun Tiezhu glanced around and caught the sight of his younger brothers who were eavesdropping. Their heads almost peeked out of the door as they listened to their eldest brother and father’s conversation.

Seeing his son’s line of sight, Sun Daniu also spotted his other two sons. He waved his hand and called them out to brag.

"If you want to buy anything, just tell me. Father will buy it for you. I am a very hardworking person, and I earn this money through my own effort. Call your mother over too, let her witness my greatness," Sun Daniu snorted at the end.

Sun Tiezhu couldn’t take it anymore. "Father, Mother is dead."