In the book, I was fed by my sister

One afternoon, four or five horse-drawn carriages came to Lihua Village, stopped at the gate of the Song family, and then left with a small mountain of baskets.

"Here? Are you here to get some braised food?"

"Why so many!"

"Stop talking! Li Manpeng's grandson is over there!"

……

In the evening, a donkey cart carrying braised meat arrived.

Song Ran had been waiting for a long time. She skillfully put the fresh braised meat into the pole and reminded him, "Remember to soak it in there and take it out when you serve it tomorrow."

After the people left, she locked the gate, returned to the house, and placed the silver in her hand on the bed one by one.

Then move the cabinet away and pour out the money in the piggy bank.

"Little darling, help me separate the copper coins from the silver. Use a straw rope to string twenty copper coins together."

The two of them got busy together and began to count the money.

The whole silver ingots totaled 125 taels, the broken silver weighed 11 taels, and the copper coins totaled 460 pieces.

Looking at the money, Song Ran picked up Song Li and kissed her again and again.

With this money, I can cultivate the land and raise some livestock.

The two sisters will never have to worry about money for the rest of their lives.

"I have to divide the money into several parts and hide them in different places in the house. When the time comes, the jar outside will be used to put the silver and copper coins."

"Little sweetheart, this is our family's big secret. You must not tell anyone else. Do you understand?"

Song Li nodded.

"Then sister, do you still need to go into the mountains to find firewood?"

The fire hole consumes firewood, and the daily braised meat also consumes firewood.

In addition, the villagers were not allowed to enter the mountains for several months, and the family was running out of firewood.

"Come in, when the time comes, I will talk to the people who went into the mountains with me, and I will buy firewood from them in the future."

Winter is approaching, and considering everyone's safety, the village chief proposed that they go into the mountains together and agree on a specific time to go into the mountains to chop firewood.

The autumn sun is soft and warm, shining through the sparse clouds and onto the winding mountain road.

A group of people carried heavy axes on their backs and slowly moved towards the mountains, amidst the autumn scenery.

The trees in the mountains have changed into their golden and crimson autumn attire, the fallen leaves rustle underfoot, accompanied by the occasional bird song. The air is filled with a faint woody scent and the smell of rotting leaves, which is the unique smell of autumn.

With each rise and fall of the knife, the tree trunk broke with a crisp sound.

The branches were tied to a wheelbarrow, and when it was full, it was shaken down the mountain with a "creaking" sound.

The Song family was short of manpower, so they brought in a small donkey and loaded a cart with supplies every day, which was enough to last for a while.

By noon, everyone picked up the dry food they brought with them.

Song Ran greeted, "Aunts and uncles! My family has been selling a lot of stewed food recently, and I think I will buy firewood from you in the future."

"Hey, do I have to include the money for firewood in the braised meat from now on?"

"Honglu, how many pounds of meat can you afford? Why are you worried about this?"

"Hahaha."

Everyone was talking and laughing, eating their own dry food, accompanied by a few slices of braised meat given by Song Ran, and a simple lunch was over.

"Everyone, let's move forward!" Although Lihua Village does not rely on the mountains for its livelihood, they also know that they cannot just grab a piece of land and take advantage of it.

People started chatting as they hurried along:

"Have you heard that cotton prices have risen recently? If you want to make winter clothes, remember to prepare early! I think the snow will come early this year."

"The weather has changed. I don't know if my son will get cold over there."

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere at the scene suddenly became silent. They had not received any letters for almost four months.

We were from the same village, and when we first went out, we were basically in the same barracks, so the letters we sent back were written on one envelope.

As time went by, I received more and more letters back, and then less and less.

"Look! Is there a person on that tree?"

"It's a piece of cloth..."

A gust of wind blew through the woods, and the piece of cloth fell down with a loud noise.

Everyone stopped and a look of horror appeared on their faces.

The two men took axes and walked towards that place bravely.

"It's... Li Manpeng!"

*

When Zhang Gaopeng and a few others arrived at the mountain, the sun was about to set.

"Captain Zhang, this man is really not a good person. No one carried him down the mountain after he died. There are few footprints around him. It seems that no one even came to see him. It shows that he is hated by everyone." An accompanying official could not help but comment.

"Don't gossip about the deceased." Zhang Gaopeng reminded seriously.

"Yes."

Zhang Gaopeng turned to the person who reported the crime and said gratefully, "Thank you two brothers for leading the way."

"This is what we should do, gentlemen. Can we two go now?" asked the person who reported the case.

"I need to stay here for the time being. I have something to ask you." Zhang Gaopeng replied.

"But we are not the only ones who discovered it. Sir, this is none of our business."

Li Wanshu came out to comfort them: "It's just a normal questioning, you don't have to be afraid."

Zhang Gaopeng looked at the reporter and said gently, "We are just trying to understand the situation. Don't worry, we won't cause any trouble for you."

Zhang Gaopeng looked around and saw a shocking scene. A body was lying on the muddy ground, covered with mud, and was obviously dragged here. A ring-shaped mark was clearly visible on the neck of the body. Moreover, the body was missing a shoe, which made the whole scene even more weird.

He looked up at the trees above his head, trying to find a clue, "Do you remember where it was hung?"

The reporter nodded and pointed to a tall tree branch not far away. "It should be that branch. I remember seeing it from a distance. It was quite high."

Zhang Gaopeng immediately ordered: "Xiao Wan, climb up and take a look."

Xiao Wan looked at the tall tree branch and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Wow! So high."

However, not long after, he shouted in surprise: "Head, there are traces!"

Zhang Gaopeng immediately instructed: "Look for vines or something like that around here."

Although everyone wondered why Zhangtou insisted on looking for vines instead of the more common hemp ropes, they still followed the instructions.

However, the search was fruitless, as there was not even a blade of green grass around, let alone any items like ropes.

"That shouldn't be the case. Am I wrong?"

Zhang Gaopeng frowned, full of doubts. He didn't know why this case reminded him of the previous Yang Wen tragedy.

"Boss, it's getting dark, let's pull the body down the mountain. The county magistrate instructed us this morning that we will have a dinner tonight, and everyone must be present."

Zhang Gaopeng also realized that he had to carry the body down the mountain as soon as possible. "Okay, carry it down first."

He turned to Village Chief Li and said, "Village Chief Li, we need to know something from you. Let's talk while we walk."

Li Wanshu nodded and agreed: "Okay, okay."

"Does this person have any enemies with anyone in the village?"

Li Wanshu sighed and said, "That's a lot. He has done some beastly things recently and has offended everyone in the village." He described in detail the recent incident in the village.

Zhang Gaopeng shook his head, thinking that these were not enough to make him kill. To hang a person at such a high place, it would take the joint efforts of at least two people.

Suddenly, Zhang Gaopeng thought of an important clue. He asked, "By the way, where is the home of that silly girl? Can you take me there to have a look?"

If we talk about people who hate Li Manpeng, the most common way for the villagers to do so is to vent their anger by beating others.

The hatred in the family has lasted for so many years, but it will not be killed at this time.

Then there was only Da Mai who was truly hurt, and the two elderly people in that family also passed away because of this man. Could it be that this family was taking revenge?

"Are you talking about Damai? Where are the child's family? Now he is being taken care of by an old woman in the village. Go over there at this intersection." Li Wanshu pointed in the direction.

Zhang Gaopeng took two steps and saw a house with an open gate.

In the yard, Da Mai and Song Li were squatting on the ground playing with two cats.

"Wow! It smells so good!" Xiao Wan said.

"That shop is making braised meat recently. It's in the city and it's very popular recently!" Li Wanshu explained. He felt that he benefited from the fact that there was a famous one in the village.

"Zhang Tou! I mentioned this to you before I went out today and asked Lao Bai and the others to go and look for the source in advance. It turns out this is the source! I have to go buy a few kilograms to bring back."

"They are sold out early this morning. Not only our village comes to buy, but also the neighboring villages come."

Zhang Gaopeng glanced at the two people in the yard again, turned around and said, "We have to hurry back."