The casual life of the flat space

"Don't you have any doubts? Besides, didn't I say at that time that I could save Baoer?" Bai Tieying asked.

"We didn't hear anything. We only saw that Bao'er's mother couldn't wake her up, so Lingzi dragged us away. What's more, she looked really scary. Lingzi said that if we walked too slowly, she would turn into a ghost and find us right away. Then we wouldn't have to wait for the police to catch us. Bao'er would catch us."

You did something wrong and you're still afraid of ghosts? Bai Tieying really wanted to roll his eyes. "Did she say where she was taking you?"

"She said her father made a fortune in the city and met some capable people. We can go find her father and ask him to introduce us to a job. We can come back after we are sure that we are not implicated in the incident."

"Where are you planning to sell them?" Bai Tieying turned to Lingzi and asked.

"Ms. Bai, please stop slandering me!" Lingzi certainly couldn't admit it herself. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, she would live on as tenaciously as a cowgrass!

"At this point, it doesn't matter whether you admit it or not. You can't escape the charges of 'theft' and 'framing'."

"Humph, aren't those all your guesses? Miss Bai, can you convict someone just because you make up a good story? Then what is the role of the county magistrate?"

"Ah, you really won't cry until you see the coffin!" Bai Tieying sighed, "Then please help us and nominate someone who has never had any conflicts with the families of these three people to search them!"

When Lingzi heard this, her expression finally changed, but after rolling her eyes, she returned to her previous expression.

There are a total of 18 families, and there is actually one family that has no conflicts with these three families. I don’t know whether it is the misfortune or luck of these three families. His daughter-in-law was pushed out, and her face was full of reluctance. She kept muttering, "What does it have to do with us?"

An elderly grandmother heard this and was so angry that she cursed, "You have a dog that has taken your brain away. Haven't you heard the saying 'It's better to be afraid of thieves thinking about it than to be afraid of thieves stealing'?

What did the headman say? Oh, yes, 'Your bed should not allow others to snore'! I don't care if you want to or not, go and clean up these three quickly, otherwise your family's good man will be done for!"

The daughter-in-law of that family quickly put on a smile and said something like "How could that be? Don't be angry, I didn't mean that." With the help of the other two aunts, she took the three people to a secluded place and searched them.

Lai Di had already cried so hard that she was in a mess. She was not reluctant at all when she was searched. Chun Hua struggled a little, but was also searched. Only Ling Zi told the daughter-in-law where her things were before she was searched. After the search, it turned out to be exactly what she said.

The young wife packed up the belongings of the three people and brought them to the crowd. Lai Di had only half a piece of mixed grain cake, while Chun Hua had a hollow silver hairpin wrapped in a handkerchief, a silk flower, a piece of flower fat that looked like it had been used many times, and fifteen coins.

Lingzi's belongings were quite interesting: a sharp stone dagger, a dried mushroom, a handful of pickled meat, a small cloth bag of salt, and a purse with fifty-six coins in it. What puzzled everyone the most was that there were two small bundles of thin hemp ropes, which were said to have been untied from her calves.

Combining the news he had heard in the past half day, Bai Tieying understood what Lai Di and Chun Hua were carrying, and it was indeed consistent with their experiences and personalities.

Lai Di was not well-liked by her family. This small piece of mixed grain cake was all her property. In other words, between money and food, she most likely chose food. In this comparison, Chunhua seemed even more stupid. Who could not see the meaning of her bringing these things with her to the county town? But she could not be blamed. After all, that was how her mother taught her.

Look, when Lai Di's mother and Chun Hua's mother saw that they brought things to the county town, they started scolding them, calling them "money-losing goods" and "stupid people". They had never shown any concern for the children before, which shows that they actually knew something about Bao'er or Jiaojiao.

Bai Tieying turned his attention to the pile of things Lingzi was holding. These things seemed to be out of place, but Bai Tieying didn't understand what the mushroom was until he recognized it.

"Who knows about Lingzi's family situation?" Bai Tieying asked.

"I, I, I, Miss Bai, I'm their neighbor." An old woman with a hunched back happened to be standing in the innermost part. As soon as she spoke, everyone else shut up, which showed that she was indeed the one who "knew" them the most.

"You black-hearted, rotten-lung scum, you old, talkative sparrow, I..." Before Grandma Lingzi could finish her words, she was covered by the two people next to her. After all, she was old and couldn't struggle free. She was dragged to the back and said something. Grandma Lingzi didn't move anymore.

Lingzi, who was lying on the floor, straightened up when she heard her grandmother's voice, but then she lay down again. If her hands were not tied, she would have seemed to be basking in the sun.

"Miss Bai, my name is Ma Li, and I am forty-nine this year. Unlike everyone else, we used to live in Niujiao Village. It was the county magistrate... it was Xiao... uh..." Grandma Ma didn't know how to address the former county magistrate, and she couldn't continue.

"Grandma Ma, please just tell me about Lingzi's family situation!"

"Oh, okay, okay!" Grandma Ma straightened her back, but it collapsed again after a moment, so she stopped straightening it and cleared her throat and said:

"This old Zhang family is the same as the other sixteen families. They were all... bought from various places and sent here by the previous person. There is only an old woman named Zhang in her family, and she has three sons. They have gradually married over the years, but they have not separated. After all, we are tenant farmers. If we separate, we will have to pay rent and perform labor service ourselves.

When we got here, Lingzi was already four years old. She was very cute when she was little, smart, tactful, and good at talking..." Seeing Bai Tieying tilted his head, Grandma Ma stopped talking immediately and continued:

"But this child doesn't have a good father! We have a small population and a lot of land here, and the Zhang family has three men. Even though we have to pay 60% to that man, we can still have some surplus every year.

But when people have money, they become arrogant. Her father became addicted to gambling and sold her mother to a brothel. Later, someone chopped off his fingers, and his two brothers beat him so hard that he dared not go home. Only then did he stop.

But what about a child without a father or a mother? Although there is an old woman named Zhang who can protect him a little, but... Anyway, this child has not had a good life since he lost his mother, and his personality has gradually changed. "