The wife of two taels of silver

Why haven’t the young master and the young lady come back yet?

Zhang Ben came out of the house and looked at the dim sky. The sun had already set, but the two children still had not returned.

Zhang Ben was very worried. The young master and young lady were very sensible and would have returned home early at this time in the past.

No, I have to go out and look for her. Zhang Ben dragged his lame leg out, worried.

"Master? Miss? Go home for dinner." Not seeing the two children on the roadside, Zhang Ben started shouting.

Still nothing, and no one responded. Zhang Ben became more and more anxious.

"Brother Zhang!" It was Li Erzhu, who was also sweating profusely from running. He asked, "Is my girl at your house?"

Zhang Ben shook his head, his face full of worry and anxiety: "No, my young master and young lady haven't returned home either."

Li Erzhu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Then let's look for them together. The three children will definitely be together."

"Let's go ask the kids who play with them to see if they have returned home." Zhang Ben was anxious and walked quickly despite dragging his crippled leg.

Li Erzhu nodded and said, "These three children usually don't like to play. Maybe they saw something new and interesting this time and forgot to go home."

But these words did not comfort him. Li Erzhu knew that such situations were very rare. If this was the case, it would not be a big deal. But what if the child had an accident? Li Erzhu simply did not dare to think about it anymore.

The two of them quickened their pace and headed towards Da Niu's house.

Among the people who played with Gu Mo and the others today was Da Niu. This kid was quite steady and was close to where Li Erzhu and Zhang Ben were currently, so the two of them went directly to Da Niu's house.

When they arrived at Daniu's house, Li Erzhu called out, "Brother Shanzi, is Daniu home?"

A dark-skinned man answered, "It's Erzhu. Shanzi is at home. What's the matter?"

"Daniu, come out, your uncle Erzhu is looking for you." Shanzi turned around and called his son out again.

When Li Erzhu and Zhang Ben heard the news that Da Niu was at home, their hearts skipped a beat.

"Daniu, where are Momolanlan and the girl? Aren't you playing together?" Zhang Ben asked hurriedly when he saw Daniu coming out.

Big Bull scratched his head and said doubtfully, "They went home a long time ago? We went to the mountains to catch fox cubs together, and Erhu said the three of them went home a long time ago."

Li Erzhu was anxious. He grabbed Daniu's small shoulders and said, "Daniu, tell me carefully what happened."

Daniu was a little scared and swallowed his saliva. He said, "We went to the mountains to catch fox cubs. The three of them followed Erhu and Goudan to look for them. Later, only Erhu and Goudan came to find us. They said that the three of them had already returned home."

Shanzi also sensed something was wrong and asked Li Erzhu, "Erzhu, Brother Zhang, the children haven't come home yet?"

"No!" Zhang Ben slapped his thigh, feeling regretful and anxious.

"Hurry, Erzhu, let's go find Erhu and Goudan." Zhang Ben said as he walked out.

Shanzi hit his son on the back of the head and scolded him, "I'll beat you up when we get home!"

The loss of a child is a big deal. Shanzi knows about it and there is no way he can just ignore it.

"Erzhu, Brother Zhang, you guys go, I'll go find the village chief and tell him to ask everyone in the village to come out and look for him." Shanzi also hurriedly followed.

The men split into three groups.

Zhang Ben went to Erhu's house, and Li Erzhu went to Goudan's house.

"Erhu!" No longer caring about anything else, Zhang Ben pushed open the door and walked straight into the house.

Erhu Niang's sharp voice came: "Who is it?"

Seeing that it was Zhang Ben, he instantly became sarcastic, "Hey, why do so many people come to my house?"

Zhang Ben couldn't care less now and asked, "Where's Erhu? Let him come out."

Erhu's mother was certainly not happy about this. She glared at him and said, "You can see my son if you want to. Go away. I won't see you."

Zhang Ben didn't waste time talking to him and pushed him aside and went into the house.

Erhu's father and Erhu were having dinner. Before Erhu's father could say anything, he was interrupted by Zhang Ben: "Erhu, where are my young master and young lady?"

A farmer still calls her "young master" or "young lady"? How shameless! Erhu's mother despised him.

"Why are you looking for my child when your own child is gone? Is there something wrong with your brain?" Erhu's mother said in a choking voice.

"Where are my young master and young lady!" Zhang Ben ignored him and said sternly to Erhu.

Erhu shrank his neck in fear, feeling guilty and not daring to look up at him.

Erhu's father usually spoils his children, otherwise Erhu would not have such a lawless temper, but men have to save face, so he said: "Brother Zhang, you can't find the child, so you can't ask my child."

Zhang Ben, with a pair of bloodshot eyes, said sternly, "I'm telling you, if my young master and young lady can't be found, I won't need to worry about the captain, I can arrest your entire family!"

Erhu's father's heart trembled, and he forced himself to keep a straight face, "You..."

"Erhu's father, Goudan has said everything. How long do you want to keep being stubborn?" The village chief's voice came.

Li Erzhu got the truth out of Goudan. When he came out, he bumped into the village chief and Shanzi. He told the village chief everything, and then they went to Erhu's house together.

Behind the village chief were all the strong men in the village, each carrying a torch. Furious, he pointed at Erhu's father and said, "You raised a good son! If the three children can't be found, I'll take your son to court!"

A hundred or so strong men gathered at the foot of the mountain. The area illuminated by the torches was very bright. The village chief divided them into groups and shouted, "Follow your captains, split up and start looking for the child!"

"Okay!" the men roared. Gu is a big surname, and many people are related to Gu An. Most of them are willing to come out and help find the child.

At the same time, they also knew about Erhu's absurdity and thought to themselves that they must not let their children have any contact with him.

Scattered torches were scattered in all directions, slowly moving upwards.

Lin Haitang and Zhao Xiangjun finally arrived at the village.

"Ahhh..." Lin Haitang heard a shrill cry in the carriage. The voice seemed familiar. She lifted the curtain and saw that it was Lin Qiaoxia walking on the side of the road.

Lin Qiaoxia covered her heart with her hands, her whole face wrinkled from crying, looking very ugly, as if she couldn't support her body and was about to fall down.

"Sister!" Lin Haitang saw this and got out of the car, holding up her skirt. She supported Lin Qiaoxia and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

When Lin Qiaoxia saw Lin Haitang, she burst into tears and grabbed Lin Haitang's arm tightly, squeezing until veins popped out of her hand: "Haitang, Haitang, the child is missing..."

Lin Haitang was also worried by her crying and asked, "Is it the girl? What happened to the girl?"

"It's Yatou, Momo and Lanlan, they are all missing!" Lin Qiaoxia shook her head and cried bitterly.

Boom──

"What do you mean can't find it? Sister-in-law, where is the child?" Lin Haitang's head buzzed and his ears tinnitus.

Zhao Xiangjun was anxious. She supported Lin Haitang, fearing that she would faint from the shock. She asked, "Sister, what happened?"

Lin Qiaoxia was crying, as if her whole body was exhausted. She even had to force herself to speak: "They went to the mountains to catch... Erhu scared the three of them. I don't know where the three of them ran off to... We haven't found them yet..."

The muscles on Lin Haitang's face were trembling slightly. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She bit her lower lip and drew blood. The pain made her calm down. She said, "Sister-in-law, you take care of my sister. I'll go find the child."

Lin Haitang took off the rope around the horse's neck, let it escape from the carriage behind it, flipped over, and jumped onto the horse.

"Xiaobai! Follow me!" Lin Haitang waved the whip and the horse ran a few meters away. Xiaobai behind him followed unwillingly.

When they reached the foot of the mountain, Lin Haitang saw the scattered torches, grabbed the horse's neck and stopped it.

"Uu——"

Lin Haitang turned over and got off the horse, and the hem of her skirt drew a semicircle in the air.

"Haitang! You can't go up the mountain to look for it!"

The one who was speaking was Duan. The village chief went up to look for the child, but she, a woman, did not have enough strength to go, and she did not want to wait at home, so she could only wander back and forth at the foot of the mountain.

Lin Haitang's eyes were calm and her face was composed. She grabbed Duan's hand and said, "Aunt, it's okay. I can do it."

"My child is missing, and I can't just sit there and wait."

Duan Shi tried to persuade her again, "You are already seven months pregnant, how can you go to the mountain? You can't even see. No, auntie doesn't agree!"

Duan softened her voice and comforted her: "Haitang, the children will be fine."

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

Xiaobai was circling anxiously, nudging Lin Haitang's legs and constantly signaling her to go north.

Lin Haitang instantly understood what Xiaobai meant and quickly turned around and mounted the horse.

Duan was frightened by her, fearing that she would fall off the horse: "Haitang——"

"Aunt, please ask Uncle Youdao and the others to come down from the mountain. The children are not on the mountain. Xiaobai will take me to find them!"

After Lin Haitang finished speaking to Duan, he turned around and called Xiaobai: "Xiaobai, lead the way!"

Xiaobai shot out like a sharp arrow, and Lin Haitang followed closely behind on horseback.

Lin Haitang hunched over slightly, staring ahead. The moonlight was bright enough to clearly see the winding dirt road. A clear voice carried far away: "Go!"

Duan Shi tried to catch up for a few steps, but there was no way she could catch up with the horse. Thinking of Lin Haitang's words, she gritted her teeth and started to climb the mountain, shouting, "Old man! Come down! Haitang said the two children are not on the mountain!"

The village chief and his companions had not walked far when they heard Duan's calls and hurried over to look for her.

"Old woman, what did you say? The child is not on the mountain?" The village chief saw Duan and hurried over.

Duan panted and said, "It was Haitang who said that Xiaobai smelled the scent of the three children and headed north!"

"Oh no!" The village chief slapped his thigh and shouted, "Hurry, go chase after Miss Lin! Those three children must have been kidnapped!"

There are not many houses at the foot of the mountain. Further north, it is completely wasteland. There is also a small road there that is rarely used all year round. If the child is on the north side, he is likely to be in great danger.

The men were also frightened when they heard this, and obviously understood what the village chief meant.

Xiaobai is strong and tall. When he runs, his claws are tightly gripping the ground, raising a cloud of dust. Xiaobai's hair is long and white, and seems to be glowing in the moonlight. He sniffs the scent of his two little masters and runs forward with a determined look in his eyes.

Lin Haitang was wearing a green dress today, with a long veil flying behind her, and she was riding a vigorous black horse.

Lin Haitang freed one hand and patted her bulging belly, still looking forward, and said, "Little guy, sit tight and don't cause trouble for me at this time."

They rushed out of the village at lightning speed and came to a path that Lin Haitang had never walked on before.

The further they walked, the gloomier Lin Haitang's heart became. There was no way these three children had walked here on their own. They had obviously been kidnapped.

Lin Haitang followed Xiaobai all the way to the county town.

Fortunately, the horse ran fast and it was not yet curfew when they arrived at the city gate. Lin Haitang didn't listen at all and directly threw a purse into the hands of the standing city guard.

As expected, the city guard did not stop them and let the wolf, the horse, and the man pass.

You need to pay a toll of one penny to enter the city.

Lin Haitang knew this, so when he was about to reach the city gate, he threw a silver ingot over.

There were not many people on the street and the stalls were about to close, which made it convenient for Lin Haitang to ride a horse.

Xiaobai, who was running forward, suddenly turned around and rushed into a small alley, baring his teeth and yelling, "Awoo!"

In the alley, Lin Jiafu and Ma Kuizi talked about the money.

Lin Jiafu had never seen so much money in his life. He stared at the bag, picked it up and rang it next to his ear, his face full of greed: "Brother Kui, I have never seen so much money in my life."

Ma Kuizi was also very excited. It was the first time he sold something at such a high price. His eyes were filled with lewdness: "Look at your lack of talent. In the future, follow me and make more money!"

The three children were bought for a total of two hundred and fifty taels of silver.

Gu Mo and Gu Zhilan were so beautiful and young that they were sold at a high price of one hundred taels of silver each. Li Yatou was a little behind, but she was also sold for fifty taels of silver.

As the two were dividing the money, they heard the howling of a wolf. They were still wondering if they had heard it wrong when they saw Xiaobai.

Xiaobai stood majestically in the moonlight, baring his fangs and making dangerous hisses.

When Lin Haitang rode in on horseback, she saw Xiaobai suddenly pounce on the two of them, biting Ma Kuizi's arm. Lin Jiafu, who had been kicked by Xiaobai, was lying on the ground with his hands covering his chest, unable to get up, with blood still flowing from the corner of his mouth.

"Ah!! Ahhh!!!"

Ma Kuizi screamed at the top of his lungs.

Seeing the silver scattered on the ground, about two hundred taels, and watching Xiaobai's actions, Lin Haitang instantly understood.

The two men kidnapped three children and sold them.

Lin Haitang was so angry that her whole body was shaking. She gritted her teeth and roared, "Xiaobai!"

Lin Haitang jumped off the horse, grabbed Lin Jiafu, and asked, "Where are my children? Where are they?"

"Sister, sister, sister..." Lin Jiafu was scared silly by Xiaobai.

"Where did you sell the child?" Lin Haitang raised her hand and slapped Lin Jiafu hard, asking loudly.

"Ah!" Xiaobai also bared his teeth and threatened him.

Lin Jiafu was so frightened that he trembled all over, shielding his face with his arms, and said intermittently: "At the junction of Hua'an County and Leming County, he, they have already left..."

At this time, the officers and soldiers patrolling the street also arrived, shouting: "What are you doing!"

Lin Haitang let go of Lin Jiafu and said quickly, "These two people sold my three children to human traffickers. I'm leaving them to you. I'm leaving first. Please send someone to follow me. I'm going to go find the children now."

Without waiting for the officers and soldiers to reply, Lin Haitang jumped on his horse and rushed out quickly.

Xiaobai is still leading the way.