I'm caught in the cycle of endless competition, you're waiting for me in the apocalypse.

After lunch, under the locust tree, dappled shadows fell on us, making it not too hot. A cup of tea refreshed our palates. The three of us greeted Uncle Dong and Aunt Tian, ​​saying we wanted to ask them more about the village.

“Uncle Dong, don’t take what the village chief said this morning to heart. We all think he’s in the wrong,” Li Qingchuan said first.

"Ha, I'm just angry that he speaks without tact and is two-faced."

"Yeah, I think the village chief is just so-so. By the way, sister! Does our village only have a butcher shop? Are there any other shops? Do you have any small supermarkets or anything? We haven't seen any along the way. We were thinking of buying some snacks or something. Also, do you sell free-range eggs or free-range chickens and ducks here? I want to take some back for my parents to try." An Xin noticed that Aunt Tian was looking at Uncle Dong with a strange expression, so she deliberately changed the subject.

"Oh, we don't have these in our village!"

"Huh? Isn't that something you'd find in most villages?"

“When I married into this family, there were indeed chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, dogs and all sorts of animals here. Later, we went out to work and lost track of them. A few years ago, my parents-in-law passed away, and we got too old to work outside anymore, so we came back. But things have changed here. The village has lost its vitality, there are fewer people, and the scene of dogs running around with chickens and ducks is gone. Now even men from other families are settling down in the village.”

"That's because there are too few people in the village."

"Yes, now most people in the village are about the same age as us."

"Does that mean the young people don't come back for the New Year? Or is it just the older brothers and sisters who don't come back?"

"I basically don't reply."

"What about ancestral worship during the Lunar New Year? Aren't you coming back either?"

“We worship our ancestors here during the Ghost Festival on the 15th of the seventh lunar month. Do you know about Mulian rescuing his mother? That is a festival of filial piety. Moreover, this time it coincides with the 400th anniversary of the founding of Fulin Village, so many children will come back.”

"!!!" The three of them were already in a state of shock.

—So they were waiting for everyone to come back so they could harvest them all at once!

An Xin tugged at Li Qingchuan's sleeve under the table. He nodded, took out his phone, and sent a message to Uncle Qiu.

"Will the village chief preside over this ancestral worship ceremony? Or will it be presided over by other older members of the Dong family?" An Xin asked, seeing that Li Qingchuan had already started preparing, wanting to chat casually with Uncle Dong.

"The oldest and most senior person in this village is Dong Wenyu's mother, Dong Yinzhu."

"Huh? The village chief's parents both have the surname Dong? Weren't they supposed to marry their cousins? How come they ended up 'internally acquainted'?"

"She's my cousin from a different generation. Please don't misunderstand. Although we value blood ties and social standing here, it's not like siblings would live together!"

"Xinxin, the village chief isn't that Aunt Dong's biological son! Butcher Zhang is the village chief's son!" Di Ting dropped a bombshell in her mind.

"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! This is such an outrageous soap opera! Why are you only telling me now? What else is there?"

“I couldn’t hear the village chief and Butcher Zhang clearly. The house was completely surrounded by resentful energy. I was only able to see these things because I heard some of it when you called Aunt Dong out to get the pork, but it was only for such a short time that I couldn’t make out anything.”

"This is good enough. How should I tell my senior brother about it?"

An Xin's mind raced, and she asked again, "So, is Aunt Dong presiding over the ancestral worship ceremony this time?"

"No, it's still Dong Wenyu. After all, how could Aunt Dong, a woman, possibly preside over important clan affairs?" Uncle Dong patiently explained to An Xin.

"Does Aunt Dong only have the village chief as her child?"

"No, there was a little girl. If she's alive, she would be Dong Wenyu's older sister. She was a pitiful person. Not only was she physically weak, but she also had some intellectual disabilities. When she was in her twenties, she accidentally fell into the water and was swept away. Many people in the village went to look for her, but they couldn't find her. She couldn't swim either, so she probably died and was swept downstream. There wasn't even a trace of her body."

"Oh, that's so pitiful. The village chief is unmarried and has no children. Once he's gone, the Dong family branch will have no descendants."

"Yeah, serves him right. Most of us in this generation marry women from other villages. First, we're more sensible now. We've all gone to work in the cities, broadened our horizons, and naturally understand the dangers of consanguineous marriage and having children. That's why there are fewer and fewer people in the village, and why children are more likely to die young. Second, with fewer people, there are fewer relatives, and fewer potential marriage partners. Only Dong Wenyu, I don't know what's wrong with him, just refuses to marry someone from another village. Don't you think he deserves it?"

"Hmph, he just looks down on outsiders! It's one thing for him to look down on me, but he doesn't even like the children! I really suspect that so many young people in our village refuse to return because of this Dong Wenyu!" Aunt Tian's eyes reddened as she spoke, filled with indignation!

"Old lady, it's not fair to say that. He's quite good to the children in the village. My parents told me that he often tutors the children with their homework and gives them snacks and such."

"Hmph! He's no good anyway."

"Alright, alright, you didn't say that before! Besides, I don't mind that you're an outsider wife!"

"Uncle and Aunt, you two have such a good relationship!" Wei Ran suddenly said.

"Haha, young man, look at you, tall and handsome, I'm sure many girls like you. In the future, choose a good one, someone who knows how to manage a household, like me, with both a son and a daughter. If you can leave this world with your wife, then your life will be complete." Uncle Dong laughed heartily, grabbed Aunt Tian's hand, patted it gently, and said with deep feeling.

"Hmm!" Wei Ran nodded, glancing furtively at An Xin. But An Xin was currently analyzing the clues with Di Ting in her mind's eye and didn't see his affectionate look.

Just then, Li Qingchuan sent good news to Master Qiu. He looked up and saw Wei Ran glancing shyly at An Xin, who was frowning, deep in thought. Sigh, it was like casting a flirtatious glance at a blind man!

"Uncle Dong, do you have any rooms left? Some professors from our school might be coming tomorrow! One might be our advisor, Professor Qiu, and the other might be Professor Zheng from the architecture department! They saw the photos and materials we sent them and felt that the clan culture and architectural techniques of Fulin Village were very valuable for research, so they specifically wanted to come and take a look. However, the specific time and number of people are not yet determined. They need a maximum of two rooms, and the price is negotiable."

"We do have one empty room in the west wing of our house. If we clean it up, it should be able to accommodate two people. Any more than that, and it won't be enough."

"Then... what about that little courtyard behind the village? Why don't we go talk to the village chief and see if we can borrow that courtyard, or even just stay at his house? His house is so big, and only two people live there; he must have extra rooms to lend us." Li Qingchuan had once again steered the conversation towards the little courtyard behind the village when it came to borrowing a house—he was practically a fox reincarnated!

An Xin couldn't help but give her clever second senior brother a thumbs up in her heart again, and she couldn't help but wonder who was smarter between Qi Mingxuan and her second senior brother.

"That little courtyard won't do. I told you last time, no one's here. Even if the police come, they won't be able to determine anything. Dong Wenyu has a spare key, but he won't let anyone in," Aunt Tian said with certainty. "You can forget about Dong Wenyu's house. He would never let outsiders stay there. It's like they have some kind of treasure. Old man, tell me, besides a nicer house and an ancestral hall, what's there to hide in their house?"

"Xiao Jiu, it seems we need to investigate the village chief's house and the ancestral hall. If only you and I could see through the malevolent energy, we wouldn't have to go through all this trouble." An Xin silently noted down the places they needed to investigate in the early morning.

"Senior Qingchuan, why don't you tell Professor Qiu that there's only one room left? When they arrive, we can stay and be their assistants! It's a great learning opportunity!"

Li Qingchuan turned his head to meet An Xin's clear, almond-shaped eyes, raised an eyebrow, and replied, "Okay, I'll message Professor Qiu right away!"

—Wow, it seems my junior sister has learned to lie without thinking very quickly!

"Oh dear, it's already past 1 a.m., Uncle Dong, Sister Tian, ​​you should go and get some rest. We've been bothering you for so long. We'll tell you about the professor later when we get the definite news. Anyway, it's not urgent. If they come, we can clean the room tomorrow."

"Okay, then, girl, we'll wait for your letter."

"Mmm~ I'll have to trouble you then."

..........................................

"Senior brothers, have you noticed that the village chief doesn't resemble Aunt Dong at all? People say that sons resemble their mothers, isn't that a bit strange?" An Xin asked quietly as soon as she entered the house, inviting the two of them to sit down.

Li Qingchuan quickly set up a new isolation array.

Wei Ran stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and said, "Could he look like his father?"

After setting up the formation, Li Qingchuan poured water for the three of them with a kettle before sitting down and saying, "Xinxin, I didn't expect you to have even observed this. I just thought about it, and it really doesn't look that similar. They say true beauty lies in the bone structure, not just the skin. Judging from Aunt Dong's features, she must have been beautiful when she was young. Her nose is straight, her cheekbones are slightly high, and her eyes are large, double-lidded, a typical feature of northerners. I've observed the men in Fulin Village, and most of them have well-defined facial features and a more robust bone structure, which are also characteristics of northerners. Even Uncle Dong has large, double-lidded eyes, and the men in the village should have similar genes. What I just described are all dominant genes. Two large, double-lidded eyes are unlikely to have the narrow, elongated eyes of the village chief, and his nose is also slightly flat."

"So you're talking about Butcher Zhang? Now that you mention it, the village chief and Butcher Zhang look quite alike!" An Xin was really going to great lengths. Just then, Li Qingchuan finished speaking, and she quickly interjected, guiding her dear second senior brother to discover the key point!

"Didn't they say that Butcher Zhang looks like that because he has supermale syndrome?" Wei Ran was confused again.

“If Xinxin hadn’t reminded me, I would have thought too… Now that I think about it, it’s true, Butcher Zhang does have some of the same genetic traits as the village chief. I was blinded by supermale syndrome before…” Li Qingchuan frowned, raised his right hand, and rubbed the Jingming acupoint between his eyes with two fingers. “I think Butcher Zhang is very likely the village chief’s son! Otherwise, how could someone who cares so much about bloodlines like him violate the clan rules and allow a man with a different surname to settle in Fulin Village?”

Wei Ran was visibly taken aback when he heard his senior brother's analysis, while An Xin breathed a sigh of relief.

—Oh dear, I finally managed to guide him successfully. But it's all thanks to my second senior brother's intelligence; he understood immediately. It's so easy to associate with smart people.

Seeing An Xin's expression, Li Qingchuan raised an eyebrow with a half-smile and ruffled her hair again: "You little rascal, you've got some skills!"

—That ambiguous statement…Second Senior Brother, what do you mean…Have I been exposed again? Take back what you said about how easy it is to associate with smart people. Is it true that nothing can be hidden? One Qi Mingxuan was one thing, but now there's Li Qingchuan too!