肋骨

The village dawned very quickly, and the villagers got up very early. At four or five o’clock, smoke was rising from the chimneys of many houses. A few people pretended to be explorers who lost their way. Fighting with hallucinations in that strange ancestral hall has become particularly embarrassing and even miserable, so I didn't get any suspicion when I went to a woman's house.

This is a brick house, which looks very dilapidated, and has undergone some renovations in the later period, and you can still see the traces of the handover of old and new bricks and tiles.

There was only a woman in her 30s and a boy about three or four years old in the house.

The space in the house is not big, the kang and the cooking kitchen are not distinct, a large pot and firewood stove are separated from the sleeping place by a wall, and there is an open window on the wall, which should be because you are afraid of lying down when cooking. The children on the kang behaved dishonestly and caused accidents, so they had to take a look at them from time to time.

The ceiling is covered by a layer of gray and white rags like those in ancestral halls that cannot be seen clearly. There is no electric light, only a kerosene lamp on the flat wardrobe.In addition to the kang, there is only an old-fashioned wardrobe, a washbasin stand, a kang table standing on the ground, a clothes drying pole connected by hemp rope, on which there is a washed towel and a few patched children's clothes. underwear.

This place can be called a real house with four walls. Looking around, there is no decent electrical appliance. It is also normal that there is no electricity and no electrical appliances.There is no tile floor on the ground, and there are obvious traces of cigarette butts and phlegm on the pitted soil. Although it has been cleaned as much as possible, the poverty and backwardness here are beyond the imagination of the three people.

They sat side by side on the edge of the kang, looking at the woman standing opposite with wary expressions.

Although the woman's face is haggard, she can vaguely see traces of her beauty, but it's not appropriate to describe it as charming. Her eyes have a kind of vicissitudes and trials that can see through the world. They are abnormally gloomy and desperate, giving people a feeling that they will be at any time. The feeling of being out of this world.

Several people indicated that they wanted to rest here, and the woman thoughtfully poured hot water for each of them in clean bowls, but none of the three dared to drink.

The woman sighed, there was a fire in the stove, there should be something in the cauldron, she brought a bowl of porridge to the child, the child was not too hot, Hululu drank half of the bowl in one go, and then wanted to drink more The rest of the bottom of the bowl was wiped clean by the woman with a handkerchief.

The woman put out the kang table again and brought over several bowls of porridge, "You guys have some to drink."

She implied that the children drank it, so they could rest assured that they were not poisoned.

Fu Kuan and Jiang Haizhou looked at each other, and a thought flashed through their minds at the same time——

This woman's accent is actually very urbanized, at least she doesn't have the overly rustic strong accent like the people in the town, and she doesn't fit in with this backward village.

After all, several people have heard the speech of the people in front of the ancestral hall just now, and know what the speech of the local villagers is like, which is completely different from that of the woman.

Li Zhuofan didn't think too much about it, and spent the whole night in fear that he would be hungry. After drinking a bowl, he asked the woman if there was any more, and then went to the pot to fill some more.

Fortunately, when they came, the woman was about to put rice into the pot, and she brought out enough food for several people, otherwise it would not be enough.

Several people washed their faces with washbasins one after another, drank a few bowls of porridge, and felt alive, with a warm breath in their bodies.

The woman suddenly said at this moment, "This is not where you should come."

Several people looked at each other, but no one spoke.

"Are you looking for someone?" the young woman said again.

The three of them finally changed their faces.

The woman knew everything from this appearance, and the sadness on her face was even worse, she sat next to Fu Kuan.

"My surname is Li. The village calls me Widow Li. You can call me Aunt Li."

"Aunt Li." Fu Kuan said.

"Hurry up and go back." Aunt Li held a handkerchief to wipe the child's mouth in her hand. The child was so full that he lay down on the kang and fell asleep with his mouth open.

She wiped the child's drool, sighed, and said again: "Don't stay here for too long, the villagers here... are all crazy."

The moment she said the last sentence, there was a strong hatred in her eyes that seemed to be real, but it quickly disappeared, like an illusion.

A few people instantly felt a chill run up their spines.

"Aunt Li, what do you know?"

Something about boys, something about missing boys.

The woman shook her head, she didn't seem to want to say more, she just repeated it again and asked them to leave.

Li Zhuofan suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to the woman, "Auntie, we are looking for a child named Peng this time. He has been abducted here for more than five hours. If you If you know anything, please help us!"

"What did you say his last name is?!" The woman suddenly became agitated, her voice raised, the child sleeping on the kang was awakened, and burst into tears.

The woman didn't care, she reached out and grabbed Li Zhuofan's shoulder, "How old is that child?!"

Li Zhuofan was startled and didn't react.

"It's about the same as me!" Fu Kuan said quickly.

The woman stood there in vain like a fool, with tears flowing from the corners of her eyes, winding down along the wrinkles, looking a bit hideous.

"This……"

Li Zhuofan looked back at Jiang Haizhou, and several people looked at each other in blank dismay.

Finally Jiang Haizhou said, "Auntie, his name is Peng Su. He is fourteen or fifteen years old. Do you know him? We are looking for him urgently. If you know anything, please let us know!"

They guessed whether Aunt Li might be Peng Su's mother. After all, Li Zhuofan had never seen Peng Su's parents in the town.

This woman looks 36 to [-] years old. Children are generally born early in rural areas. It is normal to have a son who is [-] or [-] years old. Even if she is not, this woman must know someone with the surname Peng. This surname is not common, maybe they misunderstood it. The family who hit the wrong place can help or provide them with some clues, even if they only tell some relevant news, it's like they are wandering around like headless chickens.

They waited quietly for a few minutes, waiting for the woman to calm down.

"If I'm not mistaken, he is my benefactor's child." The woman calmed down when she spoke again.

Several people looked at each other again, sat down and listened carefully.

"I was sold here in my early twenties. At that time, I went to university in City A and hadn't graduated yet. They brought me here to have children."

No wonder!Fu Kuan looked at Jiang Haizhou, no wonder her accent was so different, it turned out that she was really an outsider.

When the woman said that she had been trafficked, she no longer had any hatred, only numbness, as if too many years had passed, and she no longer had any hope or emotion about this matter. She continued: "I gave birth to the first child. A child was taken away when he was six years old, and when I went to find him, they broke my leg."

As she spoke, she lifted her trousers to expose her knees, and there was obviously a crack there, but when she was walking, several people didn't realize that she was crippled, probably because the house was not big, and the woman's temperament was incompatible with this village.

"Later, I never saw that child again, and then I gave birth to another one, which was taken away after a few years." Her voice was calm and even indifferent, as if she was telling someone else's story, "At that time, I was looking for the child and found I learned the secrets of the village, it turns out that they have a fixed organization that is looking for victims like me, not only that, they will also look for children, boys, like you."

After all, he glanced at Fu Kuan.

Jiang Haizhou put his arms around Fu Kuan's shoulders.

"They locked the children together. I don't know what they did to the children. In short, those children were tortured so badly that they were inhumane. I was so scared that I cried. I was almost discovered, but was rescued by Peng Xing. Peng Xing is Peng Su's father and my benefactor."

"Where are those children kept?" Li Zhuofan asked.

"In the cellar." The woman said, "every household here has a cellar, and some have more than one cellar, and the areas vary in size."

"The cellar..."

"At that time, the place had already changed." The woman said, "Like the three caves of the cunning rabbit, the place where people are locked up is not fixed every time."

"Aren't you going to run?"

"Run?" The woman shook her head, "How do I run? People here watch me every day, and every time I run, I break a leg! Peng Xing is already crazy, I can't be like him, I want to live to see those people suffer retribution!" Her excited expression lasted for less than a second, then she returned to her indifference, and cleared her throat, "Someone will come in a while, so I told you to leave quickly. I don't know how you got in, but if someone finds you , You can’t escape from this kind of place.”

"The father of the children you gave birth to is..." Jiang Haizhou frowned.

"I don't know who the father of the child is." The woman looked numb. "From the age of 20 to now, I have given birth to many children. They either died young or were stupid, or they were taken away after a few years old."

"It's disgusting!" Li Zhuofan's eyes turned red with anger.

Fu Kuan gripped Jiang Haizhou's hand irritably, his whole body trembling slightly.

"What should we do now?" Li Zhuofan asked Jiang Haizhou, "Shall we go back and call the police?"

"This is not a problem that can be solved by calling the police." The woman glanced at him, "It's been like this for generations here, and the end of resistance is to be beaten into a fool with sticks. You count on the police|police? It's too naive."

"Then find those people and save them, right?!"

"Rescue?" The woman frowned, "There are so many cellars, some of which are still connected, how much manpower will you have to invest to rescue them? The whole village has colluded to help hide, who can save them? Immortals can't save them!"

"Then what to do!" Li Zhuofan became anxious, "Then what should Peng Su do!"

Jiang Haizhou thought, if the whole village is working together to hide a secret or a conspiracy, then they must have a common leader to organize and plan, and have a common purpose of benefiting all, so they can respond to the call like this.So there is an explanation for what they saw in that white tile house. This is probably really a conspiracy, but they don't know how far the conspiracy involves.

If it is true what the woman said, then I don't know how many women and children have been killed over the years, and I didn't expect such things to happen in a society ruled by law. It's really insane.

"Aunt Li." Jiang Haizhou said suddenly, "Do you know holy water?"

After he finished speaking, he saw the woman suddenly opened her eyes wide, with a horrified expression, as if her eyeballs were about to protrude from their sockets.

The few people were startled and looked at each other, thinking that they must have grasped a very important matter.

The woman was terrified when she heard the holy water, and just about to say something, she heard a voice from a distance outside the yard, and the man yelled.

"Is Widow Li at home?!"

"Oops!"

The woman stood up suddenly, "You guys hide quickly. Don't be found out!"

"Where are you going to hide?"

"Come with me to the kitchen! Quick!"

Several people followed quickly, and Fu Kuan stacked up the bowls and took them up.

The woman hurriedly removed the sauerkraut jar in the corner, and there was an unremarkable cellar below. The entrance was so narrow that a person could just pass through it. Below were earthen steps leading to a dark place.

"Is it going to come in?"

Several people hesitated for a moment.

"Come in!" the woman said, "It's too late if you don't come in!"

Jiang Haizhou made a decisive decision, "Come in!"

Although he can beat them, he doesn't want to cause trouble for the woman. They can get away, but they can't take the woman and the child out together. What will happen to the tortured women in the future? They can't "once and for all" these people killed.

He took the lead, Fu Kuan followed closely behind, and Li Zhuofan stepped in. The woman returned the planks on the cellar to their original positions, and put the sauerkraut jar back on.

"Yo, what are you doing this?!"

Two people from 27 and [-] came in outside, and a man came over and patted Widow Li's butt, "Has the sauerkraut grown hair?!"

"No." Widow Li's accent quickly merged into the same form as that of the villagers, and she turned around and walked towards the house, intentionally keeping the two of them away from the sauerkraut jar.

"Have you made porridge?"

Another young man lifted the lid of the pot, "Do so much? Which wild man has been here?"

"No." The woman said, "The rice was spilled in the morning. I'm afraid I'd waste it by sifting and washing it, so I put it in the pot."

The man picked up the spoon and took a sip, and spit it back after hearing the words "bah" twice, "I said, why does it smell like earth!"

In the cellar, Jiang Haizhou took out the lighter and lit it with a "ding".

The area here is small, and the three people are close together so as not to squeeze into the wall. Jiang Haizhou turned the lighter around, and he could see piles of potatoes and sweet potatoes, as well as two sticky mouse boards and a mousetrap.

Li Zhuofan had never seen it before, and was curious about what it was. He was about to touch it, but was stopped by Jiang Haizhou.

"You don't want your fingers anymore?"

Li Zhuofan quickly retracted his hand, and asked in a low voice: "Tell me, did she lock us here on purpose? I can see that the board outside is sealed with steel bars and has a lock."

If this is some kind of trick, taking the opportunity to lock the three of them directly inside, it is really impossible to save others but not to protect themselves.

The cellar was cold and damp, surrounded by a little fire, the three of them could feel the coldness in their voices.

"It's unlikely." Fu Kuan said in a low voice, "Let's listen to what's being said and said outside."

The space is not large, and the sound from outside can be heard by several people.

The two young people probably said that they went to the ancestral hall in the morning and found that the holy water was missing, and the old man was furious. Sun Daoshi said that some managers who were not good at handling things would be severely punished, and that they could only remake the holy water. The anger of Changsheng Tongzi and the ancestors of the Zhou family.

The two grumbled for a while, and then asked Widow Li if she saw any suspicious outsiders.

Several people listened attentively at the same time, their nervous hairs stood on end, and their breathing became difficult.

Widow Li said she hadn't seen her.

Several people breathed a sigh of relief.

The two young people didn't doubt it either. After all, Widow Li usually had a submissive temperament, so she wouldn't have the guts to hide them.

"Bring two bowls, we want some porridge."

"Didn't the porridge go into the soil?"

"What's the matter, you won't get sick if you don't do anything dirty, you are quite picky, second son!"

"Oh no!" Li Zhuofan said, "There are our bowls on the table!"

Jiang Haizhou smiled and motioned Li Zhuofan to look at Fu Kuan.

Fu Kuan took the three bowls stacked on the ground and tapped lightly.

Fortunately, Fu Kuan brought in the extra three bowls, otherwise the three of them would have to tie up the two young men, and it would be difficult to scare the snake away.

Li Zhuofan sighed, "Fu Kuan is so smart, he will be great in the future."

Jiang Haizhou sneered, "If you don't cause trouble, we can still have a future."

Li Zhuofan was very embarrassed, "I'm so sorry to drag you all in, don't worry, you and Fu Kuan will be my good buddies for the rest of my life, Li Zhuofan, and we will be there for you if you need anything!"

Fu Kuan reached out and stopped him from speaking.

At this time, the suppressed panting of the woman and the vulgar abuse of the man could be faintly heard from above, mixed with the sound of slapping and impacting.

Li Zhuofan didn't react at first, and then wanted to rush out with an angry face.

Jiang Haizhou stopped him.

"Don't you care about this kind of thing?!" He almost growled: "This fucking... I can't bear it!"

Jiang Haizhou held him down, "You are not clear-headed, just be honest."

"What do you mean?" Li Zhuofan looked at Jiang Haizhou in disbelief, and then at Fu Kuan, "You don't care?"

Fu Kuan frowned, and sighed for a long time, "I can't care."

"What?" Li Zhuofan was stunned, "What do you mean?"

"Can you take her away?" If you can't take her away, Aunt Li will be bullied more and more in the future.

"I..." Li Zhuofan said, "We can ask her!"

Jiang Haizhou shook his head, "I guess she won't go with you."

"why?"

Jiang Haizhou's voice was low and slow, "She used to be a college student with a high degree of education, but now she has been persecuted in this village for more than ten years, and she has long been afraid of the outside world. She may have wanted to go out, like crazy She wanted to go out, but one child after another and the crazy villagers imprisoned her and strangled her soul."

Jiang Haizhou said: "She doesn't want to go out now, she can't accept such a reappearance of herself, the reason for living is not only the child on the kang, but also to see with her own eyes those people who were punished in her lifetime, or to personally kill those who violated her. Those people kill."

"I don't know if my analysis is right, but the death ambition in Aunt Li's eyes is not fake. When have you ever seen that look in a normal person?"

Desperate, disheartened, lifeless, cold and numb eyes, just looking at them felt a chill go straight to the bottom of my heart.

And she and Jiang Haizhou still used very standard mandarin when they talked, although this mandarin may not be used for more than ten years, it was they who reminded Aunt Li of herself back then, the self who hadn't entered Zhoujia Village back then.

If they rush out at this time, apart from disintegrating the last bit of Aunt Li's self-esteem that was deliberately preserved and desperately preserved, what is the use?