He had been late for several days in a row, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t finish his homework at night, which caused him to sleep late and naturally struggle to wake up in the morning, while at home chickens and pigs were waiting for him.
That wasn’t counting the need to cook meals. On the first day, he almost set the house on fire. It was Great Grandpa who taught him how to cook and then gave him a bowl of pickles and meat. He ate it all at once.
He had only realized these past few days how tiring household chores truly were. Even playing had become a luxury. He really didn’t know how Bai Zhi had managed to do it all initially.
It seemed like he had never focused on this issue, only feeling that Bai Zhi was annoying, always bullying Xixi.
He never thought to help out and just wanted to eat candy.
He discovered that actually, the one who was the most tired was Bai Zhi.
Meanwhile, two comrades had also arrived in the village to investigate the issues surrounding Bai Zhi.
Upon their arrival, they immediately sought out the village leader, who was also the Clan Leader, Bai Ming.
Being the village leader and Clan Leader, Bai Family Village had a total of 80 households, all bearing the surname Bai. Many people were out working for money and mostly not in the village, but there were still quite a few villagers in the village.
"Comrades, you’ve worked hard. Come, come, come, eat lunch first, then work after you eat."
Bai Ming immediately invited them back home for a meal. In such situations, whether someone was from the town or county, they were to eat at the home of the village official.
"Old man, we just came to understand some situations. We won’t eat. We can’t accept even a needle or thread from the masses."
The two comrades quickly shook their heads as they could have arrived earlier, but they got lost and ended up being late.
"The way you’re speaking, I see you as younger ones. What’s wrong with having a meal at your elder’s home? Come, come, come. Let’s eat first. It’s already midday. Quick, quick, quick..."
Without further ado, Bai Ming pulled them towards the house.
Grandma Bai saw them and promptly took out cured meat and sausages to make hotpot with rural vegetables, not using any hotpot seasoning, just slicing the cured meats and sausages directly to start cooking.
She threw in dry chili peppers, whose flavor was enough along with potatoes, Buddha’s hand, and some green vegetables.
It was a delicious meal, and Bai Ming called Bai Guang to join them in eating.
The two comrades felt terribly embarrassed to have the village leader spend so much, but they were indeed hungry. Eventually, they started calling him uncle.
"Uncle, we are here to investigate a matter, it’s about a little girl in our village named Bai Zhi. We suspect that she has been intentionally abused and injured, so we came to investigate. How does Bai Da usually treat her?"
Hearing this question, Bai Ming and Bai Guang sighed deeply.
"I won’t hide it from you; she is my grandniece, but I am not a good great uncle. I actually didn’t notice. These years, she has suffered a lot, really a lot. I might be a bit biased as I am her close relative. So, I will have Bai Guang take you two to ask others. The truth comes from others’ mouths. Bai Guang will take these two kids to find Aunt Niu shortly."
Aunt Niu would definitely give them a surprise.
Moved by Bai Ming’s great understanding, the two further admired him.
For his part in avoiding bias, saying nothing and letting them speak with other villagers were really commendable actions.
"Then, thank you, Uncle. Rest assured, we will thoroughly investigate the truth and bring fairness to the young friend Bai Zhi."
So many needles, placed in a body for so many years, that was not the act of a human.
"Then, thank you very much. I believe Bai Zhi will definitely be happy."
Bai Guang looked at them, moved.
"Come for dinner in the afternoon too; I’ll cook for you."
The two comrades quickly waved their hands. They had already had a meal and felt embarrassed to have two.