"You could say that," Luo Yuzhu replied, quite confident that Xiaofeng was on her side: "Xiaofeng, think about it: if I become successful in the future, I can be your support. Have you thought about how much I could help you? Moreover, you’re already over five months pregnant, and in a few months, you’ll give birth. You’ve always had trouble with Fat Lady, do you trust her to seriously take care of you during your confinement? Don’t worry, when the time comes, I’ll be there to take care of you."
Xiaofeng listened as she rambled on, and her lips twitched again: "Aunt Mei is very skilled at taking care of people; she will take good care of me."
"She is old after all, not like a mother," Luo Yuzhu couldn’t help but paint herself in the best light.
"I can help," Xiaofeng’s eyelashes fluttered as she looked down at the water cup in her hands: "Tonight, my father called and said my brother has disappeared. You know, my brother is not smart, and now that he’s gone missing, I’m really worried. If you can help me find my brother, I’ll agree with your plan."
Until Luo Yuzhu mentioned Su Peng, Xiaofeng had to speak up first, to make sure whether it was Luo Yuzhu who had people take her brother away, or someone else took him.
He Ximei and the others searched all the way to Zhang Family Village, but they didn’t see Pengzi along the road. Arriving at Zhang Dacai’s house, they found the front gate locked, and all the doors and windows closed, clearly indicating that Zhang Dacai was not at home.
"Sister-in-law," Ma Donghua glanced at the lock on the door, her lips tight: "If Zhang Dacai took Pengzi, he certainly wouldn’t just stay at home; he must have taken Pengzi somewhere else."
"This Zhang Dacai," He Ximei stared at the lock in front of her, suddenly feeling very tired and drained, "what is he trying to do, take his life?"
"The gate is locked; who knows where he could have gone. Sister-in-law, now how do we find him?" Su Guisheng thought to himself, Zhang Dacai wasn’t too foolish, knowing he shouldn’t keep the person at home after taking him away.
"We could ask the people in Zhang Family Village if anyone knows where Zhang Dacai is staying now, or if anyone has seen Pengzi coming back here," Su Wenqing suggested, glancing around at the neighboring houses, where everyone had gone to sleep, deep in the night.
"Sister-in-law, I think Zhang Dacai took Pengzi to force you to come back. That’s the trouble with divorced women remarrying, always where her children are, there she is."
If Pengzi really went back with Zhang Dacai, sister-in-law might consider divorcing my brother. Poor brother, not only has he no children of his own, even the women he married want to leave him.
Thinking of this, Ma Donghua scoffed coldly. If sister-in-law really divorced my brother, he’d have no one to rely on in his old age, only hoping that his two sons would take care of him until the end.
She saw the situation so clearly; how could my brother not see through it?
"He shouldn’t even think about it." He Ximei shuddered at the thought.
"But he has thought about it, and not only that, but he has also taken Pengzi away. Sister-in-law, Pengzi was literally bought with your own life. If Pengzi really wants to spend his life with his real father, what can you do?" Ma Donghua thought she had seen right through the situation.
This matter was indeed very simple, not complicated at all.
"Sister-in-law, talking about this is premature. The urgent matter is to find people first, finding Pengzi is what’s truly important," Su Wenqing said, looking at the clearly upset He Ximei, interrupting Ma Donghua’s speculations.
"Speculation or not, Pengzi must have gone with his real dad. You don’t even have to guess; you can figure it out just with your toes."
He Ximei didn’t want to listen anymore and walked towards the next house to knock on the door.
As they asked around, everyone said they didn’t know where Zhang Dacai had gone, nor had they seen Su Peng.
Luo Yuzhu listened as Xiaofeng brought up Su Peng, a slight smile forming on her face.
It seems her arrangement to have Su Peng taken away had worked, as Xiaofeng was now turning to her for help.
But she would never admit that she was behind it; if Xiaofeng knew that she had taken the person away, what would Xiaofeng think of her?
Who knows what mess it could lead to.
"Your older brother disappeared?" Luo Yuzhu feigned surprise. "Where did he disappear, in the city or in the countryside?"
"He was working in the fields of Lihua Village, and when he didn’t come back for half a day, my parents went out looking for him and realized he was gone."
Listening to her mention of her parents, Luo Yuzhu realized that from the moment she entered, Xiaofeng hadn’t addressed her as ’mom’ even once.