Chapter 75: Chapter 75 Accident (4)_1 Chapter 75: Chapter 75 Accident (4)_1 She watched Liao Zhaoji, who still knew how to cry on the ground, with cold eyes and asked her, “What was he doing wandering around near Qianshan if there was nothing wrong?”
“Wuu wuu wuu… How would I know!” Liao Zhaoji sobbed and shook her head.
Ruan Chi, standing beside her, looked at his mother with an expression that held a trace of resentment. He had held back all night, but in the end, he couldn’t restrain himself and gave Ruanlin Family a play-by-play of the previous day’s events; his voice was hoarse by the end as he said, “Grandma, Dad must have gone hunting in the mountains. Our tuition for next semester is gone; he said he would find a way!”
The most likely scenario was that Ruan Jiandang, knowing there was little game on the back mountain, had gone into Qianshan to see if he might chance upon a wild boar—that would instantly net him two hundred yuan.
“Is what he said true?” Ruanlin Family put down Ruan Jiaojiao from her arms and walked up to the weeping Liao Zhaoji.
Having heard what Ruan Chi said, Liao Zhaoji had already turned deathly pale. Now confronted with Ruanlin Family’s interrogation, she was utterly terrified, her gaze fixed on her in a daze.
“Liao Zhaoji, you black-hearted woman, have you been blinded by pig fat? Ah!”
Liao Zhaoji remained silent, incensing Ruanlin Family to the point that she slapped her across the face.
“Mom, I didn’t know, I didn’t think, Mom… what do we do, if something happens to Jiandang!” Liao Zhaoji, covering her face, cried pitifully.
“Shut your mouth! Liao Zhaoji, I’m telling you, if even a hair on my son’s head is harmed, I’ll make sure your Liao Family pays dearly! You want money, right? I’d like to see if you’d still want money if you had no lives left to live!”
Ruanlin Family was filled with regret.
She regretted not having shown Liao Zhaoji her true colors earlier.
As a result, Liao Zhaoji had caused such a catastrophe today.
Her gaze fell upon Liao Zhaoji as if laced with poison, her voice chilling to the bone, “Liao Zhaoji, you better pray my son is unharmed, or else…” The rest of the sentence went unsaid, but that tone and that look sent shivers down Liao Zhaoji’s spine!
As the black night welcomed the first ray of sunlight, Ruan Family was enveloped in utter silence.
They searched nearly all night, but Ruan Jiandang was nowhere to be found.
Everyone understood what this meant.
In recent years, the village had been relatively peaceful. Moreover, since the government had fenced off Qianshan, there hadn’t been sightings of wild beasts coming down, but the wild boar incident a few days prior was proof that their back and front mountains were not devoid of wild animals.
Having lived here for over thirty years and not being found on the back mountain, Ruan Jiandang’s absence for one whole night could only imply one thing.
It was feared that the odds were grim!
Exhausted from searching all night, the people who had joined the search were tired. The members of Ruan Family were even more worn out.
Ruanlin Family sat in a chair holding Ruan Jiaojiao. She hadn’t slept all night, her expression somber.
Ruan Jianguo was also very tired, but at this time, he could not stop. He sent off the people who had helped, then turned to Ruanlin Family and said, “Mom, I’m going to the town to get Jianjun and Jianmin, and I’ll report it to the police, to ask them to help look for him.”
Ruanlin Family waved her hand, too exhausted even to speak.
Liao Zhaoji sat on the steps at the entrance of the main room, her voice hoarse from crying. Now, she stared blankly into the distance, seemingly looking at nothing.
Ruan Jianguo, now aware of the situation, truly had nothing to say about this younger sister-in-law… He patted Ruan Jiaojiao’s little head, asking her to be good, before he set off for the town.
The youngsters didn’t go to school today; they seemed to have grown up overnight. Ruan Chi and Ruan Jie prepared some food in the kitchen and brought it out for Ruanlin Family to eat.