Jiang Youzhi leaned on his cane and walked back and forth in the courtyard, his eyes constantly drifting towards the doorway.
Before long, he saw Gu Mei walk past the doorway again.
Jiang Youzhi immediately returned to the room and wrote a few words with his left hand, put them in a blank envelope, and beckoned Ah Tie over, whispering a few sentences to him.
Ah Tie nodded, took the envelope, and went out.
Soon after, Sun’s voice came from next door, "Hey, why is there a letter on the ground?"
"Why are there no words on it? Old man, old man, look, there’s a letter here—"
Zhao Lizheng took the letter from Sun’s hand and opened it, inside was a blank sheet of paper with a crooked line of words, "Bird calls, Gu Mei, Jiang Erlang, rendezvous at Little Sister’s house."
Besides that, there wasn’t a single extra word.
Zhao Lizheng’s face sunk, "Where’s Suo Zhu’s wife?"
Sun looked towards the main house, "She was just here, probably went out."
Zhao Lizheng squinted, returning the letter to its original state, and tucked it into his chest.
He squinted, contemplating for a while, "Go and call the eldest and the second son."
Seeing the old man’s facial expression change after reading the letter, Sun dared not ask more and called the eldest, Jin Suo, and the second, Yin Suo, to the main house.
Zhao Lizheng looked at his two robust sons and then asked, "Where’s Suo Zhu?"
Jin Suo answered, "Went to Zhou Miejiang’s house."
Suo Zhu liked watching Zhou Miejiang make bamboo wares and often watched for half a day.
Zhao Lizheng, with a stern face, waved his hand, "Let’s go—"
Jin Suo asked, "Dad, where are we going?"
Zhao Lizheng didn’t answer, just walked out with his hands behind his back.
Jin Suo and Yin Suo exchanged a glance and followed him.
Not far away, they passed Zhou Miejiang’s house, and Zhao Lizheng told Jin Suo to call Suo Zhu out.
Suo Zhu looked puzzled, "Dad, what are we doing?"
Zhao Lizheng still said nothing, just buried his head and walked ahead.
At the western end of the village, Zhao Lizheng stopped, "In a moment, stay silent, just follow me."
The three sons, utterly confused, quickly followed Zhao Lizheng to Little Sister’s house.
Little Sister had long hidden to give Jiang Erlang and Gu Mei space.
The courtyard door was closed but futile because the courtyard had no walls, just a fence.
The fence was only a little higher than knee level, easy enough to step over.
Zhao Lizheng stepped over the fence and silently walked to the east side of the main room, stopping in front of a room to listen.
There was no sound from inside the room.
Zhao Lizheng then walked to the west side of the main room, standing below the window.
The sound of heavy breathing from a man came from inside.
Then came the sweet voice of a woman.
Zhao Lizheng’s three sons initially didn’t know what their father was doing; seeing him stand still, seemingly eavesdropping, they also carefully listened.
Jin Suo and Yin Suo felt awkward upon hearing the woman’s voice, wondering why their father brought them to listen to a live erotic scene.
Only Suo Zhu’s expression changed immediately; how could he not recognize Gu Mei’s voice?
That beloved and coquettish tone he usually adored, now felt like a heavy blow to Suo Zhu’s heart.
A surge of anger rushed from his heart to his head, making Suo Zhu’s face turn red as he spun around and kicked the door open.
There was a warm fire burning inside the room.
The two people on the bed turned towards the door at the loud noise.
Gu Mei froze for a moment upon seeing Suo Zhu, then screamed uncontrollably.
Jiang Erlang was stunned for a moment, then threw off the blanket and ran out.
As soon as Jiang Erlang’s foot touched the ground, Suo Zhu’s fist arrived.