This woman's name was Yang Hua, the concubine of Liu Shenyue.
Because of her shrewish nature and refusal to cooperate, Hu Jia and his companions returned empty-handed this time.
Therefore, they decided to first gather information about Yang Hua and her son from the periphery.
"Where did Yang Hua and her son live before?" Hu Jia wanted to understand their past conduct and style.
"They say it was in Xiajiezi Village, near Hualong Bridge," Uncle Wang replied.
Hualong Bridge? Xiajiezi Village?
Ouyang's eyes lit up. This made things easier.
Hu Jia didn't remember, but Ouyang did. The village where they had gone to catch zombies was Xiajiezi Village.
These two places were only about ten kilometers apart, very close.
Seeing Hu Jia and Ouyang appear again, Xiao Tao and Mi Ju were very excited and insisted on treating them. However, seeing Hu Jia's poker face throughout, everyone's enthusiasm waned.
Afterward, Xiao Tao asked Ouyang, "Is Brother Hu still angry about the incident where we pretended to be ghosts to scare him last time?"
Ouyang replied, "He has facial paralysis and can no longer smile."
This made Xiao Tao look at Hu Jia with pity every time.
"Are you talking about Aunt Yang?" Upon learning that Hu Jia and the others were inquiring about Yang Hua, Xiao Tao didn't know much. In fact, not only did she not know much, but the villagers also knew very little.
Mi Ju said that Yang Hua and her son had drifted to the village four years ago, in March of the Republican calendar year 15, and had not stayed long, a little over a year at most.
Everyone's evaluation of Yang Hua and her son was quite good. The mother was cheerful all day and did not argue with the villagers. Even during the village's water shortage, the mother did not join in the quarrels.
In general, their presence was not very noticeable.
Hu Jia harbored doubts. This description didn't seem to match the Yang Hua he had met?
Yang Hua's son, Liu Shenyue's illegitimate son, was the same. He usually stayed quietly at home and did not go out to play with others.
"Perhaps they felt they were outsiders and feared rejection," Mi Ju said.
Afterward, the group went to see the house where Yang Hua had lived. It was not large, only one room, and even the kitchen was an add-on. It was evident that it was very rudimentary.
Inside, there was only a bed, a table, and a wardrobe. According to Xiao Tao, these were all discarded items that Yang Hua had picked up from the villagers.
After looking around, they didn't find anything particularly noteworthy. Ouyang Wen took the lead and accepted Mi Ju's invitation for lunch.
"Heh heh, we really have to thank you two police officers for what happened last time. If it weren't for you, our village probably wouldn't have water this year." Several villagers, including Mi Ju, came to accompany them, expressing their sincere gratitude. At that time, Grandpa Lu had designed and killed Zhong Cheng, the reservoir keeper, but under the mediation of Ouyang Wen and others, Grandpa Lu was not sentenced to death. And by adhering to the principle of not holding the masses accountable, the villagers were not implicated.
Along the way, Ouyang Wen had given Hu Jia a general overview of past events. Hu Jia pretended to be knowledgeable, and for a while, everyone at the table was harmonious.
"Why didn't I see Sister Qingqing?" Mi Ju asked.
"She has other things to attend to." Hu Jia's attitude softened considerably upon hearing Lü Qingqing's name.
"That's a pity. It's been a while since I've seen someone like her. There aren't many people nowadays who are not afraid of ghosts and gods and forge ahead bravely," Mi Ju praised.
Hu Jia felt a warmth in his heart. He was very happy to hear someone praise Lü Qingqing.
"You stayed in Grandpa Lu's house back then, and she had her own room. If I had known there was a ghost, I wouldn't have dared to stay," Xiao Tao chimed in.
"Heh heh. That's right, she's indeed a capable girl." Hu Jia drank the wine in his cup and his mind couldn't help but drift to Lü Qingqing's image, imagining her being frightened by zombies.
However, just as he began to imagine, Hu Jia's mind snapped.
Something felt wrong?
Girl?
Living alone?
As if a curtain had been pulled back slightly, it dawned on him. Why was there only one bed in Yang Hua's house today?
When Yang Hua and her son lived there, her son was already over 16. Did he still sleep with his mother?
The thought made Hu Jia dumbfounded. When he asked the villagers, they all said that Yang Hua's house indeed only had one bed, and only one quilt.
Perhaps they were truly poor, especially since they only had one room. Second, perhaps the mother and son had been drifting for so long that they were accustomed to taking care of each other, so...
Although it seemed understandable, it was still somewhat unacceptable.
"Do you know where they lived before they came to Xiajiezi Village?" Hu Jia felt this matter was very strange and wanted to investigate further.
Everyone shook their heads, but an old woman stepped forward: "I think I heard Hong Ru's mother say, they moved from Jingkou Village."
Jingkou Village?
That evening, Hu Jia and Ouyang Wen, disregarding the villagers' pleas to stay, rushed to Jingkou Village before sunset.
There, however, they heard a different story.
Yang Hua was an unfortunate woman. She was not Liu Shenyue's concubine, but the consequence of Liu Shenyue's one-night stand. Liu Shenyue had never intended to bring Yang Hua and her son back to the Liu family. For years, he had barely visited Yang Hua a few times. When the child was young, Liu Shenyue would send some food, but as Liu Hong Ru grew up, Liu Shenyue practically stopped caring for the mother and son.
Yang Hua was hardworking and did any job she could. But even though she was a widow with a child, Yang Hua's temper was not one to be easily taken advantage of. After all, for a woman to survive in troubled times with a child, she would inevitably develop a fierce personality.
Hearing this, Hu Jia recalled the Yang Hua they had actually seen, and it did indeed fit better.
Liu Hong Ru was also the same. In the eyes of the villagers, he was a model of a poor child who matured early, warm, righteous, and often went hunting in the mountains with his village companions.
Uh...
Recalling the Liu Hong Ru mentioned by the people of Xiajiezi Village, these were clearly two different personalities.
Perhaps the new environment caused a change in personality, Hu Jia speculated.
Afterward, Hu Jia and the others found the house where Yang Hua and her son had lived. It had changed owners, but judging from the exterior alone, the conditions here were much better.
At least two rooms!
"Since they lived quite well in the village, why did they move from here?" This was Hu Jia's first question.
"I don't know what trouble that kid Hong Ru caused outside, but he attracted a group of thugs. Several people ganged up on him, and they used knives." The villagers said that the conflict in the Republican calendar year 15 caused Hong Ru to be bedridden for several months. After he recovered, they moved, presumably to avoid trouble.
...
All the investigations and interviews ended here. If you say there was no concrete information, it seems like a lot was learned. If you say new information was added, it seems like it was all useless fragments.
Hu Jia was troubled. He remained silent on the way back, making Ouyang Wen, the driver, so drowsy he wanted to fall asleep.
"Is this his third day?"
"Counting from Zhang Hanhai's disappearance, it's the third day."
"That's not right."
"What's wrong?"
"Where's his 'Erha' temperament?"
After sending Hu Jia home, Lü Qingqing and Ouyang Wen hid aside to observe Hu Jia. Based on past experience, the third day was when Hu Jia's energy was most abundant. After all, the memory of him wanting to dig up graves late at night was still vivid.
But this time, Hu Jia appeared very calm. He wasn't noisy or restless, nor was he in a hurry to rush out.
Had his pathological condition changed?
"Aha!" Hu Jia's shout startled the two of them. He rushed out with disheveled hair, "I've got it!"