Chapter 35

At around 3:45 AM, Xiaofei quickly calculated. This was the best time for a good summer sleep.

Getting up so early was definitely a challenge for him.

Unlike ordinary villagers who would go to bed early after dinner, he forced himself to write something every night. Once he got into it, he often wouldn't go to sleep until around 11 PM.

This way, he could only sleep for about four hours, and his energy was hard to maintain.

It seemed he needed to arrange his time more reasonably.

Walking to the door of his house, Xiaofei saw his brother standing there.

Xiaoyang, looking very angry, confronted him, "Fei, you were so generous, just giving that scoundrel Xiaodacheng 5 yuan."

It seemed someone had already told him about Xiaofei giving Xiaodacheng money.

"Brother, Uncle Xiong is quite pitiful. Xiaodacheng hit him on the head with a brick. If I didn't stop him immediately, I was afraid something bad might happen to Uncle Xiong," Xiaofei said.

"You are just too kind-hearted," Xiaoyang shook his head.

The two brothers returned to the yard and sat down on the mat.

"Brother, have you ever heard that the man who had an affair with Xiaodacheng's mother, the woman surnamed Cao, was not Uncle Xiong but someone else?" Xiaofei asked tentatively.

"I've never heard that before," Xiaoyang said.

Xiaofei lowered his voice, "I carefully observed Xiaodacheng. I don't think he looks anything like Uncle Xiong, but he does resemble Liu Zhenhai a bit."

Xiaoyang's eyes lit up, and he scratched his head, "I think so too. Several people in the village have said the same thing. What do you mean by that?"

"I think Xiaodacheng might be Liu Zhenhai's son. I heard from the old people in the village that Liu Laoshuan used to harass Xiaodacheng's mother like a fly," Xiaofei said mysteriously.

This secret would be revealed by Liu Laoshuan himself when he died in 2006, becoming the most explosive news in Xili Village at the time.

Liu Laoshuan had a bad reputation in the village when he was young, known as a lecherous rooster, meaning he would try to seduce any woman he saw.

He had long coveted the woman surnamed Cao.

But he never succeeded.

Later, Liu Laoshuan discovered that while Xiao Jianxiong was helping the woman surnamed Cao with her work, she seemed to be flirting with him. He used this to threaten her, saying that if she didn't comply with him, he would expose her affair with Xiao Jianxiong, ruining their reputations.

The woman surnamed Cao gave in and had to submit to Liu Laoshuan.

But she never expected to become pregnant and give birth to a son.

This was a huge scandal, and during the Cultural Revolution, Liu Laoshuan was terrified of being implicated. To protect himself, he preemptively accused Xiao Jianxiong, leading to the public humiliation and denunciation of the woman surnamed Cao and Xiao Jianxiong.

He never expected the woman surnamed Cao to commit suicide by hanging.

He also never expected Xiao Jianxiong to remain silent without any defense.

This became a source of guilt for Liu Laoshuan. According to his own words before he died, he often dreamed of the woman surnamed Cao, who had hanged herself, haunting him.

He could not bear it, and his entire later life was spent in fear.

Liu Laoshuan believed that only by revealing the truth could he achieve complete relief. This was the main reason he did not take this big secret to his grave.

"Shh! Don't talk nonsense. Be careful that the Liu Zhenhai family doesn't hear. It will cause trouble," Xiaoyang stopped Xiaofei from continuing.

"Brother, no matter what, Uncle Xiong is still a close relative within five generations of our family. I think we should find a way to help him out of his current misery and stop him from being harmed by that scoundrel Xiaodacheng," Xiaofei said.

"How can we help?" Xiaoyang asked.

"I have an idea, listen and see if it's feasible..." Xiaofei leaned close to Xiaoyang's ear and whispered his plan.

Xiaodacheng, with the 5 yuan from Xiaofei, happily ran to the village's small store, bought a bottle of liquor for 1.5 yuan, a bag of peanuts, and a can of fish, and went to a small forest at the foot of a hill on the east side of the village to drink and eat leisurely.

Just as he was getting tipsy, a cold breeze blew, and a few leaves fell on Xiaodacheng's head.

Then, a chilling and terrifying melody sounded.

Xiaodacheng was instantly terrified and looked around in fear.

He saw a white figure floating towards him, stopping about two meters in front of him. The figure had no face, only a vague outline of features, with long hair like weeds hanging over its shoulders.

"Who the hell are you? Who are you?" Xiaodacheng was so scared that he wanted to run but his limbs were numb, and he couldn't even stand up.

The white figure sighed deeply and spoke in a hoarse, strange voice, "Dacheng, my son, I am your mother!"

Xiaodacheng was stunned. This ghostly figure claimed to be his long-dead mother. He trembled and asked, "You, you came to find me, for, for what?"

"My son, I feel you are living too hard, so I came to tell you a secret."

"What, what secret?"

"Your real father is not Xiao Jianxiong, but Liu Laoshuan. Listen to your mother, go find Liu Laoshuan and tell him that your mother sent you. Ask him to take care of you with good food and a good place to live. Isn't that much better than living a hard life with Xiao Jianxiong?"

"Ah? My father is not Xiao Jianxiong? It's Liu Laoshuan?"

"Yes! My son, are you happy to hear this news?"

"Why should I be happy?" Xiaodacheng thought of the Liu Zhenhai family's arrogance and brutality and was already intimidated. If he really went to them, would they beat him to death?

"The Liu Laoshuan family is rich! They eat well and live well. They might even find you a wife!" The white figure's voice was full of temptation.

This was indeed very attractive to Xiaodacheng.

Eating well, living in a big house, and possibly getting a wife.

Where could he find such a good deal?

"I'm afraid they won't recognize me, Mother!" Xiaodacheng said.

The white figure said, "My son, don't be afraid. Go find Liu Laoshuan tomorrow and tell him directly that I sent you. I believe he won't dare to deny you! If he refuses to take you in, tell him, 'My mother said that if you don't recognize me, she will come out of the ground and take you away!' Remember that?"

"Remembered."

"Alright, I'll go. Take care, my son." The white figure said, and without bending its legs, it floated backward and disappeared in an instant.

Xiaodacheng then realized he was drenched in cold sweat, and his pants were wet with urine. The alcohol had completely worn off.

He stood there for a moment, then screamed in terror and ran back to the village, shouting, "Ghost! There's a ghost!"

In the small forest, the white figure that had disappeared reappeared, and then a person slid down from a nearby tree.

These two were, of course, Xiaofei and Xiaoyang.