The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 835 - 813 Hard to Find

Chapter 835: Chapter 813 Hard to Find

Even though Liu Gui was reluctant, he still had to listen to Daji.

Handing the sickle over to Daji, Liu Gui walked back to find the cart.

Daji swiftly chopped down some prickly thorny bushes, Bai Shan and Manbao, from nowhere, got some branches and used them to hook and pull the cut branches aside, clearing the path.

Zhou SiLang was even more agile than Daji, as he was accustomed to farm work, he followed by chopping down some of the taller prickly weeds, effortlessly sweeping them aside with his foot.

County Magistrate Tang stood behind Bai Shan and Manbao, watching intently, and asked, "You are quite skillful at this work, have you done it before?"

Manbao nodded, "We have our own little manor, and we used to work the fields, so this is nothing."

County Magistrate Tang, noticing their increasingly practiced movements, nodded and remarked, "I can see that."

Because the road was difficult to navigate, they walked slowly, and when they were hungry, they flattened the long grass and sat down on the ground to nibble on their dry food.

County Magistrate Tang sat under the shade of a tree, looked up at the mountaintop that couldn’t be seen and said, "I must say, this mountain really is vast and dense, trying to find anything in here..."

He shook his head.

Manbao and Bai Shan, of course, knew it was tough; otherwise, Liu Gui wouldn’t have spent four years unable to find anything.

They walked until sunset before they finally got off the road, full of thorns and mixed trees, and found that Liu Gui had already been waiting with the cart at the other end of the road.

Seeing them emerge from a clump of bushes, he breathed a sigh of relief; he knew better than anyone just how difficult the Da Hu mountain was to navigate, sometimes in search of something, they might only cover a hundred yards in a day, but in sparser woods and easier paths, perhaps they could search three or four hundred yards.

County Magistrate Tang, a bit disheveled, brushed off leaves, and grass from his head, looked back at the still weed-engulfed road, shook his head, and then turned to Bai Shan and Manbao, "You are making an effort, but you must inquire about Zhou Yin’s habits on the mountain, otherwise, searching for a package this size in not one, but four mountains is like finding a needle in a haystack."

Manbao thought he was wrong, "The sea is bigger than this place, and a needle is smaller than the thing we are looking for."

County Magistrate Tang tapped her head and said, "Come back and tell me that when you have found it."

He looked up at Da Hu mountain again, sighed, and said, "It has been too long, otherwise we might have found some traces to aid our judgment."

Manbao and Bai Shan also looked up at Da Hu mountain and sighed simultaneously, indeed, twelve years had passed, and rain had washed everything away.

Thinking of this, Manbao abruptly turned to ask Zhou SiLang, "SiLang, did it rain after my father died?"

"Yes, it rained. It was early summer, the rainiest season. Uncle didn’t come back home that night; we were worried about him having difficulty walking in the rain. The reason we went up Da Hu mountain was to check the traps we had laid earlier, and we also went for the wild mushrooms on the mountain."

Only if it had rained the day before would there be wild mushrooms on the mountain.

"We hadn’t carried Uncle back long before it started raining again, which is also why older brother couldn’t go to town in time to report to the authorities, and then the officials came to our village."

Even County Magistrate Tang couldn’t help but comment, "It was a blessing for you and for us."

If it hadn’t rained, the item might have been found by the other party.

After all, no matter how vast the forest, following the traces left by Zhou Yin, one could always find what he had hidden, and even if he had covered his tracks, there are many experts in the world, and traces would surely exist once someone had passed by.

A rain came, and all was washed away.

At that time, it was very beneficial for their side.

County Magistrate Tang and Manbao along with Bai Shan climbed onto the carriage. From there to Qili Village was not far, the carriage could arrive in about thirty minutes.

As soon as they reached the entrance of the village, Daji halted the horses, and Manbao and Bai Shan jumped down from the carriage. Daji handed the reins to Liu Gui and also followed the two.

Zhou Si naturally went back home with his sister, so only County Magistrate Tang and Liu Gui were left inside and outside the carriage, and County Magistrate Tang still could not speak.

He did not emerge from the carriage until back in the Bai Family’s courtyard, then asked, "Is Daji a servant employed by your family?"

Liu Gui bowed and replied, "The head of household wouldn’t dare to employ such servants."

County Magistrate Tang smiled, not pursuing the topic any further.

Bai Shan followed Manbao to Old Zhou’s house, and the two then went to speak with Old Zhou and Ms. Qian. Soon after, Zhou Dalang, Zhou Erlang, and Zhou Sanlang were called in.

The only ones in the household of similar age to Zhou Yin were these three, especially Zhou Erlang and Zhou Sanlang, who had often chased after their younger uncle.

The two thought for a moment and then said, "We do know a few places, but the one who got along best with our uncle was Zhou Hu. Whenever Uncle went up the mountain, Zhou Hu was sure to accompany him, so Zhou Hu should know all the places Uncle knew."

Manbao got up immediately wanting to look for Zhou Hu, but Zhou Erlang quickly held her back, "The sun is about to set."

"It’s precisely because the sun is setting that I need to find him," Manbao replied, "so we can prepare tonight and head up the mountain early tomorrow."

Old Zhou asked, "Are you going up the mountain again tomorrow?"

Manbao nodded, "Tomorrow is our last day. The day after tomorrow, we have to return to Yizhou City for school. If we don’t find it tomorrow, who knows when we’ll next be back."

Bai Shan crunched some numbers on his fingers, "We’d have to wait until Tomb-Sweeping Day. Tomb-Sweeping Day is a holiday, and then we could ask for an extra couple of days off. Teachers generally approve leave during Tomb-Sweeping Day."

Manbao also did some calculations, then said, "This year, Tomb-Sweeping Day coincides with the Double Third Festival, so we might get a few extra days off. However, it’s still a month away."

The two jointly said to Old Zhou, "That’s too long."

Old Zhou really did not want the children mixed up in this matter, and he couldn’t help muttering, "You’re supposed to be studying, why are you always thinking about holidays?"

Both of them looked innocently at Old Zhou.

Old Zhou waved his hand, "Go on then, go and come back soon. Also, don’t tell Zhou Hu too much."

Manbao acknowledged.

However, when they went to Zhou Hu’s home, as soon as Manbao saw Zhou Hu, she looked around, saw no one else was nearby, and then said to Zhou Hu, "Brother Zhou Hu, could I ask for your help?"

Zhou Hu smiled and asked, "What do you need help with?"

"Didn’t you often used to go up the mountain to play with my biological father?" Manbao said, "Could you take us around there?"

Zhou Hu’s expression turned slightly vacant, his ears ringing as if he had not heard clearly what Manbao had said, yet at the same time he had, as if he was in a dream yet not.

After a long moment, he asked hesitantly, "Who did you just say?"

Manbao then lowered her voice, "My biological father, Zhou Yin!"

Zhou Hu’s mouth opened wide, then he suddenly covered Manbao’s mouth, looked around quickly, first saw Bai Shan standing to one side, then spotted Daji not far off. His hands and legs trembled nervously, lowering his voice, he asked, "Manbao, who told you all this?"

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