The Qiu Family couldnât find the child, and the first person they thought of was Ye Weijun. Ye Weijun generously admitted. He said that if they didnât give him five thousand yuan, they would never see the child again.
The Qiu Family didnât have that much money readily available. They were stumped. Even if they coerced Ye Weijun and beat him up, he wouldnât say a word. Despite being beaten, he still taunted that if he died, the child wouldnât survive either.
Hearing this, the Qiu Family realized there must be an accomplice. They feared that if they crippled Ye Weijun, it would anger the accomplice, which wouldnât be good for the child. The Qiu Family was in a difficult position.
Just when they thought about borrowing some money from the Liang Family, before they even set foot inside, news of a tragedy from the Liang Family postponed the borrowing plan.
Old Man Qiu had no choice but to gather more than one thousand yuan at home. He planned to give it to him first, hoping he would send the child back. He would then write an IOU in front of Ye Weijun, ensuring he wouldnât deny the debt.
While they were gathering the money, Ye Qing brought Mei Langchi along.
The Qiu Family was thrilled. They couldnât handle Ye Weijun, and seeing Ye Qingâs man donned in a military uniform, brimming with righteousness, gave the Qiu Family hope.
Mei Langchi looked at his mother-in-law lying on the bed, her facial features unrecognizable, and frowned immediately. He cursed inwardly, wondering what kind of person Ye Qingâs father was to beat someone like this.
Du Guangjun, seeing Qiu Hualan in such a state, almost burst into tears. As soon as he entered the room, he stayed by Qiu Hualanâs side without moving an inch.
The Qiu Family also realized this man must be Lan Huaâs lover from outside. Although their daughter was at fault, seeing how devoted this man was to their daughter, Old Man Qiu didnât care about morals and shame.
Their daughter suffered most of her life. Finally, she escaped from the claws of the devil and met someone good. Why care about those superficial matters?
Mei Langchi heard that Ye Weijun had hidden his child and demanded five thousand yuan.
His heart chilled. He asked Ye Qing to take him to see Ye Weijun. Luckily, Ye Weijun wasnât at home.
As soon as he heard Fang Qiao say he went to the town to buy alcohol.
"Saozi, whereâs my elder brother?"
"Oh, your elder brother is at the foot of the western mountain. Didnât we raise some chickens and ducks? Heâs watching over them right now."
"Okay. Letâs go find my elder brother."
Ye Qing wasnât familiar with this Saozi and was just thinking about her child. Her Hua Hua was just over a year old. Any commotion should make her cry, right? The village is so small, where could Ye Weijun hide her?
They had just searched the house and the yard thoroughly, but there was no trace of the child.
Ye Qing took Mei Langchi towards the foot of the mountain. People in the village saw Mei Langchi and started to believe Ye Weijunâs words.
They believed that his daughter found a military officer as a son-in-law, and also believed Ye Weijunâs claim that this man was Lin Wanâs brother. Because Mei Langchi and Lin Wanâs husband did look somewhat similar.
This stirred up a wave in the village, and everyone was discussing Ye Qingâs and Lin Wanâs husbands.
The old lady of the Liang Family passed away, and Lin Wanâs whole family came back, except for Lin Wanâs husband, which many people found unfortunate. If Lin Wanâs husband came back, it would be nice.
Now, the legitimate wife and the mistress are brought together, who knows what the situation will be?
At this time, Ye Qing and Lin Wan didnât have the leisure to care about the villageâs opinion. One was grieving, and the other was urgently searching for her son.
When Ye Qing arrived at the foot of the mountain, Ye Rong was feeding chickens and ducks in the new pen. He saw Ye Qing bringing a man over.
His hand holding the chicken feed tray tightened a bit.
"Ah Qing, youâre back. When did you arrive?"
"Brother. We just got here. This is my husband, Langchi. Langchi, this is my brother, Ye Rong."
Mei Langchi nodded at Ye Rong and called him brother.
Ye Rong gave a somewhat awkward smile.
Ye Qing was anxious about her child and asked, "Brother, do you know where Dad hid the child?"
"The child? I donât know. These days, Dad has been spending his time in his own yard except for meals at our place. But he definitely didnât hide the child in his yard. Otherwise, Grandpa and Uncle would have found her by now."
"If itâs not hidden at our place, then where could it be?"
"Itâs hard to say. I suspect it might be in the mountains. Ah Qing, maybe we should call the police. Itâs been two days, and thereâs no news about the child. And I havenât seen Dad take any food out. I guess he hasnât even fed the child."
"What?" Ye Qing was so anxious that she almost cried. Her Hua Hua hadnât eaten for two days. What should she do?
Mei Langchi checked his watch. It was already past six. He patted Ye Qingâs shoulder and said coolly, "Donât worry yet. I guess he wouldnât dare to harm the child. Itâs late today, and we can report to the police tomorrow. Tonight, letâs wait for him to return and question him. If he brings the child out, we wonât report it. If he refuses to tell, then donât blame us for being heartless."
Ye Qing wiped her tears and nodded.
Ye Rong, however, was secretly happy, having thought of something.
After sending Ye Qing away, he went straight to the village entrance to wait for Ye Weijunâs return and cheated him to the foot of the mountain. Tonight, he planned to detain Ye Weijun and not let him return home. By tomorrow, when Ah Qing saw that Ye Weijun hadnât returned, she would surely report to the police. If they let Ye Weijun return home, seeing the man by Ah Qingâs side, Dad would surely give in within an hour. If they didnât report to the police then, Dad would cause trouble at home again.
If Ah Qing reported to the police, Ye Weijun would be charged with kidnapping and would surely be jailed. In the best-case scenario, if the child died, it would be best for Ye Weijun to be executed. Never let him appear in this world again.
This way, his home would be peaceful.
Mom and Dad divorced, and Mom followed Ah Qing. All the houses and land at home would be his. He wouldnât have to see that old face and worry every day.
He had been waiting for such a life for a long time.
Truly hoping it would come soon.
When Ye Rong saw Ye Weijunâs figure swaying slowly at the village entrance, he knew he had drunk quite a bit in the town.
He looked around and, when the villagers werenât paying attention, led Ye Weijun to the back of the village. They took a loop from the foot of the mountain.
"What are you doing, not minding your chickens and pulling your father for what?" Ye Weijun saw it was his son, and impatiently shook his hand.
"Dad, Ah Qing came back this afternoon and brought her military man with her. Just now, they were even looking for me. I saw them looking aggressive. I suspect they are going to beat you. So, Iâm letting you hide," Ye Rong bluffed.
"What? Ah Qing... and her man came back? Her man actually came back?" Ye Weijun sobered up a bit and asked with wide eyes, "What does that man look like?"
"Heâs quite tall and solid, looks like he trains often. Dad, you should be careful. He didnât look happy, seemed really angry."
"Bah... When I was in S City, I wanted to see him but couldnât. Now heâs being big with my daughter. Fine, Iâll meet him. Iâll tell him the kid is with me and ask for five thousand yuan. Iâll give the kid to him," Ye Weijun decided.
"Dad, you see that Little Sister and her husband are quite tough. If you go over and they donât buy your story and beat you up, those five thousand yuan will be gone. So, why donât you sit at the foot of the mountain first? Tonight, Iâll check the situation for you. If theyâre willing to pay tomorrow, you can give them the child. If theyâre not willing, Iâll persuade them. After all, youâre their dad, and their anger will dissipate after a while, making it easier to talk."
Ye Weijun paused, thinking his son made sense. He had to get those five thousand yuan in hand, or how else would he buy alcohol in the future?
After they left, Lin Wan and Lin Yinghui came out from the mountain.
They had overheard the father and sonâs conversation. Initially, they followed Ah Zhi and Ah Song to see how Little Grandmotherâs grave was being dug. Ah Zhi and Ah Song were still up on the mountain, while the siblings returned first, unexpectedly hearing the father and sonâs scheme.
When they returned, Lin Wan had heard some things about the Ye family. She knew Ye Weijun had beaten Qiu Hualan and that Ye Weijun was pressured by the Qiu Family to sign divorce papers.
It turned out Ye Weijun was unwilling to let go and even took Ye Qingâs child. Seems like their actions had a cascading effect, and now Mei Langchi and Ye Qing were bearing it.
Wondering how Mei Langchi and Ye Qing would handle Ye Weijun.
"Xiao Wan, you head back. Iâm going out for a bit."
"Brother, where are you going?"
"Hmph, Ye Weijun is no good either. Iâm heading into the village to let them know about Ye Weijunâs return."