Wang Ergou’s mother stopped crying and sat on the ground, not knowing whether to say she would not pay the money or to cry for her son. Uncle Wang stood in front of Wang Ergou’s body, looking as if he was scared and stupid, his face turned pale, he took a few steps back and fainted.

　　”Uncle Wang fainted.”

　　”Oh my god, what a sin! Xiaotian caught a cold a few days ago and hasn’t recovered yet. Now Wang Ergou is dead. What will happen to Uncle Wang in the future? I don’t want to live anymore either.”

　　The village chief shouted at the woman to stop talking nonsense and asked some people to help Uncle Wang go back first.

　　Wang Ergou is dead now, and Uncle Wang has become a widow, so we have to avoid mentioning him.

　　The onlookers said, “Uncle Wang is still a brother, how can we challenge him?”

　　”That’s right.”

　　It’s better to send Uncle Wang back to Wang’s house than to stay here and watch the fun.

　　Finally, Li Zhouzhou came out to lend a hand, and Gu Zhao said, “I’ll go with Zhouzhou.”

　　This was a good arrangement. Originally, Li Zhouzhou and Uncle Wang were both brothers, so there was nothing to be shy about. But Wang Ergou had tried to flatter them before, and now Gu Shulang had also gone over, so there was really no room for any more arguments.

　　”It’s impossible that nothing happened in the first place. Some people just wanted to link it to something unclear between Zhou Zhou and Uncle Wang. It scared Zhou Zhou so much that he ran away after buying tofu. He can’t stop eating tofu in the future.”

　　”Now Gu Shulang is going with him too. I don’t know what those people who said this behind his back are thinking.”

　　Aunt Wang was so angry that her face turned pale and she turned around and went back to the yard.

　　”Just tell whoever is anxious.”

　　As soon as Uncle Wang fainted, Wang Ergou’s parents could not leave. Someone had to stay behind to take charge of how to collect the body, handle the funeral, and bury the body. There was also Tian who was clamoring for justice and asking the Wang family to pay compensation.

　　Now the decision has to be made by Wang Ergou’s father.

　　We can’t just leave Wang Ergou’s body like this and wait for Uncle Wang to wake up, right?

　　Wang’s Courtyard.

　　Li Zhouzhou held Uncle Wang’s arm and Gu Zhao opened the door without closing it. The yard was small and there was only a stone mill and a kitchen. The expensive sugar and oil were probably locked up.

　　Entering the inner room, there was a smell of medicine mixed with foul odor. It was the fertilizer that had been used for a month. Gu Zhao smelled it and found it was the smell of urine. Some families in the village were too lazy to get up at night to go to the toilet in the backyard when it was cold, so they usually put a urine bucket in the house, and used it in the house at night and dumped it out in the morning.

　　But no one in the Li family does this.

　　Gu Zhao opened the door. The main room was filled with a mess of things, and in the other room was where Uncle Wang was sleeping.

　　Xiaotian, who was lying on the kang, climbed down when he heard the noise. He was wearing only a single piece of clothing. He was already very thin and pitiful, and now his face was pale, with one side swollen and covered with blue fingerprints.

　　Of course it couldn’t have been Uncle Wang who beat him, as Uncle Wang usually thinks highly of Xiaotian.

　　”Dad——” he rushed over barefoot.

　　Gu Zhao said, “Your father has fainted. Put on some clothes first to avoid catching a cold.”

　　Xiaotian was afraid to look at Brother Zhouzhou with tears in his eyes. Li Zhouzhou carried Uncle Wang to the kang, not knowing whether he should tell Xiaotian the truth. After thinking for a while, he decided to let Uncle Wang wake up and tell Xiaotian himself. He said, “Your father still depends on you to take care of him. Don’t catch a cold. Put on some clothes first.”

　　”Husband, let me go boil some hot water.” Li Zhouzhou thought that leaving Uncle Wang alone was not a solution.

　　Gu Zhao: “We have some on the stove at home. Go back and bring a pot over. It’s better than cooking at Wang’s.”

　　Li Zhouzhou thought so too, “Xiaotian, you look after your father, I’ll be over in a moment.”

　　Xiaotian climbed onto the kang with his clothes on and stayed by his father’s side.

　　Li Zhouzhou and Gu Zhao left the yard. On the way, they met someone and said a few words to him. They went back to get hot water, as it was not good to use firewood at Wang’s house. Li Zhouzhou took the small pot used in the main room in winter, filled it with hot water, and took it to Wang’s house.

　　Gu Zhao followed.

　　After the two of them left, Uncle Wang on the bed had woken up. His face was pale and his expression was dazed, but there was a hint of calmness in his eyes. He touched his son’s hand and heard footsteps in the main room. He panicked for a moment, then he saw that it was Li Zhouzhou and Gu Shulang.

　　On the table was the bowl that Xiaotian used to drink medicine and water. Li Zhouzhou poured hot water into it, rinsed it, took it out and poured it into the yard, then came back and poured half a bowl again and handed it to Uncle Wang.

　　”Uncle Wang, don’t be too sad. Don’t overwork yourself.” Li Zhouzhou couldn’t say it directly in front of Xiaotian.