Chapter 53: Inquiries

What Xie Aiguo didn’t tell Jing Xi was that the Long family had spoken to him.

The conversation had shocked him—not only was it unexpected, but it had also made him see things in a new light…

Now, he understood why Jing Xi was living alone in the village.

Given the circumstances, he figured that doing what was within his responsibilities wouldn’t be a big deal…

After all, no matter what, Jing Xi had a rightful share of the land.

Over time, Xie Aiguo had also realized that when Jing Xi had suggested Zhang Qiang and his wife get divorced, she had just been joking.

And truth be told, the kid really had a kind heart.

Whether his desire to avoid offending the Long family had to do with Jing Xi helping his grandson with the food poisoning incident, he couldn’t say for sure.

But he could tell that Jing Xi wasn’t a bad person—she was actually quite a good-hearted child.

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Zhang Rui had not forgotten to help Jing Xi gather information about Yuzhu.

She picked a suitable time to visit Zhou Ming’s house. Zhou Ming’s wife, Zhao Qin, was also a knowledgeable person like her husband.

The couple had come to the village in the 1960s and eventually settled down, obtaining local household registration. They had a son and a daughter—after graduating, their son went to a technical school and now worked as a driver at a mine in Nanzhen, while their daughter was already married.

Life was going well for them.

When Zhang Rui arrived, she brought along some brown sugar steamed buns that Jing Xi had made.

Zhao Qin wasn’t the type to visit neighbors often, so the moment she saw Zhang Rui bringing gifts, she knew she must have come with a request.

After some small talk, Zhang Rui got straight to the point.

“Sister-in-law, I actually came today to ask you about something,” Zhang Rui said.

Zhao Qin nodded. “Go ahead!”

“It’s about Xiao Jing’s cousin, Yuzhu. Do you remember her?” Zhang Rui asked.

Zhao Qin clapped her hands. “Of course, I remember! I was just wondering what you could possibly want to ask me, but now I understand! Yuzhu passed away four or five years ago. Before that, I used to interact with her quite a bit.”

Zhang Rui hadn’t expected that. Zhao Qin always seemed like someone who wasn’t very talkative or social, but it turned out she was quite straightforward.

“Exactly! That’s what I was thinking. Originally, I planned to bring Xiao Jing along, but she was worried that people might gossip about your family, so she asked me to come alone. She even made a batch of fresh brown sugar steamed buns for me to bring you.”

Zhao Qin had been eyeing the basket in Zhang Rui’s hands since she walked in. When she heard it was brown sugar steamed buns, her eyes lit up.

Her husband, Zhou Ming, entered just in time to tease, “My wife loves steamed buns and pancakes—anything made with flour.”

Zhao Qin shot him a look. “You just love making fun of me!” Then, she turned back to Zhang Rui. “That child is so thoughtful. If people want to gossip, let them—I don’t care. If you have any questions, just ask. I may not know everything, but if that child wants to learn about her cousin, I’ll tell you whatever I do know.”

Zhang Rui hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly.

“Alright, then. I’m asking on Xiao Jing’s behalf—did Yuzhu ever mention anything about her land to you?”

Zhao Qin seemed confused. “Land? What exactly do you mean?”

“It’s like this—Xiao Jing doesn’t have a single acre of land to her name right now. But she says her cousin used to have land. Apparently, because of her poor health, she couldn’t farm it herself and secretly leased it out. Now, Xiao Jing wants to find out who currently holds that land.”

Zhao Qin furrowed her brows, trying to recall any relevant information.

Meanwhile, Zhou Ming spoke up. “Wouldn’t the village office have records of the land distribution? Checking there should give you the answer.”

Zhang Rui quickly explained, “Xiao Jing went there, but Yuzhu’s name wasn’t on the registry at all. That’s what’s so strange!”

Zhou Ming immediately understood. “So, does that mean someone might have taken Yuzhu’s land? And that someone even altered the registry?”

Zhang Rui gestured for Zhou Ming to be cautious. “We can’t just say things like that recklessly—it’s just speculation.”

Zhao Qin thought back carefully. “I don’t remember Yuzhu ever mentioning anything about land either. When we were together, we mostly talked about family matters or her health.”

“She also talked about Jing Xi sometimes. That child was never much of a talker, and during the time when Yuzhu’s health was poor, she became even more silent. Aside from working, eating, and sleeping, she barely spoke. Yuzhu even joked with me once, saying she thought the child might be a little autistic.”

“And Yuzhu’s passing was quite strange too. She had always been frail, often sickly, but she never mentioned having heart problems. She couldn’t do heavy farm work, but she was still able to do household chores like laundry and cooking.”

The three of them talked for two hours, covering topics from Yuzhu’s land to Jing Xi’s quiet nature, to the suddenness of Yuzhu’s death. In the end, Zhang Rui repeated everything word for word to Jing Xi.

Jing Xi identified a few key pieces of information:

1. Yuzhu’s death was suspicious.
2. As a child, Jing Xi might have been somewhat withdrawn, which explained why she hadn’t paid attention to many things or retained many memories about Yuzhu.
3. Zhao Qin and Zhou Ming didn’t know anything about Yuzhu’s land, but they suspected that someone in the village had taken it and changed the registry.

Sitting on the embankment, Jing Xi carefully recalled everything Zhang Rui had told her that afternoon.

Spring nights in the north were still chilly, but the cold helped clear her thoughts.

Zhang Rui had felt bad for not uncovering more information, but Jing Xi believed that what they had already learned was quite valuable. It just needed time to be investigated further.

She was determined to reclaim Yuzhu’s land—and not a single cent of the rental income from the past few years should be missing.

It seemed she would need to ask around some more.

After thinking it over, she decided to go to the village office the next day and ask Xie Aiguo to help her check the records.

The Next Morning

At dawn, Jing Xi headed straight to the village office.

On the way, she ran into several familiar faces, but to her surprise, she also encountered the Zhang family—the three of them together, dressed neatly as if they were heading out for something important.

Jing Xi had too much on her mind to bother acknowledging them, so she walked past as if she hadn’t seen them. However, Zhang Jianjun unexpectedly greeted her.

The moment he spoke, Wang Cuihua pinched him sharply. “Jianjun, what are you doing?!”

Zhang Jianjun saw that Jing Xi didn’t stop and continued walking ahead. He turned to his parents and muttered, as if speaking to himself, “What a pitiful fate.”

Wang Cuihua snapped, “What nonsense are you talking about so early in the morning? Who’s pitiful?”

Zhang Jianjun glanced at Zhang Qiang, who was walking ahead, and pouted. “I’m talking about myself, okay? I’m the pitiful one!”

Wang Cuihua warned him, “Watch your mouth and behave yourself today! The girl you’re meeting for the matchmaking has great qualifications. If our family wasn’t in a good position, she wouldn’t even consider a rural match. You better make the most of this, understand? Her parents are both schoolteachers!”