Free Web NovelChapter 436: Chapter 436: Assistance
After all, it was the Ni Family affair. Besides Ni Yanqing and Ni Yan’an, and the future daughter-in-law Hua Yiran, Xu Ancheng and Yi Roujing, who were pointed out by Ni Yanqing to go along, were also there. They went up the mountain together, and Yi Roujing studied medicine, knowing Tang’s specific situation. She could better explain why they encountered danger before going deep into the mountains, making it more convincing.
Of course, Ni Yanqing could have single-handedly defined and concluded the matter, but he didn’t want to resort to such means for a trivial issue.
Daihe Village backs onto Beidai Mountain. Every household can earn some work points or small money by picking mountain treasures. There’s a specialized food factory in the county town to collect these, which is recognized as the village’s source of income. Naturally, those capable of catching game have a large demand from the county’s meat union factory and food factory, which are unified for collection.
However, the prices offered by these state-owned factories are always lower than the black market. It’s not that there’s no private trading, especially since the policy has relaxed a bit now.
Not everyone can enter the depths of Beidai Mountain. The village clearly stipulates that the depths can’t be entered. Of course, it’s not to say no one goes, but Daihe Village has its own deep mountain hunting team. It’s composed of self-elected individuals who are capable and strong, selected by the entire brigade, with a total of ten people, allowing only them to enter deep mountains together, not alone.
However, in such a big village, is there really no one sneaking into the deep mountains to hunt? There are, but this is tacitly understood by everyone. If something goes wrong, they accept it as it is. This time was the first time that entering the deep mountains caused such a stir, and it was still a group of educated youths who went.
The educated youths going to the countryside sometimes have an awkward identity. Wherever they go, they are considered part of the place, but the genuine villagers still keep a distance. So after knowing that the educated youths entered the deep mountains, only a few were concerned about their safety, while most felt they were taking public assets and undermining their benefits.
So when Ni Yanqing and his group descended into the village, the villagers of Daihe Village were all discussing this matter.
"Hey, hey, they’re coming."
"Looking at them empty-handed, did they not catch anything?"
"If they really caught something, they’d be flaunting it; surely they’ve hidden it away."
...
"But the young man following He Qing doesn’t seem to be one of our brigade’s educated youths, though he looks a bit familiar."
"I don’t think I’ve seen him. But that young girl looks familiar."
"Oh, isn’t that Yan’an?"
An older woman recognized Ni Yan’an. Even if Ni Yanqing came to Daihe Village, at most he’d eat a meal with his uncle’s family. He didn’t like being pulled by them, watching their hypocritical, flattering faces, which made him feel choked.
Ni Yan’an was a girl, often sought by Ni Qingyan, so when she came last year, she walked around the village quite a bit.
"Captain, Captain, your relatives are here, Yan’an and the others are here."
The arrival of Ni Yanqing and the others quickly diverted the villagers’ attention from the issue of the educated youths entering the deep mountains onto them.
Ni Dahong and several other team cadres were originally in a meeting discussing the appropriate punishment for those educated youths who went into the deep mountains. They hadn’t reached a conclusion yet when they were interrupted by the villagers’ loud speeches.
Ni Dahong, who was originally displeased, was delighted to hear Ni Yan’an was there, immediately ending the meeting and eagerly coming out to welcome them.
When they finally met, Ni Dahong realized Ni Yanqing was also there. He was even happier, smiling widely.
"Yanqing, Yan’an." Ni Dahong called out warmly.
"Uncle." Both Ni Yanqing and Ni Yan’an greeted him.
"Uncle, these are our friends who came with us, Xu Ancheng and his wife Yi Roujing." Ni Yanqing introduced them, "Ancheng, sister-in-law, this is our uncle."
Xu Ancheng and Yi Roujing followed Ni Yanqing’s cue and greeted him.
"Ah, welcome, welcome, you all must come to our house for dinner tonight," Ni Dahong said happily, "Let your aunt cook you a delicious meal."
"Oh yes, Uncle, we have another matter to discuss. Aren’t these the educated youths from the brigade? We encountered them on the mountain. An educated youth named Tang got bitten by a venomous snake and was already sent to the hospital for serum injection." Ni Yanqing explained why they were with He and his group.
"Encountered them on the mountain? Did you also go into the deep mountains?"
"What nonsense, what nonsense, how could Yanqing do something so dangerous?" Ni Dahong immediately refuted.
"They already live on the mountain and don’t lack meat." Ni Dahong’s words suddenly made everyone realize that the farmhouse halfway up the mountain was theirs and reminded them of Ni Yanqing’s identity and conditions. They wouldn’t risk their lives for a taste of game; they weren’t lacking in resources.
"Then, then you educated youths, didn’t you go into the deep mountains?" A villager asked.
"Who said we went into the deep mountains?" He replied at the right time, raising his eyebrows in confusion, "A few days ago, we saw villagers on the outskirts catch a foolish deer. We didn’t have that much skill, so we were just trying our luck, hoping to catch a wild chicken or a hare."
"It’s just that we didn’t expect..." He’s face was full of self-blame, "We caused Tang to be bitten by a venomous snake. If it weren’t for encountering Mr. Ni and the others."
"You didn’t go into the deep mountains, so why did Chen say you did?" someone asked, puzzled.
"Chen said we went into the deep mountains? Chen Youdao?" He asked incredulously.
"Yes." Many people echoed.
"He went up the mountain with us; he should know best." He said and pursed his lips.
"Chen Youdao went down the mountain already?" Huang exclaimed in disbelief, "What does he mean by that? Tang got bitten by a snake and stayed where he was waiting. We went to find people, and when we met up with Mr. Ni and returned, Tang was lying there unconscious, and Chen Youdao had disappeared. We split into two groups, one to take Tang down the mountain for treatment, and one to search for Chen, fearing something happened to him."
"And yet, he’s already down the mountain by himself. What’s going on with him?" Huang, known for being a bit fiery, started to yell.
With witnesses here, seeing He and Huang’s genuine expressions and demeanor that didn’t seem fake, their previous assumption that the educated youths entered the deep mountains was based on Chen’s claim. He said he couldn’t stop them, but feared for their safety, hoping the brigade would dispatch the deep mountain hunting team to search for them.
Eventually, the educated youth came back by themselves, the lie fell apart without attack. If it were only the educated youth’s account, it could have been chalked up to a collective lie to avoid punishment. But with the presence of Ni Yanqing and others, the story took a different direction.
"Qingyan said Chen was always with her and Yaozu."
"People are dating now, why wouldn’t they speak for their partner?"
Huang overheard and really wanted to clarify that Chen was dating Tang, but she couldn’t say it. Nobody knew, and it would at least preserve Tang’s face and reputation.
