2419: Poor People 2419: Poor People “She was quite young at that time, and a girl at that. How could you be at ease letting her go out on her own?”
“At ease letting her go out alone…”
Song Xuejian muttered under his breath, resting on his cane, gazing up at the sky outside the pavilion.
“Back then, people were not as delicate as today. At sixteen or seventeen, they weren’t considered young anymore. Quite a few of them were already married with kids.”
Lin Yi nodded thoughtfully, “So at that time, you were okay with her working outside, right?”
“This…”
Song Xuejian paused, “Not exactly, as you said, she was still a young girl, I naturally had my worries.”
“Ultimately, how did you agree to it?”
“Actually, it wasn’t anything special. I remember one night, she came back and told me she didn’t want to stay in the village anymore and wanted to work outside. She mentioned that Yanjing had more opportunities to make money and wanted to go there and then she just left.”
“Didn’t you stop her? Or give her any advice?”
“I did try to persuade her.” Song Xuejian said:
“After all, she’s a girl and had never left home before. Though she was a bit of a rascal, it’s different venturing out into the world compared to staying in the village, I was indeed a bit worried.”
“And then? She didn’t take your advice?”
Song Xuejian shook his head, “She was pretty determined, insisted on leaving, there was nothing I could do. Back then, we were poor and neither her mother nor I was in good health. If we had made her stay at the village, she wouldn’t have had any prospects, so we let her go.”
“Determined?” Lin Yi questioned.
“Yes, she said she had to go, and then packed her things the next day and left,” Song Xuejian explained:
“It was only later that I found out, a few lads from the village went with her, nearly drove me mad with anger; I felt they were up to no good. Later, when I inquired, I learned they went to different places, so I didn’t say any more about it.”
Lin Yi’s eyes lit up, “Who were those lads from the village?”
“Give me a moment, let me think…” Song Xuejian pondered:
“There was the second son of the Fang family, his name was Fang something…”
“Fang Daye?”
“Right, right, Fang Daye.” Song Xuejian confirmed:
“But he seemed not to have gone to work, I heard his family arranged a match for him and he also left Jindou Village, but I don’t know where he went.”
“And then? Do you remember anyone else?”
Lin Yi and Zhang Zixin were both a bit excited; this could be the key to unlocking the identity of the fifth victim!
“There’s also the young Ma Haiqiang, always loafing around, not a good sort.”
“Is it Ma Haiqiang?” Zhang Zixin asked tentatively.
“Exactly, I think that’s the name.”
“What else, do you remember anyone else?” Zhang Zixin hurriedly asked.
“Those that hung out closely with them, I think there were two more…”
Two more!
Their excitement was growing!
One of the remaining two might very well be Wang Jiasu!
The other could potentially be the fifth victim about to be killed!
This would also complete the lineup of the Five Elements positions!
“Then there’s the second son of Old Wang’s family, named Wang Jiasu. He had a good relationship with my daughter, a decent chap. I wanted to marry my daughter to him, but it didn’t happen, alas…”
This news was within their expectations and didn’t surprise them much.
It also explained the current relationship between the two.
Perhaps they had feelings for each other from that time, but for some reason, they did not end up together.
Years later, one in Zhong Hai and the other in Yanjing, when both had improved their lives, they reconnected.
That’s why Wang Jiasu, such a decent man, would get involved with Song Lin.
Because they were childhood sweethearts.
This also explained why Wang Jiasu, being at such ranks, didn’t go to clubs for young models, but insisted on being with Song Lin.
First love is always hard to forget.
“Old sir, do you still remember who the last person was?”
“The last one…”
Song Xuejian scratched his head, “I really can’t remember clearly, just that he wasn’t tall but quite clever, always full of mischief since he was a child.”
“This…”
Lin Yi couldn’t help but smile bitterly; all other people were recalled, but the most crucial one was forgotten.
“Think again, this information is very important.”