Chapter 1572 - 1567: Sorting Out Each Matter ( - 38)

A bucket of cold water was poured over Mu Dajiang, waking him from his drunken stupor.

He opened his eyes in a daze and saw Mu Shuangshuang.

"Shuangshuang... Shuangshuang..." Mu Dajiang murmured and then, as if suddenly remembering something, knelt in front of Mu Shuangshuang. "Shuangshuang, Xiao Chu is missing, Xiaxia is missing, please help me, please help me..."

"Uncle, wake up!" Mu Shuangshuang said sternly.

"Shuangshuang, save Xiao Chu..."

The man could only repeat this sentence; his body shivered from the cold water, feeling numb.

"Uncle, I will save them, but you need to stand up first. In this state, Xiaxia and Xiao Chu will not be happy if they know!

Besides, they are just temporarily missing, it’s not as if they can’t be found! You look utterly defeated, where is the spirit of a man?"

Mu Shuangshuang originally didn’t want to say these words, but seeing Mu Dajiang like this, she was just too angry.

Why crumble at the slightest setback and seek refuge like a turtle?

Why expect everyone else to do everything?

Your daughter and son are missing, shouldn’t you clarify the causes and consequences, analyze everything systematically?

Mu Dajiang looked at Mu Shuangshuang, his eyes flashing with an ambiguous light.

"I’ll help boil hot water for you. Have a good bath, shave your beard, and also tidy up Aunt Liu. We’ll discuss how to find Xiaxia and Xiao Chu later!"

Mu Shuangshuang said.

The courtyard’s kitchen is communal; with so many people sharing one kitchen, it’s fortunate that no one is using it at this hour. Mu Shuangshuang took some ginger from the fourth house, boiled it, and carried it bucket by bucket to the fourth house.

While she was boiling the water, Mu Dajiang was tidying up the room, scraping the dirt clean with a metal scraper, then opened all the windows to ventilate, allowing the room to be decent when Mu Shuangshuang stepped back inside.

Only, Mu Dajiang was still wearing his wet cotton clothes, so Mu Shuangshuang quickly urged him to take a bath.

Inside, Mu Dajiang was bathing; outside, Mu Shuangshuang was chatting with Mr. Mu in the courtyard.

Mu Shuangshuang kept asking Mr. Mu for details, asking about the last time he saw Mu Xiaxia, but Mr. Mu hesitated and couldn’t answer for a long time.

Mu Shuangshuang sensed something was amiss, "Grandpa, if you want them to come back, don’t hide anything from me, even the smallest detail!"

After weighing his options, Mr. Mu finally said: "Xiaxia took ten silver taels from me, saying with a hundred taels, Xiao Chu could be saved!

I thought Xiao Chu was my grandson, so I gave it! After that, I never saw Xiaxia again!"

"A hundred taels? Did she collect all of it?" Mu Shuangshuang asked.

"Probably! She said the ten taels from me were enough, and she even advanced some money from work!"

Mr. Mu’s words made Mu Shuangshuang frown.

A hundred taels, where did Xiaxia get so much money?

She even advanced money at the workplace?

Mu Shuangshuang felt compelled to see Zheng Zhi since Mu Xiaxia’s job was introduced by Zheng Zhi!

"Grandpa, stay here with Uncle, let him recall what Xiaxia has said, done, even her slightest expressions, and tell me without missing anything!"

"Alright!"

Mu Shuangshuang went straight to Jiu Si Xuan, her appearance delighted the shopkeeper.

The little old man was so excited, his face turned red with a beaming smile, "Young lady, what brings you here? Please come inside!"

Mu Shuangshuang nodded to the shopkeeper, "Uncle, I’m here to find your owner, Zheng Zhi, is he here?"

"He is, he is!" The shopkeeper nodded.

"Then..."

"Give me a moment, I’ll go ask our owner!" the shopkeeper said to Mu Shuangshuang.

"Thank you, Uncle!"

Mu Shuangshuang patiently waited on the first floor of Jiu Si Xuan. Before long, the shopkeeper returned.

"Miss Shuangshuang, third floor please!"

Mu Shuangshuang followed the shopkeeper upstairs where Zheng Zhi was leisurely drinking tea, having opened Jiu Si Xuan on the eighth day of the year.

Fortunately, the staff worked hard, giving Zheng Zhi a moment’s respite.

"I heard from Uncle Chen that you came back, I didn’t believe it until you stood before me, then I truly believed! How are things in the Northwest compared to our county?" Zheng Zhi asked.

"We can catch up later! I have something urgent to ask you now. The job you introduced to my cousin Xiaxia, where is it?" Mu Shuangshuang asked.

"Your... cousin? At Red House, you should have been there, the shopkeeper Red Lady is working under me!" Zheng Zhi stated.

He continued, "Is something wrong?"

"My cousin is missing! Missing for two days!"

"What? Missing?" Zheng Zhi stood up abruptly, his chair fell back with a bang.

"Not only that, but my cousin’s brother, Xiaxia’s brother, Xiao Chu is missing too!"

"How outrageous, such a thing happening in our county! Shuangshuang, don’t worry, I’ll go back and mobilize people from the government office to help find them!" Zheng Zhi said.

Mu Shuangshuang did not refuse. She had no reason to; any help at this time was a glimmer of hope for her.

"But the arrest officers haven’t seen your cousin and cousin’s brother, which might be challenging!" Zheng Zhi admitted honestly.

He could gather people, not only from the government office but also his friends to help find them.

But, without evidence, they wouldn’t recognize them.

"That’s simple, could you prepare paper and a pen for me?" Mu Shuangshuang said.

Zheng Zhi called for an assistant, prepared the writing tools, and helped her with the ink. She picked up the brush and started sketching Xiaxia and Xiao Chu.

It wasn’t her first time doing portraits, so she skillfully continued, though her style differed from the ancients, taking more time.

An entire hour passed before Mu Shuangshuang finished two illustrations, a total of four sheets.

The portraits clearly showed every contour of Mu Xiaxia and Xiao Chu; merely glancing at them would ensure a clear memory of their appearance.

"Thank you!" Mu Shuangshuang handed the drawings to Zheng Zhi.

Zheng Zhi shook his head, "It’s my pleasure, now go to Red Lady, show her these, she won’t trouble you!"

Zheng Zhi took a dark green jade pendant from his waist, Mu Shuangshuang received it, and they parted ways.

At Old Mu Family’s fourth house, Mu Dajiang finished bathing and tidying himself and his wife, Mrs. Liu, but Mu Shuangshuang was already gone.

When asked, Mr. Mu said she went to seek acquaintances in the county to find Mu Xiaxia!

Mu Dajiang’s eyes welled up with tears, almost crying.