Chapter 43:

Clues on the timeline

“Not today?!” Jing Qizhen and others exclaimed in unison.

The village chief jumped at their reaction. “Yes, that’s right!”

The village chief’s wife looked panicked and whispered in a hurry, “Please, keep your voices down…”

Jing Qizhen’s group exchanged glances, momentarily at a loss for words.

After a brief silence, Lu Lingxi pulled out his notebook from a hidden pocket, uncapped the pen, and suggested, “Why don’t we gather all the clues and go through them from the beginning?”

Jing Qizhen glanced at Lu Lingxi’s notebook and said, “It’s only been two days and you’ve filled a dozen or so pages?”

“It’s not that much. The route we took down the mountain on the first day, the entire layout of the village, and the Xu family’s house map already took up several pages,” replied Lu Lingxi.

Grandma Fang was a little surprised and asked, “Did you study surveying and mapping in college?”

Lu Lingxi shook his head. “No but military map reading is considered a basic course in the military academy… Then a few days ago, the instructors arranged a refresher course for us.”

Jing Qizhen: …

To be honest, he was impressed. Lu Lingxi’s wide-ranging skills were truly admirable.

However, thinking of Tang Song who ordered the elites from the military to learn so many unbelievable course contents in just a few days, yet remained modest, Jing Qizhen couldn’t help but feel a a sense of awe… and even a bit of trepidation.

Manman casually joked, “I think we need a whiteboard.”

After all, it was practically essential for team brainstorming sessions!

Hearing this, Jing Qizhen glanced up and spotted a landscape calendar hanging on the wall of the village chief’s house.

It was already March and the first two pages of the calendar have been flipped over.

Jing Qizhen looked at the village chief and asked after some thinking, “Could we tear off January’s page from the calendar?”

Before the village chief could respond, his wife had already stepped over to take down the calendar. She tore off the first two pages for them. “Here you go but what do you need this for?”

In the village, large pieces of paper like those were usually used to patch up walls or to cut out patterns for shoes or clothes.

Jing Qizhen turned over the two pages of the calendar so the blank side faced up. “Now we have a simple non-erasable whiteboard.”

Old Xiao couldn’t help but comment, “You’re really into the whole ritual, aren’t you…”

“Listing out all the clues is indeed a good way to organize our thoughts,” Jing Qizhen replied.

Lu Lingxi approached holding his notebook and the pen and eagerly volunteered, “I’ll take the notes!”

His handwriting might not be the most elegant among all the people present but he was definitely good at shorthand, his writing very clear and neat enough for anyone to understand.

After speaking, Lu Lingxi directly drew a vertical line and then marked the birth years and death years and months for the four daughters of the Xu family, as well as the current timeline, almost proportionally along the timeline.

Jing Qizhen commented, “Xu Daya passed away at the earliest, so this matter should have nothing to do with her.”

Lu Lingxi nodded and drew a line through Xu Daya’s name, excluding her from consideration.

Jing Qizhen continues, “Was Xu Sanya given away shortly after she was born?”

The village chief, who was watching them sketching on the back of the calendar pages, nodded. Although he’d only had limited schooling, the characters for the Xu sister’s names were common enough that he could recognize them.

After hearing Jing Qizhen’s inquiry, the village chief instinctively answered, “Yes, the Xu family wants a son and it isn’t unusual in the village to give away a daughter they couldn’t afford to raise. I know that Sanya was adopted by a family in the neighboring village that didn’t have any children.”

“Ah, then what’s been happening in the village is unlikely to be connected to Xu Sanya, either,” Jing Qizhen responded.

They had previously questioned whether Xu Sanya was alive or dead but given the chief’s response, it seemed there was no reason for concern.

Looking at the timeline Lu Lingxi had laid out on the back of the calendar pages, Jing Qizhen said, “Xu Daya passed away young, then Xu Erya was born, Xu Sanya was given away, Xu Siya was born, and finally, Xu Erya passed away…”

“If Xu Sanya was given away, why did they give birth to Xu Siya? Moreover, after her birth, the Xu family did not cherish her much and they hardly take care of her,” Lu Lingxi asked in confusion.

Jin Guijuan sneered. “I can answer that. Because when Xu Sanya was born, Xu Erya was still young. The family could not handle raising two daughters at the same time. However, when Xu Siya was born, Xu Erya was a bit older and able to help with household chores. In a few years, Xu Erya would be ready to marry, so who would do the work at home then?

“At that point, the young Xu Erya could help care for Xu Siya, and once Xu Erya married out, Xu Siya would be old enough to take over the chores. This is perfectly logical in some people’s mind.”

Not only Lu Lingxi, who had just raised the question, but even Manman and Jing Qizhen who stood by were all stunned by Jin Guijuan’s response.

“So they saw it that way?” Jing Qizhen’s brows furrowed.

Jin Guijuan continued, “Some people’s calculations are embedded in their very nature. This isn’t even a conscious decision but a habit ingrained over time. When they look at the ages of the children, they naturally come to those conclusions.”

Manman patted Jin Guijuan’s shoulder reassuringly. “Let’s not dwell on these upsetting things.”

Still affected by the emotions stirred in the erosion area, Jin Guijuan forced a smile and nodded slightly. She then softly said, “Yes, I understand, Manman-jie.”

From the clues they had uncovered and the information the village chief and his wife just provided, they could basically confirm that the lone grave in the ravine belonged to Xu Erya. The music box inside it even made the identity of the person who erected the tombstone very clear. It was the young man from the neighboring village who was in love with Xu Erya.

Given how negligent and harsh the Xu parents were towards their daughters, Jing Qizhen felt no hesitation in assuming the worst about their intentions.

Although in their eyes, the fifteen-year-old Xu Erya was still a child, but based on the environment of the village at that time, girls often got engaged or married by sixteen. When a daughter who almost got married died suddenly, the Xu parents’ biggest regret might not be her death but losing the dowry she could have brought in!

Jing Qizhen’s gaze was fixed on the timeline Lu Lingxi had drawn. “In other words, when Xu Siya was young, Xu Erya was the one to raise her? In that case, the two sisters would likely be quite close, wouldn’t they?”

At that point, Jing Qizhen’s group suddenly looked at each other in silence.

The oil pan hell in ‘Journey to Hell’ and the nursery rhyme in the music box could counteract each other. No matter how they look at it, the two sisters, Xu Erya and Xu Siya, seemed to not share a particularly close or united bond.

Lu Lingxi commented bluntly, “I thought that both sisters would hold a grudge against their mother.”

However, Jin Guijuan just shook her head with a self-deprecating smile.

“To be honest, there are many girls in the village who have had similar experiences to mine but not many of them have the same thoughts as me. They have obviously been treated unfairly, yet many can’t seem to leave their families. I don’t understand why.”

Manman replied, “The influence from the family during childhood often lasts a lifetime. There are similar cases in psychology where the more they lack their family’s attention, the more they yearn for familial love, to the point of humbling themselves for any semblance of affection. Over time, they convince themselves that this is normal. Even if their parents only show superficial affection and give them a single word of love, the children will be overjoyed.

“Although I don’t really get this mindset but it is a common occurrence.” Manman shrugged.

Jing Qizhen looked directly at the village chief’s wife and politely asked, “Do you know what the relationship between the sisters, Xu Siya and Xu Erya, was like when they were young??”

The village chief’s wife immediately lowered her voice and replied softly, “Erya had always been kind-hearted since she was a child. She also cherished her younger sister and looked out for her. She even visited Sanya, the one who was sent away, from time to time! But Erya was quite stubborn.”

Jin Guijuan, a fellow stubborn girl, blinked.

The others were slightly startled. “Huh?”

Jing Qizhen was confused and asked directly, “Why is Xu Sanya still mentioned here?”

Didn’t they already send the child away…?

The village chief’s wife murmured, “That’s right, Sanya was sent to the village where the young man that Erya liked lived. We all thought that was how Erya met the young man.”

Understanding suddenly dawned on Jing Qizhen and the others. So that was how it was!

“In our village, it’s common for families to give children up for adoption within close-knit circles. When the children grow up, if their biological parents want to reconnect, it’s usually accepted,” explained the village chief’s wife.

Manman frowned slightly and muttered under her breath, “Isn’t this similar to the nominal adoption in olden times?”

The village chief’s wife went on, “However, because of what happened to Erya and the young man later, the Xu family’s reputation was somewhat tarnished. I think that’s why the family that adopted Sanya didn’t want any further connection with the Xu family after raising her for so long…”

Old Xiao commented, “If the adoptive parents only have this one child, it’s natural for them to feel that way.”

Manman frowned slightly, and while thinking, she unconsciously twirled her hair with her fingers. She suddenly recalled how Jin Guijuan once mentioned her own defiance from a young age and asked, “Did Xu Siya ever resist her mother when she was at home?”

The village chief and his wife exchanged glances and both shook their heads.

The village chief whispered, “She was a well-behaved child and was always obedient, even though she was beaten all day long. That’s why everyone in the village pitied her.”

“In other words, the gentle Xu Siya endured everything at home, while the kind-hearted Xu Erya was the one who dared to rebel?” Manman frowned deeply.

Hearing Manman’s summary, Jing Qizhen, who had been pondering Xu Erya’s death anniversary, suddenly had an idea and blurted out, “Could it be that the oil pan hell appears on Xu Erya’s death anniversary because that’s when her power is at its weakest?”