Chapter 197: The House That Vanished

The three of them entered the village. Shao Xiang managed to retrace her steps to her former home.

It was not enough to call it a derelict.

The holes in the walls were large enough for one to see all the way through.

Fang Ya hesitated for a moment and walked forward. She stopped in front of the two doors that barely looked functional.

At that moment, a villager walked over. “Who are you looking for?”

Fang Ya glanced at the villager. He had tanned skin, tattered clothes, and a lame leg. He looked a little disheveled.

“Excuse me, is this the Shao Family’s?” Fang Ya walked forward and asked the villager.

The villager nodded and said, “It used to be.”

“Used to be? Where did they go now?” Fang Ya hurriedly asked, “Did they move away?”

“There is no Shao Family left!” The villager said and walked around Fang Ya and Shao Xiang. He pushed open the doors and walked inside.

“After the daughter of the Shao family ran away, the old couple passed on over the next few years,” the villager said as he walked toward the house.

“Then, what about the two sons of the Shao Family?” Shao Xiang finally opened her mouth, her voice trembling slightly.

The villager stopped for a moment and turned to look at Shao Xiang. “Do you know the Shao Family?”

Shao Xiang nodded, tears already rolling in her eyes. “The Shao family… are they still there?”

The villager thought for a moment, nodded and said, “Yes! The Boss said that they have moved to the town, but I heard that they are not doing very well.”

“The second son, he fell down when he went to the mountains to pick medicinal herbs a few years ago. He has been in the hospital for several years,” the villager said and grinned, revealing his teeth.

“There is no one left in the Shao family. This place belongs to me,” the villager said and walked into the house.

Shao Xiang followed behind the villager and wanted to walk in.

However, the villager reached out his hand to stop Shao Xiang. “Hey, I told you, this is my home now!”

Shao Xiang turned her head to look at Fang Ya with some embarrassment.

Fang Ya said apologetically to the villager, “We’re relatives of the Shao family. We’ve lived here before, so we want to go in and take a look.”

“Go in and take a look?” The villager sized up Fang Ya and Shao Xiang before saying, “That’s fine too! But what do you want to exchange for it?”

Fang Ya thought for a moment, then took out 20 yuan and handed it to the villager.

The villager took the money and a smile immediately appeared on his face. “Feel free to look! But you can’t touch anything in the house!”

Fang Ya nodded and helped Shao Xiang into the house.

Shao Xiang looked at her former home which had almost become a bare wall and could not help but cry.

Fang Ya knew that Shao Xiang was sad, but she did not know how to comfort her.

She thought for a moment and asked the villager, “Do you know where the two sons of the Shao family are?”

The villager shook his head. “I don’t know. If you want to ask, you can ask the village chief!”

Fang Ya smiled and thanked him. She asked for the direction of the village chief’s house and supported Shao Xiang, who was already staggering with grief.

Shao Xiang’s face was already filled with tears when she walked out of the Shao House.

Fang Ya was heartbroken as she wiped Shao Xiang’s tears away. Tang Tang, on the other hand, obediently grabbed the corner of Shao Xiang’s clothes and comforted her with a gentle voice.

Following the villagers’ guidance, Fang Ya and her group arrived at the village chief’s house.

The village chief’s house was at the easternmost end of the village.

Tang Tang followed Fang Ya and the others along the gravel road. She accidentally fell and skinned her knee.

She did not cry. She obediently let Fang Ya clean her wound and then continued to hold Shao Xiang’s hand as they walked forward.

Shao Xiang looked at Tang Tang with heartache, but there was another kind of concern in her heart.

When they came to the village chief’s house, the village chief asked for their purpose of coming. Only then did he look for a notebook to find the whereabouts of the Shao brothers.

Shao Xiang did not know this village chief, a recent successor of the previous chief.

It was said that this village chief had been trained for such a role since birth. In recent years, he was specially assigned to this backward village in order to help the farmers.

The village chief dutifully wrote down the address for Shao Xiang and Fang Ya. He also told them that if they could not find the person, they could go to the town government to find a clerk named Yang Ming.

He said that he could help them find the person.

After Fang Ya expressed her gratitude to the village chief, she hurried to the village entrance.

Their rendezvous with the coachman was almost up, Fang Ya was worried that if they were to delay any longer, the coachman would leave and they would not be able to return to the town today.

Fortunately, the coachman was patient. He waited for them for a while longer and did not complain.

Fang Ya expressed her gratitude to the coachman.

However, the coachman waved his hand and said that Fang Ya had been most gracious. It was not a big deal to wait for a while longer.

Fang Ya smiled and helped Shao Xiang and Tang Tang into the carriage.