apprentice earth god

Du Jiaoyang determined the direction of the investigation, returned to the temple and simply packed some clothes, and drove to Huang Fangfang's hometown before dawn the next day.

Huang Fangfang's hometown is very remote. Although Haicheng is the closest city to the small village, it takes more than three hours to drive there from the temple due to road conditions and other reasons.

Du Jiaoyang first went to the town attached to the small village to meet the people he was looking for from the special office.

He is not familiar with the place, so he needs a local as a guide to better understand the local situation.

The special department is very good at these logistics support tasks, so as to attract more capable warlocks.

"Hello, my name is Wang Shuai. I didn't expect you to be so young, and you look like a student."

The receptionist was a tall young man in his twenties, smiling and looking very energetic.

Wang Shuai was a small employee in the town government. He didn't know Du Jiaoyang's identity, but he was ordered to cooperate with Du Jiaoyang's work.

Du Jiaoyang smiled: "Hello, my name is Jiaoyang, I will trouble you later."

"What's the matter, it's lunch time now, let's find a place to eat first."

Wang Shuai said with some embarrassment: "Our town is small, and many people have gone out to work. There are only a few shops, and the taste is relatively ordinary, which is not comparable to that in the city."

"I'm not picky, as long as I have something to eat." Du Jiaoyang didn't hesitate to follow Wang Shuai to forage.

When paying the bill, Wang Shuai paid the bill very enthusiastically, but Du Jiaoyang couldn't do it even if he wanted to grab the bill, and almost staged a battle of tearing up the bill.

Du Jiaoyang didn't insist, and just asked the special department to help fill it up.

During the meal, Du Jiaoyang got more information about Huangjia Village from Wang Shuai.

Wang Shuai used to be a counterpart poverty alleviation cadre in Huangjia Village, so he knew the village very well, and he talked about it endlessly.

"Huangjia Village is the farthest village from our town, and it is also the poorest and most backward. There are many rocky mountains and only a few acres of land. It is a key poverty alleviation target of the country."

Wang Shuai shook his head while talking, with a dissatisfied expression:

"That village is very different from other villages in our town. That village is all raised by women."

"Relying on women?"

It seemed that it was not that simple for Du Jiaoyang to read other meanings from his expression.

"Our country people are all men in charge of the outside and women in the house. The men go to earn money, and the women take care of the family to raise children and take care of the elderly. But this Huang family is different. The men are like uncles at home, even if they are too poor to get rid of the pot. Don't work, rely on women like a moth."

Wang Shuai showed disapproval on his face. He also came from the countryside. There is no other village like Huangjia Village, where all the women are working in the fields and taking care of the family.

"So no one on our side will marry their daughters, unless it's the kind that asks for money and is unkind."

Du Jiaoyang nodded to express his understanding. If he had a daughter, he would definitely not let the child marry a man who grew up in such an environment.

"I won't hide it from you. Their village is the village that our town and county officials are least willing to help. The people in the whole village are too muddy to support them."

Wang Shuai sighed heavily, and became very angry when he mentioned this, and he couldn't stop talking.

"We have a kind of small fragrant pig, which is small and easy to raise. The quality of the meat is particularly good. It is also a local specialty, and the supply has been in short supply outside.

When helping the poor, we distributed piglets and feed to them.They only need to be raised according to the requirements, and when the time is up, we will come to collect them. It is much easier than doing breeding outside, and guess what? "

"They won't eat the piglets, will they?" Du Jiaoyang guessed.

Wang Shuai slapped his thigh fiercely: "Isn't that right! Our support leader at the time was so angry that he almost passed over on the spot."

"Is it like this in the whole village, or just those few households?"

"It's almost the same. It's rare that a few good bamboo shoots are out and won't come back." Wang Shuai began to sigh as he spoke.

"The past few years have been better. The girls in that village used to go out to work. In order to make more money quickly, many of them did that."

Du Jiaoyang was stunned: "Which one?"

"Just for sale." Wang Shuai winked at him.

Du Jiaoyang reacted quickly, and his brows frowned.

"No, could it be a rumor?"

"It's all their own propaganda, not someone else's rumors. Their village is not ashamed of it, and thinks that this kind of money is easy to make. Many people even take the initiative to give their daughters to those who have already sold them, and let them 'take it with them. 'Own daughter."

"This vibe is too bad!"

"Isn't it? But it's gotten better in recent years. The state has stricter control and there are more channels for part-time jobs. This kind of bad atmosphere is much less."

Less does not mean no, no wonder Huang Fangfang works so hard to earn money to support the whole family.Compared with selling your body, I would rather suffer and be more tired.

Growing up in such an environment, their understanding of many things is different from that of ordinary people. It is difficult for them to self-control to actively bear the pressure and constraints from the family, or they don't know how to break free.

The influence of the environment engraved some concepts deeply in their hearts, guiding their thinking and behavior.

It is not easy for them to change, especially like Huang Fangfang, not only from the influence of the original family, but also from the environment in which they grew up, so it is even more difficult to change their ideas.

They are obviously in pain, but they will still do everything they can to make their family suck blood.

After eating, the two of them rested for a while and were about to drive into the village. On the way, Wang Shuai told them:

"After a while, you say that you are here to travel and look around, let alone the real purpose of coming here. People in this village are more xenophobic and easily wary."

It took nearly an hour from the town to the village. The distance is actually not too far, but the mountain road has eighteen bends and I dare not drive too fast.

In the beginning, Du Jiaoyang drove the car. It wasn't long before he got his driver's license, and he just got the car on the road recently. He was inexperienced in driving and was very afraid of such mountain roads, so he drove very slowly.

Wang Shuai couldn't stand it anymore, took over the driving position, and then increased the speed, otherwise it would take longer.

"The road is much better now. It was more difficult to walk before, and the road was very narrow." Wang Shuai said with a smile.

"It's no wonder these places are lagging behind, traffic is a big problem."

"That's right. Before, the government wanted to let people from Huangjia Village move out and resettle. The conditions are pretty good, but they don't want to."

If going from Haicheng to the town just now means that you are in the countryside, going to Huangjia Village is obviously entering a remote mountainous area.

But even if it is very remote, the car can still drive to a place very close to Huanghua Village, and it only takes ten minutes to walk to enter the village.

The appearance of the village was revealed little by little in front of Du Jiaoyang. The houses in the village were not very dilapidated, but many of them were very simple.

The houses are built with cement bricks, and most of the houses are not very spacious.

"In the past, there were thatched houses here. Later, the government invested money to improve their living environment, but they were not willing to pay any money. Our finances are also limited, and the money we allocate is to ensure that the houses are strong and leak-proof. No more."

"There is now water and electricity here, and there is also a mobile phone signal."

Du Jiaoyang nodded. Although he still looked poor, it was much better than thatched cottages.

"What are they doing? Eating?"

Du Jiao saw five people squatting in front of a very simple and messy house, two beat people and three children.

There is a big bowl in the middle, holding a rice bowl in his hand.

Wang Shuai understood at a glance: "Live live to eat."

"Huh?" Du Jiaoyang is no stranger to eating and broadcasting, but he has never seen such eating and broadcasting.

"Are they so poor they don't even have a table?"

Even if the poverty alleviation here is not successful, there were girls who went out to work before, and they were so poor that they didn't even have a table.

You don’t need to buy these things, and it’s not too difficult to make a simple one by yourself, it’s better than squatting on the ground to eat.

Du Jiaoyang grew up in the city, so he doesn't know what's going on in this situation.

"It looks poorer and miserable like this, and it's easy to get rewards. Don't look at their pots full of vegetables, without a drop of oil, and they start eating meat when the broadcast stops."

Wang Shuai was very helpless: "Because of these live broadcasts, our county leaders and our poverty alleviation cadres have been scolded by netizens."

Uh... Du Jiaoyang didn't know what to say.

Wang Shuai didn't give Du Jiaoyang a chance to react, and directly pulled him to the side road.

"Don't let them find out, otherwise they will put the camera on our face and ask us for money, and we will be picked up by netizens if we don't respond well."

"..."

"People in this village are so speechless?"

Wang Shuai sighed: "Isn't it? Don't think they have a lot of ideas for the poor. Before, they invited the media to deliberately hype how poor and miserable they were, and all our poverty alleviation work was obliterated, and we were scolded to death on the Internet.

We are so busy working on poverty alleviation every day that our jobs are almost ruined. What kind of world do you think this is? "

"You have worked hard." Du Jiaoyang said sincerely.

"Hey, that's not the case at the grassroots level. Fortunately, most people are hardworking and kind." Wang Shuai smiled, "Besides, I got a blessing in disguise, so I don't have to worry about this area now."

After walking for a while, Wang Shuai stopped, pointed to the front and said:

"That house is Huang Fangfang's house, that is, there is a shed at the back. Huang Fangfang used to live in this shed every time she came back. It was usually used to pile firewood, and it used to raise cattle. She went out to work, and their family lived in it. No more."

Huang Fangfang's house is relatively spacious and beautiful in the village. It is still a small second floor, and there are tiles on the side of the gate.

"Isn't it? Isn't this house quite wide? Why do you want to live in a cowshed?"

"This family is like this. The house was built with the money Huang Fangfang earned from working, but the family is so nice that they don't even reserve a room."

Du Jiaoyang was speechless. He usually saw such things in forums or news, but he didn't expect to encounter them now.

"What age is it now, why is there such a thing?"

"People in this village are very feudal, and they like to practice feudal superstition." Wang Shuai paused, "Hey, Huang Fangfang's family was doing it not long ago."

"how do you know?"

Du Jiaoyang looked at Huang Fangfang's house and didn't see anything special.

"Did you see the bunch of grass hanging at the door? If we are doing 'solution' here, we will hang this."

"'untie?'"

Wang Shuai scratched his head: "This is a saying in our place. I don't know how to describe it in Mandarin. Anyway, it means engaging in feudal superstition."

"What's the use of hanging this thing?"

"It can resist evil spirits from entering the house." Wang Shuai didn't know much about these things, so he knew a general idea.

Du Jiaoyang frowned slightly: "Can you find out when they did this?"

"Let's just ask."

Du Jiaoyang was surprised, didn't they say that the people in this village were xenophobic, would they honestly say this?

Wang Shuai saw his doubts and explained: "For the first three months after the 'solution', outsiders are not allowed to enter the house."

Wang Shuai led Du Jiaoyang to Huang Fangfang's house carelessly, and shouted from afar:

"Is there anyone?"

A middle-aged woman walked out of the room, holding a dirty child in her arms.

Du Jiaoyang recognized that he was your mother Huang Fangfang.

"Hey, isn't this the leader of the town? What kind of wind has chased you here, are you going to send us money?"

When Huang Fangfang's mother saw Wang Shuai, she smiled all over her face and glanced at Du Jiaoyang.

"Don't call me that. I'm just an errand runner. I'm not a leader. Besides, I heard people in the village say that you have become rich recently and your life is good. You still want to ask the government for money?"

"It's all other people's nonsense." Huang Fangfang's mother said with a smile.

Du Jiaoyang didn't know if it was preconceived or not, but she always felt that Huang Fangfang's mother's words were full of pride, not as negative as it appeared on the surface.

"Where's your son? Vocational training in the county is free and includes food and housing. After the training is over, they will work in the factory. The salary is not bad, and food and housing are also included."

Wang Shuai walked inside while talking.

Huang Fangfang's mother didn't stop her, she just refused:

"That's okay, we're fine at home."

Wang Shuai said angrily: "Your family doesn't have any workers, so you just wait to sit and eat? Now you don't plant anything and don't do anything, and your daughter is gone. According to your family's conditions, there is no relief money. You will starve to death later. ah?"

"Oh, we know who won't die from hunger." Huang Fangfang's mother was very calm.

Wang Shuai looked the old lady up and down: "You are not going to do something illegal, are you? Uncle? Are you going to gamble again?"

"No, no, how dare we, we are good people." Huang Fangfang's mother shook her head repeatedly.

Wang Shuai came out of the room, leaning towards the sign next to him that says "solution".

"Are you still engaging in this kind of feudal superstition? Everyone has said that it is a lie."

Huang Fangfang's mother disagreed with his statement: "You are young and don't understand, this is a traditional custom."

"Has it been three months?"

"It's over, otherwise you won't be allowed to enter the house."

"Then why haven't you demolished it? It's a ghost." Wang Shuai was very disgusted.

Huang Fangfang's mother responded and took Wang Shuai away calmly: "It's almost time, it will be demolished in a few days and half a year."

When Du Jiaoyang heard this, his heart sank. This was about the same time as Huang Fangfang's death.

Wang Shuai gave a few more instructions, and the two left.

Far away from Huang Fangfang's house, Du Jiaoyang asked: "Will you place portraits in the living room after your people die?"

Wang Shuai knew what he wanted to say as soon as he heard it: "Generally, the portrait of the married woman is not displayed, and the married woman is still a member of the family. But this village does not value daughters, so it is not surprising to do so."

Du Jiaoyang nodded, and asked again: "Huang Fangfang's father likes to gamble?"

"Yeah, this village is poor and likes to gamble, and they like to cover each other for anything, so it's hard to catch. Huang Fangfang's father often owes a lot of debts, and Huang Fangfang pays in the end.

I heard that I owed another sum before, and now my daughter is gone, so I don't know how to fill it out. "

Du Jiaoyang pursed his lips. Looking at the old lady just now, she didn't seem to be in trouble for money.

Huang Fangfang has passed away for half a year. They have no income, and they like to gamble and seem to have no savings. How do they make ends meet?

"This family doesn't do live broadcasts or anything, does it?"

Wang Shuai understood it immediately: "No, I used to rely on my daughter and didn't bother to do anything else. As a rural person with no money, all the food he eats is bought from others. Are you speechless? There is not much land here. But there are still places to grow vegetables, they are just lazy."

"Where did they get the money?" Du Jiaoyang felt that this matter was very important.

Wang Shuai thought for a while: "Let's go, I'll take you to another house and ask them maybe they can find out."

The other house was also in good repair, much more beautiful than the others in the village.

"These two families are enemies. They often have conflicts and sometimes fight. This family also gave birth to three daughters, the same as Huang Fangfang's family, but they didn't send them out."

"They are more conscientious."

Wang Shuai snorted: "You can pull it down, it's better to send it out."

Looking at Wang Shuai's expression, Du Jiaoyang immediately understood what he said before contacting him, and then looked at the fairly well-built house, and found it extremely ironic.

It was an old lady who came out to greet her. The men in this village were basically not at home during the day, and they all went out to play or were just sleeping.

Wang Shuai still used the same rhetoric just now, persuading the old lady to let his son go to train for a part-time job.

"My son has three older sisters to help. It's fine to stay at home. It's dangerous and tiring to go out." The old lady also refused politely.

"It seems that you are all doing well now. I just went to Huang Fangfang's house. It's not bad to tell you that their daughter is gone."

The old lady was not happy to hear this, and spat: "Isn't it because I sold my daughter to make money, and I won't let it go even if she dies."

When Wang Shuai heard that there was a door, he secretly looked at Du Jiaoyang.

"What do you mean by that? You can still make money after you die?"

The old lady didn't open her mouth again, she lowered her head and went about her own business, completely ignoring them.

The two couldn't ask any more questions, so they could only leave.

Wang Shuai was helpless: "People in this village are like this. Although there are serious internal conflicts, such as the two families we went to, when they are outsiders, they are very united."

"Can you find someone else to investigate?"

Du Jiaoyang was already certain that Huang Fangfang's remnant soul was definitely related to his family.

It's just that what kind of relationship it is is still unclear.

He thought of a possibility, but it was just a guess at the moment and had to be confirmed.

"It's hard."

Wang Shuai shook his head, even the Chou family was unwilling to say a word, let alone other people.

"Then can we find Huang Fangfang's grave?"

Wang Shuai thought for a while: "Let's ask the village head of this village."

Wang Shuai took Du Jiaoyang to look for the village chief, but the village chief glanced at the two with a bad expression.

"What's the question of a girl's grave?"

"She committed suicide and involved another life. We must register." Wang Shuai nonsense.

The village chief was not fooled: "Why haven't I heard of such a rule?"

"We are just registering. Is there any taboo?" Du Jiaoyang asked.

"It's unlucky for a female doll to be buried in the village, and she died dishonorably. The one who died outside was burned to ashes in another fire. I guess she was buried anywhere."

After the village chief said this, he didn't want to mention it anymore.

Hearing these words, Du Jiaoyang felt even more unlucky to be born in this village.

Coming out of the village chief's house, Wang Shuai said:

"I can only go here today, and if I ask them again, I'm sure they'll blow people up. But they should already know that we have other purposes for this trip, and they will be very wary of us."

The people in this village are not stupid, but very shrewd.In particular, it is very grouped, and it is not easy to break through.

Sure enough, when they were walking in the village, they saw that the people in the village looked at them with strange eyes.

Seeing the expressions of these people, Du Jiaoyang became more certain of his guess.

"The more they are like this, the more it shows Huang Fangfang's death—at least after her death, her family should have done something shameful and got money for it."

Wang Shuai was puzzled: "What else can people do when they are dead? And they were brought back after they were cremated."

Du Jiaoyang didn't say anything, he already had other plans in his mind.

Since there is no result after being asked, then other means must be used.

"I'm going to stay here tonight, you drive back first, and pick me up tomorrow."

"It's okay, I'll stay with you. I'm usually busy at night when I'm off the team, and I often live in the villagers' homes."

Du Jiaoyang smiled and shook his head: "I have no plan to stay at the villagers' house."

Wang Shuai was surprised: "What are you going to do?"

"Don't ask me about this. You can drive me out of here in a while, and just let me go secretly on the way."

Seeing that he was mysterious, Wang Shuai didn't ask much. When he received the task, he just asked him to cooperate, and he didn't tell him the specific situation or reason.

"Okay, then be careful yourself, the people in this village are very tough. Some people bought those abducted women as wives before. We came to rescue them, but we were besieged by the whole village. Later, we brought a lot of policemen to succeed. .”

Du Jiaoyang didn't expect such a thing to happen. The people in this village are really disgusting.

In a sunken place not far from the village, Du Jiaoyang set up a tent there, and took out the self-heating hot pot prepared in the bag and had a delicious dinner.

When night fell and everyone in Huangjia Village fell asleep.

He just walked out of the tent, pointing his index finger at his lips and reciting a mantra silently.