Zhang's family is located in the old city, where most of the buildings are bungalows and open courtyards, and the cramped lanes, low eaves, dilapidated wooden doors, and mottled walls all show the barrenness of the old city. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

When the ox cart arrived at the entrance of the alley, Shen Wansan, Ma Xiuying and Lu Xiaoqian got out of the car and walked, stepping on the potholed stone slabs, and they could hear clear footsteps. From time to time, someone opened the door and poked their heads out to look at the three of them, and if there were residents who knew Shen Wansan, they would smile at the three of them flatteringly and say hello.

Shen Wansan pointed to the residents who greeted him and said, "It was that family who saw Zhang Dazhi go out in the morning. ”

The occupant was a man of about forty, of medium height, with a black face with a scruffy beard, and a very rough hand on the door, and he was trying to squeeze out a kind and sincere smile, but Ma Xiuying thought that this man looked like a roe deer. She visually inspected the distance from the man's house to Zhang's house, at least ten steps away, and there was a family in between, and she didn't know where the man's confidence came from, so she insisted that it was Zhang Dazhi who went out in the morning.

Lu Xiaoqian obviously didn't adapt to the environment here, and urged uneasily: "Go to Zhang's house quickly, don't delay outside, I think these people have bad intentions." ”

"Don't be afraid, I'll protect you. Shen Wansan didn't give up any opportunity to please Lu Xiaoqian, and deliberately straightened up his strong chest.

Ma Xiuying didn't bother to look at the crookedness of the two, and walked towards the Zhang family instructed by Shen Wansan.

The walls of Zhang's house are half a meter higher than those of nearby residents, and the bricks and tiles are neatly built, apparently rebuilt, but the copper buckle on the newly painted door has been stained with rust, and there is a puddle of water under the door panel, and some blue-brown moss grows on the edges, and there are fallen leaves all around, it seems that the family has not cleaned it for a long time.

Shen Wansan buttoned the copper buckle for a long time, and only then did a woman's impatient voice come from inside, "Who? What are you doing?" This voice sounded a little lazy, as if he hadn't woken up yet.

"I'm Shen Fu, can Zhang Dazhi go home?"

"Huh? There was a surprise in the room, and there was no movement.

After half a cup of tea, the door slowly opened, and a young man and woman watched the three of them warily. Seeing that it was really Shen Wansan, the woman hurriedly brushed a few strands of hair on her cheeks behind her ears, while the man showed a very unnatural smile and said, "Young Master Shen, please come in." My eldest brother has not come back, my sister-in-law is uncomfortable, these days I am bedridden, I am also studying in the house and did not hear the knock on the door, please bear with me. ”

"Don't get up if Mrs. Zhang is not feeling well. This is Mr. Zhang's wife, Yan Shi, and his younger brother Zhang Dayong," Shen Wansan introduced several people, "This is my fiancée, Lu, and her friend Miss Ma. At the behest of my father, I will send you some New Year's goods. ”

"Thank you Master Shen for your concern. Yan and Zhang Dayong hurriedly thanked and greeted Ma Xiuying and Lu Xiaoqian respectively.

Yan looked young, petite but bumpy, with white skin, crescent eyebrows, and a wide-sleeved gown, a long skirt and an upper. But when she squatted down to give a salute, Ma Xiuying noticed that her dirty pants and trousers were actually outside the cloth socks, and then looked at her face, there was a faint hint of red tide, and her hair was simply pulled back of her head, just like she had just gotten up.

Zhang Dayong wore a leather jacket, covered tightly up and down, and his hair was tied with a hairpin, revealing his delicate facial features, but unfortunately a pair of yellow and cloudy eyes ruined his polite temperament.

Shen Wansan asked again routinely, "Manager Zhang hasn't come back yet?"

Yan immediately covered his mouth and wept.

Zhang Dayong was sad and sighed: "There is no news from the eldest brother so far, and I don't know where he is now and whether he is okay." My sister-in-law and I were terrified all day long, and we couldn't sleep all night. ”

Shen Wansan comforted: "Manager Zhang may be delayed by trivial matters, and he will be able to return safely in a while." ”

"I promise the auspicious words of Young Master Shen, I hope my brother will return home as soon as possible......" There was no servant in the Zhang family, Zhang Dayong took the New Year's goods sent by Shen Wansan, and thanked everyone for inviting everyone into the house. When he turned around and walked in front to lead the way, Ma Xiuying found that the hairpin on his head was actually decorated with a string of beads, which was a hairpin used by women.

In the afternoon, the messy clothes, the misused hairpin, and the red tide on Yan's face can't help but make Ma Xiuying think of some unsightly pictures.

Several people talked while walking, and Ma Xiuying fell behind and took the opportunity to look at the courtyard of the Zhang family.

The courtyard house of the Zhang family is an old-fashioned closed house with only one street gate to the outside. Houses are lined on all sides, and cotton curtains with plywood are hung on the doors. In the middle, a "mouth" shaped patio is enclosed, and there are corridors around the patio, which strings all the rooms in the courtyard into an organic whole. Once closed, the courtyard becomes a world of its own and has a strong sense of privacy.

The layout of this courtyard was unexpected by Ma Xiuying, it was not a poor house, and it was different from the four walls of the house that Ma Xiuying imagined, but thinking of Zhang's father's previous identity as a showman, and Zhang Dazhi's income after being the manager, Ma Xiuying was also relieved.

There are trees planted in the patio, but in the winter there are basically only depressed branches, but in the southern corner there is a plum plant, and the gorgeous buds are blooming.

Zhang Dayong found that Ma Xiuying had been looking at Lamei, and explained: "My sister-in-law said that the yard was empty, so I specially bought a tree of red plums and came back, I wanted to celebrate the New Year with my eldest brother, who would have thought ...... Alas......"

"This red plum is very beautiful, can we pick one later?" Ma Xiuying smiled, if it weren't for Zhang Dayong's explanation, she wouldn't have been able to see that this plum was newly transplanted, because the frost had fallen for several days, and the soil on the ground had already frozen into a piece.

"Of course, you can give flowers to the beauty. Zhang Dayong seemed to relax a little, and his tone seemed slightly brisk.

Such ridiculous words were a little frivolous in their ears, and Ma Xiuying and Lu Xiaoqian frowned at the same time.

Yan, who was walking in front, paused, glanced at Zhang Dayong without a trace, turned around and beckoned a few people to go up the steps, "Come into the house quickly, it's cold outside." ”

On the way here, Ma Xiuying discussed with Shen Wansan and Lu Xiaoqian in advance, and the two dragged Yan and Zhang Dayong to chat, and she was responsible for searching Zhang's house. Seeing that everyone was about to enter the house, she covered her stomach and looked embarrassed, "I'm a little uncomfortable, may I ask ......"

Yan smiled knowingly and led Ma Xiuying to the Gongfang in the east.

Ma Xiuying squirmed: "I may have to delay for a while, you tell me which one is the living room, and I will go over by myself." ”

"The slave family is waiting for the young lady here. Yan had a smile on his face, but there was a hint of impatience in his eyes.

"Mrs. Zhang, you're welcome, I'm really not used to having someone ......outside," Ma Xiuying blushed in embarrassment.

Yan did not doubt him, and pointed to a row of side rooms, "The south is the uncle's room, the north is the room of me and Dazhi, and the west is the hall, here are the stove room and the gong room, the young lady will remember to come to the hall for a while, and the slave family will go to make tea for a few nobles first." ”

"Mrs. Labor. Ma Xiuying wrote them down one by one, hid behind Gong's room and saw Yan enter the hall through the crack in the door, the cotton curtain hung down to block all views, and she immediately ran out and slipped into the stove room next door.

The stove room was deserted, there was not a trace of fireworks, the steamed buns in the steamer were hard and dry, and the dirty pots and pans were stacked in a mess, and a layer of greasy sticking to them, it really didn't look like a woman was in charge.

Ma Xiuying exited the stove room and entered the south wing, which is a suite connected by two rooms, the outer desk rests the four treasures of the study, a pile of books is piled up on the wooden shelf against the wall, the beds in the inner room are neatly folded, and the clothes are placed in different categories, so that everything can be seen at a glance. At first glance, nothing suspicious was found, but the thin layer of dust on the desktop told Ma Xiuying that Zhang Dayong hadn't touched the things on the table for at least three days, and this person was ashamed to say that he was studying in the house just now?

Ma Xiuying hurried to the north wing, and as soon as she opened the cotton door curtain, she smelled a pungent strange smell, which seemed to be mixed with a fishy smell of wine, the cups and plates on the table were messy, there were piles of bones scattered on the ground, and the charcoal fire in the stove had not been extinguished. The bed in the inner room was messy, half a pink belly pocket was exposed under the crooked pillows, and the crumpled sheets were almost dragged to the floor, and the residual warmth could be felt on the edge of the bed. Ma Xiuying can imagine how dirty the bed is without lifting the quilt, she lifted the sheets, and the bed was empty, but a men's hairpin rolled out of the sheets.

At this point, Ma Xiuying no longer doubted that Yan and Zhang Dayong must have just been happy in this house, no wonder no one answered when they knocked on the door for a long time, and waited for a long time to let them enter the house.

Ma Xiuying sneered, her brother's whereabouts are unknown, but her younger brother and sister-in-law are cheating on wine and meat, this alone can prove that the two have different intentions towards Zhang Dazhi, whether it is adultery or money, it may prompt the two to attack Zhang Dazhi.

Thinking of what Shen Wansan said about how Zhang Dazhi loved his younger brother and wife, Ma Xiuying sighed silently, this person did not hesitate to take risks for the sake of his family, but in the end, he ended up with no one alive and no corpse. Zhang Dazhi's everything is in this family, and it is absolutely impossible for him to abandon everything without worry, but where can a big living person who has never left Suzhou hide, there has been no news for so many days, I am afraid that it will be the worst result......

If Zhang Dazhi was really victimized by the Yan family and Zhang Dayong, where would they hide Zhang Dazhi so that no one would be noticed? As long as there is the slightest movement in this kind of poor house, the neighbors will alarm the neighbors, and the neighbors have also proved that there is no other vision except to witness "Zhang Dazhi" leaving Zhang's house early in the morning, indicating that Zhang Dazhi (or Zhang Dazhi's corpse) is still in this courtyard......

Out of the north wing, Ma Xiuying did not rush into the hall, she stood under the plum tree and carefully observed the ground, the soil was frozen hard, and she couldn't see anything from the surface. She really wanted to dig up the dirt to see what was going on, but there was no legitimate reason, Yan and Zhang Dayong would definitely not agree to her doing so, she was not an official and was not qualified to forcibly break ground in the Zhang family, so is there any way to make Yan and Zhang Dayong take the initiative to expose their flaws?