Chapter 74: To Sweetbriar Village, Something’s Wrong with Stonecreek Village

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: To Sweetbriar Village, Something’s Wrong with Stonecreek Village

"At that time, I was taking Ox’s wife down the mountain. We were about two-thirds of the way there when her water broke. Then the blood just kept coming, spilling all over the ground. We had no choice but to take her straight to my house. I had my wife fetch the village healer. Thankfully, both mother and daughter ended up being fine. His wife didn’t have any complications, and she has been recovering at my place ever since."

Rian Sinclair frowned slightly, a bit confused by this. "You didn’t take her to the hospital afterward?"

The driver blushed and shook his head. "Ox is the only one in his family, and he’s dim-witted. He can’t make any money. I have elderly folks and kids to feed at home, so I didn’t have any money to lend him, either. But the healer figured something out. He prescribed some common herbal medicines that can be foraged right in the mountains. So, Ox’s wife just stayed at my place for her postpartum confinement. After all, you shouldn’t move around too much right after giving birth."

Fiona Sinclair picked up the teapot, poured a cup, and handed it to the driver. "Uncle Landon, have some tea. What’s the situation in the village like?"

Belatedly realizing he had drifted completely off-topic, Old Man Landon’s face grew redder. "Sorry about that. Once I start talking about one thing, I completely forget what I was originally saying."

Fiona smiled and shook her head. "It’s fine. Drink some water and take your time."

Old Man Landon closed his eyes, recalling the scene when he entered the village. "There seemed to be about forty or fifty households in the village. When I went in that day, I only saw Ox and his wife. I have no idea where everyone else went. Out farming? That didn’t seem right, either! It looked like every single house was completely empty. No one in the village kept dogs, either, because I didn’t hear a single bark. As for the other livestock, I didn’t take a close look myself, but they were probably locked up in their yards and couldn’t get out."

Old Man Landon opened his eyes. "When I went into Ox’s house, it looked like they actually had security cameras installed. The yard was fenced in with chickens, ducks, and geese. They probably put the cameras up to keep wild wolves from the mountains from stealing their poultry. Also, when I got there, Ox’s wife was completely naked. Good thing I looked away fast. I stood outside the door and told Ox to put some clothes on his woman, and then I helped him carry her down the mountain."

He thought about it carefully, then finally shook his head. "The situation was pretty urgent back then, so I didn’t go out of my way to look around. I just rushed to get his wife down the mountain. But the whole village was strangely quiet. That was when I realized there were still so many households in that village who refused to move down. It’s only a dozen or so fewer than my village."

Rian had finished her breakfast by now. She took the tissue Fiona handed her, wiped her mouth, and looked at Old Man Landon with a smile. "Uncle Landon, since we can’t go up the mountain today anyway, I wonder if you could take us to your house for a visit? I heard you mention that your wife makes wonderful osmanthus cakes, and it’s making me a bit hungry for them."

Old Man Landon immediately agreed. His wife’s culinary skills were being recognized—and by the big boss, no less!

"We will head upstairs to pack our things, and then we can set off," Rian said.

Hearing this, Old Man Landon smiled and waved his hands repeatedly, his head spinning with joy. All he could think about was that his wife’s cooking had won the boss’s approval. With this in mind, he hurriedly called his wife, telling her to prepare some good food to entertain their wealthy guests.

Inside the room.

The three of them sat around a bamboo table. Fiona was the first to speak. "Miss, I’m afraid Stonecreek Village might be a bit dangerous."

Rian nodded. It was more than just a bit dangerous. Based on Old Man Landon’s description, Stonecreek Village was not a good place at all.

There was a pregnant woman giving birth in the village, yet not a single family was willing to help take her down the mountain.

A relatively backward village actually had forty or fifty households.

The police had even come to persuade the villagers to relocate down the mountain, but only the elderly had shown their faces.

A rather impoverished village had installed security cameras—just to watch over poultry?

There were suspicious points everywhere.

Ox was an idiot, yet he had managed to get a wife. And when Old Man Landon went to his house, his wife was completely naked?

No matter how she looked at it, this sounded exactly like a young female college student being trafficked to a remote area and forced to bear children.

Hearing what the young miss and Fiona said, Aiden Sinclair frowned. "Are we still going to Stonecreek Village, then?"

Rian looked at Aiden and smiled. "We aren’t going until tomorrow, so there is still plenty of time. First, let’s take a trip to Sweetbriar Village to eat some osmanthus cakes and drink some osmanthus wine."

Aiden only knew martial arts and only listened to his young miss’s words. He nodded and said solemnly, "All right! Eat osmanthus cakes! Drink osmanthus wine!"

Sweetbriar Village.

Rian looked at the surrounding osmanthus trees. Osmanthus flowers only bloomed between September and October. It was currently only May, so it would still be a while before they flowered.

Old Man Landon led the way. Some of the neighbors asked him what was going on, and he simply replied that they were his bosses and he was bringing them home as guests.

The surrounding middle-aged women shook their heads and whispered among themselves.

"How come Old Man Landon’s family has guests every single day?"

"Don’t tell me you think Ox came over as a guest. He’s just a fool. He probably came begging for help, not to be a guest."

"The Landons really are kind-hearted. They’re even taking care of a woman in her postpartum confinement. I don’t know how an idiot like Ox managed to marry such a pretty and delicate wife."

"I bet she was bought from somewhere."

"Who knows what the situation is like over in Stonecreek Village on the other side of the mountain? So far, we’ve only seen Ox. I don’t know why the others never come down."

"The village is probably only left with the elderly and the crippled. Coming down the mountain is likely too much trouble for them."

"Speaking of which, how many years has it been since any of you went to Stonecreek Village? Ms. Fen, didn’t you originally follow your husband out of Stonecreek Village to come here to Sweetbriar Village?"

The woman addressed as Ms. Fen was holding a cup of cold boiled water. "Me? It’s been over ten years. When we left, there were only seven or eight households of elderly folks, along with some cripples. There were also three or four families with fools just like Ox."

The surrounding women gasped softly at her words. "Oh my, if that’s the case, then there probably aren’t many households left on that mountain, right? The old ones who were meant to die must have died by now. Is it just a bunch of cripples left?"

Rian walked slowly. The surrounding voices were neither loud nor soft, but if one paid attention, they could be heard quite clearly.

"Boss, we’re here!" Old Man Landon pulled open the iron gate surrounding the yard and raised his voice, shouting into the house. "Wife, hurry up and come out to welcome the boss!"

"Coming!"

Immediately after, a middle-aged woman wearing an apron came running out, wiping her hands on her apron as she went. Seeing Rian in the lead, she nervously bowed her head. "The boss is so beautiful!"

Old Man Landon laughed awkwardly and nudged his wife away. "Bring some osmanthus cakes over, and fetch some osmanthus wine, too. Arrange whatever else you think is best, as long as it goes well with the drinks."

His wife quickly agreed and ran off to the kitchen to prepare. Old Man Landon smiled and invited them to sit on the sofa, but upon seeing a stain on the pristine white couch, his face instantly flushed red. "I’m sorry, Boss. Let’s sit on the chairs instead. The sofa is a bit dirty."

Seeing this, Rian shook her head. "No need, we can just sit here. White gets dirty easily, and it’s hard to wash. You could buy a sofa cover later on; then you can just take the cover off and wash it."

Old Man Landon smiled and nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes, yes. I’ll have my wife buy a sofa cover online later. When we first picked this sofa, we didn’t think about how easily white gets dirty. We just thought it looked nice. But we regretted it after bringing it home. It’s hard to wash when it gets dirty, and if you try to wipe it, the stain just spreads. It’s a real hassle!"