"The village is only such a big place, and everyone knows everything about it."

Before and after contacting Hu Pingtao, he asked: "So Liu Xiao'e had no choice but to marry someone at random? Or did she marry Cao Zhong at that time?"

Liao Yan said: "Cao Zhong came later. Liu Xiao'e told me that she was quite picky at the time, and most men looked down on her. Later, she found that things were very different from what she imagined. The villagers were pointing fingers at her behind her back, and her family

I’m taking a closer look at it.”

"She was forced to marry an old man from the same village. In her fifties, Xiao'e said he was old and ugly. In order to ask her to be his wife, she gave her father a gift of 30,000 yuan and a lot of gifts.

Food. That’s all the old man could bring out. Her father looked at it and thought it was enough, so he agreed.”

Hu Pingtao narrowed his eyes and asked: "Listening to what you said before, Liu Xiao'e's temperament is quite stubborn. The family just married her off. Is she willing?"

"I definitely don't want to!" Just after saying this, Liao Yan quickly changed her words: "I don't want to. These words were said by her. They were Liu Xiao'e's original words. I just repeated them. But then again, who changed it?

They don't want to! Think about it, Liu Xiao'e was not even twenty years old at that time, and the old man was over fifty. There was a difference of twenty or thirty between the two sides. That old man was probably enough to be her grandfather, not to mention being her father.

Already."

Hu Pingtao thought deeply and asked: "I didn't expect Liu Xiao'e to have such a good relationship with you. She would even tell you these things that are supposed to be secret... What exactly does she want to get from you?"

It is said that "the observer knows everything", and this is how Pang Zhonghua feels now. He interrupted and curiously asked his wife: "Is it because you asked her to look after the store before and gave her thousands of dollars a month?"

Liao Yan nodded first, then shook her head: "I'm not sure either. Because I just had a temporary idea that day and wanted to eavesdrop on what she said to the people from the Women's Federation next door. I didn't expect that later in the cafe, she breathed

Having said so much, many things are very secretive to me, and I would never tell anyone else."

Hu Pingtao looked a little serious: "But Liu Xiao'e did the opposite. She said everything she should and shouldn't say."

Liao Yan was startled, and then became a little anxious: "Let me make it clear first! There is really nothing between me and her. I didn't know her before. If it weren't for Cao Zhong..."

Hu Pingtao raised his hand to interrupt her: "Don't worry, I don't doubt your intentions. I said before that I came here today just to understand the situation."

After a pause, Hu Pingtao continued: "You'd better go on! If we've finished introducing the situation on Liu Xiao'e's side, let's talk about Cao Zhong and the three children in his family."

Pang Zhonghua answered from the side: "Cao Zhong... I think I still have some say in this. Cao Zhong is a very kind and honest person."

Hu Pingtao changed to a more comfortable sitting position, turned to Pang Zhonghua, and asked: "Besides beating his wife, what do you think of the relationship between Cao Zhong and Liu Xiao'e?"

Before Pang Zhonghua could answer, Liao Yan said quickly: "I think... Liu Xiao'e has been frightened by Cao Zhong."

Pang Zhonghua nodded repeatedly: "Yes, I think so too. Lao Cao is really ruthless when he beats his wife. Not to mention Liu Xiao'e, I was scared to watch. There were several times at night when nothing happened and I asked him to come.

I'm drinking here...the dishes are very simple, peanuts, soy sauce beef, pig ears and so on. Lao Cao's drinking capacity is average, and he starts talking too much after two glasses of wine."

Liao Yan frowned and looked at her husband: "When did this happen? Why didn't I know?"

Pang Zhonghua explained with a smile: "Sometimes you go out for beauty treatments, or you play mahjong with friends, and you are away from home at least three nights a week. I am the only one in the store. After dinner, I am bored, so I either walk nearby or

I went to the braised meat shop on the east side of the market to buy some cooked vegetables. Drinking alone was quite boring, so I called Lao Cao. Anyway, we didn’t drink much, just one cup at a time, one tael more than two taels."

Liao Yan sneered: "I didn't see it! You quite enjoyed it behind my back."

Pang Zhonghua looked at her with a smile on his face: "Aren't you going to report the situation to Officer Hu? I'll just talk about what I know here. Well...I said before that Lao Cao is kind because he has always done business.

There is nothing missing. But when it comes to the things that happened in Lao Cao's family, I would like to say from a fair standpoint: Lao Cao's mentality of favoring sons over daughters is really serious."

"One time he drank too much and scolded Liu Xiao'e and his two daughters. He said that the three women in the family were living for nothing. That was the first time I heard him say this. I thought it was strange, so I asked

Why would he have such an idea? No matter what, Liu Xiao'e is still your wife! And Zhao Di and Pan Di are both Lao Cao's biological children. Their palms and backs are all flesh, how can you say such things?"

"Lao Cao said: It's no fun to raise a girl. Sooner or later, you have to get married and you have to pay a dowry. This is equivalent to giving money out of your pocket to others, and you won't end up well."

"Lao Cao has a very strong opinion of Liu Xiao'e. He complained to me more than once, saying that his daughter and son look like Liu Xiao'e. Fortunately, they did not inherit her harelips and nose. But the eye problems are unavoidable... Lao Cao's youngest one

My son's eyes have astigmatism, and they are red, swollen and teary from time to time. Lao Cao took his son to the hospital since he was a child. He spent a lot of money on the treatment, but the treatment had no effect."

Hu Pingtao shook his head and disagreed with this: "Many children now have eye problems. It is not necessarily genetic. It has a lot to do with the environment and diet. Besides, just because you can't see well now doesn't mean it will still be the same in the future.

.Children will always grow up and there is a process of growth and development.”

Pang Zhonghua had little experience in this area. He continued: "Anyway, what Lao Cao has always been thinking about is his son. As for his two daughters, it doesn't matter to him. Lao Cao even told me once: When he graduates from junior high school, he will not

I plan to send my daughter to school. I will learn how to do business in the store, and then I will find a husband as soon as possible and get married as soon as possible."

Liao Yan got angry when she heard this: "Isn't this the same as what happened to Liu Xiao'e back then! This Cao Zhong, I thought he was an honest person, but I didn't expect that he is also full of bad ideas."

Pang Zhonghua was deeply touched by this: "Yes! I didn't know that Liu Xiao'e had experienced this. I always thought that Lao Cao was from the village and had a habit of beating his wife. I didn't expect that the couple actually had these secrets... But there is

Once, Lao Cao himself said: He and Liu Xiao'e are actually living together and will separate sooner or later."

Hu Pingtao said "Oh" and asked with interest: "Why?"

Pang Zhonghua suddenly became a little embarrassed. He hesitated for a long time before he said slowly: "You just need to know this, and you must not go out and talk nonsense...Lao Cao...he suspected that his eldest daughter Zhaodi was not his biological child.

.”

Hu Pingtao couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

Liao Yan also opened her mouth wide, with an expression of disbelief on her face.

"No way! How is this possible?" Liao Yan quickly calmed down from her shock and asked hurriedly: "I know that Lao Cao favors boys over girls, but he is usually very good to his three children, especially the three children.

It's Zhaodi and Pandi. During the Chinese New Year last year, I saw that Lao Cao bought some skin care products for them, saying..."

"I know about this." Pang Zhonghua interrupted Liao Yan. His expression was a little gloomy and even more hesitant: "...This matter...Actually, I also thought it was strange at first. If Lao Cao's whole family hadn't been poisoned today,

Lying in the hospital, and Officer Hu came to find out what was going on, I really didn’t dare to say anything.”

He then turned to Hu Pingtao, his expression extremely serious: "I really heard it from his mouth that Lao Cao believed that Zhao Di was not his biological daughter. Let's not discuss whether this is true or not for now, just what my wife said just now

Well, I think there might still be a connection between the two."

"Last year during the Chinese New Year, Lao Cao bought two sets of cosmetics... These are not the kind of high-end products sold at counters in shopping malls outside, but bought from a newly separated trading area in the southeast corner outside our wholesale market."

As a woman, Liao Yan understood what her husband wanted to express as soon as she heard it. She followed Pang Zhonghua's words and explained to Hu Pingtao: "The market expanded last year, but the construction project has not yet been approved. It is just at the southeast corner of the market.

We built a few simple greenhouses. They said they were putting up the shelves first, but in fact they just changed the name and the name.

Collect rent in various ways. This place is already very popular, and there are usually many people coming to inquire about the store, so in just over a week, all the simple sheds have been rented out. The business items are mainly various daily necessities, and there are also three

The store sells itself as "cosmetics," but in fact they are all small domestic brands, gaining popularity."

"There is a brand called "Shiratori Hui", you probably haven't heard of it! It is said to be a new brand developed by the same company as "Pechoin". There is also a brand called "Friendly", which is also said to be the transformation of the previous "Friendship" brand

Products. Anyway, the store has foundation, eye cream, lipstick, eye shadow, etc.

They are all available, but the quality is very average. Anyway, the people who go there to buy things are the ones from nearby tenants who don’t have much money. Because women have to put on makeup every day, and those who have money go to the counters of big shopping malls to buy international brands.

People with money buy bargains in these places, everyone has their own needs."

"Cao Zhong has never had a good look on his two daughters. But during the Chinese New Year last year, he went to the store and bought two sets of skin care products... I want to talk about this specifically, there is a difference between makeup and skin care. That day Cao Zhong

Zhong came back with two plastic bags, one for each of the two daughters. I was standing at the door and could see clearly. The bags contained cream, baby cream, hand cream, plus lip balm, which was exactly a set of four.

.”

Hu Pingtao deeply agrees with this: "If it is a complete set of cosmetics, it must at least include foundation and eye cream, or eye shadow."

Liao Yan nodded repeatedly: "Skin care products are cheap. I have seen the ones Cao Zhong bought before, and the price of a single set is only more than thirty yuan. The simple greenhouse in the southeast corner was just erected not long ago, so I bought two sets at a time.

You can negotiate the price, maybe it will be done for fifty yuan."

small book booth

Pang Zhonghua saw that Liao Yan had finished talking, so he came over and said mysteriously: "When Lao Cao first brought Liu Xiao'e and his daughter and son over, his attitude towards the two daughters was really not very good. But then he became too slow.

It has changed slowly. I don’t know the specific reason. I only know that since the Chinese New Year, Lao Cao has not beaten or scolded his two daughters very much, and his attitude is more tolerant than before."

Hu Pingtao asked while thinking: "You just said that Cao Zhong suspected that Cao Zhaodi was not his biological child? What happened next?"

Pang Zhonghua replied: "It's strange to say that Lao Cao never talked to me about similar topics after that. I think he must have discovered that he let something slip, or maybe he had other ideas in his mind."

Hu Pingtao asked: "Are you sure that Cao Zhong only told you this once?"

Pang Zhonghua nodded: "Just this time. Later I asked him to drink again, and Lao Cao became more cautious. Drinking is drinking, but only a small cup every time... By the way, there is another thing. From then on,

Lao Cao would take the initiative to bring something to go with the wine every time. Sometimes it was fried peanuts, sometimes it was haggis bought from a nearby delicatessen, or cucumbers he made himself."

Hu Pingtao raised his head and pursed his lips at Liao Yan, who was standing diagonally opposite: "All while your wife is not at home?"

Pang Zhonghua smiled sheepishly: "Old Cao said that it is not good to drink when a woman is present, and it is not pleasant to drink."

Hu Pingtao continued to ask: "What about Liu Xiao'e? When Cao Zhong asked you to drink, was Liu Xiao'e at home?"

"Yes." Pang Zhonghua answered simply: "Lao Cao and his wife never go out to hang out. They usually stay in the store when they have time. They look after the children when they come home... Anyway, Lao Cao has the final say at home alone. My wife

Children don’t dare to talk back to him.”

Hu Pingtao thought for a moment and asked: "When Cao Zhong was at home, did he ever beat his children...I mean, did he ever beat his son?"

Liao Yan burst out laughing when she heard this: "How is this possible? Cao Zhong is very precious to his son. Let alone beating him, he won't even touch a finger."

Pang Zhonghua also said with a smile: "Lao Cao has two different attitudes towards his son, as he does towards his wife and daughter. In his eyes, his son is like a golden jewel. He is afraid of falling off when he holds it in his hand, and he is afraid of melting when he holds it in his mouth. As long as he

It was his son who made the request, and Lao Cao must satisfy whatever he says."

"Speaking of which, something happened last year - after dinner one night, Liu Xiao'e took her three children out for a walk. Just after leaving the market, she met a man walking his dog at the west gate. What color was the dog?

, I can’t remember the breed. Anyway, it was the dog that rushed towards me and seemed to bite Lao Cao’s son on the calf. Liu Xiao’e quickly asked an acquaintance next to her to call Lao Cao, and when Lao Cao rushed over, she raised her fist and punched him hard.

Beat that man up."

Hu Pingtao asked doubtfully: "Was the beating severe? Did the other party call the police?"

Pang Zhonghua shook his head and said: "I don't know about this. But... I also heard that Lao Cao came to visit him later and killed the man's dog."
Chapter completed!