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nOne and a half people in their family were now bedridden, and Heizhuang was taken away by Ministry Councilor He. These were the critical matters.

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n“Son, stay at home and take care of your brother. Your mother and I will go to town. We must get Heizhuang back,” he said fiercely to An Er.

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nAn Er pursed his lips and did not reply.

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nHe could seize Heizhuang from our home, let alone in town—that’s his territory. It will be strange if they can get him back. They might even be beaten up and thrown out.

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nCan they even leave the village in the first place? Even if they can, it will be difficult for them to return. The Chief and the Junior Officer don’t exist for a show.

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nHowever, he knew his father would not listen to him. He had no choice but to shut up.

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n“Damn old woman, have you found the money?!”

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nOld An saw that An Er had no objections and remembered Aunt Wang, who had been looking for money in her room.

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n“You can’t even hide money properly. What’s the point of me marrying you? You stupid woman! Hurry up and search! If you can’t find it, I’ll kill you!”

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nAunt Wang, who had been rummaging through the room in search of the money, gasped when she heard Old An’s words.

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nHow could she have known that the money she had hidden so well would disappear just like that? She had always hidden her money there, but it had never gone missing before. How could 50 taels of silver disappear like that?

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nShe wanted to cry. Her biological grandson was captured, and she wanted him back.

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nAunt Wang searched the room for a long time. She almost overturned the entire room, but she could not find a single copper coin. She knew the money was probably stolen by a thief.

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nShe was also sure of the thief’s identity, but now was not the time to argue with anyone.

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nShe came to the courtyard with a long face and asked Old An softly, “I can’t find the money. What should we do now?”

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nOld An took a deep breath.

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nHe also knew it was impossible to find the money. He got Aunt Wang to search again because he wanted to be hopeful and try again.

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nHowever, he could not do anything about the money since she really could not find it.

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n“Forget about the money. Let’s go to town and get Heizhuang back first.”

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n“Then…”

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nAunt Wang opened her mouth, wanting to ask if they could get their grandson back without the money.

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nWhen has Ministry Councilor He ever agreed to a losing deal? It won’t benefit us to go to town.

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n“Why are you still dawdling? Hurry up, let’s get him back before it gets dark!” Old An had already planned how to retrieve Heizhuang.

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nHowever, it was not so simple. Aunt Wang and her son had left the village secretly previously and were not seen by anyone. Would they be able to leave so openly this time?

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nA few men on patrol stopped the couple. They had been informed not to get too close to Old An’s family, so they did not approach them to dissuade them.

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nInstead, they chased the couple away with sticks and did not allow them to leave the village.

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nHowever, the couple wanted to find their grandson and insisted on leaving. Aunt Wang cried and yelled, using all the common techniques women used.

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nThe Chief and Junior Officer came when they caused a larger commotion.

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n“Let them go.”

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nThere was a look in the Chief’s eyes. He waved at the men stopping Old An and his wife, gesturing for them to let them go.

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