I Got Rich in Period Fiction-Chapter 580 - 574 Disintegration

He Xiuwen sighed softly and said, "Live well. Those hard days have passed, and things will get better from now on."

At this point, He Xiuwen paused, then continued, "Your grandmother has been cared for by us these past few years, but she is still very lonely, living alone in the nursing home. When you go back, she might live a few more years."

Liang Xiaocui’s tears still flowed down as she nodded vigorously but couldn’t utter a word.

He Xiuwen quietly gave a few instructions to the people guarding the door and then left the hostel. He had to arrange the capture operation.

He had people positioned at several possible locations.

Back at the command center, it was ultimately decided to make public the fugitive’s situation, encouraging the locals to actively come forward with information, even offering a reward.

After all, having such a dangerous individual at large was unsettling.

As for the people from Shuiwa Village, they were held separately to prevent them from corroborating their stories.

Then, under the pressure of an intense psychological campaign, this so-called ironclad small group crumbled surprisingly quickly.

Consequently, a dozen more people were taken from the village, among them Zhao Cheng’s own mother.

Before everything had gone wrong, aside from finding Zhao Cheng overbearing, the villagers followed him because there was food to eat and money to spend with him.

But now, everything had turned upside down, with all the men who could support their families taken away.

Those who were already living in fear and unrest were now even more resentful towards Zhao Cheng.

Hatred was directed at Zhao Cheng’s mother and even his two sons. Before she knew how to handle it, Zhao Cheng’s mother was taken away too.

At night, the air was dry and slightly cold.

There was no moon, and the darkness surrounded everything, the ridges of the mountains laying like night demons upon the land.

In a hollow of the hills, Zhao Cheng clutched his son’s hand, his hoarse voice whispering earnest instructions.

"Dawa, this is the first and last time your dad will talk so much with you. You have to listen well, even if you don’t understand, you must remember it in your heart."

Dawa’s mind was in turmoil, crowded with numerous foreign thoughts as if it might explode.

Dawa didn’t know why he was crying. He looked at his father, both familiar and strange before him.

But under Zhao Cheng’s fierce and sharp gaze, Dawa instinctively nodded hard.

"Listen to dad. I’m not a good man. What your mother did was right. She’s been harmed by me her whole life."

It was the first time Dawa had heard such words. He asked in bewilderment, "How did you harm my mother?"

"I..." Zhao Cheng hesitated, looking into his son’s clear eyes, feeling all the filth swept up by the night’s darkness enveloping him.

The words reached the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back. Those words might have boasted to other men, but speaking them to his twelve-year-old son, he felt disgusted with himself.

After some thought, he finally said, "Your mother and her parents, along with her grandparents and younger brother, lived a happy life in the Southern region. The year your mother was accepted into university, she was supposed to go to school but I took a liking to her. I put rat poison in her family’s food. They all got poisoned, and I stuffed your mother into a sack and snatched her away to our Shuiwa Village..."

"Rat poison?" Dawa was stunned. Although he might not have understood everything else, he was clear about the rat poison—it was deadly when ingested.

There was a woman in the village who had died from drinking rat poison.

Dawa’s face, already panicked, turned even whiter with fear.

"...Dad is no human being, to have snatched her away and not treated her well, and not even let her see her own family... I’m not a good person, you and Erwa must never blame your mother. You have to treat her well, be filial, and beg her to take you back home..."

Zhao Cheng wiped his face hard as he spoke, "Even if your mother doesn’t let you stay with her, you must kneel and beg her. Even if you have to rent a house close to her and live there with your brother, given enough time, she will no longer hate me and will take care of you. Your brother is still young, and you are only twelve. It will be years before you’re grown up. You cannot stay in Shuiwa Village. Your grandmother is not a good person either. Don’t believe any words she said in the past or what she says now. From now on, she won’t be able to look after the two of you anymore. Your only hope is your mother..."

Zhao Cheng wished he could pour out all he wanted to say to his son and wished his son could understand everything he meant.

Once the villagers realized what had happened, they would definitely blame him for insisting on keeping those five people, which led to a chain of events.

Life for his two sons in the village would surely be hard. He knew the temperaments of most of the people here too well—hardly any of them were good. If the brothers weren’t protected, they might not even survive.

Their own mother had also done quite a lot of harm—some she had even initiated and directed. Despite her old age, she would be locked away for several years. By the time she got out, it was uncertain if her sons would still be alive.

And as for himself, even if he died without confessing, others would.

He was bound to be executed by firing squad.

Zhao Cheng grabbed his son and leaned in, whispering in his ear, "In that hollow on the hill where I often took you to hunt rabbits, under the large rock you always liked to sit on, I’ve hidden something for you and Erwa. It’s for the two of you to use to get married."

"Don’t follow in Dad’s footsteps. Grow up well, be good people, honestly take wives, and establish your lives. Then even if I’m dead, I can rest in peace."

Not far away, behind a hill, He Xiuwen was with Xiao Lai, Xiao Jia, and another police officer, lying in ambush.

Just as He Xiuwen had predicted, Zhao Cheng did call his son out alone.

And the risk he took to run out and find his son must have been to give his final instructions.

They were close enough to hear what Zhao Cheng was saying to his son.

Xiao Lai elbowed He Xiuwen lightly, and He Xiuwen slowly shook his head.

Xiao Lai dropped his hand. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

He understood the captain’s intention—they shouldn’t startle the young boy.

A sudden gust of mountain wind howled in; Zhao Cheng let go of his son’s hand and said harshly, "Whether you understand what I’m saying or not, just do as I tell you. Tomorrow morning, take Erwa and go find your mother, do you hear?"

"...Dad, I...I heard you, I’ll go."

Zhao Cheng took one last look at Dawa. Maybe this was karma, leaving him no chance to see his sons grow up.

He scolded sharply, "Don’t stand there daydreaming or crying. Run home quickly and take care of your brother."

Dawa didn’t move. Zhao Cheng pushed him, then kicked him. Under Zhao Cheng’s fierce gaze, Dawa took off running towards the direction of the village, soon disappearing down the slope.

Zhao Cheng, on the other hand, ran quickly in the opposite direction.

As he had just crossed over a hill, suddenly several dark figures rushed towards him at great speed...