Chapter 382: Chapter 382:1 Haven’t Heard Anything.

Translator: 549690339 |

So, Qiao Changshun and Qiao Xiaomai went up the mountain together. After a day, a large area in front of the secret tunnel had been cleared and tents had been set up.

When Qiao Xiaomai and Qiao Changshun arrived, Tong Tiehu and Tong Sanlang were already there, even Sun Family was there.

There were also many elderly people besides Sun Family.

Seeing her puzzled look, Yang Ye explained, “There were only a dozen families in Anping Village back in the day. As the population increased, we have called these original villagers to question them together.”

Qiao Xiaomai made a sound of acknowledgment.

She knew about this. For some reason, that woman chose to hide the treasure here and sent for Tong Tiehu and Tong Liu.

However, only Tong Tiehu settled in Anping Village. That woman and Tong Liu lived in the mountain without showing their faces to the villagers.

When that woman sent Tong Liu to take the Imperial Examination, she fabricated a tragic past of his family being wiped out by a natural disaster. As the Daqi was newly established, the population and household management were lax, so they got away with it.

Not long after Tong Liu left, the woman fell ill and gradually weakened.

Later, she died.

The corpse was collected by Tong Tiehu, who cremated her and randomly buried the ashes under a crooked-necked tree.

Many years later, these people finally found this place.

But the woman never showed herself in public.

Questioning these people would yield no information.

Cen Hong gave Qiao Xiaomai a sidelong glance then turned to Sun Family member, “Did you ever hear anything about this secret tunnel before?”

Sun Family member looked baffled.

The Sun Family was one of the initial households in Anping Village. They lived a hard life during the wartime, with food shortages, and often went to the mountains for foraging.

They dug up wild vegetables and picked wild fruits in spring and summer, and gnawed on roots and tree bark in winter.

They ran around the mountain countless times, where the biggest beast was wild boars and no poisonous creatures, but had never heard of a secret tunnel in the mountain!

Responding to General’s question, she answered respectfully, “No, sir, I haven’t heard of it.”

She got no advantage on the day of the Spring Tax, Cen Hong was scolded by Yang Ye like a dog, and she being as a dog’s hound, naturally acted humble this time.

“Did you ever hear any unusual sounds?” Cen Hong asked again.

“No,” she shook her head.

“Then why did Tong Tiehu become the village chief?” Cen Hong changed the topic and asked another question.

Sun Family member hesitated, thought of the situation decades ago, and then answered after a while, “Although the Tong Family was also escaping the famine, they were rich. When the previous village chief retired, Tong became the village chief, serving for several decades.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Wang turned to Tong Tiehu, “Where is your ancestral home?”

“In reply to your highness, my family was originally from Yunfeng Prefecture in the east, next to the sea. Pirates taught us to evacuate Yunfeng Prefecture and move from place to place until we settled here.”

Tong Tiehu responded calmly.

His mother was sent to the East Sea by Gu Yu back then. Due to a combination of emotional upset and not acclimating to the new environment, she was always unwell.

Later, when his step-aunt sent someone to pick him and Tong Liu up, his mother heard of Gu Yu’s death, lost her will to live, and suddenly died.

He and Tong Liu treated the housekeeper and nanny as their parents, becoming ordinary refugee families from the East Sea to Rooster Mountain.

Thanks to a well-off home and making many friends, when the former village chief retired, he was elected as the new village chief by the villagers.

He served for several decades. Later, the old housekeeper and nanny also passed away one after another. The population of Anping Village became larger and eventually reached the current scale.