Carrying a Jurassic on me-Chapter 1339 - 652: Masters are Everywhere_2

Asking a question was met with a slap or a kick, much to everyone’s sheer delight.

Nobody else intervened, only Er Gouzi’s mother came over, tugging at the man, "Husband, calm down, stop hitting him, don’t get so worked up..."

In the past, when a mother stopped a father from hitting their child, it was mostly out of concern not to hurt the child. Now, she urged him not to get worked up himself. A single word of difference really just shows how disheartened the mother must feel to have such a son!

It was seen as natural for a father to discipline his son. Even the police turned a blind eye, with only the women pulling at him a few times. Er Gouzi, realizing that no one was intervening to stop his beating, finally understood that he had angered the crowd. After standing up, his mouth twitched a few times, but he didn’t say anything else. Instead, when he looked at people, his gaze was so piercing it felt as though it could shoot flying daggers, wanting to tear anyone he saw to shreds.

Once a group of people came out, the excitement began.

The people from the two villages ahead had quietly spread the news, but in this village, the old chief had organized a few trustworthy elders to keep watch from the start. Even the parents of the involved knew exactly when the police station would be coming.

Thanks to the prompt arrival of the police, the information was contained just in time. By now, those who had been informed in advance were numerous. It was only because Er Gouzi caused such a foul atmosphere in the village from the moment he returned that many people, displeased with him, conspired not to leak the news to the involved parties.

The police led the way, with Yan Fei and a crowd from the compound following, occasionally greeting them. Some asked how much longer until the next distribution of calves, some inquired if the new yard was so big that they needed to hire people, and others were considering planting fodder grass...

With too many people, the village roads were narrow, and everyone walked slowly. Yan Fei was cheerfully chatting with everyone when suddenly, a loud, clear sound of a suona echoed from behind.

Everyone turned around to see Er Gou’s father, holding a suona, standing at the doorstep, cheeks puffed out as he vigorously played. Beside him was his wife, head lowered as she wiped away tears.

The crisp and resonant sound of the suona soared into the sky, reverberating through the small village. The sorrowful and passionate melody was so moving that even those with no understanding of music could feel its poignancy.

Village Chief Old Yang wasn’t pleased and turned around to shout at Er Gou’s father, "Old chap, can’t you be quiet during the festive season? It’s good that Er Gou is being disciplined. Why are you playing that mournful tune..."

Er Gou’s father, playing the suona, didn’t quite hear what Old Yang said, or perhaps his emotions were too complex to acknowledge it. Er Gou, however, spoke up, "My dad’s playing me off! What do you understand, you old man who betrays his own villagers?"

This set Old Yang seething with rage, hopping mad as he scolded him, "You little brat, you think you’re the only one who understands? Your dad was learning the suona from your granddad before you were even born! Yes, I was the one who led the police here. What are you going to do about it?"

Normally, Er Gou boasted too much for anyone in the village to risk offending him by speaking against him. Now that he was in custody, seeing him remain unrepentant, someone scolded him, "Er Gou, you should be calling him great-grandpa. Why speak so rudely?"

"What’s wrong? Did I say something untrue? He himself admitted he led the police here," retorted Er Gou indignantly. "If he really considered me family, would he do something like this? Besides, do you illiterates understand what my father is playing? Humph!"

Damn it!

One of the policemen following behind couldn’t hold back and kicked him in the butt, "Move along, behave yourself."

After kicking him, the officer remembered they were still in the villagers’ territory and, not wanting to offend them, quickly shouted out, "Folks, I really couldn’t help it, sorry about that!"

A few of the younger ones snickered quietly. A middle-aged man wiped his eyes and forced a smile, saying, "He had it coming. If he doesn’t behave in there, feel free to beat him until he does. Don’t let him out until he’s shaken in his shoes. If you damage him, I’ll take responsibility—he’s my nephew. My brother got such a son... Sigh, it’s been many years, and I’ve never heard ’A Branch of Flowers’ played like this; it chills the heart to listen..."

Most around were silent, with the sound of the suona causing a lump in their throats. Looking at the man fully engrossed in playing the suona, eyes closed, one could sense the weakness within his sturdy frame, and his wife could not stop wiping her tears. The scene was truly heartbreaking to witness.

Listening to the undulating sound of the Suona, everyone’s hearts muttered a few words: what a misfortune has befallen the family!

Breathing in the frosty air, the atmosphere still felt stifling. Officer Xu looked at the villagers around him, who, despite wearing new clothes, couldn’t hide the pervasive smell of dust. He too felt uneasy, let out a sigh, and waved his hand, "Let’s go, let’s go, hurry up!"

The crowd moved towards the entrance of the village, the intermittent sound of the Suona echoing behind them, until everyone got into their vehicles. Even after the engines started, you could faintly hear the Suona’s long and short notes.

Heizi drove the van farther from the village and spoke, "I used to hear people from the countryside say that the Suona band from Old Yang’s village was famously good, but when I heard them before, I thought they were just so-so. Today, listening to the Suona by itself, I realized how truly awesome it is—it really tugs at the heartstrings. By the way, Brother Fei, what was the name of that piece just now? When I get back, I’m going to look for a tape of it to listen to; it’s really invigorating..."

Yan Fei smiled, "Didn’t someone just say it? It’s ’A Branch of Flowers.’ There’s a piece by the same name for the Erhu too. But if you’re looking for a cassette, it probably won’t have the same feel. They are masters; they’ve been playing for most of their lives... I’m saying, Heizi, I didn’t expect you to have that sort of appreciation..."

Heizi laughed awkwardly, "Hehe, I don’t know what got into me, but when I suddenly heard that sound, I felt a chill from the soles of my feet to my spine, and my scalp started tingling. And I’m not usually someone who gets sentimental!"

Yan Fei laughed heartily, "Just focus on driving! Today is the first day of the New Year, we should hurry back to eat!"

With his thick skin, Heizi quickly got over his embarrassment and jokingly said, "I finally feel something profound, what’s wrong with that? Didn’t you think the sound of the Suona earlier had a real charm to it? Withered vines, old trees, crows at dusk, small bridge, flowing water, family members, the Suona’s sound almost breaking hearts!"

While he spoke, he glanced at the village through the rearview mirror; it was getting late, the distant village already looked hazy, and the sound of firecrackers could still be heard—it genuinely had a bit of the atmosphere he mentioned...

But Yan Fei couldn’t be bothered to engage with him, letting him mutter to himself.

When they reached the police station, Yan Fei got out of the car and followed the Mini-van carrying the detainees inside, only to see several people squatting in the courtyard.

Xu Changsheng hopped down from the van and asked one of the on-duty personnel, "What’s going on here?"

The person hadn’t even started talking and couldn’t help but laugh first, "They started fighting inside..."

Before he could finish, Xu Changsheng’s face turned cold, "They’re fighting and you find it funny?"

The speaker wasn’t a formal police officer—since two members of the defense team had quit before and this was a new recruit—his threshold for laughter was quite low. After holding back several times without success, he explained, "Officer Xu, you don’t know the reason they started fighting. They had just been locked up, and we searched them again. Turns out two of those outsiders had playing cards on them..."

During the arrest, the situation was urgent, and since they were detaining people for gambling, not for dealing with felons, the initial body search was just a cursory one to check for weapons. With everyone dressed warmly for winter, the playing cards weren’t found.

But once at the station, the search was much more thorough. Even though this was just a police outpost, it was no surprise that a fight broke out once the playing cards appeared!

Everyone who heard couldn’t help but laugh along, no wonder they say "every bet involves a scam." These outsiders came to Sancha River to play cards, understanding the local situation before coming with the intention to scam—otherwise they wouldn’t bother coming to a place without profits to be had. If they came all this way for just three or five yuan, they might as well honestly stay home for the New Year!

Heizi muttered under his breath, "Masters are everywhere, huh! These are also masters, hiding their cards until they were discovered here..."

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