Lost Hairpin

They waited until the sun was high in the sky, but the middle-aged man never returned to the woodshed.

So they had no choice but to head back to the Zhu family's main hall to see what was going on.

"What the hell are you good for! Can't even handle this!"

Before they even reached the main hall, they heard the ferocious old woman from yesterday yelling inside.

Along with the sound of something smashing.

"Mother, I was wrong... I... I'll go find it right now!" The middle-aged man's timid voice echoed from within the closed room.

Even through the door, they could hear every word clearly.

Find what?

Was this the trigger for a key conversation?

But it seemed they were a step too late—the useful information had already passed.

"Then get moving! If you delay the auspicious hour, I'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs!" The old woman's furious voice trembled, accompanied by the sound of something hitting flesh.

Everyone instinctively stepped back.

The main hall door was yanked open from inside by the middle-aged man. When he saw them all standing at the entrance, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

His face was bruised and swollen in patches, as if something had struck it.

Embarrassed, the middle-aged man quickly turned back and shut the main hall door, then timidly gestured for them to follow him.

Though confused, they still trailed after him toward the woodshed again.

Halfway there, Zheng Wuyou stopped calmly. "Brother, just say what you need to. No need to go so far."

It seemed they hadn't arrived too late—they'd come too early.

Maybe waiting in the woodshed for the middle-aged man to return was the way to follow the plot.

But time waited for no one, so there was no point wasting it on travel.

Whatever he had to say had to be related to the sentences on the list.

"Ah, something terrible has happened..." The middle-aged man turned back, anxiously slapping his hands together, the worry in his eyes confirming he really might get chopped up and fed to the dogs.

He let out a deep sigh. Outsiders would never understand.

"Don't just keep sighing—spit it out already!" Guo Mu's burly frame squeezed past Hu Yu and Miao Laisheng.

Seeing the man gasping for words, he grew anxious too.

Zheng Wuyou observed this and asked, "Is there something hard to say?"

"Is it the hairpin?" Miao Laisheng cut off Zheng Wuyou, hitting the nail on the head with her guess.

Surprise and panic flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes.

He hurriedly waved his hands, trying to cover their mouths, but he only had two hands.

"Don't... don't say it out loud! The bride's hairpin is missing!" The middle-aged man glanced back to check if anyone was eavesdropping. After confirming the coast was clear, he lowered his voice and continued, "The bride's hairpin is the most important thing in the Zhu family wedding custom. It has to be custom-made months in advance based on the birth date and time!"

"The wedding is tomorrow, and today the matchmaker suddenly discovered the hairpin was missing while organizing the bride's dowry!"

Family custom... hairpin... matchmaker.

Wasn't this exactly what the sentence mentioned?

No wonder even knowing the time, they couldn't solve the puzzle.

The key moment just hadn't arrived yet.

Zheng Wuyou hummed in acknowledgment and nodded, signaling the middle-aged man to continue.

"Yesterday, I was the only one who delivered food to the bride. If the hairpin isn't found, Mother will definitely kill me!" The middle-aged man scratched his thinning scalp in agony and anxiety, dandruff visibly scattering in the sunlight.

"So, you want us to help find the hairpin?" Zheng Wuyou's gaze locked onto the 'snowflakes' drifting toward him, and he instinctively stepped back.

Seeing how quick these people were on the uptake, the middle-aged man added, "You can move around the village more freely. If I go out looking and this gets exposed, the wedding will have to be postponed!"

It seemed their role was to ensure the wedding went ahead as planned, so they could leave this godforsaken place.

"Got it. But how can you be sure the hairpin is definitely outside your house?" Zheng Wuyou seized on the loophole in the man's words, giving him no chance to exploit them.

Miao Laisheng watched the brown hair tips in front of her with amusement.

She'd already asked the question she wanted to.

"I... I'm not sure. But I can search the house myself—you handle the outside!"

"And what about our original work?" Hu Yu, catching onto Zheng Wuyou's line of thought, crossed her arms, her demeanor imposing.

"You were just hired to help out. If the hairpin isn't found, you can pack up and go back today!"

When it came to dividing tasks, the middle-aged man transformed, no longer timid.

His sudden growl startled Hu Yu.

"You're right. Whatever the master says is our job."

Zheng Wuyou smiled apologetically while shooting Hu Yu a look, signaling her to steer clear of that topic.

After the middle-aged man led the group out through the back door of Old Zhu's house, he closed the door and disappeared inside.

They really couldn't stay in Old Zhu's house for more than a few minutes.

"It's almost 13:00, can we really find it?" Wen Dian stood in front of the back door, watching the few who had resolutely left, and followed behind the group through the alley with a headache.

"Tomorrow at 13:00." Miao Laisheng's stature made the path beneath him seem far too narrow; he walked consistently behind Zheng Wuyou.

The others looked at him in confusion, not understanding how he knew.

"Tomorrow is the wedding day, the Matchmaker will lead the couple in worship." Zheng Wuyou understood the meaning in his words, like Miao Laisheng's built-in translator.

She explained his statement.

Back on the stone path, the group gathered in a circle and, after discussion, decided to split up according to their accommodation assignments.

The village was only so big after all; each group taking charge of one area would allow them to search quickly.

It would also help them get familiar with this land fast.

Considering the short woman's reticence, only Hu Yu and the short woman were separated into Uncle Cai's and Sun Wu's groups respectively.

The end of the road had only the village chief's house, so they agreed to meet up at the Wooden House.

Zheng Wuyou and Miao Laisheng were responsible for the two unoccupied houses at the village entrance.

The others were evenly distributed.

Zheng Wuyou also took this opportunity to see what had caused that muffled sound from the village entrance last night.

Zheng Wuyou and Miao Laisheng stood in front of the first house at the village entrance near the riverbank.

She tried pushing the door and found it was still locked.

"Zhu Family Village..."

Wansi stood behind the two busy people and felt a chill on her back.

Only then did she look up and see the plaque at the village entrance casting a shadow over the sunlight at her feet.

Hearing this, Zheng Wuyou looked up at the top along with Wansi.

On the black plaque, three characters were boldly written in red ink—Zhu Family Village.

The observant Miao Laisheng looked around and noticed a window next to the side door was half-open.

He said nothing, exchanging a knowing glance with Zheng Wuyou, who had refocused her attention.

The two worked together to push the window open and nimbly climbed inside.

Leaving Wansi outside the door to keep watch, guarding against any sudden attacks.

Once inside the house, dust flew everywhere, carrying a stale odor; the furniture was simple and covered in dust. This house seemed to have been lived in, but only in specific areas.