The incident happened abruptly. The commune members dining under the trees on the slope outside cried out in surprise. Seeing the person involved was only covered in dirt but otherwise unharmed, they then burst into a roar of laughter.
The widow Qiu, infuriated upon hearing the commotion, came out and started berating at the top of her lungs.
Someone retorted loudly, "Widow Qiu, you’re being completely unreasonable. It was your daughter who knocked your son down the slope. What has that got to do with us? Are you just looking to take your anger out on us?"
The commune members, eating from their large, coarse porcelain bowls, all chimed in, "Exactly, Widow Qiu, you’re being far too overbearing."
Having no choice, Widow Qiu pulled up her son, who was in a pitiful state, shot her daughter—who stood there not daring to make a sound—a glare, and marched back into her own courtyard.
Upon entering the courtyard, Widow Qiu immediately started scolding her daughter, "You good-for-nothing girl! Were your eyes in the back of your head? Look at the state your brother is in because of you! Now, scram and fetch some water."
As soon as Qiu Baojuan left, she turned to her son with concern, "How are you? Did you get hurt anywhere?"
Qiu Baolin shook off his mother’s hand and brushed the dirt off his clothes, "Stop making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s utterly embarrassing."
After fetching the water, Qiu Baojuan quickly made herself scarce. "Mom, I’m going to serve the meal."
Once she was gone, Widow Qiu remembered the important matter at hand. "You came back so late, how did things go?"
As Qiu Baolin tidied himself up, he replied, "Of course, everything has been arranged."
As he said this, an involuntary wicked smile crept across his lips, his eyes filled with the certainty of success.
Hearing her son’s words, Widow Qiu whispered, "Once this is done, our family’s good days will finally come."
But truth be told, it was too good a dream to be true.

Not searching was out of the question. Even if his nephew wasn’t among them, he couldn’t just ignore the situation.

These men had disguised themselves so well that the lost group let down their guard. Just as the men gained their trust, they attacked them viciously without a second thought, then tied them up and led them deeper into the mountains.
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