Lin Shu held a lantern, nestled inside the mosquito net, and fanned the two children with a palm leaf fan.

Suddenly, Panpan screamed, “Ah—don’t hit me!” Her chubby little body curled up tightly.

Lin Shu quickly picked her up. “Panpan, Panpan?”

Panpan opened her big, dark eyes, tears streaming down her face. “Wah… Mom, that repairman hit me. I just wanted to learn the craft and make money. He forced me to call him ‘Dad.’ When I refused, he hit me. Boo-hoo…”

Tiantian also woke up, rubbing her eyes and looking sleepily confused.

Lin Shu used a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off Tiantian’s face and then wiped away Panpan’s tears.

Panpan said, “He’s an ugly monster. I don’t want to call him ‘Dad.’ My dad is tall and handsome! He’s a soldier!”

Lin Shu held her tightly, comforting her softly, “That’s right. We don’t recognize ugly monsters as our fathers. It’s all just a bad dream. Don’t be afraid.”

Tiantian rolled over and sat up, “It’s all your fault for wanting to learn the repair craft during the day. Now you’re having nightmares.”

Panpan pouted, “I won’t learn it anymore.”

Lin Shu reassured them, settled them back down, and sang a lullaby to help them fall asleep.

Fang Dihua and Old Lu went to the production team office.

The men, carrying flashlights and torches, went to search by the river and well for the children.

The parents of Huahua and other girls were also present.

They said that in the afternoon, when the repairman was around, Huzhi and Chang Xiaogang had asked them to go play in the west, but they hadn’t gone.

Additionally, someone had seen the two children wandering in the west, so the men focused their search in that direction.

Fang Dihua found Aunt Li and asked, “Did you see that repairman? He didn’t seem like someone from our commune. Could it be he’s the one who stole the children?”

Aunt Li thought carefully.

She had been at home making paste for paper during that time and hadn’t gone out.

She had intended to ask the repairman to fix a broken jar, but he had left before she could do so.

She had glanced out the door, and though the repairman wore a wide-brimmed hat that obscured his face, his manner didn’t seem like that of a commune repairman.

A commune repairman would have removed his hat and greeted the villagers openly, not acted so strangely.

She immediately shouted, “Who saw where that repairman came from this afternoon? Second Granny said the repairman isn’t from our commune and doesn’t seem like a proper person.”

An old woman who grew vegetables at the village entrance remembered, “He came from the east.”

The east was Tan’s Carpenter Village, southeast of the main road, about four or five miles from Lu’s village.

They decided to investigate there, hoping to find some news about the repairman.

At that moment, Old Chang’s wife came running, stumbling and crying out to Huahua, Honghong, and Juanjuan. “Why, why did you let…?”

“Why didn’t you all go to the west side to play? Why just let our grandchildren go? If they all had gone, the children would have been looked after together, and nothing would have happened.”

What’s going on?

Aunt Li and others were a bit confused. Had Old Mrs. Chang gone mad?

Hua Hua kindly explained the situation to her, but why was she blaming them?

Old Mrs. Chang stared at Fang Dihua, crying with tears and snot running down her face. “Why did you let our children go and not let your children go? Now you’re saying the mender isn’t a respectable person?

Did you know something bad was going to happen and purposely not let the children go so that we would be the ones to go?

How could you be so heartless? My little grandson is only six years old; he’s just a child.

If Panpan and Tiantian had gone, they’re both good-looking. If anyone were to steal, it would be them, not my little Gang.”

Aunt Qiu and others came over, and upon hearing Old Mrs. Chang’s cries, they said, “What kind of twisted thinking is this? Is helping you find your child a mistake? Mr. and Mrs. Lu are helping you despite your previous wrongdoings, and you’re not grateful but speaking ill of them? Really…”

Aunt Li: “That’s right. Every family has children. Let’s put ourselves in their shoes. We can’t bear to see the children suffer.”

Old Granny Wang, known as Huzhi’s grandmother, rushed over and slapped Old Mrs. Chang twice. “You old fool, are you out of your mind? How can you still be blaming others at a time like this?”

She then bowed repeatedly to the surrounding women and said, “Please, everyone help us find little Huzhi. He’s a bit simple-minded; he might step on a snake or fall into a ditch while looking for insects. This rascal just doesn’t listen and keeps running off.”

Aunt Li and others tried to comfort her, urging everyone to keep searching diligently.

Two or three hours later, the bad news came back—they hadn’t found the children.

The good news was that there were no signs of the children in the river or the big well.

If they had fallen into the water in the afternoon, they would have surfaced by now.

Since the flood season hadn’t come yet and the river hadn’t risen much, they wouldn’t have drifted to another place. If they hadn’t floated, it meant they likely hadn’t fallen into the water.

Then—could it be that they were abducted?!

Thanks to the information provided by Fang Dihua and Old Lu, the team had a target.

At dawn, they split into several groups: some continued to monitor the river, some went to the commune to seek help from the militia, some went to the commune to inquire about the mender, and others went to nearby villages to gather information about the mender…

So, the Public Security Director, the commune militia, and Old Chang’s family were all mobilized, searching for the suspicious mender based on the information provided by Old Lu.

If Old Lu hadn’t mentioned it, they wouldn’t have suspected the mender at all, after all…

He was just an ordinary person with decent skills, and there was nothing particularly suspicious about him.

After two days of searching without finding any leads, Lin Shu felt that their efforts were too slow.

How could she remind them that the repairman might be from a hundred miles west?

That morning, Huahua, Honghong, and other girls didn’t go out to play but ran to the Lu family’s house to find Panpan and Tiantian.

They chattered about how the repairman had stolen the children.

At that moment, Tiantian mimicked something the repairman had said.

Lin Shu’s mind suddenly sparked with an idea, “I’ve got a plan!”

She told the children to play at home and immediately went to the production team office to explain the situation.

Tiantian and Panpan followed her like little shadows, and Huahua called out as they went.

At the production team office, the team secretary, Lu Shaocai, and the team leader, along with the security director, were all involved in the search.

Lu Shaocai had just learned that Old Lu was getting work points and soybeans for helping with the accounts, which made him feel frustrated and as if Old Lu was benefiting from his efforts.

Seeing Lin Shu arrive, he grumbled, “Why are you out here when you should be at home mourning? What are you doing here?”

In the past, he would have had you make a lifelong vow of chastity, but now Zhao Meifeng has even found you a wealthy second husband!

Lin Shu ignored him and addressed the team secretary, “Secretary, I’ve figured out where that repairman is from.”

Lu Shaocai scoffed, “Don’t cause confusion. What do you know? Hurry up and go home!”

He spoke as if Lin Shu were his wife.

The team secretary looked at him, then spoke to Lin Shu in a kindly manner, “Shaotang’s wife, please tell us.”

Lin Shu caught her breath and said, “The repairman had an accent. He was reluctant to speak with adults but chatted a bit with Panpan, who was a child and didn’t guard against him. I listened, and it sounds like he’s from a place west of here, with a distinctive way of speaking.”

Regional dialects vary, and even a few miles away, the accent can change.

The team secretary asked, “Is it Gaoxian?”

Lin Shu shook her head.

Panpan and Tiantian immediately began mimicking the repairman’s way of speaking.

The team secretary’s eyes lit up. “Ah, this is the accent from Huang County! These two children are really something!”

The secretary was thrilled and asked the children to mimic a few more phrases.

Fortunately, the children had good memories and were skilled at imitation.

Plus, Panpan had chatted with the repairman more because he was fascinated by his craft and earnings.

The repairman might have talked more to him because of his curiosity.

Huang County was directly west of them, about a hundred miles away.

They could start investigating from there.

He laughed and said, “Shaotang’s wife, you and the children have done a great job.”

Saying this, he instructed Lu Shaocai to stay at the team and handle any incoming messages promptly, while he himself would ride to the commune to report.

The commune had a telephone, which could be used to contact the police and militia in Huang County to ask for their help.

After the team secretary left, Lu Shaocai glared at Lin Shu with displeasure. “I said, Shaotang’s wife, you should uphold your role as a woman…”

Lin Shu glanced at him and rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you try being a decent person first?”

She could be polite with Zhao Meifeng to get back what belonged to the original owner, but she couldn’t be bothered to be civil with greasy men like Lu Shaocai.

Regardless of Lu Shaocai’s anger, she took the children and headed home first.

Soon, the girls were called back to their homes for meals, and Lin Shu took her two kids back home to prepare lunch.

Panpan excitedly asked Tiantian to read him a book about catching spies.

Although the mender was just a child thief, he found it thrilling, as if he was personally involved in catching the bad guys.

This was different from playing games with other children.

Exciting!

…

While she was busy, Zhao Meifeng came rushing over.

Zhao Meifeng: “The matchmaker from the county introduced a well-placed man. He’s a retired military officer, currently serving as deputy director in the county’s militia department. He’ll be promoted soon. If you…”

Lin Shu responded with a half-smile, “Sister-in-law, I think a sewing machine is more important.”

She had no interest in becoming a stepmother or remarrying.

She planned to rely on her in-laws for the first half of her life and on her children for the latter half.

What did she need a man for?

To annoy her?

Moreover, if the man could become an official after retirement, he must be quite old.

As expected, Zhao Meifeng continued to ramble on.

The man was in his forties, had four children, the eldest daughter was married, and the remaining three were younger, with the youngest being eight years old.

She kept going on about how good the conditions were, and how the children were all grown up and wouldn’t need a stepmother.

Lin Shu decided to ignore her, and no matter what Zhao Meifeng said, she would respond with “oh” or “hmm,” nearly driving Zhao Meifeng mad.

Seeing Lin Shu’s unresponsive attitude, Zhao Meifeng’s enthusiasm faded.

She felt the man was not worthy of Lin Shu. “I’ll look for another one then, a perfect Husband.”

Lin Shu kindly advised, “Sister-in-law, my mother-in-law would scold me if she found out.”

Zhao Meifeng immediately became alert and looked outside. “I’m just checking for you now. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll try again in three to five months, by the end of the year.”

She did not notice that Panpan and Tiantian were peeking at her through the doorway of the west room.

Panpan: “— What is a ‘perfect husband’?”

Tiantian thought for a moment and said, “The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, Dong Yong and the Seven Fairies.”

This was a story her grandfather used to tell.

Lin Shu then asked Zhao Meifeng to bring her some thread. “I don’t have suitable thread at home. Sister-in-law, could you give me two spools of that fine white thread?”

Zhao Meifeng had already lent Lin Shu a fabric that was fifteen feet long.

The cost was quite high, so a couple of spools of thread weren’t much of a burden.

“I’ll lend them to you, but you’ll have to return them,” Zhao Meifeng said and quickly went home to get the thread for Lin Shu.