Chapter 38: Finding Someone

Ji Duo’s voice was deep and concise, naturally carrying an air of authority, as long as he wasn’t in bed. When he made the call, the village secretary didn’t suspect anything or remember his voice. He was very cooperative. “Comrade, feel free to ask. I’ve been saying they should report this to the police, but they didn’t listen and insisted the kid went to find his sister.”

Although it seemed like he was trying to shirk responsibility, one thing was certain: Lin Wei was indeed missing.

Ji Duo glanced at Lin Qiao, who was closely listening to the phone. The young woman had her brows furrowed but remained calm, just like when they first met. The more serious the situation, the steadier she became.

He lowered the phone a bit more to make it easier for her to hear.

The village secretary didn’t know much. He only heard that Lin Wei hadn’t returned home for about three days. Lin Shouyi and his wife searched the village with flashlights but couldn’t find him. The next day, they went to other villages to look for his classmates but still couldn’t find him. Someone mentioned Lin Qiao, and the couple immediately went to find Liu Yulan.

“I suspect there’s more to this. Otherwise, why would they think the kid went missing? What if something happened to him or someone harmed him?”

With high water levels in the summer, young people liked to swim in rivers and reservoirs. If nothing had happened, who would have thought of looking for Lin Qiao first?

Seeing that they couldn’t get more information, Ji Duo hung up the phone. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

Commander Liang’s wife, who had stepped out, still heard bits and pieces. She immediately asked in a low voice, “They haven’t found him yet?”

“Not yet.” Ji Duo covered the phone with a handkerchief and thanked her.

Lin Qiao also sincerely thanked her. “Thank you so much for today. Ji Duo and I have some things to discuss, so we’ll head back now.”

“Your matters are important,” Commander Liang’s wife waved her hand. “This is nothing.”

As soon as they stepped out, Lin Qiao immediately shared her suspicion with Ji Duo. “I suspect my cousin might have had a fight with the family and ran away. He used to do this when he was younger—if he saw something he didn’t like and couldn’t talk it out, he’d run off in a fit of anger. But he always came back the same day.”

Only when they were sure he wasn’t in danger would they start thinking about where he might have gone, which is why they hadn’t reported it yet. However, the key issue was that Lin Wei hadn’t come to find Lin Qiao. He had been gone for three days, which meant he was indeed missing.

Ji Duo didn’t waste any words. “What do you plan to do?”

“I want to go back and check.” Lin Qiao had been considering this. “We need to find him first and ensure he’s safe before dealing with anything else.”

Lin Qiao was always decisive, so Ji Duo wasn’t surprised. He just frowned slightly. “I don’t have time in the next two days.”

This surprised Lin Qiao a bit, as she had only planned to go back herself and hadn’t expected him to come along. Last time, there was no choice—only the Ji family could help her get her household registration back from her uncle and aunt. This time, finding someone could take an unknown amount of time.

With Lin Wei’s situation weighing on her mind, this slight surprise showed on her face, and Ji Duo caught it clearly, his gaze sharpening. But Ji Duo knew what was more important now. “I’ll have Xiao Fang take you.”

It wasn’t a question. In such a situation, Lin Qiao couldn’t afford to be polite. “When can we leave? I want to go back as soon as possible.”

“I’ll make the call now.” Ji Duo immediately returned to Commander Liang’s house.

Xiao Fang arrived quickly, as he wasn’t far away. But leaving at this time meant they would arrive after dark and spend a night on the road. Still, it was faster than leaving the next day. Time was of the essence, and Ji Duo swiftly arranged the necessary documents for them. From hanging up the phone to Lin Qiao deciding to return home and the jeep setting off, it took less than half an hour.

Ji Duo leaned against the car door and handed her a piece of paper. “Call me if you need anything. If necessary, I can also contact the local police to help.”

The paper had the phone numbers for Commander Liang’s house, his office, and the Ji family’s old residence. From her past life to this one, Lin Qiao had never relied on anyone. But at this moment, she felt a reassuring sense of reliability from the man. She held the paper tightly. “I’ll be going then.”

“Stay safe on the road.” Ji Duo closed the car door and exchanged a few words with Xiao Fang before stepping back.

As the car drove off, he remained standing there, not moving.

“What’s wrong? Worried about Xiao Lin?” Commander Liang, who had heard about the situation, saw him and offered some advice. “I think Xiao Lin is independent and decisive. She’ll be fine.”

But Lin Qiao’s independence and decisiveness were precisely why she hadn’t thought of relying on him in such a big matter. Even before, there were signs, but they were small things, and she didn’t show it, so he didn’t mind. Ji Duo didn’t understand why the trait he admired most in Lin Qiao when they first met now made him feel uneasy.

“Does your wife like to rely on you when something happens?” he asked Commander Liang.

“Of course,” Commander Liang replied. “Whenever something happens, she gets flustered. How could we handle big things without discussing them together?”

As he spoke, his wife came out with a razor. “You haven’t finished shaving, and you’re running around. Do you think those few broken hairs look good?”

“Do you know how to talk? Are these broken hairs? These are the marks of a wise mind,” Commander Liang retorted.

They bickered, but he still went back to let his wife finish shaving his head.

Ji Duo returned home, still hearing the couple’s lively arguments and Commander Liang’s occasional shouts at his son. It was noisy but warm. He and Lin Qiao had never argued. They always discussed things calmly and resolved them. He never thought it was a bad thing. After all, he married Lin Qiao out of responsibility and wanted to take good care of her. Getting along well saved him a lot of trouble.

But now, why did it feel off?

He leaned into the sofa, lit a cigarette, and his mind grew tense in the smoke.

The next day, they set off for the cemetery. Even Su Zheng noticed something was off. “What’s wrong? Didn’t sleep well last night?”

Ji Duo didn’t respond. After paying respects, Su Zheng said, “If you have something to do, go ahead. You had checked your watch three times.”

He had checked his watch three times? Even Ji Duo hadn’t noticed. Normally, he was very composed and wouldn’t show such obvious signs of being preoccupied. But before he arrived, everything had been arranged. Today, the most important thing was to pay respects to Shaoping. What else could be wrong?

It was Lin Qiao.

At one point, he wondered if Lin Qiao had arrived…

Lin Qiao was indeed about to arrive. She and Xiao Fang stayed at a state-run hotel for a night and continued their journey in the morning. They could already see the entrance to Shahe Village.

“I didn’t expect you to take me back again. I’ll need your help to handle the situation later,” Lin Qiao apologized to Xiao Fang.

To solve the problem, she needed to control the situation quickly and avoid entanglements with her uncle and aunt. Since Ji Duo had sent Xiao Fang, she would use him when needed.

Xiao Fang understood and smiled. “What are you talking about? For trips like this, Commander Ji always uses me. He gives me money, tickets, and even time off. Other drivers envy me.”

Lin Qiao didn’t know this, but it fits Ji Duo’s meticulous personality. Thinking of Ji Duo, she couldn’t help but think of the note he gave her as if reminding her that someone had her back no matter what.

Lin Qiao’s expression quickly cooled. “We’re here. Let’s get out.”

There was no one at the Lin family home, and the gate was locked. Standing outside, Lin Qiao could only hear the sounds of poultry. In these times, every household was poor, and there wasn’t much worth stealing. The lock was just a reminder, as the walls weren’t high, and locking the gate wasn’t as effective as keeping a dog. Lin Qiao remembered and lifted a large stone at the entrance, finding the key underneath. She went inside and looked around, but there was no one. The small room where she used to live with her grandmother had been taken over by Lin Hui.

Lin Qiao remembered Lin Hui complaining several times that Lin Qiao had her own room while she had to share with her brother, Lin Wei, which was inconvenient. However, Lin Hui and Lin Wei were siblings, while Lin Qiao wasn’t related to Lin Wei. There was no way she could switch rooms with her. Besides, Lin Qiao had lived with her grandmother, and after her grandmother passed away, she was left alone. Every time Lin Hui complained, Lin Qiao felt silently sad for a while.

Lin Qiao left, locked the gate again, and returned the key under the stone.

With no one at the Lin family home, she had to ask the neighbors. She went to the Guo family next door and knocked. “Aunt Guo, are you home?”

Lin Qiao’s grandmother had bound feet and couldn’t walk easily, so from the age of twelve or thirteen, Lin Qiao had been selling the baskets and mats her grandmother made at the small market in town.

Guo Yan, who was a year older than Lin Qiao, was tough and smart. She often picked wild fruits from the mountains and sold them in tin buckets for a dime in town. The Guo family didn’t take her money, so she saved it to buy shoes, socks, or new hair ties. Because they often squatted at the market together, they became familiar, and even Aunt Guo was closer to Lin Qiao than to others.

The last time, Lin Qiao came back in a hurry and didn’t meet them, but they were the best choice for information. Unexpectedly, when Guo Yan’s mother answered and saw her, her face, which had a hint of a smile, instantly turned cold, and she slammed the gate shut.

In the summer heat, rural families usually kept their gates wide open if someone was home. The Guo family did too, but seeing Lin Qiao, they suddenly shut the gate, and Guo Yan’s mother’s expression was off. Lin Qiao couldn’t believe nothing had happened.

“I heard my cousin Dawei is missing, so I came back to help find him. Aunt Guo, if you’re busy, I’ll ask someone else.” She raised her voice, and the sound of the gate latch paused, but the gate didn’t reopen, nor did anyone respond.

It seemed something had indeed happened in the nearly three months she had been away. Otherwise, such a big matter wouldn’t make the Guo family so unkind, not even saying a word.

Xiao Fang, who was following not far behind, stopped, worried Lin Qiao might feel awkward.

Lin Qiao faced the closed door without changing her expression and quickly decided to ask another nearby household.

Zhao San’s wife passed by and noticed the jeep parked there. She couldn’t help but stop and look, as she had been too busy watching the commotion last time to notice the car. Seeing Lin Qiao, she exclaimed, “You’re finally back! Your uncle and aunt went to your mom’s place again to ask about Dawei.” She continued circling the car and Lin Qiao, asking, “Did Dawei really go to Yandu to find you?”

Lin Qiao greeted her, “Aunt Zhao,” and asked, “Did you say my uncle and aunt went to my mom’s place again?”

“Yes, Dawei has been missing for several days now. They’re worried and even took Lin Hui with them this time.”

“Thank you for telling me,” Lin Qiao said, calling Xiao Fang and getting back into the car.

As the jeep drove away, Zhao San’s wife muttered, “It doesn’t seem like Dawei went to find her. Could he really be missing?”

After a bumpy ride, they arrived at Liu Yulan’s new village, where a commotion was taking place outside her house.

Sun Xiuzhi was sitting on the ground at Liu’s doorstep, slapping her thigh and wailing, “You heartless woman! Just because he’s not your son, you don’t care? Our Dawei has never been far from home. If something happens to him on the road, I’ll die at your doorstep and make sure you suffer!”

She alternated between crying and cursing while Lin Shouyi stood nearby, saying, “Alright, big sister-in-law is also Dawei’s aunt. She wouldn’t let him go missing.” He was always concerned about his reputation and wouldn’t cause a scene in public, but his words put Liu Yulan in a difficult position.

If Liu Yulan didn’t respond, she would seem heartless, watching her nephew get into trouble.

Lin Hui chimed in, “Maybe she wants my brother to get into trouble so she can benefit from it.”

“Exactly! We raised him, and now that things are better, you want to take over? Why can’t we look for our son? Poor Dawei, you trusted the wrong person!”

Liu Yulan’s new family had many brothers, which was why they had trouble finding wives and ended up with her, a widow. The last time the Lin family came looking for the person, it wasn’t this chaotic. This time, they blocked the door, and several men were ready to act.

A group of villagers surrounded them, and Sun Xiuzhi panicked, shouting, “Who dares touch me? My niece’s husband is a high-ranking official in Yandu!”

This made a few people glance at Liu Yulan, and Sun Xiuzhi’s voice grew louder, “Ask anyone in Shahe Village; everyone knows my niece was picked up by a military vehicle. If you touch me, I’ll have my niece’s husband arrest you all!”

“You! You shameless woman!” Liu Yulan was so angry she could barely speak.

At that moment, someone outside the crowd exclaimed, “Oh my, there’s really a car coming!”

Everyone turned to look and saw a jeep approaching from the dirt road with a special license plate. Some whispered, some stared, and no one noticed the Lin family’s expressions freeze. The men from the Yang family, who were about to act, stopped, unsure if the jeep was there to support the Lin family.

The next moment, the jeep stopped, and a young woman in her early twenties, wearing a short-sleeved silk shirt and suit pants, got out. She wore a watch on her wrist and leather sandals on her feet, followed by a driver. She looked like she was from the city, but her pretty face was tense.

“Xiao Fang,” Lin Qiao said as soon as she got out of the car, pointing at Sun Xiuzhi. “Take her to the police station and tell them she trespassed and caused trouble.”

The Yang family was stunned, the onlookers were stunned, and Sun Xiuzhi was utterly shocked. No one expected that the person who arrived, driving a car, would actually want to arrest the one who claimed her niece’s husband was a high-ranking official in Yandu.

Seeing Xiao Fang really approaching, Sun Xiuzhi scrambled up from the ground faster than she had sat down. Lin Qiao’s words were meant to intimidate, and Xiao Fang didn’t actually move to arrest her. But just because they didn’t act didn’t mean the Yang family wouldn’t. Seeing that Lin Qiao wasn’t there to support the Lin Family, several men rushed forward and restrained both Sun Xiuzhi and Lin Shouyi. They had been holding back their anger for a long time, and when Sun Xiuzhi tried to shout again, they found a dirty rag and stuffed it into her mouth.

The rag, used for wiping mud off shoes, made Sun Xiuzhi’s face turn green, and she gagged several times.

Lin Qiao pretended not to see and went to hold Liu Yulan’s hand. “Mom, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Liu Yulan, being kind-hearted, immediately asked, “You really haven’t seen Dawei?”

“I came back for this,” Lin Qiao said. “I never gave him my address when I left.”

“You didn’t give Dawei your address?” Lin Shouyi’s face finally changed.

Lin Hui was also incredulous. “He helped you leave, and you didn’t give him your address?”

“If I wrote him a letter, would it reach him or you?” Lin Qiao’s question silenced them all, especially Sun Xiuzhi, who was still struggling. Her face turned pale, and she went limp.

Seeing she was about to faint, the Yang family men quickly let her go.

Sun Xiuzhi fell to the ground, immediately removed the rag, and asked Lin Qiao again, “You really didn’t give Dawei your address?”

“Never,” Lin Qiao replied firmly. “I came back this time to find him.”

“It’s over, it’s over… It’s been four days. If something happened to Dawei…” Sun Xiuzhi muttered, finally remembering to cry.

Lin Shouyi’s face turned blue, and he slapped Lin Hui. “Didn’t you say your brother was close to Lin Qiao and would definitely go to Yandu to find her?”

Lin Hui’s face swelled up immediately. “I was just trying to help you come up with ideas! It’s not my fault he left.”

At this point, still trying to shirk responsibility, Lin Qiao thought if she were Lin Wei, she wouldn’t want to stay with this family either. She didn’t want to waste time watching them. She interrupted, “Can you tell me why Dawei left now?”

Lin Hui looked angry but clearly didn’t know much. Lin Shouyi’s expression froze, and he glared at Sun Xiuzhi. “It’s all your fault!”

“Is it useful to say this now?” Sun Xiuzhi, more straightforward than her husband, wiped her tears. “A few days ago, Dawei was seeing someone, and we caught them in the cornfield. We didn’t approve and in a fit of anger…”

“You hit Dawei?” Liu Yulan thought it wasn’t worth hitting a child over this.

Sun Xiuzhi’s expression stiffened. “No, I slapped his girlfriend twice.”

Liu Yulan: …

Lin Qiao: …

The onlookers: …

Her son had a girlfriend, which wasn’t a shameful thing, yet she hit the girl without a word.

Sun Xiuzhi felt a bit embarrassed saying it out loud. “I was angry because she was seducing your brother. And it wasn’t really two slaps; Dawei blocked the second one. Who knew that ungrateful boy would fight with us and hasn’t come back for days.”

Seeing her start to cry again, Lin Qiao didn’t want to say anything more. “Was Dawei’s girlfriend Yan Zi?”

“How did you know?” Even Lin Hui didn’t know. “Did Dawei tell you before, and you didn’t tell our parents on purpose?”

Before the incident, Lin Qiao didn’t know about this. Maybe she was too young and didn’t notice.

Lin Qiao didn’t even look at her. “I went to ask Aunt Guo about it, but she ignored me.”

“That Li Baodi, it was just two slaps!” Sun Xiuzhi cursed, then became flustered. “What do we do now?”

Just two slaps? If Lin Qiao were Guo Yan’s mother, giving them a cold shoulder would be mild. She would have already caused a scene at the Lin family, at least to get those two slaps back. This incident probably led to Lin Wei’s disappearance, and the Guo family didn’t have time to react, knowing they couldn’t get any explanation now.

Lin Qiao looked at Lin Shouyi. “Report it to the police. This isn’t a small matter.”

No one expected that Lin Wei hadn’t gone to find Lin Qiao and was truly missing. Their daily commotion at Liu Yulan’s place yielded no results and wasted precious time.

Lin Shouyi stiffly nodded. To save time, Lin Qiao opened the car door. “Get in. I’ll take you to the police station.”

Liu Yulan’s new husband was a simple, hardworking farmer. Though initially reluctant to marry Liu Yulan, who was older and had been married before, he grew to appreciate her kind nature, especially after she bore him three children.

Seeing Lin Qiao about to leave, Liu Yulan’s husband reassured her, “If you’re worried, go with them.”

Liu Yulan looked at Lin Qiao, who nodded. “Mom, you come too.”

Lin Hui protested, seeing Lin Shouyi and Sun Xiuzhi already in the car. “If she goes, what about me?”

The jeep had enough space to fit four people in the back, but Liu Yulan hesitated. Lin Qiao firmly pushed her mother into the car. “You can go back the way you came this morning.”

Lin Qiao closed the car door and got into the passenger seat, leaving the furious Lin Hui behind.

Lin Shouyi and Sun Xiuzhi, worried about their son, didn’t pay her any mind. They went straight to the police station in town to report the case.

Upon hearing that the person had been missing for three or four days, the police officer frowned. “You can report a missing person after 24 hours. Why did you wait so long? The crucial 72 hours for finding someone have already passed.”

Sun Xiuzhi, already pale, nearly collapsed again. “Can we still find him?”

“Let’s try,” the officer said, calling another officer. The two of them got on a three-wheeled motorcycle with a sidecar that could seat three people and headed to Shahe Village to investigate.