Zhang Guodong quickly nodded in affirmation: "That's what I mean. It's such a shame to miss out on such a good policy."
Lu Jinghuai's expression softened slightly, "Sorry to bother you, Brother Zhang."
The group followed Zhang Guodong to his home, which was also a large tiled house.
There was a woman washing clothes in the yard. When she saw Zhang Guodong and a group of people coming in, there was obvious panic in her eyes.
Zhang Guodong's expression didn't change much as he introduced himself to Lu Jinghuai.
"This is my wife. She doesn't see many people and is timid. Please don't be surprised."
After saying that, Zhang Guodong turned around and glared at the woman: "Didn't you see the distinguished guest is here? Go make some tea."
The woman shuddered and hurried into the kitchen.
Lin Yan frowned. The way the couple got along was so weird. It seemed like the woman was always afraid of Zhang Guodong.
This also caused Lin Yan to think of the two words "domestic violence" first, but Lin Yan said nothing.
Zhang Guodong turned around and continued talking to Lu Jinghuai: "My second uncle is very old-fashioned and unwilling to take a step forward. Don't worry, wait here at my house first. I will go talk to him later and persuade him. He will definitely agree."
Lu Jinghuai nodded and said politely, "That's troublesome."
The woman brought the tea tremblingly. Lin Yan took the tea and thanked her politely.
The tea was made from the most common tea leaves. Boiling water was impossible to drink in the summer, so Lin Yan put it aside.
Lu Jinghuai also put down his teacup, and the two teacups happened to collide with each other.
Zhang Guodong looked at Lin Yan and suddenly asked, "Are you colleagues or..."
Lin Yan pursed her lips uncomfortably and answered honestly, half-truthfully, "My boss is also my husband. We are here on a business trip together."
Zhang Guodong laughed out loud: "It just so happens that the couple are on a business trip together."
Lu Jinghuai smiled and didn't respond, so Zhang Guodong spoke again.
"Don't worry, our place is remote but the air is good and the living is comfortable. Tonight, I'll ask my wife to make something delicious to treat you."
The meal that Zhang Guodong asked the woman to prepare was indeed sumptuous. After the meal, Zhang Guodong looked a little embarrassed as he remembered something.
"We only have one empty room, so there's no room for so many people. How about you two ladies stay at my house, and I'll arrange for the others to live next door."
"Isn't that too much of a bother?" Lu Jinghuai's eyes flickered. "Or maybe we can go back tonight and come back tomorrow."
Zhang Guodong quickly stopped him, saying, "Our mountain roads are very difficult to walk on. It would be very troublesome for you to go up and down. We've been neighbors for many years. I can just go and tell them. We are very hospitable here."
[Hospitable? I really didn't see that.]
Lu Jinghuai frowned, as if thinking for a moment: "How about I live in the same room with my wife? She's not used to living with other people."
Zhang Guodong's eyes swept across Lin Yan and Song Jingya's faces, and he seemed to understand something and nodded with a smile.
"That's fine. I'll ask my wife to make the bed for you and take these brothers to visit the next door."
Lu Jinghuai nodded: "Troublesome"
After Zhang Guodong left, the woman in the living room became noticeably more relaxed. She went into the east room, seemingly intending to make the bed for them.
Lin Yan followed him in without hesitation. Lu Jinghuai paused for a moment and sat down in the living room.
Lin Yan followed the woman into the room, and she was indeed making the bed.
Lin Yan first greeted the woman with a smile: "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry to bother you tonight. I may have to disturb you all night."
The woman just looked at her, smiled at her, but said nothing.
Lin Yan paused but didn't pay attention. She asked a few questions casually, "Sister-in-law, how old are you this year? Do you have children? You look really young."
The woman also made the bed and pointed two numbers at Lin Yan with her fingers: two and zero.
Lin Yan was stunned for a moment before she realized that the woman in front of her seemed to be unable to speak and was a mute. She quickly smiled apologetically.
"No wonder sister-in-law looks so young, she's actually younger than me. I call you sister-in-law but you sound old."
Lin Yan smiled as the woman continued to make the bed. Lin Yan hurried over to help and started chatting as if she was going to chat with her.
"Are you from this village too? How many people are there in your village? We're working on poverty alleviation and would like to learn about the situation in the village."
The woman's expression froze for a moment, with complex emotions flashing in her eyes. She lowered her eyes, tugged at the quilt, and shook her head.
"Wasn't my sister-in-law from this village before? Was she from the next village? This place is quite remote."
Lin Yan continued to ask.
The woman still shook her head. Lin Yan was about to ask something, but the woman had already stood up, gestured to leave, and hurriedly left the room and went into the kitchen.
They must be cleaning, Lin Yan heard the sound of water coming from the kitchen.
Lu Jinghuai also entered the room and looked at Lin Yan: "What's going on?"
Lu Jinghuai seemed certain that Lin Yan was helping him to gather information. Lin Yan was not in the mood to care about the details. She frowned and looked at Lu Jinghuai.
"She's only twenty." At an age when she should be in college, she's already married.
Lu Jinghuai also frowned. They both knew that this age was referring to the woman just now.
Lin Yan originally thought that the woman was at least 27 or 28 years old, as she looked quite haggard. In addition, Zhang Guodong was at least in his 40s.
The woman was only twenty, younger than her, but the panic and fear in her eyes...
Lin Yan took a deep breath and continued to speak in a low voice.
"And she has a speech impediment. She's not from this village."
Lin Yan did not hide anything and told Lu Jinghuai all the information she had found out.
"Is there something wrong with them?" Lin Yan turned her head to look at Lu Jinghuai beside her.
This time, "they" refers to the villagers of Xiaoliang Village.
Lu Jinghuai said, "Hmm," and said, "I've sent out the location. Someone should be here tomorrow."
Before Lu Jinghuai came here, he had predicted that when the investigation into Lu Yingqian's whereabouts was cut off in S City, he had originally suspected it was Daliang Village, but when he inspected Daliang Village yesterday, everything was normal.
Until today when he came to Xiaoliang Village, he was basically certain that human trafficking might be going on in the village and that all the villagers in Xiaoliang Village were involved because of the abnormal conditions in the village.
Zhang Guodong came back not long after. Lu Jinghuai greeted him and went back to his room on the pretext of being tired.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
