Early in the morning, Pei Manning went to Xinhua Bookstore.

The bookstore was still the same as before, with people everywhere buried in books, some standing, some sitting, some leaning against the wall, each one of them was intoxicated, as if immersed in a sea of ​​books.

Under the bookshelf against the wall, there was a group of children of different ages, lying on the ground, obsessively reading comic books and books.

"Comrade Pei, are you here to read again today?" Not long after entering the room, Yuan Weicheng, who was writing, looked up and found her.

Comrade Pei changed into a gray-blue outfit. Although it was a very ordinary outfit, he always caught my attention at a glance. His black hair was braided into two braids hanging in front of his chest, and the broken hair brushed across his jade-like cheeks. He had bright eyes, white teeth, snow-white skin, and a rosy complexion.

Her rosy lips are like juicy cherries, her moist eyes are sparkling with light, she is charming and beautiful like a bewitching enchantress.

Standing among the gray crowd, I am like the bright moon in the night sky and the pearl in the sand.

Yuan Weicheng took a few steps, not daring to look her in the eye, and looked away in embarrassment.

Ever since Comrade Pei came to the bookstore to read, the bookstore has been crowded almost every day. It's a pity that Comrade Pei only comes to the bookstore occasionally and has never inquired about her background.

Pei Manning turned her head to look at Yuan Weicheng and nodded.

"What kind of book do you want to read today? Something about law? I'll go find it for you." Yuan Weicheng put down the pen in his cupboard, opened the partition, and walked out from behind the cabinet.

Pei Manning felt a little embarrassed for his enthusiasm, and was afraid of wasting his time, so she quickly wrote on the notebook: "No, Comrade Yuan, you can find it yourself, go ahead and do your work."

"It's okay. I'm not very busy. What do you want to see?"

Yuan Weicheng thought she wanted to read some books about law, so he walked straight towards the stairs. After a few steps, he realized that Pei Manning had not followed him.

He turned around to look at her, and saw her standing there coquettishly, shaking her head and lowering her head to write, "I want to see if there is any copybook for practicing calligraphy."

Pei Manning could only write with a brush, not with a fountain pen. She was not used to the correct pen-holding posture, and her handwriting was always crooked. She wanted to practice writing more neatly.

By the way, she also wanted to familiarize herself with the simplified Chinese characters here, killing two birds with one stone.

"Ah? Calligraphy?" Why did Pei's hobby jump so much? Yuan Weicheng shook his head, "Yes, there are a lot of them here, take a look to see if there is anything you like."

He took Pei Manning to a bookshelf in the corner.

It is filled with various kinds of calligraphy copies for pens and brushes.

Pei Manning flipped through the books and selected two books with elegant and vigorous handwriting. Then he wrote something and asked Yuan Weicheng, "How much do these two books cost?"

The copybook was relatively thin. Yuan Weicheng took it and looked at it. "Each copy is 40 cents, a total of 80 cents."

Pei Manning heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was not too expensive. In the Zhou Dynasty, writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone were all very expensive. She had been worried that she did not have enough money.

While Yuan Weicheng was writing the receipt, she wrote in the notebook, "Comrade Yuan, do you know what the Yangzhou City in the Tang Dynasty is called now?"

Yuan Weicheng paused with his pen and looked up in surprise, as if he was surprised that she didn't know. "It's still called Yangzhou, that place is quite famous."

It turns out that after nine hundred years, the name of Yangzhou has not changed?

Pei Manning asked again, "If we go from An County, how long will it take?"

Yuan Weicheng thought about it seriously, "I haven't been there either, but it should take about eight hours by car, right?" At this point, he suddenly paused, "Comrade Pei, you... do you want to go to Yangzhou?"

Pei Manning shook his head and wrote: "No, I saw Yangzhou mentioned in Tang poetry, so I was a little curious about this place."

After paying the money and buying the calligraphy copybook, she went to the second floor and continued to look through the imperial laws and regulations regarding household registration during this period.

However, the words in the book were too obscure for her to understand. Pei Manning was very anxious, but there was no point in being anxious. She had no one she could trust here, and she didn't dare to ask anyone about this.

Pei Manning could only slowly read the book while thinking of a solution.

…

"Brother Chen, are you going to finish eating so soon?" Jiang Ye got a meal from the second canteen and sat down beside him with the meal in his hand. "Today we have braised pig's trotters with soybeans. Mmm, delicious!"

The soft pig's trotters are stewed until tender, salty, fresh, delicious and fatty without being greasy. Just a light bite and it melts in your mouth, with the thick juice and meaty aroma instantly filling your tongue.

Jiang Ye ate until tears welled up in his eyes. Recently, during outdoor training, he was thrown into the mountain forest with only a bottle of water and a biscuit to survive for a few days. He started eating tree buds and insects.

Han Jingchen quickly finished his lunch and stood up to clean up the dishes. He also had to write a report during his lunch break.

"Okay, we have to go to the station in the afternoon. After you finish eating, go and ask Wu Ze if the car he repaired last time has been repaired." As he said this, he took the plate and went there to wash the faucet.

"Oh, okay, wait a minute, Brother Chen," Jiang Ye hurriedly called him, "I still have something to tell you!"

Han Jingchen ignored him and walked straight to the faucet.

He was washing dishes with water boiled there, his sleeves half rolled up, revealing a strong and slender arm: "If you have something to say, please tell me quickly, we are in a hurry."

Jiang Ye didn't even eat his meal and followed behind: "Brother Chen, we've been gone for so long, shouldn't we ask Wei Guo how Comrade Pei is doing?"

They say to save people to the end, to send them to the west, so they must know what happens next, right?

Han Jingchen paused while washing dishes, his face stern, and glanced at him with dark and narrow eyes, "Comrade Jiang Ye, you seem to be more concerned about Comrade Pei than usual?"

"Is there?" Jiang Ye asked.

"Her identity is still in doubt. You better stay alert and don't fall for the enemy's sugar-coated bullets."

"Comrade Pei, why are you sugarcoating your words?"

Han Jing glanced at him and said coldly, "Beauty counts, too."

“…”

When Han Jingchen washed the dishes and was about to leave, Jiang Ye hurriedly called him back.

"Brother Chen, are you really not going to call Weiguo to ask about the situation?" Jiang Ye asked.

Han Jingchen thought about what he had told Liao Weiguo and did not object.

It was late at night, in another pond in the wilderness, and the woman suddenly appeared under the water. There was no movement near the pond before her.

If it weren't for the fact that feudal superstitions were being eradicated now, and he was a staunch materialist, he would have been unable to help but think of her as a demon or ghost.

The Public Security Bureau was equipped with a telephone, and when the two of them called, Liao Weiguo had just finished his lunch and was sitting at his desk, drinking tea from an enamel pot while looking through files.

"Brother Chen, have you finished your training?" Liao Weiguo was stunned for a moment when he suddenly received the call.

He called before and wanted to tell Han Jingchen about Comrade Pei, but they said Han Jingchen was still in training, so the matter had to be dropped. Unexpectedly, Han Jingchen called back again.

He put down the teacup and gave a general account of the situation.

"You left by yourself?" Han Jing frowned.

Liao Weiguo nodded. "Maybe he went home on his own, or maybe he went to live with his relatives."

After all, the grain and oil relationship now ties people tightly. Without a household registration booklet and a grain and oil supply certificate, you cannot get grain coupons, meat coupons, and non-staple food coupons, and you cannot buy anything even if you have money in your pocket.

Moreover, local food coupons can only be used locally and have a time limit, so they cannot be used in other places.

He thought that if she was really a woman who had escaped from marriage, when she was at her wit's end, she would either go back or seek help from relatives and friends, but he did not receive any help, which meant that she went or asked for help from others.

Although Liao Weiguo wanted to help, he couldn't force

Why don't you tell your family what happened and then rush over to help?

"Are you sure you didn't do anything suspicious?" Han Jingchen asked again.

"She didn't come to see me, so she probably didn't encounter any difficulties. As for any suspicious behavior, I didn't notice anything." He didn't see her at all, so of course he couldn't find anything suspicious.

Liao Weiguo was a little confused. Why was Brother Shen so suspicious of Comrade Pei? There were so many people who left their hometowns for various reasons. How could they be suspicious of everyone?

When he took a quick look that day, he found that Comrade Pei had clear eyes and a gentle temperament, and did not seem like a bad person.

Liao Wei has a lot of international knowledge and is very confident in his own vision!

Han Jing frowned.

Although he had a feeling that there was something wrong with the woman, he had no solid evidence, nor had he found any tendency or behavior that would endanger him. He couldn't go on a grand search for her just because of a little suspicion.

"Forget it, let's just leave it at that." They were just a chance acquaintance, and as long as Pei Manning didn't cause trouble, he wouldn't hold her against him.

"By the way, Brother Chen, there is one more thing," Liao Weiguo pointed at the files on the table, "There is already some clues about Yuan Weicheng, who you asked us to investigate, but we haven't found out the person behind him yet, so we decided to hold off for the time being."

Yuan Weicheng?

Han Jingchen narrowed his eyes and said, "This Meihua has been lurking for so long and has always been very cautious. You should be careful and don't make any moves to scare her."

Liao Weiguo: "Don't worry, I will definitely be worried."

After hanging up the phone, he thought for a while, changed into a Zhongshan suit, put on a pair of gentle glasses, picked up the official document, and said, "Li, let's go to Xinhua Bookstore first. Pay attention when you are on duty."

"Okay, Captain Liao, I'll pay attention."