Pei Manning lowered her eyes and said slowly: "In fact, from childhood to adulthood, I have only seen my parents."
"They brought Dong Xizang into the Daqing Mountains more than ten years ago and took me down there. My mother said there were many bad people down there who would capture me, so she told me not to go down the mountain."
"Later, my father was bitten to death by a poisonous snake in the mountains. My mother was very sad and died soon after. She was worried about me being alone, so she told me to go to Yangzhou to find my uncle and told me to be careful and not to reveal my life story to strangers."
"I didn't know how to get to Yangzhou, so after I got down the mountain, I asked a nearby villager. The man saw that I was alone, dressed strangely, and spoke with a strange accent. He thought I was from another place and wanted to trick me back to be his wife."
"I felt something was wrong, so I hit him with a stone and ran away."
"After that, I dressed myself up a bit ugly, asked for directions, and headed south. Fortunately, my mother left me a lot of gold and silver jewelry, which I usually used to secretly exchange for food from villagers."
"That night, I was trading things and someone wanted to steal my things because of their wealth. I ran away, but it was too dark and I couldn't see the road clearly, so I slipped into a puddle and was rescued by you."
"Those people, I've seen so many people with ulterior motives. I get scared when I see strangers. Your accents are different. I don't know if you are good people or if you will trick me into marrying you. So, I don't dare to speak and let you find out that I am from another place."
"You all know the rest."
After she finished speaking, Jiang Ye looked at her stupidly and didn't say anything for a while, "..."
No, Comrade Pei, although I really want to believe you, it's really hard to believe what you say!
Han Jingchen raised his eyebrows, which looked a bit rebellious: "Do you think I will believe it?"
Pei Manning looked calm: "You can go investigate and see if what I said is true. Once you find the person who stole my jewelry, you will know whether I lied or not."
After she finished speaking, Han Jingchen sneered: "You are just making it up. Won't we never find this person?"
Pei Manning calmed down and said, "The great leader said that without investigation, there is no right to speak. You haven't investigated yet, so you can't conclude that I am making up stories."
Han Jingchen: “…”Sharp tongue!
He frowned and stared at her for a while, but Pei Manning's expression remained unchanged as she looked at him calmly.
놛 asked again, "If that's the case, why didn't you report it to the An County Public Security Bureau?"
“My mother never taught me.”
"..." Han Jingchen was choked.
Jiang Ye had recovered from his shock and asked, "Comrade Pei, where exactly is Daqing Mountain?"
Pei Manning frowned and thought hard for a while: "Daqing Mountain is Daqing Mountain. My mother has always called it that. I never said the name of that place."
Jiang Ye scratched his head, if we search like this, we can probably find countless places called "Daqingshan", right?
"So what do you usually eat and drink?"
"My father knows how to farm, my mother knows how to make clothes, cook, and she taught me to write on the ground with tree branches. Every once in a while, my father would leave Daqingshan and bring back some things from outside."
Jiang Ye always felt that something was wrong about this matter, but it seemed to make sense. For example, when she first saw Pei Manning, she was wearing an old dress. Also, Pei Manning's handwriting was ugly with a pen, and it was all traditional Chinese characters. For another example, Pei Manning had no money on her, but she had jewelry hidden.
But why does this experience sound a bit like a story?
Jiang Ye couldn't say for sure that such a thing was completely impossible.
After all, during the Republic of China, someone discovered a small mountain village. This village was blocked by towering mountains. The people inside lived a secluded life. They had long been under the banner of anti-Qing and restoration of Ming, and they didn't know that it was already the Republic of China.
This matter was once reported in newspapers.
However, when this kind of thing happens to you, your first reaction is that you can't believe it!
Just as Comrade Pei said, more than ten years ago, it seemed like a bit of chaos. At that time, all walks of life were undergoing reform. At that time, the bandits had not been completely wiped out. At that time, many people left this land by boat, and some fled to Hong Kong.
"Then why did your parents hide in the mountains?"
Pei Manning shook her head: "I don't know. Whenever I ask my mom, she starts crying. I overheard a conversation between my parents once, and it seems my dad must have offended someone."
Jiang Ying shook his head: "Did your mother tell you about your uncle? Besides knowing that he is in Yangzhou, what is his name?"
"His name is Ning Zhen. My mother said that my grandparents have passed away. If my uncle Ning Zhen is still alive, he should be 42 years old. My mother showed me a photo of my uncle when he was young, but that photo fell into the water and has been damaged. This is a small portrait I drew according to my memory."
Pei Manning took a piece of paper with a portrait drawn on it in pencil.
Although the painting was a little messy and immature, perhaps she was really talented. After practicing with a pencil for a while, the person in the painting really had some charm. It was a young man who looked to be in his twenties, with handsome features, especially the eyes, which looked a bit like Pei Manning.
This painting was really a portrait of her uncle when he was young. She had seen it in his study.
Han Jingchen looked at Jiang Ye.
Before they could ask again, Pei Manning took out two more pieces of paper and said, "This one is for the person who wanted to trick me into marrying you, and this one is for the person who wanted to steal my jewelry."
The two figures on the front are the faces of the two people who caused her to fall into the river.
Han Jingchen took the painting, lowered his eyes to look at it for a while, and then looked at her: "Have you ever learned to paint?"
This composition shows that the artist has some basic drawing skills. Although he is not very good at using pencils, it is just that he is not proficient.
Pei Manning nodded: "My mother taught me to paint with a brush, and my father would bring me some paper and brushes when he went down the mountain."
"Where did you meet these two people?"
Pei Manning shook her head, "I don't remember the way."
Han Jingchen narrowed his deep and narrow eyes, and his gaze was like a sharp sword. Pei Manning gritted her teeth and met his gaze. "Now the painting has been given to you. When you find this person, you will know whether what I said is true or not."
Han Jingchen was doubting whether the person in the painting existed or not.
But as Pei Manning said, without investigation, we cannot conclude that it does not exist.
Han Jingchen put away the portrait and said, "Okay, your name is Ning Zhen, right? I'll find someone for you first."
Pei Manning looked at her in surprise. She originally thought that she would not believe it at all. She did not need them to believe it. She just wanted them to be unable to prove that what she said was false in a short period of time.
"What should I do before I find the person?" Pei Manning asked.
Han Jingchen looked at her for a while, then frowned, and finally decided to keep her under his nose.
"I'll help you find a place to live first."