Chapter 38
The missing person is named Wang Xianghong. She came here from another place and married Cao Liang from Tiandong Brigade three years ago.
According to local customs, the second day of the Chinese New Year should bring her back to her parents' home, but the Wang family waited and waited but didn't see anyone come back, so they couldn't help but feel suspicious.
However, considering the distance between the two sides, maybe something delayed him, so although I was puzzled, I didn't take it too seriously.
But by the fifth day of the New Year, Wang Xianghong still hadn't returned home, and the Wang family couldn't sit still any longer.
The Wang family is different from some families that favor boys over girls. They treat their daughters the same as their sons and spoil them from a young age.
Therefore, there is no such thing as a married daughter being like water spilled out, as the elders and brothers and sisters in the family will all miss her.
During every festival, Wang Xianghong would be allowed to go home for a visit, and after Wang Xianghong got married, her room was reserved for her.
But on such an important day as Chinese New Year, Wang Xianghong did not go home. This was very abnormal.
The person who reported the case was Wang Xianghong's second brother, Wang Xiangzhi. He was the more knowledgeable one in the family, so the Wang family sent him to the commune to report the case.
Wang Xiangzhi said: "Originally, my family didn't agree with this marriage. We all wanted my third sister to marry someone closer so that we could take care of her. But I don't know what kind of magic potion she took, she insisted on marrying far away to her current brother-in-law."
There was another commune between the Red Flag Commune where the Wang family lived and the Red Star Commune where Cao Liang lived, and the brigade where Cao Liang lived was very remote. If the two families wanted to move around, it would take a whole day, including walking on mountain roads and taking a car.
You have to set out before dawn and arrive at your destination after dark.
For the Wang family, this was marrying far away.
They would rather Wang Xianghong marry to a place where she can go back and forth the same day, instead of having to meet her now where it is so difficult.
Moreover, the Wang family's situation was not bad. The brigade where the Wang family lived had its own factory, and every household in the brigade had someone working there.
Therefore, in addition to the income from the land, their family also has extra income, and their life is richer than that of ordinary farmers.
In contrast, the Cao family was not so good. The brigade where Cao Liang was located was in a mountain valley, a typical remote and poor area.
How could the Wang family be satisfied with such a marriage? Marrying someone from the same village is not much better than marrying someone from outside the village.
Even if you don't marry into your own brigade, marrying into a nearby brigade is also good.
But Wang Xianghong fell in love with Cao Liang and insisted on marrying him.
"At first, my third sister made a scene at home because of this. My parents even locked her up, but they finally compromised," Wang Xiangzhi said with a wry smile.
He added, "Although my family didn't agree at first, we had no choice but to accept it since I was already married. The only requirement is that the Cao family must let my third sister go home during festivals."
It was precisely because of this that the Wang family began to worry when they saw Wang Xianghong take so long to return home, so they sent Wang Xiangzhi to the Red Star Commune to find the Cao family and ask what was going on.
Although the rules have been changed and women have the right to move freely, some families do not treat their daughters-in-law as human beings and do not like their daughters-in-law to have close contact with their parents' family, and restrict their actions.
As a result, when Wang Xiangzhi went to the Red Star Brigade, his brother-in-law Cao Liang actually said that Wang Xianghong had returned to her parents' home on the second day of the Chinese New Year. He was wondering why she had not returned for so long and wanted to ask the Wang family for her.
When Wang Xiangzhi heard this, his heart skipped a beat, fearing that something had happened to his sister.
But when he asked around in the village, everyone said that they didn't see Wang Xianghong returning to her parents' home on the second day of the Chinese New Year. He went to the train station to ask, but they also said they had never seen this person.
Wang Xiangzhi suddenly felt something was wrong, so he went back to find Cao Liang and beat him up. Cao Liang then said that Wang Xianghong had run away with someone, and he felt ashamed so he lied.
Song Weiguo said: "Wang Xiangzhi said that his sister would never do such a thing, and that she was completely devoted to Cao Liang and had insisted on marrying him. How could she suddenly have a lover and run away with him without even returning home? He thought there must be something wrong, so he came to report it to the police."
"But Cao Liang said that Wang Xianghong was devoted to him when she first married him, but later she became dissatisfied with his poverty and began to have affairs with him. He also suspected that the Wang family was the first to complain, that his family had always looked down on him and wanted to break them up, and that Wang Xianghong's escape was probably related to the Wang family."
Although you need a letter of introduction to go out these days, otherwise it would be inconvenient to go anywhere, but if you are really determined, you can get away with it.
No matter what the specific situation is, we have to find the person first.
"Wang Xianghong is missing now. Someone said that she seemed to have been seen walking into the woods early in the morning on the second day of the Chinese New Year. We looked around but couldn't find her, so we thought of asking you to come and try."
After listening to the whole story, Wang Heizi said, "I remember there was an old lady in the next brigade who also ran away with someone. There was also one in our brigade a long time ago. Why are there so many women who like to run away with others?"
Zhai Hongyi: "It would be better if he ran away with someone."
Wang Heizi was puzzled: "How can this be okay? It's really unkind to cuckold a man!"
Zhai Hongyi glanced at him without saying anything, and Wang Heizi looked puzzled.
"Brother Yi, aren't you angry about being cuckolded? Ouch——"
Zhai Hongyi slashed directly at Wang Heizi's head. Wang Heizi was caught off guard and staggered a few steps.
Song Weiguo did not come to a conclusion at this time. The reason he said this was to give Tang Qingqing more information so that she could follow up more easily.
The brigade Cao Liang was in was quite remote, so it would be hard to meet anyone on the road if he really wanted to run away.
Their group walked westward, crossed several hills, and came to a small train platform.
Some trains stop there, and if you really want to run, you can take a train south.
Song Weiguo went to Tiandong Brigade to investigate before, but did not find any clues.
When interrogated, Cao Liang insisted that his wife had run away.
Now that neither the person nor the body has been found, and there is no breakthrough from Cao Liang's side, this missing case remains unsolved.
Due to technological limitations in recent years, missing persons and abduction cases have been extremely difficult to investigate. Although the police have been busy day and night, the number of people they have been able to recover is still very limited.
Moreover, many men whose wives run away with other men will not choose to report the case.
What's the point of reporting the case and getting the money back? He's already been cuckolded, how can we still hope for reconciliation?
As for the in-laws, they felt it was unreasonable and shameful that their daughter ran away, so they don't like to mention it.
There are also people who care about their daughters, such as the Wang family.
But if she married someone nearby, it would be fine. But if she married someone far away, by the time they knew the news, it would be too late and there would be no clues left, and they would only be able to register her as missing.
In this situation, it is difficult to find the person unless the escapee contacts his or her family.
Unless the person has committed a crime and is arrested, it is possible that he can be found and his relatives notified.
Tang Qingqing understood the situation and without saying anything, she proposed to go to the Tiandong Brigade to check the situation.
"Don't worry, go to the cafeteria and have a meal first. Tiandong Brigade is farther away than your Rongshan Brigade. You can hurry on after you have eaten your fill."
Although Tang Qingqing was anxious, she also knew that sharpening the knife is the best way to chop wood.
She was indeed hungry now. For the sake of her own health, she had to eat first no matter how busy she was.
Zhai Hongyi thought for a moment and said, "Can we check it ourselves?"
Song Weiguo was stunned: "You guys go by yourselves?"
"Yes, you have been to the Tiandong Brigade before, and you have checked everything you should have checked, but you didn't find anything, right?"
Song Weiguo didn't get angry when he was called useless and admitted it.
"Since you investigated as a public security officer and found nothing, I think we can investigate as ordinary people and perhaps get more clues."
Song Weiguo raised his eyebrows, "You are such a cunning guy."
Zhai Hongyi's eyes were burning. "There's nothing to lose if the three of us go and explore the way first. If we don't make progress, you can come over."
"Just the three of you, can you really do it?"
"You'll know if it works or not after you give it a try."
Song Weiguo hesitated, thought for a while and said:
"I have to report this to my superiors. If they approve it, you will be allowed to investigate on your own."
"Is Wang Xiangzhi still here?"
"Yes, he is staying in a guesthouse now. He said he will not go back until he finds his sister."
At first, Wang Xiangzhi was not the only one who came from the Wang family, but the expenses here were too high, so they asked him to stay here and the others went back first and could come back if there was anything.
"We want to talk to him about the situation. Can we have him come over?"
Song Weiguo agreed.
Song Weiguo came back after a while and brought back news that his superiors agreed to their request to investigate first, but only asked that Tang Qingqing must be protected.
"She is now our treasure, so you have to keep an eye on her. If anything happens to her, don't force yourself, wait for us to send someone over."
Wang Heizi felt that he had received a mission from his superiors, and he puffed out his chest and said, "I promise to complete the mission!"
Song Weiguo looked at Zhai Hongyi, and Zhai Hongyi assured him, "Even if I have problems, I won't let her have any."
Wang Xiangzhi got the news and quickly came over from the guesthouse, looking very busy.
"Is there any news about my third sister?"
Song Weiguo said: "Don't worry, we have already found a tracking expert, and now we need to ask you some questions."
Wang Xiangzhi was very disappointed, but he managed to cheer himself up and asked, "Where is the expert?"
Song Weiguo nodded his chin towards Qingqing and said, "This is her."
Wang Xiangzhi was a little angry. If this wasn't the Public Security Bureau, he would have started cursing.
They are playing a joke on him. What kind of expert is this? She is obviously just a little girl. How can the Public Security Bureau fool people like this!