When the team leader and the village chief knew that the child was gone, they asked their wives to go there. Then they heard that the child had disappeared. This time they could not sit still and hurried to Li's house.
After understanding what happened, several people looked serious. Among the onlookers, someone couldn't help but interject, "Is there really something dirty?"
Someone next to her hit her and said, "You're going to die! How dare you say that?"
"How could there be any ghosts in broad daylight? It must be someone who has a problem with Old Li Jia and took the child away." Someone guessed with a sneer.
"Who is so heartless? Can they just do this?"
No matter how big the conflict is, the other person has lost his child and still does such a thing. He is not afraid of having nightmares in the middle of the night.
Old man Li stood up, his eyes red. "Captain, we're not going to let this matter go peacefully. We're going to report it to the police."
Mrs. Li's face was haggard, and her voice was hoarse as she said, "No matter who they are, if the police find them, our family will never reconcile with them."
Mrs. Li is one of the best matchmakers in several brigades, but she really thinks she is easy to bully. Not to mention other things, even when it comes to marriage, she can unite with the matchmakers she knows to block them.
The captain disagreed, "Old Li, you can't just report to the police. Let's look for them first, and then we'll talk if we can't find them."
Now that the grain has just been handed in, it is the critical period for evaluating outstanding brigades. If this matter gets out, their brigade will most likely fail the exam again.
The village chief is responsible for more miscellaneous matters in the brigade, and communicates with the brigade more than the brigade leader. He thinks differently from the brigade leader, and he makes judgments based on the needs of the people in the village.
"Captain, I think we should take charge of this case. We can't let this go easily. If we open a loophole, others will follow suit and steal other people's children when they encounter a conflict. Then..."
The onlookers, who had originally been indifferent to the matter, thought about it after hearing the village chief's words and felt that they made a lot of sense. "Yes, Captain, our own family members are prone to quarreling, let alone neighbors. This matter must not be allowed to go on."
"That's right. I have a bad temper and have offended many people. What will I do if my grandchildren are lost too?"
The scene suddenly became chaotic and noisy as everyone started talking back and forth. The captain shouted, "Alright, just report it to the police. Lao Li, I'm worried about you going like this. So, let my eldest brother run the trip for you."
Old man Li refused, "Thank you for your kindness, Captain. I plan to let my son go in person. He is his son, and as his father, he should do this for him."
After borrowing a bicycle from the team leader, Li Jianan, with red and swollen eyes, pedaled quickly towards the county town.
Meng Zhiyu and Li Tingman were at the back gate, blocking Mu Ziwei and Zhang Yang who were carrying half a basket of firewood.
Zhang Yang smiled at the two of them, revealing his big white teeth. He was about to leave when Meng Zhiyu stopped him. "Zhang Zhiqing, you've been here for so long, and we haven't gotten to know each other properly. I have a watermelon. Let's go to the yard and have a couple of pieces."
Zhang Yang wanted to refuse, but Mu Ziwei stopped him, "Let's go together. Anyway, there will be no one to play with you when you go back."
This is true. Jiang Zengzhi and Song Guangye come to the backyard all day long, and He Zhida looks down on him, so he can only go by himself.
When the watermelon was cut open, a unique watermelon fragrance hit my nose. As the owner of the watermelon, Meng Zhiyu made way for everyone and took a bite. It was still as sweet as ever.
Li Tingman took two bites and suddenly said, "What happened in Aunt Li's family is really sad. I heard similar stories in the south of my hometown before."
"The baby cried twice and then died. Everyone thought he was dead because he was crying so hard. But when we went to the hospital to check, we found that he was just asleep."
Li Qingqing was surprised. "Is it possible that Aunt Li's grandson is also asleep?"
Li Tingman nodded seriously, "It is indeed possible."
Nowadays, most people invite midwives to their homes, and few pregnant women go to the hospital to give birth, unless they are very rich or their condition is not good.
Jiang Zengzhi was anxious, "Should we go to Aunt Li's house and talk to her?"
Song Guangye stopped him, "We don't know where the child is now. It's better not to tell him."
Zhang Yang didn't think much of what Li Tingman said. He just sighed suddenly, exchanged a glance with Mu Ziwei secretly, and then lowered his head to take a bite of the watermelon.
Meng Zhiyu seemed not to notice the two people staring at each other. He finished a piece of watermelon, took another piece, and offered it to others. "They say country people are simple and honest. I didn't believe it at first, but today I saw Aunt Zhao bringing her pregnant daughter-in-law to the Li family without any taboos. I realized how narrow my perspective is."
Li Qingqing and Jiang Zengzhi nodded. Indeed, Aunt Zhao still had a kind heart sometimes.
"Although Zhao treats outsiders badly, she is very kind to her grandson. When Tu Wa was left in the county town, Aunt Zhao cried so hard on the ox cart when she got back, she even forgot to report it to the police."
Li Qingqing and Jiang Zengzhi nodded, she was indeed a good grandmother.
"She even urged Mrs. Zhang, who had lost twins, to have another one quickly, saying she was worried about her age making it harder to have children. She said the pain of losing a child was pointless, so she just wanted to have another one."
Li Qingqing felt that Meng Zhiyu's words were not right. She stopped nodding and retorted, "I don't agree with this. If my child is gone, I will sell everything I have to find her."
Zhang Yang was already certain that these words were meant for him, or for him and Mu Ziwei to hear, "Do you think Aunt Zhao, um, has a little..." problem?
Meng Zhiyu and Li Tingman nodded vigorously, there was something very wrong.
Zhang Yang and Mu Ziwei nodded, "I understand."
Without even having the chance to ask how we knew our identities, they left in a hurry.
By this time, it was already dark, and no one suggested going to touch the fork. They just sat in the yard and stared blankly.
I was in a daze until Li Jianan came back with the police. By then it was already dark.
The entire brigade was blocked off and no one was allowed to enter or leave at will. In fact, it was already a bit late to block it off at this time.
Wang Gongan brought a few young police officers to the village office and asked everyone in the team to line up and wait for questioning. He also lit three candles in the room extravagantly.
As time passed, everyone felt nervous and excited, yawning constantly, but they didn't dare to complain.
Some families took turns sleeping so that they would be awakened when it was their turn. Meng Zhiyu calculated the time and slept until three in the morning. Just as he got up and washed up, he heard a loudspeaker calling out to them, the educated youth, to go to the office.
Zhang Yang ran to sleep next to Mu Ziwei. After packing up, he walked to the village office. Mu Zi was pushed by several people to the first place in the line because he was the tallest.
Soon it was Meng Zhiyu's turn. When he walked in, he saw a middle-aged man with an unshaven beard and bloodshot eyes. There were two police officers sitting on each side.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com