After Director Zhu and the other two left, Xie Yuyao sat alone in a chair, looking dejected.
"Yaoyao, have the guests left?" Yang Shumei had just finished a meeting at the dried fruit factory and came back to check on them out of concern.
On her way to work in the morning, she brushed past Director Zhu. She looked back and was surprised to see that even though several days had passed since filming ended, they were still looking for Yao Yao. They must be trying to invite her to act in the film again.
Since filming at the brigade headquarters, Yao Yao has often been in a daze and her condition seems off.
Now, seeing her sitting there alone, it's as if she's just an empty shell, not even noticing when she pushed the door open and came in.
Xie Yuyao snapped out of her daze and, seeing that it was Yang Shumei, smiled and asked her to sit down: "Sit down for a while. Why are you back? Did you forget something?"
"I'm a little worried about you. Did they force you to make a movie?" Yang Shumei sat down, saw the train ticket in Xie Yuyao's hand, and asked with a frown.
"No, just leave the ticket. It's up to me whether you go or not," Xie Yuyao said with a wry smile after glancing at the ticket.
Yang Shumei asked with concern, "Do you really want to make a movie? If you do, you can hand over the affairs of Qingshantun to someone else, fulfill your wish, and leave no regrets."
"It has nothing to do with making a movie; I just feel a little unreal about this moment," Xie Yuyao said, expressing her confusion.
"Are you too immersed in the role? How could you have such thoughts?" Yang Shumei asked with concern, reaching out to grasp Xie Yuyao's hand. "Look at me, look around you. What could be fake? Oh, and Zhao Honghui too. Do you also think he's fake?"
Xie Yuyao chuckled upon hearing this, her gloom vanishing: "Alright, I'm fine now. We shouldn't waste this beautiful spring weather, I'm going out for a walk."
“The pear blossoms on the mountain are in bloom, let’s go take a look together,” Yang Shumei said with a smile.
That morning, the two of them took a rare day off and went for a walk together.
Walking into the wild pear grove, you see clusters of pear blossoms blooming on the branches. The tender yellow blossoms set off the snow-white blossoms, so striking yet harmonious, a beauty that is breathtaking and unforgettable.
Yang Shumei picked some branches and wove two beautiful flower wreaths, one for each of them to wear on their heads.
Coincidentally, both of them were wearing flowing long dresses, and with the spring breeze on their faces, they looked like flower fairies descending to earth.
"Sister Yao Yao, are you inside?" Zhao Hongqin's call broke the leisurely and peaceful atmosphere, her voice filled with unease and panic.
"I'm here!" Xie Yuyao walked over upon hearing the voice and saw the panicked Zhao Hongqin. Her heart sank slightly. "Hongqin, what happened?"
"My older brother... he's missing." Rushing along and overwhelmed with emotion, Zhao Hongqin gasped for breath, unable to speak coherently, tears instantly streaming down her face.
Xie Yuyao was stunned. She grabbed Zhao Hongqin's arm and asked three questions in a row: "What do you mean by missing? How did you disappear? Who sent the message?"
Yang Shumei also rushed over, anxiously waiting for Zhao Hongqin to speak.
"It was a call from the army. They said my brother went missing during a mission." Zhao Hongqin cried as she grabbed Xie Yuyao's hand, trying to find comfort in her. "Sister Yaoyao, my brother will be alright. He must still be alive, right?"
"What did they say on the phone?" Xie Yuyao, trying to compose herself, stared intently at Zhao Hongqin and asked, her eyes red-rimmed.
“I don’t know. The captain answered the phone. He was on his way to inform my parents when he passed by the clinic, so he went in and asked me to come and tell you,” Zhao Hongqin said, choking back tears.
After listening, Yang Shumei took their hands and said, "Come on, let's go to the brigade headquarters."
When they arrived at the brigade headquarters office, Zhao Laoda, Yang Chunhua, and the brigade captain were gathered around a speakerphone, listening to the other party explain the details.
Only then did they learn that Zhao Honghui had disappeared more than three months earlier.
When asked about the last witness's description, the voice on the other end of the phone was filled with reluctance and anguish. "He had suffered a severe blow to the head, and his body was covered in blood. He was lying unconscious on the ice of the river."
A seriously injured person went missing for more than 100 days in the vast glacier and was essentially sentenced to death.
Yang Chunhua let out a mournful cry, a heart-wrenching sob.
Old Zhao's eyes also welled up with tears. He forced back his grief and said, "Please, please continue the search. We need to find them alive or dead...we need to find their bodies."
"We will continue to send people to search and rescue, and please be prepared."
"Where is he?" Xie Yuyao suddenly spoke up, asking into the phone, "Where did he disappear to? I want to go find him myself."
"Comrade, I understand your feelings. But that area is characterized by continuous snow-capped mountains and extensive glaciers; it's a harsh, uninhabited region..."
“Just tell me the geographical coordinates, and I will assess the risks,” Xie Yuyao interrupted, her hoarse voice barely containing her grief.
"I'm sorry, I can't let you put yourself in danger. If Comrade Zhao Honghui were still alive, I'm sure he wouldn't want you to go to such a dangerous place either."
Upon hearing the last sentence, Xie Yuyao closed her eyes, and tears finally streamed down her face.
Yang Shumei gently embraced her, patted her back, and offered dry words of comfort: "There's no conclusion yet, don't be too sad. He's so capable, he must still be alive."
Xie Yuyao suddenly looked up, wiped away her tears, picked up the phone, and dialed the commune's transportation team: "Could you please help me find Jiang Penghui?"
After a few beeps, a man's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Hello, this is the transportation team."
"Hello, I'm looking for Jiang Penghui."
What is your name?
"Xie Yuyao".
"Okay, please wait a moment."
"Hui Zi, Hui Zi!" came the gradually fading voice from the other end of the phone.
Hui Zi was playing cards with his colleagues when he heard them call out, "I'm here, what's up?"
“A person named Xie Yuyao called looking for you. Her voice sounds a bit off. You should listen to her right away.”
Hui Zi's expression changed, and he immediately threw down the cards in his hand and strode over to answer the phone.
"Thank you, educated youth. This is Huizi." Huizi picked up the microphone.
A moment later, Hui Zi's expression changed drastically, and the veins on his hand gripping the receiver bulged as he asked, "Are you sure it's a call from the military?"
“It’s a special number segment.” Xie Yuyao told Hui Zi the phone number she had just received.
Hui Zi closed his eyes. As a veteran, he knew the call was legitimate and there was no hope left in his heart. But he still reassured Xie Yuyao, "Don't worry. Since they said they would send people to search and rescue, they will definitely keep their word."
"I want to go there myself. Can you help me find out the location?"
"This... I can't find out my current identity. Wait a minute, let me ask Ye Xingchang if there's any way." Hui Zi regretted his words as soon as he finished speaking and added, "You'd better not go. We'll find a way to organize people to go there."
“I can’t just sit here in Qingshantun and wait for news,” Xie Yuyao insisted. “Don’t worry, I’m not a reckless person. I’ll wait for your call.”
Hui Zi knew Xie Yuyao's temperament to some extent, so he didn't try to persuade her any further. He hung up the phone and then contacted Ye Xingchang in Beijing.
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