Chapter 36 Catching the Thief
Huangniba Commune.
On market day, the streets were filled with people carrying baskets to buy things at the supply and marketing cooperative.
In a small alley next to the supply and marketing cooperative, several people were squatting in a corner, whispering to each other. Just around the corner, behind the door of a rice cake shop, a petite figure was also squatting.
The aroma of rice cakes wafted through the air, making Ruanqiu, who hadn't eaten anything all morning, drool.
"That's the arrangement, same time and place, meet here!"
As Tang Junjie finished speaking around the corner, Ruanqiu moved her numb legs and carefully slipped through the door.
She remembered the figure Li Huguo had shown her perfectly; she didn't even need to stare at it to know that the short-legged, long-waisted man was Tang Junjie.
"Two pieces of rice cake."
After buying rice cakes, she ate them while following behind Tang Junjie, and eventually even got on the same bus back to the factory with him.
After a bumpy half-hour drive, the factory gate was finally in sight.
"Master Zhang, could you please lend me your bicycle for a trip tonight?"
As Tang Junjie passed through the factory gatehouse, he peeked inside and spoke to the gatekeeper. As soon as he finished speaking, a one-yuan note appeared on the table.
The gatekeeper nodded, his mouth now mostly toothless.
Tang Junjie put the one yuan into the drawer, then pushed the bicycle parked behind the guardhouse onto his bicycle instead of riding it.
Ruanqiu found it strange and followed her at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
It wasn't until the bicycle stopped at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative, and Tang Junjie went inside and came out with a bottle of soda a short while later, that Ruanqiu pretended to pass by and continued walking forward.
She hadn't walked far when she suddenly saw Chen Yun waving at her from behind the hospital bulletin board.
"Soft Autumn."
What are you doing here?
"Take a break at noon."
I was thinking about Ruanqiu all morning, and I went to the courtyard to wait for her right after my lunch break, hoping to run into her.
"I'm exhausted." Ruanqiu patted her stiff shoulders, and Chen Yun quickly handed her the lunchbox that she had been holding in her arms for a while: "It's still hot! Eat it while it's hot."
Gao Ming wanted to know who Tang Junjie would meet with today, and ideally, to find out who the mole in the convoy was.
Gao Ming from the transport team and Li Huguo from the security department were both key targets of hitchhiking gangs. Chen Yun also looked mature yesterday, so in the end, the task could only fall to Ruan Qiu.
“There were five people who met with Tang Junjie. They agreed to meet at the usual place tonight and also discussed their escape route... I wrote it all down.”
None of the place names they mentioned, Ruanqiu, were familiar to him, but he had a good memory and remembered them all clearly.
"The security department should know."
Chen Yun looked through the gaps between the trees at the front of the supply and marketing cooperative, where Tang Junjie was still sitting on the stone bench drinking soda.
"The security team drives wild boars in the nearby mountains; they are very familiar with the area."
"What about Gao Ming?"
"He and Li Huguo went to scout out the road in front of Huangniba Commune, saying they wanted to see where they could ambush them!"
Seeing Chen Yun keep glancing at the supply and marketing cooperative, Ruan Qiu suddenly remembered that strange thing.
"You know, Tang Junjie is so strange. He borrowed a bicycle but didn't ride it; he just pushed it around."
"Not riding?"
Sure enough, a brand-new bicycle was parked in front of the supply and marketing cooperative. Tang Junjie took a couple of sips of soda, squatted down in front of the bicycle, and started swinging the chain.
He seemed to be checking the bike chain. After he finished, he stood up, clapped his hands, and tilted his head back to gulp down the rest of his soda.
"Let's follow them and see."
"You're already back at the factory, why are you still following me?" With her mouth full of food, she sprayed out a lot of rice grains as she spoke. Chen Yun stepped aside to avoid her and gestured to her, "Eat slowly."
I never knew Ruanqiu had such a rough side; she stared blankly with soup dripping from her chin.
“He’s not riding this bike, so he’s just lending it out. He must be giving it to someone else,” Chen Yun explained in a low voice.
"Who's it for?"
"Have you forgotten why you went to Huangniba Commune with Tang Junjie?" Chen Yun asked, both amused and exasperated.
"Didn't Gao Ming want to catch the traitor...? You mean he's going to give the car to the traitor to ride!" Ruanqiu finally realized.
"Go and see who it is." Chen Yun looked around, took off the straw hat that Ruan Qiu was wearing, and put the basket on his back: "You eat here, I'll come find you in a bit."
Chen Yun was about half a head taller than Ruan Qiu, but once she put on the straw hat, it was almost impossible to tell that she was a different person.
Be careful.
Except for the flat area at the main gate, the rest of the factory was uphill, and Tang Junjie, with his thin frame, struggled to push the bicycle that reached his chest.
Chen Yun was afraid that if she wasn't careful and took a bigger step, she would overtake him. So she would walk into the roadside woods to rest for a few minutes before continuing to follow.
He was so focused on pushing that he was panting heavily and didn't have time to pay attention to whether anyone was behind him.
We drove and stopped frequently, and the car ended up at the women's single dormitory on the mountaintop.
Tang Junjie parked his car in front of the water room on the first floor, locked it, and then walked briskly down the mountain.
This time the speed was much faster. Chen Yun didn't follow closely, but instead kept a distance to get a general idea of the direction.
"Am I really overthinking it?"
Tang Junjie happily exchanged a few words with his mother, who was sitting at the door, and then went inside.
Chen Yun went into the bamboo grove next to the family building and hesitated for a few minutes, wondering whether to go back or not.
Suddenly... Tang Junjie came out of his house again, rushed upstairs in a few steps, and stopped at the door of the second room on the second floor.
The door opened a crack, and Tang Junjie slipped inside.
Chen Yun thought for a moment and decided to go back to the entrance of the single dormitory to wait. Since the person couldn't see his face, he would always push his bicycle.
With that thought in mind, he emerged from the bamboo forest and turned back towards the mountaintop.
"Chen Yun?"
Chen Yun: "..."
Chen Yun was surprised to be called out to by the person who suddenly called out to her. Cao Qin, carrying a basket of vegetables, hurried after her with a smile.
"What are you doing here?"
Chen Yun: "..."
I remember running into Cao Qin and Luo Jianguo on the bus to Huangniba Commune about half a year ago. At the time, she pretended not to know them, but today they're so close that anyone who didn't know them would think they were very familiar with each other.
"Come to my house for dinner," Cao Qin warmly invited, pointing to the apartment building next door: "I live in the second room on the second floor."
Chen Yun's brow twitched, and she waved her hand sheepishly, "I have to go to work later, I'll come visit again next time."
“I heard that the house over by the river was allocated to you two.” Cao Qin brought it up deliberately, then leaned close to Chen Yun’s ear and said, “How much did they give the housing department? I was supposed to get married several months before you and I still couldn’t get a spot.”
“Our houses were assigned directly by the Youth League Committee.” Chen Yun smiled slightly, her gaze inadvertently glancing at the second floor: “I heard that the bungalows in Building 10 were given priority to factory cadres, we just happened to be there.”
If Luo Jianguo were to disregard his status as the factory director's brother, he would be nothing more than an ordinary technician.
Cao Qin's expression changed; having failed to get anything out of the house, she smiled again.
"Luo and I only got a marriage certificate, so don't blame me for not inviting you to our wedding candy." Cao Qin casually let go of his hand, a meaningful smile playing on her lips. "You didn't invite anyone to your wedding with Captain Gao either?"
"We didn't even give out wedding candies. After we finished preparing for the wedding, we didn't have a single extra penny. You know we're not like Comrade Luo, who has a deputy factory director as a backer. We have to rely entirely on ourselves." Chen Yun smiled.
Cao Qin's face stiffened.
She casually mentioned it, so how could Chen Yun not have heard about her wedding banquet? The deputy factory director's sister-in-law... the wedding banquet was held in the factory's restaurant.
Chen Yun smiled again: "Are you rushing home to make lunch?"
"My husband, Lao Luo, isn't feeling well today and is lying at home. I'm going home to check on him during my lunch break." Cao Qin looked Chen Yun up and down, her bright eyes clearly showing her disdain.
The faded old shirt and blue pants were Chen Yun's treasured clothes before she got married, and she was surprised to find that she was still wearing them after the wedding.
"How are you doing?" Cao Qin tugged at the hem of her Dacron shirt, which she had just bought a few days ago, and her smile became smug.
"I'll go upstairs in a bit to see if Lao Luo's cold is any better. If it's not, I'll have him go to your hospital this afternoon. I'll need your help then."
It turned out that Cao Qin had stopped Chen Yun because she wanted something from him; Cao Qin's selfless nature had indeed not changed at all.
"I'll head back now, you go ahead with your work."
"Come visit my home sometime."
Seeing Cao Qin, Chen Yun became even more certain that Luo Jianguo and Tang Junjie were both connected to the hitchhiking gang.
A technician's salary is simply not enough for Cao Qin to casually wear a new style of Dacron shirt that hasn't even hit the factory stores yet this year.
Back at the hospital, Ruan Qiu was indeed still waiting for Chen Yun in the same spot.
"Did you see who it was?"
Chen Yun slowly uttered a name: "Luo Jianguo".
Chen Yun's home is in Building 10, a dormitory building.
"Luo Jianguo?"
The appearance of this name shocked everyone. Gao Ming repeatedly pondered Luo Jianguo's network of connections, trying to find out who among them knew the details of the transport team's mission.
Li Huguo quickly remembered someone, pointed at Chen Yun and slammed his hand on the table: "The one who shares a dorm with you, her name is... what's her name again? She's close to Cao Qin, isn't she in logistics?"
"Zhou Xinfang?"
Zhou Xinfang is a registrar in the logistics department, whose main job is to register the entry and exit of the factory's logistics materials.
No one in the entire factory knew better than her what supplies the Material Supply Bureau would allocate to the factory, and the exact arrival and departure times were all under her control.
Subconsciously, Chen Yun would not associate Cao Qin and Zhou Xinfang with Tang Junjie if Luo Jianguo was involved.
Then, recalling how Tang Junjie had parked his bicycle downstairs at the single women's dormitory, Li Huguo's guess seemed to have been pinned on the most important link.
"Last year, when the security team went into the mountains to hunt wild boars, they happened to meet two female comrades who had missed closing time and were asking someone to open the gate. One of them, Zhou Xinfang, was injured. They said that she fell into a ditch on her way back and didn't climb out until night."
The security department took the two women back to the department for routine questioning. After confirming their work departments, they were released.
"Now that I think back, the woman who was with Zhou Xinfang at the time was named Cao Qin."
If Chen Yun hadn't mentioned Cao Qin and Luo Jianguo, Li Huguo would never have imagined the little incident that happened last year.
Gao Ming suddenly asked, "Which day exactly?"
"Let me think... it seems to be the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month before the New Year."
Chen Yun's eyes sharpened. The 23rd of the twelfth lunar month was the day Gao Ming and his companions encountered the car thieves.
Because the convoy had a large number of people, the group scattered and fled. Could it be that Zhou Xinfang and Cao Qin were at the scene at the time, and were even injured as a result?
"I did see a woman's back from afar, but I thought I was seeing things!"
"..."
“Once Luo Jianguo is arrested, we’ll have to give Luo Youmao an explanation.”
Li Huguo never expected that he would implicate several people, among whom Luo Jianguo was the most troublesome.
In the early days of the factory, the security department was sided with the deputy factory director's faction during the power struggle between the two sides. Liu Congwu, the head of the security department, was promoted by Luo Youmao.
If Li Huguo is to be targeted without consulting Luo Youmao, his situation in the security department will become extremely difficult.
If the news had been communicated... if Luo Youmao had wanted to protect his younger brother, he probably wouldn't have caught a single car thief tonight.
"Find Factory Director Zhao Feng." Chen Yun pondered for a moment and pointed out a figure who was not very noticeable.
"Li Huguo, come with me to Director Zhao's house."
Will Factory Director Zhao take care of this?
“He will!” Gao Ming nodded confidently, then tapped the table with his index finger: “He wants to regain control of the security department more than anyone else.”
The two decided not to wait any longer and soon went to the factory manager Zhao Feng's house together.
Chen Yun had work to do in the afternoon, so she could only rush back to the hospital later.
From the second-floor office window, one can see the only cement road leading out of the factory. In the afternoon, when there were no patients, Chen Yun kept an eye on the road.
She actually saw two bicycles slowly riding past the hospital entrance.
Cao Qin rode her bicycle while Zhou Xinfang sat on the back. As they passed the gate, they both glanced at the hospital twice, seemingly unintentionally.
They were riding the brand-new bicycle they had borrowed from the gatekeeper.
Behind them, Luo Jianguo also rode by on a bicycle, with a half-empty bottle of baijiu hanging from the handlebars.
The undeniable truth is unfolding right before Chen Yun's eyes.
***
The night sky, with its minimal pollution, was filled with dazzling stars, so close they seemed like jewels embedded in the night, shining brightly.
Chen Yun sat cross-legged in the weeds, the only sound in his ears being the rustling of the grass in the wind. Ruan Qiu was yawning sleepily beside him, but dared not open her mouth wide, forcing herself to hold back her tears.
It was 3:20 a.m., and the moonlight was bright overhead.
The two of them had been sitting in the grass for more than two hours, neither daring to speak nor move.
Ruanqiu gently tugged at Chen Yun's sleeve, gesturing for her to look at the roadside.
The two insisted on following Gao Ming and his group to catch the car thief, but when they arrived, they were told to wait a few dozen meters away.
Aside from occasionally peeking out to see what was happening outside, there was really nothing else to do.
This location was the ambush point chosen by Gao Ming and Li Huguo. The security department and Zhao Feng, who personally led the operation, hid in the trees of the dense forest on both sides.
The reason we can be sure that car thieves will be in the vicinity is because they have dug several small holes in the road.
This method prevents the car from getting stuck in a ditch and slows it down, allowing them to "walk right into the trap."
Apart from the silvery flashes of light emanating from the ditch illuminated by the moon, there was absolutely no movement on the road.
"Yes... um..."
Chen Yun immediately covered Ruan Qiu's open mouth, her expression turning serious.
"..."
Amid the rustling of the wind through the grass, Chen Yun was certain that she heard the sound of a bicycle rolling.
The sound came from behind the bushes diagonally opposite, followed by a slight sway of the bushes and a suppressed burp drifting over.
There's someone on the other side.
Chen Yun immediately tensed up and pulled Ruan Qiu down to lie face down on the ground.
Blinding headlights suddenly shone from a distance, and the roar of a car engine grew louder as it approached.
Chen Yun looked across the street by the light and indeed saw two people bending over and looking at the road from the bushes.
Cao Qin hadn't taken off her brand-new Dacron shirt, and the bright pink color immediately confirmed to Chen Yun that one of them was her.
"Who's so heartless as to dig so many potholes in the road?"
The truck did indeed slow down due to the bumps in front of the ditch, and even stopped, with a person jumping out of the cab door.
"Brother Su, why did you park the car?"
"There are so many potholes on the road, be careful when you drive, don't get stuck."
"Could it be a car thief deliberately digging it up..."
Before he could finish speaking, a group of people suddenly rushed out of the bushes beside the car, their flashlight beams flashing wildly.
"You guys get in the car, and the rest of you tie these two up and throw them into the ditch."
"Boss, the truck bed is full of parts, where's the ham?"
"If it's not in the truck bed, look for it in the driver's cab."
"The car is full of spare parts; you won't get any money from it even if you steal it..."
"Shut up."
Various noises emanated from the two trucks.
Ruanqiu struggled to get up, but Chen Yun pressed her down as soon as she moved.
Taking advantage of the chaos ahead, Chen Yun whispered to Ruan Qiu, "Ignore the people in front, catch them if they run."
The two people in the bushes opposite stood up, but instead of helping, they pushed out a bicycle and placed it on the side of the road.
Chen Yun: "..."
What roles do these two play in the car-hitching gang?
Just then, Gao Ming and his companions, who had been hiding in the tree, jumped down and rushed out of the bushes.
"Oh no! Run!"
Someone called out.
Chen Yun also jumped up at almost the same time, rushing out of the bushes in two or three steps—his target was the two people opposite him.
"Hurry up, hurry up."
Cao Qin frantically patted the bicycle seat, while Zhou Xinfang, in his panic, tripped over a stone on the roadside after only two steps.
"Even a donkey is smarter than you!"
Cao Qin stomped her foot in anger and turned to leave without thinking.
"Don't run."
The voice arrived before the person.
"How did you get here!" Cao Qin exclaimed.
Under the moonlight, Chen Yun's face was so clear that even her eyelashes were visible. Cao Qin was shocked and tried to push off with her legs, but found that the bicycle frame had been lowered by that idiot Zhou Xinfang, and the bicycle was now propped up on the road.
Seeing that Chen Yun had already jumped over the ditch by the roadside, Cao Qin didn't say a word and rushed into the bushes.
As for Zhou Xinfang... Chen Yun glanced at him as she caught up with him.
She had fallen into the ditch and hadn't gotten up yet. Judging from her pained expression, clutching her knee and screaming, her calf was badly injured.
"Gao Ming, Zhou Xinfang is here!" Chen Yun shouted in the direction of the truck and then rushed into the bushes.
Sharp blades of weeds grazed my face, sending a slight sting through me.
Although the road ahead was rugged and fraught with unknown dangers, Chen Yun did not hesitate for a moment and followed closely behind Cao Qin.
She had been exercising a lot during this period, and her physical strength was obviously much better than Cao Qin's. A few minutes later, she could see Cao Qin running ahead of her like crazy.
"Forehead……"
As he ran, Chen Yun suddenly noticed a river not far away.
If Cao Qin were to jump into the river, it's uncertain whether she, who can't swim, would be able to catch anyone.
He leaped forward with all his might and landed accurately behind Cao Qin.
The two were on a downhill slope when they fell and rolled rapidly down the slope.
A scream pierced the darkness and reached Gao Ming's ears as he pursued them.
For some reason... Gao Ming's heart skipped a beat.
"Brilliant! Chen Yun has gone after Cao Qin."
Ruanqiu wanted to chase after Chen Yun, but was afraid that Zhou Xinfang would escape. Just as she was in a dilemma, Gao Ming and Li Huguo finally heard the commotion and came over.
"You all stay here and watch over her, I'll go check on her."
The light and shadow danced in the grass, Gao Ming's eyes anxiously searched for that figure, his heart pounding as if it would leap out of his throat at any moment.
"Chen Yun".
"Chen Yun".
"Chen Yun, where are you?"
Several anxious calls went unanswered, and Gao Ming felt his unease growing until, just before it was about to engulf him, a faint echo sounded.
"Gao Ming, I'm here!"
When I shone a flashlight into the source of the sound, my heart nearly jumped out of my mouth.
Chen Yun was clinging to a small tree, her hands tightly gripping Cao Qin, whose body was half-suspended in mid-air and who was kicking her legs frantically.
Below was a river shimmering with a faint silver light.
"Come help me, don't let them get away, I can't float."
Chen Yun was in excruciating pain all over her body. Her thighs started cramping after gripping the tree trunk tightly for only a few minutes. She was only able to hold on by sheer willpower, otherwise she would have cried out in pain long ago.
"Chen Yun, you'll die a horrible death!" Cao Qin saw Gao Ming sliding down the slope out of the corner of her eye, her eyes filled with even more venom. "Since you don't want me to live, then I'll let you die!"
After saying that, he kicked hard against the wall with both legs, and the sound of the tree branch breaking echoed in his ears.
Chen Yun only had time to scream once before instinctively letting go of Cao Qin's hand and grabbing at the wall haphazardly.
"ah……"
Instead of falling into the water as I had imagined, my body rose into the air and quickly landed in a warm, damp embrace.
Gao Ming's face was ashen and covered in cold sweat.
He was familiar with the terrain. Although the river below seemed calm, there were strong undercurrents that could sweep a person downstream in the blink of an eye.
Once you're swept away, even if you can float, you'll still have a hard time escaping the aquatic plants that cover the river.
Chen Yun looked down.
Cao Qin did not fall into the river; she lay face down on a protruding clod of mud, seemingly having hit her head and passed out.
"I shouldn't have let you come." Gao Ming's voice, barely containing his anger, rang out above Chen Yun's head, his hand tightening around his waist: "If you had fallen in, the factory would probably be going downstream to retrieve our bodies tomorrow."
In other words, he would jump into the river without hesitation to save Chen Yun if he fell in.
"I let go," Chen Yun quickly explained, feeling a little guilty.
Compared to his determination to capture Cao Qin, his own life was more important; however, he did not expect that the sapling would break at the crucial moment.
"You go up first." Gao Ming paused for a moment, handed the flashlight to Chen Yun, and then shouted up the slope, "Li Huguo, come and help."
Chen Yun dared not show off at this moment, and quickly climbed up using both hands and feet.
"Sister-in-law, it's you!"
On the way, they encountered Li Huguo getting off the bus, who smiled and gave Chen Yun a thumbs up.
Chen Yun felt ashamed.
From now on, we must never try to be heroes; these kinds of things should be left to others.
"Are you alright?" Ruanqiu reached out and pulled Chen Yun up, winking at her with a smile: "Didn't you see that Gao Ming just pulled you up by sheer strength?"
Gao Ming hooked his foot on a tree, grabbed the weeds beside him with one hand, and pulled Chen Yun up using only his waist strength.
Everyone who sees this has to say...it's truly amazing.
"It seems that Captain Gao has not relaxed his physical training since he was transferred from the army."
"Factory Manager."
Zhao Feng emerged from the bushes, smiled at Chen Yun, and then shone his flashlight on the two people carrying Cao Qin up below.
"Thanks to you for catching Cao Qin red-handed today. If she had escaped or drowned in the river, Luo Jianguo wouldn't have been able to explain himself even if he had ten mouths."
Luo Youmao is so good at talking that he can always find a way to argue his way out of trouble. Unless there is evidence to prove it, there is no way to shut him up.
Thinking of this, Zhao Feng hurriedly asked, "Where is Luo Jianguo?"
"They're waiting to get their share of the money at their old place in Huangniba Commune," Chen Yun replied casually.
Since Luo Jianguo, who left the factory at the same time, isn't here, he can only be at the "usual place" Tang Junjie mentioned.
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