Chapter 179: Really Scared
Lu Dongping didn't explain in detail why it was unsafe, but Lu Donglin was absolutely obedient on this matter.
Yesterday at noon in the wheat field, his uncle had also called out to the young women and wives in the team, warning them to be careful, saying that a group of human traffickers had been sneaking in and hadn't been apprehended yet, making it unsafe. Lu Donglin suspected that his brother's recent absence from work might be due to this matter.
Lu Chun'e was with Lu Dongfu, a young man who was half grown, looking after her, but Wen Wan was alone, especially the section leading to the elementary school after the fork in the road. There were no residents for a long time, only fields and woods, which made people feel very uneasy.
Especially in the morning, when it's still dark, it's okay after school. It's broad daylight and there are many students together, so it's not a problem.
Lu Donglin sent her to the school gate, and Wen Wan asked him, "Are you really not going to school?"
Lu Donglin waved his hand: "No, no, I haven't been to school for a few days. Why are you asking this again? Go quickly, I'm going back."
Okay!
Wen Wan entered the school, and Lu Donglin turned around and walked back. He greeted the students he met on the way. As the sky gradually brightened, before he reached the team, he saw a few people walking towards him. When he got closer, he saw that they were familiar people, some educated youth from the team.
"Where are you going?" We are all in the same team and know each other. No matter how close we get along, we always say hello when we meet.
Huang Wancheng said, "Do you want to go to the county town?" The food rations were distributed and the work points were settled yesterday. Their homes are quite far away from here, so they can't go back for the New Year. Besides, since it is the first time they have money and tickets, they want to send some back home.
Lu Donglin said, "You can't just go if you want to. Don't you need a certificate? Go ahead, and come back early. I heard it's not peaceful here lately, so be careful!"
Xu Wenfang smiled and said, "Okay, let's go."
Of course they knew that it was not peaceful. Yesterday in the wheat field, Lu Minghai shouted with a big loudspeaker that it was not peaceful here in the twelfth lunar month and that human traffickers were coming here. He told families with young girls and wives to be careful, and those with children to be careful too. Don't go to secluded places, and make sure that someone is watching the children. Go out in groups and don't be alone.
But they had been on the team for so long, they were really tired. Once they had the money and tickets, they were so excited. They had already made all the arrangements before they even got them. And since it was the beginning of the winter break, how could they stay indoors? So they applied and got the certificates early. Anyway, there were so many of them on the way.
Liu Changqing and Xu Qingming did not go. One of them planned to go back for the New Year, and the other one did not think that the money and tickets he earned from work points were worth the trip to the county town.
Zhang Yun from next door didn't go either. She was not a brave person, and she didn't dare to run around after hearing that it was unsafe.
After breakfast, Xu Qingming and Liu Changqing planned to go up the mountain to chop firewood and asked her if she wanted to go.
Although people don’t work during the winter, the members of the team cannot be idle either. They all take advantage of this time to go home and collect firewood, and the educated youth site is no exception.
However, Zhang Yun didn't want to go. The firewood was chopped for everyone to burn. Why should she go to chop firewood when everyone else went to the county town to play?
"I won't go. I'm free today and I want to heat up some water to wash some clothes."
Xu Qingming glanced at the dark sky and said nothing.
Liu Changqing was straightforward: "It's not certain when the rain will come. Why are you washing clothes now?"
It was unacceptable, so Zhang Yun followed them up the mountain with the basket on her back.
The mountain is quite lively. The forest is collective after all, so as long as you don't dig around randomly and just chop firewood, no one will care.
Lu Donglin also went up the mountain with Lu Mingjiang, Lu Dongcai and his wife. They didn't go far and stayed in the pine forest on the beam behind.
Lu Mingjiang was cutting water acorn trees below. This thing doesn't grow big, but it grows quickly. It grows every year if you cut it down. It's clean when dried and used for firewood.
Lu Donglin put the hatchet on his waistband and climbed up a crooked pine tree like a monkey. Then he chopped off all the branches, leaving only the top of the tree.
Lu Mingjiang and Lu Dongcai were not far away. The uncle and nephew were busy with their work and kept talking about family matters.
There are so many things to worry about at home, the biggest of which is food.
Overall, Lu Mingjiang's family was doing better this year than last. With one more person in the family, there was one more person to feed. Plus, Lu Dongping and his wife both had salaries and work-point subsidies, so evenly speaking, there was still some left.
Lu Minghai's family was a bit frustrated this year. Lu Dongcai said, "We have a new child this year, which means more food for the child, but also work points. Plus, I haven't been to the fields for half a year since I came to Ying, and Dongfu has to go to school so I can't work every day. This year is really the most frustrating year in recent years." It's not that he can't work; he's been busy all day and earning a lot of work points, but at the end of the year, he still has to pay the production team back. His father is the production team leader, which is embarrassing.
Lu Mingjiang comforted him: "This is how it is. Everything will be fine once the new year starts. It will be a little better on the first day of the new year. Your mother won't be delayed anymore, and your wife will be able to work. Everything will be fine."
Lu Dongcai straightened his back and took a breath: "Yes, it will get better eventually."
The two of them were working and chatting in the woods. On the other side of the wheat field, Lu Dongping came back and was also talking to Lu Minghai.
"Uncle, tell the team that there is no one there, and ask every household to be careful."
"Come on, come on. How can I not tell you something this important? When we distributed rations yesterday, everyone showed up. I used a loud speaker to announce it several times." After that, Lu Minghai asked him, "Have you arrested anyone? It's almost Chinese New Year, and this whole thing is really unsettling."
Lu Dongping rubbed his face with his hands and said, "We caught two, but one got away. There are so many mountains here, and the environment is so complex, it's really not easy to find someone hiding in there. Who knows where that bastard is hiding?"
Lu Minghai's face was filled with worry. "That's hard to say. However, with the investigation being so intense, I should hide away for a while. If I do something bad again, won't I be exposed? I think it shouldn't be a big problem."
"It's better to be careful. These people who do bad things to make dirty money are capable of anything. Recently, the militiamen in the team haven't been training. They've all gone back to their respective teams. I won't go either. I'll just stay in the team so I can take care of them if anything happens."
Lu Minghai nodded: "I can do it, I can do it. Look at your red eyes, didn't you sleep all night? Go back and take a nap."
Lu Dongping waved his hand: "I'll leave now." He himself felt that this was not going well. He hadn't slept well in the past few days, and he had been working non-stop yesterday. Now he felt that he could fall asleep while talking.
In the school, when school was over in the afternoon, Hu Gaoquan blew the whistle and asked all the students to gather in the playground. He also emphasized this matter and made requirements that they must go to and from school in groups, pay attention to safety, and prevent accidents from happening.
After the speech, the students dispersed in groups of three or four. Wen Wan followed several students from the team out of the school. As soon as she walked out of the school gate, she saw Lu Dongping striding towards her.
He was still quite far away, but Wen Wan knew it was him at first sight.
After taking a nap at home, Lu Dongping regained his spirits and called out to Wen Wan, "Wan Wan!"
Wen Wan waved at him and walked over amid the laughter of several students.
"Are you done?"
Lu Dongping walked back with her, saying as they walked, "We're done for now."
"We just had a meeting. Principal Wang said things are not going well here lately. He said a group of human traffickers have come to our area."
Since it was a matter of safety, Lu Dongping would not hide it from her: "Yes, it's a gang crime. The military sub-district in the provincial capital has been alerted and is wanted. We have many mountains and complex terrain here, so it's too easy to hide someone. All the communes have received notice and are cooperating with the higher-ups. One thing to be careful of is that you must not go alone. There are too few residents here. If something really happens to one household or another, there will be no one to help."
Wen Wan was a little confused: "Do you know where these people are from? The control is so strict everywhere now. It's hard to leave without proof of introduction. How come they ended up here?"
"They say it's in the mountains north of the provincial capital, very remote. No one there can find a wife, so the brave ones go out and abduct them into the mountains. Once they're abducted, they lock them up in houses, beat and abuse them, and only let them out when they're obedient and have children. They say a female educated youth was also abducted there. Her companions who went to the countryside to work with her called the police. The woman's family had connections, and she brought people with her. The whole team was in the same situation. Several of them escaped when they were arrested. I don't know how they ended up in Ganling."
Wen Wan asked him, "Since they knew someone was going to arrest them, they would have hidden themselves tightly and wouldn't have dared to come out and do anything bad again, right?"
"Who knows? Anyway, you better pay attention. How long do you have until the final exam?"
"After this week, we'll have exams next Friday. The notification letters will be sent out a week after the exams, and then it's winter break."
Lu Dongping nodded: "Sure, I'm not busy during this period. I'll take you there in the morning and pick you up in the afternoon. You must wait for me after school, okay?"
Wen Wan glanced at him and said, "Are you okay after school? We're together, and there are many students on the team!"
Lu Dongping nodded: "That's fine, anyway, be careful, you can't be alone in knowing it, right?"
Wen Wan agreed: "Principal Wang said that the commune women's federation will be going to the countryside to perform at the end of the year. After I get the notice, I will go to the commune and help them arrange the program. Will I still go?"
Lu Dongping thought for a moment and said, "If you want to go, go ahead. You can't ruin your life and stay home all day just because of something like this!"
After hearing his words, Wen Wan felt a little more at ease.
Later, during dinner, Lu Dongping reminded Lu Chun'e again: "I've already told Dongfu that you two go to school together in the morning. If he finishes class first, he'll wait for you. If you arrive earlier than him, he'll wait for him. You must be careful. You will recognize the people you see here, but if you're unfamiliar, you must go somewhere. Don't be alone no matter where you go, okay?"
Lu Dongping was genuinely terrified. Hearing Lin Chenghai's description of the young women who had been lured away or otherwise taken away as soon as they left the house, each one in the prime of life, taken to the mountains by those thugs and treated like livestock, tools for procreation. It was said that after the area was cleared, none of the young women rescued were intact; some were disabled or insane. Some were pregnant, and some, knowing they were free, didn't rejoice, but instead committed suicide when no one was paying attention.
His scalp tingled when he thought about it.
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