Xiao Weiguo resolved the financial difficulties of this search and rescue operation as quickly as possible.
Regarding other personnel issues, with Liu Changhe's coordination and assistance, a total of more than 300 professional search and rescue personnel were dispatched to Wei Changqing's home that afternoon.
Using his home as the center, the search gradually expanded outwards. Fifty groups were formed, each consisting of six people, and each group carried food, water, and professional search and rescue equipment. They slowly ventured deeper into the mountains.
Before this, Xiao Weiguo even wanted to rent two helicopters, but after inquiring around, he found that there were currently no aircraft available for rent, whether for the police or civilian use.
It's not available for rent in at least a few local cities and the Jiaonan area.
The military certainly has them, but they wouldn't rent them out to individuals for search and rescue operations unless absolutely necessary, in which case the police would apply to the military. As an individual, Xiao Weiguo has no use for it, no matter how much money he has.
Therefore, he had no choice but to take on the entire logistical work, providing a continuous supply of materials to the search and rescue teams. He anxiously awaited news from all the search and rescue teams.
Zhang Damao walked back to the home where he had grown up.
The door to the house was closed, and neither of my parents were home.
Zhang Damao didn't go inside; he walked towards Wei Changqing's house with his head down. He knew that his parents should be there at this time.
When fellow villagers saw him on the street, they greeted him as usual.
"Da Mao, you're back!"
The words were the same, the tone was the same, but there was something inexplicable in his expression. For some reason, this feeling made Zhang Damao feel inexplicably nervous, as if he had done something wrong, even though he hadn't done anything at all.
So he lowered his head even further.
It turns out that some secrets, regardless of right or wrong, always make people feel ashamed when they are made public.
Following the uneven cobblestone path, we arrived at Wei Changqing's home.
There were many people here, so the search and rescue team used this area as the center to search in all directions. Therefore, Wei Changqing's yard and the open space in front of it became the temporary gathering place for the search and rescue team.
After batches of people arrived, dedicated staff provided them with tools and food, and then they left in batches.
Almost a day and a night has passed since Jiao Bai went missing. In this kind of weather, it's impossible for a person to survive for long in such an environment in the wild.
So every minute is precious right now, and the team members don't care if it's almost night. With all their equipment ready, they aren't afraid of getting lost.
Zhang Damao pushed through the crowd and looked up to see that the two heavy and imposing doors of Wei Changqing's house, including the door frames, had been turned into charred charcoal.
Perhaps because they've been too busy, no one has come to repair it yet, and the remaining charcoal chunks are being trampled on underfoot.
Upon entering, a mourning tent had already been set up in the courtyard.
Many villagers came to help, some with white cloths tied around their arms, others with hemp ropes tied around their waists.
Regardless of their usual relationship or the deceased's character, everyone maintained a sorrowful expression at this moment.
I don't know if it was out of respect for the host or because of the mixed vegetable and meatball soup I had for lunch.
In the middle of the mourning tent covered with white cloth, a thin-skinned wooden coffin rested on two long benches.
Two white candles were lit directly in front of the coffin, and in the middle was a bowl of noodles with chopsticks stuck in it. Zhang Damao didn't know what the significance of these things was.
Logically, Wei Yulan's funeral should not have been held here.
She was married, but considering Zhang Damao's parents were old and their home was small, Wei Changqing insisted on starting the coffin procession here. After all, Wei Yulan and Zhang Damao's wedding room was also here.
Wei Yulan died a violent death, and she had elderly parents to care for, so she was not entitled to have her body kept at home for three days like a normal elderly person who has passed away.
If we follow the proper procedures, the burial should have taken place on the same day.
However, in order to wait for Zhang Damao to return, the Wei family and Zhang Laohan and his wife insisted on waiting through the night.
Tomorrow, she will be buried in the Zhang family's ancestral cemetery as Zhang's daughter-in-law. A place will also be reserved here for her to be buried here when Zhang Damao dies many years later.
This position was earned by Wei Yulan through all her selfishness and stubbornness, plus her own life.
The first person to see Zhang Damao was Wei Gang, the elder brother of Da Wei Yulan.
The house was in complete chaos. Wei Changqing had lost all the energy to manage household affairs and sat facing Old Man Zhang and his wife in the main room. The sound he made most often was sighing.
Two old men were puffing away at a bag of tobacco leaves, digging into it. The mothers-in-law, on the other hand, sat on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed) with vacant stares. No one spoke.
At this time, Wei Gang, the eldest son in the family, naturally became the pillar of the family, busy with all sorts of things inside and outside the home.
Zhang Damao himself didn't know if he should have come.
But for some reason, I found myself entering the courtyard and walking step by step toward the coffin in the middle.
He knew that the person lying there was someone he never wanted to see again. He resisted seeing that face that had given him countless nightmares.
But his legs seemed to have a mind of their own, carrying him step by step toward that person.
The courtyard was in a mess, and at first no one noticed his arrival.
When Wei Gang saw him, he had already come to within ten steps of the coffin.
"Son of a bitch!"
Wei Gang let out a low growl and leaped forward, grabbing him by the collar.
"You motherfucker, you still know how to come back? Yulan is all gone."
Wei Yulan was pregnant with Zhang Damao's child and waited for him for six or seven months.
If nothing goes wrong, the baby should be born in about three months.
Zhang Damao seemed to have vanished into thin air; he didn't even come back to visit, let alone write a single letter home.
If Wei Yulan were still alive, he, as her brother, might have been able to understand Zhang Damao's grievances and resentment. But now that Wei Yulan is dead, the guilt the Wei brothers felt towards Zhang Damao has been replaced by the grief of losing their sister, turning into anger towards Zhang Damao.
Wei Gang's eyes were red, and his fierce gaze was fixed on Zhang Damao.
Normally, Zhang Damao might be afraid.
When it comes to fighting, Zhang Damao is no match for the Wei family's thugs. Not just him, but few people in the entire village are unafraid of these brothers. They're not only ruthless, but also incredibly united, always fighting together.
But right now, Zhang Damao didn't seem to care much about arguing with him. He merely glanced at Wei Gang before turning his gaze back to the coffin.
The coffin lid wasn't on yet. From a distance, Zhang Damao could see a bundle of burial clothes inside, but from this angle, he couldn't see Wei Yulan's face.
Wei Gang and Zhang Damao ignored him completely, and his anger grew stronger and stronger.
With a forceful pull of his right hand, he grabbed Zhang Damao's shirt and lifted him up, his feet a foot off the ground.
"Get the fuck out of here."
He roared and threw Zhang Damao a great distance away.
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