When the busy farming season began, the entire Heishan County fell into a state of busyness.
Shen Anning's medical office has become a small nursery. Because of Xixi, a group of children who don't have to go to school are willing to come and play with her. Shen Anning also teaches them to count and read when she has nothing to do, so the parents of these children are also relieved and happy. In the morning, they will let their children bring wild fruits picked from the mountains or vegetables grown in their own plots. They are not valuable things, but people who are sensible will naturally receive feedback from Shen Anning.
Every year's autumn harvest usually makes people feel exhausted, and this year is no exception. Fortunately, in October this year, the temperature in Northeast China has dropped a bit, which can be regarded as a bit of comfort in the busyness.
However, the more relaxed you are, the more likely something will go wrong. On the last day of the busy farming season, several villages in the town were in an uproar. Usually, there were five or six children coming to Shen Anning's medical clinic, but today there were only two, both of whom were older.
She waited until half past ten, and saw that there were still few children on the road outside the door. She originally thought that her family had other things to do today and did not let them come over.
Before lunch, after sending off the two children who had played with Xixi for the whole morning, Shen Anning was preparing to make lunch when several grandparents from the village came.
"An Ning, my little grandson came over to play this morning. Why hasn't he gone home yet at dinner time? I came here to tell this brat to go back and eat."
“Yes, Shen Zhiqing, my Xiaobao hasn’t gone back yet.”
. . . . . . .
Shen An Ning was stunned. There were only two children coming this morning. This was the whole story. "Grandpa and grandma, two children came this morning and just went home. I thought something happened at your house, so I didn't let them come today."
As soon as they finished speaking, several elderly people became anxious. The child was three or four years old and usually played in the village. There were village elders staying by the river, so there was no danger. Therefore, no one would deliberately control the child when he was in the village. They did not expect that the child would disappear in their own territory.
For a moment, everyone was a little panicked. After all, this time was different from the last time Xixi and the others were playing secretly in the mountains. The children had all said they wanted to go to the infirmary. Nothing had happened during the busy farming month, so it didn't make sense that the children would be disobedient and run away together at the last minute!
Shen Anning was the first to react, "Grandpa and grandma, let's go to the radio and ask if anyone in the village has seen where the little guys have gone. Look for them in the village. If not, we have to go to the town to check."
Although she said so, Shen Anning knew very well in her heart that if these children were taken away by the beggars, they would most likely have already arrived in the town or the county, and time was precious.
Just then, she saw Shen Anyu and Shen Anxuan returning home from school. Shen Anning pushed her bicycle out and warned them before leaving: "Anyu and Anxuan, don't go to school this afternoon. There are vegetables in the kitchen. You can cook some noodles for yourselves at noon. Close the door and make sure to keep an eye on Xixi. Don't open the door to strangers until your sister comes back this afternoon. Do you understand?"
Looking at Shen Anning with a serious face, the twins nodded obediently even though they didn’t know what exactly happened, “Okay, big sister, be careful on the road, we will take good care of Xixi, don’t worry.”
"Xixi, your aunt is out for something. Remember to go to bed after dinner. Don't be disobedient. Do you understand?"
"Yes, auntie, I will be obedient."
After arranging the family, Shen Anning first went to the homes of the two children who came here in the morning to see that they had arrived home safely. He briefly told them what had happened, and then hurried to the town after passing the village committee.
As she expected, there were already two parents at the police station who had come to report the case. They both lived in the town.
Shen Anning found the police officer who was taking notes, "Officer, three children have disappeared in our village. Two boys, both under three years old, and a girl, about two and a half years old. They were active in the village. They left home at eight in the morning and were found missing around eleven thirty in the afternoon. The villagers are now calling out to the radio to look for them. In this case, do you think it is possible that this is a gang crime?"
Shen Anning only saw the police officer who was taking notes look up at her, his tone somewhat helpless and indifferent, "I say, can you please not come here to report the case blindly? If it was a gang crime, wouldn't all the children in the nearby villages have to be swept up? How could they just leave these few? Look, this whole morning has passed, and only you few have come here. The children are playful and might have hidden somewhere, or forgot to come back after going out to play. You guys are making a fuss and it's really affecting our work, don't you know?"
Unable to utter a word, Shen An Ning was speechless for a moment. It was dinner time now, and the police probably wanted to go off work and were getting impatient. Several parents standing nearby were still crying and begging the police. Shen An Ning took a look and decisively left the police station.
I rode my bike to the post office. There was no one in line at noon, so I called Geng Chengyi at the Armed Forces Department directly.
"Uncle Cheng Yi, I'm An Ning."
Geng Chengyi was a little surprised and asked, "An Ning, what's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Uncle Cheng Yi, many children have disappeared in the village and town. They are mostly between two and four years old. The town's public security bureau doesn't think it's a case of beggars, but I now suspect that this gang is probably kidnapping children in the countryside and town, taking them away before the town reacts. So, please help me find out what the current situation is in the county."
Geng Chengyi, who had been a soldier for many years, was the first to react and realize that if this was a group crime, they were taking advantage of the information gap. After all, there were many places for children in the village and town to play, so it was normal that the town’s public security bureau did not take it seriously.
"Okay, An Ning, I understand what you've described. I'll report this to the county's Public Security Bureau and the Armed Forces Department. If you have time, please check with other villages in town to see if there are any other children missing. I'll always have someone in my office, so please let me know if anything happens."
After Shen Anning hung up the phone, he started riding his bike along the road, going from village to village. Some children in the village were missing, but some parents were not worried at all. They thought the children were just playing around and said they would spank them when they came back in the evening.
When they returned to the village again, they had searched every corner of the mountain and the village, but there was no sign of the three children. By this time, everyone had realized what was happening and seemed to be in a bad mood.
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