The New Year's gift from Sangshen was a jade hairpin. Buling couldn't tell the quality of jade, but she knew that the hairpin was white with a hint of green, warm to the touch, and slightly cool, so it looked valuable.
Moreover, although she was uneducated, she knew the significance of giving a hairpin, which represented the most sincere feelings of a young man.
Suddenly feeling a bit burdened, she realized she couldn't be as unreserved as Sangshen. After a pause, she put the hairpin back, closed the brocade box, and carefully stored it in her spatial storage.
She couldn't guarantee what the future would hold, but she could at least guarantee that as long as Sangshen didn't betray her, she would treat her sincerely.
On the other side, as soon as Sangshen entered the alley, someone called out to her: "Hey? Little Sang, did you hear that you went to the market in Hongshan Commune today? I heard that a child went missing at the market today?"
Sangshen stopped and looked at the uncle who had spoken. Before she could say anything, she heard another older woman say...
“Where? It’s not just Hongshan Commune; children have also gone missing in the neighboring Hongqi Commune, also while they were at the market.”
"Not only that, but children have also gone missing in Hongqiang Commune."
"I heard..."
"And there's more..."
Sangshen had no chance to interject; as she listened to the chatter of the older women and men, her brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
After a while, when he heard that the older women had no more news, he turned and left, going directly to the government building.
Upon arrival, he went straight to the third floor.
"Brother, I heard that children went missing in various communes today?"
Sangzi saw that it was her younger brother and rubbed her temples wearily. "It's true. Children have gone missing in all five towns and fifteen communes under the county seat today."
Sangshen closed the door and sat down opposite her brother: "Children have gone missing? Is this a gang crime?"
"That's the only explanation." Sang Zi didn't hide anything from him.
Sangshen's expression turned serious: "How many children have been lost in total?"
"According to the information coming from below, there are forty-two," Sang Zi said coldly.
"So many?" Sangshen exclaimed in surprise. "Do we have any leads now?"
After saying that, without waiting for Sangzi to speak, he directly stated his opinion: "With so many children, they can't have gone far. Brother, have you ordered a search?"
Sang Zi nodded: "We've mobilized all the available manpower, but there's still no news."
"No wonder the government building is so quiet today!" Mulberry muttered.
Within a day, the news of the missing child spread like wildfire throughout the county, causing widespread panic. Families with children were especially terrified, fearing that misfortune would befall them.
Meanwhile, the public security and armed forces departments of Gu County and even Shui City were all mobilized, and even people from Hebei Province came to help. However, three days passed, and the forty-two children were still nowhere to be found, as if they had vanished into thin air.
The sudden loss of over forty children is a sensational case, and now all eyes are on Gu County, putting unprecedented pressure on the county's leadership.
However, despite the efforts of many parties, the case remained unresolved until the Chinese New Year.
Because of this incident, the Sang brothers did not return to Kyoto for the Lunar New Year this year. On New Year's Eve, Sang rode his bicycle on the deserted streets, his brows furrowed with exhaustion.
"I wonder how Little Blackie is doing now?" he muttered to himself. "Luckily she went back early, otherwise she would have been scared."
As for Bu Ling, who was on Sang Shen's mind, she wasn't doing so well either. On the day she arrived home, Bu Yi and Liang Boda were able to find time to have dinner with her.
But the two disappeared the next day, and they did not return until the New Year. At the same time, news of the missing child in the commune reached the family compound.
Although the family compound was heavily guarded, the military spouses there were still on edge and extremely nervous. Even their children, who were usually free to roam, had disappeared and were all confined to their homes, not allowed to go out.
Most of the men in the family compound were also nowhere to be seen, and Bu Ling naturally knew what was going on.
"Sigh~ I wonder when we'll be able to find these children?" Aunt Cao sighed.
Aunt Cao was the aunt who saved a seat for Bu Ling when she first came to the family compound. After more than a year of getting along, Bu Ling and Aunt Cao got along quite well.
Buling sat on a stool in Aunt Cao's living room, listening to Aunt Cao's ramblings, and felt a little worried.
Aunt Cao muttered under her breath, "I wonder if I'll be able to come back for the New Year? It's all that damned human trafficker's fault, he had to kidnap a child before the New Year!"
"Hmm?" Buling turned her head upon hearing her words. "Aunt Cao, you can't say that."
Aunt Cao smiled sheepishly, realizing that what she had said was inappropriate: "Auntie just spoke too quickly."
Buling smiled and said, "I know, Auntie, but please don't tell anyone what you're saying."
Otherwise, people will think they deserved to be beaten up.
"Auntie knows, I'm just nagging you a bit." Aunt Cao isn't stupid.
Buling sat at Aunt Cao's house for a while before saying goodbye and leaving. She had come here to ask Aunt Cao if there was any new news, but since there wasn't, she didn't want to stay any longer.
The main problem is that Aunt Cao has a chubby little boy who's a nuisance. Aunt Cao is a good person in every way, except that she's a big fan of boys and spoils her grandson rotten, which has made him arrogant and annoying.
The worst thing still happened. The men in the family compound didn't return until the Chinese New Year. Needless to say, the children hadn't been found yet.
Bu Ling spent a lonely New Year in the family compound. By the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Bu Yi and the others still hadn't returned, and there was no news from the other men in the compound either.
Buling was getting a little bored staying there, so she packed her things and decided to go back to the county town. At least she still had her neighbors there, so she would have a way to get information.
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