Chapter 191 Qiao Mei
The anxiety and worry in the old lady's eyes made Xia Mufan feel a little soft-hearted.
She must be very sad that her granddaughter has been missing for five years and there is still no trace of her. Now she is placing her hopes on herself, so she might as well give it a try.
Xia Mushige lowered his head and gave an order to Xue Gao: "Sit!"
Xue Gao immediately squatted down obediently, but still stared vigilantly at the stranger who suddenly appeared in front of him.
Xia Mufan took the stack of information and picked out a few to quickly browse through.
The missing person is named Tao Nianqiao, from Taojiaping, Jiyang Town, Yuntong County, Xing City. He disappeared in July 1992. He was only 15 years old when he disappeared and had just finished the high school entrance examination. The person who called the police is the old lady in front of us, Tao Nianqiao’s grandmother, named Chi Juxiang.
Tao Nianqiao in the missing person notice had short hair, a pair of clear and bright almond-shaped eyes on her thin face, and two thick eyebrows made her look somewhat determined compared to other girls of the same age.
Seeing that the girl was from Xing City, Xia Mufan put away the information and said to Chi Juxiang gently: "Old man, come with us."
Xia Mufan brought Chi Juxiang to the reception room and called the two bachelors, Sun Xianbing and Yu Jing, to come over. Today is the weekend, and Feng Xiaoyu and Gong Weiguo rarely have time to reunite with their loved ones, so we will not disturb them for the time being.
Chi Juxiang sat on the sofa in the reception room and took the hot tea handed over by Xia Mufan. She was a little flattered: "Officer Xia, you will help me, right?"
Xia Mufan did not agree immediately and asked, "Old man, when your granddaughter went missing, which police station reported the incident?"
Chi Juxiang pointed at the stack of information and said, "I reported the case to the police station in our town. Here is the report record at that time. I copied a copy and kept it. And here is the missing person notice I made. Here are the calls I received and the places I visited in the past few years after I posted the missing person notice..."
After making more than a dozen copies of the missing person notice, Xia Mufan asked Chi Juxiang, "Why did you make so many copies?"
Chi Juxiang had tears in her eyes: "I came here to look for you. I posted all the way here. There are still these left. I will post more later. I hope Qiaomei can see it, or... a kind-hearted person who knows Qiaomei's whereabouts can see it."
The old woman in front of me was wearing a blue cotton jacket and a pair of cotton shoes with mud on the edges. Her face was chapped by the cold wind and her outstretched hands were black and rough. It was obvious that she was an old woman who did farm work. It was also obvious that she had walked a lot and suffered a lot.
Xia Mufan couldn't bear to see the elderly and children suffer. He thought of her coming all the way from the countryside to Xing City alone, posting missing person notices along the way, and pulling everyone she saw to ask: Have you seen my Qiaomei? Xia Mufan couldn't help but feel his throat tighten a little, and he lowered his head to look at the police record carefully.
At this moment, Sun Xianbing and Yu Jing walked in.
Sun Xianbing asked: "Captain Xia, we are working overtime on the weekend. Is there a case coming up?" As soon as he and Yu Jingyi received a call from Xia Mufan, they realized something had happened and rushed over immediately.
Xia Mufan raised his head and said, "You're just in time. Please contact the archives department. I need to find a file on the missing girl's case. The missing person's name is Tao Nianqiao, and the police were notified in July 1992."
Sun Xianbing glanced at the old man who was sitting stiffly on the sofa and nodded: "Okay! I'll go right away."
Xia Mufan said to Yu Jing, "Dayu, go across the street and buy a box lunch. The old man must have been hungry all day." It was three o'clock in the afternoon and the cafeteria was closed, so they could only buy food from the small restaurant across the street.
Yu Jing also noticed that Chi Juxiang looked pale and dusty, and a trace of pity flashed in his eyes. He quickly responded, "Okay, I'll go right away."
Chi Juxiang waved her hands tremblingly: "No, no need, police comrade, I won't bother you, I brought dry food, I'm not hungry." As she spoke, Chi Juxiang took out a plastic bag from her cloth bag, in which there were two dry and hard steamed buns.
Xia Mufan put the plastic bag back into the old man's cloth bag: "Old man, you must have been exhausted after traveling for such a long time. Now that you are here, just treat it as your own home. Eating dry food all the time will make your stomach uncomfortable. Have some hot rice or hot dishes."
Yuntong County is about 20 to 30 kilometers away from Xing City. The old man walked all the way here and posted missing person notices. It was estimated that it took eight or nine hours. No wonder the edges of his shoes were covered in mud.
Chi Juxiang was reluctant to spend money, so it was impossible for her to cook in a restaurant. Xia Muchan had to rely on his own legs to go to school in town, so he knew the hardship of being tired and hungry.
Xia Mufan thought that it was just giving the old man a hot meal, a simple favor, but it moved Chi Juxiang to tears.
Chi Juxiang held the box of steaming stir-fried pork rice, tears streaming down her face. She cried while munching on the rice. She didn't speak until she had finished all the food.
"Comrade police, you are really great!"
"Qiaomei is missing. I went to the police station and the municipal public security bureau, but they all said they couldn't do anything."
"I set out from the village early in the morning and walked until my legs were almost broken. I am old and can't walk fast anymore. I am afraid that one day I will die without finding Qiaomei..."
Xia Mufan added some hot water to the old man's teacup and comforted him, "Old man, don't be sad. Tell us in detail what happened before and after your granddaughter disappeared."
Chi Juxiang wiped away her tears, took two sips of water from the steaming teacup, and then told the story of Tao Nianqiao's disappearance five years ago in detail.
Chi Juxiang was widowed at a young age and had only one son, Tao Dazhuang. She lived frugally and worked hard to raise her son until he was twenty years old. His son married Zhao Qingliu from the neighboring village and gave birth to a daughter, whom he named Tao Nianqiao.
Zhao Qingliu had a stubborn temper. She had a big quarrel with Tao Dazhuang every three days and a small quarrel every two days. She would run back to her mother's house from time to time. When Tao Nianqiao was three years old, Zhao Qingliu abandoned her to work as a nanny in her relatives' home in the city. Tao Dazhuang found it meaningless to quarrel with her, so he followed his fellow villagers to work in the south, and the relationship between the couple became worse and worse.
When Tao Nianqiao was seven years old, Zhao Qingliu and Tao Dazhuang divorced and each started a new family.
Zhao Qingliu married and moved to the town. Her husband Mo Liangcai opened a hardware store in the town. Although he had been married before and had a daughter, he was said to be very rich. Zhao Qingliu helped take care of her stepdaughter and was only thinking about having another son to consolidate her position. She had long forgotten about Tao Nianqiao.
While working, Tao Dazhuang met his fellow villager Yuan Qionghua. They had similar personalities and got married soon. The couple opened a rice noodle shop in the county town and their business was booming.
Tao Nianqiao was not loved by her father and her mother, so she was left to live with her grandmother Chi Juxiang since she was a child. The two depended on each other for survival.
Although life in the countryside was hard, Tao Nianqiao did not drop out of school like many girls in her village because she had her grandmother by her side. Chi Juxiang had suffered from the lack of education all her life and was very supportive of her granddaughter's education. Therefore, Tao Nianqiao started school at the age of seven and continued until junior high school.
Tao Nianqiao is very smart. She studies very hard and her grades are always among the best in the class. The teachers all said that as long as Tao Nianqiao continued her studies, she would be able to be admitted to university and become the first female college student in the village.
After hearing the teacher's words, Chi Juxiang secretly made up her mind that no matter how difficult it was, she must support her granddaughter's education.
But she is an old lady in the countryside, relying entirely on the few acres of rice fields and vegetable plots at home to support herself and her granddaughter. Wei Nianqiao's tuition and miscellaneous fees over the years have all been paid by her son. Going to the county town to attend high school requires accommodation, and the tuition, accommodation, and food expenses for one year alone are one thousand yuan. Is Tao Dazhuang willing to pay so much money?
After Tao Nianqiao took the high school entrance examination in June, the results came out and she ranked second in the school. She was successfully admitted to the No. 1 High School in the county. After receiving the admission letter, Chi Juxiang came to her son to ask for money.
After remarrying, Tao Dazhuang had another son and a daughter. He ignored Tao Nianqiao. When he heard that he had to support her to go to high school and college, he said to his mother irritably: "Why does a girl need to study so much? It's enough for her to finish junior high school. I have been fined a lot for having more children than allowed, and opening a shop also costs money. I can't afford to support Qiaomei. Mom, if you like to make trouble, it's up to you. Just don't ask me for money."
Hearing that her son didn't support her, Chi Juxiang was almost going crazy. She wanted to kneel down and kowtow to her son: "Son, if you don't give me money, Qiaomei's future will be over. Her grades are very good, and the teachers all say that she can get into college. Just lend a hand and support her, mom is begging you!"
But Tao Dazhuang got annoyed whenever he saw Tao Nianqiao's face that looked like Zhao Qingliu. He was not willing to spend any more money on Tao Nianqiao. He pulled a long face and said, "Mom, you are my mother. I will definitely take care of you in your old age. If you are willing, you can come and live in the county town with me. I can also help take care of your eldest grandson. As for Qiaomei, let her go to work in the factory after she finishes junior high school."
Chi Juxiang shook her head repeatedly: "I'm not going to the county town. If I go, what will happen to the land of this old house? What about Qiaomei? I will stay here and not go anywhere."
Tao Dazhuang said, "Mom, your eldest grandson is the root of our Tao family. How can you ignore her? Qiaomei is already fifteen years old. Don't girls of this age in the village go to the south to work? You are the only one who spoils her!"
Chi Juxiang was somewhat disheartened: "Son, Qiaomei is also your child. You and Qingliu don't want her, she is so pitiful. She is so smart and good at studying, why don't you want to support her to continue her studies?"
The mother and son had an unpleasant argument, and Tao Dazhuang walked away.
Chi Juxiang hugged Tao Nianqiao and cried for a long time. She didn't know why the child she had raised had such a miserable life. Not only was he not loved by his parents, but he couldn't even read his favorite book anymore.
Tao Nianqiao remained silent for a long time in her grandmother's arms.
She reached out her hand and gently wiped away the tears that kept flowing from her grandmother, constantly comforting her: "Grandma, don't cry. If it really doesn't work, I won't study anymore. I will go to work and earn money. When I make money, I will definitely let grandma live a good life."
Seeing that her granddaughter was so sensible, Chi Juxiang's heart was broken.
However, she was just an old woman in her sixties and couldn't think of a better solution.
On July 16, Tao Nianqiao got up early as usual to feed the chickens, water the vegetable garden, sweep the yard, and make breakfast. After having a simple breakfast with Chi Juxiang, she said she had something to do in town to see her teacher, and then left.
It has been five years since I left.
At this point, Chi Juxiang burst into tears again: "It was already dark, and I hadn't seen Qiaomei come back yet. I thought she was delayed on the way, so I went to meet her on the road with a flashlight, but I didn't see her along the way. I panicked and asked people from the same village to look for her. We found the school in town, but the teacher said they hadn't seen her. My Qiaomei...she's gone!"
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