Chapter 195 Cat's Meow
Jiyang Town is not big, and there is no planning for the building layout, which is basically built along the roads.
The town government is where the most buildings are concentrated. Spreading outward from the town government, the town’s clinic, primary school, middle school, shops, and supermarkets are all in this area.
The hardware store opened by Mo Liangcai is quite far from the town government. Its front door faces the main road and its back is against a small hill. Its location is relatively remote.
The house is self-built. The hardware store has a large facade. On the left is a seed store, and on the right is the only state-owned farm tool repair station in the town. There is also a small gas station across the street.
Yu Jing drove the car into the gas station.
The management of the town was relatively lax, and the staff at the gas station were all lazy. When they saw that Yu Jing's car had a license plate from the provincial capital, they started to chat with him and said, "Are you from the provincial capital? What are you doing in our town?"
Yu Jing's answer was simple: "To do something."
Seeing that Yu Jing was not easy to talk to, the staff member shut up and cheered quietly.
Gong Weiguo, on the other hand, couldn't sit still, so he bought a few bottles of water from a small store next to the gas station and chatted with the owner.
The owner of the convenience store was a hospitable man. He placed a few chairs with backrests casually on the cement floor in front of the store for people passing by to sit and chat.
Gong Weiguo didn't hesitate to pull over an empty chair and sat down, starting to chat with the town residents.
Gong Weiguo had a handsome appearance and knew the rhythm of the conversation well. Soon he was getting along well with the man who was sitting idle at the door of the store. The topic also slowly shifted from the weather, people's livelihood, and national affairs to the owner of the hardware store opposite.
"There aren't many hardware stores in this town, boss. How's your business?"
"This is the only hardware store in town. They have a wide range of products and the prices are reasonable. If you want to buy hammers, saws, screwdrivers, wires, water pipes, etc., you can come here to find Boss Mo. Their business is very good."
Gong Weiguo narrowed his eyes and observed the movement in the hardware store. Seeing that there was only a bald middle-aged man sitting there dozing off, he said, "I don't think many people come to this store. It's not as popular as our small shop."
When the shop owner heard what Gong Weiguo said, he couldn't help but laugh. He came out with a kettle and poured tea for everyone, saying politely, "How can my small shop compare with Boss Mo? Although the hardware store doesn't seem to have many customers, every deal is a big deal. The building materials business is a big deal, and they make a lot of money. In the past few years, their family has expanded and renovated the house, and bought new cars. They've made a fortune~"
Gong Weiguo deliberately lowered his voice and said, "Boss Mo is so rich, so he must be living a very good life. How enviable."
Gong Weiguo couldn't hide the envy in his tone, which immediately made the shop owner's teeth sore. He curled his lips and said unhappily: "What are you envious of? It's not like you can live a good life just because you have money."
Gong Weiguo clicked his tongue twice: "Boss, you are complaining about sour grapes because you can't eat them. Your mindset is not good enough."
The shop owner was embarrassed when Gong Weiguo said this: "Ask the neighbors. I'm not saying the grapes are sour. Although Boss Mo's family is rich, he has always had a problem, right?"
When the others heard this, they smiled at each other. It was obvious that everyone knew about Boss Mo's troubles.
One of the ladies said while eating sunflower seeds: "He is a stranger, so he definitely doesn't know. Everyone in our town knows that Boss Mo's family has everything except a son."
The other one took the tea from the grocery store owner, thanked him and continued, "Hey, I got married twice, but I only had one daughter. Others are afraid of being fined by the family planning office if they have more children than allowed, but it's the opposite for Boss Mo's family. They have a mountain of cash, but they can't even pay the fine for having more children than allowed."
Gong Weiguo immediately showed great interest when he heard this, and stretched his neck to ask: "Hey, hey, hey, can you explain it clearly? Boss Mo has been married twice, so how come he only has an only daughter?"
The middle-aged woman was seldom surprised to see a young man so fond of gossip, and her favorable impression of Gong Weiguo suddenly increased: "His previous wife gave birth to a daughter, but she was still pregnant for ten years. Boss Mo's mother was so anxious that she forced them to divorce, and then she went around looking for a young and fertile woman for him. But guess what happened? The next wife was even worse, and she didn't even give birth to a daughter."
Gong Weiguo immediately grasped the core of the gossip: "Is Boss Mo's mother very powerful? Can she force her son and his wife to divorce?"
The townspeople all said in unison: "She's very powerful! Everyone is afraid of her."
Gong Weiguo asked again: "Is Mr. Mo's wife not living well?"
The shop owner sighed, "What a sin! His second wife was married before and had children. After she married him, she didn't even want her own daughter. She just wanted to give Boss Mo a son, but nothing happened in all these years. Every day she works like a cow and a horse in his house, serving her parents-in-law and doing housework, and even then she is beaten and scolded by her mother-in-law. She is often seen with wounds on her body and face. It's miserable."
Feng Xiaoyu came over and said, "If that's the case, why don't you get a divorce?"
The middle-aged woman glanced at Feng Xiaoyu and said, "She's divorced once before. If she divorces again, how can she face people? Besides, even though the Mo family treats her badly, they have money. How can she bear to divorce?"
Xia Mufan stood by and listened to everyone chatting.
Zhao Qingliu's second marriage was not happy. She has no children and her in-laws treat her badly. Tao Nianqiao is his only daughter. If he spends some money to educate Tao Nianqiao well, perhaps she will have someone to rely on in her old age. I really don't know what Zhao Qingliu is thinking. Why is he unwilling to be nicer to his daughter?
Gong Weiguo asked: "Since Boss Mo and his current wife have both given birth to children before, that means there is nothing wrong with their health. After all these years of marriage and without any children, didn't they think of going to the hospital to check it out?"
Gong Weiguo asked a very good question, which immediately aroused heated discussion among the residents of the town.
"Why didn't they go to the hospital? They go to the county town every few days, bringing back bags of Chinese medicine. They boil the medicine all day long, and the medicine residues at the door can be piled up into a mountain."
"That's right. After taking so many medicines, his wife's face became more and more yellow. It's useless."
"I think their family has done too many evil things. Why did they drive the daughter-in-law away for no reason? They thought they could give birth to a son by finding a young girl with a big butt, but it turned out to be useless."
Seeing that the topic had all turned to having a son, Gong Weiguo promptly redirected the topic: "Hey, nowadays it doesn't matter whether you have a boy or a girl. If a daughter has a promising future, isn't it better than having a disobedient son?"
The middle-aged lady slapped her thigh heavily as if she had found a soulmate. "Young man, you are right. The Mo family already has a daughter, but they keep asking for a son. I think it's because they have money and nothing to do after having a full meal!"
The shop owner said, "I think their inability to give birth to a son is God's punishment. Who told Zhao Qingliu to be so mean to that daughter? A good child who was studying so well, but she refused to pay her mother for tuition, and ended up causing the child to get lost. Now they are paying the price, right? They deserve it!"
Gong Weiguo was delighted when he heard the topic gradually turned to Tao Nianqiao, and quickly added fuel to the fire: "How did the child get lost?"
Police officers from the police station visited and investigated the town for more than a month. Most of the residents in the town knew about Tao Nianqiao’s disappearance and felt it was a pity.
"She is such a good child. She is one of the best in school and is diligent and filial. It's a pity that she was born into a bad family. She was born into a pair of heartless parents. After they divorced, no one cared about her. They abandoned her in the countryside when she was just a little girl. Giving birth to a child but not raising her is a shameless act."
"The child wanted to go to school but they refused to pay. Five years ago, the child was admitted to the No. 1 Middle School in the county. If she worked harder, she would definitely be able to go to college in the future. But her parents refused to pay. Zhao Qingliu would rather serve her stepdaughter all day long than treat her own biological daughter better."
"I heard that when the child came to see her, she was boiling Chinese medicine at home. Before she could finish her words, she drove the child away, saying that she had no money and calling her a debt collector. As a result, the child was abducted after she left, and has not been found until now. Her heartless mother acted as if nothing had happened and didn't take it to heart at all. Tell me, is a mother like this worthy of being a human being? Why didn't God strike her to death with a thunderbolt! With such a black heart, she deserves not to be able to have children, and no matter how many medicines she takes, it will be useless.
Gong Weiguo asked the most concerned question: "She is not worried at all that her own daughter was abducted. Could it be that she and Boss Mo abducted her?"
Hearing him say this, the residents nearby shook their heads and said, "No way, no way. Why would they kidnap the child? If the mother wanted the child to do something, couldn't she just ask her to do it? There's no reason to hide the child and then call the police to report the child missing and search for her all over the world."
Seeing that the intelligence had been almost collected, Yu Jing asked everyone to get in the car and turned the car around and stopped in front of the hardware store. After Sun Xianbing drove away, he said hello to Mo Liangcai who was guarding the store and bought a faucet.
After returning, Sun Xianbing said, "The faucet in the dormitory was broken, so I bought a new one. Boss Mo seemed to be a simple and honest man, and he answered questions patiently. He asked about the model and caliber for a long time, and said that if the faucet could not be installed, I could come back to him to replace it. If I needed any tools, I could borrow them from his shop for free."
After a pause, Sun Xianbing continued, "The store is quite large, and the goods inside are very complete, from tools to building materials, there is everything, and there is also a large warehouse in the back."
After observing the periphery, the five people continued to move forward.
It is about ten miles from Jiyang Town to Taojiaping, which takes two to three hours to walk or half an hour to drive. The road was all yellow mud, the surface was a bit bumpy, and the car was not going fast.
As soon as I arrived at the village entrance, I saw a trembling figure in the distance, with gray hair fluttering in the wind. It was old lady Chi Juxiang.
When Chi Juxiang saw a car approaching, she hurriedly took a few steps forward, her eyes full of anticipation. After finally seeing the driver clearly, Chi Juxiang's eyes lit up and she stretched out her hand and waved continuously.
The road in the village was very narrow and the car could not drive in, so Yu Jing parked the car under the big banyan tree at the entrance of the village. Xia Mufan jumped out of the car and saw the cat squatting at Chi Juxiang's feet at a glance. It was a yellow and white tabby cat.
Chi Juxiang walked forward and held Xia Mufan's hand, her voice trembling: "Officer Zhao, you are really here! I was afraid you couldn't find it, so I waited here."
Xia Mufan could understand Chi Juxiang's feelings and responded gently: "We have some procedures to go through, so we were delayed for a day. We set off early this morning. Are you not anxious?"
Chi Juxiang hurriedly shook her head: "No hurry, no hurry, you police officers are very busy, I know. I don't know how happy I am that you are willing to help me find Qiaomei. You must be very tired after driving all the way, right? Come in and sit down, I'll make you some tea."
The five people walked towards the village with Chi Juxiang. When they met villagers on the way, everyone looked at them curiously. Someone asked, "Auntie, are there any guests at home?"
There was a hint of joy in Chi Juxiang's voice: "These are the police from the Municipal Public Security Bureau. They said they would help me find Qiaomei."
When they heard that it was the police, the villagers gathered around and went to Chi Juxiang's old house.
Xia Mufan's eyes were fixed on the tabby cat that followed Chi Juxiang. If I'm not mistaken, this cat is Mi Tang, who was raised by Tao Nianqiao.
She heard Mi Tang calling out non-stop.
[Grandma, go and save Qiaomei.] 】
[Qiaomei is crying.] 】
[Qiaomei was crying in the house.] 】
Xia Mufan was startled: Has Mi Tang found Qiaomei?
Mi Tang suddenly became ruthless, bit Chi Juxiang's trouser leg and dragged her towards the village entrance. Chi Juxiang tripped and almost fell.
The villagers hurriedly supported Chi Juxiang, kicked the rice soup with their legs, and cursed: "What a plague cat! Qiaomei is gone, why do you always bite your grandmother? Go catch the mouse quickly, don't waste time here."
Mi Tang rolled over, raised his little head and kept calling out, his eyes showing anxiety and panic.
[Hurry up and save Qiaomei.] 】
[Qiaomei was locked in a dark room.] 】
Why don’t you always listen to me? 】
Chi Juxiang sighed, bent down and picked up Mi Tang, coaxing it like a child: "Mi Tang, grandma knows you are also anxious to find Qiao Mei. Now the police comrades are here, and someone has helped us find her, don't panic."
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