Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Kidnapped in the mountains.
Nineteen sixty-three.
The beginning of April in the Gregorian calendar is the time for spring ploughing. All the teams are busy hoeing the land, beheading the stalks, and sowing seeds...
It's in full swing and very busy.
After experiencing the difficult period of the previous two years when people were so hungry that they wanted to gnaw on tree bark, even a three-year-old child knows that the importance of food is absolutely ranked first.
Only if the crops are planted well and grow well can we have food next year. Therefore, everyone is very enthusiastic in going to work during this period. There is no need for the team leader to shout at them. Even the lazy people who usually like to slack off at work are obedient during this period.
After working intensively with their backs to the sky and their faces to the earth during the day, they naturally sleep very soundly at night.
But, there are always some unexpected things.
Unlike the pitch darkness in the brigade, it was so quiet that not even the sound of chickens or dogs barking could be heard.
At this moment, a few flashes of light appeared on a hillside.
Behind the bright light were two men, one tall and one short. The flashlight in the short man's hand looked like it was about to be scrapped, and the outer shell was a little rusty.
The light bulb flickered from time to time, and I didn't know whether the tungsten filament inside was about to break or the battery had poor contact.
When the light bulb went on strike again and the surroundings fell into complete darkness, the short man cursed, then stopped and shook the flashlight in his hand vigorously, his face full of irritability and impatience.
Although he had honest facial features, his face looked a little gloomy at this moment.
After shaking the flashlight twice and seeing no light, he knocked it against the tree, causing the outer iron sheet to be dented.
"Can't you be a little more gentle?" the tall man growled, unable to bear it any longer.
Just as he finished speaking, the flashlight bulb lit up again due to the knocking, and just happened to shine on the tall man's back, where a little girl was lying sleeping.
At this moment, the short man bent his waist downwards a little, and then shook it upwards vigorously, his tone very impatient, "Damn it! It's your turn to carry this damn girl! She's so heavy, it makes my waist hurt!"
In the darkness, where the flashlight couldn't reach, I saw a little girl sleeping on the short man's back.
She looked obviously bigger and fatter than the girl on the tall man's back. She had some baby fat on her face, and dimples could be seen faintly at the joints of her exposed hands. Although they were not very deep, they were there.
In an era when every household could not even have enough to eat, the fact that he could grow up like this showed at a glance that his family conditions were not bad and he must have been well raised by his family.
The tall man didn't respond. As he walked forward in the dim light, his legs were limping and his right leg was obviously a little tilted. In his condition, it was difficult for him to walk on the mountain road during the day, let alone at night when it was difficult to see clearly.
Apparently, that was why he carried the girl more gently.
The short man was a bit relentless, "I told you not to meddle in other people's business, but you f*cking insisted on doing it! Getting two girls involved will only delay things!!"
He kept swearing and complaining.
The tall man walked in front without looking back. He was careful not to trip over branches while he was also nagging in a low voice, "Are you done yet? I've been talking all the way. Don't you think it's annoying? I'm tired of listening to you."
As the two of them quarreled, their volume unconsciously became much louder. From time to time, the sound of birds flying away could be heard all around them, and it was obvious that their sweet dreams had been disturbed in the middle of the night.
Amid the noise, the two little girls seemed to be fast asleep, without making any sound. The Red Flag Brigade at the foot of the mountain was also completely silent. There was no light in the entire brigade, and it was obvious that they were all asleep.
However, unlike the silent Red Flag Brigade, the Qingfeng Brigade, nearly 20 kilometers away, was in an uproar and extremely noisy.
Because Mu Mian, the daughter of Mu Fugui, and Xu Lele, the daughter of the captain, are missing! ! !
---
The story begins in the evening.
During the spring ploughing season, all adults are busy. Except for the old men and women who cannot do heavy work and the children who are too young, all other young and middle-aged people have to go to work.
When adults are busy, they naturally have no time to take care of children.
What's more, these days, children in the countryside become sensible early. Even if they can't do farm work, they will help adults pick up firewood and dig wild vegetables to the best of their ability.
Anyway, he often runs around outside, and the adults are used to him. When they can't find him, they just need to stand by the field and howl a few times, and the naughty kids can hear him no matter what they are doing on the hillside.
Besides, the brigade is not a big place, so there is no need to worry about children getting lost.
The first person to discover that the two little girls were missing today was the old lady of the Mu family, Zhao Meihua. Old man Mu died early, and after he left, the Mu family split up.
Zhao Meihua lives with her eldest son Mu Fugui and eldest daughter-in-law Liu Shuangcui. She is not young anymore, so she usually helps with housework and looks after her granddaughter.
It was a coincidence that today, as spring plowing was already busy enough, happened to coincide with the birth of Mu Xinglong's wife, Zhao Meihua, the youngest daughter-in-law. She was pregnant with twins, and the situation was very dangerous, so she spent the entire afternoon running around in her youngest son's house.
When I got home from work, I realized that I hadn't seen my granddaughter, who usually stayed by my side quietly, for half a day.
After asking other children in the team, I found out that my granddaughter had gone to collect firewood with Le Yatou, the daughter of the team leader Xu Yongshou.
At that time, the whole family did not realize the seriousness of the problem. They just thought that the two little girls must have forgotten the time or were delayed by something fun and came back late.
It was not until it was dark that the two families realized something was wrong. The other children who were running around outside had all returned home, but the two little girls were still nowhere to be seen. Normally, it was rare for them not to return home after dark.
Mu Fugui, who had just returned from the slaughterhouse, didn't even have time to change his blood-stained clothes. He rushed up the mountain and searched everywhere.
After a while, the villagers who knew what happened volunteered to help look for him. The captain's eldest brother Xu Gaoyi and another young man in the team
I also went to report to the police.
After searching for several hours without finding anyone, this meant that it was unlikely that the two little girls got lost on their own. As for the remaining possibility, neither family wanted to think about it.
Qingfeng Brigade was not very close to the commune, and it was late at night. Although the two young men were fast, it was already late at night when they returned.
At this time, the hillside was still noisy. Some people were holding kerosene lamps, some were holding torches, and the voices of calling for people never stopped, but there was no sign of a single person.
Mu Fugui was the first to notice Xu Gaoyi and the other man running over, and he quickly went to meet them. "What's going on? Is there anyone at the Public Security Bureau right now? What's going on?!"
Team leader Xu Yongshou also kept a close eye on his eldest son.
Xu Gaoyi's face did not look good. After taking a long breath, he told the news he got from the police. He said that a group of kidnappers had recently escaped to their side. It happened in the past two days. The police had just received the news and were preparing to search and arrest them, but had not found any clues yet.
Mu Fugui and Xu Yongshou, two grown men, looked extremely unhappy at this moment.
Old Mrs. Zhao had weak legs and was exhausted after searching for most of the night. When she heard the news, her worries became a reality. She was so anxious that she burst into tears and fainted.
"mom!!!"
"Aunt Zhao!!"
"Oh my god!"
There were screams all around. Mu Fugui quickly supported his mother and pinched her philtrum with his thumb. It took a while for Old Mrs. Zhao to wake up slowly. She covered her chest and cried loudly. Some of those with shallow eye sockets wiped their eyes anxiously.
"Why did those damned people come here?!"
"Our Da Zhuang said that he saw Mian and Le when he was carrying firewood back. Looking at the bright side, maybe the two girls got lost and fell asleep somewhere."
"Where can a seven or eight-year-old girl go on her own?!"
"Don't let the kids go up the mountain these days."
"What a sin! If we can't find it, won't Aunt Zhao's life be in jeopardy?!"
…………
…
Everyone in the brigade knew that the girl from the Mu family was raised by Old Mrs. Zhao with great difficulty. Mu Fugui and Liu Shuangcui had only two children.
Liu Shuangcui injured her body when she gave birth to her first child and she had no children after that. It was nearly ten years later that she became pregnant with her second child, Mu Mian.
The family doted on their daughter, who was born in old age. The little girl was fair and clean, and very lovable, but she didn't seem to be very smart. She was over two years old and could not speak much. When she sat quietly on the doorstep, she looked like a beautiful porcelain doll.
At that time, there were many people gossiping, saying that this little girl couldn't stand on her own feet at first glance, but they were all scolded back by Mrs. Zhao and her daughter-in-law.
When the little girl grew up a little, she could speak fluently, but she spoke little. She only talked to her family and kept silent in front of outsiders.
Although he is quiet, he is very sensible and well-behaved. He keeps himself clean every day, which makes outsiders happy, let alone his own grandmother.
Old Mrs. Zhao really treated the little girl like the apple of her eye. When she was two or three years old, she would take her wherever she went. It was only when the little girl grew up a little and could run around by herself that the old lady's expression of wanting to tie her to her belt improved a little.
Who would have thought that the little girl disappeared in just one afternoon without me noticing?
---
While the villagers of Qingfeng Brigade had been staying up all night, Mu Mian on the other side vaguely felt that he was dying of heat.
My whole head was dizzy and I could vaguely smell some dust in my nose, just like when I'm crossing the street and happen to encounter a cleaner sweeping the road. It was very choking.
It shouldn't have happened. She was sleeping in her own room, so where did such a pungent smell come from?
Moreover, although the temperature has dropped a bit due to rain in the past two days, she wouldn't catch a fever from the cold after a good sleep, right?
His eyelids were indeed very heavy. Just when Mu Mian was struggling to open his eyes, his head suddenly hurt and some images flashed wildly and uncontrollably.
In the blur, I felt a strange yet familiar feeling in my heart.
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