Chapter 59 Counterfeit

"Do you think Gu Lao looks kind?" Ji Duo never knew such a thing existed.

Lin Qiao nodded, "I felt that he looked familiar when I first saw him in the hospital, but I couldn't remember him, so I didn't tell you."

This is her character. Ji Duo looked at her deeply and did not ask in a hurry.

The two were still in the car on their way back, and Lin Qiao didn't rush to say anything. The more he compared them, the more he felt that they really looked alike.

The couple was more patient than the other. When they got home and went upstairs, Ji Duo asked in a low voice, "Who does he look like?"

"She's my neighbor Guo Yan's cousin." Lin Qiao didn't keep it a secret. "Her eyebrows and eyes are very similar, especially her eyebrows. They have the same heroic three-dimensional eyebrows as Mr. Gu."

"The girl named Guo Yan that your cousin is dating?" Ji Duo always had a good memory.

"It's her." Lin Qiao said, "Her uncle has an only daughter named Yue Hua, who lives in the town. When she was little, she often came to our village to play. But I haven't seen her for two years. She repeated her studies twice and was admitted to university. People in the village say that there is a lot of smoke coming out of the ancestral tomb of Aunt Guo's family. Two honest people raised a college student."

In fact, it is quite rare for a girl to have such heroic eyebrows. It’s just that the original owner didn’t have much contact with him, and after she traveled through time and space and came to Yandu, she never thought about it.

Moreover, Mr. Gu and Shaozhen don’t look particularly alike. Compared to Mr. Gu, Sister Yue Hua from Uncle Guo Yan’s family looks more like the photo of Shaozhen when she was a child.

It is said that Sun Xiuzhi looked down on Guo Yan, but she was quite fond of Yue Hua. Unfortunately, no matter how many times she mentioned it, Guo Yan's mother and uncle ignored her.

"But her family lives in the town. I grew up with Guo Yan. I have never heard that she was adopted or picked up."

"Has she always lived in your town, or has she..."

Ji Duo happened to speak at the same time, and after he finished speaking, he and Lin Qiao looked at each other and found that they had thought of the same thing.

It seemed that as long as they didn't talk about themselves, the two of them always had this kind of tacit understanding. I don't know if it was like this from the beginning, or it developed over a long period of time.

In the end, it was Lin Qiao who spoke first. Compared to the excitement when she first thought of it, she was much calmer. "Sister Yue Hua's age doesn't quite match. She is only two years older than me, and Shao Zhen is three years older than me. I just think they look alike. I have to ask my mother for details. She should know whether Sister Yue Hua is her biological daughter or not."

"Then let's go back to the old house tomorrow and call our mother." Ji Duo was not the type to drag his feet, so he made the decision immediately.

It's late now. No one answered the village office. It's not appropriate to go to the house of Brigade Commander Liang next door to borrow a phone.

The next day, Sunday, the couple returned to their old house early and called Liu Yulan's village using the number they had found last time.

Ten minutes later, Liu Yulan came running to answer the phone, sounding a little breathless. She was even more surprised when Lin Qiao asked about Yue Hua, "Of course she is her mother's biological daughter. I held her before her first birthday. Why do you suddenly think of asking this?"

Although they didn't hold out much hope, after hearing this answer, the couple looked at each other and fell silent.

"I'm just asking." Lin Qiao was relatively calm. "Did Miss Yue Hua get lost when she was a child, or was she away from home for a long time? Do you have any impression?"

Since you've asked, ask clearly and eliminate all possibilities to avoid any omissions.

"I haven't heard of it." Liu Yulan obviously didn't know. "If she really got lost, you and Guo Yan are so close, how could you not know about it?"

Lin Qiao really didn't know. After all, Shaozhen's original body was only five years old when she was lost. Even if she had any memories, they would definitely not be too many. What's more, she was not the original body.

But after hearing what Liu Yulan said, it seemed that it was not true. Lin Qiao put down the phone and shook his head at Ji Duo.

Ji Duo didn't look disappointed. "If it's not, then it's not. Just rule out a wrong answer."

Having been helping Mr. Gu look for a match for so many years, he has encountered this kind of situation before. Compared to the last time when he left with hope and returned disappointed, this one is nothing.

Xu Li, who was listening nearby, was afraid that the two young people would feel uncomfortable, so she tried to change the subject, "It's a rare opportunity to call your mother, Qiao Qiao, do you want to say a few more words?"

"My mother's phone is in the village too. It's not good to occupy it all the time." Lin Qiao declined with a smile.

Actually, she and Liu Yulan didn't have much to talk about, so it was just right to write a letter occasionally so as not to be too distant, nor to force a topic for conversation.

Xu Li didn't say anything else, but she whispered to her father privately: "The matter between Shaozhen and Shaoping is almost becoming a headache for the second son. It would be nice if someone could talk to him about it."

"I didn't expect him to tell Qiao Qiao about this. Normally, we don't dare to mention it in front of him." The old man also sighed, "Since Shao Ping passed away, his temper has become more and more gloomy. Sometimes when I see him, I am afraid that he will go to extremes. Fortunately, he has been upright all these years and has not gone astray."

"So it's better to get married." Xu Li smiled, "After getting married, people will not be so boring anymore."

It would be even better if she could have a grandchild, but the second child and Qiao Qiao are obviously not in a hurry, so they probably have to wait a while.

The possibility of Yue Hua has been ruled out, so we have to hurry up and investigate Chen Zhaonan.

But Lin Qiao always felt that the other party didn’t seem to be real. If it was real, since she had memories, didn’t she report to the police that she was abducted?

Even if one police station or two police stations don't care, it's impossible for all police stations to ignore it, right?

And when it comes to things that everyone knows, the other party can tell it out, but when it comes to some old childhood events, the other party will have a head injury and can't remember them.

However, when it comes to whether Shaozhen can be found, we cannot make a conclusion so easily even if there is a slight possibility. The specific details still depend on the results of the investigation over there.

Soon, the local police station received the first news that Chen Zhaonan had indeed reported the case before, but he only said that he was subjected to domestic violence and did not mention that he was abducted.

But when Lin Qiao asked Chen Zhaonan that day, she said that she had mentioned it before and the local police station didn't care, so she went to the county public security bureau this time.

One of the two parties must be lying. Lin Qiao asked Ji Duo, "Didn't Su Zheng get anything else out of you?"

"No, he asked an old lady who used to take care of his mother to come over and look after him. She wasn't as scared as she was at first, but she still didn't talk."

"What about her parents? Have you found them?"

"No." Ji Duo looked normal, but he was obviously not satisfied with the progress. "I have asked someone to go to the village where her husband's family lives to inquire."

Just as I said this, the newly installed telephone in the living room rang.

Ji Duo was close by, he reached out to pick up the microphone, and as soon as he said hello, his eyes fell on Lin Qiao.

"Chen Zhaonan said he wanted to see me?" Lin Qiao was still a little confused until he got off the car in front of Su Zheng's house.

Su Zheng also frowned, "That's what Grandma Zhou said. She said she had something to say, but she would only say it to you in person."

This was the first night I came into contact with her, and I only talked to her. Do I have a bromantic relationship with her?

Lin Qiao did not want to be overly sentimental, so after asking about the general situation, he went to the west room and found that the photos inside had changed a little compared to a few days ago.

There were obviously more daily necessities for women, and Chen Zhaonan was wearing thicker clothes, obviously he was well taken care of.

Lin Qiao sat down on the chair opposite the man and got straight to the point, "I heard you had something to say to me, what is it?"

His tone was still gentle, and his words were the same as last time. He was afraid that the other party would not understand him, so he spoke slowly. Chen Zhaonan lowered his head and tugged at the corner of his clothes, "I'm sorry, I, I didn't tell the truth last time."

Some unexpected explanations, but when you think about it, she specifically called Lin Qiao over to say she had something to say, it doesn’t seem that surprising.

Lin Qiao just said "hmm" to indicate that he was listening, with a calm expression, showing neither surprise nor any displeasure at her words.

Chen Zhaonan carefully glanced at her face and lowered his voice, "I, I am not Gu Shaozhen at all."

This is indeed not the case. How does she know so much information? It is very intriguing. Even the police who are looking for someone may not know it.

Lin Qiao hesitated for a moment and discussed with the other party, "Can I ask Ji Duo and Su Zheng to come in as well? She is their childhood friend's sister, they have the right to know." Seeing the other party's nervousness

, and then said slowly: "Let them listen at the door. You don't have to be nervous. We are not unreasonable people."

Because these people were very reasonable, unlike those she had met before, Chen Zhaonan made up her mind to tell them the truth.

Hearing Lin Qiao say this, she nodded, and Lin Qiao went outside to call Ji Duo and Su Zheng.

Two big men suddenly squeezed into the room, and Chen Zhaonan became visibly nervous. Fortunately, Lin Qiao kept his word and only let them stop at the door.

"How did you know about Shaozhen? Can you tell us in detail?"

Lin Qiao still sat closest to Chen Zhaonan, in a very clever position, blocking the two men behind her.

This made Chen Zhaonan relax a lot. I, I heard it from others. I don’t have any children. My husband always beats me. I went to the police station to beg for mercy several times, but no one cared. I can’t read, so I can’t run away. I was beaten again a while ago. Before I got to the police station, I saw my husband at the door...”

As I was talking, I became "I" and my words were a little halting, but it was rare that my words were not confusing, so they were able to quickly understand what had happened.

Seeing that her husband was guarding the police station, she naturally didn't dare to go there again. Just as she was about to take a detour to another place, she ran into a man head-on.

The other person was about to get angry after being bumped into by her, but when he saw her face, he restrained himself and asked her a few questions.

Unfortunately, she couldn't answer any of the questions, so the other party sighed and said that they looked so similar but it was not her, otherwise she wouldn't have to suffer this.

Her husband was right at the door of the police station. She was so scared that she couldn't care about anything else and just grabbed him and asked him everything.

"He told me about Gu Shaozhen's situation, how old she was, when she went missing, and who was in her family. I knew he might not be a good person, but I thought that if I could come to Yandu, my man would definitely not chase me to Yandu and beat me, so I went to the county public security bureau to report the case."

Chen Zhaonan is not stupid at all. He knows that the other party may not be a good person. Even if he listens to him, he will still go to the county public security bureau.

Moreover, she remembered the information very clearly, and managed to fool the people there and was successfully sent to Yandu.

"I know what I did was not right, but I really had no choice. I was either kidnapped or sold by my parents for ten dollars."

Chen Zhaonan simply rolled up her sleeves and showed the wounds on her body, old and new, to the others. "These are all from the fight between my husband and my mother-in-law. I still have them. I just wanted to escape. As long as you don't send me back, I'll do anything. I can do anything."

The new wounds on her skinny arms were shocking. Ji Duo and Su Zheng politely looked away, and Lin Qiao hurried to help her put down her sleeves.

The room was silent for a while. When Chen Zhaonan calmed down, Ji Duo turned his gaze back to him. "Do you still remember that person's appearance, figure, and accent?"

I thought it would be good enough if Chen Zhaonan could tell me his approximate age and body shape, but I didn't expect her to nod and say, "Remember, his accent is from my hometown, otherwise I wouldn't dare to listen to him. Height... about her height." She glanced at Lin Qiao, "Thirty years old, square face..."

"Wait a moment, I'll go get some paper and pen." Su Zheng hurriedly opened the door and went out, and soon came back with a notebook.

As Chen Zhaonan described, he kept moving his pencil on the paper. After a while, he actually sketched out a rough picture. "Do you think it looks like this?"

"The mouth needs to be bigger." Chen Zhaonan was obviously surprised, but he thought about it again, "He also has uneven eyes, the left eye is big and the right eye is small."

Su Zheng changed a piece of paper, and soon ticked another one, "What about this time?"

"This time it looks much more like them." Chen Zhaonan couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Are all you Yandu people so amazing?"

"That's because I'm awesome. Otherwise, where do you think I got this epaulette on my shoulder?" Su Zheng patted his shoulder, drew two more pictures, and finally confirmed it completely.

The three of them returned to the east room and spread the portrait on the table. Su Zheng and Ji Duo looked at it carefully and confirmed that they did not recognize it.

"That's not the same gang as back then." Su Zheng said, "I remember exactly who solved the case and who beat me up."

It's either that gang or Yandu's gang. Judging from the clumsy writing, it does seem to be written by the same person as the previous letter. I just don't know if they just made this fake one, hoping that Mr. Gu would find his granddaughter and stop bothering about the past, or if they are desperate and are ready to spread Shaozhen's information widely.

If it were the latter, and fakes kept popping up one after another, even if Mr. Gu wasn't angry to death, he would be exhausted to death.

"It's really a shame." Su Zheng, who is usually a very cheerful person, couldn't help but swear.

Mr. Gu only has this one relative left. Even if they know it might be fake, there is no way they would not check it out. If they miss the real one, wouldn't they regret it for the rest of their lives?

If we investigate, it will cost us manpower and material resources, and we will also have to worry and feel disappointed. We won't be able to live a peaceful life in the future.

Ji Duo was still calm, "Then just pretend that Chen Zhaonan said nothing today. Pretend to look up her information and check this person privately first." He pointed at the portrait.

Su Zheng thought the same thing, "With her as a smokescreen, the other party will not make any new moves in the short term and come up with a second or third fake one."

Otherwise it would be too troublesome. This alone took me many days to deal with. If Chen Zhaonan didn't say it himself, it would take even longer.

Fortunately, although Chen Zhaonan is illiterate, she has an excellent memory and can even recognize the appearance of people she has only had brief dealings with.

Thinking of this, Su Zheng couldn't help but glance at Lin Qiao again, "You said I took care of her for so many days, why didn't she tell me and had to look for you?"

"Maybe I look better than you." Lin Qiao said with a smile. Seeing him choke, she said, "Maybe you think I'm also a young wife and can empathize with you."

Grandma Zhou, whom Su Zheng invited, was also very good at taking care of people, but she was from the older generation after all. The older generation had a saying that a daughter-in-law who is beaten is like dough made from kneading, and that it is better to demolish ten temples than to destroy a marriage. Generally, when encountering such a situation, they would only advise people to endure it, and even think that it is her fault for not having children.

Chen Zhaonan must have heard such words a lot in the past few years, so he is more willing to believe her than Grandma Zhou or Su Zheng, a grown man.

Coming out of Su's house was another dark day, but compared to the last time, this time at least I found out who Chen Zhaonan was, and I also got some new clues.

Lin Qiao exhaled towards the night sky, and then the man beside him suddenly asked, "Are you relieved now?"

She was stunned.

"No need to send her back." Ji Duo explained in a low voice, "I saw that you were quite angry after hearing about her experience."

Lin Qiao was very angry. Any girl who traveled back from forty years ago would be angry. "Even though she pretended to be Shaozhen, I was not happy, but I knew it was a hellhole. I couldn't send her back personally after she escaped, right? I was afraid that I would dream about her getting beaten at night."

When it comes to domestic violence, if one person is willing to fight and the other is willing to be beaten, and neither of them would run away or get divorced, then no one can do anything about it.

But the other party has already run out, and Lin Qiao doesn't want to be like those people who ignored Chen Zhaonan's call for help and pushed her back into the abyss of despair and numbness step by step.

But she was quite restrained, but she didn't expect the man to see it. She couldn't help but look at Ji Duo, "So that's why you said to keep the person?"

"Not entirely." Xiao Fang had already driven the car over. Ji Duo opened the door and said, "Only incompetent men beat women."

That's true, the men in the Ji family don't seem to have this bad habit. The old man has such a bad temper, but he never hit anyone, let alone Ji Jun.

This made Lin Qiao feel much better. If she hadn't known that the hero in the original book was a good person, she would not have dared to come to Yandu to fulfill the engagement.

"Let's teach her a few words." Sitting in the back seat of the car, she whispered to Ji Duo, "Knowing a few words will make life easier for her than being blind."

In the past, many women never left the house in their entire lives because they were illiterate and did not even know where they were when they went out.

If Chen Zhaonan knew a few words, she wouldn't have to seek help from the police station at her doorstep. If she wanted to escape to a farther place, she would have to pretend to be the granddaughter of her elderly father.

After returning, Lin Qiao actually found some elementary school enlightenment textbooks and gave them to Su Zheng, so that Chen Zhaonan could go to a nearby elementary school to attend classes when he had time.

Su Zheng also has to go to work and doesn't have much time. As for Grandma Zhou, she is illiterate and it is unknown whether Chen Zhaonan is willing to leave.

In addition to this book, she also prepared a set of "Journey to the West" and a set of "Water Margin" as the first batch of books to be brought to the classroom as a reading corner.

Although there is only one and a half semesters left, it is never too late to accumulate knowledge. Lin Qiao simply put an empty desk at the back of the classroom and posted a sign saying "borrowing"

Read the manual and find someone to be responsible for management.

“Both parties must sign when borrowing and returning books, and they are not allowed to read during class time. If I catch you, our class’s reading corner will be cancelled. If you have books you have read before and think they are good, you can bring them to the reading corner and share and discuss with other classmates.”

This was something I had never heard of before. After class, students immediately came over and asked, "Look, what books did Teacher Lin put out?"

No matter if they are poor students who get a headache just by opening a book, if they don't lend the book, it won't hinder them from reading it happily.

Not long after, the first of the two sets of books was borrowed. Almost as soon as I finished registering, a lot of attention came to me.

Journey to the West was obviously more popular than Outlaws of the Marsh. Every time the class was over, the student who borrowed the book would be surrounded by people. Soon, Teacher Lan, who taught Chinese to classes three and four, also heard about it. She went home to look through her collection and sent two poetry collections. Students who liked the book would also borrow it to look through.

In addition to the two teachers, other students in the class also brought books. For example, Qi Huaiwen brought a copy of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes".

This was more popular than Journey to the West, and even Vice Principal Qi knew about it. After class, he ran into Lin Qiao in the corridor and asked with a smile, "Are you working on something new?"

The word "又" is used very cleverly, as if since Lin Qiao came to the school, he has been doing things that no one has done before.

She does experiments, takes exams, and now she has even taken up Chinese and created a reading corner.

"I just want to improve the Chinese language performance of my class." Lin Qiao said frankly, "Students read too little, and Teacher Lan also said that learning Chinese requires reading more."

"That's the truth." Vice Principal Qi nodded. "But you should be careful not to interfere with the students' normal studies. I don't need to give you any more instructions in this regard."

This meant that the school had no objection, so Lin Qiao smiled and nodded, "I know. By the way, I have an update here, would you like to hear it?"

She was talking about the reading room.

It is obviously unrealistic to set up a library now. Even forty years later, some primary and secondary school libraries will be virtually non-existent and will have very few books.

The reading room is different. It can store books and newspapers, making it convenient for students to read or study.

But this is still new enough. Vice Principal Qi hesitated for a while after hearing this, and did not give an answer. "I will go back and discuss it with Principal Zeng."

It's good that we can discuss it. Lin Qiao didn't expect to move all the things up now. He nodded and went back to the office.

Unexpectedly, just as she sat down, a postman came to deliver her telegram.

The telegram was sent by Liu Yulan. There were only two words on it - "phone number", which obviously meant that she wanted Lin Qiao to call her.

There was only one class left before the end of school. Lin Qiao wondered why Liu Yulan wanted to see him, and he would call Liu Yulan when he got home in the evening.

"Qiao Qiao, didn't you ask me about Yue Hua last time?" Liu Yulan had obviously been waiting for her, and she came to pick me up quickly. "I have done some research for you these past two days, and she is indeed the biological daughter of Guo Yan's aunt and uncle. Everyone in the village has seen her. But she was not here for more than a year when she was a child, and she went back to her hometown with her mother."

This made Lin Qiao's heart skip a beat, "When?"

"It was 1966 or 1967. Wasn't there a big reunion going on at that time? Guo Yan's aunt was separated and didn't dare to leave her hometown. I was married to your Uncle Yang at that time and was not in the village. I didn't know about this..."