Chapter 61 Chapter 61 True and False Xiao Kangping
Sizzle——
The aroma of the sauce is instantly stimulated when it meets the hot oil. After adding the boiling water, put in half of the fish bones and cook for a few minutes. Put the remaining half of the fish bones into the milky white fish bone paste pot and simmer over low heat.
"You are the only one in the family who doesn't eat spicy food." Shi Guizhi couldn't help but smile and said to He Jian when she saw Wang Nian cooked two more pots.
He Jian was born and raised in Anhuai. His mother would never eat spicy food, so the food at her husband's house was mostly thick red sauce. He would get diarrhea every time he ate chili peppers.
When they first moved in, they were too embarrassed to say it, but after a few meals, Wang Nian noticed it, and every time she cooked, she would make a meat dish without chili for He Jian.
"In the past, my family wouldn't eat any fish except crucian carp. Other fish would always smell fishy no matter how we cooked them." He Jian was still cheerful.
In the milky white fish soup, the dates and wolfberries keep bubbling as the soup boils. There is no fishy smell at all in the aroma. You can already tell that the soup must be delicious before you even drink it.
"I guess I need to learn how to cook from my sister, or I won't be able to get used to it if I become a picky eater."
Just now, Wang Nian took out a small jar from the kitchen and scooped two spoonfuls of something that looked like lard into two pots. Shi Guizhi was too lazy to ask what was in it.
The bottles and jars in the room are dizzying to look at. It can be seen that Wang Nian really likes to study food and is also very skillful, otherwise how could he succeed in making anything he wants.
"We'll put the fish fillets in after Xiang Ming and the others come back."
Wang Nian closed the beehive coal cover, placed all the dishes that would be cooked neatly on the table, and waited for Shi Xiangming and Zhou Yuying to come back.
Shi Xiangming took the child for a follow-up check-up, and Meng Cheng and Zhou Yuying of course went to check whether they were pregnant.
Speaking of this, Shi Guizhi couldn't help but say, "I hope they can get what they want."
"Who said it wasn't?"
Bang--
"Slow down!" Meng Cheng hurriedly held onto the door that was nearly knocked crooked by Zhou Yuying, his face full of anxiety: "Don't run, don't run!"
"Wang Nian."
Zhou Yuying was completely overwhelmed by joy, so she didn't want to hear anything else. She ran over and hugged Wang Nian.
"Congratulations!" Wang Nian patted Zhou Yuying on the back.
It's obvious from my friend's look that she is pregnant. Although she is already an advanced pregnant woman, she finally got what she wanted. How can we not be really happy for her?
"Thank you." Zhou Yuying couldn't suppress her excitement. She hugged Wang Nian and cried and laughed: "It must be the effect of those three sets of medicinal food. She got pregnant not long after eating them."
"You are still in the early stages of pregnancy, so you should be less excited." Wang Nian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Her shoulders were wet. It must be because all her tears and snot had been smeared on her clothes.
"Didn't the doctor say that we must be careful in the first three months?" Meng Cheng sighed helplessly, walked over and helped Zhou Yuying sit on a stool at the side: "You are not allowed to run and jump anymore in the future."
"Aunt Yuying, who bullied you?"
Shi Xiangming straightened the front door of his house, and Shi Feiying ran to Zhou Yuying and asked curiously.
I cried in the hospital just now, why am I crying again after coming back?
Could it be that...
"Aunt Yuying, are you afraid of injections?"
In response to Shi Feiying's innocent question, Zhou Yuying shed a few tears and then laughed, her whole face distorted.
Wang Nian waved his hand quickly: "Go and ask your second sister to come home for dinner, and buy a bottle of soda. Today we are celebrating your recovery."
"Thank you, Mom."
After receiving the one yuan, Shi Feiying immediately forgot about why Zhou Yuying was crying and hurried off to run errands.
"Let's eat. Today we are celebrating the birth of a new baby in your family!" Wang Nian turned around and announced loudly.
"Why...you treat me like a baby too!" Zhou Yuying wiped away her tears and cursed with a smile.
"You are much harder to coax than my Feiying."
“…”
There are two pots of fish fillets, one red and one white. The clear soup is fresh and tender, while the red soup is spicy and fragrant.
To celebrate Shi Feiying's complete recovery, the three children drank soda and feasted.
The adults ate and chatted tacitly.
Meng Cheng was so happy that he went home and got a bottle of good wine to drink by himself. He smiled foolishly several times while eating, and it seemed that he was feeling the effects of the alcohol.
Everyone, young and old, enjoyed the meal very much. Shi Guizhi and He Jian rushed over to wash the dishes, so Wang Nian was able to sit down and discuss her pregnancy experience with Zhou Yuying.
After he had spoken a few words, the front door of the house was suddenly pushed open again, and the bolts behind the door loosened completely with a clang and fell to the ground.
The right door was leaning crookedly against the door frame and it looked like it would fall to the ground with a bang if it was touched again.
Hu Wenli was panting and leaning on her knees, her face covered in sweat. She opened her mouth to speak but not a single syllable came out.
"What happened!"
Wang Nian didn't care whether the door was open or not, and hurried over to hold on to the person and pat her on the back.
When I looked closer, I found that Hu Wenli's face was very pale. I didn't know whether it was excitement or fear, but her body was shaking slightly.
"I...I want to borrow...borrow some money from you." The first thing Hu Wenli said was to borrow money. She seemed to be worried that Wang Nian would not be willing to lend it to her, so she hurriedly said, "Tomorrow...tomorrow when the bank opens, I will go to withdraw the money and return it to you."
"I didn't say I wouldn't lend you the money, but you should at least tell me what you want the money for, right?"
He rushed out in the morning and came to borrow money in the afternoon. It must be related to what happened during the day.
"I found my son!"
"What!"
Hu Wenli grabbed Wang Nian's arm tightly in excitement, her eyes red, obviously she had cried on the way.
Wang Nian was greatly surprised and subconsciously looked in the direction of Shi Xiangming.
"Don't worry, tell us what happened and then we can help you." Shi Xiangming continued.
The others nodded.
"Well, this morning..."
The couple was still asleep in the morning when a stranger knocked on their door. It turned out to be a tricycle driver who was transporting goods for others.
He was asked by someone to deliver a letter to the couple.
It was said that a young man named Xiao Kangping was detained in the factory by a black-hearted boss and would not leave, so they were asked to rescue him.
Xiao Kangping is the couple's only son who went missing six years ago.
When they heard the name, they took a car to the place the old teacher mentioned without even thinking, and they really... found their son.
Xiao Kangping told the couple many stories from their childhood, and they were instantly sure that the child was their long-lost son.
"Because Kang Ping was young, he was tricked into working as an apprentice in a small garment workshop. The boss said that he had damaged several sewing machines in the factory and would only let him go if he paid a fine..."
Wang Nian pursed her lips, suppressed her doubts, and then looked at Meng Cheng: "Let's bring money and see what's going on. If it's true, we'll pay you soon."
Since Xiao Kangping knew where his home was, why didn't he come back immediately, but instead went to work in an illegal workshop?
Since I had no plan to come back, why did I think of sending a letter to my parents the first thing I did when something happened?
It’s no wonder Wang Nian is suspicious; Xiao Kangping’s appearance seems intentional.
Apparently Meng Cheng and Shi Xiangming had the same idea. When Wang Nian went in to get the money, they asked some more questions, and then they looked at each other and came up with a plan.
Meng Cheng's unit specially allocated a car for him, and several people drove directly to Dabao Town.
Dabao Town is about thirty kilometers away from the city center. Once you leave the main city of Anhuai and enter the suburbs, you will hardly see houses higher than two stories high.
Almost all of the town has family-run workshops that dye clothes and produce various chemical materials.
As the car drove into the town, the strong and pungent smell in the air even blew into the car through the window.
"Right there!"
Hu Wenli pointed excitedly at the two-story wooden building and shouted excitedly, "The house was right on the side of the road, and there was a horse-drawn carriage parked next to it that was being unloaded."
The car drove to the side of the road and stopped, immediately attracting several unfriendly looks.
"Fortunately, we didn't have time to change the license plate to a government vehicle license plate, otherwise we probably wouldn't even be able to enter the town." Meng Cheng said.
Reform and opening up have driven economic development, and of course there will be many radicals who will do whatever it takes to make money.
Looking along the whole street, every household had their doors closed, and it was unclear what was being made inside the houses, but judging from the wary looks in the eyes of the elderly, it was definitely not something legal.
Led by Hu Wenli, the group entered the house, and the unpleasant sight finally disappeared.
Shi Xiangming walked at the end, holding Wang Nian's hand tightly. As they walked, he suddenly leaned over to her ear and whispered, "Don't rush to take the money. Wait for Meng Cheng to ask."
Wang Nian immediately understood and nodded.
It was a dilapidated courtyard house. The sounds of machines could be heard from the east and west rooms. People in the house were working hard and it seemed that there were quite a few workers.
The door of the main room was open, and a middle-aged man was sitting on a chair opposite the door.
"Don't look around. Come inside and talk."
The man spoke in a clumsy tone of comfort, but Wang Nian judged from just a few syllables that he was from Guangdong Province.
"You are here!" Old Xiao walked to the door to greet them. He was not surprised to see Wang Nian and the others. When he looked at Meng Cheng, he suddenly blinked vigorously.
Both sides of the main room were filled with goods, with only a few stools in the middle.
The man who was speaking was sitting in the middle, and on the chair to his right was a big boy with his head lowered almost to his chest. He didn't even look up when someone came into the room.
"Please sit down." The middle-aged man waved and began to introduce himself and the whole story.
A few people just found chairs and sat down.
The man's surname was Zhao. He was indeed from Guangdong Province and had only been in Anhuai for two years doing garment business.
Although the yard is not big, all the machines in the house are second-hand machines purchased from abroad, and it cost a lot of money just to ship them back.
"I allowed her to work here out of pity, but I didn't know she was such a jerk... She broke two of my sewing machines out of anger. Do you think she should be compensated?"
Boss Zhao saw Xiao Kangping wandering around the town and kindly took him in, letting him help the old master in his factory, helping with ironing clothes, sorting fabrics and doing other odd jobs.
As a result, the kid had a quarrel with the teacher because of drinking secretly, and in the process he broke the wires and shafts of the machine.
"Look at him, he's still drunk." Boss Zhao was so angry when he mentioned it: "I can't find a repairman to repair imported foreign machines, how can I not be angry!"
If the situation is really as Boss Zhao said, then it really cannot be blamed on anyone else.
"He said he had parents who could pay for it, and he gave me the address to find someone." Boss Zhao spread his hands, looking somewhat helpless: "As long as the machine can be repaired, I won't bother with him about this matter."
"Where can we find someone to fix it?" Hu Wenli sighed, "If it was really Kangping who broke it, my husband and I are willing to pay for it."
"Wait..." Shi Xiangming suddenly raised his hand: "How about letting me take a look?"
"Can you repair it?" Boss Zhao asked doubtfully.
Shi Xiangming smiled and said, "It's broken anyway, whether it's repaired or not. Let me see if the situation is better."
"You have a point."
Boss Zhao thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case. Even if Xiao Kangping's parents were willing to pay, the new machine would take less than half a year to be put into use. It would be better to let this man try it.
Shi Xiangming signaled, and Boss Zhao no longer cared about the other people in the room and hurriedly stood up to lead the way.
“…”
Suddenly, in the peripheral vision, Xiao Kangping's fingers on his knees twitched, and his fingers rubbed on the clothes again and again.
Pretending to sleep?
Wang Nian's lips inadvertently raised, smiling meaningfully.
While Hu Wenli was worrying about how much money she would have to pay, Wang Nian gently patted Meng Cheng's arm and pointed at the chair.
Meng Cheng turned around and immediately found that Xiao Kangping was pretending to sleep. Then he patted Lao Xiao and waved to the door.
Old Xiao nodded and coughed twice.
"Go and see Chief Engineer Shi helping pass tools and stuff. Get it done as soon as possible and go back as soon as possible."
"Yes, I should go check it out." Hu Wenli was completely at a loss. She looked around in panic and finally her eyes fell on Wang Nian: "Please help me take care of my Kangping."
"Go ahead." Wang Nian said.
Hu Wenli left in such a hurry that she didn't even notice that Lao Xiao didn't follow her.
Crunch——
Then Lao Xiao closed the door of the main room.
"Still want to pretend to sleep?" Wang Nian sneered. Meng Cheng walked over and kicked the chair, then fell backwards while pressing on the back of the chair.
The feeling of weightlessness when the chair fell down made Xiao Kangping scream immediately, and he looked at Meng Cheng with a pair of terrified eyes.
"You still haven't told me your real name." Meng Cheng straightened the chair and dragged it to the middle of the group. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. Take me back to the police station and spend the night in the interrogation room. Then I'll be able to remember it."
As he spoke, he took out the handcuffs hanging on his waistband and handcuffed the man directly to the armrest of the chair.
"Xiao Kangping"'s eyes rolled around nervously, causing the handcuffs to creak.
Wang Nian followed with a smile and said, "It's actually quite simple. It's not like hospitals can't check blood relations nowadays. We just need to take the patient to the hospital and draw a few tubes of blood for testing and we'll know."
Old Xiao watched quietly, and finally spoke: "Who are you?"
"I remember Hu Wenli said that Kangping has three moles on his butt. You can confirm it by taking off his pants." Wang Nian seemed to suddenly remember something and added with a smile.
The pressure and intimidation from all directions frightened the young rural boy who had just arrived at An'an. He burst into tears without even saying a word.
"Still not telling me!" Meng Cheng shook his chair.
"I'm not Xiao Kangping. My name is Zhang Erniu, not Xiao Kangping..."
"Why did you pretend to be Xiao Kangping?" Meng Cheng lowered his body and pressed on: "How do you know about Xiao Kangping?"
"He told me personally...he said it...wuwu..." Zhang Erniu burst into tears.
Then they finally learned the truth from Zhang Erniu.
Zhang Erniu and the real Xiao Kangping are next-door neighbors.
The Zhang family next door only has two daughters. Six years ago, they got a live-in son-in-law from somewhere and raised him. The son-in-law is about the same age as Zhang Erniu, so the two became friends as they got to know each other.
Xiao Kangping remembered his name and where his home was, and in order not to forget him, he often reminisced about the past with Zhang Erniu.
Moreover, Xiao Kangping's belief in returning home has never been extinguished, and he has been looking for an opportunity to escape.
After a while, Zhang Erniu heard a lot and naturally remembered it.
Later, Zhang Erniu's parents found out. Not only did they fail to keep Xiao Kangping a secret, they even told the Zhang family next door about it.
The old man Zhang Lao Da was really cruel. He broke Xiao Kangping's legs with a shoulder pole, trying to make it impossible for him to escape from the ravine.
As for Zhang Erniu, when his mother heard that Xiao Kangping's parents were from the city, she also started to have evil intentions.
When Lao Xiao heard this, his breathing stagnated, a murderous aura permeated his body, and hatred surged in his eyes.
Meng Cheng patted his shoulder and said to Zhang Erniu in a cold voice: "Go on."
Zhang Erniu swallowed his saliva, curled up into a ball, and continued speaking after a while.
Zhang's father and mother took out all their family savings and sent Zhang Erniu on the train to his funeral.
Let him go and recognize his relatives... in the identity of Xiao Kangping.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Erniu was cheated of all his money as soon as he got off the train, and was taken to this town and abandoned.
After wandering in the town for two days, he was kindly taken in by Boss Zhao. However, Zhang Erniu felt that moving goods every day was too tiring, so he decided to impersonate Xiao Kangping again.
But he had no money on him, so he started to have evil thoughts.
He took the opportunity to smash the machine and then told the address of Hu Wenli and his wife. Then Wang Nian and the others rushed here together.
"How are my Kangping's legs?"
Seeing that Zhang Erniu had finally finished speaking, Lao Xiao's face turned livid and he grabbed his collar and questioned him angrily.
"I don't know... I don't know, it wasn't me who hit him..." Zhang Erniu held his head and shouted incoherently.
"Old Xiao!" Meng Cheng stopped Old Xiao from exploding and said in a deep voice, "The most urgent thing is to go to the village and find the real Xiao Kangping. We can consider other matters later."
Wang Nian also advised: "It should have happened a few days ago. We should send the child to the hospital as soon as possible."
"Yes, yes, Kangping is important!"
"I'm going to find Xiang Ming." Wang Nian opened the door.
Outside the door, Hu Wenli covered her mouth with her hands, tears streaming down her face. Wang Niancuo turned away and looked at Shi Xiangming and Boss Zhao who were a few steps behind.
"How is it?"
"It can be repaired, but we need to use machine tools to grind a few key parts and replace them," said Shi Xiangming.
"Boss Zhao, you've heard the truth." Shi Xiangming turned around, his expression serious, "Zhang Erniu deliberately damaged other people's finances. You should go to the police station to report the case."
Boss Zhao nodded repeatedly, knowing that Shi Xiangming had something else in mind, and promised again and again: "I will send the person to the county public security bureau in a moment."
Shi Xiangming nodded and said, "Pull all the machines to Anhuai City, and I can make a new set of more efficient and energy-saving spindles for you."
"Thank you, thank you!" Boss Zhao was overjoyed and asked hurriedly, "Just tell me the address and I'll find a car to take it there tomorrow."
"Anhuai City Design Institute, just ask Chief Engineer Shi Xiangming."
"Design Institute!"
The chief engineer of a state-owned unit was asked to repair a sewing machine for him... Boss Zhao felt his scalp tingling and his legs going weak just thinking about it.
However, no one else had a chance to express their gratitude to Boss Zhao, and they drove back to Anhuai City overnight.
The matter was immediately reported to the Guanghua Street Public Security Bureau, which attached great importance to the situation. In addition, considering Lao Xiao's status as a retired soldier, they immediately decided to send two police officers to Lunan County.
As the parent of the abducted child, they were bound to go along, but Hu Wenli fainted at the police station due to anger. When she was sent to the hospital for examination, it turned out that she was more than two months pregnant and could not travel long distances at all.
Seeing Hu Wenli crying anxiously, Wang Nian and Zhang Hongyan discussed and decided to go to Lunan County to pick up the child on her behalf.
Xiao Kangping was injured, and the male comrades were careless, so he definitely needed a female comrade to take care of him on the way back.
Wang Nian's trip was in a hurry, and the next day he had already boarded the train to Lunan before the children woke up.
After a day's hard seat ride, we arrived in Lunan, and then drove to Dingtai Village in an old jeep borrowed from the county public security bureau.
Now the communal rice system has been abolished and the brigade has changed back to its original village name.
Dingtai Village is located deep in the mountains, with no access to the roads. Once a car reaches the foot of the mountain, it cannot go any further up.
While climbing the mountain, the group happened to meet a doctor who was carrying a medicine box into the village. Wang Nian casually asked about his destination, and his heart immediately moved after hearing the answer.
"The doctor is going to see a patient in Dingtai Village. We are also going to Dingtai Village to visit relatives." Wang Nian smiled kindly.
The old doctor panted and said, "Mr. Zhang, I heard that his son-in-law broke his leg, so he asked me to go and take a look."
Wang Nian winked at Lao Xiao, who immediately followed up with a conversation.
"I'm also familiar with Mrs. Zhang. Her eldest daughter has always had a bad head, and now her son-in-law has a broken leg."
Zhang Erniu once mentioned that the reason why Zhang Lao Da bought a son-in-law was because the eldest daughter was a fool and no one was willing to marry her.
"It's just hard for that child." The old doctor sighed: "For Zhang Lao Da's family, hard times are still ahead!"
"I heard that the kid didn't come to Dingtai Village voluntarily."
"What can we do if we don't want to? There are some real guys in Dingtai Village..." The old doctor made a pistol gesture, his face full of fear: "Two years ago, we fought with people from other villages for water, and even used cannons. Who dares to take away that poor kid?"
Several people stopped in shock, realizing that it was not a wise move for them to risk entering the village.
The old doctor also stopped and looked at the quarrel with a half-smile.
"Are you the child's family?"
“…”
"Don't worry, I won't complain." The old doctor stroked his white beard and smiled kindly: "If I wasn't too old and couldn't save the child, I would have sent him away long ago."
"Old doctor, what do you think we should do?" Wang Nian asked directly.
Many guns and ammunition left over from the war were kept by ordinary people at home. There are many bullets and guns in the ancestral hall of the Red Star Brigade.
If the Dingtai Village were united, not to mention just a few of them, even seven or eight well-trained police officers might not be able to snatch the person away.
The old doctor just reminded them on purpose.
"It's definitely not possible to do it openly, we can only steal!" The old doctor smiled and said a solution that caught everyone off guard: "And only female comrades can steal, and you male comrades have to support outside."
"What do you mean?"
"Come, let me talk to you..."
Several people hurried over to listen to the old doctor explain the method in detail.
Most of the people in Dingtai Village have the same surname. They are not only united but also quite xenophobic. During the big pot period, there was even a fight because the village cadres wanted to divide the villagers into several production teams.
All strange men entering the village are monitored, and only women can make them let down their guard.
“So, only female comrades can steal children!” the old doctor concluded.
There were only two women at the moment. Zhang Hongyan was already trembling with fear when she heard that the villagers had guns. She was 100% exposed when she entered the village.
Then the next one is... only Wang Nian.
"I'll go." Wang Nian said in a deep voice.