Pei Ying felt like she was about to break apart; whenever the topic of her missing child came up, her tears would flow uncontrollably.
There's no point in her staying here. Xia Wenhua recalled the heart-pounding fear she had just experienced; there was a high chance that something had happened to the child.
“Mom, don’t cry. Go back and tell Songbai to come to the supply and marketing cooperative to find me. I’ll go to the police station to report the incident. Let’s prepare for the worst before looking for the child. Don’t worry, we will definitely find him.”
Twins are a big target; someone around the supply and marketing cooperative must have seen them.
Pei Ying wondered if someone might not have said anything because they were afraid of getting into trouble. She hoped that once the police got involved, they could get as much information as they could.
Having found Xia Wenhua, Pei Ying felt as if she had found a pillar of support and immediately followed Xia Wenhua's instructions.
Grandpa Zhang had overheard most of what the two were saying in the guardhouse and quickly poked his head out.
"Xia, maybe the child just went off to play somewhere. Don't worry. Tell me what characteristics your child has, and I'll ask our coworkers to keep an eye out for him."
Xia Wenhua is now eager to find out the truth. The period immediately following the child's disappearance is the most crucial time, and she cannot hesitate.
She thanked Grandpa Zhang for his kindness, but didn't have time to explain in detail. She simply said that she would go look for it first and talk to him later if she couldn't find it.
Watching Xia Wenhua's hurried departure, Grandpa Zhang could understand her feelings.
He shook his head: "The New Year is approaching, how can we get through this?"
Fortunately, everyone is very enthusiastic these days. When Xia Wenhua went to the police station, no one said that a case couldn't be filed if the child was lost. Soon, someone helped find the child, and Xia Wenhua went with them to collect information near the supply and marketing cooperative.
The police officers were asking if anyone had seen the child being taken away, but strangely, after asking for a long time, no one had seen it.
The supply and marketing cooperative was always crowded today, and the police officer still managed to squeeze in and specifically ask the sales clerk a question.
Several sales clerks had already thought about it when Pei Ying first said the child wasn't there, and could only shake their heads apologetically upon hearing this.
"We really didn't see them. We were just too busy. There were people all around, and the two children were so small that we couldn't see them at all while they were standing behind the crowd."
That's the kind of answer the salesperson gave; needless to say, the people who were grabbing things around us just now were even more clueless.
There were still quite a few people standing in front of us. Everyone was here to buy things, and all their energy was focused on the people in line ahead of them. They didn't even notice the child.
After a thorough investigation, the police had no new leads and could only keep an eye out for Xia Wenhua.
When Pei Songbai arrived after receiving Pei Ying's message, Xia Wenhua was squatting helplessly under a big tree at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative, her face full of confusion.
Feeling herself being embraced, she turned to look at Pei Songbai, who looked like an emotionless doll.
"Songbai, the child is missing."
Despite Xia Wenhua's calm demeanor in front of Pei Ying, her heart was constantly in her throat.
The moment she saw Pei Songbai, she unleashed all her emotions.
“How could they be missing? Our children are so well-behaved, they would never disobey. They know I would worry if they got lost, they would never disappear.”
The more Xia Wenhua talked, the more emotionally distraught she became. Although she didn't cry, the sadness on her face made people feel even more sorry for her.
No matter how calm she is normally, no mother can think straight after finding out that her child is in trouble.
She did a great job by managing to call the police and search for people.
Ignoring the stares of passersby, Pei Songbai held Xia Wenhua tightly, saying, "Nothing will happen, nothing will happen. Trust me, I won't let anything happen to the child."
Tears don't solve problems, and neither does sadness.
Xia Wenhua didn't have much time to be sad. She quickly cheered up and told Pei Songbai about the current situation.
“I’ve asked everyone around me, but no one has seen the children. If they got lost on their own, someone would definitely have seen them.”
Xia Wenhua closed her eyes and uttered the guess she least wanted to accept.
"So, the child must have been abducted."
All the tragic stories about child trafficking that she had seen in later generations flashed through her mind. Xia Wenhua simply couldn't imagine whether she would go crazy if her own precious child were abused.
She could only tell herself that her two children were very obedient while suppressing this terrible suspicion and following Pei Songbai's actions to continue searching for people.
A day of searching was to no avail. There was no news from the police, and it seemed that no one in the entire city of An had seen the two children. The children had simply vanished.
In the evening, the two returned to the military compound with their last hope.
The moment they pushed open the door, Pei Ying rushed out.
"So, has the child been found?"
"Mother, has the child come back?"
Xia Wenhua and Pei Ying spoke at the same time, and then the air in the entire Pei family seemed to freeze.
The child is truly gone.
No one slept well that night. Pei Songbai and Yin Hua both sent people to look for the children, and Lin Xin from the Public Security Bureau followed up on the case. They also didn't get any rest all night, but the two children seemed to have vanished into thin air without a trace.
Gathered at the Pei family's house, Lin Xin slammed his fist on the table in anger.
"If I catch whoever it is, I'll skin him alive!"
At the same time, he brought some news, which also offered some comfort to Xia Wenhua.
“You’re very quick. The police have been monitoring Anshi all day; no one could possibly have left. If the child really was abducted, he’s definitely still in Anshi. Don’t worry.”
When encountering child abductors, the worst thing is that they come from all over the country and take the child away in an instant. China is so big that once a child is taken away, the chances of getting him back are even smaller.
Xia Wenhua had only calmed down a little. She didn't dare to think about the possibilities of what might happen to the child if the kidnapper really couldn't get out.
Faced with this unexpected event, everyone was at a loss.
They have tried everything they could, but there is still no news of the child.
Xia Wenhua was forced to even enter the deserted city to inquire if she could find her child there. She offered to use her remaining eight chances to get news of her child, but she received a negative answer each time.
They've tried every possible path, and it seems like the child is truly about to disappear from their lives. No one can accept this outcome.
Everyone had a long and arduous day. Xia Wenhua stayed up all night making countless copies of the missing person notice using her online space, and then distributed them one by one throughout the city the next day.
She didn't know if this would work, but it was the only way now.
Fortunately, her efforts paid off. Half a day after she posted the missing person notice, someone came to the police station and said they had seen the two children.
Xia Wenhua and Pei Songbai rushed over as soon as they received the information.
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