The captain followed them directly to the Public Security Bureau, which was unusually bustling today, with people coming and going everywhere.
"Hello comrade, I am Xiao Zhang, an officer from the Public Security Bureau."
It was the same young man who negotiated with the police, telling them that two educated youths had gone missing and that they needed help finding them.
"Disappeared? Were they taken hostage, or did they manage to escape on their own?"
These past few days, the bureau has been extremely busy dealing with the black market issue. They don't have enough police manpower, so they contacted the local military region to ask them to send people over to assist in the case.
They then discovered how rampant the local black market was, with all sorts of buying, selling, and smuggling flourishing, completely disregarding regulations.
"They must have left on their own without being forced. They couldn't have gone far without a letter of introduction."
Several years ago, a large-scale exodus of educated youth occurred in a southern province. This event caused a great sensation and had a very negative impact.
This should serve as a wake-up call for the places where these educated youth are housed, especially the offices for educated youth. They must absolutely ensure their safety and basic survival, lest such a thing happen again.
The educated youth sent to this area generally had decent living conditions, but the difficult ones were those who went to the Beidahuang Farm to reclaim land. The environment there was extremely harsh, and the educated youth office had been paying close attention to them. Unexpectedly, some people from the districts and counties below left without permission.
When the leaders of the Public Security Bureau heard that some educated youth had escaped, they were surprised and rushed over to talk to the two men. From them, they learned that the male educated youth's father was probably a capitalist roader who had poisoned the minds of many people over the years.
“We came here to investigate him, but he may have known in advance and fled.”
The brigade leader swallowed hard; this educated youth, Zhou, was actually the son of a capitalist roader.
The leaders of the Public Security Bureau breathed a sigh of relief, as long as it wasn't a large-scale exodus of educated youth.
"We now know where they were last seen, and we need your manpower."
"To be honest, we are currently investigating black market smuggling, but we are short-handed. Some military personnel will be arriving later, and I will ask them to help us search."
The leader left in a hurry, leaving only Xiao Zhang and the other four people in the office.
"Comrade, you've arrested quite a few people, haven't you?"
The three men sat there with stiff faces. The captain didn't dare to talk to them, so he went to find Xiao Zhang instead.
"It's alright, they're all just small fry, we haven't caught the big fish yet."
"These people have gone too far. They have perfectly capable hands and feet but don't use them for work. Instead, they resort to these crooked and evil ways, harming the interests of our country."
Xiao Zhang was also furious. The profits from smuggling were huge, and it was easier for it to breed corruption. The area they were in charge of had only had some minor disturbances before, and the security was much better than other areas.
As a result, this year, for some unknown reason, there were people everywhere. They were busy for several days and seized and confiscated a lot of things, from large items like bicycles and sewing machines to small items like flashlights and enamel mugs, which almost filled the warehouse.
Before the battalion commander could finish his indignant rant, the office door was quickly pushed open, and several soldiers walked in, asking them where the person had last been.
"Xiao Lu?"
"Do you know each other?"
“Our village is right next to their military region. I’ve met Xiao Lu before. Xiao Lu’s relatives are even members of our commune.”
Lu Yang nodded. "Captain, which educated youth escaped?"
Because his wife and sister sometimes talked about the educated youth at the dinner table, Lu Yang had a general impression of those people.
"Oh dear, it's Zhou Han and Bai Rongjun." Upon seeing a familiar face, the captain couldn't wait to grab him and pour out his grievances. These two had really ruined his life.
"Wasn't he hospitalized?" Could Song Qing's suspicion be correct?
He only found out when he arrived that he was there to assist the Public Security Bureau in investigating smuggling, and it turned out that the person he needed to help find was Zhou Han.
"Why would he need to be hospitalized? He lied to us. They ran away as soon as we got back that day, and we don't know where they went. They didn't even have a letter of introduction. Where could they have gone?"
This place isn't a plain; it has mountains and forests. What if some wild animal runs off and snatches someone away?
"You have to help us find them."
"The situation regarding Zhou Han's father has not yet been determined, so he won't run away at this time."
I've heard from other people in the educated youth office that Zhou Han often goes out at night, and nobody knows his whereabouts. I suspect he might also be involved in our investigation.
"What?" The three people from the educated youth office exchanged glances, their eyes filled with disbelief.
The captain, who had been sitting stiffly in his chair with his hands on his knees, immediately stood up upon hearing Lu Yang's words.
"How could that be? What would he be doing out there? He..."
The man lived in his village and went out in the middle of the night without the brigade leader's knowledge.
"This matter is questionable; the most important thing now is to find them."
Lu Yang led three people to follow them into that alley.
"battalion commander?"
Lu Yang gestured for them to be quiet.
There are two black markets in the city: one is known and basically tacitly approved by the higher-ups, and the other is a private gathering place.
They've taken down quite a few people these past few days. Although there wasn't much danger, it involved too many people. They've been circling around this area, and this alley is one they've passed through several times.
“We’ve already sent people to investigate at the train and bus stations, but we can only use a brute-force approach for this alleyway.”
They went from house to house at the end of the alley, knocking on doors and asking around, and it turned out that some people had actually seen the two of them.
“I saw him walk inside.”
There are many outsiders in their alley, and people have been coming to ask questions these past few days. Everyone is used to it and is cooperating with Lu Yang and his team.
Bai Rongjun was sitting in the room in a daze when the old lady got up and walked out. She watched nervously as she opened the door.
"Grandma Wang, have you seen a young couple in our alley? They're both very good-looking."
Grandma Wang, who was called, was clearly not expecting anyone to be outside. She paused for a moment without answering, then closed the door and slowly walked into the alley.
The person who called out to him was already used to it. "That's an elderly woman living alone in our alley. Her son doesn't live with her, and she's hard of hearing."
"Your ears aren't working well?"
"Yeah, didn't you see that she didn't hear me when I was talking to her just now?"
Lu Yang exchanged a glance with the men in his camp and gave them a signal.
"Thank you, we'll ask a few more people."
After everyone left, the captain saw Lu Yang walk up to the old man's house and peer through the door.
"Xiao Lu, didn't you say she lives alone?"
"It's just a bit strange. She clearly paused when she opened the door, as if she wasn't hearing."
Bai Rongjun was so frightened that she stood up. She heard voices outside, and the loudest one sounded like the captain.
What if the captain comes looking for us? Why hasn't Zhou Han returned yet?
"Knock knock knock," Lu Yang took a step back and reached out to knock on the door. "Is anyone inside?"
Startled, Bai Rongjun took a few steps forward and accidentally knocked over something on the table. The people outside immediately became alert upon hearing the noise.
"Open the door quickly, whoever's inside!"
They remained in a stalemate for a while, but the old lady didn't return; perhaps she had seen the commotion and hidden herself away.
Bai Rongjun had no choice but to open the door.
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