Another busy morning!
Since his family was planning to build a house, Li Yi couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
So, after kneading the dough this morning, he took advantage of the proofing time to make a trip to that plot of land with the black rocks.
When Li Yi arrived, he found his father measuring the land with Uncle Feng and the others, clearly preparing for the upcoming construction of the house.
When they saw Li Yi approaching, everyone gave him strange looks.
Village Chief Zhang Tongfu asked, somewhat puzzled, “Yi, are you really planning to build a house here? And bring your private plot over here too?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Uncle Zhang, this is a prime feng shui spot. I’ve got a good eye, don’t I?”
Zhang Tongfu was a straight-talking man himself, and he retorted immediately, “You’re just being a troublemaker. You’re building a house, not looking for a burial plot—what do you need a feng shui treasure spot for?”
Feng Kai frowned and added, “Building a house here isn’t the issue, but you’re insisting on moving your private plot here too. Aren’t you just asking for people to laugh at you?”
But Li Yi just burst out laughing. “Uncle Feng, Uncle Zhang, don’t worry. Anyone who dares to make fun of me over this is bound to eat their words later!”
Seeing Li Yi’s resolute attitude, Feng Kai could only turn to Li Shankui standing nearby and say, “Brother Shankui, your son Yi is dead set on getting this plot of land. What do you think we should do?”
Li Shankui already knew what Li Yi was thinking. He could only sigh and say, “A son grows up and doesn’t listen to his mother anymore. If he wants this larger plot of land, let him have it!”
“Then let’s measure it. Once we’re done, I’ll submit the application to the commune and wait for approval!” Feng Kai said.
“Alright, then I’ll leave it to you, Old Feng!” Li Shankui said.
While everyone was busy surveying the plot of black-rock land, Li Yi stood at the edge of the field with a silly grin on his face.
He was already daydreaming about the wonderful life ahead. Once the tiled-roof house was built in a few months, he’d give it a proper makeover.
The walls would be whitewashed, and he’d install a plaster ceiling—not the kind covered in newspaper.
Especially the windows—they had to be large panes; small ones were just too jarring to look at.
In addition, he planned to have some solid wood furniture made for the house. Li Yi had already decided to invite Old Zhao, the carpenter from the neighboring village, to come and do the work.
Not only was the old man a good-hearted fellow, but his woodworking skills were second to none—he was undoubtedly the best in the entire region.
Once everything is finished and the house has had a chance to settle, he’ll be ready to bring Tang Xue home. And barring any surprises, Tang Xue is already carrying his little one.
In a few months, this place would welcome his first child with Tang Xue, and it would become their love nest for years to come.
Every time he thought of this, Li Yi felt even more motivated!
He couldn’t help with surveying the land, and knowing there was a pile of chores waiting for him at home, Li Yi said goodbye to his father and rode his bicycle back.
Actually, he’d considered stopping by the educated youth commune to see Tang Xue. After all, building a house was no small matter, and since he wouldn’t be living there alone once it was finished, he needed to get her input as well.
However, Li Yi knew that at this hour, Tang Xue must already be out in the fields working, so he wouldn’t see her even if he went.
He also didn’t know where the educated youth were working today, so he decided to go back in the evening instead!
Back home, Li Yi set to work making today’s cold noodles and flatbreads!
……..
Li Yi went about his usual business of setting up his stall to make a living, but Wang Anguo and the others at the county bureau were swamped with work.
As police stations from various townships and communes reported their investigation findings, they discovered that the first family to lose a child wasn’t the one in the county seat who had filed the initial report, but rather a family in Xiaojingzi Commune. Their child had gone missing on June 1st—meaning nearly two weeks had already passed.
The reason they had delayed reporting it was, first, because Xiaojingzi Commune was over eighty kilometers from the county seat, and the round trip took too much time.
Secondly, the family lived in Kaoshan Village, backed by vast stretches of primeval forest where wild wolves and bears were known to roam. Consequently, the family had assumed their child had been carried off by a wolf, which is why they had not chosen to report it to the police.
Furthermore, based on reports from various areas, the number of missing children across the county had reached a staggering 17—far higher than their previous estimates.
Faced with a case of this magnitude, Wang Anguo and his team naturally took it very seriously. They immediately reported the situation to the county bureau, which in turn reported it to the municipal bureau.
The Municipal Bureau swiftly issued instructions, ordering the County Bureau to solve the case as quickly as possible at all costs to alleviate public panic.
At the same time, the Municipal Bureau set a deadline: no more than one week. If the case remained unsolved within that timeframe, all leadership—including the director and deputy directors—would face disciplinary action.
As soon as the municipal bureau’s instructions arrived, the county bureau’s leadership panicked!
This was a disciplinary action—at best, it meant no promotions for several years; at worst, it could cost them their jobs.
Left with no other choice, the county bureau leadership had no option but to put pressure on Wang Anguo, the officer in charge of the case!
The county bureau chief personally convened an emergency meeting with the criminal investigation team, ordering them to overcome all obstacles and locate the kidnappers’ hideout within three days, and rescue every single child within a week.
Otherwise, everyone from the squad leader down to the rank-and-file officers would face disciplinary action.
They had no choice; after all, the higher-ups were putting just as much pressure on them.
With the pressure mounting from above, Wang Anguo and his team found the case growing increasingly complex. They knew nothing about the traffickers’ situation—not how many of them there were, where they were hiding, or whether they had already moved the children to another location.
Solving the case within a week was no easy feat!
Although it was difficult, Wang Anguo and his team had no room to bargain. After all, the lives of more than a dozen children were at stake—and indeed, the fates of more than a dozen families—so they had no choice but to take it seriously.
Consequently, under intense pressure from both the municipal and county police departments, the Criminal Investigation Division swiftly established the “Special Investigation Task Force for the June 15 Major Child Abduction Case.” They deployed a large number of police officers and local security personnel to conduct a county-wide search.
They had to locate the kidnappers’ hideout and rescue the children.
Yet despite the massive manpower deployed, there were no results.
As the situation continued to escalate—especially with the parents of missing children gathering at the county bureau to protest and weep—nearly everyone in the county came to believe that there were child traffickers in the area, specifically targeting children.
Worse still, as the rumors spread, they began to take a sinister turn—what started as abductions and thefts eventually turned into outright kidnappings.
Under these circumstances, panic spread not only throughout the county seat but also to every township and commune.
Back then, the one-child policy hadn’t been implemented yet; every family had at least two or three children, and some had as many as ten or more.
If a child were actually stolen or snatched by a kidnapper, how could anyone possibly go on living?
As a result, in many places, commune members simply stopped going to work and stayed home to watch over their children.
As these incidents became more frequent, they began to seriously impact agricultural production across all production teams.
Left with no other choice, the leaders of each production team had no option but to report the situation up the chain of command.
Upon learning of the situation, the county authorities immediately put pressure on the county bureau and the task force, insisting that the case be solved within a set timeframe.
Faced with immense pressure from all levels of authority, the pressure on the task force was unimaginable.
For a time, a gloomy and despondent mood hung over the entire criminal investigation team, and the atmosphere was extremely tense and oppressive!