Faced with Xiaoya’s request, Li Yi and the others were somewhat taken aback.
Other matters were manageable, but when it came to finding people, that really wasn’t their forte.
After all, they were definitely outsiders here, and they couldn’t stay for long. Finding a stranger in such a short time was no easy feat.
But seeing the hopeful look in the young girl’s eyes, Li Yi simply couldn’t bring himself to refuse. At worst, he’d have to ask Xiao Zhanwu for a favor; as the captain of the criminal investigation team, he was surely better equipped to handle this sort of thing.
“Xiao Ya, get up first. I’ll agree to help you find your mom, but I can’t guarantee we’ll actually find her!”
“Thank you, big brother!” Xiaoya said eagerly.
“Then tell me about your mom. When did she go missing?” Li Yi asked.
“Okay!”
Xiao Ya immediately began telling Li Yi and the others about her mother’s disappearance. After hearing her story, they were all shocked by the little girl’s tragic background.
It turned out the little girl’s surname was Jiang, and her name was Jiang Xiaoya. Her father worked at a stone factory, while her mother was a temporary worker at a glass factory.
Four years ago, an accident occurred while quarrying stone, leaving only her mother to raise her and her sister on their own. Life had been exceptionally difficult.
That’s why, at the age of six, Jiang Xiaoya started selling sunflower seeds with Lin Xiaodie outside movie theaters and school gates to earn money.
Although they didn’t earn much, it helped supplement the household income and lighten their mother’s burden a little.
However, just a month ago, Jiang Xiaoya’s younger sister fell ill and urgently needed money for medical treatment. Xiaoya’s mother said she was going to borrow some money from her mother-in-law in the countryside and left home immediately.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Xiaoya’s mother never returned.
During this time, Xiaoya has been taking care of her younger sister all by herself, barely scraping by on the meager profits from selling sunflower seeds. Not only have the two sisters gone hungry, but Xiaoya has also frequently been bullied by a group of local thugs.
After hearing Xiaoya’s story, Ye Lingyun and Jiang Xue couldn’t help but tear up.
“Xiao Yi, you must help this child find her mother!”
Hearing his mother-in-law’s words, Li Yi nodded and said, “Mom, don’t worry. I’ll go find Captain Xiao right away and ask the police to help with the search!”
Jiang Xue hurriedly interjected, “Wait a moment before searching for anyone. Shouldn’t we take Xiaoya’s younger sister to the hospital first? We can’t let the child’s condition get any worse!”
“Xiao Xue is right—let’s check on the child first!” said Ye Lingyun.
Without waiting to finish the movie, the group followed Xiaoya and Xiaodie directly to Xiaoya’s home.
Xiao Ya’s house was on the outskirts of the county town, and it took them over twenty minutes to get there.
The house was a self-built structure; it didn’t look small, and it must have been built when Xiaoya’s father was still alive, though it looked a bit run-down due to a long lack of maintenance.
Upon opening the courtyard gate and stepping inside, everyone was shocked by the conditions inside.
There wasn’t a single piece of decent furniture inside; it was damp, dark, and bitterly cold.
On the cold earthen bed, several layers of bedding were spread out, and lying on top of them was a child of three or four years old.
Her long hair obscured her face, and since the child was filthy, it was impossible to make out what she looked like.
Even so, Ye Lingyun hurried forward and picked the child up from the cold kang.
She felt the child’s head—the temperature was normal.
Pushing the child’s hair aside, Ye Lingyun took a closer look and found that although the little girl was somewhat malnourished, her body temperature was normal and her breathing was steady.
But her handling of the child had woken her up, and she immediately began wailing in fright.
Hearing the little girl cry so vigorously, with such a loud voice, Li Yi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
With that much strength, the child’s health should be fine.
Perhaps it had just been a minor illness like a cold or fever recently, and the child had pulled through on her own after Xiaoya’s mother went missing.
But just to be on the safe side, they decided to take the child to the hospital for a checkup.
After that, the group hurried off to the county hospital!
After the doctor’s examination, it turned out that both Xiaoya and her younger sister were simply suffering from malnutrition and had no serious health issues.
Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief!
The only problem was how to take care of these two little girls, which left everyone at a loss.
In the end, Li Yi made the final call: they would take the two children back to the guesthouse first, and he would go to the county bureau the next day to file a report on their behalf.
And so, Xiaoya and her younger sister Xiaoqin were taken back to the guesthouse by Li Yi and the others…
…….
The next day, early in the morning!
Li Yi got up early. First, he went out with Zhang Ziqiang to buy breakfast at a nearby state-run restaurant.
Then, after the county supply and marketing cooperative opened, he went to the store to buy warm clothes and shoes for Xiaoya and Xiaoqin.
After finishing these errands, he took Zhang Ziqiang to the county bureau.
Xiao Zhanwu was busy in his office, but upon learning that Li Yi had arrived, he immediately came out to greet him.
“You’re here. I’ve already retrieved the case files—they’re right here in my office!”
Li Yi first thanked him, but when he saw the bloodshot eyes in Xiao Zhanwu’s face, he immediately asked, “What were you doing last night? How did you end up looking like this?”
Xiao Zhanwu replied with a wry smile, “We ran into a bit of trouble at the bureau. I was up all night last night and haven’t had a moment’s rest yet!”
“That’s just how it is in your line of work. Once you get busy, you lose track of day and night. It really is grueling!” Li Yi said.
Xiao Zhanwu yawned and replied, “You’re absolutely right!”
After leading Li Yi back to his office, Xiao Zhanwu pointed to several file folders on his desk and said, “The materials you requested are right there. Feel free to look through them as long as you don’t take them with you!”
“Alright, thanks a lot, Captain Xiao!”
“You’re welcome…”
Just then, a young man suddenly pushed open the door and said to Xiao Zhanwu, “Captain, Brother Yang has made a discovery over there. He wants you to get over there right away!”
“Got it!”
With that, Xiao Zhanwu exchanged a few quick words with Li Yi before hurrying out of the office.
Li Yi had intended to talk to Xiao Zhanwu about Xiaoya’s mother, but seeing how urgent the situation was, he held his tongue, deciding to wait until Xiao Zhanwu returned to discuss the matter.
Li Yi then walked over to Xiao Zhanwu’s desk and picked up the file folders.
Following the file numbers, he took out all the documents inside and began to examine them carefully.
The case files were comprehensive, containing not only the detailed account of Tan Cheng’s report against his cellmate, but also the police investigation findings, the accused’s statement, and the court’s review report and approval regarding the sentence reduction.
After going through the contents of the case files one by one, Li Yi found that the evidence in this case was indeed irrefutable, and all the evidence formed a closed loop, effectively corroborating one another.
In other words, Tan Cheng’s early release was both reasonable and lawful, with no irregularities whatsoever.
This made Li Yi feel somewhat uneasy!
Leaning back in Xiao Zhanwu’s chair, Li Yi closed his eyes and replayed the details he had just reviewed.
Soon, the entire incident played out in his mind like a movie, replaying in vivid detail.
This time, Li Yi noticed something off. The case was simply too perfect—so flawless that it seemed… almost fake.
At this thought, Li Yi’s eyes lit up. He picked up the case file once more and began analyzing it with a focused eye.
And this time, Li Yi did indeed spot some issues…
………