Chapter Ninety-Two: The Clue

After Chen Liang had given all his orders, he reached for the bicycle key hanging behind the door and was about to leave, but his elder brother stopped him.

“Little Brother, let me go with you. One more person means one more strength!”

Chen Liang frowned in irritation and shoved his brother aside. “Enough. Don’t make things worse, Brother. Your main task now is to keep the family steady, help Eldest Sister-in-law and our parents calm down. Chen Hong’s matter, I’ll handle it. Trust me, Brother. Tonight I’ll bring little Hong home no matter what.”

He mounted his bicycle and rode straight into Cao Dafu’s yard, cutting through the road without a care.

“Dafu! Dafu!” The moment Chen Liang called out, Cao Dafu came running from inside at once. “Brother Liang, why are you here? Have you eaten? Come inside with me—”

Before he could finish, Chen Liang grabbed him by the front and pulled him close. “Dafu, go and spread the word. Little Hong has been taken by child snatchers. Go find out who’s selling candied hawthorns near Plum Blossom Garden. Did you hear me? Hurry, or it’ll be too late!”

After sending Cao Dafu off, Chen Liang wasted no time and pedaled hard all the way to the Red Star Rolling Mill. As soon as he reached the gate, he shouted at the security men on duty, “Who’s on shift today?”

“Comrade Chen? Captain Xing is on duty today. What’s the matter?”

Once he knew who was on duty, Chen Liang did not even get off his bicycle. He simply rode straight into the factory, tossing back a “Thanks, brothers!” and throwing them a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

He rushed all the way to the security office, threw his bicycle down, and pushed the door open without knocking. “Comrade Chen?” Xing Ke, who had been eating, looked up and immediately sensed something had happened; otherwise, Chen Liang, who was usually so proper, would never have barged in like this.

“Captain Xing, hurry, it’s urgent!” Chen Liang seized his hand and pulled him along regardless. “My niece has been taken by child snatchers. Captain Xing, I need your help!”

“What? There’s even such a thing?” Xing Ke felt a surge of anger. Someone had the nerve to abduct a family member of the security office—this was like spitting on a tiger’s whiskers, courting death.

Without a word, Xing Ke gathered a team of men who were not on patrol, opened the armory, and each man took a pistol. Chen Liang even strapped a semi-automatic rifle to his back.

Including Xing Ke, the five of them set out on five bicycles, a mighty and imposing line. Halfway there, Chen Liang met Cao Dafu again, his face equally grave. Chen Liang hurriedly called out to him, “Dafu, how is it? Did you find out?”

“Yeah, Brother Liang, I found out. The man’s called Chen Laoyao. He’s been selling candied hawthorns around Plum Blossom Garden all this time. He lives in Mouse Alley near Plum Blossom Garden—third house in.”

“Dafu, do me one more favor. Go pick up my master and my uncle and bring them to my house, hear me?”

After giving Cao Dafu his instructions, Chen Liang quickly rode to Xing Ke. “Captain Xing, let’s go to Mouse Alley first and look into this Chen Laoyao. I figure he ought to know something.”

“Fine. You’re the one involved. We’ll do whatever you say.”

So they turned their bikes and rode straight to the entrance of Mouse Alley. Chen Liang propped his bicycle to the side and knocked on the third house’s gate.

Knock, knock, knock.

After three knocks, someone soon answered from inside. “Who is it?”

“Open the door. Security Office from the Red Star Rolling Mill,” Chen Liang replied, steady and composed.

“Coming, coming!” Less than a minute later, a middle-aged woman opened the door. “Is this Chen Laoyao’s home?”

“Yes. Comrade from security, what brings you here?” The woman answered very cautiously.

For people like Chen Liang and the others, who were legally allowed to carry weapons, the security office’s deterrent power was even greater than that of the police station. After all, they too were official personnel within the public security system, and they had the authority to maintain order in the workers’ district. What was more, they were numerous and formidable. Not just ordinary people—even men from the second shift wouldn’t dare provoke the security office.

“Nothing serious. We’re just here to ask Chen Laoyao a few questions.”

Who was she kidding? Who came armed and carrying rifles just to ask a few questions?

“Ah? Is that so? Then wait a moment. I’ll go call the head of the house.” With that, the woman hurried back inside to fetch him.

Before long, a plain and honest-looking middle-aged man came out of the house. The moment he saw the gun Chen Liang carried, he was so startled that even his hands and feet seemed to move out of step.

“Hello, Comrade from security. I’m Chen Laoyao. May I ask what business you have with me?”

As Chen Laoyao spoke, Chen Liang watched him carefully, observing every movement, every tiny expression on his face.

At last, Chen Liang let out a silent sigh. Chen Laoyao might really have just been caught up in this by chance. The matter of Chen Hong’s abduction probably had nothing to do with him.

As for whether Chen Liang had misjudged him—damn it, if a child snatcher had this much acting skill and composure, then Chen Liang would grit his teeth and accept it. Worst case, he would travel all over the country afterward; he refused to believe that, before the end of his life, he would not be able to find little Chen Hong.

“Chen Laoyao, right? Don’t be nervous. My surname is Chen too. Five hundred years ago, maybe we were even family.”

“Here’s the thing. Could you tell me what you were doing around six-thirty this evening?” Only after seeing that Chen Laoyao had relaxed a little did Chen Liang begin to question him.

“Six-thirty? Ah! Comrade from security, you’re asking about the missing child, aren’t you?” After thinking it over, Chen Laoyao slapped his thigh and jumped up.

“Yes. I’m that child’s uncle. Chen Laoyao, whatever you know, just tell me. If your words help me find the child, Chen Liang will surely reward you handsomely!”

“Ah, it’s nothing about reward or not. I only hope that after you hear me out, you won’t blame me.” Chen Laoyao sighed, then began to recount what had happened.

“At six-thirty, I was setting up my stall near Plum Blossom Garden. Your sister-in-law should have just gotten off work, right? It was obvious she was there to pick up the child from school. When she passed by me, your niece kept clamoring for candied hawthorns. I even thought business was coming my way, so I paid extra attention. Then your sister-in-law and another woman, one who was especially beautiful, stopped. They took out money to buy some hawthorns. While I had my head down collecting the money, I saw a man and a woman come up beside them. Then I heard your sister-in-law crying that her daughter was gone.”

“I didn’t pay much attention at the time. It wasn’t until I heard your niece had been lost that I realized it had been child snatchers. I got scared and ran home. Afterward, I couldn’t sit right with it either, so I lost my temper. Then you came looking for me.”

Chen Laoyao also crouched down, clutching his head. “I’m an old bachelor with no children, timid all my life, looked down on by others. I was afraid that if I said anything back then, those child snatchers would come after me later, so I didn’t dare make a sound!”