Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 30 - 030 Confrontation II

Chapter 30: 030 Confrontation II

Qin Xi’s exclamation caused a sudden surge of foreboding between the two men. He Chongguang simply squinted his eyes, smiled, and without further questioning, continued to stroll around the Wang family’s courtyard, examining it with the interest of an architecture enthusiast.

Wang Aijun was watching intently, not daring to slack off, occasionally glancing towards the entrance of the courtyard as if waiting for someone.

Wang Xiwang, despite the cold weather, was sweating profusely from anxiety. These people came with ill intentions, and if today’s matter wasn’t handled well, it could affect his job. Thinking of this made him restless, so he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and walked a few steps towards He Chongguang, offering him one. He Chongguang accepted it with a smile and held it in his mouth, while Wang Xiwang hurriedly lit it up; the two of them exhaled clouds of smoke. After smoking half a cigarette, He Chongguang finally said with satisfaction, "Director Wang, your house seems quite different from the ones around our county, doesn’t it?"

Hearing this, Wang Xiwang was suddenly taken aback, unable to catch his breath, and he started coughing violently from the smoke.

Wang Aijun, who had been keeping a close eye on the conversation, heard everything clearly. With his brother losing his composure, he stepped forward with a smile and said, "Minister He is indeed insightful. Our father is from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and after the liberation, he settled down in Guanzhong. Missing the architecture of his hometown, he incorporated some building customs from Jiangsu and Zhejiang when constructing our house. That’s why you might find it a bit different, Minister He."

He Chongguang turned to look at Wang Aijun with a slight smile without saying anything and continued to look at the house. Indeed, the house was taller than most, and with Wang Aijun’s explanation, it made sense; in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, where temperatures were higher, the roofs of houses were often much higher.

Just then, the sound of a car horn was heard. Wang Aijun swiftly turned his head, his expression becoming visibly upset, while Wang Xiwang repeatedly looked at his brother, his brows furrowing.

Qin Xi nodded towards He Chongguang and then stepped out of the courtyard gate.

Wang Xiwang’s face was extremely troubled; no need to say it, everyone knew someone had gone to pick someone up—who else could it be if not someone from the Li Family!

In a short time, Qin Xi led a group of more than a dozen people in. The leader was the captain of Li Family Village, Li Dafu, who did not recognize He Chongguang. Qin Xi introduced him, saying, "Captain, this is Minister He from the county’s Armed Forces Department, who came here first upon receiving the news."

He Chongguang’s eyes gleamed as he smiled faintly. This little rascal, wasn’t it him who had asked him to come, yet now he was shoving the responsibility onto him.

Captain Li, having never seen such a high-ranking official, stretched out his hands with suppressed excitement, "Minister He, thank you for your hard work!"

He Chongguang extended his hand and shook it, replying, "It’s no trouble. Serving the people is what I should do!"

Li Erfu was standing dryly on one side, constantly rubbing his hands, looking uneasy. Li Jianqing made his way through the crowd to Li Dafu and said, "Uncle, my sister was taken away by these people, to be the bride for that family’s simpleton!" After saying this, he glared at Wang Xiwang and others with rage.

At that moment, the large group that Li Jianqing brought had surrounded the Wang family’s courtyard, leaving no way out.

Seeing so many people arrive, Wang Xiwang turned to look at his brother Wang Aijun, and saw him shaking his head slightly.

Then Wang Xiwang turned back and said, "Minister He, about this matter, could there be some misunderstanding? My family has not trafficked anyone. The bride my younger brother is marrying has the consent of her family. We are not involved in any human trafficking. This accusation shouldn’t be made lightly; it’s a crime to falsely accuse someone!"

He Chongguang looked at everyone with a smile but did not speak. Instead, Qin Xi whispered something to Li Jianqing and his own younger brother.

He Chongguang, who had seen everything, stepped forward and gently tugged on Wang Xiwang’s sleeve, as if he wanted to have a quiet word. But suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd and someone was knocked over with a startled cry.

Wang Xiwang turned his head to see the few brash youths who had arrived earlier were suddenly charging into his home. Frightened, he spun around to stop them, only to be held back by He Chongguang.

Wang Xiwang glared with bulging eyes and bared his teeth, "He Chongguang! What the hell are you doing! Planning to storm the place?"

He was about to break free from He Chongguang’s grip and run inside to stop people from entering.

Wang Aijun, however, watched quietly as everyone burst in, his lips curling into a smile, as if it was none of his business, while Qin Xi, who noticed this scene, gazed at the house with a puzzled look in his eyes.

He Chongguang firmly held onto Wang Xiwang, chuckling, "Hey, Director Wang, come on, these people are just suspicious. Just let them have a look at your new daughter-in-law to confirm she’s not the missing girl from their brigade, and it’ll be over. Why the rush?" He spoke in the tone of a peacemaker.

Wang Xiwang widened his eyes and watched as many people entered the house, took a deep breath, and quietly observed the dwelling.

Soon, someone came out, not looking very good. The person was Li Jianqing.

Upon seeing the look of disappointment on his nephew’s face, Li Dafu immediately realized that all possible hiding places must have been searched and nothing was found, his heart sank. Glancing at the Armed Forces Department chief and the two men he recognized from earlier – one was Director Wang Xiwang from the county family planning committee, the other Wang Aijun from the county middle school – he worried, if they had wronged them, what would they do? These were not people he, a simple brigade leader, could afford to provoke!

Qin Xi quickly stepped forward to ask Li Jianqing, and the answer was as Qin Xi had expected: nothing was found. Every possible hiding spot in the house had been searched, even the chicken coop had been turned upside down, and nothing had been found.

However, Qin Xi then walked past Li Jianqing back into the house. The girl couldn’t have disappeared into thin air, it must just be that the family hid her too well.

Li Jianqing followed him back in.

At this time, the Wang brothers, who had originally been watching in the center of the courtyard, also relaxed, their demeanor exuding annoyance as if to say, "Go on and search, you’re accusing us wrongly, let’s see how we deal with you."

Whereas Wang Aijun had a determined look on his face, which made He Chongguang feel disgusted from the bottom of his heart. He believed that the young man from the Qin family wouldn’t lie; the Wang family definitely abducted the Li family’s girl to be their dim-witted brother’s bride. However, their blatant way of doing evil disgusted him!

He Chongguang walked towards the door of the house with some concern, followed by the Wang brothers, while behind them, the Li brothers looked on nervously at the situation inside the room.

Wang Xiwang casually lit a cigarette and took leisurely puffs, enveloped in the smoke, completely unconcerned.

After thoroughly inspecting the house, Qin Xi looked suspiciously at the ceiling. The inside didn’t seem very high, but based on external references, it should have been a meter higher. Yet, it was made of thick wooden planks, which was quite odd.

Li Jianqing was very anxious; his sister really wasn’t here. They had searched everywhere they should have, and even Qin Xiaopang had checked the ground for any signs of digging, but there weren’t any. So where could his sister be?

Qin Xi moved to the wall and noticed two prints about forty centimeters apart near the top, obviously made by something resting there for a long time. The corners of his mouth slightly lifted into a smile – this must be where a ladder was placed.

Just as Qin Xi was about to turn around, he heard a thud from the ceiling, and upon looking up, he saw a black object falling down. Instinctively, he reached out to catch it – it was too heavy! The impact was too great, knocking him to the ground.

Everyone gasped in shock!

Li Jianqing rushed forward urgently, shouting, "Little sister, is that you? Little sister!" Then he lunged forward.

By then, Qin Xi had regained his composure, his entire arm numb. He had realized that the dark shadow he had just seen must have been a person, so he quickly admonished, "Stay back, wait!"

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