When Xiao Zhou heard Guan Wenjun say this, he quickly ran into the room, squatted behind him, and said nervously, "Comrade Guan, what did you just see? Is there really a thief?"
Guan Wenjun had no idea if it was a thief, but he subconsciously felt that something was wrong.
He whispered, "It might not be as simple as a thief. The other party has gone into the mountain, and we can't rush in blindly. Hurry to the village and notify the production team. Have the captain bring the commune members over with torches. We have to go into the mountain and search!"
Xiao Zhou said hesitantly, "It's late at night, and it's very dangerous to go into the mountain. Why don't we wait until tomorrow..."
Guan Wenjun suddenly turned around, grabbed Xiao Zhou by the collar tightly, and said coldly, "My wife is missing, are you blind? We must go into the mountain to search tonight, otherwise, I'm afraid your whole village won't be able to bear the responsibility."
Guan Wenjun's face was gloomy and his tone was fierce, which startled Xiao Zhou.
He hurriedly said, "I know, I know. Comrade Guan, don't be impulsive. Maybe your wife is hiding nearby. Why don't you look around? I'll go to the village to call for help. I'll go right now."
Only then did Guan Wenjun let go of him. Xiao Zhou quickly got up, rummaged through the room for a flashlight, and ran towards the village.
In fact, many people in the village were not asleep.
They had also heard the gunshots.
Many people had already lit oil lamps, come out of their houses, and were looking in the direction of the forestry farm.
After all, Guan Wenjun had just fired two shots, and the sound was so loud that it could be heard miles away.
Therefore, when Xiao Zhou ran into the village, he didn't even need to call for people. Captain Niu of the production brigade had already gotten up.
Meanwhile, Guan Wenjun squatted in the room, struggling with whether he should go out and look for Qiao Lanshu.
He had just seen a dark figure run out of this room, heading straight in the direction of the forestry farm.
He suspected that the forest ranger from the forestry farm had come over.
As for why he came, there could be many reasons.
For example, the other party might have seen Qiao Lanshu in the afternoon, been attracted by her appearance, and wanted to take advantage of the night to come over and do something inappropriate.
Or, the other party was the spy they had been looking for. Because Guan Wenjun was discovered by the dog when he went into the mountain in the morning, the other party suspected that Guan Wenjun knew some information, so he came over overnight, ready to silence him.
Although Guan Wenjun didn't have much experience in handling cases, he wasn't stupid. At this moment, he quickly sorted out the cause and effect.
He felt that it was highly likely that the other party came to silence him under the cover of night.
Because if it was purely for beauty, there was no need for the other party to take such a risk.
After all, that forest ranger Lao Wu was not young anymore, and Qiao Lanshu was now Guan Wenjun's wife, and her identity was a grassroots cadre who came here to exchange work.
That Lao Wu couldn't possibly risk his life for beauty, right?
There were so many girls in this village. If he was really that kind of person, he would have been arrested long ago for molesting women, and wouldn't have stayed in the orchard for more than ten years with a pretty good reputation.
During the day, Captain Niu even praised Lao Wu, saying that he was quite hardworking and dutiful.
Having figured this out, Guan Wenjun suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.
It was all because of him that he alerted the enemy and harmed Qiao Lanshu.
So, where on earth did Qiao Lanshu go?
That dark figure ran alone and didn't take anyone else with him. Logically speaking, Qiao Lanshu should still be in the room.
However, Guan Wenjun wandered around the room a few times, rummaging through boxes and cabinets to find her, but he couldn't find her.
He jumped out of the window to the back of the house, looked around, and shouted for a long time, but no one answered him.
Guan Wenjun hugged his gun, squatted at the base of the wall, and wept silently. "Comrade Xiao Qiao, where on earth have you gone? I've let you down. I've harmed you. When we go back this time, Lao Qin will definitely tear me to pieces..."
As he spoke, he muttered again, "No, if I can't find you, I won't go back. How could I have the face to go back..."
At this moment, Qiao Lanshu was lying on the roof, hiding in the haystack on the roof, silently listening to Guan Wenjun's crying below.
She thought in her heart with wonder: Director Guan is actually crying?
It's amazing. Guan Wenjun, who has always been vain, would actually cry.
Qiao Lanshu originally wanted to call out to Guan Wenjun, but her sixth sense was still vigilant.
She always felt that the person who had just sneaked into her room hadn't gone far.
That person should be hiding near the entrance of the forestry farm, and the weapon in his hand was unclear.
It was uncertain whether the other party had a gun, nor was it certain what the other party's purpose was.
Qiao Lanshu didn't dare to make a sound now, lest she be discovered by the other party.
If she were alone, she might not be so cautious.
But she still had a child in her belly.
For the sake of the child, she couldn't take any risks.
Qiao Lanshu silently apologized to Guan Wenjun in her heart, thinking that she would wait until the people from the village came.
Things were not quite right.
This development had already exceeded her expectations.
Guan Wenjun couldn't find Qiao Lanshu anywhere around, so he hid in the room with his back against the wall. He didn't come out of the room until Captain Niu brought about twenty young men over, and the torches they held illuminated the surroundings brightly.
The firelight was too bright, and Qiao Lanshu silently buried herself deeper into the haystack.
Right now, she didn't trust anyone here except Guan Wenjun.
Including Xiao Zhou, Captain Niu, and the other people in the village.
Guan Wenjun came out of the room with red eyes. He had to borrow manpower from the village, otherwise, he couldn't handle this matter alone.
With red eyes, he questioned Captain Niu, "Captain Niu, are all the people in your village here? Did anyone come here in the middle of the night? My wife is missing! I just saw with my own eyes someone running into my wife's room. After being discovered by me, he hid in the direction of the forestry farm. I suspect he kidnapped my wife!"
Xiao Zhou said nervously, "Well, I can testify that someone really came over. I even heard someone knock on the window. It's been more than half an hour, and Comrade Xiao Qiao's whereabouts are still unknown."
Captain Niu was extremely anxious.
He was the captain of the village's production team. Once something happened in the village, he would be the first to bear the brunt.
Hearing this, he immediately said, "Comrade Guan, don't worry. I'll have everyone in the village gather right now! Let's see if anyone sneaked out in the middle of the night."
With that, he arranged for someone to run back to the village, turn on the broadcast overnight, and gather the whole village.
Another half an hour passed. Everyone in the village was there, even the elderly and children. No one was missing.
Guan Wenjun said with a dark face, "Then it must be that forest ranger Lao Wu! Come in with me. I want to see if Lao Wu is in the mountain."
Administrator Xiao Zhou quickly said, "But it's quite dangerous to go into the mountain at this time, and Lao Wu has a dog there."
Hearing this, Captain Niu immediately said seriously, "No matter how dangerous it is, we have to go in! Didn't you say a female comrade is missing? If she ran into the mountain and got lost, it would be troublesome."
Hearing this, Xiao Zhou hurriedly said, "That's right, I have a flashlight here. Let's all go into the mountain and look for her together."
With that said, Xiao Zhou ran forward with a flashlight. "I am familiar with these mountains, I will lead the way for you."
Guan Wenjun followed closely behind, while Captain Niu led his men, marching forward in a mighty contingent.
Guan Wenjun then said to Captain Niu, "Captain Niu, leave a few people here at the dorms. I'm afraid my wife might come back in a while and find no one here."
Guan Wenjun was still being very thoughtful.
He worried that if Qiao Lanshu found her way back on her own, what would happen if she ran into bad people again?
Captain Niu was very cooperative. He immediately arranged for three young men with torches to go back and guard the dormitory area.
The mountain forest on a winter night was actually not as dangerous as one might imagine.
Because they had strength in numbers and carried torches, wild animals and beasts would avoid them.
The weather was so cold and the mountains so desolate, unlike the lush mountains in the south where paths had to be cleared, and there were certainly no venomous insects blocking their way.
The mountain path was not that difficult to walk on. Furthermore, because this was a forestry farm, there were no traps around. The forestry administrators knew of the few pits in the mountains, and Xiao Zhou led them to avoid them all.
Just as they reached halfway up the mountain, suddenly, in the orchard deep in the forest, several wolfhounds began barking madly.
Guan Wenjun's legs went weak at the sound of the barking. He immediately stopped in his tracks and whispered, "What's wrong? Did the dogs spot us?"
The administrator Xiao Zhou swallowed hard and said, "I, I don't know. Probably not? There's still a whole hill between us."
Captain Niu looked at the orchard not far away, listening to the continuous fierce barking of the dogs. He frowned and said, "What is Lao Wu doing? Why are the dogs barking so fiercely..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a loud boom suddenly came from the direction of the orchard!
In an instant, the earth shook and the mountains swayed; the whole ground was trembling.
The wooden cabin over at the orchard had exploded.
Everyone was shaken so hard they couldn't stand still. Several people fell to the ground, dropping the torches in their hands.
After his initial shock, Captain Niu hurriedly roared at them, "Put out the damn torches! The weather is dry, be careful of a forest fire!"
Under normal circumstances, bringing torches up the mountain was not allowed.
If it weren't for the fact that none of them had flashlights and they were afraid someone was missing in the mountains, they wouldn't have entered the mountains with a bottle of water and a torch each.
Now everyone was pale and weak in the knees from the explosion.
Captain Niu, worried about starting a forest fire, took down the canteen hanging at his waist and put out his own torch first.
The other young men were scrambling in fear from the distant explosion. Whatever Captain Niu told them to do, they hurried to do it.
Soon, they all used the water from their canteens to extinguish their torches.
Now, the only source of light at the scene was the flashlight in Xiao Zhou's hand.
Xiao Zhou swallowed nervously and said, "Captain Niu, we need to put out the fire at the orchard. There was an explosion."
Captain Niu obviously knew that. He said in a deep voice, "Then what are we waiting for? Hurry in and put out the fire!"
There were mountain streams in the mountains, and an artificial reservoir dug in the orchard.
Both Xiao Zhou and Captain Niu knew this.
Guided by the light of the flashlight, the group ran toward the orchard.
Guan Wenjun also ran very fast. He didn't know why the orchard suddenly exploded.
But he knew that Lao Wu's identity was indeed not simple!
He even wondered if he had been discovered when he came to the orchard in the morning, and the other party wanted to destroy the evidence, so they simply blew up their own wooden cabin?
Everyone rushed to the orchard. The wooden cabin had just exploded, and fierce flames were burning it, making crackling sounds.
Surrounding the cabin was an open clearing, and stones were paved at the door, so the flames did not spread in a short time.
This was a good thing; otherwise, once it spread, this entire mountain wouldn't be enough for it to burn!
Captain Niu led his men to carry water and create a firebreak before starting to extinguish the flames.
Two deep craters had been blasted around the original cabin, and the surrounding area reeked of a terrible scorched smell.
When the fire was mostly put out, Guan Wenjun walked around the two deep craters.
Those dogs had actually been killed in the explosion.
There were no human corpses inside the cabin, and as for other things, nothing was found.
As Guan Wenjun walked into a corner, someone suddenly covered his mouth and pulled him into the darkness.
Guan Wenjun was about to struggle when he heard the person speak: "It's me."
Guan Wenjun: "!!!"
Hearing this voice made Guan Wenjun feel guilty. He whispered, "Lao Qin, why are you..."
Qin Yuanzheng covered his mouth again and whispered, "A lot of explosives were planted in the cabin. I just defused some of them, but I couldn't finish in time."
He was almost caught in the blast himself. Fortunately, he had experience in mine clearance and managed to jump out the window in time.
It was a pity it still blew up.
He had been very worried about starting a forest fire.
Fortunately, Guan Wenjun brought the villagers in and put out the fire just in time, preventing it from spreading.
Guan Wenjun cursed in a low voice, "These damn spies really don't care about human lives. If a forest fire spread here, the village would also suffer. Who knows how many crops would be burned."
Qin Yuanzheng was dressed entirely in black, carrying a large backpack.
He whispered to Guan Wenjun, "We didn't catch the person. Si Zhemao has already taken people to block every intersection. You go back to the village now and lead people to search there. I'm heading down the mountain first."
Guan Wenjun nodded. He hesitated to speak, looking at Qin Yuanzheng with an expression that looked like he was about to cry.
Qin Yuanzheng stared at him and said in a deep voice, "What time is it for this? Spit it out!"
Guan Wenjun: "..."
Guan Wenjun hurriedly said, "Comrade Xiao Qiao came over with me this time. Tonight, she, she suddenly went missing. I originally brought people into the mountains to find her, but I don't think she came up the mountain. However, we couldn't find her around the dormitory area either..."
Bang!
Before Guan Wenjun could finish his sentence, Qin Yuanzheng punched him to the ground.
Hearing the noise, Xiao Zhou immediately called out, "Comrade Guan, what's wrong? Who are you talking to?"
Saying that, Xiao Zhou came over with the flashlight.
Guan Wenjun quickly shouted, "I'm fine! It's just too dark, I accidentally tripped. I'm fine."
As Guan Wenjun spoke, he turned his head and realized Qin Yuanzheng had already disappeared.
Guan Wenjun rubbed his swollen face and silently got up from the ground.
Xiao Zhou quickly came over. He shone his flashlight around Guan Wenjun but found nothing suspicious.
Confused, he said, "Comrade Guan, who were you just talking to? Were you talking?"
Guan Wenjun said in a muffled voice, "I'm looking for my wife. I don't know where she is. If I can't find her, I won't want to live anymore."
Xiao Zhou: "..."
Xiao Zhou wiped the dark soot off his face and said to Guan Wenjun, "Comrade Guan, don't worry too much. I don't think Comrade Xiao Qiao went into the mountains. Why don't we go back and look for her again?"
After all, they hadn't heard Qiao Lanshu calling for help all the way up the mountain.
There was only this one path in the forestry farm. Qiao Lanshu couldn't possibly have taken an unconventional route, could she?
