Chuntao walked quickly forward with the child in her arms. It was not until she reached the corner at the end of the alley that she saw an adobe outhouse with a torn piece of burlap hanging at the door.
"Is your mother in here? Call out to her!"
Chuntao put the child down and patted his head. "Hurry, call her!"
The child, however, remained silent. Just as Chuntao was about to call out, "Is anyone in there?"
The child suddenly darted out like a rabbit and ran away in a flash.
Chuntao was stunned. She was just about to chase after him when someone suddenly grabbed her from behind and dragged her into the outhouse without a word.
The hairs on Chuntao's body stood on end instantly. She instinctively wanted to scream, but her mouth was covered tightly.
The man holding her was the very same man in the gray cloth shirt who had been following her.
Meanwhile, Aunt Zhou and Zhou Xiaobao had emptied their bowls, and Zhou Hongxia had finished her jelly, but Chuntao still had not returned.
Aunt Zhou felt something was wrong, so she asked Zhou Hongxia to look for her across the street.
Zhou Hongxia first went to the fried dough stick stand opposite them. She asked the vendor, but the vendor said he had not seen such a person.
She continued searching half a street down, asking many people, but they all shook their heads and said they had not seen her.
Her eyes grew red with anxiety. She ran back to Aunt Zhou and said tearfully, "Grandma... I asked around for half a street, and everyone said they haven't seen Sister-in-law Chuntao... What should we do?"
Hearing this, Aunt Zhou also panicked. The fair was crowded with all sorts of people.
There might even be human traffickers. Chuntao was such a delicate girl, could she have been...
The more Aunt Zhou thought about it, the more frightened she became. She abruptly stood up from the stool, paid the vendor, and left with Zhou Xiaobao in tow.
As she walked, she comforted herself, "She's a grown adult, she'll be fine. She must be buying something!"
She then said to Zhou Hongxia, "Go look further south, and I'll look north. We will definitely find her!"
Hearing her grandmother say this and seeing her calm expression, Zhou Hongxia felt a little relieved and hurried south.
The street was bustling with people. Zhou Hongxia looked around as she walked, going all the way to the bicycle parking area at the south end, but she still saw no sign of Chuntao.
Chuntao was so beautiful. Could she have been abducted by hooligans?
Earlier in the morning when they were strolling on the street, a few men had whistled at Chuntao, and someone even pointed at her and said, "That chick looks really nice..."
Zhou Hongxia's heart tightened. Chuntao was so thin and frail. If she really ran into hooligans, she definitely wouldn't be able to escape.
Tears of fear welled up in Zhou Hongxia's eyes as she shouted into the crowd, "Sister-in-law Chuntao... Sister-in-law Chuntao... Where are you..."
Her shouts drew many onlookers, and someone came up to ask her what was wrong.
"I can't find my sister-in-law. She's about this tall, thinner than me, with big eyes, a small mouth, and a fair, rosy complexion. She's very pretty. Have you seen her?
Oh right, she was wearing a blue cloth shirt and faded gray trousers..."
Zhou Hongxia tried her best to describe Chuntao's appearance, but everyone shook their heads and said they hadn't seen her.
She was a living, breathing person. Even if she was taken by hooligans, someone should have seen it, right?
Zhou Hongxia squeezed through the crowd, continuing her search until her voice went hoarse.
...
Meanwhile, Aunt Zhou led Zhou Xiaobao north, asking around as they went. Zhou Xiaobao also called out "Sister-in-law Chuntao!" along the way.
They walked all the way to the corner at the north end of the street, but still didn't see Chuntao.
What should they do? A grown woman had disappeared just by coming to the fair. Aunt Zhou was in a panic.
"Aunt Zhou..."
Hearing someone call her, Aunt Zhou turned around and saw Wang Chunxiao the Gossip from their village along with another woman.
They were both holding cloth bags and squeezed their way over to Aunt Zhou.
Early that morning, while washing pots in her kitchen, Wang Chunxiao the Gossip had heard Zhou Hongxia calling Chuntao to go to the fair.
Now, not seeing Chuntao and Zhou Hongxia, and having just heard Zhou Xiaobao calling for Chuntao, she asked, "Aunt Zhou, where are Chuntao and Hongxia?"
Before Aunt Zhou could speak, Zhou Xiaobao blurted out, "Did you see my Sister-in-law Chuntao? She's missing!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Chunxiao the Gossip's eyes widened instantly. "What are you saying, child? How could a grown person just disappear?"
Aunt Zhou originally hadn't wanted to say anything, but since Zhou Xiaobao had already spoken, she could no longer hide it.
She said, "We just got separated. She might be buying something somewhere!"
Wang Chunxiao the Gossip frowned slightly, wanting to press further, but the other woman quietly tugged at the hem of her shirt.
Looking at Aunt Zhou, the woman said, "Exactly, it's normal to get separated in a crowd. A grown person won't get lost!"
"Aunt Zhou, Chunxiao and I are going over there to buy sickles. We'll be going now!" After speaking, the woman pulled Wang Chunxiao the Gossip away.
Wang Chunxiao the Gossip kept turning her head to look back at Aunt Zhou as she walked away, her eyes full of gossip and curiosity.
"Say, Li Chuntao is as pretty as a flower. Do you think she has a lover on the outside and took the opportunity of the fair to meet him?" Wang Chunxiao the Gossip whispered into the other woman's ear.
"Jieshi's wife rarely leaves the house. Every day she's either at home or in the fields, and she blushes whenever she sees anyone. How could she have a lover?"
"That's not necessarily true. People like that are the best at hiding things..."
Aunt Zhou thought to herself that Wang Chunxiao the Gossip would surely add fuel to the fire and spread rumors once she got back!
She couldn't help but pat Zhou Xiaobao's head, saying with a dark face, "Xiaobao, don't interrupt when adults are talking from now on, understand? Your Sister-in-law Chuntao is right here on the street, she's not missing!"
Zhou Xiaobao didn't know why his grandmother was angry. He blinked and said, "If she's on the street, why can't we find her?"
"Let's go, we'll find her in a bit!" Aunt Zhou pulled Zhou Xiaobao along to continue searching.
They met up with Zhou Hongxia again, but still hadn't found her. Now Aunt Zhou truly felt that something was terribly wrong.
In those days, there were many human traffickers who abducted women and children. If Chuntao had really been taken by traffickers, she, as her godmother, would be a sinner.
"Hongxia, take Xiaobao and keep looking! I'm going to the police station to report this!"
She pushed Zhou Xiaobao toward Zhou Hongxia and hurried off toward the commune compound.
Aunt Zhou stumbled her way to the commune police station, but the doors were locked and there wasn't a soul in sight.
Just as she was panicking and didn't know what to do, she saw a middle-aged man who looked like a cadre, wearing a half-worn Mao suit, walking by. She quickly rushed over to ask him.
"Comrade, why is there no one at the police station?"
The man stopped and said, "It's not working hours yet! Do you have an emergency?"
Aunt Zhou rubbed her hands together and hurriedly said, "Comrade! I came to the fair with my daughter, and now she's missing! Could you help me call the comrades from the police station?"
The middle-aged man looked her up and down. Her gray cloth shirt with a large lapel was stained with dirt, her hair was messy, and her eyes were red and swollen. She didn't look like she was lying.
He frowned and asked, "How old is your daughter? How did she go missing?"
Aunt Zhou quickly explained the whole story of how Chuntao had disappeared.
As the middle-aged man listened, the expression on his face grew increasingly grave, his brows knitting tightly together.
Just last month, a seven or eight-year-old child from Hanzhuang had gone missing while visiting relatives.
Over in Beigang, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl had also vanished without a trace after going out to cut pigweed. The two families had come in tears to file a report, yet the cases remained unsolved to this day. If another missing person case were to occur, never mind trying to explain it to his superiors—he feared he wouldn't even be able to keep his position as Party Secretary, a seat he had barely even had the time to warm.
