The middle-aged man was Wang Jinlong, the top leader of the Qingshan Commune.
He had previously been the second-in-command at the neighboring commune, but due to his solid work, he was recently nominated by the county and transferred to Qingshan Commune.
Everyone knew that Qingshan Commune was a tough nut to crack. The crop yields were poor, and the economy was lagging behind.
Neighborhood quarrels and bickering were common, and the public security was so chaotic it made one's scalp tingle.
The higher-up leaders had high expectations for him, and he had made a solemn pledge to them: within three years, he must turn the situation in Qingshan Commune around.
A new broom sweeps clean. Right after taking office, Wang Jinlong immediately held a mobilization meeting for the entire commune.
First, he required all production brigades to focus on production and try every possible means to develop sidelines to increase income.
He had a specific plan in mind; he just needed to take it step by step.
Next was to strictly manage public security. Not only did they have to deal with petty theft, but they also had to keep a close eye on the unhealthy trend of human trafficking.
He also issued orders to the brigade cadres to mediate neighborhood conflicts early on, preventing small matters from escalating, and striving to build a harmonious and civilized village.
However, before his "three fires" could fully catch on, a series of missing persons cases occurred in the commune one after another, giving him a massive headache just thinking about it.
He pulled a pocket watch from his pocket and looked at it. There was still half an hour before work started, so he said to Aunt Zhou, Older sister-in-law, wait here a moment. I'll go get some people.
Most of the cadres and police officers working in the commune lived in the family courtyard behind the commune office.
Wang Jinlong strode toward the backyard and, in a short while, returned leading several uniformed police officers.
Aunt Zhou repeated the story of Chuntao going missing to the police. Upon hearing this, the men immediately grabbed their IDs and rushed to the street.
On the other side, Zhou Hongxia was still wandering around the fair pulling Zhou Xiaobao. The sun was scorching, their faces were flushed red from the heat, and the backs of their coarse cloth shirts were soaked with sweat.
Sister, I'm tired... I'm hot too... Zhou Xiaobao tugged at Zhou Hongxia's hand, refusing to walk any further. He plopped down on the ground and wouldn't get up no matter how hard she pulled.
Zhou Hongxia wiped the sweat from her forehead. Just as she was about to coax him, she caught a glimpse of several uniformed police officers in the crowd out of the corner of her eye.
She quickly picked up Zhou Xiaobao and squeezed hard toward the police, shouting, Comrade police officers! My sister-in-law is missing, and my grandma has already gone to the police station to report it! Have you seen my grandma?
The police officers were stunned for a moment but quickly reacted. One of them said, Oh, an old lady just came to report a case, saying her daughter went missing at the fair. Is that your grandma?
Before he could finish speaking, Aunt Zhou squeezed through the crowd, her voice hoarse, Hongxia!
Grandma, how about I go back and call my second uncle to help look? Zhou Hongxia said anxiously, looking at her grandmother's pale face.
It had been over an hour, and they hadn't seen a trace of her. Aunt Zhou's heart was in her throat.
She hurriedly said, Quickly ride the bike and take Xiaobao back. Tell your dad, your second uncle, your third uncle, and your brother to all come!
Okay! Zhou Hongxia put Zhou Xiaobao down, squatted to carry him on her back, and hurriedly ran toward the south end of the street where the bicycles were parked.
What she didn't know was that Wang Chunxiao had already embellished the story of Chuntao going missing and told it to Huang Meili.
As soon as she entered Zhou Zhimin's courtyard, she shouted clamorously, Meili! Your mother-in-law took Jieshi's wife to the fair, and now she's missing!
Isn't it bizarre? How can a living, breathing person just vanish?
Huang Meili glanced at her and didn't take it seriously. Wang Chunxiao was known for exaggerating; nine out of ten things she said couldn't be taken seriously.
Such a grown person gets lost at a fair? I don't believe it.
I saw it with my own eyes! Your mother-in-law was pulling Xiaobao along the street looking for her, her face as white as paper. I asked her what happened, and she wouldn't even say!
Xiaobao was quick to speak up and said Chuntao was missing. Kids have no filter; they speak the truth!
The annoying events of the past two days had left Huang Meili feeling stifled, and she was desperate for an outlet to vent.
Hearing Wang Chunxiao say this, it was as if a hole had suddenly opened in her heart, and all her pent-up anger slowly leaked out.
The corners of her mouth turned up in secret triumph. If Li Chuntao really couldn't be found, let's see how you all keep protecting her!
Wang Chunxiao leaned closer to Huang Meili, lowering her voice even more, Think about it. That Li Chuntao, a fair and tender young wife, guarding a living corpse every day—couldn't she be getting anxious?
Huang Meili frowned. What do you mean?
What else could it mean? She must have a lover! Maybe she took advantage of the crowded fair to sneak off for a secret rendezvous with him!
Huang Meili, however, deliberately said, Impossible!
Wang Chunxiao sneered, Believe it or not! There's a worker at the oilfield named Li Mingliang who is close to her.
He hasn't been seen for a long time. Maybe he came to the fair today to wait for her, and the two of them ran off together!
There was a woman in my maiden village who ran off with her lover during the April 8th fair last year. Later, she was caught and brought back by her husband, who beat her so hard she rolled all over the ground!
After finishing, she gossiped for another minute or two, then twisted her hips and walked away.
In the east room, Zhou Zhimin was focused on repairing a hoe. He heard Wang Chunxiao's words loud and clear but didn't chime in; only the movements of his hands slowed down a bit.
After Wang Chunxiao left, Huang Meili stood at the door of the east room, curling her lips and saying, Zhou Zhimin, that Li Chuntao might really have run off with a lover!
Zhou Zhimin didn't even lift his eyelids. You believe her words? She's full of nonsense.
Then tell me, what did she go do? I just don't believe that a young wife like her, guarding a living corpse every day, doesn't have the slightest wandering eye.
What wandering eye? If she had one, could she have endured in the Wang family for three or four years? If she really did, she would have run away long ago!
These words from Zhou Zhimin pierced Huang Meili's ears like needles.
Zhou Zhimin! I see your whole family protects her! A woman like her living as a widow isn't lacking people to care for her; she has too many people caring for her!
Zhou Zhimin didn't reply again, keeping his head down and continuing to fiddle with the farm tool in his hands.
You can know a person's face but not their heart. What you see is only the surface! That Li Chuntao is the best at putting on an act...
Before she could finish her sentence, Zhou Hongxia ran into the courtyard, panting heavily as she shouted, Third Uncle! My sister-in-law Chuntao is missing, and my grandma wants you to hurry to the fair to help look for her!
Huang Meili's tightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed. She glanced sideways at Zhou Zhimin, her tone full of sarcasm. Hmph, and you still say she isn't that kind of person? Then how did she disappear for no reason?
Zhou Zhimin was also stunned. How can a living person just go missing?
There are a lot of people at the fair... I'm leaving first! Hurry up and go! Zhou Hongxia had no mind to say more, turned around, and ran off.
On the other side, Zhou Zhijun, Zhou Zhiguo, and Zhou Xiaowei were all hurrying toward the fair.
When Wang Xiaohong heard that Chuntao was missing, she was so anxious that tears welled up in her eyes. She wanted to go look too, but she couldn't leave the mess at home.
So she ran to find Liu Cuilan to get them to help look as well. As soon as Liu Cuilan heard this, she opened her mouth and started cursing, Looking for trouble! It's such a busy time, and she still has the leisure to go to the fair, that jinx!
Wang Xiaohong knew she wouldn't have anything nice to say, but having one more person to help search was always better, so she said, What time is it now, aren't you going to hurry up and go!
If Chuntao really disappeared, the burden of Wang Jieshi would fall on her shoulders. Realizing this, Liu Cuilan didn't dare to delay either.
Wang Haichao had mentioned early this morning that he was going to the street fair. Since he still had not returned by now, she took Wang Haibao and the other two straight to Qingshan Street.
Zhou Zhimin dawdled at home for quite a while before finally picking up his straw hat from where it leaned against the wall, taking his time as he strolled toward the east gully.
When Zhou Zhijun and his group arrived at the street, they first parked their bicycles in the empty lot at the south end.
The old man watching the bikes handed him a cardboard tag and hung another tag with the matching number on the handlebars.
Just as Zhou Zhijun was about to dash into the market, he spotted two women carrying cloth bags walking in their direction.
One of the women exclaimed loudly, "It is awful! Someone just got stabbed on the street! I heard there was so much blood that a whole patch of the ground turned red!"
The old parking attendant paused with his tobacco pipe, frowned, and spat. "What happened? Daring to stab someone in broad daylight?"
The other woman replied, "I heard Old Zhang, the vegetable vendor up ahead, say it was a drifter. He saw a pretty young wife and tried to drag her into the outhouse..."
