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Chapter 22: The Mysterious Old Man
The detention center is located in a remote suburb of Matang Town, where several people waited on the main road for over half an hour without seeing a single vehicle. Finally, an empty Tricycle came rumbling from a distance. Zhang Qiu's eyes lit up as he stepped forward to flag it down, saying, "Driver, are you heading to the county town? Could you take us part of the way? We are willing to pay."
The driver leaned out of the window to look at the children standing outside and smiled warmly, waving his hand. "No problem with giving you a ride; just forget about the money. However, there’s no room inside, so you’ll have to sit in the back."
"No problem," Qiu Wan called to everyone, "Get in!"
With the help of several boys, the girls climbed into the vehicle first. Song Weidong looked at the blue agricultural Electric Tricycle that Zhang Qiu had flagged down and said with a smile, "You really have a knack for this; it’s my first time riding in such a vehicle."
Zhang Qiu smiled slightly. "Once you ride it, you'll come to like it; it's quite thrilling."
The blue metal surface was scorching hot, and Rui Rui immediately yelped and jumped up as soon as she sat down. The driver had intentionally cleared a seat cushion for them from the driver's cabin. Zhang Qiu laid down a mat made of woven grass for the three girls to sit on. With limited space, Zhang Qiu and Zhao Pingchuan chose to stand in the cargo area, holding onto the peeling railings on top of the vehicle.
Song Weidong widened his eyes and asked, "You two aren’t planning to stand all the way to the county town, are you?"
"That's right; we’ll stand all the way to the county town. Don’t worry; it’s not as tiring as you think."
Song Weidong was skeptical of Zhang Qiu's words, but having felt the heat of the metal floor in the cargo area, he had no choice but to imitate Zhang Qiu and Zhao Pingchuan by standing in the back while firmly gripping the railings.
With a jolt, the Tricycle started up, its engine sputtering loudly as it shook violently. After releasing a cloud of black smoke from its rear, it slowly drove away. At that moment, two speeding police cars on the asphalt road from Beilan County to Nanlan County simultaneously slowed down and turned back toward Beilan County.
Wang Hailong sat in the passenger seat holding a walkie-talkie, his gaze fixed ahead while his body remained tense and alert. Just minutes earlier, He Jun had personally issued orders to cancel the mission.
In the fifth-floor office of the Beilan County Public Security Bureau, He Jun calmly handled his work. Recently, Beilan County was striving to become a Provincial Civilized City, and public security efforts across various towns needed more attention. Meanwhile, efforts to reform the police force must continue to ensure that Beilan County's law enforcement capabilities achieve a qualitative leap.
The incident in Lin County served as a wake-up call for He Jun; Zhang Qiu had been illegally detained in Nanlan County by local law enforcement agencies. He Jun promptly contacted leaders at the Lin County Public Security Bureau for communication regarding this matter and dispatched a team to respond quickly. Although the situation was resolved satisfactorily, it highlighted issues that still warranted attention. Whether similar incidents had occurred in Beilan County or if they were simply unknown was a pressing question.
He Jun immediately decided to increase patrol forces and expand coverage areas, focusing on stations and parks where personnel numbers were high and locations were relatively remote or concealed. The goal was to make thorough patrolling without blind spots a new norm under Beilan County's development initiatives, maximizing protection for citizens' lives and property safety.
In the urban area of Nanlan County, a large Electric Tricycle stopped by the roadside. The driver got out and opened the rear compartment cover, proudly saying, "How about that? Pretty fast, right? Don't underestimate this simple vehicle; it can keep up with cars."
Song Weidong looked at the vehicles speeding past into the urban area and asked, "Master, why aren't you continuing on?"
The driver pointed to the intersection ahead and replied, "I can't go any further with this kind of vehicle. I need to turn off to another place anyway. You've arrived here; it's quite convenient for you to take a taxi now."
"Thank you, Master."
Zhang Qiu thanked the driver and supported Jiang Xue as Liu Fangfei and Rui Rui got out one by one. Song Weidong took a bill from his pocket to hand to the driver, but the driver insisted on not accepting it. Finally, he closed the door and left. Song Weidong watched the departing tricycle and murmured, "What a good person..."
Zhang Qiu and the others parted ways with Song Weidong. He took a taxi to the hotel to find his father while Zhang Qiu and the others headed back to Zhao Pingchuan's grandfather's house. After a night of turmoil, the word "home," which usually felt so ordinary, took on profound meaning at that moment.
Upon arriving at Zhao Pingchuan's grandfather's house, they pushed open the door and saw the old man greeting them with a beaming smile. "You’re back!"
Zhao Pingchuan stepped forward and said, "Grandpa, we’re back."
"Good, good! Come in quickly; I've already prepared dinner and was just waiting for you all to eat."
The old man led everyone into the house. Zhang Qiu was astonished at the lavish spread on the table and asked, "Grandpa, did you know we were coming back for lunch?"
The old man smiled kindly and replied, "Of course I knew."
Zhang Qiu recalled being in Director Ma's office when he had Zhao Pingchuan call his grandfather to report their safety. Zhao Pingchuan had mentioned that his grandfather didn't have a mobile phone but already knew they were safe. At that time, Zhang Qiu had questions in his mind; now seeing that things were indeed as Zhao Pingchuan said, his doubts deepened further as he looked at the old man with more complex emotions.
The old man cheerfully served everyone rice and seemed very happy, not mentioning anything about last night. After dinner, he simply told them to rest before returning alone to his room, lying down on his bamboo recliner with his eyes closed.
Zhang Qiu and the others cleaned up the dishes and gathered in Zhao Pingchuan's room. The air conditioning was set to a comfortable temperature, and people sprawled across both the sofa and the kang (a traditional heated bed). Fortunately, being in the countryside meant there was a large kang running from east to west; otherwise, they wouldn't have fit so many people. Everyone's clothes were soaked with sweat, giving off a sour smell after a night of fermentation. But no one cared about that; even Liu Fangfei, who usually paid great attention to such details, overlooked it. Compared to their exhaustion, this was nothing significant. After lying on the kang for just ten minutes, no one in the room remained awake.
When Zhang Qiu opened his eyes, the room was pitch black, with only two numbers on the air conditioner emitting a faint blue glow. Zhang Qiu looked out the window; it was already dark. The rural night was truly dark, without streetlights or car lights, only darkness and silence.
Checking the time, it was already eight-thirty. Zhang Qiu moved his arm that was pressed against his chest and woke up Zhao Pingchuan, who was lying on the sofa. He called out, "Zhao Pingchuan, wake up, it's already eight-thirty."
"Ah?" Zhao Pingchuan rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked at the shadow in front of him, asking, "Brother Qiu, is that you?"
"Yes, it's me. It's already eight-thirty; get up and eat something."
"Okay."
Zhang Qiu turned on the light and called out to the three girls who were reluctant to get up from the kang. If it weren't for their growling stomachs, he had no doubt they would sleep until the next morning.
"You all awake? Let's eat; I've already eaten."
An old man was sitting in the main room with an oil lamp on the table. The flame danced with the breeze as he held a scroll in his hands, appreciating the text by candlelight. He nodded occasionally and stroked his neatly trimmed gray beard.
Dinner was extremely simple: rice soaked in well water, boiled duck eggs, and stir-fried green beans. They ate heartily despite the simplicity. After a tiring afternoon with little appetite, they felt their stomachs empty as soon as they got up to move around. A full iron basin of stir-fried green beans was devoured by them. Even the old man looked at them in astonishment and said, "I'll go fry some more for you."
"Grandpa, you don't need to bother."
They urged their grandfather not to get up to cook again and had a few more bowls of rice with salted duck eggs. Rui Rui patted her waist and exclaimed, "Oh no, I'm definitely going to gain weight now."
That night, Jiang Xue, Liu Fangfei, and Rui Rui slept in Zhao Pingchuan's room while Zhang Qiu and Zhao Pingchuan went to sleep in the same room as Zhao Pingchuan's grandfather. Before parting ways, the three girls discussed having Zhang Qiu and Zhao Pingchuan join them for sleep since they wouldn't be undressing anyway; after all, this room had air conditioning while the other one had nothing. However, this suggestion was unanimously rejected by Zhang Qiu and Zhao Pingchuan. Zhang Qiu said, "There should be a distinction between men and women; it's better to sleep separately."
Rui Rui shot Zhang Qiu a glance as if about to say, "Aren't you sleeping with Jiang Xue then?"
In the end, the three girls slept in one room while Zhang Qiu and Zhao Pingchuan slept in another. Before going to bed, the old man reminded the three girls: "At night, remember to lock the door from inside. Don't set the air conditioning too low to avoid dampness. Also, if you need to get up at night, don't go outside. If you hear any noises during the night, don't be curious; just focus on sleeping. Do you understand?"
"Grandpa, what is that sound at night?"
Jiang Xue asked, while Liu Fangfei and Rui Rui looked at the old man with curiosity, hoping to get an answer from him. But the old man simply said, "Don't be curious, focus on sleeping."
The more the old man said this, the more uneasy Jiang Xue felt, and her mind involuntarily connected it to horror movies. Aren't the common tropes of countless domestic horror films always about strange sounds appearing first, followed by the emergence of a 'ghost' (which can only be fake due to regulations)?
Zhang Qiu, aware of Jiang Xue's timid nature, walked over, held her hand, and gently kissed it. "Don't be afraid. If anything happens, just shout. I can hear you and will come right away."
"Okay." Jiang Xue felt a bit reassured and nodded seriously. Zhang Qiu then lightly kissed her forehead, making Jiang Xue smile happily.
After a quick wash, the three girls returned to their room to sleep. Zhang Qiu and Zhao Pingchuan went to the yard, stripped off their clothes, and poured cold well water over themselves using a basin. The sensation was incredibly refreshing; one basin of well water made them feel like they could fly. After washing away their fatigue, Zhang Qiu and Zhao Pingchuan closed the door to the main room and went inside. In the pitch-black yard, only two large dogs, one yellow and one black, kept their eyes open as they comfortably rubbed against each other in the carrot field.
Lying on the kang, Zhang Qiu asked the old man, "Grandpa, I think you are amazing."
The old man chuckled softly. Zhang Qiu continued, "Can you share your stories with us?"
The air was so quiet that they could hear the old man's steady breathing. He replied, "What do you want to know?"
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