On this day, a man came outside Cixiang Village. His clothes were faded from the wash and his face was tired. He handed over to the guard and said that he wanted to find a wife and discussed with her not to get married. He had earned enough betrothal money to marry her. The guard pointed to the door.
At this time, the disciple had come up to him. The man then went to talk to the disciple again and glanced at the guard from the corner of his eye.
Not long after, the doorman led him in and went to the front hall to find Bai Lu, who was in charge. Bai Lu asked him to sit down with a smile and picked up the charcoal on the desk: "It would be a good thing if we could get back together. Sir, please tell me your name, surname, address, and your
I'll look up the name of the woman I'm looking for, how old she is, and what she looks like roughly."
The man hesitated for a moment and asked: "May I ask, eldest sister, are all those...women in Cixiang Village?"
"Not all of them are in Cixiang Village." Bai Lu said, "Some are in Cixiang Village. There are too many people in Cixiang Village. If there is no woman you are looking for here, I will write a note and send it to Cixiang Village to check."
The man nodded: "My name is He Suozi. I live in Dingzhi Lane. My wife's surname is Qian. She is about thirty years old and less than five feet tall..."
Bai Lu wrote it down, looked up at him and said, "I'll repeat it for you to listen to." Then she read it again, "Is that right?"
He Suozi raised his hand and said, "Yes, thank you very much, girl."
Bai Lu stood up: "Please wait a moment, Mr. He, I'll go inside to check the directory."
"Troublesome girl."
Bai Lu took two steps and suddenly called a little girl to serve tea to Mr. He. "There are many names, I'm afraid it will take some trouble to check." He Suozi thanked again.
He then waited seriously for more than half an hour. Bai Lu came out and said apologetically: "I checked once and couldn't find it. I'm afraid I missed it. I checked again and still found nothing. I'm afraid Ms. Qian is in Ci'ai Village. I'll write a note right now."
, if someone goes to Ci'ai Village to deliver something later, I will naturally bring it there, and there will be news back tomorrow."
He Suozi thought for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "May I ask where the Ci'ai Village is? Don't bother the girl, I can just go on my own."
Bai Lu apologized again: "I don't know. I'm just a registration person." He Suozi had no choice but to thank her and said he would come back tomorrow.
The next morning, He Suozi came again. Bai Luxiao handed him a piece of paper with the address written on it: "Fortunately, the mission has been fulfilled. Ms. Qian has two sons in Ci'ai Village, one is six years old and the other is
One year old, okay?"
He Suozi was pleasantly surprised: "Not bad!" He bowed to Bai Lu and said, "Thank you, girl!" He took the note and left.
Ci'ai Village and Cixiang Village were not far apart. This man could run very fast and arrived in a short time. Then he walked into Ci'ai Village and saw the maid in charge, asking to see Mr. Qian. The maid still took a charcoal pen to record the two people's relationship.
Name, surname, address, etc. He got up and went inside to check the book. After checking for half an hour, he came out and said, "It's checked. Today they are training, I will call her, please wait a moment." He Suozi was overjoyed.
After a while, Mrs. Qian came out. He Suozi looked around and saw that this woman seemed to have changed after not seeing him for several days. She was obviously fatter. She was wearing a blue shirt and trousers, with a blue tie on her head.
He held a handkerchief in his hand, which was clean. Seeing He Suozi, he asked lightly: "Is something wrong?"
He Suozi had a bad premonition in his heart and sighed softly: "The child is very good."
"Everything is fine. Eat well and sleep soundly. I will go to school next month."
He Suozi was silent for a moment and said: "Now some factories have begun to recruit workers, and the Su Prefecture has also posted a recruitment list to recruit talents to treat floods. I made money and went to your house to propose marriage seriously."
Qian sneered: "Do you know where my home is?"
He Suozi asked softly: "Daughter-in-law, where is your home? Father-in-law, what is your mother-in-law's temperament? Do you have an uncle or a sister-in-law? Tell me about it."
Qian's expression remained calm: "I don't want to marry you."
He Suozi said sincerely: "It was all my fault in the past. Now that you are gone, I can only think of your good deeds. Without you, I don't know what our family would be like." Qian was silent. He added, "I
It will be changed in the future." Qian still remained silent. He Suozi bent down and saluted her, "Just for the sake of the two children."
Qian said: "I have been in your house for seven years, working from morning to night, but I can only eat so much wild vegetable soup."
"I will never let you have enough to eat from now on." He Suozi said, "It's just that my mother is old and I can't let her do anything. Even my clothes are washed by her these days. How can you bear it?"
Mrs. Qian looked at him with tears in her eyes: "Your mother scolds me every day, beats me every time, and speaks ill of me in front of my children. Why should I not bear it? I didn't even leave the confinement period to chop wood for your family.
, How can you bear to wash your clothes and quilt in the cold water to save your face? Your mother is a human being, but I am not a human being?" He gritted his teeth and held back the tears, stood up and left. He Suozi did not hold back,
He just stood there calmly watching her turn around.
The next day, He Suozi came to see Qian again. The maid in charge recognized him and said with a smile: "Uncle He is so infatuated. Wait, I will call her for you."
He Suozi smiled and cupped his hands: "Thank you very much."
After waiting for half a day, the maid came back and said a little embarrassedly: "Uncle He...Sister-in-law Qian..."
"What's wrong with her?"
"She's gone." The maid said, "She quit her job and left yesterday afternoon."
He Suozi was shocked: "Quited and left? Isn't she a female worker here? How could you let her go?"
The maid said: "I am a female worker, not a slave. If she doesn't want to work anymore, there is nothing we can do."
He Suozi frowned: "Do you know where she went?"
The maid shook her head: "I don't know. I heard from her head waiter that she asked about the ferry ticket to North America and said it was too expensive. She took her salary and left, so she should have around three hundred dollars. The ticket to North America must be
Can’t afford it.”
He Suozi banged the table, startling the maid. He Suozi's face turned as black as cast iron, and he left without saying a word for a long time. The maid muttered behind him: "What does it have to do with me that your wife is gone!"
It's nothing to show my face!" Seeing him walking further away, he spat again.
More than half an hour later, He Suozi arrived at the Ganjiang Pier and asked if anyone had seen a woman who looked similar to Qian yesterday. Sure enough, someone had seen her. "She was wearing blue cloth and holding a six or seven-year-old girl in her hand.
Boy, I have one in my arms."
He Suozi nodded: "Not bad."
The person said: "This sister-in-law was very anxious to leave. Yesterday, the boat to Jiujiang was full. She begged them to give her a boat ticket and gave her more money. I tried to persuade her.
There are boats going to Jiujiang every day, why don't we leave now; she just won't listen."
He Suozi hurriedly said: "It happens every day? Does it happen today too?"
"Yes! No one was sitting there earlier. Recently I heard that King Wu was building a new port in Shanghai at the mouth of the Yangtze River and was in urgent need of labor. He specially opened labor transport ships at various ports on the Yangtze River. Starting from the Shu Kingdom, countless people rushed there along the river.
Work." The man said with a smile, "They want men to build Hong Kong. What can she do as a woman? Find a strong man to marry?" He Suozi gave him a cold look, which frightened him.
Shivered.
In the afternoon, He Suozi bought a boat ticket to Jiujiang. After the boat left, someone on the dock returned to Cixiang Village to report the news to Su Cheng and Yang Guotai. Su Cheng breathed a sigh of relief.
It turned out that Dr. Mei reminded Su Cheng a few days ago that he was afraid that Qian's mother and son would have to be hidden elsewhere. There were so many people who robbed women, and Su Cheng hated He Suozi the most, so he immediately sent them to Jia's horse shop.
Yang Guotai thought that people in the green forest loved to climb trees on the wall at dark and windy nights, so he sprinkled fine ash ground with bluestone on the top of the outer wall of Cixiang Village. It is quite conspicuous during the day, but not very visible at night. Every day
Before setting off every morning, he checked the top of the wall. Although there were some marks, it was obvious that it was either a cat or a bird. One day, the limestone on the top of the wall somewhere was wiped. According to the eyes of Yang Guotai, a veteran of the green forest,
But it could be seen that it was left by someone's clothes brushing against each other. So she told Bai Lu to pay more attention. That morning, He Suozi came. Bai Lu pretended to be nothing, and coaxed him to come back tomorrow.
The next day, Qian rushed to Ci'ai Village early from Jia's Horse Racing Company and pretended to be working there to meet with He Suozi. That night, Yang Guotai was waiting at Ci'ai Village, and as expected, he saw this man wearing clothes.
Ye Xingyi ran along the road towards the gate - Ci'ai Village had only one road leading out. He Suozi was not in a hurry when he reached the gate and circled around Zhuangzi twice. According to the rules of the green forest people, he should circle around three times. Zhuangzi was too big
, he was a little anxious again, and only turned around twice. Then he climbed over the wall from the gate unscrupulously, as light as a swallow. Yang Guotai secretly gave a thumbs up: The talented man is bold. Qian and his two children are all in Jia's family.
As for Ma Xing, he naturally didn't find it either.
Yang Guotai felt that this person was unusually reckless and needed to be dealt with harshly. Su Cheng hurriedly sent a few people to the pier to perform a show. Later, when he heard that He Suozi's boat had left, Su Cheng thought about it again and again, and finally felt that Jia's horse was not good at it.
It may not be safe. So I discussed with Qian and asked the three of them to set off immediately and follow the post office's letter delivery convoy to Lingnan. Qian was a little frightened, fearing that the man would find him again. Su Cheng said: "There is a ship from Guangzhou
Go to the Malay Kingdom of Nanyang, where he will never find it." He gave her some more money. Qian knelt down and kowtowed three times, and said solemnly: "I can't thank you enough for your kindness." She took the child and left.
The next day, the person who was watching He Suozi from Naizi Alley came to report. He Suozi's parents told the neighbors that a boss took a fancy to him and took him to work in Wu State, and also advanced some salary. The old man and the old lady were furious.
The son bought half a stone of rice, feeling quite proud. Su Cheng sneered: "What's the salary advance? He's obviously going back to his old job. Didn't he promise his mistress that he would never enter the green forest again?"
A few days later, Su Cheng received a telegram from Guangzhou saying that Qian had arrived safely. He only stayed in Guangzhou for two days before buying a ferry ticket and immigrating to Malay. He thought about it and left the matter alone.
The robbed woman and her son were gradually rescued by Su and Yang. Last time, the old men wanted to join forces to petition the magistrate, but nothing happened. The cement factory and soap factory were also recruiting workers, and no one gathered to petition again.
.Su Cheng concentrated on building a chocolate workshop.
That afternoon, Su Cheng was in the factory directing people to prepare prescriptions. After working for most of the day, he finished his work. After taking a short break, he took the carriage home. The carriage jolted to the gate of the Su Mansion, and the driver waited for half a day.
No one was seen getting out of the car. I shouted twice but no one answered, which made me feel strange. When I opened the car curtain and took a look, I was so frightened that I fell down: the maid Li Xia was tied up with five flowers and a bulging handkerchief was stuffed in her mouth. Su Cheng was gone.
The driver hurriedly pulled off the veil, and Li Xia shouted with tears in his eyes: "He Suozi!"
It turned out that not long after the carriage left Charity Village, He Suozi jumped in from nowhere. Before the two girls could shout, He Suozi used both hands to gag their mouths. He kicked Li Xia down with his leg and stepped on her chest.
, first tied up Su Cheng, and then lifted Li Xia up and tied him up as well. Only then did Li Xia realize that the He Suo Zi in front of him was completely different from what he had seen in Nail Alley that day. His eyes were as sinister as a wolf, and there was an evil spirit all over his body. He then listened to He Suo Zi.
Zi said softly: "Tell Magistrate Su to exchange my son for his daughter. My son is probably in Shanghai, there are too many people and I can't find him alone. Those engineers at Shanghai Port were all invited from Taiwan to buy steel.
The workshop is also run by Rong Guofu, and they also have a post office, so you can definitely find it even if you are not in Shanghai." He jumped out of the carriage with Su Cheng in hand.
Coincidentally, Su Tao led people to inspect the river embankment a few days ago. Su Cheng was afraid that something might happen to her father, so she sent all the soldiers from the special battalion left by Jia Cong to her father. She only took a few ordinary guards from home with her every day.
From beginning to end, no one noticed.
Such a big thing happened and Su Tao was not here yet, so Li Xia and a few guards had to go to see Su Zheng. The old man had just thought up a poem. When he heard that his granddaughter had lost it, he was so frightened that he smashed the brush on the desk: "What?! Explain it?"
Some!" Lixia held back tears and told what happened on the carriage and what He Suozi said. The old man shouted: "Who is He Suozi!" Lixia also told the origin of He Suozi. Su Zheng was stunned for a long time and suddenly said:
"He also pointed out that we, Cheng'er, should be exchanged for his son, right?"
"Yes!" Li Xia said hurriedly, "He said he couldn't find his son himself and asked us to ask the Rongguo Mansion to help him find him. If he finds him, he will be replaced."
Su Zheng rolled up his sleeves and left: "Prepare your horses and go find Yang Guotai!"
The old man hurried to Yang Guotai's camp. Yang Guotai was training troops. When he heard that he was coming, he personally greeted him out of the camp gate: "Why are you here?"
Su Zheng pointed at Li Xia: "Let her speak." Although Li Xia was frightened, his speech was still clear, so he stood at the gate of the camp and talked about what happened.
After hearing this, Yang Guotai wondered: "She sent all the guards left by Jia Cong to Mr. Su? She didn't keep any of them?"
Su Zheng stumbled: "No one left! I said I would leave two for her, but she only said that she would be fine in the city."
"This is strange." Yang Guotai thought, "Ever since she was in danger in Nail Alley, this girl has never dared to run around alone again. Moreover, she trusts Jia Cong's soldiers so much that even when I led the soldiers to go out with her, she had to take them with me.
Those few can't do it. Didn't Liu Hu follow Mr. Su? He was the leader of Ouchi's bodyguard in his early years. He was more useful than any special battalion in times of danger." After thinking for a long time, he said, "Let me see if there are any traces in the carriage first.
"He called another deputy general and asked him to lead a group of people to Naizi Lane to find He Suozi's parents. After thinking about it, he ordered another deputy general to go to Tianning to visit Zhenming.
The group arrived at the Su Mansion. Yang Guotai rummaged around in the carriage and found a note. When he opened it, he saw that it was Su Cheng's own handwriting on it, which read, "I went out to do some business and will be back the same day. Don't worry."
Don't let my mother and grandfather know." Yang Guotai rolled his eyes and handed the note to Su Zheng.
Su Zheng was so angry that he yelled: "I have to break her legs when I come back!"
Not long after, two people came to report: He Suozi's parents and Zhenming were missing.