Chapter 443 - 441: Ran Away
Lin Changyou stood up, frustrated. "Let’s not talk about it anymore. We’ll find out what’s really going on when he gets back."
Wu Shufen said to Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang, "You two head back first. I’m going to find your aunt as soon as I get home!"
"Okay! We’ll get going then."
Wu Shufen walked the pair to the door. She watched until Li Xiangyang, with Lin Lan riding on the back, disappeared into the distance before turning back into the restaurant.
Lin Changyou slung his satchel over his shoulder and said to Lin Guoliang and his brother, "We’re heading back now. You two should get some sleep."
"Okay." Lin Guoliang helped him push the bicycle to the door and urged, "Ride carefully."
"Don’t worry." Lin Changyou took the handlebars and mounted the bike. Wu Shufen steadied herself by holding the rear rack as she climbed on and sat down. The old couple set off toward Lexing.
Just after they passed the alley by the vehicle factory, Lin Changyou switched on the flashlight strapped to his handlebars. As they went through the Eucalyptus Forest, he saw Lin Jun walking toward them with a few other people, also holding a flashlight.
"Little Jun, where are you going?"
Lin Jun rushed forward. "Grandpa, Grand-uncle is here! He said he has something urgent to talk to you about."
Wu Shufen hastily jumped off the bike. As Wu Jiafu and two other men came up to her, he asked, "Second Sister, have you seen Wen Hui?"
Wu Shufen stared at him in surprise. "No, I haven’t. When did Wen Hui come to East Market?"
Wu Jiafu’s and the other two men’s legs gave out, and they almost collapsed. "So she really did leave with that bitch Ge Hongyu."
Wu Shufen looked at him anxiously. "What in the world happened?"
Wu Jiafu caught his breath and explained, "In the middle of August, Ge Hongyu came home to visit her mother. She told everyone in our village that she’d opened a tailor shop in the city and business was booming. She said she was looking to hire a few nimble-fingered girls as apprentices. Not only would there be no training fee, she’d even pay them a wage of fifty yuan a month."
"Wen Hui is close with Ge Hongyu’s niece, so when she heard about the offer, she insisted on going. Ge Hongyu was always trouble, even when she was just a girl living in the village, so we didn’t trust her and said no. We told Wen Hui that if she wanted to learn a trade, we would bring her to you after the grain harvest to learn pastry-making from her cousin."
"She said she didn’t want to make pastries; she wanted to learn tailoring. I gave her a scolding and let the matter drop. Today was the first day of the grain harvest. When we finished work at noon and went home, we couldn’t find her anywhere. Someone later told us she had left with a bundle on her back, saying she was coming to the city to find you."
Wu Jiafu paused before continuing, "We rushed to Dashiqiao, but the last bus had already gone. We’d walked halfway here before we managed to catch a ride on a tractor that brought us to East Market. If not for that, we’d still be on the road."
The other man chimed in anxiously, "Sister Shufen, my two girls ran off with Ge Hongyu as well. One of them is supposed to have her wedding banquet during the Mid-Autumn Festival! What’ll happen if the groom’s family finds out?"
Wu Shufen quickly asked, "Jiafu, Chunsheng, do you know where the family of the man Ge Hongyu married lives?"
"Her mother said it’s Osmanthus Alley, in the west end of the city," Wu Jiafu said.
Hearing this, Lin Changyou quickly cut in, "Shufen, take Jiafu and the others to the restaurant. Have our boys take you to Osmanthus Alley. I’ll go find Xiangyang and have him get help from Ding Bang and Xiuyun." Before the words were even out of his mouth, he had already turned the bicycle around and was heading for the main street.
"We’re going to the police station!" Wu Shufen declared, taking the flashlight from Lin Jun and leading Wu Jiafu and the other two men in a run toward Lexing.
Dripping with sweat, Lin Changyou arrived at Yucai Road. Seeing the courtyard gate was shut, he yelled up toward the second floor, "Xiangyang! Little Lan! Open up!"
Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang had already washed up and were about to go to sleep. His shouting startled them. Li Xiangyang told Lin Lan to wait there, then hurried downstairs to open the gate. "Dad, what happened?"
Lin Changyou said urgently, "Quick, we need you to get Ding Bang and Xiuyun’s help. Little Lan’s cousin has been lured away by someone."
"Okay, let’s go find Ding Bang. You can tell him what happened."
Li Xiangyang led him to the building opposite, where Yang Dingbang and Xu Dong were already coming downstairs and out the door. "Uncle Lin, what’s going on?"
Lin Changyou explained, "It’s Little Lan’s cousin, and two other girls from the family of a man named Chunsheng from our village... We need to ask for your help finding them in Osmanthus Alley!"
The mention of Osmanthus Alley made Li Xiangyang, Yang Dingbang, and Xu Dong all pause. Seeing their expressions, Lin Changyou quickly asked, "Is there something wrong with Osmanthus Alley?"
"Uncle Lin, try not to worry. I’ll go change my clothes and take you there to look for them," Yang Dingbang said before turning and jogging back into his apartment.
Xu Dong added, "I’ll change and go with you all."
Li Xiangyang said to Lin Changyou, "Dad, Osmanthus Alley attracts all kinds of people, but the girls just arrived. They should be fine."
Lin Changyou nodded. "I just hope they’re safe. Wen Hui is only sixteen or seventeen..."
"Dad, what’s wrong?" Lin Lan hurried out, followed by Old Li.
Lin Changyou quickly said, "Slow down, be careful." He paused, then continued, "Your cousin ran off with some woman from her village. How can girls these days be so bold? She could get tricked and sold off before anyone even realizes it."
Lin Lan looked at him in confusion. "Ran off with a woman? Which cousin?"
Lin Changyou quickly recounted the whole story.
It was only then that Lin Lan understood. ’Fifty yuan a month for an apprentice? What could it be but a scam?’ she thought. ’This Ge Hongyu woman is either a human trafficker or a procuress for a brothel.’
’Fortunately, Wu Jiafu discovered it early. They only left today, so there should still be enough time to find them.’
Old Li reassured Lin Changyou, "They acted fast, so the girls should be alright!"
Lin Changyou sighed. "Let’s hope so!"
Just then, Yang Dingbang and Xu Dong came out, one after the other. Li Xiangyang turned to Lin Lan and Old Li. "You two should go back inside and rest. I’ll go with Dad, Ding Bang, and Xu Dong to check out Osmanthus Alley."
Lin Lan nodded. "Alright. All of you, be careful."
Li Xiangyang said gently, "Don’t worry."
"Let’s go!" Yang Dingbang said, walking toward a motorcycle with a sidecar parked against the courtyard wall.
Lin Changyou settled into the sidecar, while Li Xiangyang and Xu Dong got on the seat behind Yang Dingbang. They sped off toward Osmanthus Alley in the western part of the city.
Only when the motorcycle reached Osmanthus Alley did Lin Changyou understand why Li Xiangyang and his friends had such strange expressions earlier.
At the entrance to the alley, four or five women with big, wavy perms and blood-red lipstick loitered against a telephone pole. When they saw the motorcycle pull up, they struck provocative poses and called out, "Hey, handsome. Looking for a good time?"
The moment they got a clear look at the police uniform Yang Dingbang was wearing, they snapped their mouths shut.
Yang Dingbang stepped forward and asked, "Do you know where Ge Hongyu lives?"
The women looked stunned for a second before the eldest of them asked, "Officer, what do you want with Sister Hong?"
Yang Dingbang gestured toward Lin Changyou. "This gentleman is her relative. He’s here to give her a message."
A younger woman glanced at Lin Changyou and muttered under her breath, "I heard Sister Hong just got back from her hometown. How can she have another relative from the countryside showing up with a message?"
The older woman shot her a glare, then turned and pointed down the alley. "Past the teahouse. Ge Hongyu’s place is the blind massage parlor."
"Thanks." Yang Dingbang led the men deeper into the alley.