Searching for Someone

Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan exchanged a glance, feeling that Director Li had a point. After a moment of thought, Tao Yan said, "Then we'll have to trouble you. Our volunteers receive a two-yuan stipend each day. It isn't much—"

"Stop right there!" Director Li raised a hand to halt him. "If we're volunteers, why would we take money? None of us can accept it. We'd feel terrible taking it. How can doing good deeds come with payment?"

"That's not how it works." Huo Baichuan patiently persuaded them. "Doing good deeds still takes time and energy. We can't have everyone helping others while going hungry and paying their own bus fare, can we? So these two yuan are for meals and transportation."

"We're all neighbors. Coming here every day is just like taking a stroll outside. It's not like we have to walk hundreds of miles. As for food, we can cook at home and bring it along. That's what we did when we were working. Eating at home is still eating; we just pack it in lunch boxes and bring it over. When it's time to eat, you can help us heat it up. What difference does it make where we eat?"

"If you ask me, don't think that answering phones here counts as doing us some great favor. We old folks worked our whole lives, and after suddenly retiring from our jobs, we felt empty inside. We always felt like society no longer needed us. Like we'd become useless."

"So having this opportunity to come out and put our remaining energy to use is really wonderful. Especially when it's something as meaningful as helping people find their families." Another auntie from the neighborhood committee spoke earnestly. "Don't mention meal stipends again. We truly don't need them."

"I heard it costs quite a bit to keep this website running. The two of you are already struggling enough by running it for free. Don't spend any more money on us."

"Exactly! What kind of people would we be if we took that money?" Everyone chimed in to persuade them.

Huo Baichuan tried again. "But we can't have everyone working for nothing every day. You may not understand, but answering calls, communicating, and confirming information is actually very tedious and exhausting—"

"What is there for us not to understand?" An elderly neighbor interrupted Huo Baichuan with a smile. "No matter how tiring it is, you're sitting in an office answering phones. How exhausting can it be? It's still easier than hauling goods around in a workshop."

"Don't overthink it. If it really comes to that, our neighborhood committee can find more people and arrange shifts to answer the phones every day. Would that work?" Director Li said. After all, Lotus District had a great many retired elderly people. Lotus Alley and the area around People's Square alone had over a hundred of them, not to mention the machine factory.

Many of them had taken early retirement years ago to make room for their children. Now, in their forties and fifties, they were still in the prime of life. Sitting around at home with nothing to do had practically made them grow mold. If someone gave them something to do now, they would surely be willing.

Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan simply could not refuse the enthusiastic uncles and aunties, so they could only agree in the end.

Still, it was not as though they would save that 120 yuan a month.

Since the uncles and aunties at the neighborhood committee refused to accept it, Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan decided to give the money to the orphanage instead. The orphanage would add two dishes to its meals every day and prepare lunch for the neighborhood committee.

"Oh, this is far too much trouble!" The uncles and aunties from the neighborhood committee all felt embarrassed.

"It's no trouble at all." The elderly director smiled. "This is exactly how it should be. Our orphanage has to cook lunch and dinner for the children every day anyway. Cooking for twenty people is cooking, and cooking for thirty people is cooking. It's only a few more pairs of chopsticks. It's all cooked in big pots anyway. As long as you don't mind our food being bad."

The other volunteer aunties also laughed. "That's right! Come eat here at noon. Over the years, you've helped us out from time to time too, washing and scrubbing and all that. The orphanage's funds used to be so tight that we were embarrassed to say anything. Now everyone has started small businesses, and things are much easier financially. A few extra meals won't make a difference."

The neighbors looked at one another. They had originally come to volunteer, but it had somehow turned into mooching meals. Everyone felt embarrassed.

"Please don't think that way." The elderly director smiled. "Everyone wants to help and do their part for the missing people. Since everyone means well, why draw such clear lines between us?"

S City Railway Station

After a long whistle, the old green train slowly pulled into the station with a clattering rumble.

Like a tide, travelers carrying bags of all sizes shoved and squeezed their way off the train. The crowd slowly moved toward the exit.

A disheveled woman in shabby clothes was swept along by the crowd as well, walking out of the station with a numb expression.

The cries of street vendors and minibus conductors, mixed with the surrounding clamor, poured into her ears. Still looking numb, she slowly turned her vacant eyes toward the crowd around her.

Strange faces, a strange city. Some people held up cardboard signs to meet arriving passengers, while others threw themselves joyfully into their families' arms. Still others reluctantly said goodbye to their loved ones.

Everywhere was filled with the sorrow of parting and the joy of reunion. These were the most ordinary, unremarkable emotions, yet none of them had anything to do with the woman.

Dragging her heavy feet into the middle of the street, the woman set down her luggage amid the streams of passing people. She slowly took out a carefully made but long-worn wooden sign from her bag and held it up with one hand.

Missing Person Notice—

Wang Erbao, male, 9 years old. Abducted from XX Village, Z Town, X City, on June 7, 1987. He was 6 years old when abducted and has a mole behind his left ear.

But beneath it was a photograph taken when Erbao had just turned one.

There was an enormous flow of people near the railway station. Passersby occasionally stopped to look at the woman holding the sign. A warmhearted traveler could not help asking, "Your child is already nine this year, and he was lost when he was six. Why did you put up a photo from when he was one? How can anyone help you find him like this?"

"Exactly. All little children look pretty much alike. Besides, this photo is already too blurry to see clearly."

The woman took a deep breath, her lips trembling as she repeated over and over, "Our family was poor. We had no money to take pictures. This photo was taken when Erbao turned one. His father and I took him to the photo studio in town and had it done. It's the only photo our family has. How could we have known that child traffickers would take him away?"