The incandescent light bulbs hanging from the rafters were covered with a thick layer of dust, making the already dim light even dimmer.
Old Enkun, wearing an overcoat, sat at the octagonal table, puffing on his cigarette, the white smoke filling the entire room.
On the table was a small note and a cell phone; the cell phone contained a photo of a young woman.
"I'm old, my eyesight is failing, I can't see clearly anymore!" Old Enkun said.
" Grandpa Enkun!" Shi Dazhuang was getting a little anxious.
Old Enkun, puffing out smoke, said, "It's been two years, and the people of Bashang haven't treated her badly, so why is she leaving?"
Shi Dazhuang said, "This isn't about whether we've treated her unfairly. This is illegal! It'll land you in jail!"
Old Enkun said, "The baby's already been born! What will happen to the baby if she leaves?"
Shi Dazhuang said, "Those are two different things."
Old Enkun then asked, "What about the child?"
Shi Dazhuang was speechless. Whether a woman who had been abducted could choose to go home or stay here to raise her child was a woman's freedom and right. As a policeman, he had to defend that right.
Only in this way can we reduce the number of tragedies like "what to do with the child?"
"I'm determined to get them out of here," Shi Dazhuang said.
Old Enkun remained silent for a long time, until the fire in his pipe went out, before finally saying, "Take the child with you, but don't involve anyone else. The child has already lost his mother; he can't lose his father too!"
Shi Dazhuang nodded and said, "Okay! But Grandpa Enkun, you have to tell me, are there any other women in the valley who were bought?"
Old Enkun slammed his pipe on the table with a clatter and roared, "Are you trying to kill us all?!"
"That's not what I meant!" Shi Dazhuang explained, "Back then, people didn't understand the law. They grew and smoked opium. When we came to crack down on drugs, they said we were making life unbearable for them. But now, aren't we living just fine? You were very enlightened back then. If it weren't for your leadership, our work wouldn't have gone so smoothly!"
"How can this be the same?" Old Enkun grabbed his pipe, stood up, tightened his clothes, and walked out shakily with his cane.
Seeing that Old Enkun was about to leave, Shi Dazhuang hurriedly asked, " Grandpa Enkun, where are you going?"
Old Enkun tapped his cane and said, "Let's play mahjong!"
Shi Dazhuang and Qingmu slept in the same room that night.
Shi Dazhuang paced back and forth in the room, smoking sullenly.
" Teacher Qingmu, do you think that person you saw might be the crazy woman from the dam?"
Qingmu leaned lazily against the bed and said, "I'm just telling you what I saw. The analysis and reasoning are your business."
Shi Dazhuang sighed. He knew he was deceiving himself by asking that question.
Late at night, the door was pushed open, and Old Enkun stood in the doorway, leaning on his cane, and said:
"I've already spoken to Letuolie. You should take the Beauty and her wife and leave first thing tomorrow morning. There's another person at Han Laizi's house, someone who came a few months ago and has been locked up in his woodshed. Han Laizi isn't someone to be trifled with, and I think that woman is insane. Even if you rescue her, you won't know where she lives, so it's better to just let it go!"
" Grandpa Enkun!" Shi Dazhuang a little excited and didn't know what to say.
Old Enkun had already turned and walked into the starlight outside, leaving behind a hunched back.
In the early hours of the morning, Shi Dazhuang got out of bed in the dark, intending to wake Qingmu to lead the way to rescue the madwoman. Suddenly, he discovered that Qingmu's bed was empty. Where was she?
Shi Dazhuang searched the yard but couldn't find Qingmu. He wondered if Qingmu had gone to rescue someone alone.
Just as he was wondering, he saw two figures walking in the dim light outside the back door. The one in front had messy hair, the hem of his trench coat fluttering in the morning breeze, and his slippers making a clattering sound.
Who else could it be but Qingmu?
Qingmu was followed by a dazed and confused woman who walked unsteadily, as if she were sleepwalking.
Shi Dazhuang gave Qingmu a thumbs up.
Upon entering the house, Shi Dazhuang discovered that the woman was naked and covered in injuries. In particular, her lower leg was bent outwards, clearly indicating a fracture that had not yet healed, making her look extremely gruesome.
Shi Dazhuang pulled off the bed sheet and wrapped it around the woman, saying, "Let's leave it like this for now. When we get to Mangdian, we'll buy her some clothes."
Just then, Yu Meiren knocked on the door and came in, saying, "Grandpa said someone is waiting at the dam entrance, and told us to go." After she finished speaking, she glanced at the woman, full of doubt, but asked nothing, and turned to leave.
Shi Dazhuang and Qingmu packed their things and left with the woman.
Upon seeing Yu Meiren at the door, Shi Dazhuang asked, "Where is Grandpa Enkun?"
The Beauty said, "Grandpa said he still wants to sleep and told us not to disturb him."
Shi Dazhuang knew that Enkun was upset and didn't want to see him.
He sighed and said, "Let's go."
Yu Meiren glanced longingly at Enkun's courtyard and asked, "When are we coming back?"
Shi Dazhuang said, "I'll be back soon."
"Grandpa is old." Yu Meiren couldn't stop crying as she thought of Enkun's hunched back. "Will Grandpa die?"
Shi Dazhuang didn't know how to answer for a moment, so he took the Beauty's hand and walked towards the outside of the dam.
Upon reaching the mouth of the dam, Qingmu saw from afar the pale-skinned woman who had slipped him the note asking for help, pacing back and forth anxiously, wringing her hands.
When Yang Lijuan saw them arrive, she immediately knelt down, crying out, "My benefactors!"
Shi Dazhuang helped him up and said, "Don't say any more now, let's go quickly."
Yang Lijuan stood up and saw the madwoman following behind Qingmu. She exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, Xiaoqin! You saved her too!"
Qingmu asked in surprise, "Huh, you know her name?"
"I know. She wasn't crazy when she first came, but she was too headstrong, and Han Laizi was a real scoundrel, so she became like this."
As Yang Lijuan spoke, she came over to help Xiaoqin, who was limping, to hurry forward.
"Back then, they even asked me to persuade her. We were practically in the same boat, so she told me everything. Compared to her, I was lucky; at least that bastard Letuolie didn't let any other man touch me. But the whole family of Han Laizi are scum; they treat women like playthings, tools. Besides himself, he also let his father and his brothers..."
Yang Lijuan choked up as she spoke.
"She was strong-willed and refused to submit, so they locked her up and beat her until she couldn't move. I saw her lying in the woodshed with a broken leg, ignored by everyone, and then she was violated by these beasts at night."
"Did you escape?" Qingmu asked.
Yang Lijuan said, "I did escape! When I first arrived, I thought about escaping Tiantian. Letuolie kept a close eye on me, taking me with him almost everywhere he went, or locking me in the house. To be honest, the people in Kuaziba, except for families like Han Laizi's, were all pretty good. But they weren't willing to help an outsider like me. When they saw me trying to escape, they either advised me to go back or told Letuolie they had gone."
"Escaping to Mangdian was useless. I didn't have a penny on me, and I had a non-local accent, so no car would take me. Besides, Mangdian was the hideout of the trafficker who sold me; many people knew her. Once, I even got on a minibus to Ruihekou, but I was still sent back."
"Originally, I didn't want to run away anymore. I already had a child, and aside from not letting me travel far, Letuolie was otherwise quite nice to me. But seeing Xiaoqin..." Yang Lijuan glanced at the madwoman and the *picture*book, "Her ordeal made me reconsider; I must leave this hellish place!"
The madwoman's leg was lame and she couldn't walk fast, and Yu Meiren was still a child, so they walked rather slowly. What should have been a half-hour mountain path took almost two hours.
Just as we were about to reach Shi Dazhuang's parking spot, a commotion suddenly erupted behind us, as if many people were shouting and rushing towards us.
Before long, they were surrounded by a group of angry villagers armed with shovels, hoes and sticks, led by Han Laizi, whom Yang Lijuan had mentioned.