Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 161 The Village of the Elderly (Four Chapters, 10,000 Words, Seeking Votes

This is probably the poorest police station Lin Ge has ever seen.

There are two buildings in the courtyard: a two-story building and a one-story warehouse. The walls of the entire police station are very mottled and have a strong sense of age; even the dark blue stripes on the exterior walls, which are unique to the police, are blurred and indistinct.

The national emblem and the word "Public Security" on the top of the gate still look relatively new. Next to it is a red brick public toilet, and not far away, under a tree, there is a dirty stray dog ​​that wags its tail but doesn't bark when it sees people.

There are four police officers in the police station, two of whom are close to retirement age, and the other two are middle-aged.

This kind of place seems to have a hard time attracting young people; even the auxiliary police force isn't fully staffed. The only auxiliary police officer was lazily sprawled on the table, dozing off and scrolling through his phone, only sitting up when he noticed someone.

"Hey, what a rare guest! Comrades, come over here, what can I do for you?"

The old policeman, who was actually the head of the local police station, looked more like an old farmer. He rubbed his hands together as he greeted the police car that drove into the yard, and looked surprised when he saw a cat and a dog getting out of the car.

"Hello, I am Nie Guoqiang, deputy director of Zhanghe Police Station in Zhangzhou City, Hubei Province. These are my colleagues."

Nie Guoqiang exchanged a few pleasantries with the veteran policeman, explained the reason for his visit, and then glared helplessly at the cat perched on Beibei's head, taunting the local dog. He coughed and said, "I'm here today hoping your station can help me find this child's family. He was abducted by criminals a few years ago, and we've traced his family to Shanlan County based on the files. Um... but we'll need the help of our colleagues here to find the exact location. It would be best if you could take us to the village."

"Human trafficking! Human traffickers deserve to die."

The old policeman nodded, then took out a pack of five-yuan Hongqiqu cigarettes from his pocket, opened it, and offered one to Nie Guoqiang: "Helping a child reunite with their family is definitely a good thing. But to be honest, it's not easy. Since you've come to our township, you probably know the situation here. All the young people have gone out to work, and there are only some elderly people left in the village, and there are hardly any under fifty. Under these circumstances, even if the child really is from here, his parents are definitely not home. Hehe... If the parents aren't home, how can he recognize his relatives? To be honest, I do remember that there have been reports of child abductions in the township, but if the person who reported the case isn't home, there's nothing I can do."

"Hehe... Old comrade, do me a favor and go ahead first. We'll talk again if he's not here."

Nie Guoqiang chuckled and pulled out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket, shoving it into the old policeman's hand: "I've come all this way with great difficulty, I can't just turn back after arriving at your police station, can I? Even if the person isn't here, at least we have a clue."

"Well."

The old policeman put away his cigarette, nodded, and turned to call out, "Dawei! Dawei! Get out there and get to work! Take these colleagues from the city with you and show them the place!"

The sleepy-eyed young auxiliary police officer walked out with a dissatisfying pout.

He wanted to complain to his uncle as usual, but when he saw Nie Guoqiang's serious expression and the neat and efficient appearance of the two city policemen next to him, he swallowed the words he wanted to say.

"Sorry, comrade."

Nie Guoqiang then took out another pack of Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes and handed it to the young man in his thirties named Dawei.

David was immediately satisfied.

He sat in the passenger seat with great interest, giving directions while stealing glances at Sun Chang who was driving. He wanted to say something grand and impressive, but he was intimidated by Sun Chang's aura, so he could only lower his head and start giving directions seriously.

Since there wasn't enough room in the car, Qian Wei stayed at the Huangshan Town Police Station, and Bei Bei also stayed.

As soon as the police car sped away, Qian Wei instantly perked up. Seeing the old station chief take a rake and head to the backyard, he approached the officer on duty: "Comrade, how's the security around here? A lot of troublemakers?"

The police officer on duty, who was also in his forties or fifties, glanced at Qian Wei and said, "What's there to talk about in a town full of elderly people left behind? At most, the old folks might have a quarrel or curse each other, but do you think they can kill someone with a hoe?"

Qian Wei chuckled and continued to press, "Hehe... You can't possibly say there aren't any young people here, can you? Besides, those who run shops selling fertilizers and pesticides, they're definitely not old people, are they?"

"and then?"

The police officer on duty scrutinized Qian Wei, then suddenly questioned, "There are only so many things in the countryside, and the harvest is so meager all year. What's there to make a fuss about? We country folk are honest and simple, unlike city folk who have so many ulterior motives. You keep talking to me about public security; do you want to know how many murderers are in my town, or if there are fights every day in my village? These days, everyone's struggling financially. Comrade, can you please stop causing me trouble?"

Qian Wei rolled his eyes, turned around, and ignored the man.

He continued to wander around the police station, looking here and there, seemingly itching to show off his skills. However, no one paid him any attention, so he could only helplessly squat outside and play with the dog.

Yeah, playing with the stray dog ​​that this police station keeps.

"Wang!"

Beibei let out a dissatisfied cry, but Qian Wei waved his hand and ignored it. Meanwhile, the group arrived at Tuqiao Village, which was on the records, in a police car.

This is a village entirely populated by elderly people left behind, exuding an atmosphere of decay and desolation. Even though the village is shaded by green trees, the ground is clean, and there are cattle and sheep in the pens, it still gives people an eerie feeling of silence.

At the village entrance, an old woman sat quietly under a large locust tree, seemingly oblivious to the police car passing by.

As the car drove into the village, not a single person could be seen. The entire village was completely silent, save for the rustling of leaves in the wind, which brought the stillness to life.

"This is the place!"

David stretched out of the car window and pointed to a house in the middle of the village road, saying, "Half of the people in this village are surnamed Li, and the other half are surnamed Luo. But if we're talking about a family that had a child go missing a few years ago, this is the only one. It caused quite a stir back then."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Nie Guoqiang smiled and gestured to Dawei, then led the group out of the car. Walking through the seemingly deserted village, they arrived directly at the house Dawei had pointed out.

Sun Chang went up and knocked on the door, while Lin Ge yawned in Luo Jue's arms.

But a long time passed without any response. If it weren't for the few chickens and ducks that could be seen moving around through the crack in the door, and the fact that the wooden door to the inner room was open, Nie Guoqiang might have thought that the house was deserted.

"Who are you looking for?"

Just as the group was waiting patiently, the gate to the courtyard next door opened, and a hunchbacked old man walked out with his eyes squinted.

"Oh! Sir, are we here to see Luo Xianjin's family, this is the house?"

Dawei took the initiative to strike up a conversation with the old man, speaking in their local dialect. Lin Ge could understand the first few sentences. However, as the conversation progressed, their tone became increasingly strange, and Lin Ge lost track of what the two were saying, as if they were arguing.

After a while, the old man waved his hand and went back inside, closing the door behind him.

Dawei rubbed his forehead, turned around, and chuckled awkwardly, saying, "We've come to the wrong place. Luo Xianjin's daughter-in-law is hospitalized in the city. His whole family went there a few years ago. Oh! Actually, it's quite a coincidence. In this whole village, only his family didn't go out to work; they've always lived by farming. Then, a few years ago, for some reason, his daughter-in-law developed a mental illness. She went crazy and messed around everywhere, so they had to send her to a mental hospital in the city, and the whole family went with her, only coming back during the busy farming season."

Suddenly, Lin Ge felt Luo Jue tighten her grip on him, and his body stiffened.

If this family is indeed Luo Jue's relative, then the sick woman is probably Luo Jue's mother, right?

Although she had no recollection of that woman, the mere mention of the word 'mother' was enough to make Luo Jue feel nervous, heartbroken, and worried.

"They all went to the city?"

Sun Chang looked at the chickens and ducks in the yard.

“The neighbors help feed them! The millet is all in the yard, and the water is readily available. We're all neighbors, so feeding the chickens and ducks isn't a big deal, and there's nothing valuable in the house that would be worth stealing.”

David shrugged.

"Then let's go straight to the city! Dawei, could you please take us back to the police station? Thank you for your help this time."

Nie Guoqiang made a decisive suggestion.

The group returned empty-handed, got back into the police car, and left helplessly under the silent gaze of the old woman at the village entrance. Watching the police car disappear into the distance, the old woman raised her hand as if to say something, but in the end, she slowly lowered it back down.

It was still early, but the village seemed to be shrouded in a hazy, gray mist.

Looking out the rear window of the car, Lin Ge vaguely sensed that something was hidden beneath the tranquility of the village, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

He shook his head, dismissing the illusion.

(End of this chapter)