The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

"daughter in law."

Jiang Yuan quickly threw down the sack in his hand, came over and hugged Bao Ya, lest she be frightened again.

After her last ghost encounter, Bao Ya seemed to have developed some courage. She took a deep breath and calmed down.

"Let's go, report it to the police, quick!"

Bao Ya didn't care about anything else and scrambled to drag Jiang Yuan to the roadside.

Jiang Yuan picked up the flashlight and bag from the ground and let her pull him towards the roadside.

As he pushed the bicycle out of the bushes, wondering how to hang the flashlight in front, Bao Ya pushed his arm aside and plopped down on the front bar.

"I'll hold a flashlight to light your way, so ride faster."

Bao Ya didn't care whether sitting in the front was comfortable or not; she only knew that her back was cold and she was afraid that something would grab her if she sat in the back.

Jiang Yuan knew she was scared, so he didn't say anything more. After she sat down, he got on his bike and rode straight to the police station.

I was afraid of being discovered by Feng Shuangxi, so I walked around and stopped frequently, which made it feel like a long time.

With a flashlight shining behind him, Jiang Yuan rode very fast and arrived at the police station in less than half an hour.

Bao Ya got out of the car and rushed into the police station in a few quick steps.

"Comrade, are you looking for...?"

Before the police officer on duty could finish speaking, Bao Ya shouted at him:

"Quickly gather men! Someone's been killed! Hurry!"

"Comrade, don't rush, explain yourself first."

Upon hearing that someone had died, the police officer on duty quickly ushered her inside. At that moment, Jiang Yuan also strode in from outside.

"Comrade, is Instructor Tan here?"

"It's not time for work yet, he hasn't come."

"What about Officer Cheng? I told him about the situation that day."

Upon hearing Jiang Yuan mention looking for Tan Xinmin, Bao Ya suddenly thought of Officer Cheng.

"Captain Cheng is here. Wait a moment, I'll go get him."

When the junior police officer on duty heard that Officer Cheng knew about it, he realized it was a serious matter and turned to go to the duty dormitory to find Captain Cheng.

Jiang Yuan pulled up a chair for Bao Ya to sit down, held her hand tightly, and felt her trembling. He could only put his arm around her shoulder and gently comfort her.

Bao Ya was indeed scared. She would hit people, but she had never even considered killing anyone. That sack of bones had really terrified her.

Soon, Captain Cheng came in from outside, buttoning his shirt as he walked. His eyes were wide open, but his gaze was still a little unfocused, as if he had just been woken up.

As soon as Captain Cheng entered the room, he pulled up a chair and sat opposite Bao Ya, staring at her with both eyes as he asked:

"What did you find?"

"They killed someone, they killed someone, they buried the bones over there yesterday."

As Bao Ya spoke, she pointed in the direction of the mass grave, but she couldn't say exactly where it was. It was too dark last night, and she hadn't noticed the messy graves around her.

Captain Cheng nodded. Then he said to the junior police officer behind him:

"Go and gather some people; we'll go check out the scene in a bit. While we're at it, call the Municipal Bureau and tell them to send someone over immediately."

Turning his head, he looked at Bao Ya, who was pale and looked completely lost. She was a completely different person from the clever and mischievous girl he had seen just two days ago.

She seems quite frightened; I wonder if she'll still be able to lead the way.

"I know where it is, I'll take you there in a bit. You find someone to take my wife home."

Jiang Yuan knew they were going to the site and immediately offered to lead the way. But his wife didn't know it was a mass grave, so he definitely couldn't take her there.

"Okay, we'll get ready and leave. Xiao Wang, take her statement and then take her home."

A few minutes later, Captain Cheng left with his men. Bao Ya was entrusted to Officer Wang, who was on duty, by Jiang Yuan.

Xiao Wang poured her a cup of hot water to calm her down before taking her statement.

Bao Ya drank two cups of hot water and finally recovered. The city police arrived, and the task of taking her statement was handed over to them.

By the time the statement was taken, it was already broad daylight. Tan Xinmin, who had come to work, learned what had happened the night before.

"I'll take her home."

Tan Xinmin told Xiao Wang, who was on night shift, and then pushed his bicycle and followed Bao Ya outside.

After a whole night of tossing and turning, and half a day of taking statements this morning, Bao Ya's head is spinning, and she feels like she could fall asleep at any moment.

"Go back and get a good night's sleep. Don't worry about what happens next."

"oh."

Bao Ya, sitting on the back of the bicycle, gave a casual reply, not really hearing what he said.

As I walked to the corner of the alley, I saw a man and a woman standing face to face, and I took another look.

The man held the woman's hand and said something to her. The woman's eyes were red, as if she was about to cry.

The bicycle passed by them without them even glancing at it.

Bao Ya glanced at the person's face and felt it looked familiar. Suddenly, as if waking from a dream, she abruptly turned around to look.

Because of the excessive force, the bicycle wobbled and almost crashed into the wall on the side of the road.

"Hey, don't move..."

Tan Xinmin quickly adjusted the handlebars, preventing the two from falling.

The commotion alerted the couple who were talking, especially the woman. When she saw Bao Ya, she quickly withdrew her hand as if she had been burned, and turned to run away.

The woman was actually Yan San's wife. Who was the man? He was refined and wore glasses, but he was too thin; he looked like he could be blown away by the wind.

Whether Yan San has consummated his marriage is still a mystery at the meat processing plant.

Witnessing Yan San's wife with that man seemed to infuse Bao Ya's dull mind with new life, making it lively again. Life truly is full of surprises.

We arrived at our doorstep very quickly.

As soon as Bao Ya got off the car, she saw Feng Shuangxi from next door pushing his bicycle out the door, followed by Granny Feng with a bundle in her hand.

"Young lady Feng, where are you going?"

The old woman across the street greeted everyone as usual. She would ask whoever was leaving, regardless of how good or bad their relationship was.

"I'm going to visit a relative. Shuangxi's aunt is sick, so I'm going to see her and stay at her house for a while."

Before Granny Feng and Granny Zhou could finish exchanging pleasantries, Feng Shuangxi looked up and saw Tan Xinmin, who had brought Bao Ya back.

He glanced at them, then quickly lowered his head. The bicycle he was originally going to push in their direction was suddenly turned around, and he wanted to go the other way.

"Mom, hurry up and get in the car, or we'll miss the train."

"Hey, hey."

Granny Feng also saw Bao Ya return, gave her an awkward smile, and then sat on the back of the bicycle, still tightly gripping Feng Shuangxi's clothes with one hand.

"They're trying to run, catch them quickly!"

After Bao Ya finished speaking to Tan Xinmin in a low voice, she rushed forward, grabbed Granny Feng's arm, and pulled her off the car.

"What are you doing?"

Feng Shuangxi didn't care about Granny Feng being dragged down; he rode off on his bicycle.

Tan Xinmin rushed over quickly and grabbed Feng Shuangxi's handlebars.

"Don't leave, we have something to ask you..."

Before Tan Xinmin could finish speaking, Feng Shuangxi forcefully threw his bicycle towards Tan Xinmin and ran away.