Reborn in 78, I made my fortune by working in the mountains, supporting three families on my own.

Zhao Lei's mind raced, but his pace didn't slow down at all.

Little Stone was his only son, and Su Wanqing's lifeblood.

Having spent so much time together, he had already poured his heart and soul into the children, and their bond of blood was unbreakable.

Furthermore, his relationship with the Su family had finally begun to improve, and if the old lady of the Su family were to return and learn that her grandson had been abducted and gone missing, she would definitely not let it go.

No matter what, he had to do everything in his power to find the little stone!

At this moment, Jiang Xinyue calmly reminded him from behind, "Lei Zi, it might not be safe for the two of us to chase after them."

"Human traffickers are ruthless and capable of anything. If you happen to run into them head-on, don't act rashly. Just quietly follow and keep an eye on them. We'll make our move when the main force from the village arrives and we have enough manpower!"

Zhao Lei gritted his teeth and replied, "I know."

He was seething with rage, and he growled to himself: Don't let me catch this beast! If I do, I'll beat him to death!

In this era, there was no surveillance, no Sky Eye, communication was blocked, and information was scarce.

In rural areas, if dog thieves or human traffickers are caught in a village and accidentally killed by villagers, there is no way to hold them accountable.

If everyone in the village tells the same story, the matter can be resolved quietly, leaving outsiders with no way to verify or investigate.

It was precisely because of the backward technology and lack of supervision in the 1980s that the heinous crime of trafficking in women and children could not be stopped. Many abducted people were difficult to find for decades until many years later when technological progress and cases were reopened, and their innocence was finally vindicated.

Meanwhile, on the Peace Brigade's side...

After Qin Mancang and his men learned that the investigation had gone astray, they immediately began to gather their scattered forces.

As the brigade leader, his words carried great weight.

The young men in the village immediately split up and went around to recall all the villagers who were scattered in the fields, gullies, and fields looking for people.

In a short while, twenty or thirty villagers who had been searching gathered on the main road at the village entrance. They were all covered in sweat, their clothes were soaked, and their faces were full of exhaustion and anxiety.

The group looked at each other, then shook their heads and sighed.

"Have you found the child?"

"No, I searched every nook and cranny in the western mountains, but I didn't see a single person."

"I've found nothing here either! My second son is the king of the kids in the village. He said that Xiao Shitou is too young, and no one usually plays with him. They've never seen him running around."

"That's really strange. How could a perfectly healthy two-year-old child just disappear into thin air?"

Seeing the crowd gathering, Qin Mancang immediately raised his hand to calm them down and shouted, "Everyone, quiet down! Don't panic, there's a new clue!"

Everyone perked up instantly and gathered around.

"Captain, is there any news about the child?"

"Yes! We've been searching like crazy. We've searched almost all the way to Xiangyang Production Brigade in the east, and we've searched the entire Qingshui Ditch in the west. It takes adults more than an hour to walk like that. There's no way Little Stone, a little kid, could have run that far!"

Qin Mancang sighed deeply and said in a low voice, "We went in the wrong direction from the very beginning!"

"Just now, Granny Zhang recalled that before and after the child went missing, a stranger wearing a straw hat and carrying a large basket was loitering around Lei Zi's house."

"We suspect this man is a human trafficker! He hid small stones in his basket, covered it with pig feed to disguise himself, and swaggered out of the village with the child, completely avoiding everyone's sight!"

"Now everyone, think back carefully! Did anyone see a stranger going out to cut pig feed on such a hot day around lunchtime?"

Upon hearing this, the villagers fell into deep thought, and discussions arose from all sides.

"Exactly! Who would go out to cut pig feed in the scorching midday sun? It's completely illogical!"

"Cutting pig feed should be done in the early morning when the dew is still there, or in the cool of the evening. Only a fool would go out when the midday sun is at its strongest!"

"Now that you mention it, this person's behavior is too strange; there's definitely something wrong with them!"

In those days, cutting pig feed was a daily task for women, children, and teenagers in the village.

But everyone followed the routine, working in the morning and evening to avoid the midday heat.

Moreover, the village was short of supplies and fodder, and the wild grass in the fields could not grow properly or tall enough to be cut down by everyone. Many people had to walk half an hour to the mountains of the neighboring village to cut pig feed.

That's why when a stranger came into the village to cut pig feed at noon, everyone subconsciously ignored him; no one thought it was unusual, and no one paid any special attention.

After a moment of silence, several elderly villagers were the first to recall a clue.

Grandpa Zhou tapped his pipe and spoke up: "Hey! Captain, I remember now! At noon, I was enjoying the cool air in the courtyard when I clearly saw a person carrying a basket walking on the ridge behind Lei Zi's house!"

The crowd immediately gathered around.

Old Zhao, who was standing nearby, suddenly realized and quickly chimed in, "Now that you mention it, I remember too! I was digging on the slope at noon and I did see a person wearing a straw hat and carrying a large basket, lingering around Zhao Lei's house!"

Everyone chimed in, piecing together and integrating the scattered clues one by one.

Qin Mancang instantly figured out the other party's movements, and his suspicions grew even stronger.

After entering the village, this person did not wander around probing, but went straight to the vicinity of Zhao Lei's house to lie in wait and commit crimes, his target was frighteningly precise.

He couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief, "Something's not right! This human trafficker is too suspicious!"

"Every household in the village has children, and there are quite a few toddlers as young as two or three. He didn't pick a target randomly; he went straight to Lei Zi's house and targeted Xiao Shitou. It's obvious he came prepared!"

Everyone immediately realized what was happening and echoed the sentiment.

"That's right! The captain is absolutely right!"

"Normal child abductions are usually random; there's no reason to precisely target a single family!"

Grandpa Zhou, puffing on his pipe, nodded slowly: "Something definitely isn't right."

"My grandson is only three years old. That person walked right past my house without stopping for a second, heading straight towards Lei's house. He definitely knew the situation beforehand!"

Zhou Da, the son of Grandpa Zhou standing next to him, felt helpless upon hearing this and secretly rolled his eyes at his father.

He thought to himself: This old man really doesn't know his place. At a time like this, he's hoping his child will be targeted.

Grandpa Zhou saw right through his son's thoughts and glared at him, scolding, "You brat! I'm seriously analyzing clues and investigating suspicious points! The most important thing right now is to find our child. What are you thinking about! If you say another word, I'll beat you up!"

Zhou Da quickly shrank back, not daring to say another word.

The elders and the village's bright young people continued to discuss and analyze the doubts in depth.

Ultimately, everyone reached the same conclusion: "This human trafficker definitely knew Zhao Lei and was intimately familiar with Zhao Lei's family situation and the children's daily routines. This was a targeted act of revenge, a precise crime, and definitely not a random abduction!"