Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire

Chapter 54: Chapter 50 Report to the Police

“Oh, oh, oh…”

Awakened by the crowing of the rooster, Lu Jiaxin got up and pulled aside the curtains to look outside, where it was still pitch dark. She didn’t get up but continued to sleep with her head covered until the sound of children’s crying outside finally roused her from bed.

Big Aunt approached her as she came out and said, “It’s just dawn, you don’t need to get up so early. I will have Xiao Qiu call you when breakfast is ready.”

It was because Jiaxin always slept until the sun was high in the sky during her visits that she was told to sleep in more. The girls at home were not allowed to sleep that late, lest people start gossiping.

Jiaxin smiled and said, “It’s okay, I usually get up around six o’clock in the Forty-nine City too.”

She went to bed every day at nine-thirty and got up at six, and after washing up, she walked for half an hour to start memorizing English. She felt that by the time she returned from Peng City, everyone should know that her English had improved by leaps and bounds.

...

Seeing that there was no need for her help, Jiaxin went back to her room. Not finding Xiao Qiu there, she locked the door, drew the curtains, and did some yoga.

She hadn’t done yoga for a long time, and now she couldn’t do the high-difficulty poses, and even the low-difficulty ones left her body aching after a while. She worked out for half an hour, sweat dripping down.

“Miss, it’s time for breakfast.”

Jiaxin wiped the sweat from her forehead and went to wash her face before sitting down at the table. When she saw Big Aunt bring a large bowl of dumplings for her, she was caught between laughter and tears, “Big Aunt, I can’t eat this much, a third is enough.”

“It’s okay if you don’t finish, leave it in the bowl.”

The Lu Family lived better than average folks, but they weren’t so extravagant as to discard uneaten dumplings. Jiaxin never ate others’ leftovers, nor did she want others to eat hers. Seeing that Big Aunt disagreed, she got up to go to the kitchen to fetch a bowl to portion it out.

Having no choice, Big Aunt used the public chopsticks to divide half of the dumplings from Jiaxin’s bowl among her five grandsons. Seeing the bowl was still full, Jiaxin scooped a few dumplings to Xiao Qiu.

After taking a bite, Jiaxin praised, “These dumplings are so fresh and fragrant, delicious. Big Aunt, your cooking skills are still amazing. Teach me when you have time.”

She could also make steamed buns and bread, and what she made tasted pretty good. It was just that mutton had a gamey smell, and if not handled properly, it wasn’t eatable.

Big Aunt’s face unfolded into a smile, “To make delicious dumplings, the filling is key. Later, I’ll teach you how to prepare it.”

Jiaxin’s eyes smiled in agreement.

Right after breakfast, Lu Jiajie arrived with his older brother and two older nephews, while Second Uncle Lu and His Wife and Fourth Aunt Lu did not come over.

Big Uncle Lu didn’t waste words and began to assign tasks, pairing them up to inquire at each commune. The focus was on finding out which family’s son had gone to university in the North in ’67 and stayed there to work, and each group was given a sketch.

Lu Jiachai, the oldest from the second branch, asked, “Jiaxin, did you really draw this?”

“Yes, it’s about seventy to eighty percent accurate.”

Relieved by her response, Jiacai reassured, “Jiaxin, don’t worry. As long as she is from Feng County, we will definitely be able to find her.”

Feng County had nineteen communes, and removing Big Uncle Lu, the Lu Family had eight men left, who would first go to the four nearby communes. Big Uncle Lu himself was to take Jiaxin to the county Public Security Bureau to report the case.

After the instructions were clear, everyone set off. Zhao Dajun’s task was to protect Jiaxin, so naturally, he followed her. Big Uncle Lu was older, so he was in charge of pulling the cart.

Once they left the village, Big Uncle Lu told her to sit on the cart. Seeing her reluctance, he persuaded, “Later, we still have to walk back. It’s over four hours round trip, and we still have to walk around the county town. You’ve never walked that far; you could get blisters.”

If they didn’t find any clues today, they would have to continue the search tomorrow. Lu Jiaxin didn’t dare to act brave and obediently sat down on the flatbed cart. After a good night’s sleep, she felt very energetic and listened to Big Uncle Lu tell ancient tales along the way.

Over an hour later, when they arrived at the county seat and saw the dilapidated houses and narrow wooden gates, she incredulously asked, “Big Uncle, this is the Public Security Bureau, you’re not kidding me, are you?”

Even though Big Uncle Lu said it was the back entrance, she still found it shabby. She thought about how the state was impoverished and destitute, and it seemed like public institutions all had rundown buildings.

After entering the Public Security Bureau, Lu Jiaxin saw a middle-aged man in old-style military attire sweeping the floor. When he saw the three people enter, he stopped what he was doing and asked, “What can I do for you?”

Lu Jiaxin spoke in standard Mandarin, “We’re here to report a case.”

From the man’s tone and demeanor, it was clear he was definitely a leader. But having a leader was better; as long as he took her case seriously, the human trafficker would be caught soon.

“What kind of case?”

“A human trafficking case.”

“Who has been trafficked?”

Lu Jiaxin pointed to herself and then briefly described the process of being trafficked and also shared her suspicions with the man.

After listening to her story, the man’s expression became serious. He placed his broom against the trunk of a tree and led the three people into an office.

The office was very rudimentary, containing only a desk and two chairs.

After sitting down, the middle-aged man took out a notebook and then pulled out a fountain pen from his shirt pocket, “Little girl, please go through the process in detail.”

Lu Jiaxin went over the details once more and then pulled the portrait she had drawn from her canvas bag.

The man looked at the portrait and asked, “Who drew this?”

“I did. I started learning to draw at the Children’s Palace when I was four years old and continued until last year when my high school studies became too intense to continue. My teacher said I was very talented, but my mother thought being an artist wouldn’t lead to a good job later and wanted me to treat it as just a hobby. Don’t worry; the person looks seventy to eighty percent like the portrait.”

Wu Hanping looked at Lu Jiaxin with a changed gaze. With such a high resemblance, it would be very easy to find the subject if they were truly from Feng County.

Lu Jiaxin also shared her thoughts, detailing them very clearly, “Leader, I hope you can catch the human traffickers as soon as possible.”

Wu Hanping looked at her strangely; the child had analyzed the human trafficker with such clarity earlier, “With your intelligence, how were you deceived by a human trafficker?”@@novelbin@@

Lu Jiaxin responded, “At that time, I didn’t know there were so many bad people outside. During this time, I’ve witnessed the evil and ugliness of human nature.”

Wu Hanping felt that protecting a child too well was not love, but harm; Lu Jiaxin was a living example. The child was lucky to have escaped; otherwise, her life would have been ruined, “Don’t worry, as long as this person is from our Feng County, we will certainly catch her and bring her to justice.”

Just at that moment, someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

A person came in with documents, handed them over, and said, “Leader, these are new orders from the district, please have a look.”

Lu Jiaxin had thought this uncle might be a team captain or a similar position, but she had never expected that he was actually an official of the Public Security Bureau. Recalling how he had been sweeping the yard earlier, Lu Jiaxin immediately agreed with a saying from the future—today’s officials really don’t put on airs at all, truly considering themselves servants of the people.