nucmednet Chapter 1229 If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, how can you catch the tiger’s cubs?
Chapter 1229 If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, how can you catch the tiger’s cubs?
The bureau chief shook his head vigorously, like a rattle-drum.
"No, no, it's too dangerous!"
Shi Yun said firmly.
"Comrade, we are running out of time. We must control Meng Qinglu's mother. If we can't control her and she runs away, then no one will know the whereabouts of those trafficked women and children."
The bureau chief sat down silently, still not agreeing; for him, it was a difficult choice.
The criminal investigation team brought Meng Qingguang in; Meng Qingguang was now so frightened that his legs went weak.
Shi Yun slammed his hand on the table and said sternly.
“Meng Qingguang, your trafficking of women and children is extremely heinous. There is only one path in front of you: execution. But the comrades from the Criminal Investigation Department just said that your attitude in confessing your crimes was very good, and you kept shouting that you wanted to make amends for your crimes. Hmm, is that what you really think?”
Meng Qingguang knelt down with a thud, raising his handcuffed hands high.
"Comrade, I... I'm telling the truth. I hope you can give me a chance. I want to atone for my crimes."
Shi Yun nodded.
"Since that's the case, I'll trust you this once. To tell you the truth, even if Meng Qinglu wanted to redeem himself through meritorious service, he couldn't. As for you, you're still young. It's a pity that you'll be executed like this."
Meng Qingguang was drenched in cold sweat, his forehead and neck were covered in sweat. He couldn't stand the word "execution" anymore; just hearing it made him want to urinate.
"Comrade, whatever you ask me to do, I'll do it. How you tell me to do it, I'll do it. Is that alright?"
"Meng Qingguang, what I'm asking you to do is actually very simple. You take us back to the Second Production Brigade, find your mother, and tell her that your brother and aunt are in the county and can't come back for the time being. Make up your own reason."
Xiao Kuang and I are the people you abducted. You have three tasks: first, assist us in successfully capturing your mother and Qi Xuemei's husband; second, help us rescue the abducted women; and third, you've heard about Wang Laoshuan from Xiaochenzhuang, right? If you help us find the body of his daughter, Wang Xiaocui, you'll have done a great service, understand?"
Meng Qing nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice. Selling out his own mother was no problem for him. In a life-or-death situation, everyone should look out for themselves.
……
Meng Qingguang lived in a place called Dawangzhuang, which was only two li away from Xiaochenzhuang. Meng Fa's family also lived in Dawangzhuang. Bianliang was located in the heart of the Central Plains, and farming there depended entirely on the weather.
This year's drought was so severe that it took a tremendous amount of effort to release some water from the reservoir. We barely managed to achieve about 30% of the harvest. After deducting the grain quota for the government, each person was left with less than 20 jin (10 kg) of grain.
Even if you eat sparingly, this won't last a month and a half. Summer and autumn are better, as there are wild vegetables to dig up. But in the dead of winter, the entire land is a stark contrast of black and white as far as the eye can see.
The black is the bare earth, the white is a few drifting snowflakes.
The elderly people sat on the hillside of their houses, basking in the sun, and were drowsy. They tried not to move as much as possible, saving every bite they could.
As the saying goes, food is the most important thing for people. There are hundreds of ways to die in the world, but the most tragic is to starve to death. These elderly people are just waiting to die.
Shi Yun came from Guangzhou, where the climate is mild and crops can be grown all year round. She is a civil servant and receives a monthly salary, subsidies, and receipts, so she has almost never gone hungry.
Kuang Yun's parents were both university professors, and he was pampered from a young age. All he ever thought about was what he wouldn't eat, what he didn't want to eat, and whether he had ever gone hungry.
Along their journey, they saw no elderly people or children who were lively and energetic. They were all leaning against the wall in the cold winter, their hands tucked into the sleeves of their tattered cotton-padded coats, their eyes closed, staring blankly at the winter sun.
Even they felt a deep sense of despair. Shi Yun suddenly understood why some people were so inhuman when they committed evil deeds. It was because they didn't consider themselves human. After experiencing such despair, how could a person still have humanity?
Shi Yun's steps grew heavier and heavier, followed by the timid and hesitant Meng Qingguang. Meng Qingguang was already used to everything before him, though he always thought to himself, "These old bastards, they should just die already. If they die, a few more children can live on."
Finally, they arrived at the door of Meng Qingguang and Meng Qinglu's house. Shi Yun looked up and saw a withered old woman standing under the broken wooden door. She had a scarf tied around her head, her hands were tucked into her sleeves, and her face was expressionless, but her eyes were full of mockery.
Meng Qingguang covered his face and said something to Shi Yun.
"That's my mother..."
Shi Yun and Kuang Yun were taken aback. They had considered several ways to deal with the situation before they came, but they never expected that the old lady would be waiting for them at the door.
He walked up to the old lady, whose lips twitched, and her voice was somewhat hoarse.
"Police, right? Dressed like this, you can't hide your official airs. Why bother? Why be so secretive?"
Shi Yun composed herself. Along the way, she had actually felt some pessimism and pity, which was wrong. When facing the law, the police officers must be impartial and incorruptible.
"Qi Fengmei, right? It seems you know you can't escape."
Qi Fengmei gave a bitter smile.
“My brother-in-law just ran back and said that something happened to my sister and the others. I knew I couldn’t run away. Besides, where could I run to? Without a letter of introduction or food coupons, I would starve to death anywhere. Rather than that, it’s better to stay at home. If I die, someone will bury me and I won’t become a wandering ghost.”
This era was different from later generations. With the constraints of letters of introduction and receipts, people who committed crimes didn't know where to run to, nor could they run to anywhere. Even going to the county town required a letter of introduction. That was the reality.
"Qi Fengmei, since you know, you should know how serious your crime is. If you want to have an easier time in your final days, tell us where those women and children were sold to."
Qi Fengmei glanced at her son and sighed.
“My youngest son has always been timid. After his father died, the three of us, his mother and son, depended on each other for survival. Our eldest son has done everything for this family except good deeds. I can't let my children shoulder such a heavy burden.”
So I said I'd go sell all those people. I'd been waiting for this day to come. The eldest brother definitely won't survive, but the second brother actually brought you all here, so he's atoned for his sins. I'll give you the list now, and I guess my youngest son will survive.
"As long as I survive, that's enough. When I get out of prison, I can fix up the graves of his father, me, and his brother, make them look presentable, and burn some paper money for them. That's enough."
Upon hearing this, Meng Qingguang burst into tears, which caused the old men in the corner not far away to open their eyes. One old man didn't even open his eyes before shouting.
"Guangzi, is it because your mother is gone?"