Chapter 460: Chapter 453: He Shishi Disappears
Maybe He Shishi found the thatched hut too disgusting and ran to a more secluded place to relieve herself? Sisi comforted herself, leading the little girl around in search of He Shishi.
But they had searched every nook and cranny, large and small, without any sign of He Shishi. The little girl became so anxious she was about to cry. It was she who had shown the important guest the way; if anything happened, her parents were certain to beat her to death.
After searching back and forth for over ten minutes, Sisi’s heart sank deeper and deeper, becoming certain that something must have happened to He Shishi. A Hong Kong guest having an incident here, and she was the host; wouldn’t the County Committee take this opportunity to make trouble for Tian Xinhua?
Annoyed, Sisi slapped her head, pursed her lips tightly, and, leading the panicked little girl, went back to notify He Chunfeng.
"I’m not going back, my parents will beat me to death!" The little girl refused to leave, it seemed she was even considering running up the hillside to hide.
Sisi had not expected the little girl to be so terrified and immediately began to gently comfort her, promising that her parents would definitely not beat her. With Sisi’s reassurance, the little girl timidly followed her back.
The little girl’s body was dark and skinny, her face sallow, clearly showing that she had never had her fill of food.
Moreover, this was the age when she should be in school, but this girl was staying home to work, apparently having dropped out of school early. The villagers generally believed that girls were a losing proposition, not worth the money and effort to nurture.
Even for boys, they usually just completed primary school before returning home to work because their families could not afford it. Like Liu Shanxing and Liu Chuntao, they were able to go to college because Liu Shanxing’s father was the village secretary, and Liu Chuntao’s father was the village accountant.
After talking a few more words with the little girl, Sisi learned her name was Liu San Ni, who had never been to school for a day and was already eleven years old. Sisi handed out a few pieces of milk candy to San Ni. Happily eating the milk candy Sisi gave her, Liu San Ni was no longer afraid and answered all of Sisi’s questions.
The more Sisi asked, the more shocking she found the situation of children dropping out of school in the village to be worse than she imagined. She had a rough idea in her mind, but right now, she needed to resolve He Shishi’s issue first; other matters could only be discussed later.
Sisi returned to the filming location and subconsciously glanced over at Liu Chunshan, who still maintained his original posture, staring at the set as still as a statue, seemingly never blinking.
She no longer cared if she would disturb He Chunfeng’s filming and barged into the set to interrupt him. When she was about to speak, she inexplicably switched to Cantonese.
Upon hearing Sisi’s words, He Chunfeng’s face suddenly darkened. Although he didn’t care about the well-being of this cousin, she had come here with him. If something happened to He Shishi here, who knows what the Hong Kong newspapers would say?
"Brother Chunfeng, I will go and notify the village secretary to have him lead the villagers to help us search," said Sisi.
He Chunfeng nodded. The method Sisi proposed was indeed the most effective. He instructed the staff to pack up, no filming for today, and the whole crew set out to search for the missing person.
Secretary Liu was terrified when he heard the distinguished guest was missing, losing two of his three souls, and hurriedly gathered the whole village using the loudspeaker at the village committee to announce the disappearance and mobilize everyone to search.
Afraid that these people wouldn’t take it seriously, Sisi quickly clarified in the loudspeaker that anyone providing clues would be rewarded 50 yuan, and finding the person would be rewarded 300 yuan.
Hearing the amount of money, the entire village was abuzz. Villagers who had initially intended to search half-heartedly were now energized. They abandoned their work in the fields, and people of all ages ran out searching.
Sisi took the lead and gave 50 yuan to San Ni’s parents, saying that San Ni had provided clues and should be rewarded. San Ni’s parents, initially frightened to death and preparing to beat their daughter once they returned home, now saw the 50 yuan and their eyes narrowed with glee, continuously expressing their gratitude.
"Don’t thank me, thank her," said Sisi to San Ni’s parents. "With this money, let San Ni have a few full meals. Sons are your children, daughters are your children too, don’t let the girls suffer too much."
Seeing the white and plump boy behind San Ni, Sisi couldn’t help but say a few more words to San Ni’s parents, not knowing if they would really take her words to heart.
Seeing the five large banknotes in San Ni’s father’s hands, the villagers’ eyes turned green. Without needing more encouragement from Sisi, they all eagerly joined the search for clues.
"I also saw the guest heading towards the thatch hut and he never came back. It’s been over an hour now."
"The time is even longer than that. The reason I remember so clearly is that at that time I also wanted to use the thatch hut to relieve myself. Seeing the guest go there, I found a concealed spot to take care of it, and during that time, I happened to hear two claps."
Sisi, as usual, took out ten banknotes, dividing them five each among the two people, which stimulated the villagers around them to the point their eyes were red with envy. But they couldn’t provide any clues and could only watch others earn this easy money eagerly.
"Has anyone else left this place during this time?" Sisi asked.
"Yes, Liu Erdan left," someone shouted loudly.
"Dabao from the next family over left as well."
...
The villagers were all talking at once, each providing names one after another; Sisi quietly told Mo Hui next to her to write down all these names.
Sisi was somewhat disappointed. She knew these were just ordinary villagers and likely had nothing to do with He Shishi’s disappearance. Actually, her most suspect was Liu Chunshan, but Liu Chunshan had been standing there watching the filming the whole time without leaving. He didn’t have the time to commit the crime!
"Liu Chunshan also left," someone shouted loudly.
Sisi perked up and stared at Liu Chunshan, who calmly said, "I carried back the firewood I gathered this morning."
"Chunshan gathers a basket of firewood every morning to bring back home to burn," someone beside chimed in to explain.
Regardless, this Liu Chunshan had left during the time, so he definitely had time to commit the crime. For some reason, Sisi subconsciously felt that He Shishi’s disappearance must be related to Liu Chunshan.
Could He Shishi be in danger?
Had Liu Chunshan hidden her away, or had he...
Sisi didn’t dare to continue the thought. Just then, He Chunfeng, Brother Li, and the others had all come back, empty-handed. Sisi shared her recent findings, and since they were speaking in Cantonese, the people around couldn’t understand them and looked on foolishly.
"I also saw Liu Chunshan leave, exactly when you, Sisi, came over to tell me that he had killed someone," said He Chunfeng excitedly.
"Who killed someone?" Qiao Xingbang asked, puzzled.
Sisi recounted the matter with Liu Chunshan again, and everyone listened with horror. Mo Qing said gravely, "I think this Liu Chunshan might be a psychopath, and he also possesses high intelligence and psychological quality; otherwise, he wouldn’t have deceived the police. If Miss He was truly abducted by him, it could be troublesome."
"Miss He shouldn’t be in danger right now, no bloodstains were found nearby. Liu Chunshan must have hidden her away. As long as we keep a close watch on Liu Chunshan at all times, we should be able to find Miss He," Brother Li said.
"But what would this psychopath want with abducting He Shishi? Could it be for lust?" Qiao Xingbang asked, perplexed.
"Who knows? Maybe he wants both money and the girl!" Brother Chunfeng replied irritably.
"Brother Chunfeng, don’t be too anxious, I’ve already called Brother Xin Hua, the Police Station will send people soon. There shouldn’t be any problem with He Shishi," Sisi comforted.