freeallnovels Chapter 3731 Rainy Night
Chapter 3731 Rainy Night
Chapter 3731 Rainy Night
At this time, the rainstorm has turned into heavy rain... It is still bad. Because of the heavy rain, the fields in many nearby villages have been flooded, and many yellow mud roads in rural areas are even inaccessible to traffic.
Zi Ling's mother came back from the dean's office a long time after the normal dinner time...After she came back, Luo Qiu and the maid came over from the next room.
"Is the dean okay?"
Zi Ling's mother said with a worried look on her face: "She was in a very bad condition. She barely drank some porridge... and finally fell asleep. This old woman, it turns out she had secretly undergone a heart bypass surgery before, and I didn't even know about it."
Li Zi thought for a moment and said, "Sister, you've been tired all day. Have you eaten yet? I packed some food for you from the cafeteria. Can you eat a few bites first?"
"I have no appetite now." Zi Ling's mother shook her head. She sighed, put her hand on the maid's palm, and said apologetically: "I originally planned to let you come over to play for a day or two. I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to be like this."
The maid said, "The weather in many places in Shenzhou has been very bad recently. It's okay."
Lizi brought the thermos bottle and said, "Why don't you wipe yourself and go to bed early tonight? Don't go out at night and have a good rest. I think you will be busy tomorrow... I checked and the road out is blocked by mudslides. I don't think it will be open to traffic soon."
Zi Ling's mother thought for a moment and said, "I have to go visit the dean later. The nurses in the hospital are all busy. I plan to take care of her tonight. You can sleep by yourself."
"...Then I'll accompany you." Li Zi said quickly: "Anyway, I'm bored when I'm alone and I just scroll through my phone, so I might as well accompany you...Besides, it would be good to have more people to help, right?"
Zi Ling's mother hesitated for a moment, but didn't refuse, so she nodded.
Suddenly the lights went out and the room was in darkness.
"The power outage happened again?" Li Zi frowned subconsciously.
Zi Ling's mother had already touched the door and shouted Old Man Li's name loudly towards the opposite side not far away, "Old Man Li, is the power outage again?"
After waiting for a while, the old man Li's woman-like voice came, "The switch is fine, it should be the wires outside that are broken! Wait a minute, I'll get you a gas lamp!"
At this time, the voices of caregivers shouting were heard from another building... They must have heard about the power outage and asked Uncle Li to get some lighting tools like gas lamps.
Not long after, faint orange and yellow lights began to light up in the dark welfare home.
Li Zi held up a lit gas lamp with interest, "I've only seen this thing online, I didn't expect there are still such things now... It's quite bright, huh?"
"There are still many people using it for outdoor camping, right?" Zi Ling's mother smiled and said, "I used to carry this thing to the fields. It's very useful."
"What are you doing in the fields so late at night?"
"Touching a frog!" Zi Ling's mother patted Li Zi's head in annoyance. "In the past, if you wanted to eat something, you had to get it yourself. How could you be so happy now? You can just click on your phone and get everything done?"
"Are there frogs nearby?" Li Zi blinked immediately.
"Besides frogs, there are many more." Zi Ling's mother said casually, "There is a stream next to it. You can find river clams, snails, small fish and shrimps."
"Stop talking, I'm hungry again..." Li Zi wiped her saliva.
After Li brought the kettle over, nothing happened next... Later on, the maid poured out the hot water herself, heated the towel and handed it to Zi Ling's mother.
He was filial, but he did not fulfill his filial duty.
After simply washing up and eating something, Zi Ling's mother packed up some things and went to the dean's office again with Li Zi.
The maid smiled and said, "Ms. Lizi must have... stayed with Miss Ren on purpose."
Luo Qiu said nothing, his eyes looking into the darkness.
On the rainy playground, a vague figure was walking towards the dormitory... When the other person got closer, it could be seen clearly that the person was the old man Li from the doorman.
He didn't turn on the lights at night. He was holding a big black umbrella and wading through the water in wading shoes.
"Hello, Mr. Li, what can I do for you?"
"I forgot to get you some kerosene just now." Old Man Li said directly: "If the light goes out, add it yourself, but be careful, do you know how to add kerosene?"
Luo Qiu nodded.
Mr. Li glanced into the room and suddenly asked, "Where's Ling?"
Luo Qiu said: "She went to the dean's office and should stay there tonight."
"That's good." Uncle Li nodded, "She is still reliable. I'm leaving now. If you have any problems, just shout loudly. I can hear you."
"By the way, Uncle Li, what are they doing over there?" Luo Qiu pointed to another building.
The entire floor was illuminated, and from a distance, there were many figures moving around near the windows.
Old Man Li said, "Oh, there was a power outage. I was bored, so I took my child to do handicrafts. The caregivers here regularly collect the handicrafts made by the children and sell them at the market."
"Can we go over and take a look?" Luo Qiu asked curiously.
"Whatever you want." Old Man Li finally said, "Just don't run around. Many animals in the mountains will escape in the next few days. It's not safe outside."
……
……
Zi Ling's mother led the way, carrying a gas lamp.
Li Zi followed behind leisurely, and suddenly said, "Sister, you know what, this old house is quite scary after the power outage... The staircase creaks, how many years has it been since it was repaired?"
Zi Ling's mother rolled her eyes at Li Zi in annoyance, "That's what old women are like. They don't want to spend money on food or clothes, and spend every penny on their children. The buildings next to them were obviously renovated not long ago, but this place is still the same as before."
"Who is taking care of the dean now?"
"It should be Sister Liu." Zi Ling's mother thought for a moment and said, "She was still here when I left, so she should not have left yet."
"Sister, do you remember when we drove out this afternoon, Sister Liu and Old Man Li were a little secretive when they talked?" Li Zi thought for a moment and said, "I always feel like they were hiding something from us at the time."
"I feel the same way." Zi Ling's mother nodded, "Let's ask her about it in detail later."
Li Zi nodded, and when Zi Ling's mother turned the corner while going upstairs, she gently blew out a breath of cold air.
The cold air swirled in the darkness and instantly turned into a hexagonal ice flower, which then stuck to the corner of the wall... At the same time, Li Zi had an additional [sight].
"Come on, what are you doing?"
"Here I come! I just saw an ant beating up a cockroach!"
"What the hell..."
……
……
There are currently more than sixty children in the welfare home. At this moment, they are gathered in three connected activity rooms, led by caregivers and older children, doing some handicrafts.
When the nurses learned that Luo Qiu and his companions were here for a visit, they were very enthusiastic... Especially the children, who were very curious about Bai Zhi with green hair.
Most of these caregivers were recruited from nearby villages or towns, and some would ride their bikes home directly after get off work. However, due to the bad weather tonight, they all stayed here, since they had a place to stay anyway.
"We were planning to watch a movie tonight, but unfortunately there was a power outage." Cha Tiantian sighed and said, "Fortunately, these children were relatively obedient and did not make a fuss."
Luo Qiu nodded, picked up a completed handicraft and looked at it. After thinking for a while, he said, "These handicrafts look like they were specially taught by someone, right?"
Cha Tiantian nodded and said, "The dean previously spent money to hire some handicraft teachers to come here, in fact, it is also to allow these children to learn an additional skill."
"Sister Tiantian, do you think this is good?"
"Sister Tiantian, I can't put this piece together well, please help me!"
As he was talking, several children gathered around Cha Tiantian and started to grumble. Cha Tiantian glanced at Luo Qiu and the maid apologetically and said, "You guys can just watch as you please. I'll take care of these kids first."
Another nurse came over and poured a few glasses of water to greet them.
Luo Qiu smiled slightly and said, "Miss Cha seems to be very popular among the children here."
The nurse smiled and said, "After all, Xiaocha is closer to them because of her age. Unlike us, the children are more willing to be close to her."
The maid asked, "How long has Miss Cha been working here?"
"She has been here for about half a year, right?" The nurse thought for a moment and said, "I remember she came here during the summer vacation. I heard she was a college student. I didn't expect her to come to such a remote place like ours to work. We were also very surprised."
Luo Qiu thought for a moment and said, "Does she have relatives living nearby?"
"I don't know about that." The nurse shook her head. "Xiao Cha usually lives in the welfare home and only leaves during holidays... She rarely talks about family matters, so we didn't ask. I think it's not a good idea for this girl to stay here and work. I still hope she can leave if there's a chance."
Luo Qiu said casually: "Maybe she actually enjoys it."
The nurse smiled and said nothing. City people would yearn for a pastoral life... but they would often leave after a few days. She had seen many young people from big cities, and they were all like this.
There is no poetry or distant place that cannot be cured by two days of suffering...if there is, just eat for two more days.
"Just do what you want. I'll go get busy." The nurse said with a smile, and then shouted outside: "Ah Bang, Ah Bang! Help me get some hot water! Ah Bang? Where is he? Where did he go again? Really..."
The nurse walked outside.
Luo Qiu's eyes slowly swept across the activity room at this time... and saw a girl sitting in the corner, who was accompanying a little girl to cut paper-cuts, lowering her head in panic.
Zhang Lan.
After a while, Zhang Lan gritted his teeth, walked towards Luo Qiu, and whispered: "Big...Big brother, can I ask you something?"
"It's about Chen Yu, right?" Luo Qiu nodded. "Do you want to talk about it here, or go outside?"
"Let's go...to the corridor outside." Zhang Lan said courageously.
Luo Qiu glanced at the maid and said, "Then I'll go out for a while."
……
……
"Alright, alright. I'll tell the dean. Go back now and don't cause any more trouble here."
"oh oh."
In front of the door of the dean's office, Sister Liu waved her hand, and then Brother Ah Bang came running with a persimmon in his arms, using the eight-step pace to chase away a cicada.
"Eat, please!"
Brother Ah Bang stopped in front of Zi Ling's mother and Li Zi with a smile on his face, and brought them two persimmons, his face full of enthusiasm.
"Thank you." Li Zi took it without saying a word.
"You're welcome!"
Ah Bang smiled and continued to perform the Eight Steps to Chase the Cicada.
"Be careful of the stairs!" Liu Susu shouted from a distance, looking helpless.
"Sister Liu, what is Brother Bang doing here?" Zi Ling's mother asked curiously.
"They said they were sending persimmons to Yuan." Liu Susu shook her head and said, "No one told him about Yuan's fainting, so he wouldn't have to worry about it. He can't help anyway."
Zi Ling's mother nodded, "How is the old woman?"
"He's still asleep." Liu Susu said, "Be quiet when you go in."
"Then I'll go in later." Zi Ling's mother thought for a moment, then suddenly took Liu Susu's hand, "Sister Liu, did you hide something from me this afternoon?"
"What's going on? Who told you that?" Liu Susu said unnaturally, "Didn't I tell you everything about this... about the demolition of the welfare home?"
"It's definitely not about the demolition." Ren Ziling said in a slightly deep voice: "On the little yellow bus, when you were talking to old man Li, you were mumbling... Sister Liu, tell me honestly, is there anything about the welfare home that I don't want to know?"
"This... Actually..." Liu Susu subconsciously glanced at the dean's office, and then said helplessly: "It's not that we can't know, it's just that it's hard to say."
"What exactly is going on?"
Liu Susu said: "It was before the welfare home, where several children were lost."
"Lost?" Zi Ling's mother was stunned and asked in astonishment: "What does lost mean?"
"If it's lost, it's lost." Liu Susu shook her head and said, "The person can't be found at all. We reported it to the police, but the law enforcement officers couldn't find him either... It's very likely that he was abducted."
"How could this happen?" Zi Ling's mother couldn't help but frowned, "How many children are missing?"
"There are already three." Liu Susu sighed, "One is nine years old, one is eleven years old, and the other is twelve years old."
Zi Ling's mother was stunned and said, "The youngest is nine years old? Even if they are human traffickers... why would they kidnap such a big child? This shouldn't be the case... Does law enforcement define abduction as trafficking?"
"Not really..." Liu Susu smiled bitterly, "They just registered the missing persons and said they were kidnapped. It was just a rumor among the villagers... In recent years, I heard that children are often lost in nearby villages and towns. Later, more and more people were lost, so law enforcement officers conducted a strong investigation for a while. It was indeed after they caught a few traffickers that things got better, right?"
"This is not right." Zi Ling's mother pondered and said, "Tell me in detail how these missing children got lost. Did they disappear from the welfare home or somewhere else?"
Liu Susu thought for a moment and said, "At first, I remember it was that twelve-year-old child who went to school in town. After school, he went out to play by himself and never came back. From then on, the dean asked Old Man Li to drive the child to the town every day. He had to see the child enter the school gate with his own eyes, and he had to count the number of people when picking him up after school."
"But not long after this incident, two more children were lost."
"We suspected that the naughty 11-year-old child took the 9-year-old child out of the yard to play and disappeared. We searched for a long time but couldn't find them."
"After three children were lost in succession, we dared not relax. Basically, there were people watching us around the clock, fearing that something might happen again."
Liu Susu sighed, "I didn't expect that the child was not lost this time, but Chen Yu fell down... It's raining so hard outside, if he really fell down, what should I do!"
Zi Ling's mother and Li Zi looked at each other.
Zi Ling's mother pondered and said, "Sister Liu, during the period when our hospital lost a child, have similar incidents occurred nearby?"
"It seems not." Liu Susu shook her head. "The news of the missing person must have spread far and wide... Anyway, I haven't heard of it. This matter has always been a concern for the dean... When you see her wake up later, don't mention these things. She has finally recovered."
Zi Ling's mother smiled bitterly, "I didn't expect so many things happened in the welfare home, but the old lady never told me."
"Tell you what to do." Liu Susu said, "After all, you have your own life. Don't take everything on yourself. You are not Superman."
……
Ren Ziling asked Liu Susu to go back and rest. She went into the dean's room and took a look at the dean. Then she came out with a heavy heart and sat on the old sofa in the office. "Li Zi, help me..."
"Check if there's any news about missing children here, right?" Lizi raised her phone. "I'm already checking... but I haven't found anything yet."
"Try your best." Zi Ling's mother also picked up the phone. "Since the incident has attracted local attention, it won't be nothing."
……
……
Outside the corridor, Zhang Lan covered her mouth in panic. She couldn't bear the bad news.
"It's all my fault... If I had stopped Chen Yu from messing around..."
The girl immediately covered her face and sobbed on the spot.
"At present, we only saw Chen Yu's clothes hanging on the tree, and we are not really sure that he fell down." Luo Qiu said in a low voice.
To Zhang Lan, these words sounded more like comfort.
"I'm sorry... I want to be alone for a while." She looked at Luo Qiu with red eyes, then pursed her lips and turned away... She didn't go into the activity room, but ran away from this place.
Just at this moment, there was a flash of light outside the corridor, and the darkness turned into day.
Luo Qiu looked down and saw a man holding a black umbrella on the playground outside the building, looking up silently... and saw everything in the corridor.
——Old man Li.
The thunder was just heard at this time, and Old Man Li walked away silently.
(End of this chapter)