Xingji City, southeast of the city, Yiyangfang.
Lao Suntou walked home happily.
Ouch.
Neighbor Zhang Wu was very curious, "Look at how happy you are, you old boy. Did you pick up money or step on dog poop today?"
Lao Sun didn't even get angry. He proudly dug into the sack behind his back and finally took out a bowl-shaped object.
"No, it's just that I finally grabbed this today."
oh?
Zhang Wu was startled, "This... seems to be a floppy disk for a water pump?"
The use of water pumps has become very popular in Star City recently.
Many ordinary people discuss the so-called royal secrets after dinner.
It is said that all those who have used it say it is good.
"That's right, it's the water dish." Old Suntou laughed. "The old lady at home is old and in poor health. She happened to be ill last time when she went to shake the pot. If the neighbors hadn't been quick-sighted, she almost fell into the well. There are no lives in it.”
Zhang Wu nodded repeatedly.
He knew this too.
Lao Suntou's mother-in-law also fell seriously ill because of this, and she was able to get out of bed not long ago. However, the family, which was not already wealthy, became even worse because of this.
Unexpectedly, he squeezed out money to buy this water pump?
hey-hey.
Old Suntou seemed to understand what he meant.
"Everyone says that the water pump is safe and easy to use. We don't have to queue up at the well every morning. We can pump water whenever we want."
"I thought about it, so I gritted my teeth and grabbed one. I will install a water pump for my wife and children at home later."
"Is this expensive?" Zhang Wu couldn't help but feel a little moved when he thought about his mother-in-law's situation.
"It's not expensive, it only costs a few breakfasts. I heard from the seller that I can earn some money for long-distance transportation."
Old Suntou clicked his tongue and sighed.
"But this thing is quite difficult to grab. As soon as the stall opens, it will be surrounded by people on three floors. If you go there late, you won't be able to buy it even if you have a lot of money."
"Really or not?" Zhang Wu was surprised, "So many people are buying it?"
"That's not the case!" Old Suntou looked a little weird, "I heard from matchmaker Zhang that if the young man doesn't have a water pump at home, the girls won't even consider it."
Hold!
Zhang Wu jumped up immediately.
The two sons in his family have almost reached their age, but they are still alive.
If he really couldn't get a wife because he didn't have a water pump, he wouldn't have the face to meet his ancestors a hundred years later.
"Then I have to go back and ask my mother-in-law for money."
"go Go."
Uh-huh.
Just as Zhang Wu was about to turn around, he heard faint sobbing coming from the house opposite.
The two men looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.
"Aunt Ma's son hasn't been found yet? It's been several months."
Lao Suntou lowered his voice, "It's been almost five months. I guess... the person has long since died."
At the end of last year, Ma Xiaolong suddenly came home and said he wanted to go out to make a lot of money, and then left Star City without any explanation. As a result, he never returned, and he has not heard from him to this day.
"It's pitiful that Mrs. Ma lost her husband early in life and had a hard time raising her son. Now if Ma Xiaolong is in trouble, will she be able to survive as a widow?"
"Indeed." Old Suntou agreed, "So it's better for us people to live our lives honestly. Don't have any wild ideas and think you can make a lot of money when you go out? You don't know that there are all traps outside Xingji City..."
The two were talking,
Squeak,
The courtyard door next to it opened.
Mrs. Ma, who had red and swollen eyes and was depressed, pursed her lips and walked out, holding paste and a large stack of paper in her hands.
"Aunt Ma, are you still going to post missing persons papers?"
"Aunt Ma, if this doesn't work, why don't you try reporting to the official?"
"It turns out it's you." Aunt Ma looked over and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was two old neighbors.
"To tell you the truth, my wife has reported it earlier. But the gentlemen only said that many people are lost in Xingji City every year. They asked me to come back first and wait. They neither said that they would look for it nor that they would not look for it. The old lady said that There is nothing we can do.”
well.
"Today's official family..." Old Suntou sighed angrily, "Whose child is not the heart and soul of their parents? But as long as they are not the children of those noble people, they are not worried at all."
After saying that, he looked up at the sky.
"Anyway, there's nothing to do today. They're all neighbors, so help if you can. Aunt Ma, give me some missing persons papers, and I'll help post them everywhere."
cough.
Zhang Wu next to him coughed in disagreement.
"Aunt Ma, our neighbors have helped us put up a lot of missing persons papers before. Don't blame the old neighbor for being harsh, I'm afraid it won't be of much use if you keep posting them like this."
Aunt Ma burst into tears.
She didn't know, she just wasn't willing to do it.
"I can't find you, and the officials don't care. You think I'm a woman, so what else can I do?"
Zhang Wu curled his lips and turned his gaze to the sack on the back of Old Sun's head.
"Auntie, please don't cry first. How about you try asking the caravan?"
"Didn't Xiaolong say that he went out to make money? Caravans are the most profitable, and they travel all over the country every day. They go everywhere. Maybe someone has seen Xiaolong?"
Snapped.
Lao Suntou clapped his thigh excitedly, "Brother Zhang said yes!"
He quickly took out the water pump floppy disk he had just bought, "Aunt Ma, the seller of this floppy disk is called the Ling Family Caravan."
"This is an incredible large-scale caravan. In the past, most of them followed the east-west trade route. Later, after the war in Xiliang, it was divided into two parts. Now it travels east, west, north and south. I heard that they can go south to Guangxin County and go to Guangxin County. Go east to Huayang County, go west to Dingxi County, and go north to Yumu County."
"Maybe they have actually seen Xiaolong."
"Yes." Zhang Wu next to him added, "At the very least, you can ask them to ask for help when they are doing business."
Wow~
Aunt Ma suddenly felt like she had met a savior.
She didn't care about the defense between men and women, and held Lao Suntou's hand tightly.
"Brother Sun, for the sake of our old neighbor, please tell me where that caravan is."
Lao Suntou hesitated.
"Aunt Ma, as a large caravan, they have their own stations in almost every county. I can take you to find the Ling family caravan, but I can't guarantee whether you can go in."
"It's okay, it's okay," Aunt Ma was not surprised. She shook her head quickly, "Just take me there first. If you can't get in then, I'll think of a way."
Yiyangfang, where civilians live, is not far from Dongshi.
The two of them walked closely and slowly, and after asking some people, it didn't take much effort to find the Ling family's caravan station.
The residence is majestic and looks no different from an ordinary mansion.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Lao Suntou hesitated to explain his purpose, the doorman politely invited the two of them in.
Ling Anzhi, who was in charge of Xingji City, served tea first, "Auntie, we understand your purpose of coming. We also understand the position of the child in the mother's heart, and that means the whole world. Therefore, as long as possible, we will try our best to help you find it. "
"Thank you, thank you." Aunt Ma burst into tears.
"I wonder if you have a portrait of your son? If so, it might be easier for us to compare and find it."
"Yes, yes, yes." Aunt Ma trembled and pulled out an image, "Master Qingtian, this is my son Ma Xiaolong."
cough.
Ling Anzhi coughed.
"Auntie, we are just an ordinary caravan, not an official family. You must not say anything about Master Qingtian. If anyone who cares listens, we will be in trouble."
"Well, I'm the fourth in the family, and I'm only a little older than your son. Just call me Shiro."
"Okay, okay." Aunt Ma was shaking with excitement, "Silang, have you seen my son?"
"This..." Ling Anzhi frowned, "Madam, this portrait is all fluffy. Half of the portrait on it must have been soaked in water. It's really hard to see clearly."
cough.
Old Suntou next to him interrupted, "Mr. Shiro, the drawing is not soaked in water, it's just that Aunt Ma got caught in the rain when she went out to look for someone."
Ling Zhi was at ease.
He thought for a while and said, "Mom, this image is indeed unclear. Is there anything else about Xiaolong that is particularly conspicuous or easy to recognize?"
"A conspicuous place?" Madam Ma hesitated for a moment, suddenly as if she had been stung by a scorpion, "There is a crescent-shaped black mole the size of a thumb on Xiaolong's back. Does this count?"
Ling Anzhi's eyes flashed suddenly, and after a while he nodded heavily, "Fine, of course."
He quickly picked up the pen.
"Then please, Madam, please recall the circumstances before and after Xiaolong left home, such as those people he met, and whether he said where he was going; what friends he had in his daily life, and what those people are doing wherever they are now. The more detailed you are, the better, it will make it easier for us to find someone.”
(End of chapter)
