Chapter 36: An Overwhelmed Task Force (Please Subscribe!)

Another busy morning!

Since his family was preparing to build a house, Li Yi could no longer afford to be a hands-off manager. After preparing the dough that morning, he took advantage of the time it needed to rise and headed over to the plot of black-stoned land.

When Li Yi arrived, he found his father, Uncle Feng, and several others measuring the plot, clearly preparing for the upcoming construction. Seeing him approach, everyone cast strange glances his way.

The production team leader, Zhang Tongfu, asked with a puzzled expression, "Yi, are you really planning to build your house here and move your private plot to this place?"

Li Yi smiled and replied, "Uncle Zhang, this is a prime location with excellent feng shui. You have to admit my taste is good!"

Zhang Tongfu was a blunt man and immediately retorted, "You kid is just messing around. You’re building a house, not picking a grave site—what do you need good feng shui for?"

Feng Kai also frowned, adding, "Building a house here is one thing, but insisting on moving your private plot here too—isn't that just asking to be a laughingstock?"

Li Yi, however, burst into laughter. "Uncle Feng, Uncle Zhang, don't worry. Anyone who dares to laugh at me for this now will surely be proven wrong later!"

Seeing Li Yi’s firm attitude, Feng Kai turned to Li Shankui, who was standing nearby. "Brother Shankui, your boy is dead set on this land. What do you plan to do?"

Li Shankui already understood Li Yi’s intentions and could only sigh. "A grown son doesn't always listen to his parents. If he wants this larger plot of land, let him have it."

"Then let's measure it. Once it's done, I can submit the application to the commune and wait for approval," Feng Kai said.

"Understood. Sorry for the trouble, Old Feng," Li Shankui replied.

While the others were busy measuring the black-stoned land, Li Yi stood at the edge of the field, wearing a silly grin. He was already imagining his future life. Once the large brick house was built, he would renovate it properly. The walls would be whitewashed, and he would install a plaster ceiling—not the kind covered in old newspapers. The windows, especially, had to be large panes; he didn't like the look of small ones.

Furthermore, he planned to have custom solid wood furniture made. He had already decided to hire Old Carpenter Zhao from the neighboring village. Not only was the old man a good person, but his woodworking skills were legendary—the best for miles around.

Once everything was set up and the house had aired out, he would marry Tang Xue. And if all went as expected, Tang Xue was likely already carrying his child.

A few months from now, this place would welcome the first child of Li Yi and Tang Xue, and it would serve as their love nest for the years to come. Thinking of this, Li Yi felt even more motivated.

Since he couldn't help with the measuring and had a mountain of chores waiting for him at home, Li Yi greeted his father and rode his bicycle back. He had considered stopping by the educated youth dormitory to find Tang Xue—after all, building a house was no small matter, and since they would be living there together, he needed her input. However, he knew that at this hour, she would already be working in the fields, and he wouldn't find her. Not knowing exactly where the educated youth were working that day, he decided to visit in the evening instead.

Back home, Li Yi began preparing the cold noodles and steamed buns for the day.

...

While Li Yi went about his business selling food to make money, Wang Anguo and his team at the county bureau were frantic.

As reports from the various township and commune police stations came in, they discovered that the first child to go missing was not from the family in the county seat that had reported it first, but from a family in the Xiaojingzi Commune. Their child had gone missing on June 1st—a full half-month had already passed.

The reason they hadn't reported it earlier was twofold: first, the Xiaojingzi Commune was over eighty kilometers from the county seat, making the trip extremely time-consuming. Second, the village where they lived, Kaoshan Village, was backed by vast primeval forests often frequented by wolves and bears, so the family assumed the child had been snatched by wild animals.

Furthermore, after consolidating reports from all areas, the total number of missing children had reached a staggering 17—far higher than their previous estimates.

Facing a case of this magnitude, Wang Anguo and his team did not dare to be negligent. They immediately reported the situation to the county bureau, which in turn reported it to the municipal bureau. The municipal bureau issued swift instructions: the county bureau was to spare no cost in solving the case as quickly as possible to soothe the public's panic. At the same time, they set a deadline of one week. If the case remained unsolved by then, all leadership, including the director and deputy directors, would face disciplinary action.

When the directive from the municipal bureau came down, the leadership at the county bureau panicked. Disciplinary action could mean anything from being denied promotion for years to losing their positions entirely. With no other choice, the county bureau leaders put pressure directly on Wang Anguo.

The county bureau director held a meeting with the criminal investigation team, ordering them to overcome all obstacles, locate the kidnappers' hideout within three days, and rescue every single child within a week. Failure to do so would result in disciplinary action for everyone, from the team captain down to the lowest-ranking officer.

There was no way around it, as the pressure from above was immense. Yet, Wang Anguo and his team found the case growing increasingly complex. They knew nothing about the kidnappers—not how many there were, where they were hiding, or whether the children had already been moved elsewhere. Solving the case within a week was a daunting task.

Despite the difficulty, Wang Anguo and his team did not haggle. With the lives of over a dozen children—and the fates of their families—at stake, they could not afford to be anything but serious.

Thus, under the intense pressure from the municipal and county bureaus, the criminal investigation team quickly established the "6.15 Major Child Abduction Case Special Investigation Task Force." They deployed a massive number of police and local security personnel to conduct a thorough search across the entire county.

They had to find the kidnappers' hideout and save the children.

However, despite the massive manpower deployed, there were no results. As the incident continued to escalate—especially with parents of the missing children weeping and causing scenes at the county bureau—the entire county knew that kidnappers were active and specifically targeting children. The rumors grew more and more outlandish; what started as stories of theft and abduction morphed into tales of daylight robbery.

Under these circumstances, panic spread not just through the county seat, but through every township and commune. In those days, family planning had not yet been implemented; most families had two or three children, and some had as many as ten. If a child were stolen or snatched, it would be a tragedy beyond words. Many villagers simply stopped going to work in the fields, staying home to guard their children instead.

As this became more frequent, agricultural production in various teams was severely affected. With no other options, the production team leaders reported the situation up the chain of command. When the county government learned of this, they immediately pressured the county bureau and the task force to solve the case within the deadline.

Facing immense pressure from all sides, the strain on the task force was palpable. For a time, the entire criminal investigation team was shrouded in gloom, the atmosphere suffocating and tense.