Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 61 Changes Too Fast
Inside the room, Officer Zhu sat at the table, and Captain Yang sat next to him.

Chen Fan sat on the other side of the table, while Jiang Lili stood very close to the door.

Chen Fan gave her a strange look and said, "Get yourself a chair."

It's not like there aren't chairs, why are you standing?

Captain Yang smiled kindly and said, "Xiao Jiang, please sit down."

He had just heard from Zhu Gong'an that the winds of change had shifted and some people were being re-examined, with those with problems to be corrected. So he became much more polite to Jiang Lili.

Seeing that Captain Yang had also spoken, Jiang Lili carefully sat down.

As Zhu Gong'an smoked his cigarette, he looked at Chen Fan, who was dressed in new clothes, and couldn't help but chuckle. "Looks like you're doing pretty well here."

Chen Fan said earnestly, "Home is where the heart is. The land here is beautiful, the water is plentiful, and the people are even better. Of course, I feel comfortable here. If I can go home, I will definitely come back to visit often."

Upon hearing this, Officer Zhu was about to nod when he heard Captain Yang laugh out loud, "Master Chen is now a treasure of our Team 6. He can kill turtles and make Northeastern-style pork stew. Even Captain Xiao likes him very much. He's been here for a few days, eating and drinking well every day, and he's also collected a lot of stuff."

Then, pointing to the miscellaneous items on the two bamboo beds next to him, and the cured meat and fish hanging on three bamboo poles that were bent under the weight of wooden cabinets, he said, "See? These are all the return gifts from each team after he taught us how to kill turtles. I'm afraid even Master Lu didn't have this many cured goods for the New Year back then."

Zhu Gong'an had just seen these things and assumed they were left there by the team. But when he heard they all belonged to Chen Fan, he turned around and looked at him with surprise. "Good lad, not bad. You didn't just drift here to do business, did you?"

Chen Fan gave an awkward laugh, "If I wanted to come here to do business, I wouldn't come by water, it's too cold."

Upon hearing this, Captain Yang and Police Officer Zhu both burst into laughter.

Jiang Lili kept her head down, her shoulders still shaking, trying hard not to laugh out loud.

Zhu Gong'an waved his hand, looked at him and smiled, "I'm not kidding you, but you have a good attitude, it's best to keep it up."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan's expression changed slightly, and he stared at him blankly. "Officer Zhu, from what you're saying, this isn't good news?"

The smile on Zhu Gong's face gradually disappeared, and he said with a heavy heart, "On the 20th, the day I returned from here, I reported to the station chief, who also arranged for someone to notify each production team and reported to the county public security bureau. The county bureau then notified all the police stations in the county, asking them to cooperate in the investigation."

Until last night, all the police stations in the 16 townships and communes of the county reported that none of the missing persons in their jurisdictions matched your information.

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly as he tried hard to recall the various tragic movies he had seen in his past life, such as "Mom, Love Me Again," "Wrong Car," "Life Is Beautiful," and "Love Letter," etc.

It finally worked.

Although I didn't shed tears, I didn't laugh either.

Seeing the sadness in Chen Fan's eyes, Zhu Gong'an couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "Your situation is indeed troublesome, but it's not like there's no way out. After all, your accent is from the Yunhu area, so it can't be too far away."

We haven't found any leads on you yet, but the county bureau will definitely report your situation to the regional public security bureau, so there's still hope, it just will take a while.

The regional "administrative office" was equivalent to a later prefecture-level city government, but it was not an independent agency. Instead, it was an agency dispatched by the provincial government to manage the region. Therefore, the relevant directly subordinate units were not "bureaus" but "departments" with a "dispatch" nature. Chen Fan sighed deeply and looked at Zhu Gong'an with a complicated expression. "Thank you, Zhu Gong'an. Thank you, leader. I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Zhu Gong'an waved his hand, "Hey, this is no trouble at all. It's just my job. I'll just make a few phone calls."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I was worried about how you would live here, but you're quite capable. You brought back so much stuff in just a few days. It seems I won't have to worry about you for a while."

Captain Yang immediately said, "You can rest assured about that. His livelihood is definitely not a problem. In addition to these cured meats and fish, he also collected 250 jin of rice. If he is careful, it can last him a whole year. He won't have any problems until the rice runs out. Besides, he can find something to do during this long period of time. He won't just sit around and do nothing. Our team will also take care of him appropriately."

Chen Fan immediately expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Captain."

Captain Yang smiled and waved his hand, indicating that everything was alright.

Chen Fan then looked at Zhu Gong'an and said seriously, "But, Officer Zhu, you see, I don't have any identification documents right now. Even if Captain Yang is willing to take me in, I'll still be an unregistered person. Do you think there's any other way?"

Zhu Gong'an chuckled, "So what if they're unregistered residents? There are plenty of unregistered residents in the commune, and they haven't done anything to anyone."

He paused for a moment, then frowned deeply. "However, this can't go on forever."

He turned to Captain Yang and asked, "Old Yang, what do you think?"

Captain Yang, who had been so decisive just moments before, now chuckled and said, "Didn't you already report to the prefectural committee and ask the prefectural public security bureau for assistance? Maybe you'll find it soon. It's only been a few days, why are you in such a hurry?"

Then, pointing at Chen Fan, he said with a smile, "Little Chen, don't worry, just stay here and take your time looking. You'll definitely find it someday."

Seeing his attitude, Zhu Gong'an didn't seem surprised. He turned to Chen Fan with a natural expression and said, "Captain Yang is right. Anyway, you have enough to eat and wear now, so don't panic. If you have any difficulties, you can talk to Captain Yang or come to the commune police station to find me. We can discuss and solve them together."

After saying that, he picked up his hat and stood up. "I came here for this matter. Now that we've finished talking, you can go about your business. I'll be leaving now."

Captain Yang quickly stood up. “You’ve come all this way, why don’t you stay for dinner? You can try our soft-shelled turtle.”

As Zhu Gong'an spoke, he walked out. "Next time, next time, I really have something to do and I have to go to the other teams. You're going to install power lines here in a couple of days. You need to remind everyone to be careful and prevent anyone from sabotaging it. These power lines aren't cheap, and there are bound to be a lot of people eyeing them."

Captain Yang stood beside him, saying, "Don't worry about that. Our team has arranged for nine people to patrol in three shifts to ensure everything is foolproof. If anyone dares to come and cause trouble, we'll make sure they don't leave alive!"

The two walked further and further apart, and soon they were out of the courtyard gate, without Chen Fan even having a chance to speak.

Chen Fan stared wide-eyed at the gate outside, feeling as if Captain Yang was hiding from him.

Just now they were saying they were the treasure of Team 6, and now they're showing such disdain. Does the change have to be so fast?

Jiang Lili looked up at him, then at the outside, then turned back and whispered, "Chen Fan, don't worry too much. Officer Zhu said he will definitely help you find it."

Chen Fan snapped out of his daze, his brows furrowing slightly. After a couple of seconds of contemplation, he suddenly asked, "I just mentioned that I wanted to settle here temporarily, and Captain Yang acted like he'd seen a ghost. Am I that scary?"

(End of this chapter)