Reborn in 1966

Chapter Fifty-Six: Interrogation

Tian Lingling said, "Run away? Director Zhou, you must be joking. Shengqin in our family is not that kind of person. We take responsibility for our mistakes. I don't believe you that Shengqin just ran away like that."

Director Zhou said, "It's true, Shen Shengqin ran away last night while his guards were asleep."

Tian Lingling said, "Director Zhou, you can't do this. I'm asking you for the person since you didn't have him. I haven't seen him since yesterday afternoon, so you have to give him back to me."

Grandma came out too, saying, "Director Zhou, we're all from the same village, you know what kind of family we are. I don't believe you if you say our son ran away. My son disappeared while he was with you, and I'm begging you to bring him back. You have to find my child!" As she spoke, Grandma started to cry. When Grandma cried, Peiyin also started to wail, crying and calling out with all her might, "Grandma, Grandma, Second Uncle, Second Uncle."

There are only these three people at home now. Everyone else goes to school or work. Even Grandpa and Second Grandpa went to the team's livestock shed to prepare feed for the animals. Before leaving, Secretary Tian had already given instructions to act as if nothing had happened and to continue doing what they were doing. He figured that the people from Beijing wouldn't find anything wrong and would leave. After they left, everyone could go to the hospital to see Shen Shengqin.

A young man in a Zhongshan suit who came with Director Zhou saw Pei Yin crying, took out a piece of candy from a black leather bag he was carrying, put it in Pei Yin's hand, squatted down and said gently to Pei Yin, "Good child, don't cry, here, have some candy." He spoke in very standard Mandarin.

Pei Yin could tell from the man's voice that he was from the capital. He had spent seven or eight years there in his previous life. Even outsiders who stayed there for two years would pick up a local accent.

Pei Yin took the candy, sniffed, and said, "Thank you, Uncle."

The young man patted Pei Yin's head and said, "Good girl. Come on, tell your uncle, did anyone come to your house last night?"

It's said that children don't lie, so this is an attempt to find a way in through Pei Yin.

But he didn't know, not only did he not know, no one knew, that Pei Yin was a grown woman disguised as a Lolita, and someone who had seen all kinds of power struggles in the inner palace, the political arena, and the spy wars.

Pei-Yin peeled off the candy wrapper, put the candy in her mouth, took two big sips, and said, "Grandma, it's milk candy! It's so delicious!"

Grandma said, "Good child, thank you again, Uncle."

With a candy in her mouth, Pei-Yin mumbled, "The candy is delicious, thank you, Uncle."

The young man took out a few more pieces of candy from his bag and said, "Tell your uncle if anyone came last night, and I'll give you some more."

Pei Yin raised her head and looked at the expressions on everyone's faces. Some were nervous, some were contemptuous, and some were admiring. If this person were in wartime, he would probably be comparable to those Kuomintang secret agents.

Pei Yin took the candy from his hand, put it into her pocket one piece at a time, and said, "Does that mean if I answer whatever you ask, you'll give me candy?"

The man said, "Yes, if you tell your uncle what he asked you, he will give you candy. This candy is brought from the capital and it's very delicious."

Pei Yin nodded, stretched out her little hand, and said, "Uncle, let's begin."

The young man was taken aback, not expecting the child to be so clever despite his young age. He opened his bag, took out a piece of candy, handed it to Pei Yin, and asked, "Did anyone come to your house last night?"

Pei Yin took the candy without hesitation and said, "No." Then she put the candy in her smock pocket and pressed it down carefully.

The man, still unwilling to give up, took out another piece of candy and asked, "Where is your father?"

Pei Yin took the candy, lowered her head, and stuffed it into her blouse pocket without looking up, saying, "There is no father in the family."

Director Zhou said, "How could you not have a father? Director Ma is asking where your dad went."

Pei Yin said, "Father has gone out."

Director Zhou asked, "How many days have you been gone?"

Pei Yin stretched out her little hand and counted them one by one for a long time before finally asking her grandmother, "Grandma, how many days is it?"

Grandma sighed and said, "It will take two days."

Pei Yin turned around, held up two tender fingers, and said, "Two days."

Director Zhou asked, "What did your father go to do?"

Pei Yin reached out to Director Zhou and said, "Sugar."

Director Zhou looked at Pei Yin somewhat awkwardly. Director Ma next to him handed her a piece of candy, which Director Zhou quickly took and put in Pei Yin's hand.

Pei Yin took the candy, put it in her pocket, rummaged through the candies in her pocket, and asked her grandmother without looking up, "Grandma, what's Daddy going to do?"

Grandma said, "I went out with Party Secretary Tian."

Pei Yin then told Director Zhou, "I went out with Party Secretary Tian."

As Pei-Yin finished speaking, she ran up to her grandmother and asked, "Grandma, when is Dad coming back?"

Grandma said, "I don't know either."

Grandpa said, "Aren't you ashamed? Trying to coax a little kid with candy like that, I'm embarrassed for you."

Director Zhou took a step back, embarrassed, and whispered a few words to Director Ma. Director Ma thought for a moment and nodded.

Director Zhou asked Fourth Grandfather, "Where did your Party Secretary Tian go?"

My great-uncle said, "How would I know about the leaders' affairs?"

The person who had given out candy still wouldn't give up. He walked up to Pei Yin and asked, "Little girl, tell your uncle, is your second uncle injured?"

This is a change in the way the questions are asked, and the adults are even more anxious. Pei Yin had met with Shen Shengqin early this morning, and if she doesn't answer well, everyone will be in trouble.

Pei Yin raised her small face, looked at Director Ma's hand, and then carefully examined the briefcase he was carrying, without saying a word.

Director Ma was very perceptive; he knew what Pei Yin meant just by looking at her eyes. He opened the bag and looked inside, and was slightly taken aback, but quickly regained his composure and said, "Uncle doesn't have any candy right now. How about I give you some later?"

Pei Yin remained silent, and naturally pretended not to hear Director Ma's question.

Director Ma was getting anxious, probably because he hadn't gotten what he or his superior wanted from Shen Shengqin, and a somewhat ferocious look appeared on his face.

When Pei Yin saw Director Ma's appearance, she burst into tears, crying, "Grandma, a ghost! A ghost is coming!" When Grandma saw Pei Yin crying, she tiptoed over, picked up the child, and gently patted Pei Yin's back, whispering, "Oh, don't be scared, don't be scared, don't be scared."

He said it three times in a low voice. It seems that people have always subconsciously known that important things must be said three times.

Aunt Hua said, "Look at you! How could you scare a child like that? Director Zhou, let us be fair to you. Since Shengqin went with you yesterday afternoon, and now you can't find him, you come to his house looking for him. What do you think his mother and wife are going to think? His wife is pregnant."

Director Zhou wiped the sweat from his brow and said, "I know, I know. Aren't we also helping to find Shen Shengqin?"

Fourth Grandfather said, "Director Zhou, how can you say we're helping to find him? We don't care what you do, we're just asking you to take him away. You called him over for one night and he's gone missing. We don't even know if he's alive or dead. Maybe these people are trying to frame us. Oh, and now you're looking for him at his house? Director Zhou, could it be that these people killed Shengqin and came to our village to put on a show?"

Grandma cried and said, "Director Zhou, you know best what kind of person Shengqin is, having worked at your factory for so long. Our family is small and old, and Shengqin is the only strong laborer. You've lost him, so you must find him for us."

Tian Lingling grabbed Director Zhou's sleeve, crying, and said, "Director Zhou, yesterday afternoon you sent someone to our house to take her away. My wife, Shengqin, said I was pregnant and wanted to send me home first, but you wouldn't agree. I was so scared, afraid something might happen. The person you sent said they were just looking for someone to ask about something, but they managed to lose her while asking about something. You didn't dare go in to look for her, so you brought all these people to our house to make us call her out. Oh, to prevent us adults from lying, you even gave candy to a child who is not even two years old. Director Zhou, if this gets back to the factory, won't you be ashamed?"

A large number of villagers had already gathered at the entrance of the Shen family's courtyard. Tian's wife pushed through the crowd and walked in. As soon as she entered, she said to Director Zhou, "Director Zhou, we know each other. Xiping County isn't big, and everyone knows what kind of family we live in. I just want to ask you if you think we're easy to bully?"

The Tian family is very famous in the entire Xiping County. The reason for their fame is that the third grandfather of the Tian family sent a group of his nephews and nieces to the battlefield. After liberation, apart from those who sacrificed their lives and those who returned to their hometowns due to injuries, there were many others who stayed in the army. The contributions made by the third grandfather of the Tian family and the people of Shenjia Village to the liberation were very famous.

Director Zhou blushed and said, "Oh dear, Sister-in-law Tian, ​​how could that be? I was just worried about Shengqin. I only found out he was missing when I got up this morning. We figured he had nowhere else to go, so we came to our village to check on him."

Tian's wife said, "My daughter and Shengqin are newlyweds. Director Zhou, what have we been hoping for day and night? Isn't it just that our children can live a good life? Now that our daughter is finally pregnant, her husband can't be found in your hands. You have to give us an explanation. Fellow villagers, do you think I'm right?"

The villagers nearby said, "That's right, you're the ones who went looking for them, so you have to bring them back."