Chapter 417: Striking up a Conversation
Chapter 417: Chapter 417: Striking up a Conversation
It was now the end of 1979. Many people had already started their own small businesses, especially near the train station, where all sorts of food stalls were abundant.
"I’d like a bowl of jiangshui noodles," Su Qing said, deciding to try the local specialty.
"Hey, you got it! Just a moment, young lady," the vendor, a man in his forties, replied to Su Qing with a cheerful smile.
There were quite a few people buying noodles, but Su Qing wasn’t in a hurry. After all, her train had arrived in the afternoon, and the bus to Maqu County had probably already left for the day. She planned to stay the night in Lan City and take the bus to Maqu County tomorrow.
"Daughter! My daughter!"
Su Qing was waiting for her noodles when a woman in her thirties suddenly rushed over from the side, grabbed her hand, and started calling her "Daughter."
Su Qing raised an eyebrow at the scene. ’Has a human trafficker targeted me?’
But seeing the woman’s crazed demeanor and somewhat cloudy eyes, Su Qing wasn’t so sure. The woman said nothing else, just clung to Su Qing’s arm and kept shouting "Daughter."
Before Su Qing could say anything, the noodle vendor sighed and said to the woman, "Madam Lianhua, this isn’t your daughter. You’ve got the wrong person."
Su Qing didn’t rush to shake the woman off. Instead, she asked, "Sir, what’s going on?"
Su Qing could tell the woman seemed mentally unwell.
Before the noodle vendor could answer, a haggard-looking middle-aged man hurried over. He quickly supported the woman, saying, "A Fen, this isn’t our daughter. You have the wrong person."
Then, the man quickly apologized to Su Qing.
Hearing this, the woman looked confused. She studied Su Qing’s face carefully, and her expression suddenly fell. "You’re right, she’s not Lianhua. Lianhua isn’t this fair-skinned."
With that, the woman let go of Su Qing’s arm and began to cry. "My Lianhua... where has my Lianhua gone?"
"We’ll keep looking. We’ll definitely find Lianhua." The woman’s heart-wrenching sobs made the man’s eyes turn red as well, and he quickly tried to console her.
"Can we really find her?" the woman asked blankly.
"Yes, we definitely can," the man said, nodding hurriedly.
"Then let’s go. Let’s find Lianhua." The woman tugged the man’s arm, ready to leave.
The man looked at Su Qing apologetically. "Comrade, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry."
"It’s alright." Su Qing shook her head. She couldn’t bring herself to blame parents who had lost their daughter like this.
After the middle-aged couple left, the noodle vendor sighed. "Ai, what a poor soul."
"What’s her story?" several curious onlookers asked.
"Ai, that couple’s daughter disappeared two years ago. Most likely abducted by human traffickers. They reported it to the police, but she’s never been found. And now, the woman couldn’t take it and has gone a bit mad. She pounces on any young girl she sees and calls her ’Daughter.’ Ai, those traffickers are just despicable. What a sin." The noodle vendor sighed and shook his head as he ladled a bowl of jiangshui noodles and handed it to Su Qing. "Comrade, here are your noodles."
Su Qing took the noodles and thanked the vendor.
The people nearby began to murmur amongst themselves.
"Human traffickers are truly vile. They’re ruining lives. It’s just too evil."
"Are there any good human traffickers? Every last one of them is rotten to the core. A child from my hometown was abducted by traffickers a few years ago. His grandmother fell ill from the shock and passed away. They still haven’t found him."
"Ai, it’s just a tragedy."
...
For a while, discussions about human traffickers rose and fell, with everyone filled with righteous indignation as they condemned them.
Su Qing gazed in the direction the couple had gone and sighed softly. In this era, there was no surveillance, and information didn’t travel fast, especially in a region like the Northwest. Under these circumstances, it was incredibly difficult to find an abducted person. Moreover, most victims were taken to remote mountainous areas, making the search even harder.
After finishing her noodles, Su Qing found a guesthouse. She still had some blank letters of introduction that Zhao Youcai had given her back in Lihua Village, which would now come in handy.
She got clear directions to the bus station for Maqu County from the guesthouse’s front desk clerk, chatted for a bit, and then stayed the night. The next morning, she hurried to the bus station.
The bus to Maqu County ran only once a day, departing at 8:30 AM. Su Qing got to the station at 8:00, well before departure. She bought her ticket, found a seat, and began to study a map. She had drawn the crude map herself yesterday after speaking with the young woman at the guesthouse desk. Luckily, the young woman was from Maqu County and knew the area well, giving Su Qing a decent sense of its layout.
This was especially true for Xiqing Mountain, as the young woman’s hometown was, by coincidence, a village at its base.
"Young lady, are you also going to Maqu County? Visiting relatives?" As Su Qing was studying her map, a woman next to her suddenly struck up a conversation with a smile.
Su Qing just hummed in acknowledgment and didn’t reply.
Seeing Su Qing’s cold reaction, the middle-aged woman wasn’t discouraged. She just smiled and said, "Oh, what a coincidence! I’m going to Maqu County too. You don’t look like you’re from around our Northwest, with your delicate, fair skin. Not like us, getting baked by the sun all day until our faces are as dark as charcoal."
Su Qing gave the woman a bland look, said nothing, and went back to studying her map.
Seeing that Su Qing was still ignoring her, the woman’s face showed a flicker of displeasure. Just then, another young girl sat down nearby. The woman pursed her lips slightly in Su Qing’s direction before turning with a grin to chat with the newcomer.
The new girl was probably the shy type; when spoken to, she felt too embarrassed to ignore the woman and murmured a few words in reply.
Su Qing kept her eyes on her map, but even though the two were speaking quietly, she could still hear them clearly. When the middle-aged woman asked for the girl’s name, the girl actually gave it to her outright, which made Su Qing frown slightly.
Just then, the conductor announced that passengers for Maqu County could have their tickets checked and board the bus. Su Qing got up, boarded, and found an open window seat.
A moment later, the middle-aged woman and the young girl also boarded. The woman sat right next to the girl, just in front and to the left of Su Qing.
The two chatted idly, and in just that short time, Su Qing overheard the middle-aged woman manage to find out nearly everything about the young girl.
Seeing this, Su Qing frowned again, a seed of suspicion taking root in her mind.