Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1409 Qiangqiang's First Visit Home: Li Long's Rescue Business

He habitually opened his eyes suddenly, then sat up abruptly, looking outside to find it was still dark. He didn't hear the second whistle, nor the bugle call from outside. Only then did Li Qiang realize that he was already on leave and had gone home.

Listening carefully, Li Qiang realized there was no sound from the other rooms. He knew he had woken up too early, probably due to his biological clock. In his mind, his biological clock was still adjusted to the time in Yanjing, but in reality, it was still early in northern Xinjiang, and his mother probably hadn't gotten up to cook yet.

Thinking of this, he stretched contentedly, then lay back down and closed his eyes. A little while later, he drifted off to sleep again. When he opened his eyes again, there was noise outside; he could hear his parents talking in the kitchen. His mother wanted him to sleep a little longer.

After a nap, Li Qiang felt incredibly refreshed. After getting dressed, he habitually turned around and started making the quilt. However, the quilt at home was made with last year's new cotton, so fluffy and soft that it couldn't be shaped at all.

After tidying for a long time, Li Qiang looked at the bulky tofu block with frustration and gave up on continuing to tidy it up. Let it be.

As Li Qiang opened the door and went outside, Liang Yuemei was steaming steamed buns. Hearing the noise and seeing Li Qiang come out, she smiled and said, "You're awake? How was it? Did you sleep well at home?"

Li Qiang laughed and said, "It feels so good. I've never slept in like this at school. Even if I can get up half an hour later on weekends, I still don't feel like I've had enough sleep."

Liang Yuemei said, "Then you should rest well during this holiday. Okay, go wash your face and get ready to eat."

After breakfast, Li Qiang took Mingming and Haohao to play in the yard.

After a while, the courtyard filled with more people. Some children from the village were about the same age as Mingming and Haohao, as well as some of Li Qiang's former "subordinates." Some wanted to hear Li Qiang's stories from military school, while others just wanted Li Qiang to organize them to play war games. They made a lot of noise and created quite a lively atmosphere.

Li Qiang was very patient. He organized the children to go through the things the class monitor had led them to do, but the requirements weren't too strict. Even so, some children couldn't stand it, though most were just curious.

When someone came to Li Jianguo's or Li Long's house looking for someone, they saw Li Qiang playing with the children and said with a smile, "His king of the kids is back. These children have a pillar of support again."

Li Qiang smiled sheepishly.

Although the drip irrigation tape factory had stopped production to prepare for the Chinese New Year, Li Long was still quite busy these past few days. People would come over from time to time to chat about drip irrigation farming or to order drip irrigation tape from him.

Since there were only a few days left until the Chinese New Year, Li Long simply stayed in his own yard in the fourth team. Xie Yundong and a few others would come over from time to time, and they would play cards, or prepare some cold dishes and drink beer, making it quite lively.

Back home, only three days later, Li Qiang's mindset had noticeably changed. During those three days, people came to see him frequently, asking about the military academy. There were adults and children, and he kept repeating the same story. At first, they were quite enthusiastic, but later he became a little annoyed.

The Lunar New Year is just around the corner, and for the first two days, the children will play with him. After that, once they have new toys or firecrackers, they will gather in groups of three or five and wander around the village with other children of similar age, taking firecrackers outside to set them off.

Li Qiang himself felt that he no longer had anything in common with these children, and he couldn't even connect with his peers in the village. At most, they would talk about life at military academy and ask about their recent situation, and then there was nothing more to talk about.

Li Qiang had thought it through clearly. The transition from the incredibly fulfilling life at school to the relatively leisurely life at home was something he couldn't adjust to all at once. Fortunately, the school had assigned homework, and he planned to finish it in advance whenever he had free time so that he could travel around after the New Year, see his old classmates, and wish his teachers a Happy New Year.

Moreover, after only a few days of staying at home, he felt his legs were itchy, the kind of feeling that made him want to move around. But in the middle of winter, he didn't want to go out for a run, he felt a little ashamed—going out alone in the snow at this time of year would make him look like an idiot.

So whenever he has free time, he'll move around in his own yard, practice some military boxing, do some warm-up exercises, and maybe move around a piece of wood or something.

The horizontal bar, which he hated so much at school, is now something he misses dearly. He wishes there was a horizontal bar in the yard so he could play on it.

This idea persisted until Lunar New Year's Eve. Li Jianguo noticed that his son Li Qiang hadn't been behaving well these past few days. He had originally planned to let him rest properly during the holiday, but now it seemed that this arrangement was inappropriate, so he decided to keep him busy.

On New Year's Eve, Li Qiang was busy putting up Spring Festival couplets, cleaning the yard, setting off firecrackers, and making dumplings. But Li Qiang was actually happy; it seemed that only being busy could make life fulfilling and prevent it from feeling so boring.

The sound of firecrackers rose and fell, smoke filled the air, and the aroma of food and meat was very tempting.

Li Long, however, didn't get to enjoy the excitement. After receiving a phone call at his elder brother's house, he hurriedly drove to the county. The call was from Sun Jiaqiang at the purchasing station, saying someone was asking him for help.

Inside the purchasing station, a couple in their sixties stood somewhat awkwardly at the entrance. Their expressions brightened when they saw Li Long as he drove in.

As soon as Li Long got out of the car, the couple suddenly knelt on the ground. Li Long was startled, and he quickly went over and helped them up, one in each arm, saying:

"Don't rush, don't rush, come on in, let's talk inside. What are you doing? Aren't you shortening my lifespan?"

The old woman cried out, "Mr. Li, please help us! Please save my son. He's been away in Kazakhstan doing business for a month now."

A few days ago, he called, saying there was some danger, and that if we didn't receive a call from him before the New Year, we should come to you immediately. Please, you must help us, you must save my son!

Li Long was a bit overwhelmed. Was this something he could handle? He didn't have that much power.

But seeing the couple's sorrowful expressions and their readiness to kneel, Li Long had no choice but to say:

"Come inside. Tell me the details, and we'll figure something out together."

There were staff on duty at the purchasing station. Several stoves were burning brightly. Li Long led two people into the reception room.

After the staff member on duty poured them water, he left. By then, the man had calmed down and began to tell Li Long what had happened.

It turns out that the couple's son, Dai Jianguo, was in his thirties and worked as a middleman. For the past two years, he had been reselling fritillaria bulbs and dried wild mushrooms from the mountains to Li Long's purchasing station, earning some money, but not much.

At the beginning of this year, seeing other middlemen making a lot of money doing import and export trade at the market, Dai Jianguo was also tempted. He took out his savings from the past two years, inquired with acquaintances, bought a batch of clothes, rented a car, and transported them to the port. Unexpectedly, he made some money on his first deal, and afterwards focused on export trade.

Because transportation to that area is inconvenient, and Dai Jianguo doesn't understand Kazakh or Russian, he basically only makes one trip a month, and he's generally quite careful.

But this autumn, Dai Jianguo told his family that he had met a big boss who planned to help him make a fortune.

Then, Dai Jianguo went to apply for a passport. In the past, he would bring his goods directly to the border and trade with people on the other side. Now he planned to ship his goods directly there, as he heard it would be more profitable to sell them there, eliminating the middleman's markup.

His family advised Dai Jianguo not to take the risk, since he was unfamiliar with the place and people there, and once he went abroad, he would have no one to protect him and no connections, making him easy to be deceived.

However, after doing import and export trade for half a year, Dai Jianguo became bolder. Ignoring his family's advice, he went his own way, loaded a batch of goods, and followed his big boss to Kazakhstan.

Of course, they were quite cautious. Their first shipment was traded in Panfinov, not far from the border, and overall it went smoothly.

After he returned, Dai Jianguo said proudly, "I made the money of three trips in one go. You have to do business like this to get rich."

After making money this time, Dai Jianguo bought himself a new outfit and a car, looking every bit the big boss.

After winter set in, Dai Jianguo made two more trips to Kazakhstan and conducted two business transactions, both of which went relatively smoothly.

Before the Lunar New Year, he planned to make a big profit and then enjoy the holiday in peace. This time, he and his partner each prepared several truckloads of goods and drove directly to Almaty, hoping to make a fortune there.

However, after arriving there, he was able to contact his family by long-distance call for the first few days, but then there was no news. The last time he called was eight days ago. He sounded rushed and told his family to come and find Li Long immediately, saying that he was being watched and might be in trouble.

When the two old men mentioned it, Li Long vaguely remembered it. This Dai Jianguo was the same name as his older brother, only with a different surname. So when they were selling goods, his father, Li Qingxia, had specifically mentioned it to him.

However, by then Li Long no longer paid much attention to the purchasing station, so he only glanced at it and knew that such a person existed. As for his involvement in the import and export business, Li Long had not paid any attention to that.

After all, ever since Lao Fan was the first to try it, quite a few middlemen have started doing this business. Li Long was only somewhat familiar with Lao Fan; the others were just casual acquaintances.

Thinking of this, Li Long said with a wry smile, "Although I've been to Kazakhstan, I'm not familiar with that place. I didn't know that doing business there would be so dangerous."

This incident reminded him of his previous life, of the things that happened in Myanmar when he was about to use the toilet. The circumstances were different, but equally dangerous.

The elderly couple realized that Li Long was trying to refuse, so they immediately stood up and were about to kneel down again when Li Long quickly stepped forward and helped them up.

"I know someone there, but they don't do this kind of thing. I can only say I'll make a phone call and ask them to help me find out. I don't know if we can get him back."

I think you should consider all aspects, including reporting it to the police and seeking help from the authorities. You can't put all your hopes on me.

Li Long was also quite puzzled. Why did Dai Jianguo ask for his help when he called his parents? He himself had never done anything like that.

Upon hearing that Li Long was willing to help, the elderly couple immediately expressed their gratitude, saying that if the person could be saved, they would definitely bring a generous gift to thank Li Long.

Li Long could only manage a wry smile; clearly, the elderly couple hadn't listened to him. Moreover, they were obviously placing all their hopes on him. Li Long said again, "I'm willing to help, sure. I'll call my friends to keep an eye out, but I can't guarantee we'll find them."

Then Li Long went to the counter to make a call. At this point, he could only call Liu Shanmin. The purchasing station's phone was set up for international calls, so someone would definitely "listen in" on his calls, but Li Long didn't care; he wasn't doing anything shady.

The phone rang continuously after it was dialed, but no one answered. The elderly couple waited anxiously beside them.

After hanging up, Li Long told the elderly couple, "No one is answering now. Wait a moment and I'll call back. They might be busy."

The elderly couple expressed their gratitude once again.

Five minutes later, Li Long dialed Liu Shanmin's number again. This time, the call connected after five rings. Hearing Liu Shanmin say "Hello," Li Long said, "This is Li Long. Are you busy over there?"

Liu Shanmin said, "I'm not busy, what's wrong? Tell me what's up."

Li Long then recounted Dai Jianguo's story.

Liu Shanmin asked, "Are you on good terms with this person?"

Because Liu Shanmin had his elderly parents with him, Li Long vaguely said, "He was a customer of my former purchasing station. After all, we're compatriots."

Liu Shanmin said, "The situation here is quite complicated. Although Kazakhstan has been separated from the Soviet Union for more than two years, its economy is not good, so there is some chaos in society."

In the past year or two, many people from China have gone to Almaty to do business and have made a lot of money, so they are easily targeted.

This isn't an isolated incident, and it's not limited to our country; similar situations occur with people coming from Europe as well. I can try to find out more, but I can't guarantee I'll be able to.

Li Long said, "Then please take good care of it. Also, I have something else to tell you. How's the oil production at that oil field we're cooperating on?"

Liu Shanmin said with a smile, "Because it is a medium-sized oil field, it is not a key target of attention from the higher-ups and Europe and the United States. The oil production is relatively stable and it doesn't attract much attention. We just make this stable money."

Li Long said, "If the situation allows, we can send over a few hundred more tons of oil each month. I need to get raw materials for drip irrigation tape, and Dushanzi Petrochemical said we can exchange them for crude oil."

Liu Shanmin said, "A few hundred is nothing, don't worry, I'll start sending it to you next month."

After finalizing both matters, Li Long hung up the phone and said to the elderly couple, "You heard it too? This kind of thing happens frequently over there. I've told my friends there, and they'll help me find out."

As for when there will be news or whether it will be possible to get information, they can't guarantee anything. Of course, we're all compatriots, and they will do their best. I think you should try to think of more ways, like reporting it to the police or seeking help from the embassy.

Then Li Long gave the elderly couple his phone number, saying he would call them if anything came up. The couple thanked him again and then left the purchasing station.

Li Long watched the elderly couple leave the recycling station, feeling a pang of pity as they walked away, their steps faltering. However, the conversation the couple had after leaving the station left Li Long feeling both amused and exasperated.

The old woman whispered to her husband, "Look at this Mr. Li. He called around to find out about our son, and ended up talking about oil. Isn't our son's life much more important than oil? How come he has the time to ask about this?"

The man said in a low voice, "Alright, alright, stop complaining. At least they called to ask about it. If they hadn't taken any action, what could you have done?"

That's our son, not his. He certainly wouldn't be that nervous. Alright, let's hurry home and wait for news.

For a fleeting moment, Li Long even considered turning back to call Liu Shanming again and abandon the matter. But then he thought better of it; after all, it was a human life at stake.

Moreover, in his memory, Dai Jianguo was quite proactive in selling medicinal herbs and dried mushrooms to the purchasing station in the first two years, and he was also a very cheerful person. Even during the off-season, he would basically be chatting and gossiping with everyone in the courtyard of the purchasing station, so he was a decent businessman overall.

He'd already helped, and if a phone call could save someone's life, that would be a good thing. As for the elderly couple's situation, he couldn't change what they thought.

Sun Jiaqiang witnessed the entire process. After everyone left, Sun Jiaqiang sighed and said, "So many people go to the port to do import and export business. I thought it would be very profitable, but I didn't expect there would be risks."

Li Long laughed and said, "If he hadn't been so greedy back then and had been able to restrain himself, he would have only done business at the border and naturally wouldn't have faced any risks."

But if he decides to risk going to another country, things will get harder to control. After all, they're poorer than us, and they have different laws. If he gets kidnapped or robbed, there's really not much we can do.

Alright, that's all we can do to help. It's Lunar New Year's Eve, have a good time. Have you prepared all your New Year's goods?

Sun Jiaqiang nodded and said, "Everything is ready. We had dumplings for lunch, and the firecrackers have all been set off. By the way, boss, have you eaten dumplings yet? If not, I'll have my wife make you some now."

Li Long took a walk around the purchasing station and found nothing amiss. The front and back yards were well-maintained, the cars in the shed were all cleaned, all the warehouses were locked, and the stoves in the rooms were all properly set up.

He then took out a few ten-yuan bills from his pocket, gave one to each of the staff on duty, and said with a smile, "I won't be coming tomorrow, so consider this a duty bonus for you all. I wish you all a happy new year in advance."

The staff on duty laughed and accepted the gift, wishing each other good fortune.

Li Long figured that since he was already there, he couldn't just stay and wander around. So he drove back to the cannery to check on things and gave each of the workers on duty a ten-yuan note. The jerky processing workshop was closed and locked up; no one was there. So after leaving the cannery, Li Long drove back to the fourth team.

After returning home, Li Long's elder brother, Li Jianguo, asked him, "What happened?"

Li Long then explained the situation.

Li Jianguo sighed and said, "It's not easy being away from home. This is a foreign country, and if someone kidnaps you, you're really all alone. Let's help if we can. This is nothing back home, but once we're abroad, these are all our own compatriots."

Li Long nodded and said, "We can only ask around. My friend has a little influence over there. If we can find out that the person is still alive, we should be able to save them. If we can't find out, then there's nothing we can do."

He didn't mention the complaints the elderly couple made after he left the phone call, not wanting to spoil everyone's mood.

However, because of this incident, the whole family wasn't particularly happy while watching the variety show that evening.

The next morning, before dawn, the Li family started setting off firecrackers and cooking dumplings. Li Long and his family didn't cook; they all went to their eldest brother's house in the backyard to eat dumplings.

After setting off firecrackers and eating dumplings, the children went to visit relatives and friends for the New Year. This year, Liang Yuemei wrapped two coins in a bag; one was for her father, Li Qingxia, and the other for Li Juan. Everyone laughed and said that this year would definitely be very smooth for the two of them, and that Li Juan would surely find a good job after graduating.

Those who didn't get to eat didn't feel any regret; it was just a formality anyway. Then Li Qiang took Mingming and Haohao to pay New Year's visits. Li Jianguo made him put on his military uniform and emphasized several families, such as Gu Boyuan's family (Li Long's father-in-law), the Wang family, and the families at Lao Ma's place, saying they should all be visited.

At Lao Gu's house, Li Qiang sat on a stool with his back ramrod straight.

After he finished exchanging New Year's greetings with Mingming and Haohao, Old Gu said, "You got into military academy, and after graduating in four years you'll be an officer. That's like fulfilling your dad's dream of not being able to be a soldier."

When you're assigned to the army, you must work hard and try to become a regimental commander or battalion commander or something. It would be a great honor for your family if you came back. Looking at how you've changed this semester, it's quite impressive; you're starting to look like a professional soldier.

However, interpersonal relationships still apply in the military. Since you've gone from school to military academy and finally to the military without any experience in civilian life, you might be at a disadvantage in this regard. You need to practice and learn more.

In some ways, you can learn from your uncle. I'm not just praising my son-in-law, but your uncle does a pretty good job in this area. Talk to him about it sometime.

He was about to continue speaking when Teacher Song, who was chatting with some neighboring women, came over and said, "Alright, alright, it's the New Year, don't act like an elder anymore. Qiangqiang's family will definitely tell you all this. Here, Qiangqiang, this is your New Year's money." As she spoke, she stuffed a fifty-yuan note into Li Qiang's hand.

Li Qiang blushed and said, "No, no, I'm all grown up now, I don't want New Year's money anymore."

Teacher Song smiled and said, "They're not outsiders, we're their elders. We accepted them, and Mingming and Haohao already took them. Getting into military academy is already a great honor for your family, you're very impressive."

"Work hard, and when you graduate and are assigned to the army as an officer, send us a picture. We'll take a look, and maybe I can even introduce you to someone."

Gu Boyuan said helplessly, "Alright, alright, it's still early. Stop thinking about introducing other people to potential partners. Although there are many girls in your teachers' college, they are scattered all over the country. Who knows where Qiangqiang will be assigned in the end?"

Teacher Song disagreed with his statement, saying, "Then he can go with his wife to the military. Wherever he is assigned, his wife can go with him. Even if he becomes an officer, he can't not get married, right? The women I introduced are at least people I know well."

Li Qiang stood there, blushing, unsure of what to say.

Having finally escaped the Gu family's house, Li Qiang felt a sense of relief, as if he had fled a nightmare. He could feel the sweat on his back. After this ordeal, visiting the other families for New Year's greetings was much easier. He returned just in time for his own family to have lunch.

However, at lunchtime, his uncle's family wasn't home. Li Qiang asked, "Dad, did Uncle go to the county again?" Li Jianguo pointed south and said, "The cooperative's group is drinking at your uncle's house. They do this every year."

Anyway, the cooperative has made a lot of money in the past few years, and everyone thinks it's a money-making opportunity brought by your uncle's technical skills, so they all bring gifts to your uncle's house for a get-together.

Li Qiang recalled what he had heard at Uncle Gu's house, and now, thinking about it, it really made sense. His uncle was indeed quite adept at handling interpersonal relationships.

He made a fortune and helped everyone else get rich too, and everyone was quite grateful to him. Moreover, my uncle has a wide network of connections; just look at the incident yesterday where someone asked him for help rescuing someone from abroad—that's something most people couldn't do.

When Lao Gu said those words in the morning, Li Qiang was a little dismissive, but now he felt that he really needed to learn from his uncle in this regard.

While they were eating, the phone rang, and Li Qiang went to answer it.

The call was from Sun Jiaqiang.

Li Qiang habitually offered his New Year's greetings, which pleased Sun Jiaqiang. After asking Li Qiang a few questions about attending military academy, Sun Jiaqiang told him that the couple who had come to see Li Long yesterday had returned, wanting to inquire about any new developments, and asked Li Qiang to tell Li Long about it.

Li Qiang told Sun Jiaqiang to wait a moment, and that he would go to his uncle's house to ask and then get back to him.

After hanging up the phone, Li Qiang briefly explained the situation to his parents and then ran to the front yard.

Before even entering the room, I could hear a commotion inside. Some people were playing drinking games, while others were loudly trying to calm things down. As soon as I opened the door, I smelled alcohol.

Aunt Gu Xiaoxia was busy in the kitchen. When she saw Li Qiang come over, she asked him if he had eaten. If not, she told him to come in and sit down to eat with her.

Li Qiang said, "I ate." Then he briefly explained the situation to Gu Xiaoxia.

Gu Xiaoxia told him to go inside and talk to his uncle.

After Li Qiang went inside, Xu Haijun, who was sitting by the window, spotted him and hurriedly said, "Come on, Li Qiang, sit down and have a drink. You've been admitted to military academy, so you're an adult now, and you can even drink. That's impressive, much better than us. We spend two or three years in the army and still come out as regular soldiers, but you spend four years at military academy and come out as a regular soldier. Amazing, impressive."

Li Qiang hurriedly said he had something to do, and then told his uncle about Sun Jiaqiang's phone call. Li Long waved his hand and said, "Go tell them there's no news. How could it be so fast? Tell them to wait a little longer." At this moment, Xie Yundong, who was in charge of the bottles, had already poured Li Qiang a glass of wine, and the group squeezed together to make room for him.

Li Qiang said he needed to go over and call them back, but Xie Yundong waved his hand and said:

"No rush. Come, come, since you're here, have a drink. You're an adult now. Although you're not from our generation, you're about to become an officer, which is higher in status than any of us."

Come on, have a toast with us, let's soak up some of your prestige. When you become a regimental commander, a general, we can go out and brag about having drunk with you, that'll be a glorious moment for us.

Since things had come to this point, Li Qiang couldn't refuse any longer. He said modestly, "I'm still just a student, so you're all my elders..."

Tao Daqiang interjected, "I don't count. You still have to call me 'brother'."

Everyone else burst into laughter. Liang Dacheng patted Tao Daqiang on the shoulder and said, "Then you can call me Uncle."

Tao Daqiang glared at him and said, "Go to hell."

Li Long said with a smile, "Let's each keep our own accounts."

Everyone laughed again. Liang Dacheng wasn't angry; he knew Tao Daqiang's personality and that Tao Daqiang's relationship with the Li family was unusual.

Xie Yundong said, "Don't say anything, listen to Qiangqiang."

Li Qiang, holding his wine glass, continued, "This morning, my Uncle Gu said that I went from school to military academy, and finally to the army. I have some knowledge, but I lack a lot in terms of interpersonal skills. You are all role models for me in this regard."

Come, let me toast you all. I wish you all great wealth every year, and I also hope to have more opportunities to communicate and learn from you all each time I come back, especially regarding how to conduct myself in society.

After Li Qiang finished speaking, Xie Yundong, holding his cup, said, "That's what college students are like! They speak so well; their first sentence touched our hearts."

"May we make a fortune! Alright, alright, we'll take your good wishes and drink this cup. We also hope you do well in military school, graduate as an officer soon, and receive awards and honors every year."

Li Qiang downed a 50-gram glass of liquor in one gulp, almost choking. He was really not used to it; after forcing the liquor down, his face turned bright red, and his mouth felt spicy.

Li Long shoved the chopsticks into his hand and said, "Hurry up and eat a couple of bites of food to calm down. Okay, that's enough for this one glass. As you can see, Qiangqiang doesn't drink much alcohol, and this 50-gram glass of wine isn't meant to be drunk like this."

Li Qiang picked up his chopsticks, ate some cold mung bean sprouts, but the spiciness didn't go down. He then picked up some cold glass noodles, which finally helped him suppress the spiciness. He put down his chopsticks, stood up, and said, "Okay, you guys eat slowly. I have to go make a phone call."

The others laughed and urged him to hurry up and go. Xu Haijun also asked him to come over for a couple of drinks after he finished his call, saying they wanted to chat. He also wanted to ask about military academies. Xu Haijun said that taking the military academy entrance exam was his dream, but unfortunately he didn't have the opportunity.

After leaving the inner room, Gu Xiaoxia stood by the stove. Seeing Li Qiang come out, she hurriedly handed him the cup she was holding.

"Here, have a cup of honey water."

Gu Xiaoxia added, "Don't be so direct when drinking with them in the future. Such a big glass of wine, it's bound to make you feel uncomfortable."

Li Qiang smiled, took the cup of honey water. It was warm to the touch, and after drinking it all in one gulp, he handed the cup back to Gu Xiaoxia and said, "Auntie, I'm going to make a phone call in the back."

Gu Xiaoxia waved her hand and said, "Go quickly."

Li Qiang called Sun Jiaqiang back and said there was no news yet, and asked them to wait a little longer.

After hanging up the phone, Sun Jiaqiang spoke to the couple waiting at the door. The couple looked disappointed. Although they wanted to say something more, they knew that Sun Jiaqiang and his team couldn't make the decision, so they turned and left.

The next day, Li Long was going to pay a New Year's visit to Gu Boyuan. Before leaving, he went to his elder brother's house and told his father, Li Qingxia, that if there was a phone call asking about the missing persons, he should say there was no news.

If the call is from overseas, write it down. Because today, my eldest brother's family is going to visit Qiangqiang's maternal grandfather's family for the New Year, leaving only the elderly couple from the Li family.

When Li Juan and Li Qiang arrived at the Liang family home, they received a warm welcome, especially Li Qiang, who was wearing a military uniform. Liang Donglou and Chen Xiuzhu showed obvious favoritism towards Li Qiang.

As expected, Li Qingxia and Du Chunfang, who were staying at home, received another phone call during lunch. Hearing it was Sun Jiaqiang calling, Li Qingxia immediately told him there was no news that day.

Sun Jiaqiang greeted Li Qingxia, and after hanging up the phone, the couple turned and left dejectedly. The woman had already started crying when she left.

Sun Jiaqiang felt sorry for the couple. He knew Dai Jianguo, but there was nothing he could do, as cross-border matters were inherently difficult to handle.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Li Qiang and his classmates had arranged to visit their teachers at the middle school's staff quarters. He planned to ride his bicycle directly to the county. Li Long suggested he be bold and drive his own car instead.

Li Qiang hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Although the military academy has driving lessons, I haven't taken them yet."

Li Long laughed and said, "Driving a car is no more difficult than driving a small four-wheeled tractor. It's very easy. You can give it a try."

However, Li Qiang, who had already attended military academy for a semester, remained quite stubborn on matters of principle. In the end, it was his older sister, Li Juan, who drove the family car to take Li Qiang to the county.

During her university holidays, Li Juan would practice driving whenever she had free time. Although she hasn't gotten her driver's license yet, she can drive without any problems.

Li Qiang was torn between wearing his summer uniform, spring/autumn uniform, camouflage uniform, or winter training uniform. Their current winter training uniform was a solid green military uniform, while their winter service uniform was made of polyester khaki, unlike the officers' riding breeches. It didn't look as good as the camouflage uniform or the spring/autumn uniform. Finally, Li Qiang decided to wear the camouflage uniform with an overcoat over it, breaking the rules for once. He figured outsiders wouldn't understand this, and he probably wouldn't run into anyone knowledgeable about it.

Li Juan dropped Li Qiang off at the entrance of the county's No. 1 Middle School, and then went shopping by herself. Li Qiang told his sister not to wait for him, as they would be going to a classmate's house together after wishing their teacher a Happy New Year, and might even stay overnight.

Two classmates were already waiting at the entrance of the No. 1 Middle School. Upon seeing Li Qiang get off the bus, they excitedly came over to greet him. Li Juan, who had been watching the two girls chatting happily with Li Qiang from the bus, was a bit gossipy. After driving a little further away, she wanted to see if her brother had any special relationship with the two girls.

After watching for only a few minutes, she realized it was just ordinary small talk, with no intimate gestures. A little while later, a few more classmates arrived, and they all went into the school together. Li Juan was a little disappointed, and then drove to the county to do some shopping.

Li Long and his cooperative were planning a get-together at Xie Yundong's house today. After breakfast, he took his two sons to play in the yard for a while, set off some firecrackers, and got some exercise.

The main reason was that he felt it wouldn't be good to go to Xie Yundong's house too early, since he would just be playing cards anyway. But before he was even ready to go, his older brother Li Jianguo came over to call him, saying there was a phone call.

Li Long thought to himself that it was probably Dai Jianguo's parents calling to inquire about something. But when he answered the phone, it was Sun Jiaqiang calling, and the message wasn't the same. It turned out that Liu Shanmin had called the purchasing station, asking Sun Jiaqiang to tell Li Long that Dai Jianguo had been found; he had indeed been kidnapped, and the goods he had delivered had been stolen.

Those people tied him up not to demand ransom, but to get the money Dai Jianguo had in the bank. Dai Jianguo knew that once he gave the money to those people, he would probably be dead, so even though he was beaten black and blue, he gritted his teeth and refused to give in.

Those people were losing patience. They originally planned to interrogate him for two more days, and if they still couldn't get anything out of him, they would deal with Dai Jianguo. Unexpectedly, Liu Shanmin found out through his connections. With Liu Shanmin's influence, he easily rescued Dai Jianguo, taught those people a lesson, and then tied him up and threw him into prison.

Liu Shanmin said, "Dai Jianguo's passport and other documents were destroyed by those people, so he needs to get a new set in Almaty before he can return to China. It will take about half a month."

Li Long then told Sun Jiaqiang, "When you see Dai Jianguo's parents again, tell them this news."

After hanging up the phone, Li Long felt quite happy, at least he had actually saved someone.

Half an hour later, Dai Jianguo's parents arrived with some things. They brought two bottles of wine, two bags of pastries, and some canned goods.

Upon arriving at the purchasing station, Sun Jiaqiang had already shared the good news with them as soon as they placed their belongings on the counter. The elderly couple were overjoyed and asked twice more to confirm that their son was alright, before bursting into tears of happiness.

As they were leaving and walking back, the old woman suddenly asked her husband, "Do you think they already knew their son was alright? We came to ask before but didn't get any news because we didn't bring them anything?"

The old man wasn't sure if that was the case either. He thought for a moment and said, "But anyway, it's good that our son is alright. We should come over again tomorrow so our son can answer the phone and we can confirm it."

The old woman added, "Let's bring some more things tomorrow, so they won't make excuses again."

Li Long was unaware that they would have such thoughts; at this moment, he had already gone to Xie Yundong's house to prepare for a drink. (End of this chapter)