Chapter 28: The Man Searching For The Orphan
On the Lihuang National Highway, a man with dark and dry skin was squatting on the temporary parking lane, eating his lunch for the day. He wolfed it down, his gaze scanning the shuttling traffic, his yellowed and cracked fingers carefully protecting the crumbs of steamed cake falling from his mouth, occasionally stopping his dry munching to put the caught crumbs back into his mouth, and licking his fingers to stick the specks on his clothes, sucking every bit into his mouth without wasting any.
Halfway through eating, he choked a bit, and the man hurriedly took the water kettle from the old motorcycle nearby, drinking it slowly gulp by gulp, not too fast, for fear of wasting the water.
At this moment, the man’s bad luck arrived; a black-and-white law enforcement vehicle passed by, and its loud law enforcement siren stopped beside him.
Two law enforcement officers, one elder and one young, got out of the vehicle and came to the man’s side.
The elder law enforcement officer walked up to the man, who looked timid and uneasy; he didn’t rush to speak, his gaze scanning the old motorcycle.
The motorcycle was clearly the type that couldn’t pass inspection for road use, covered almost entirely in yellow soil and dust, with a luggage bundle tied to the storage box, and several flags inserted on the front sides and the luggage, the flag surfaces clean and brand new… Seeing this, the experienced elder law enforcement officer immediately understood something, and his gaze toward the man gained a bit more complexity and sympathy.
Just as the young law enforcement officer was about to say something to the man, the elder law enforcement officer first raised his hand to signal, interrupting the other, then stepped forward solemnly and said to the man, “Mr., you can’t park and rest here without reason; if you want to eat, you have to go to the service station.”
The man nodded shyly and chuckled dryly, “Sorry, comrade, my motorcycle ran out of gas, and halfway while pushing it, I got low blood sugar, so I stopped to eat something.”
“What’s your name? Please show your identification card and motorcycle driving license.” The elder law enforcement officer’s expression remained unchanged, showing no emotion, like a stern and just statue; he extended his white-gloved hand.
The man nodded repeatedly and said okay, then turned back to rummage through his luggage, taking out his two documents from the outer zipper pocket and handing them to the other.
The elder law enforcement officer, having received the documents, had the young law enforcement officer verify them with the inspection machine in his hand, compared the man’s identity, and after confirming it was correct, returned the documents, his face then showing a thawing emotional expression: “Mr. Li Jiahong, where are you going?”
“I’m going to Laitai City.” Li Jiahong said honestly.
“What are you going there for?”
“To find someone, to find a master.” Li Jiahong said honestly as before.
Hearing this, both law enforcement officers fell silent, and the young law enforcement officer pointed to the missing person photographs on those flags, saying, “What are you finding the master for? To beg him to help you find them?”
Li Jiahong smiled plainly, his cracked lips revealing two rows of yellow teeth, nodding, “Yes, he said he has something that can help me find them.”
As he spoke, Li Jiahong suddenly realized something and hurriedly added, “Ah, you don’t need to worry about me being scammed; that master said he’s very famous locally, won’t scam people, scamming wouldn’t do anything good for his reputation.”
After hearing this, the two law enforcement officers’ expressions became even heavier.
Li Jiahong felt the atmosphere was off, scratching his ear and cheek, looking a bit anxious, but he hesitated to speak, not knowing how to explain.
“Your motorcycle can’t be ridden anymore, it’s too worn out; leave the motorcycle by the roadside, someone will tow it away later; take your luggage and get in the car.” However, in the end, the elder law enforcement officer made no judgment on the matter, just saying calmly.
Li Jiahong was stunned for a moment, then obediently did as told, taking the luggage off the motorcycle, and finally carefully holding the four missing person notice flags in his hands, saying, “Comrade, you… are you taking me to the police station?”
“No, we’ll give you a ride to the place where you get off the highway in Laitai City.” The elder law enforcement officer said calmly as he got into the car.
Hearing this, a ripple appeared in Li Jiahong’s gaze; he seriously bowed to the two law enforcement officers, then patted the dust off his clothes, hugged his luggage and flags, and carefully got into the car.
In the car, the two law enforcement officers chatted a few more words with Li Jiahong; he answered every question very sincerely and without reservation, and the previously somewhat tense atmosphere gradually became more harmonious.
At the agreed endpoint, Li Jiahong got out of the car and once again deeply bowed to the two law enforcement officers before shouldering his luggage, rolling up the flags, and continuing forward.
“Master, in cases like this, can they still be found?” While turning around and driving, the young law enforcement officer glanced at the hunched back in the rearview mirror and couldn’t help asking.
The elder law enforcement officer sighed silently and slowly uttered one word: “Difficult.”
“Is it worth it?” The young law enforcement officer was puzzled.
“For someone like him, from the moment he decided to embark on the journey to search for people, he no longer considers value; it’s entirely a matter of willingness.”
“…Damn, that master is a scammer, right? Such a clumsy trick! Even scamming poor people’s money!”
“Hard to say.” Hearing the young law enforcement officer’s naive sense of justice, the elder law enforcement officer shook his head, “Burning incense and worshiping Buddha are all for peace of mind, and they’re legal too; do you think Mr. Li hasn’t considered he might run into a scammer? He stopped caring about scams long ago; he’s just betting on that slim hope.”
After hearing this, the young law enforcement officer couldn’t help sighing.
……
At eight twenty-three in the evening, Li Jiahong finally arrived at Yonghu Town in Laitai City; seeing it was late, he could only find a cheap inn nearby to stay temporarily, planning to search for that master tomorrow.
He put down his luggage and went to a noodle shop nearby downstairs, ordering a bowl of plain broth vegetarian noodles, eating it contentedly, with chopped green onions, minced garlic, and chili as sides, plain water as soup, and a bowl of chewy hand-pulled noodles as his big fish and meat.
“We’re closing soon, bro; there’s some greens from a customer who canceled today, want them? Or they’ll be thrown out.” The noodle shop boss, with a big belly, carried a plate of oily hot stir-fried greens and meat out, asking.
Li Jiahong was stunned for a moment, then agreed without much thought: “Sure, sure, thank you, thank you…”
The noodle shop boss chuckled amiably, placed the greens in front of Li Jiahong, turned back to the kitchen to continue cleaning up; what he didn’t know was that after he turned away, Li Jiahong took out a notebook from his pocket and recorded the noodle shop’s address and name on it, and above that line were the numbers of two law enforcement officers, precisely the two who had helped him that morning.
This notebook was thick, nearly three-quarters of its pages used up, recording all the people and places Li Jiahong had encountered and been grateful for on his journey searching for family.
“Latest report: Rescue efforts for the magnitude 6 earthquake in Tianfu City continue…” After finishing the note, Li Jiahong continued eating his noodles with relish; when he heard the most turbulent recent news in the Shenzhou Region, he couldn’t help looking up at the television in the corner of the shop, and when he saw the “XX people missing” text on the news ticker, a trace of sorrow flashed in his eyes.
The noodle shop boss leaned at the serving window, looking at the news image, and sighed, “This year isn’t peaceful either; I really hope everyone is doing well, and then… my noodle shop can have good business.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Jiahong said seriously, “Boss, your noodles are delicious, the greens are delicious too; with such great skills, your business will definitely get better and better!”
The noodle shop boss was stunned, then burst out laughing, somewhat embarrassedly scratching his face, saying, “Not really, not really; I don’t need the business to be that great; like now, barely enough to support my family, that’s about it.”
Li Jiahong gave a thumbs up: “I’m serious, it’s really delicious; your noodle shop will definitely become popular.”
The noodle shop boss smiled and shook his head.
Unknowingly, the news on the television had switched to the next one.
The beautiful and poised female host smiled in front of the camera: “Good news: The famous genius musician, the most outstanding violinist of this century, Haimofen, who has been silent for a long time, has finally posted an update in an online community, stating that his silence these years has been to advance a new masterpiece, which will soon be released… Audiences look forward to him bringing another perfect musical feast.”
“Ah, Haimofen is finally returning.” Li Jiahong couldn’t help sighing upon seeing this news.
The noodle shop boss found it somewhat amusing but also curious after hearing it, “You listen to this classical music too?”
Li Jiahong showed a trace of reminiscence, smiling, “Back when my wife was pregnant, hearing about prenatal education, playing some melodious music to the child in the belly would benefit the child’s growth and development; the prenatal teacher recommended Haimofen’s music, which left a deep impression, and thanks to him, we had a very healthy child.”
Hearing Li Jiahong’s words, the noodle shop boss couldn’t help scrutinizing him again, carefully searching on that face weathered by wind and sun, even earthier than a field laborer, but finding no trace of past affluence, suddenly feeling more sympathy for this unknown guest.
This guest, showing such happiness and reminiscence at this moment, who knows what trouble he encountered after the happy times he mentioned, leading to his current destitute state.
Is he a gambler?
Did something happen to his family?
Or…
The noodle shop boss couldn’t help such thoughts, but he didn’t want to associate Li Jiahong with malice, because Li Jiahong had a pair of sincere eyes; he liked this guest’s sincerity.
It wasn’t until the next day that the noodle shop boss finally understood the reason for this guest’s current destitute appearance.
Li Jiahong came to the noodle shop like last night, ordering the same plain broth noodles, but this time he also brought his luggage, with several missing person notice flags inserted on it, two of which were about a child, and one child’s features resembled Li Jiahong’s.
Thinking of how happily Li Jiahong smiled yesterday when mentioning the child.
The noodle shop boss felt his heart sour like a dish sponge, no matter how much you squeeze, the bitter water is always there.
So it was because the child went missing…
Finishing the vegetarian noodles was like finishing breakfast and lunch; Li Jiahong set off again, going to find that master who posted in Tieba, even if it was a slim hope, he had to find that master.
Stepping onto the narrow stone steps of the road, entering the misty woods, Li Jiahong was lost in thought.
Speaking of it, at the beginning, he hadn’t thought of finding that master, nor did that suspiciously acting master approach him first.
It all had to start from fifteen years ago; he once had a happy and warm family, from a middle-class background with a decent identity, a respectable and ideal job, and he met a wife who was well-matched and of beautiful temperament; he and his wife respected each other, deeply in love… and soon there was news of a child.
Their whole family was very happy, looking forward to the child’s arrival.
The child was born smoothly, a robust boy who never got sick; he and his wife treasured their son like a jewel, caring for him carefully.
Who knew, on the child’s third birthday, disaster struck suddenly.
His wife suffered an accident, falling from a height and becoming vegetative, falling into a deep coma, and their three-year-old child disappeared after that.
Li Jiahong couldn’t understand why someone would harm his family like this, harm his wife, and take away their child.
After being depressed for a while, Li Jiahong made a major decision: he would find his child; he left all his savings to the elders on both sides and entrusted them to take good care of his comatose wife, while he would embark on the road to search for his missing child until he found him.
However, this search lasted fifteen years!
He couldn’t see hope, but he held onto hope; along the way, he not only searched for his own child but also helped others search for theirs; when he first saw someone else’s child found, his confidence in finding his own child increased a bit.
If other people’s children could be found, why not his?
And in this fifteenth year, Li Jiahong received good news: his wife had woken up.
He rushed back to the hospital to visit and also wanted to inquire about the truth of that year, which even law enforcement officers couldn’t find any clues for.
But upon seeing his wife again, when she saw his current appearance, she immediately broke down crying uncontrollably, hysterically, her cries carrying self-blame and despair that made him uneasy.
In private conversation with his wife, from her chaotic emotional outburst, he finally learned the process of what happened that year, a suffocating and maddeningly despairing truth.
When his wife said the child wasn’t taken by human traffickers but by an anomaly called Huo Gu, he felt his wife had gone mad, and become somewhat strange.
From his wife’s confession, he learned that his wife wasn’t as obedient as he thought, or rather, she hadn’t always been refined and sensible; she had been young and reckless too, and in university, she and classmates accidentally joined a mysterious society, where she and the members held a taboo ritual blaspheming the divine; unexpectedly, it was this ritual that brought the disaster fifteen years ago…
Listening to this incomprehensible fact of the truth, Li Jiahong was bewildered and despairing, feeling no light in sight.
So he had never found the child because the child wasn’t in this dimension at all…
The protagonist’s character archetype in this unit’s story is from Brother Hua’s movie Lost Alone.
