Chapter 37

  "Hey, they're coming out," said Ma Yunjie, pushing the door open. "Old Zhou, are you heading out?"

  "Yeah, we're getting ready to leave. It might snow today, so we're leaving early to come back early," Old Zhou said, gncing at the sky, which looked a bit overcast, then turned to his wife, "The weather looks like it might snow; should we change the day?"

  "Change what? Changing the day would mean finding someone to inform them. Besides, it's already been scheduled. Let's hurry and go early to come back early."Old Zhou frowned upon hearing this and went to borrow a horse-drawn cart. Since it had been arranged earlier, he soon returned with the cart.

  "Old Zhou, my niece needs to go back to Ma Family Vilge. Can you give her a ride along the way?" Ma Yunjie asked.

  "Sure, we can go together. It's on the way," Old Zhou replied with a smile.

  Old Zhou's wife took a broom and swept the dirt off the cart, then went home to fetch a worn-out mattress to y on it. "Yingchun, let's go."

  "Coming, Mom," a crisp voice replied. Soon, a tall girl emerged from the house, wearing a rabbit-fur hat and a pink scarf, revealing a pair of big eyes. She was a pretty girl.

  "Daniu, right? I'm Zhou Yingchun. I've heard about you from Shufen," Zhou Yingchun said cheerfully, her words clear and lively.

  "Yeah, I've heard about you too," Daniu replied. Indeed, she had heard of her and even seen her before, though they had never spoken. This girl was skilled in needlework, and Shufen, who is also quite talented, often worked with her. Shufen had even mentioned how nice it would be if such a girl became her sister-in-w. Unfortunately, Ma Tianlin was still clueless about romance. Despite meeting her several times, he showed no interest.

  "Come sit here," Zhou Yingchun said, patting the spot beside her. Daniu sat down, while Old Zhou's wife climbed onto the cart and sat on the shaft. Old Zhou took the reins, and they set off.

  "Fourth Grandpa, I'll come pick you up on the 15th," Daniu said to the old man standing at the door.

  "No need to pick me up. I'll just follow the cart," Fourth Grandpa replied.

  Daniu waved goodbye.

  The cart slowly made its way out of the commune. Every year, the melting snow from the mountains formed a small river here, and a bridge had been built for convenience. However, there was no water under the bridge at this time. After crossing the bridge and turning a corner, Ma Family Vilge came into view.

  Just as they were about to cross the bridge, two people suddenly appeared from the side. The first was a short, dark-skinned man wearing a sheepskin coat and a rge fur hat. The person behind him was blocked from view, but Daniu's heart skipped a beat. Although she couldn't see the face of the person behind, he was wearing a cotton coat, and a familiar sweater colr was visible underneath. And the person's height and shape, the Daniu's mind suddenly fshed the image of a person, and the two people's shapes matched perfectly.

  She didn't look over again and turned her head away.

  "Old Zhou, where are you headed?" The man in front asked warmly.

  "It's Da Shuanzi! We're going to Shuangmiao vilge," Old Zhou replied without suspicion.

  "That's great. Can you give us a ride? We're heading to Nanling vilge," Da Shuanzi said.

  "Sure, hop on. Nanling vilge is just ahead of our stop," Old Zhou said.

  Daniu and Yingchun moved aside, and Da Shuanzi sat next to Old Zhou, while the other person sat sideways on the other side of the shaft, facing outward.

  Old Zhou gnced at him. "Is this your retive?"

  Da Shuanzi smiled. "He's my nephew."

  Old Zhou noticed the young man seemed uninterested in talking and didn't press further.

  Daniu's mind raced. Something was wrong. This was clearly the wanted criminal, but why did he leave the commune? Did the news leak out?

  She needed to report this.

  As she pondered, the cart reached the intersection. "Uncle Zhou, you can stop here. I've arrived."

  "Alright, let me steady the cart first," Uncle Zhou said.

  Da Niu got off the cart, and Yingchun waved at her. "Come visit the commune sometime and look for me."

  Da Niu nodded. "Sure." As she spoke, her eyes flicked toward the man. It was definitely him.

  As the cart moved away, Daniu quickly ran home. "Dayong, quickly ride Da Huang to the police station and find Ninth Uncle. Tell him I've spotted the wanted criminal." Worried that Dayong might not expin clearly, she quickly found paper and pen and wrote down the information. "Go now!"

  Dayong put on his hat and cotton-padded jacket and rushed out.

  Daniu took her rifle out of the cabinet and draped a white cloak over herself.

  "What's going on?" Grandpa asked, seeing her frantic state.

  "Grandpa, no time to expin. I'll tell you when I get back," Daniu said before running out.

  She took a shortcut. The cart wasn't moving fast, and by the time Daniu reached the other end of the vilge road, the Zhou family's cart had just left.

  Daniu didn't dare take the main road and instead cut through the fields. The path was fnked by rice paddies, and the low-lying terrain made it easy to follow the cart from a distance.

  For now, everything seemed fine. Were these two just hitching a ride, or did they have ulterior motives?

  Fortunately, the cart made it safely to Shuangmiao vilge. From afar, Daniu watched the two men get off the cart and breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried they might cause trouble along the way.

  Daniu sped up, pnning to circle around the vilge. She took the western path but suddenly dropped to the ground when she saw the two men leave the vilge, pass two haystacks, and suddenly come back.

  Her heart pounded as she y motionless in the snow. Thanks to her white cloak, the two men didn't notice her. She watched as they passed about twenty meters away, moving cautiously. The man named Liu Tiezhu held a handful of straw, sweeping away their footprints as they walked. In the dead of winter, most people stayed indoors. Even if they come out, they stay in the vilge, and no one wanders outside the vilge.

  The two men stopped at the third row of houses to the west. They looked around, and Liu Tiezhu swept away the footprints again. Then, he helped the other man climb over the wall. Then the other man pulled him up as well.

  Daniu waited a long time before crawling away.

  She hid behind a haystack, where she could keep an eye on the house. She realized she couldn't leave. The way these two moved showed they had some counter-surveilnce skills. They had taken such a roundabout route to hide here, and any disturbance might make them flee. Earlier, she had left a message saying they were heading to Nanling vilge, and she worried her uncle and the police might chase too far in that direction.

  She felt anxious, unsure of what to do. Suddenly, snow began to fall from the sky, and she wondered whether she should go and report the news directly.

  Wait, why are they coming back? Daniu suddenly spotted a horse-drawn cart leaving the vilge. It was the Zhou family's cart. Why were they returning so soon?

  An idea suddenly came to Daniu's mind. She carefully emerged from her hiding spot and quickly chased after them. As she walked, she noticed a pce where ashes were dumped. She found a piece of charcoal, tore off a piece of cloth from her cloak, and wrote a few words with the charcoal. Then she continued to follow the Zhou family.

  "Uncle Zhou," Daniu called out as she aproched the carriage.

  "Dad, it's Ma Shun," Yingchun on the carriage recognized her immediately, though she didn't know why Daniu was there.

  "Girl, why are you here?" Old Zhou was confused. How did this girl come from behind?

  "Uncle Zhou, I need to ask you for a favor. When you return with the carriage, if you encounter a police car, make sure to stop them and give them this. If you don't meet them, take this to the commune police station."

  Uncle Zhou was startled. "Girl, you are you talking about the public security comrade?"

  Daniu nodded, "Yes, you might run into them. If you do, give this to them."

  Uncle Zhou looked at the piece of white cloth and nodded, "Don't worry, girl, I'll make sure to do it." Although he didn't know what was going on, he felt that it wasn't a simple matter since the girl was asking him to deliver something to the police at this time.

  "Thank you, Uncle Zhou," Daniu said, waving to the three of them before turning and running off.

  This time, Daniu returned even more cautiously. She walked along the vilge ditch, then approached her previous hiding spot. She listened outside the wall, and though faint, she could hear voices. It was enough to know that the two were inside.

  Daniu carefully found a spot, still a pile of firewood. This time, she climbed directly onto it, lying on top while keeping an eye on the house and the road in the distance.

  About half an hour ter, Daniu saw a few people approaching from afar. They were dressed in pin clothes, and she even noticed one wearing Uncle Zhou's cotton jacket, which must have been a quick change. One of them had the build of her sixth uncle.

  Daniu carefully climbed down from the firewood pile and ran out, crouching as she moved through the fields.

  "Sixth Uncle, I'm here," Daniu called out, waving to the group without stepping onto the road.

  The group cautiously stepped off the road.

  "Daniu, did you really find Liu Tiezhu?" Ma Yunting asked.

  "Yes, by chance. He hitched the car I was in. When he got in the car, he said he was going to Nanling vilge, but when I followed them, I saw them hiding in a house in Shuangmiao vilge. I don't know whose house it is, but they were very careful, climbing over the wall to get in," Daniu expined as she led the group forward.

  "You're too bold, chasing after them alone," Ma Yunting scolded.

  "It was an emergency. Anyway, that's the house," Daniu pointed to where the two were hiding.

  "They sure know how to hide," Song Yunting remarked.

  The snow was falling heavier now.

  Ma Yunting brought six people with him. They didn't act immediately but carefully observed the situation. Two of them went to the vilge headquarters and returned with two more people—the vilge militia captain and vice captain.

  "This house belongs to Zheng Guozhi, but he went to Liancheng three months ago, saying he was going fishing there. His household registration has been moved there. It's too far away, and he barely comes back once a year. The vilge wanted to recim the nd, but the Zheng brothers refused, saying they would use it when their children got married. The vilge agreed, but since none of the children are married yet, the house has been empty," the militia captain expined.

  "Who lives next door?"

  "Next door is Old Hu's house. He lives alone, and there's no dog in the yard."

  Ma Yunting whispered to his team, and two of them jumped into the neighboring yard while the other two entered from the west wall.

  Once inside the yard, Ma Yunting kicked the door open and shouted, "Don't move, police!"

  The two inside tried to resist but were quickly subdued and tied up.

  Ma Yunting revealed the face of one of the men and took a closer look. "Liu Tiezhu."

  The man's eyes trembled, and he closed them.

  "Take them away."