Chapter 170: Two Children Go Missing

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A flicker of amusement passed through Lu Yunji’s eyes as he looked at the stiff figure’s back. “I guessed right.”

His words carried a double meaning: originally, he had guessed her name was Jingyue, and now he guessed she was Big Sister Jin.

Lin Jingyue rolled her eyes inwardly and muttered curses.

This guy who dealt in the black market truly had a hundred schemes. When she disguised herself as Big Sister Jin, she altered her voice, appearance, and even height—but she hadn’t paid attention to her manner of speaking.

Ordinary people wouldn’t notice that detail, unless they were truly perverse.

She turned around and looked at Lu Yunji. “Aren’t you the head of the black market in Su Province? What are you doing here?”

Since she had been guessed, there was no point in hiding anymore; at worst, she could feed him to the wolves.

The night was very dark, and for some reason, the instant she finished speaking, Lu Yunji suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

“What? Black market?!” Before he could answer, a sharp scolding rang out.

Old Lu slapped his eldest grandson on the back. “You brat, didn’t you say you were working at the steel mill? You’re out here shopping this time? Who told you to mess with the black market? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

Lu Yunji…

Suddenly regretted exposing Lin Jingyue face to face.

Old Lu was ruthless, slapping hard without hesitation. Lin Jingyue, hearing the noise, laughed with schadenfreude. Before Lu Yunji could speak, she quickly interjected, “Old Lu, it’s not just the black market, he’s secretly part of it—maybe behind the scenes…”

The unsaid words left room for the imagination.

Sure enough, Old Lu’s eyes burned with fury. “Alright, alright, you’ve grown up, your wings have hardened, you don’t listen to me anymore, and you don’t care about others’ feelings. Black market boss, why don’t you just go full gangster?”

Damn, that was harsh.

Lu Yunji and Lin Jingyue exchanged wary glances around.

“Well, Old Lu, take your time scolding him. There’s still a movie playing over there. I’m off.” Lin Jingyue slipped away like grease on her feet, vanishing in an instant.

Lu Yunji…

Suddenly felt like he had just lifted a rock only to drop it on his own foot.

Having distanced herself from the trouble, Lin Jingyue moved leisurely. Even if her cover was blown, she didn’t feel much.

In a few years, everything would open up again. Besides, Lu Yunji was still the black market boss—what was she afraid of?

So she was about to go stir up more excitement.

“Niu Niu, Sister Chun, have you seen my Niu Niu? Is she with Tiedan?” Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded.

It was Niu Niu’s grandmother.

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“I’m looking for Tiedan too,” Aunt Chun’s voice was also a little anxious.

The movie was halfway through when the projector broke down. The operator was fixing it but said a small part was needed from the county town. So today’s movie was canceled but would be shown again tomorrow.

Everyone was about to leave, but when the crowd dispersed, Niu Niu and Tiedan were nowhere to be found.

“Did anyone see them? Help look, they shouldn’t have gone far…”

“Look around, maybe they fell asleep in a haystack?”

The crowd was noisy, and everyone began helping to search for the children.

Actually, kidnappers were rare these days. Mostly, families couldn’t afford to raise extra children. No trade meant no harm. Yet such things could never be completely prevented. But precisely because kidnappings were rare, no one suspected kidnappers.

Mostly, rural children were free-range and would find their way home.

Soon, people who went home to check said the two children were not there.

Hearing all this, Lin Jingyue’s heart skipped a beat. She recalled the projectionist and others—could a kidnapper really be among them?

It was neither a festival nor harvest season; the sudden movie night by the collective was suspicious in itself.

“Captain, have the projectionist and others left?” Lin Jingyue approached.

“They have. Why... Lin Zhiqing, are you saying the children might have been taken by them?!” The captain suddenly broke out in cold sweat at the possibility.

The people running the movie arrived by tractor.

“What? What would they do taking children away?”

“How would Niu Niu and Tiedan follow them? Lin Zhiqing, you’re just guessing wildly, right?”

“Yeah, maybe the kids got tired and fell asleep in some haystack.”

Everyone talked at once, unwilling to believe anyone would just take two children away, especially since no family had surplus food to share.

But the captain and the party secretary exchanged a look, both feeling uneasy.

They immediately organized people to search the collective and also sent young men to chase after the tractor.

“Could there really be kidnappers?” Everyone searched for the children, and the educated youth party members didn’t rest either. Chen Chunlan and Lin Jingyue were in the same group.

Chen Chunlan frowned, “Only two children missing. It’s likely they’re still within the collective.”

Lin Jingyue nodded, “Yes, that’s possible.”

But in her heart, she leaned more toward the kidnapper theory. She also suspected another possibility—that the people sent by Old Lady Song might have mistakenly taken the two children.

Or perhaps they were planning something that the children overheard...

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Lin Jingyue shuddered. If that were true, given how ruthless those people were, the two children were in grave danger.

“What’s wrong?” Chen Chunlan suddenly noticed Lin Jingyue’s changed demeanor.

“Nothing.” Lin Jingyue shook her head and quickened her pace.

The people in the collective gradually moved from the fields to the hills.

Lin Jingyue parted from Chen Chunlan and took a small path, her mind made up to go directly to the cowshed.

Sure enough, she found Lu Yunji still there, not yet gone.

“Was it you who arranged the movie?” Lin Jingyue squinted, looking at the figure outside the cowshed.

Under the moonlight, the man’s features were indistinct.

He did not deny it. “You’re very clever.”

As expected, this man had traveled a long way, probably just to see Old Lu. Since Old Lu was in the cowshed, he must have thought of a foolproof plan. Putting on a movie to draw everyone’s attention was a perfect trick.

Lin Jingyue’s expression turned chilly. “Does the disappearance of the two children in the collective have anything to do with you?”

Although she doubted Lu Yunji would do such a thing, Lin Jingyue wouldn’t take any chances. She had to clarify every possibility.

Lu Yunji’s face darkened slightly. “No, the projectionist is absolutely trustworthy.”

He wasn’t heartless enough to target children.

His words did not ease Lin Jingyue’s mind; instead, it grew heavier. She prayed that the two children hadn’t uncovered a secret and were silenced because of it.

She gave Lu Yunji a long, penetrating look and turned to leave.

“Wait…”

Lin Jingyue halted and looked back silently, clearly expecting him to speak.

Lu Yunji said, “On my way here, I encountered two suspicious groups.”

“Two groups?”

“Mm, the first group was three men—one a rural man, the other two clearly city folk. Seems like they had their eyes on someone.”

He had also overheard some conversation suggesting the target was a woman.