The tasks differed, and so did the objectives.
Luo Fei was there to find the two missing children and the female university student, while Han Tiesheng was observing and tracking. If they discovered any traces of the third Yan family mber, they were to take imdiate action.
This ti, Luo Fei and his team had discussed their plans in advance.
Their cover was set as mining surveyors entering the mountains, and they even prepared two sets of credentials.
Even though the forgery was not very sophisticated, as long as there was no close inspection, it should suffice to pass unnoticed.
After entering the village, Luo Fei did not imdiately delve deep into the village to start searching, because haste makes waste. He could see the unnatural gazes of the people sitting at the village corners.
He planned to find a place to stay first.
Only by first integrating himself could he make them feel he was not a threat.
Otherwise, wandering around aimlessly would only raise suspicions!
According to that bearded man, among those involved in the human trafficking operation, besides a butcher, there was the village chief.
Their status was clearly not simple.
The village chief! That was soone who could mobilize the entire village’s resources.
Especially in such a closed and backward place, the village chief’s authority was so great that he could move the entire village. To avoid harming the innocent and reduce the impact of their operation, Luo Fei knocked on the door of the second household after entering the village.
Judging by the red banners and the polished brass ring on the door, this seed like a household of decent ans.
"Hello..."
"I’m a geological monitor surveying in the mountains; here’s my business card. I’m here to stay at your place for a night because the roads to Houliang Village aren’t easy to navigate, so I wanted to take this opportunity to rest my feet."
The person who opened the door was a middle-aged woman with her hair tied up. Her face had oil stains, indicating she was a woman who diligently maintained her ho.
Her apron was sowhat worn, but the sleeves were relatively clean.
Seeing Luo Fei hand over his business card, she hesitantly accepted it, but still with hostility.
Probably because she couldn’t recognize the characters on the card, she shouted back, seemingly calling for her husband with her accent.
Luo Fei took the chance to glance through the door fra.
This courtyard was a standard old-style structure, the middle being the main house, flanked by two other houses and a charcoal room. Next to the charcoal room were a sheep pen and a chicken coop, with a date tree planted in the enclosed ground, giving a very primitive and stable vibe.
It’s hard to imagine human trafficking could occur in such a village.
Soon, the man of the house ca out, tall and with the appearance of a farr, wearing a yellowing shirt.
He briefly looked at the card and also nodded, yet still declined Luo Fei.
"No, you can’t co in."
"Uh? What?"
Luo Fei was a bit surprised, having confird his identity with a nod, why wasn’t he allowed in? Was he worried Luo Fei might be a bad person?
"Sir, don’t worry, I won’t stay for free. Here’s my lodging fee, reimbursed by my work, since it’s an official trip. Please accommodate , I really don’t want to walk further in."
The man initially wanted to refuse, but suddenly saw the three red bills in Luo Fei’s hand and hesitated.
This might work!
Luo Fei then took out a hundred-yuan bill, waving four bills in front of them.
The ssage was clear: let in and you can easily earn this money for one night’s accommodation.
The woman beside, upon seeing this, had her eyes light up.
She initially thought he might be a poor beggar or a holess drifter, not expecting he had such ans.
"Alright, alright, please co in. Hey, why are you standing there like a ghost? Let the young man in first."
The woman began to gripe at her husband, who, seemingly hen-pecked, had no choice but to move aside for Luo Fei.
Quickly, Luo Fei was led to a side room, distanced from the charcoal room, with a spacious courtyard in between the main house and the side room, about a dozen steps apart.
The courtyard was sizeable, with those chickens that were raised wandering around outside leisurely.
The woman invited Luo Fei to rest inside the house first, then went outside to herd the chickens into the pen, and started preparing dinner.
"Young man, your last na is Luo, right?"
"That’s right."
"Kid, in the past couple of days, things have been noisy in the village at night. Don’t ddle if you hear anything."
Noisy? Luo Fei was drawn to these words.
"What’s causing the noise exactly? Ma’am, the village looks quite peaceful."
Luo Fei had a way with words. With just a few sentences, he managed to get friendly, and the woman, hearing his words, started to open up.
She stood at the doorway, chattering for a bit.
However, she mostly talked about unrelated matters, not getting to the point, clearly still quite cautious.
"Well, in Houliang Village, the people are generally good. There’s not much going on; it’s just that lately, the village chief’s family next door has been dealing with so personal matters, and Old He’s family is sowhat busy."
"It’s the end of the year, nothing major."
"You rest first, there are quilts and mats on the bed. We’re about to start cooking, and we’ll bring over a al once it’s ready."
Perhaps sensing a bit of dissatisfaction from her husband, the woman said no more and left after a brief explanation.
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