Chapter 189: The Incident
Chapter 189: The Incident
Jiang Xia arrived at the production team and was about to make a phone call when she noticed Zhou Li staring at her as she dialed. She paused and smiled, "Auntie Zhou, could you do me a favor and tell my dad to hold off on selling those red spruce fish and keep them for drying?"
Zhou Li was slightly taken aback but smiled, "Sure, I'll go tell him right away."
After saying this, she walked away with a smile.
"Thank you," Jiang Xia expressed her gratitude. Once Zhou Li had left, she quickly dialed the number.
The phone rang once before it was picked up, and Jiang Mu's anxious voice came through the receiver, "Jiang Xia, your dad didn't come home last night, and I just found out today that he's been taken away."
Jiang Xia's heart skipped a beat. "I'll be right back! Mom, don't worry, everything will be fine!"
Hanging up the phone, Jiang Xia hurried home to gather some documents that might be needed.
In front of the courtyard gate, in an open space not far away, Zhou Zhou, Zhou Jie, and Zhou Wen Zu were playing badminton and jumping rope with several village children.
The group of children greeted her enthusiastically.
There was no way around it; all the joy of the past week was thanks to Auntie!
Playing house, origami, and marbles had lost their appeal.
Jiang Xia smiled and acknowledged them, then quickly entered the house.
Seeing her return, Zhou Mu smiled and said, "You're back? Your mother-in-law called today. Give her a call back."
Jiang Xia replied, "I called her, Mom. I'm going to visit my parents' home tonight."
Zhou Mu was taken aback, "At this hour? Is something wrong?"
Jiang Xia didn't want to mention that her father had been taken away, so she said, "My mom isn't feeling well, and Dad is on a business trip. I'm going to check on her."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Mu immediately said, "Then you should go. There are no more vehicles going to the city at this hour. Ask your dad to take you to the city pier by boat. Bring your bicycle along, and you can ride it home from the pier, which will be more convenient. I'll get your household registration book, and you can take it with you. Remind your dad to get an introduction letter. If you can't make it back tonight, ask him to find a hotel to stay."
Although the city pier was a bit far from the city center, having a bicycle to ride back after disembarking would be much more convenient.
"Okay!" Jiang Xia agreed and gathered all the documents she might need, then pushed her bicycle out.
She saw that Zhou Zhou was still playing and said, "Zhou Zhou, Auntie has to go back to my maternal grandfather's house for a while!"
Zhou Zhou, who was playing badminton, turned and glanced at her, nodding, "Be careful on the road, Auntie."
Zhou Wen Zu and the other children chimed in, "Be careful on the road, Auntie!"
Zhou Jie added, "Be careful on the road, niece-in-law!"
"I'm off!" Jiang Xia's heart warmed a little at the children's playful voices. She waved and then pedaled away on her bicycle.
Jiang Xia arrived at the pier, where Zhou Fu and Zhou Chengxin had just finished unloading all the fish from the boat.
Tian Caihua was in line to weigh her catch, and her family had the most fish of anyone. She was all smiles.
Although the two families now shared the profits from fishing equally, they still made more money daily than when they took turns going out to sea!
Tian Caihua was delighted, and her face was filled with joy every day.
Seeing Jiang Xia pushing her bicycle, Zhou Fu hurried over, "What's the matter? Where are you going?"
"Dad, Mom isn't feeling well, and there's no one at home, so I'm going back," Jiang Xia explained.
Zhou Fu immediately said, "Wait for me. I'll get a travel permit from the production team, and I'll take you there by boat!"
It was uncertain when they would return that night, or even if they would return at all, so having a travel permit would be more convenient, especially since the production team was nearby.
Hearing this, Zhou Chengxin said, "Dad, I'll take Xia to the city. You go get the permit, and ask Mom for the household registration book."
As he spoke, he helped Jiang Xia carry the bicycle down to the beach and toward their boat.
"Mom gave me the registration book," Jiang Xia said.
Zhou Fu replied, "Then I'll go get the permit for your brother."
His son was younger and stronger, so he would be more capable of handling the task.
Zhou Fu quickly obtained the permit and also borrowed a bicycle from the production team for Zhou Chengxin to use in the city.
Zhou Chengxin asked Zhou Fu to inform Tea Caihua later, and then he set off by boat to take Jiang Xia to the city.
On the other end, just as Jiang Mu hung up Jiang Xia's call, the phone rang again.
She quickly picked it up, "Hello?"
Jiang Dong's voice came through the phone line, "Mom, I heard you've been calling me several times? Do you miss your son?"
Jiang Mu: "Your father has been taken away for investigation! Have you been up to anything recently?"
She needed to know the reason to find a solution.
Jiang Dong was startled, "No, I haven't! I've been working on machines and haven't done anything! Why would he be taken away? What happened?"
Jiang Mu: "I don't know! If I knew, I wouldn't be asking you! I only heard that someone anonymously reported your father."
Today, she had been making inquiries everywhere, making numerous calls, and asking around, but she still couldn't figure out what was going on.
She only knew that someone had reported anonymously, but she didn't know the content of the report.
Jiang Dong: "Mom, don't worry, I'll buy a ticket and come back right away. Let's think of a solution together."
After hanging up, Jiang Mu started dialing again to find someone to inquire about the situation.
Capital City
After Jiang Dong hung up, Zhang Fuyan asked, "Is there something wrong at home?"
Jiang Mu had made several calls to the school to find Jiang Dong. Coincidentally, Jiang Dong's roommate met Zhang Fuyan, who had come to school today, and asked her if she knew how to contact Jiang Dong or his sister. He mentioned that Jiang Dong's family seemed to have an emergency, and his mother had been looking for him multiple times.
That's why Zhang Fuyan came to the research institute to find Jiang Dong, who then called home.
"It seems like something happened to my dad. I'll go back for a while. Sister Fuyan, thank you for letting me know!" Jiang Dong hurriedly said and rushed back to the research room to ask for leave.
Zhang Fuyan quickly responded, "I'll go with you. My aunt knows Xia Xia, and she has many connections there. Perhaps she can help. I'll arrange for plane tickets, and we can fly to the neighboring city and then take a car from there. It'll be faster."
Jiang Dong: "No need, it's too much trouble for you! Just help me book a plane ticket."
Zhang Fuyan: "It's fine. The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and I was planning to visit my maternal grandfather. I'll go home first to book the tickets and pack. You get a referral letter from Professor Kai, and I'll come to find you soon!"
After saying this, Zhang Fuyan immediately rode her bicycle away. Her foot had almost healed, and she didn't feel any pain while pedaling. Walking was still a bit uncomfortable, but it wasn't a significant issue.
Zhang Fuyan returned home and immediately called to book plane tickets.
Her parents often traveled abroad for work, so she was familiar with booking flights.
There was a flight at 11 PM, and Zhang Fuyan booked two tickets. She then packed her luggage and planned to visit Jiang Dong's research institute to inform him about the necessary preparations for boarding.
Coincidentally, Jiang Dong arrived at Zhang Fuyan's house on his bicycle.
Zhang Fuyan: "There's a flight at 11 PM tonight. Do you have your household registration book with you?"
"It's at the school dormitory." Jiang Dong studied in the capital city, and his household registration needed to be transferred to the school, so he had his own individual registration book, which he always kept in the dormitory.
"Then let's go back to the school to get the registration book, and then we'll grab something to eat before heading to the airport." Zhang Fuyan went to push the bicycle.
Jiang Dong, thinking of her still-healing foot, said, "You don't need to ride. I'll take you!"
Zhang Fuyan agreed, and since her home wasn't far from the school, she hopped onto the back of Jiang Dong's bicycle.
Jiang Dong took Zhang Fuyan back to the school, where they retrieved the household registration book, student ID, and other relevant documents from the dormitory. They then left the school to have a meal.
Zhang Fuyan wasn't in the mood for noodles, so Jiang Dong took her to the noodle shop that Ye Xian had mentioned as being very tasty.
After finishing their noodles at the shop, the two waited for a taxi on the street.
Ye Xian and her classmate came to the noodle shop.
Her classmate tugged at her sleeve and pointed at the couple on the street, "Isn't that your boyfriend?"
(End of Chapter)
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