Siheyuan: a better life

Chapter 818: Volunteering!

"Captain! I just climbed onto the wall of the yard next to Zhang Mei's house and conducted reconnaissance on Zhang Mei's house. So far, I have only found two middle-aged people drinking on the kang in the house, and a woman was cooking snacks for the two middle-aged people in the house. No trace of the missing children has been found so far." Xiao Wang, who was in charge of the reconnaissance mission, quickly ran to Guo Heping and gave him a very detailed report of his reconnaissance results.

Through Xiao Wang's report, Guo Heping was basically able to confirm that there was not much discrepancy between Xiao Wang's reconnaissance results and the situation introduced by the street office officials. The only uncertainty was the current specific hiding places of the abducted children.

In order to ensure the safety of the abducted children, Guo Heping pondered for a moment and instructed his subordinates standing beside him: "Xiao Wang! Take your gun, find a high ground, and monitor the situation in the yard at all times. If you find that the traffickers are trying to harm the abducted children, you can just shoot them!"

"Weiguo! I will lead my men to ambush on the left side of the courtyard gate, and you will lead your men to ambush on the right side of the courtyard gate. Wait for Director Zhou and his men to knock on the door, and then act according to the gestures we give you."

After Guo Heping arranged the rescue mission, he said to Secretary Zhou: "Secretary Zhou! I'll trouble you later!"

Secretary Zhou is a retired soldier who returned to work in the local area. Although he is not young anymore, his bravery has not diminished with his age.

When Secretary Zhou heard what Guo Heping said, he immediately assured Guo Heping: "Captain Guo! Don't worry, I promise to fully cooperate with your work!"

After hearing Secretary Zhou's promise and thinking about the next arrest plan, Guo Heping reminded Secretary Zhou: "Secretary Zhou! Our action this time is related to the safety of those abducted children. After you knock on the door, don't rush into the yard and find an excuse to fool Zhang Mei. When she lets down her guard, you can say goodbye to Zhang Mei. Leave the rest to us."

After hearing what Guo Heping said, Officer Zhou immediately memorized the precautions Guo Heping had given him, then nodded and replied seriously, "Captain Guo! Don't worry! I promise to complete the mission."

Secretary Guo, who was standing nearby, heard the conversation between Secretary Zhou and Guo Heping, and immediately volunteered, "Uncle Guo! Usually we go to the alleys together to publicize policies. In order to avoid arousing suspicion, I'd better go with you!"

The reason why Secretary Zhou didn't bring Secretary Guo along just now was mainly because he was worried that he was too young and didn't have the experience to deal with such things. Now that he saw Secretary Guo volunteering, Secretary Zhou said to him with some concern: "Little Guo! You've never encountered such a thing before, so don't participate for the time being."

After hearing Secretary Zhou's advice, Secretary Guo replied unmoved: "Uncle Zhou! Since I chose this job, I will encounter similar things sooner or later. Such opportunities are rare. I can just take this opportunity to stay by your side and accumulate some experience."

Through the conversation between the two, Guo Heping vaguely felt that the identity of this young female street clerk might not be simple.

Seeing Secretary Zhou's tangled expression, Guo Heping smiled and said to him, "Secretary Zhou! When you go to knock on the door later, we will hide on both sides of the gate. There are only three human traffickers in the yard, so there shouldn't be much danger."

After hearing what Guo Heping said, Secretary Zhou pondered for a moment, and then he told Secretary Guo, "Xiao Guo! Since Captain Guo said so, I will take you with me to knock on the door. When Zhang Mei opens the door, you must not reveal your identity."

When Officer Guo heard Officer Zhou's reminder and thought about the action he was about to take part in, he was so excited that he quickly assured Officer Guo, "Uncle Guo! Don't worry, I promise I won't cause you any trouble!"

Guo Heping, holding a pistol, hid at the gate with his subordinates, then gestured to Secretary Zhou who was standing at the door.

Secretary Zhou saw the signal Guo Heping sent him and calmed down a little. Then he walked to the door of Zhang Mei's house, knocked on the door, and shouted to the yard in a very friendly tone: "Comrade Zhang Mei! Are you home? I am Secretary Zhou from the Street Office. Please open the door."

At this time, Zhang Mei was following Leopard's instructions, taking the pork that Leopard brought back and preparing snacks for Lao Hei and Leopard in the kitchen.

Lao Hei and Bao Zi, who were sitting on the kang drinking, heard the knocks and shouts coming from the yard. Their faces changed almost at the same time. Lao Hei even took out a pistol from his arms, walked quickly to the door of the house, instinctively glanced at the wall in the yard, and asked Zhang Mei who came out of the kitchen: "Xiao Mei! Who is knocking on the door outside?"

Zhang Mei, who was cooking, heard a knock on the door. Perhaps because she was guilty, she was also startled. It was not until she heard Secretary Zhou's shout that she secretly breathed a sigh of relief and introduced him to Lao Hei: "Brother Hei! It's Secretary Zhou who helped you register last time! He came here at this time, there must be something going on!"

After hearing what Zhang Mei said, Lao Hei did not relax his vigilance. He whispered to Bao Zi, "Bao Zi! You hide on the left side of the gate, and I'll hide on the right side. After we hide, Xiao Mei, you go open the door."

Zhang Mei nodded subconsciously after hearing what Lao Hei said, and then she shouted at the door: "Who is it! Here! Here! Stop knocking on the door."

When Secretary Zhou heard Zhang Mei's question, he instinctively glanced at Guo Heping who was hiding nearby, and shouted to the yard with a smile: "Comrade Zhang Mei! It's me, Secretary Zhou from the Street Office. The two relatives from your family have been living here for a while. I came here today specifically to ask, when do your two relatives plan to leave?" Just as Secretary Zhou explained their purpose to the yard, Guo Heping, who was hiding by the gate, obviously heard a burst of hurried footsteps coming from behind the wall.

Hearing the footsteps coming from behind the wall, the experienced Guo Heping immediately realized that the two people in the yard should be hiding on both sides of the gate. The only thing that was unclear was whether these two people had weapons in their hands.

"Squeak!"

Suddenly, there was a sound of a wooden door opening. The door, which was originally closed, was opened from the inside by Zhang Mei.

Zhang Mei saw Secretary Zhou and Secretary Guo standing at the door. She did not warmly welcome them into the courtyard for tea as usual. Instead, she blocked the door with her body and asked Secretary Zhou with a puzzled look on her face: "Secretary Zhou! You and Secretary Guo suddenly came to my house. What's the matter?"

When Officer Zhou saw Zhang Mei intentionally blocking the door with her body, he realized that something was wrong with her. The experienced Officer Zhou did not show any intention of entering the yard. He smiled and said to Zhang Mei, "Comrade Zhang Mei! Two relatives from your mother's side have been living in your house for a while. According to the regulations of our street office, if they still want to continue living with you, they need to come to our street office to go through the registration procedures."

Zhang Mei breathed a sigh of relief when she heard what Secretary Zhou had said. She smiled and said to Secretary Zhou, "Secretary Zhou! What a coincidence! My cousin said this morning that he plans to go back to his hometown tomorrow. Since they are going back, we won't have to come to the street office to handle the relevant procedures."

When Secretary Zhou heard Zhang Mei's answer, he suddenly realized something and said to Zhang Mei with a smile, "Comrade Zhang Mei! We are just doing our routine work. Since your cousin is leaving tomorrow, we will go back first."

Zhang Mei heard what Secretary Zhou said and smiled and thanked him, "Secretary Zhou! Thank you! I won't see you off then!"

Lao Hei and Leopard, who were hiding behind the gate, also breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the conversation between Zhang Mei and Secretary Zhou, and planned to go back to the house to continue drinking.

As a result, just when Zhang Mei was about to close the door, Guo Heping and several of his subordinates rushed out from both sides of the door.

"Everyone, put your hands up."

The leader, Guo Heping, saw the gate was about to close, so he kicked it hard, rushed into the yard, shouted loudly, and pounced directly at Lao Hei who was still holding a pistol in his hand.

This sudden change made Lao Hei obviously stunned. He instinctively raised the gun in his hand, pointed it towards the door, and was about to pull the trigger.

Lao Hei's reaction was not slow, but Guo Heping and others were faster. Lao Hei had just raised his pistol when he saw a figure flash in front of him and was pinned to the ground by two police officers.

The three human traffickers were quickly subdued by the police who rushed into the yard. Guo Heping, concerned about the safety of the child, walked quickly into the house with a pistol in his hand. However, after searching for a long time, he did not find the abducted child.

When Guo Heping saw this, he quickly walked up to Zhang Mei and asked her seriously, "Zhang Mei! Tell me the truth. Where did you hide those children you kidnapped?"

When Zhang Mei heard Guo Heping asking about the child, her heart skipped a beat, but she pretended to be confused and said, "Sir! What child? I am a widow who has never given birth to a child. How can I have a child?"

When Guo Heping saw that Zhang Mei was still fighting with him even at this point, he immediately realized that this seemingly honest woman in front of him might not be a good person.

At this time, Guo Heping simply gave up trying to find out the whereabouts of the children from Zhang Mei and ordered several subordinates: "Search! Even if I have to dig three feet deep in the ground today, I will find these children."

"Captain! There is a cellar here. The seven abducted children are all in the cellar!" After hearing what Guo Heping said, several police officers immediately separated and searched around the yard. Not long after, a police officer found the cellar in the cowshed. When he opened the lid of the cellar and saw the children lying in the cellar, he immediately shouted to Guo Heping impatiently.

(End of this chapter)