Chapter 224: Identity

An over fifty-year-old middle-aged man saw Bai Zimu come over; his features were also standard plateau features, skin dark, crow’s feet around the corners of his eyes very numerous, looking quite amiable. It was just that a person like this currently showed a few fractions of anxiety on his face; upon seeing them, he hurriedly walked over and shouted a few sentences of something, looking extremely anxious, especially after hearing Duojie and those few people’s replies, the other party’s voice obviously raised a bit, carrying faint anger.

Duojie and the few people stood there, suddenly opening their arms, letting him inspect them.

That middle-aged man inspected their bodies one by one, patting their arms and legs, not knowing what he was doing either.

Bai Zimu mingled among them; when the middle-aged man walked over, he hesitated for a moment, and also opened his hands.

This time, on the contrary, it surprised the other party.

Bai Zimu grew completely different from the locals; although wrapped in an overcoat, the exposed face and pair of hands were as fair and clear as a little lamb, and the appearance of reaching out his hands letting himself be inspected was also very obedient.

The middle-aged man looked at him, suddenly turning his head and shouting angrily:

“Duojie! What is going on here? How come there’s an extra person here!”

Duojie ran over from the leading position, grinning and saying:

“This is also a person we rescued.”

The middle-aged man looked for a while, furrowing his brows and saying:

“This was also picked back up from the car crash side?”

Duojie: “Right! Picked back up a Han-compatriot, a friend!”

The middle-aged man felt bitter heartbreak, correcting his pronunciation:

“What Han-compatriot, I keep telling you to study culture classes but you don’t study well, blindly coining words yourself here, you are not allowed to shout randomly!”

Duojie:

“Anyway his family does business, his brain is extremely smart, and he even volunteered to stay behind to help us deal with Langka.”

He spoke two sentences, then turned his head to look at Bai Zimu,

“Luo Jiaqing, you say a word!”

Bai Zimu: “…Ah.”

The middle-aged man roared a sentence at Duojie; when turning his head to face Bai Zimu, his tone was much gentler, using half-baked Chinese to speak to him:

“Little Comrade, hello, they didn’t scare you right?”

Bai Zimu said politely:

“It’s alright, you are Director Quduo right…”

The expression on the middle-aged man’s face stiffened for a moment, closely followed by turning his head back to scold Duojie and those people a few sentences; however, Duojie and the rest stood there not afraid of him either, instead laughing coaxingly.

Bai Zimu didn’t know what he had said wrong, pursing his lips without making a sound.

After the man finished scolding, he himself also laughed, carrying a bit of helplessness as he explained to Bai Zimu:

“My name is Qu Yang, forget it, you just call me Director Qu and that’s fine, they all call me this. Quduo is a nickname this group of kids gave me, in our place it means liking to meddle in other people’s business…”

Seeing that Bai Zimu still had his hands stretched out standing in front of himself, he was somewhat amused, helping him pat his arms and legs, chuckling and saying:

“Just now, I was helping them inspect to see if they were injured, no other meaning.”

Bai Zimu was stunned for a moment before reacting, putting down his hands.

After Director Qu inspected them, seeing that none of them had injuries on their bodies, only then did his mind rest at ease; his words held considerable prestige here, at least these few brats around all listened.

Probably because Bai Zimu was present, Director Qu deliberately spoke some Chinese; he spoke slowly, and enunciated his words more clearly than Duojie, so Bai Zimu actually understood the greater half.

It was just that after understanding, it instead produced some doubts; these people looked less and less like highway bandits the more he looked.

All the way until Director Qu brought him to an empty break room, Bai Zimu tilted his head up looking at the red flag and emblem hanging on the wall, unable to recover his senses for a time; after quite a long period of time had passed he said:

“May I ask, Director Qu you are…?”

Director Qu had someone serve butter tea over, rubbing his hands, chuckling and saying:

“How come they didn’t tell you, I am the director of the poverty alleviation work team dispatched down from above, oh, incidentally concurrently serving as the party branch secretary here, sit sit, drink tea.”

Bai Zimu: “…”

Bai Zimu sat down holding the teacup, looking at the emblem on the wall, then looking at Director Qu, for a time unable to believe he had been hijacked by his own people.

Director Qu said gently:

“Duojie and that group of people are all children, not understanding matters, if there is any place they offended, you tell me, I’ll teach them a lesson. To tell you the truth, previously I was their Chinese language teacher, specifically teaching them to study, look, Duojie and their Chinese were all taught by me—”

Just as he was speaking, they saw Duojie send another person bundled up like a dumpling in; Director Qu almost sprayed out a mouthful of tea, hurriedly using his sleeve to wipe his mouth, getting up and saying:

“What’s going on! How come there’s still another person?!”

Duojie smiled and laughed it off with him:

“The last one, the last one, Director Qu, sent over them here together to be stored.”

Director Qu’s eyes glared round, completely unable to understand the matters happening before his eyes.

Seeing Director Qu walk over to untie the rope on Luo Jiaqing’s body, Bai Zimu stopped him and said:

“Director Qu, this person cannot be untied.”

He took a glance at Luo Jiaqing, saying in a low voice:

“This person is a law-breaking element, he smuggles cultural relics, is there a police station here? Or give me a telephone, let me make a contact, there will be someone to explain the situation clearly to you.”

Director Qu was somewhat hesitant.

Duojie to the side didn’t think much of it, muttering:

“Police? They run all over the grassland handling matters, their tents are continuously shifting, very tiring, you need to ride a horse to search before they can be found.”

Director Qu used his arm to give him a hit; Duojie looked at him in confusion. Director Qu asked Duojie a few sentences in a low voice using local dialect; this time he looked much more serious.

Duojie answered earnestly, and even reached out a finger pointing at Bai Zimu.

After Director Qu finished asking, he turned his head and said to Bai Zimu:

“This friend, I asked Duojie just now, the situation at that time was too chaotic, he also couldn’t confirm your identities, like this, you and this…”

He pointed at Luo Jiaqing tied up to the side, carrying a bit of apologetic meaning as he said,

“You two suffer a grievance temporarily first, rest here and wait until I verify your identities before sending you away.”

Bai Zimu said:

“You being a bit cautious is also as it should be, however my identity is not easy to verify, I have a friend who was injured and sent to the hospital by Duojie, you can go ask him, if he wakes up, naturally he can prove my identity.”

“He is?”

“He is my guide concurrently serving as driver, speaking of which, he also does security work.”

“He is a police comrade?”

“Hm, he can be considered so I guess.”

After Director Qu asked, he nodded:

“Alright, I’ll have someone go ask right now.”

Bai Zimu called him to stop, supplementing:

“When you speak to him, just say Lei Xiaochuan is here with you all, and he will know.”

Duojie heard it, saying suspiciously: “Aren’t you called Luo Jiaqing?”

Bai Zimu: “Traveling away from home, one always has to have an extra hand of precaution.”

Duojie: “…You Han people really have a lot of suspicion; the things you told me previously, were they also all deceiving me?”

Bai Zimu shook his head and said:

“That wasn’t so, my family indeed does business, moreover besides the jewelry store, also has ready-made clothes and department stores.”

Hearing him speak like this, Duojie became happy again, nodding in approval and saying:

“No wonder you didn’t dare to speak completely in the very beginning, turns out your family is this rich.”

Director Qu looked at Duojie, hesitating to speak, pulling his sleeve letting this silly kid go out with himself.

******

Although Bai Zimu was locked in a room together with Luo Jiaqing, their treatment had more or less some differences.

Luo Jiaqing wrapped himself in a quilt, sleeping on the ground. The rope on his hands was tied solidly to the room pillar, and he was unable to break free. Bai Zimu also received a thick quilt; however, there was no bed here, so he used several chairs, simply piecing them together in one place, sleeping on top.

Early the next morning, just as the sky brightened, Director Qu came over personally.

He walked with fast steps outside, the keys in his sleeve jingling against each other as they collided. He spoke in a low voice to Duojie and the few people while walking. He was mindful to speak in a low voice, but Duojie shouted unhappily:

“…It really wasn’t the person we injured! The two of them fought fiercely, and they even had a car crash. We saw it and went to rescue the people; if it weren’t for us, that injured police officer couldn’t even be sent to the hospital, bleeding that much blood!”

“Alright, alright, I know, you be a bit quieter—”

“You wronged me!”

“…”

When Director Qu opened the door, he saw that Bai Zimu was already dressed properly, currently sitting there.

Director Qu was somewhat awkward. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] When raising his head to look towards Bai Zimu, their lines of sight collided in one place. Bai Zimu smiled slightly, and Director Qu also hurriedly smiled a bit, nodding his head to apologize:

“Verified, Comrade Little Lei, let’s go, we are all our own people, let’s go out and chat slowly.”

Luo Jiaqing said anxiously:

“You give me a telephone, I’ll call over, and I can also prove my own identity!”

Director Qu said: “That won’t work. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] The injured police comrade said, your situation is special. Stay here with peace of mind waiting for two days; when the time comes, there will be opportunities letting you speak.”

Luo Jiaqing: “A bowl of porridge a day, who can stand it!”

Director Qu was puzzled: “What porridge?”

Duojie blocked in the middle, his words vague:

“Let’s go out first, let’s talk after going out. He is probably hungry; in a while, deliver porridge for him to eat for breakfast.”

Breakfast was eaten at Director Qu’s home. Tsampa, fried cakes, and buns were placed on a table, accompanied by butter tea for them to eat until full as they pleased.

It was also while eating that Bai Zimu figured out some matters clearly.

Yesterday, Director Qu wasn’t at ease, so he had Duojie drive the car and ran a trip to the hospital with himself, personally seeing that injured person to ask clearly. The other party had just regained consciousness not long ago, and he was also burning with anxiety searching for Bai Zimu. The moment Director Qu spoke, he immediately revealed his Eleventh Bureau identity. A phone call was dialed over, and in less than half an hour, those above had a response. Because Director Qu’s official post was small, contacting layer by layer upwards instead delayed a longer period of time, but they finally proved his identity.

As for the car crash that day, after the few people deduced it, they also saw a bit of a clue.

One was the group of people trading with the Luo family, while the other group was recognized by Duojie; that was a quite famous group of local highway bandits, a gang of thugs specifically lying in ambush by the roadside to eat black. Moreover, their appetite was extremely large; very likely, from the moment Luo Jiaqing entered the mountain pass, they had fixed their eyes on him, following the whole way, only thinking to rob this fat sheep.

The time Bai Zimu and the rest passed by was unfortunate, colliding in one place. Accidentally, by a mistake and mishap, they were saved by Duojie and the rest, and they were even brought to the village.

……

Bai Zimu asked:

“Duojie, when you saw those people’s convoy chase over, did they snatch away any things? Like suitcases, or boxes and the like?”

Duojie thought for a moment, shaking his head and saying:

“It was too chaotic at the time. Those few highway bandits ran faster than rabbits, and their vehicles drove to Langka’s territory; they couldn’t be found.”

He rubbed his chin, gloating as he said, “Anyway, no matter which one, neither is a good person. Let Langka also be annoyed for a period of time, to save him from competing with us to do business!”

Director Qu said very angrily:

“You guys still say Langka is overbearing and unreasonable, but look at you all right now. Aren’t the things you’ve done the same as Langka?”

Duojie was unconvinced: “How is that the same? My heart is good.”

Director Qu: “…”

Director Qu didn’t want to pay attention to him. He scooped a bowl of porridge for Bai Zimu, and asked:

“Right, Little Lei, that friend of yours in the hospital woke up. He told me to tell you to live here with peace of mind. He contacted those above, and in two days, they will come pick you up.”

Bai Zimu thanked him in a low voice, and said:

“Director Qu, can I borrow the telephone to use a bit? I want to report my safety to my family.”

Director Qu chuckled and said:

“Of course you can. You really asked the right person; around this area, only my home has a telephone.”

After Bai Zimu finished eating the porridge in his bowl, he followed over to make a phone call.

He dialed Lei Dongchuan’s mobile phone number, but very strangely, it was a busy sound the whole time and was unable to connect. He thought for a moment, and dialed another number. After ringing twice, he heard an elderly voice pick up, saying deeply:

“Hello?”

Bai Zimu held the receiver: “Grandpa Bai, it’s me, Zimu.”

The other end of the phone panicked for a moment, like knocking something over. Closely followed by this, Old Master Bai’s voice sounded out with a trembling tone:

“Zimu? Zimu, is it really you? Where are you right now, are you alright?”

Bai Zimu said: “Grandpa Bai, I am very safe right now. I encountered a little accident, but we were rescued by locals. The driver was injured and is still undergoing treatment…”

He reported the situation to Old Master Bai in a low voice, and said again, “Grandpa, it’s inconvenient for me to speak to the family, so you tell them for me. Having not contacted them for several days, I want to report my safety to the family. Also, I seem unable to contact my brother. Has he come looking for you?”

Old Master Bai let out a sigh, and said:

“The one you’re speaking of is Lei Dongchuan right? He came looking for me long ago. I also don’t know where he inquired the news from, saying you lost contact. He caused a fuss all the way to those above. I know a few people from the Eleventh Bureau, and after checking a bit, we discovered something really happened. Your brother went looking for you without a second word; right now, he should also be over there.”

Bai Zimu was stunned for a moment: “You mean, my brother also came?”

“Right, about three days ago I guess, he brought some people to go look for you.”

Over here, Bai Zimu was making a phone call, and on the other side, Director Qu was also interrogating Duojie.

He still remembered the matter of “a bowl of porridge a day” that person mentioned previously, and his heart was extremely puzzled.

Duojie spoke hesitantly and bashfully, angering Director Qu into scolding him:

“What kind of muddled matter is this? [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] You all, day after day, only know how to cause trouble. Especially you, such a big matter happened, yet you didn’t have someone come back and report, and you didn’t return home for three days, engaging in these gimmicks! Wait until I see your papa and mama; see if I don’t let them take a stick and beat you all!”

“I just read what was written in the book, and wanted to try it. Moreover, I also didn’t really starve them.”

“That novel of mine… you tsampa head!”

Duojie refused to lower his head, insisting that catching this Lei Xiaochuan over was to “suppress Langka and achieve wealth together,” angering Director Qu enough to choke. Aiming at his head, he gave him a few hits.

After Bai Zimu finished calling and came out, he saw Duojie sitting there with obvious traces of having been dealt with. There were finger marks all over his face, which startled him.

“Are you alright, Duojie?”

Duojie waved his hand, saying in a muffled voice:

“It’s fine, don’t take these to heart. Matters with meaning in life are still many!”

Bai Zimu: “…”

The comforting words Bai Zimu originally wanted to say couldn’t be spoken for a single sentence. Duojie was truly too magnanimous, so much so that he thought the injured one was someone else, and Duojie was the one comforting people.

Duojie raised his head to look towards him, carrying a few fractions of worry:

“Little Lei, the matter you promised me, does it still count?”

Bai Zimu tucked his hands into his clothing pockets, nodded his head, and said:

“It counts.”

He had already told his family, adding that since his brother had already come over, he planned to stay here for a longer period of time, leaving after regrouping with his brother. If time was sufficient, he even had a few fractions of interest towards that thing the Luo family traded; Duojie mentioned previously that those highway bandits had somewhat fled to Langka’s territory.

Bai Zimu smiled and said:

“Duojie, tell me about Langka’s matters. If possible, I need some data and materials, convenient for analysis.”

The moment Duojie heard this, he had energy, nodding his head and saying:

“Alright!”