Going to the market was a folk custom, a periodic event held every five or ten days. In the early 1980s, market day in Su Li's home of Fengcheng County was usually held once a week.
The nearby towns also held their market days weekly. Their schedules were staggered with the main market in Fengcheng County, leaving one day free and neatly dividing up the seven days of the week.
The town markets were lively, but they couldn't compare to the one in Fengcheng County, which was the most bustling and offered the widest variety of goods.
Back then, going to the market was Su Li's favorite thing to do. She wasn't daunted by the three-to-four-hour walk along mountain paths to the county seat; she was always full of excitement.
Unfortunately, opportunities to go were rare. Going three or four times a year was already considered a lot, as people didn't go without a specific reason. When Su Li lived with her own family, she barely went once a year. It was only after marrying into the Tang Family that she had the chance.
After Su Li received the money Tang Yuanxiao had sent home, she was so excited that she wanted to sneak off to the market. Unfortunately, on market day, Mrs. Tang had to help with a relative's funeral and couldn't take Little Tang Mo. Mrs. Tang told Su Li to watch him, instructing her to leave the boy with their neighbor, Aunt Li, if she had to go out to graze the ox.
Su Li was desperate to go. Everyone in the village had to work in the morning, so she couldn't ask Aunt Li to watch Little Tang Mo that early. In the end, she decided to take Little Tang Mo with her to the market in Fengcheng County.
At the crack of dawn, after Mrs. Tang had left, she set out with Little Tang Mo. It took four hours of walking on mountain paths to reach the county seat. Su Li couldn't carry him the entire way; she carried him for half the journey, and Little Tang Mo walked the other half himself. By the time they arrived, he was exhausted and listless.
Su Li, however, perked up the moment she reached the county seat. She led Little Tang Mo straight to the main market street.
The New Year was approaching, and it was winter, so every household had come to the market to make purchases. The short stone-paved street was packed, bustling with a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd. Men and women, young and old, jostled past one another, either carrying baskets on their arms or bamboo creels on their backs. They wore cotton-padded jackets and trousers, some new, some old, with cloth or straw shoes on their feet. Most had the dark, weathered faces of farmers.
The young wives and girls wore their jet-black hair in thick braids, adorned with brightly colored headscarves, while the older women wore darker ones. Their eyes darted everywhere, dazzled by the variety of goods.
Su Li, with her long, thick braid and a bright red headscarf, dusted off her old padded jacket and leaned down to instruct Little Tang Mo, "Stay close to me, okay? Don't get lost."
Tang Mo nodded. Su Li took his hand and plunged into the crowd, her eyes darting between the stalls on both sides of the road, unable to take it all in.
She forgot to hold his hand, but Little Tang Mo remembered to hold on. His small hand tightly gripped the hem of her coat, and he followed closely behind. Seeing this, Su Li relaxed and devoted her full attention to the wares on either side.
Squeezing through the crowd, they arrived at an intersection. "Handkerchiefs! Pretty handkerchiefs! Perfect for tying up your hair! Come and take a look!"
At the sound of the vendor's cry, young women and new wives all pushed forward for a look. The girl hawking the wares was standing on a stool, and her hair was indeed tied with a handkerchief. It looked exceptionally pretty.
Su Li's eyes lit up, and she plunged straight into the crowd. Once inside, she was mesmerized, unable to decide which one to pick. She vaguely heard Little Tang Mo cry out that he was being crushed, but she just gave a dismissive reply without looking.
A moment later, she thought she heard his voice again, but she paid it no mind. It wasn't until she had bought a handkerchief and emerged from the crowd, satisfied, that she looked for Little Tang Mo. He was gone.
In her past life, Su Li had turned deathly pale with fear. She immediately pushed back through the crowd to find Tang Mo. When she couldn't find him, she had screamed his name while turning the entire market upside down. She even checked the baskets on the backs of the mules and donkeys at the edge of town, but in the end, Little Tang Mo was never found.
In this life, knowing that searching like that would be futile, knowing that Little Tang Mo had been taken by human traffickers, Su Li didn't run around like a headless chicken. Instead, she turned with clear purpose and sprinted toward the nearby police station.
To make them act faster, Su Li told a small lie, saying that Little Tang Mo had been missing for longer than he actually had.
However, a disagreement arose over how to conduct the search.
"Don't just search everywhere for him. Tang Mo was taken by human traffickers. They're probably about to leave the county seat right now. We have to intercept them. Tang Mo is five years old, wearing a blue padded jacket and black cloth shoes. He has a mole just above the space between his eyebrows. He might be asleep. The person carrying him might be with other traffickers, who could also be carrying children..."
Su Li relayed the information, her words clear and precise. Her logic was sound, her articulation perfect. She had even switched from her local dialect to standard Mandarin.
In those days, everyone spoke in local dialects; Mandarin was something you only heard from people on television or the radio. Fang Luo, the officer in charge of the case, grew solemn. A flicker of decisiveness in his eyes, he made a call. "Follow her lead."
Having lived a full life before, and because of her subsequent experiences, Su Li projected an aura of authority that was both convincing and intimidating. Hearing the order, none of the other officers objected.
Two minutes later, all available personnel were mobilized, splitting up and fanning out in every direction.
Officers were sent to the town's major intersections, its various exits, and the bus station. And, of course, the train station.
Fengcheng County had a train station, located right in town and not far from the market street. Two trains passed through each day, each stopping for five minutes.
Just as Su Li and the officers stepped outside, they heard the CLACK-CLACK, CLACK-CLACK of an approaching train.
Hearing the train, a glint flashed in Su Li's eyes. 'The traffickers are most likely leaving by train!'
'The bus station is too small; in a county like this, you're always bumping into acquaintances. It would be too risky for kidnappers carrying a child. The train is much safer by comparison. It's crowded with people from all over the country. Once you're on board, no one knows anyone else. They can get away with the child easily and safely!'
"Let's go! The train station!" Su Li shouted, taking the lead and sprinting toward the station. The officers who had already been assigned to go there immediately ran after her.
The train was pulling into the station. If they didn't make it before it departed, all would be lost.
By the time the group arrived, the train had already pulled in. Su Li glanced at it and, without a second thought, charged for the only open car door.
"Do you have a ticket? Let me see your ticket," a conductor said, blocking her path.
"Did some people carrying children just get on? They might be human traffickers! I'm looking for them!" Seeing the conductor nod, Su Li paid him no mind and pushed past.
"Wait, you can't get on—" The conductor's protest died in his throat when he saw Fang Shi coming up behind her, and he reluctantly fell silent.
Su Li boarded the train car, her sharp gaze sweeping across the compartment. The car was packed; all the seats were taken, and a number of people were standing in the aisles.
Her eyes scanned the car and immediately locked onto a group in the left section. She forcefully pushed aside the people blocking her path, her gaze fixed on two men and two women a short distance away.
They looked no different from the surrounding passengers, appearing to be two couples. One person in each pair was holding a child.
Su Li's eyes fixed on the shoes of the child in the taller man's arms. Her gaze suddenly sharpened, and she charged forward heedlessly, her eyes shining with a startling intensity.
She didn't notice that in a seat just ahead, a man with a full beard watched her approach, his expression darkening. As Su Li pushed past, he grumbled along with the others she jostled. But just as she was about to pass him, he shot out a hand and grabbed her hair in a tight fist, his face a mask of irritation. "Hey! You stepped on me!"
He gripped her hair with immense force. The two men and two women ahead didn't look back; instead, they pushed harder to get away through the crowd.
Su Li grew frantic. Without looking back, she tried to lunge forward as if she couldn't feel the pain. The bearded man's eyes went cold, and he was about to yank harder when Officer Fang suddenly grabbed his wrist. "Let go!"
The bearded man was left clutching a fistful of hair, torn out by the roots and flecked with blood. He watched as Su Li broke free, lunged forward with incredible speed, and seized one of the men.
Su Li spun the man around, lunged, and snatched the child from his arms.