I thought I was the son of a noble family, so I pursued her without any scruples. However, she didn't completely reject me. She taught me in private that youth is the best time to study. It's not too late to talk about love when I'm successful in my studies and have the ability to serve the country. So, I promised her that I would study hard and confirm our relationship when I entered the same university in the future.
Later, the war broke out and gradually spread to Qingyang. My grandfather decided to move to Malaysia and seek refuge with my second grandfather who had been doing business there for a long time. On the night before we parted, I found the girl and asked her to leave the country with me. However, she refused. At the last moment, I held her in my arms and told her that I would definitely come back to find her in the future. She gave me the silver bracelet on her wrist as a souvenir … "
When the old man spoke up to this point, his aura became very weak, and his voice trembled. His expression was depressed, dejected, and extremely regretful. His lips moved, yet he was unable to continue speaking.
However, before he could finish, Li Rui had already guessed the result. After Mr. Huang moved to Malaysia with his family, he was never able to return to his motherland due to various reasons. However, his longing for the girl in his heart had never diminished, and it grew deeper and deeper day by day until this time, he finally set foot on the land of his motherland. As soon as he returned to Qingyang, he came to look for the girl, but she was nowhere to be found … Thinking of the era of war, the two lovers were forced to separate, separated by oceans, and would never see each other again, his heart was filled with melancholy.
When Li Rui thought of this, his eyes suddenly lit up. He cried out involuntarily, "I understand. You're worried because you can't find the girl, right?"
Huang Xinghua's old eyes were already wet. He sighed deeply and gathered his strength for a while before saying, "Yes, I promised to come back to find her. However, we were separated for more than 70 years. When I finally returned to the motherland and came to Qingyang to find her, I … I couldn't find her anymore. She … she might have already passed away during the war. Or she might have married far away. Or she might have married in Azure Sun City and survived the war. But she didn't manage to wait for me to come back for her. In short, she's no longer here … "
When the old man said this, he couldn't hold back his tears and rolled down. His bodyguard hurriedly took a tissue and gently wiped his tears.
Li Rui's heart was filled with sorrow as well. He could not help but feel a lump in his throat as he comforted him, "Elder Huang, don't be sad. Things might not be as you think. Maybe there's still a chance. That girl might still be alive and waiting for you to come back and find her. How about this? I'll help you look for her. You tell me her name and birthplace, and I'll help you look into it. As a local official, I have many shortcuts and conveniences in this regard. At least compared to you, I have many more channels. Is that okay? "
Huang Xinghua shook his head sorrowfully and said, "You don't have to comfort me. I know that the probability of her still being alive is less than one in ten. Because of this, I felt both guilty and sad. I wished I could go with her. At least I could see her again after death. The story I just told is actually saying that when a person is satisfied with their desires, they can ignore death and are not afraid of death. But if they can get what they want after death, they will gladly welcome death. That's my state of mind right now. Actually, I'm not afraid of death at all … "
Li Ruixin was incomparably sad and his eyes were red. He held his hand and said, "Elder Huang, if you trust me, then tell me the details of that girl. I'll help you look into it today. I'll definitely give you a result as soon as possible. If the result is that she's already passed away, then I have nothing to say. Otherwise, you'll be ruining your own body. You're already so old, your body can't take this kind of ruining! "
Huang Xinghua hesitated and did not speak. After a while, tears flowed out again and he said, "I'm really afraid that the final result will be that she's already passed away. Even though I've already confirmed this point."
Li Rui smiled bitterly and said, "I'll say something unpleasant. Elder Huang, you're already not afraid of death. You're already mentally prepared to go down and look for that girl. Why are you afraid of accepting such an outcome? You should completely let go now. There's no result that can shake your state of mind. You only need to resolve the knot in your heart, regardless of whether the result is good or bad. "
Huang Xinghua's eyes were blurred with tears. He slowly nodded and said, "Alright, then I'll leave it to you. Little friend, help me look into it properly. Her name is Su Yun. She's from the first house in the West Gate's Big Locust Tree Alley. Her father is Su Dingwen. She also has a younger brother called Su Tian. But now, there's no such thing as West Gate or East Gate in Qingyang. I'm afraid … "
Li Rui patted his hand and said, "You don't have to worry. Let me look into it. You just rest here and wait for my news, okay?"
Huang Xinghua nodded and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, little friend."
Li Rui stood up and said, "Then I'll leave first. When I have time or news, I'll come and see you again." After he finished speaking, he smiled at him and turned to leave the room.
After Huang Xinghua watched him leave, he took out his other hand from under the blanket. In his hand was a sparkling white silver bracelet engraved with classical patterns …
After seeing his boss, Song Chaoyang, Li Rui told him about the knot in Huang Xinghua's heart.
Song Chaoyang heaved a sigh of relief and said, "I was wondering why Elder Huang was so ill. It turns out that he was troubled by love and wanted to die. Now that we've found the root of his illness, it won't be difficult to cure him." Li Rui smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid it won't be easy. If we want to solve the knot in his heart, we'll have to find Su Yun's whereabouts. But if we want to find Su Yun, we'll have to go through the census register of the last century. But where can we find that?"
Song Chaoyang waved his hand and said, "No matter how troublesome or difficult it is, we must help Elder Huang achieve his wish. Since we're not busy these two days and there's nothing urgent, you don't have to stay by my side. Put your heart and soul into the special task of finding Su Yun. We must find Su Yun's whereabouts. To put it bluntly, if he's alive, we must see him. If he's dead, we must see his grave. In the process of searching, if you need to seek help from the relevant units or departments, then greet them in the name of the Municipal Party Committee or myself. Ask them to treat this as the most important political task at hand. They must not be negligent. "
Li Rui frowned and pondered for a while. He nodded slowly and said, "Okay, I got it. I'll start working when I get to the Municipal Party Committee."
It was easy to say the words out loud. All he had to do was touch his lips. But when it came to doing it, it wasn't that simple. Li Rui rushed to the Municipal Party Committee and sat in the office. He found the task a little difficult. He didn't know where to start the search. Logically speaking, they should go to the Household Registration Department of the Municipal Public Security Bureau to look for the census register. However, the Municipal Public Security Bureau might not even have the census register of Qingyang from the decades after the founding of the People's Republic, let alone before the founding of the People's Republic. But this wasn't certain. They had to contact the Municipal Public Security Bureau to find out.
"Okay, let's contact the Municipal Public Security Bureau first. We'll start with the census register. If this route doesn't work, then we'll try to start with Su Yun's house, the Big Locust Tree Alley in West Pass. Even though the Big Locust Tree Alley doesn't exist anymore, it's not that long ago that the alley was demolished. It happened in the 80s and 90s of the last century. We should be able to find relevant clues from the local subdistrict office. For example, we can find the people who used to live in the Big Locust Tree Alley. When the time comes, we can ask them about Su Yun's house. That should be enough. "
After making up his mind, Li Rui took out his phone and called his old friend, Shen Yuanzhu, the Deputy Director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. After the call was picked up, he said, "I need your help. Help me ask the Household Registration Department and see if you can find the census register of the people who lived in our city in the 30s and 40s of the last century." Shen Yuanzhu was dumbfounded. He didn't speak for a long time. After a long time, he said, "The 30s and 40s of the last century? You mean the period from 1930 to 1940? Before the founding of the country? "Li Rui said," Yes, that's the period. Can you find anything? "Shen Yuanzhu smiled bitterly." You're not joking, right? "
Li Rui said in a very serious tone, "When did I ever joke with you?" Shen Yuanzhu knew that he was serious. He hurriedly said, "You can't find anything at all. Don't even think about it! Even though I'm not from the Household Registration Department, I have some understanding of the Household Registration System. Our current Household Registration System was set up by the Ministry of Public Security around 1997. Before 1997, there weren't many computers in the whole of China. Even before that, all the records of the Household Registration System were handwritten in the records. Think about it, from 1930 until now, there have been so many major events. The War of Resistance, the Civil War, the founding of the country, three years of natural disasters, the Cultural Revolution, the reform and opening up of the Household Registration System. Do you think that handwritten records can be preserved intact? "
Li Rui became listless after hearing this. He didn't have any interest. It was as if his life had sunk into endless darkness. Yes, if even the powerful Public Security Bureau couldn't do anything, what could he do?
Shen Yuanzhu said excitedly, "Moreover, after the founding of the country, the Household Registration System was very lax. Most of the time, only the local police station kept the Household Registration System of the local population. The City Public Security Bureau didn't even have a single piece of paper." Li Rui's heart jumped when he heard this. He said, "Doesn't that mean that if we go to the local police station, there's a chance that we can find someone's Household Registration System?" Shen Yuanzhu said, "Of course not. First, we have to make sure that the police station where the Household Registration System is located has been kept since it was established. Second, we have to make sure that the police station has the Household Registration System of the Household Registration System. Lastly, we have to make sure that the police station has never destroyed any old records. As far as I know, the probability of meeting these three conditions is no less than winning five million in the lottery! "
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