When the old woman heard Li Rui's question, she opened her mouth and thought for a long time with a confused expression. Finally, she nodded and said, "I know the first family that entered the alley. Their surname is Su. There's a little girl in the Su family. She's very pretty. I'm only a few years older than her. She calls me sister-in-law and is very polite to people. I don't know if her name is Su Yun. I've never asked for her real name, but I know that her nickname is Ya Ya …"
When Li Rui heard this, he was so excited that he couldn't control himself. He stood up and shouted with trembling lips, "It's her, it's her. We're looking for her. She must be Su Yun. Aiya, the heavens have really blessed me. I've finally found her … "
Shen Yuanzhu saw his ecstatic appearance and was happy and emotional. She pulled him and signaled him not to scare the old woman.
Li Rui smiled and sat down. He asked again, "What happened after that? What happened to her? You've been living in the Big Locust Tree Alley, so you must know her whereabouts. "
The old man said with empty eyes, "Later, the Japanese came and took over Qingyang City. After they took over, they did all kinds of bad things. They killed people, set fires, and harmed women. Our family was afraid that something would happen, so we hid in my mother's house in the countryside. We stayed there for five years … or six years. Anyway, we only came back to the city after the Japanese left …"
Li Rui quickly asked, "What about the Su family? What happened to the Su family? What about the little girl? "
The old woman thought for a while and said, "I don't know. I didn't see her after that. Our family … isn't very familiar with the Su family. We didn't have much contact with them, so we didn't ask them about her."
Li Rui was anxious. If this was really the case, then he still didn't know what to say to Elder Huang. He asked again, "After you returned to the city, is there anyone else in the Su family? Isn't there a little boy in the Su family? He's the little girl's brother. Have you seen him? "
The old woman said, "I've seen him. He's very naughty. He climbed the walls and dug out bird nests in the alley. He played as naughty as he could …"
Li Ruixin had a glimmer of hope. He said, "Then, did you see him after you returned to the city? Is he still alive? "
The elder said, "When we returned to the city, he was already quite a young man. Later, during the civil war, he was dragged by the Kuomintang army to fight. My husband was nearly dragged away as well. He only managed to escape after returning to the countryside to hide for a while …"
When Li Rui saw that she kept changing the topic, he felt helpless and anxious. He hurriedly interrupted, "Speaking of that young man, what happened to him after he was dragged away to fight?"
The old man said, "He left for less than half a year before he came back with a lame leg. After he was liberated, he became an apprentice of a shoe repairman. Then, he set up a shoe repairman stall at the entrance of the alley. After a few years, his family suddenly moved away, and the people living in the yard changed. After that, they were never seen again …"
Li Rui was on the verge of tears when he heard this. F * ck, it couldn't be. It was so difficult to find such a precious clue, but it was cut off so easily? The heavens really knew how to play tricks on him. He composed himself and said, "Don't you know why they moved? Where did you move to? "
The old man asked, "What did you say? Louder! "
Li Rui had no choice but to repeat himself. The old man shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.
The old man's eldest son, an old man in his sixties or seventies, said, "I still have an impression of this Su Tian that you are asking about. In the winter, it was snowing heavily, and he also set up a shoe repairman stall at the entrance of the alley. He was lame, and when he had nothing to do, he would roll tobacco leaves and smoke. At that time, I was still young, in my teens, and I called him uncle. He liked me quite a lot and liked to talk to me. In my memory, he was never married. Then, his whole family suddenly moved away. I don't know where they moved to, and I don't know if he was married. He was quite a good person, but when he was dragged by the Kuomintang to fight in the war, he broke one of his legs. Sigh, he was also a pitiful person. I guess he's long gone now. After all, there's that age. I'm already in my seventies. "
When Li Rui heard this, his heart ached. He remembered that the old woman said in his dream last night, "Everyone in the world is bitter." Old Huang's heart was bitter, and Su Tian's life was bitter, which led to his current suffering. Perhaps this was the true meaning of life. If there was no bitterness, how would one know happiness?
Seeing that there were no more useful clues, Li Rui and Shen Yuanzhu could only helplessly get up and leave.
The old man said, "You two leave me your contact information. My mother's memory is not very good. Maybe there is something that she can't think of today, but she can think of it tomorrow. When she can still contact you, I'll tell you. Otherwise, it won't be good if you delay the important matter."
Li Rui was very grateful. After praising and thanking the old man, he left his phone number and left.
Back in the car, Shen Yuanzhu frowned and said, "Actually, there is a very important point in the old man's words. I don't know if you noticed, but Su Tian's family suddenly moved away. This is very worth thinking about." Li Rui nodded and said, "Yes, at that time, Su Yun disappeared. At least, he couldn't be seen. Su Tian was lame, and could only make a living by fixing shoes. I guess his parents didn't have a proper job, otherwise, they wouldn't let their son fix shoes in the cold of winter … Such a big family, without any economic income, why would they suddenly move? Moving means that they need to buy a new house and buy a new household. This requires a lot of money. "
Shen Yuanzhu said, "And it was a sudden move without the process of moving. This means that the Su family abandoned everything at home, which also means that they suddenly became rich. Otherwise, they wouldn't have abandoned everything at home. You have to know that a broken house is worth a lot of money. A poor family can't even bear to throw away a pot and a ladle." Li Rui continued to reason, "Then how did the Su family suddenly become rich?" Shen Yuanzhu smiled and said, "I suddenly thought of a possibility." Li Rui smiled and said, "I thought of it too. Let's talk about it separately, and see if we have the same idea."
Shen Yuanzhu said, "You first." Li Rui said, "I think it's because Su Yun suddenly disappeared. Maybe she was successful in her studies, went out to work, and found a very good job. She worked hard for a few years and earned a lot of money, so she came back to her hometown to take her family away." Shen Yuanzhu laughed and said, "I think so too. I think it's also because of Su Yun. Think about it, Su Yun could even reject the courtship of a rich young master like Elder Huang, and insisted on prioritizing her studies. It's obvious that she's smart and intelligent. A girl like her who's educated would have easily become a talent in that era. "
Li Rui frowned and said, "Based on this conjecture, Su Yun should be working or even settling down in another city. She would also bring her family to the city where she works and lives. But there are too many cities in China, so where could she be? This is a completely unsolvable problem for both of us. " Shen Yuanzhu said, "It's not too unsolvable. How about this, I'll go back to the city's Household Registration Department immediately and use the Household Registration System to check on all women named Su Yun in the country. They're all in their eighties, and they're not even alive. This is a bit too much work, and there won't be any results in a short period of time, so you don't have to come with me. I'll let you know when I have the results. "
Li Rui sighed and said, "It seems like this is the only way. But the problem is, if Su Yun passed away early, before the Ministry of Public Security deployed the Household Registration System, then she might not be in the system's database. You won't be able to find anything." Shen Yuanzhu sighed and said, "That's a possibility, but there's no other way. I'll try first. If I can't find Su Yun, then I'll check on Su Tian. If I can't find anything, then we'll think of something else. "
Li Rui laughed bitterly. Think of something else? It was easy to say, but what else could they think of? If there was no exit at the end of this road, then he would never be able to find Su Yun, and the two days that he had spent with her would be meaningless. Thinking of this, he was very unwilling, but what could he do? At this point, he could only resign himself to fate. Let's see if God wanted to help Elder Huang or not.
After that, Shen Yuanzhu sent Li Rui back to the Municipal Party Committee for work. Then, she returned to the Municipal Bureau and continued her investigation at the Household Registration Department. The two separated for the time being and met again when there was news.
After Li Rui returned to his office, he reported his findings to his boss, Song Chaoyang.
Song Chaoyang listened to him and frowned. "Isn't it like looking for a needle in a haystack to find a person in the entire country? Moreover, the name 'Su Yun' is quite common. Who knows how many people in the country go by this name? " Li Rui laughed bitterly and said, "That's right, but we don't have any better ideas. We can only do this for now." Song Chaoyang said, "Isn't there a more reliable and valuable clue? Why don't you think about it carefully? " Song Chaoyang asked. Li Rui laughed bitterly and said, "We've thought of everything that we can think of. At least, based on the clues that we currently have, we've considered everything."
Song Chaoyang sighed and said, "This is indeed a little troublesome. The key is that it's too long ago, and it's from before liberation. Just thinking about it gives me a headache." Li Rui asked, "Oh right, I haven't seen Elder Huang for more than a day. Has his condition improved?" Song Chaoyang smiled and said, "You don't say. Although the prescription from the Qing Imperial Hospital is a little strange, it's really effective. Elder Huang has been taking the medicine for more than two days and his condition has obviously improved. If we can cure his heart disease, he'll be completely recovered."
Li Rui was overjoyed. As long as Elder Huang's body could recover first, his life would not be in danger for the time being. Then, he would have more time to treat his heart disease. Unfortunately, there was no cure for heart disease and he would have to spend a lot of effort. What was more frightening was that if Elder Su Yun had already passed away, this news would be an even greater psychological blow to Elder Huang. It might even worsen his heart disease. However, it was still too early to talk about this. It was better to wait for news from Shen Yuanzhu first.
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