Chapter 310: Wu Mei
"Alas, it's been so long and they still haven't found her. It'll probably be very difficult to find the child now. Could she have been abducted by human traffickers? " a fellow worker from outside the village speculated.
"It's very possible, but I hope that's not the case. If the child really was abducted by human traffickers, that would be truly tragic."
As his words fell, that worker said no more, while another worker nearby picked up the conversation.
"When Lao Zhang left his hometown, he originally planned to leave his wife at home to look after the child and his elderly mother. But after the couple discussed it, they both wanted to earn a bit more money, so they left the child at home, asking his mother to help look after her. Who would've thought something like this would happen?"
Leaving children with parents while a couple goes out to work is not to say that every household in the countryside does this, but it is indeed very common. Not only was it the case for Lao Zhang's family, but also for most of the other workers present. It was just that such a tragedy hadn't befallen them.
"Sigh, the child has been missing for so many days now. It'll probably be hard to find her," Wu Mei sighed, her face full of regret.
"That's right, but Lao Zhang and his wife haven't given up. Lao Zhang said he'd search to the ends of the earth to find his daughter," the worker who had spoken earlier explained.
Lao Zhang's determination to find his daughter was firm; his fellow workers didn't doubt that. However, they felt that the likelihood of Lao Zhang successfully bringing his daughter back in the end was slim.
Just then, Wu Mei's phone suddenly rang.
"Mom, what is it? " Wu Mei asked.
"Lao Zhang's daughter has been found! " an old woman's voice came from the other end of the phone.
"What? ! " Wu Mei's expression instantly turned to shock. She quickly asked, "Where was she found?"
"I heard her body was found by a fisherman. Lao Zhang's daughter was forcibly stuffed into a sack and thrown into the river to drown. It's truly unthinkable, whose heart could be so vicious as to not even spare a little child? " the old woman replied.
"R-really? Is that true? " Wu Mei stammered, asking.
"Of course it's true. The police came to our village today. After Lao Zhang confirmed it, it was indeed his missing daughter. Lao Zhang's mother and his wife couldn't handle the shock and fainted on the spot. Now, Lao Zhang's wife has woken up, but his mother is still in the hospital, being resuscitated. " the old woman said.
"Th-then, has the murderer been found? " Wu Mei's voice trembled slightly as she asked.
"Not yet. The person has been dead for so many days, where would we even find the murderer? I specifically called you right now to give you a heads-up; you need to be careful working alone on the construction site. Alright, that's it. I'm going to call your brother now."
After the old woman finished speaking, she hung up the phone, but the shock on Wu Mei's face didn't dissipate with the call's end. Her stunned expression seemed to have frozen in place.
"Wu Mei, what's wrong? Why are you just standing there blankly? " a worker asked, seeing Wu Mei standing stock-still, looking utterly bewildered.
The person's voice snapped Wu Mei back to her senses. A flicker of hesitation crossed her eyes, then, still looking shocked, she returned to the dinner table.
"My mom just called me," Wu Mei began, "She said Lao Zhang's daughter has been found."
Upon hearing this, all the workers became alert. Those picking up food put down their chopsticks, those drinking set down their cups, and all eyes converged on Wu Mei.
"Found? That's good news! Where was she found? How? " a worker asked, surprised.
"She was found, but it's not good news. Because Lao Zhang's daughter is already dead. They only found her body," Wu Mei said.
As soon as she said this, the reactions of the workers present were far more agitated than before.
"What? ! Dead? How did she die?"
"My mom said she was forcibly stuffed into a sack and then thrown into the river to drown. Her body was found today by a fisherman in the river."
The few of them exchanged glances, all seeing the disbelief on each other's faces.
In their eyes, Lao Zhang's daughter going missing most likely meant she had been abducted by human traffickers, but they had never imagined that Lao Zhang's daughter would actually be cruelly murdered.
"Lao Zhang's daughter was only seven or eight years old. Who could be so cruel as to lay such a heavy hand on such a tiny child? Did Lao Zhang offend someone out there? " a worker spoke up.
"For someone to act so viciously towards his daughter, it must mean there's some kind of deep-seated grudge between them. Otherwise, who would inexplicably murder a child? As for whom Lao Zhang offended, I wouldn't know," another worker said.
"Misfortune shouldn't befall family, let alone a child. Even if there's a genuine, deep-seated hatred with Lao Zhang, they should just go after Lao Zhang directly. Why take it out on a child? In my opinion, this murderer must be a pervert."
The shock on Wu Mei's face had subsided considerably. Hearing her fellow worker's words, she thought for a moment, then spoke with a hint of uncertainty, "Do you think it could have been that person above?"
For a moment, the workers present didn't quite grasp what Wu Mei meant by that.
"Who's 'that person above'? " a worker asked, lowering his voice.
"'That person above,' you know, the one above Lao Zhang! " Wu Mei glanced around, also lowering her voice as she spoke.
Seeing that they still hadn't caught on, Wu Mei lowered her voice further and prompted, "Money! The money!"
With that hint, one of the workers present finally caught on.
"You mean the boss?"
As soon as he blurted that out, Wu Mei's face instantly changed color. She quickly made a shushing gesture towards him.
The man quickly covered his mouth, not daring to speak further, but his words had been heard clearly by the other workers present. In that instant, everyone understood what Wu Mei had been implying.
Wu Mei motioned for them to lean closer. After glancing around again, she whispered, "Could it be that Lao Zhang asking him for money angered him, and that's why he did something like this?"
"There might actually be a possibility," a worker said, looking surprised. "I heard our boss has quite a bit of underworld influence, and he's got a really strong criminal vibe about him. Maybe he really did it."
"No way," another worker seemed to disagree with this notion. "What good would that do him? If the truth came out, he'd definitely be executed. It's not worth taking such a huge risk!"
"What 'no way'? Do you think he's been living for nothing all these years? Putting aside whether this case can even be traced back to him, even if it is, do you really think he'd definitely be executed? " the former retorted.
"I think so too. As for what benefit the boss would get from doing this. . . could he be trying to warn us in this way? " Wu Mei pondered, then asked the others.
At Wu Mei's question, the expressions on the workers' faces varied. Some were disbelieving, some were surprised, and some were fearful.
It was late, but tonight, these workers seemed not to notice the passage of time. The few of them huddled together, discussing in low whispers. None of them noticed that in an inconspicuous corner, a little girl stood, her gaze coldly fixed on Wu Mei and the others.
Wu Mei and the others neither saw nor sensed the little girl's presence. They continued their hushed discussion, back and forth, occasionally glancing around, worried about being overheard.
As their discussion deepened, the shock in their hearts grew stronger.
Because after their discussion, they felt that the boss's suspicion in the crime was indeed significant. It wasn't just due to his background, but also because the boss had, in front of everyone, previously uttered similar threatening words towards Lao Zhang.
At the time, the boss's threats had been veiled and insinuating. Some people hadn't understood, and those who did hadn't paid it any mind, simply dismissing it as words spoken in anger. But recalling them now, the meaning of those words suddenly shifted.
"I think we shouldn't discuss this matter anymore," a worker said, feeling a bit uneasy. "Otherwise, it won't just harm us, but our families too."
Another worker nodded, agreeing with this sentiment.
"I think so too. If he really did it, then if he can kill others, he can kill us. I don't want anything to happen to my son. At worst, I'll just give up my wages!"
However, not all the workers present shared their two colleagues' thoughts.
"What are you two afraid of? Leaving aside whether he did it or not, even if he did, can he kill all of us? Is there no justice left?"
"I, on the other hand, think we should call the police now. Whether he did it or not, let the police investigate, and we'll just wait for the results."
"Didn't I just say? He's powerful and influential. Are you sure calling the police will be useful? Are you sure it'll trace back to him? If he doesn't fall, then we'll be the unlucky ones!"
As soon as these words were uttered, the workers present fell silent.
Wu Mei hesitated for a moment, then broke the silence.
"We can try our best to blow this matter up, to expand its influence. Then, even if he has connections, it'll probably be hard for him to be protected. To make a big fuss, we must unite, gather all the workers. Once successful, not only can we send him to prison, but we can also get our wages back!"
Wu Mei's words instantly made the eyes of the other workers present light up!
Putting everything else aside, Wu Mei's last sentence about being able to get their wages back was incredibly appealing to the workers present.
Even the worker who had just said he wouldn't care about his wages was now moved by Wu Mei's words.
"Everyone, think it over first. If we decide to do this, we need to do it soon," Wu Mei added in a low voice.
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