Chapter 592: Tie Niaofei Goes Missing
San Shier started getting a headache again.
Because the Heavenly Lord had given an order, Gao Family Village was to begin extending its reach towards Xi'an.
This news instantly turned San Shier's hair white with worry.
Xi'an was no small city or county town. It was a colossal metropolis. The urban population alone numbered in the hundreds of thousands; including the surrounding towns and villages, what an immense scale that was!
How many people would Gao Family Village need to send to transform Xi'an into its own domain?
Fortunately, the initial construction in Puzhou City was complete. Now, a large number of technical personnel could be transferred from Puzhou City to Xi'an.
San Shier frantically approved a mountain of transfer orders, sending the Blue Hats scurrying in every direction.
Just as he was swamped with work, Zhong Gaoliang squeezed in through the doorway. “Third Manager, I’m here to get a slip approved.”
San Shier was busy. He took the slip and, without even looking, reached to sign it.
It was the voice of the Golden Thread Heavenly Lord!
San Shier jumped in surprise. He quickly bowed his head and offered an apology to the Golden Thread Heavenly Lord on his chest. Then, he carefully re-examined the document Zhong Gaoliang had handed him, realizing it was a 'Special Pardon Request,' seeking clemency for over six hundred former Guyuan rebels.
San Shier read it more closely. The pardon request stated clearly that Chen Baihu and the other Guyuan rebels, after several years of Labor Reform, had atoned for their sins and their ideological education had caught up. They were now fully developed in morality, intellect, physical health, aesthetics, and labor skills, and could now align with Gao Family Village's new ethos.
“I’ve read it, no problem,” San Shier declared. Only then did he pick up his brush and write: “Approved!”
Then, with a flourish, he signed his name. He also took out the official seal of the Gao Family Village Disciplinary Committee and stamped it firmly onto the document.
Zhong Gaoliang chuckled. “When I show this to them, they’ll be overjoyed.”
The Golden Thread Heavenly Lord, who had been chuckling on San Shier’s chest, suddenly zipped over and landed on the Silver Thread Heavenly Lord on Zhong Gaoliang’s chest. He grinned, “I want to see the excitement too.”
Zhong Gaoliang boarded a train and, carrying the Heavenly Lord, soon returned to the Labor Reform Valley.
By this time, the vast Labor Reform Valley had become increasingly bustling and prosperous.
Apart from military-related industries, which remained off-limits to the Labor Reform prisoners, all other sectors of Gao Family Village had begun to rely on them: textiles, mining, printing, farming, animal husbandry, road construction, cement factories...
Any slightly flat area within Huanglong Mountain was repurposed for constructing a factory building, and houses dotted the valley, scattered everywhere.
At the very heart of the Labor Reform Valley, there was even a market. A multitude of shops had opened here, and the Labor Reform prisoners could even use their recreation time to buy daily necessities at the market.
Of course, they had no money!
They could only use 'Labor Reform Points' to buy things. Those who demonstrated good conscience and reformed well would earn 'points,' which could then be used to purchase items at the market.
This system greatly stimulated the prisoners' motivation for Labor Reform.
Now, various 'Labor Models' were emerging in all the factories.
One hundred and twenty thousand Labor Reform prisoners were living here in a unique way.
As soon as Zhong Gaoliang returned to the Labor Reform Valley, he immediately sent for the over six hundred former Guyuan rebels.
These six hundred-plus individuals had undergone the longest period of reform, and naturally, their transformation was the most profound. Now, each one was orderly and disciplined. Led by Chen Baihu, they stood in neat formation, quietly listening as Zhong Gaoliang announced: “Look, what I hold in my hand is your special pardon. From today onwards, you are free again.”
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Zhong Gaoliang continued, “You can choose to leave freely, or...”
Chen Baihu didn’t hesitate for a moment. “We choose ‘or’.”
Zhong Gaoliang laughed. “Aren’t you afraid my ‘or’ might mean telling you to jump into a pit?”
Chen Baihu grinned. “After so many years here, we know Warden Zhong is a good man; he wouldn’t dig a pit for us.”
Zhong Gaoliang smiled. “Alright, the ‘or’ I meant is for you to join the Gao Family Village Militia and immediately head to the front lines, to Puzhou City. Your former superior, Lao Nanfeng, is currently garrisoned in Puzhou City and needs your support...”
The six hundred Guyuan rebels were all delighted. “That would be excellent, of course!”
Li Daoxuan saw the rebels’ joyful expressions and felt quite pleased himself. This batch of people had truly become his own little followers. Once they found Lao Nanfeng in Puzhou City and armed themselves, they would immediately provide the Gao Family Village Militia with another powerful fighting force.
With that thought, Li Daoxuan casually made a tangent jump. His consciousness instantly zipped towards Puzhou City, curious if Lao Nanfeng was listening to Cai Lin's songs again.
To his surprise, when he returned this time, he found that a large group of his little followers were holding a meeting.
Cheng Xu sat at the head. Beside him, Xing Honglang, Gao Chuwu, Zheng Daniu, Zao Ying, Lao Nanfeng, and others were all present. After their last mission to support Pingyang Prefecture and help Wang Xiaohua secure it, they had returned to Puzhou City and were now in the barracks of Puzhou City.
Everyone wore a serious expression. Not a single person was smiling. It seemed something had gone wrong.
Li Daoxuan co-sensed into the Puppet Heavenly Lord on Gao Chuwu’s shoulder, pricking up his ears to listen closely.
Xing Honglang happened to speak. “When was the last time Tie Niaofei sent a message?”
Zheng Daniu grinned. “Before I ate my nineteenth meal.”
Everyone fell silent.
Lao Nanfeng’s expression darkened. “That’s not good at all. That would make it nine days ago, wouldn’t it?”
Zheng Daniu corrected him, “No, I eat four meals a day.”
Everyone exchanged glances, speechless.
Lao Nanfeng sighed. “Even so, that’s nearly five days ago, which is extremely worrying. Tie Niaofei constantly travels between Puzhou City and Xie Lake, and should make contact at least once every two days. The fact that he hasn’t contacted us in four days suggests something serious has happened.”
Hearing this, Li Daoxuan’s brow furrowed.
After Tie Niaofei joined Gao Family Village, he hadn't participated in any direct, hard-fought battles. Instead, he had been helping Gao Family Village with its salt operations, constantly acquiring salt from the Xie Lake salt excise office, transporting it to Puzhou City, and then to the processing factories.
He was now a crucial link in Gao Family Village's operations. This sudden loss of contact, especially over such a short distance, was quite strange.
The straight-line distance between Puzhou City and Xie Lake was less than a hundred *li*! This certainly wasn't a distance where one should lose contact.
Xing Honglang said, “Instructor Zao, quickly send some cavalry out to search for him.”
Zao Ying replied, “Understood!”
“No need for you to search,” the Puppet Heavenly Lord spoke. “Let me find him.”
As soon as everyone heard the Heavenly Lord speak, they were instantly overjoyed. “Greetings, Heavenly Lord!”
The Puppet Heavenly Lord declared, “Allow me to conduct a divine search.”
With that, Li Daoxuan's co-sensing instantly zipped off, leaping towards the unseen areas further east of Puzhou City.
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