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Chapter 225: Chapter 218: The Little Dark Room
The man with glasses shouted impatiently, "Who are you, anyway? We don’t need your meddling in our work, hurry up and take the person away." He referred to the villagers brought by Uncle Shen, who had already surrounded the vehicle. "Otherwise, we’ll have to take all of you away for obstructing official business."
The villagers stepped back in fear; they didn’t understand what the crime of obstructing official business was, all they knew was that one shouldn’t contend with officials, and once they realized these people were leaders from the Revolutionary Committee, they felt intimidated.
The man with glasses huffed and pushed Yunfang Shen, urging her to get into the car quickly.
Uncle Shen wanted to step forward and stop them but was held back by Accountant Li, "Captain, we really shouldn’t interfere with the work of the Revolutionary Committee leaders. If they decide to pursue this, we won’t be able to handle it."
Hearing Accountant Li’s words, the nearby villagers took another step back.
Those few people got into the vehicle, and taking advantage of the moment, started the engine and sped off with a press on the accelerator.
Uncle Shen shook off Accountant Li’s grasp. "What are you doing?" He chased after them for a couple of steps, but his old arms and legs were no match for four wheels.
Watching the car’s disappearing tail lights, he muttered anxiously, "What do we do now? What do we do now?" He was genuinely panicked, "No, I have to follow and see."
His niece had been taken away, and for no clear reason; how could he not be worried?
"Captain, I advise you to think twice," Accountant Li said, hinting that he knew what the Revolutionary Committee was like; the message was clear that he should look out for himself.
Uncle Shen hesitated, not because he was afraid, but because he knew that even if he went there, it would be useless; he wouldn’t be able to talk with anyone from the Revolutionary Committee.
Right, there was still Hongjun. He would call him; Hongjun definitely knew the top leaders.
Once Uncle Shen figured this out, he hurried toward Yunfang’s house, then came out pushing a bicycle; he needed to go to the brigade to make a phone call.
Meanwhile, at Granny Wang’s house. Such a big commotion over at Yunfang’s place naturally didn’t go unheard at her home; Dashuan’s wife held Dashuan back, preventing him from going outside.
Only after the vehicle had vanished into the distance did she let go of her hold.
"What are you doing?" Dashuan asked distraughtly, "Yunfang and Hongjun have been so good to us, how can we ignore them when they’re in trouble?" He crouched down, clutching his head in agony.
He had wanted to go out and stop them just moments before, thinking of how Yunfang had helped his family so much; he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing now.
Dashuan’s wife scolded him without any sympathy, "Get up, will you, and stop showing that pathetic side of yourself. What’s the use even if you rush out? Can your arms wrestle with their legs? Hurry up and go to my parents’ house, borrow a bicycle, and get to the county’s armed forces department. Remember that leader surnamed Xing who came to our village last time? Go talk to him about this; he can definitely save Yunfang." She had just seen Yunfang’s bicycle taken away by the captain, and she instantly realized the captain must be going to call Hongjun. But in her mind, distant waters won’t put out a nearby fire; Hongjun was far away, and even if he reached out, it would take forever to make any difference here.
Dashuan was startled for a moment, then quickly sprang up from the ground with a goofy smile at his wife, "Wife, you think of everything. I’m listening to you."
"Spare me, in your eyes, I’m always the bad person." Dashuan’s wife wasn’t going to play along; once this was over, she’d see how she’d deal with him.
There was no time for bickering; one went to Yunfang’s place to help tidy up and keep watch, while the other ran towards the outskirts of the village.
As for Yunfang Shen, after sitting down in the car, she too became completely calm. A blessing is not a disaster; a disaster cannot be avoided if it’s meant to come. Since it had come to this, getting upset and angry was pointless; she might as well go with the flow. Now she was curious to see just how frightening the Revolutionary Committee’s cells really were.
Traveling by car was fast. In about half an hour, the vehicle stopped in front of a bungalow. The man with glasses shoved Shen Yunfang out of the car, and then she was led into a small house. She was pushed inside, and then, with a thud, the door behind her was closed.
Shen Yunfang turned around and pulled at the door, but couldn’t open it—it was locked from the outside.
"Stay put," came a reprimanding voice from outside, followed by a series of footsteps fading away as the person who had scolded also walked away.
Only then did Shen Yunfang let go of the doorknob, slowly turned around, and began to survey the room.
Actually, by rights, she shouldn’t have been able to see anything since it was pitch dark with only a sliver of light seeping through the gap under the door.
However, Shen Yunfang’s vision had become very good, and even with just that bit of light, she looked around the room thoroughly.
First, the room had a door but was otherwise an entirely enclosed space with not even a window.
Second, the room was empty—there wasn’t a bed in sight, not even a table or a chair.
Another thing was that the room was very cold, without a stove or heating.
Shen Yunfang leaned against the cold wall, closed her eyes, and calmed herself to feel carefully and listen intently, ensuring there was no one nearby. Only then did she relax her back, took out a chair from her space, and sat down.
It appeared that these people didn’t want to interrogate her just yet, or maybe they didn’t need to ask anything at all and could condemn her directly.
Sitting there, Shen Yunfang’s mind raced, pondering the potential scenarios and, most importantly, who could be out to harm her.
Moreover, those who came to her house knew to knock on a basin to call the chickens back, which meant they knew her usual habits. She checked carefully in her mind.
The ones who had seen her feed the chickens were only Li Hongjun, Dashuan, and his wife, but they wouldn’t likely tell these people. So who else could it be? Right, there was also Old Zhou, the leader of the work team, who had taken the opportunity to visit her house, and she had called the chickens back in front of him too. So it must be him.
What was their purpose?
For her family’s chickens? They could have simply taken the chickens; why would they bring her here and falsely accuse her of stealing food?
Was it to target Li Hongjun through her? She immediately shook her head; Li Hongjun wasn’t a major leader. Although a deputy battalion commander was not a small position, it wasn’t significant enough to warrant such elaborate schemes.
Furthermore, military and political systems were separate entities; even if someone wished to target Li Hongjun, it generally wouldn’t affect the local side.
Shen Yunfang sat there, listening to the sounds outside while her mind went over these matters again and again. Some things she could understand, but others seemed unreasonable no matter how she thought about them.
Time passed slowly, and those who had captured her seemed to have genuinely forgotten about her existence.
After sitting for a long time, Shen Yunfang felt hungry and thought it best to eat something. The body was the most important asset for revolution, she didn’t know what her situation would be later on, and taking care of herself and the child inside was the utmost priority.
Nevertheless, she was mindful of the smell and didn’t dare take out anything with a strong scent. She simply munched on two biscuits and drank a bowl of soup before finishing her meal.
