RYEY – Chapter 135 The Fiery Sign-Ups

“What’s the matter? Why are you in such a panic—did something happen?”

“Li Huan, something happened in Xiangqian Village. They’ve lost several children, all of them boys.”

“What’s that got to do with me? Go find the village head of Xiangqian Village. If that doesn’t work, call the police.”

“They did. They’ve been searching for two days without success, so they finally reported it to the police. The officers said it might be the work of human traffickers. When my sister told me this, I suddenly remembered—our village also seemed to have some strangers around these past couple of days.”

Li Huan’s scalp went numb. He had just taken office and wanted to make some achievements, so he started with a literacy class. But if human traffickers had set their sights on the village, gathering all the children in one place would be far too dangerous.

His mind spun rapidly. The literacy class must continue, but precautions against traffickers were necessary. Was there a way to have the best of both worlds? Just then, Cheng Qiao came out. The moment she heard the word “traffickers,” her face twisted with disgust.

“Human traffickers are inhuman, utterly heartless. Once caught, they should be beaten to death.”

Her words sparked an idea in Li Huan’s mind. He instantly knew what to do. He told Cheng Qiao to lock the doors tightly, then headed to the village committee office to beat the gong.

At this hour, every household was at the dinner table, discussing tomorrow’s literacy class. The children were especially excited because Li Le had promised that whoever learned the most characters would get two White Rabbit milk candies.

When they heard the gong, villagers groaned. Back when Chen Weidang was village head, the gong was only struck during spring plowing, autumn harvest, or truly major events.

But this rascal had only been in office for a few days and had already beaten the gong several times. At this rate, who could stand it? Still, though they grumbled, everyone obediently gathered at the drying yard.

“Village Head Li, what is it this time?”

“Don’t tell me we’re getting more cornbread.”

“Dream on.”

“Fellow villagers, I just received news: children in neighboring Xiangqian Village have been abducted by traffickers. To protect the children of our Xiangyang Village, I intend to form a security team.”

The villagers were stunned. Six or seven years ago, children often went missing, so parents watched them closely. In recent years, such incidents had nearly disappeared, and vigilance had relaxed.

“Traffickers? My heavens, traffickers again?”

“Luckily, my children are already grown. Teenagers wouldn’t be stolen, right?”

“Yours are grown, but my kid is only three! Spring plowing is around the corner—leaving him alone in the fields is far too dangerous!”

“Shh! Didn’t the chief say he’s forming a security team? That’s good.”

“Do you think there’ll be work points for joining the team?”

“Huan’er, I’ll sign up for the security team—I don’t need work points.”

Chen Weidang was the first to raise his hand. Having been village head for more than a decade, he knew how cunning traffickers were. Only by uniting could the villagers protect their children.

“I’ll join too. I don’t need work points.”

Qian Longkun raised his hand. Jiang Guangrong and Zhao Xiaobao, as well as the newly arrived male educated youth, all joined in. Uncle Niu even marched to the front, fists swinging, vowing to catch traffickers.

Auntie Wang shoved her husband forward, and Wang Xiangyang readily joined. Da Mao and Er Mao followed, and even Chen Dazhu and Chen Tiezhu stepped up.

Li Huan was touched. He hadn’t even mentioned rewards yet, and already so many had volunteered. It showed how passionate their hearts still were.

With a wave of his arm, he appointed Uncle Niu as the security team leader, responsible for guarding Xiangyang Village, especially when the literacy class let out and during the busy farming season.

Gap-toothed Uncle Niu grinned wide. At last, he had a place to shine. In his mind, he already pictured capturing traffickers and whipping them with his cattle whip.

To ensure enthusiasm and responsibility, Li Huan announced that each security team member would earn between one and three work points while on duty, depending on hours served. The first person to catch a trafficker would also receive a ten-yuan reward.

When the villagers heard there were work points and bonuses, even those with older children grew eager. Sitting idle at home in winter earned no work points—better to go on duty.

Even women and children wanted to join the fun. They began calculating: a full day earned three work points, so a month could mean ninety work points—worth more than six yuan.

Suddenly, sign-ups surged. The crowd grew so rowdy it nearly knocked Uncle Niu over. Li Huan’s eyes bulged as he grabbed the loudspeaker: one volunteer per household, and if numbers still fell short, selections would be made.

Something about Li Huan’s glare made the villagers shrink back. Maybe it was fear of his musket—he was nothing like Chen Weidang, but an unreasonable man who wouldn’t hesitate.

Wang Xiangyang was the first to comply, shoving back his father and brother so only he would sign up. Chen Weidang also pushed Da Mao back. Seeing this, others sent forward only their strongest laborer.

“Huan’er, my family’s already split into separate households. Shouldn’t sign-ups be counted that way?”

Chen Dazhu asked cautiously. His family had divided into three households—if only one could sign up, they’d lose out badly.

Li Huan nodded. “Of course it’s counted that way—otherwise why even split households?” Relieved, Chen Dazhu quickly raised his hand. He was signing up.

Chen Tiezhu joined too. Just as Chen Mugen was about to raise his hand, his twin sons, Da Ming and Xiao Ming, rushed out. Their family was always short of food, but joining the security team meant money, and money meant buying food.

They weren’t the only ones eyeing the points and money. Chen Mugen himself was tempted, but seeing the sons he had with the widow act so thoughtless made him glare at her, then kick Da Ming to the ground.

“Dad, why’d you kick me?”

“Kick you, you little brat! You’re sly and lazy, and you still think you can join the team?”

“As if you’re not sly and lazy yourself.”

Da Ming rubbed his sore backside, muttering as he walked away. Chen Mugen nearly turned back to slap him, but if he stepped away now, he’d have to rejoin the line.

Looking at the bustling crowd, Uncle Niu and Chen Weidang worried there were too many people. By year’s end, redeeming work points would be troublesome. After paying grain tax, there wasn’t much left.

But Li Huan wasn’t worried. With many people, he could divide them into smaller teams, appoint team leaders, and have them take shifts. The results would be even better. As for the points—well, the police would soon crack down, and traffickers wouldn’t have much time or chance left to act.

That very night, Li Huan gathered Chen Weidang, Uncle Niu, Wang Xiangyang, and Qian Longkun at his home for a serious discussion.