Following the direction pointed by Red Hair and Yellow Hair, Zheng Dazhi walked over to a little stall selling sugar figurines, surrounded by several children about waist-high. He looked around, but He Ku was nowhere to be seen.
Not far off, Zheng Dazhi snorted coldly; both father and son are of the same ilk, foolishly stubborn to the core. Even after hitting the south wall, they still think it’s something rare.
Crowds indeed pose an obstacle, and since He Ku is just a kid and short, hiding in any corner is troublesome. Continuing isn’t going to work, so Zheng Dazhi walked out of the market and went back to where he had entered. Red Hair and Yellow Hair were still there, smoking cigarettes and drooling over a girl picking out clothes.
"You two, yes, you two, come here."
Both were followers of Zheng Ergou, and later didn’t do too well, as Zheng Ergou himself was a petty hooligan. Outsiders called him a gangster; those who knew him knew that this guy was always fighting in bars, and now, no nightclub would dare to hire him. Now, it’s an era where making money is the priority; if you keep fighting in clubs, you’re just wrecking the place. It’s no wonder you aren’t cleaned up.
Zheng Ergou may be a fool, but his elder brother, Zheng Dazhi, is surely a notable figure. No hooligans nearby haven’t been beaten by him. Always starting with Martial Arts and then moral lectures, quite a few have suffered at his hands. However, what truly made people wary of him was the rumor that he had killed someone.
Red Hair and Yellow Hair obediently walked over, this time without waiting for Zheng Dazhi to specifically say, they stubbed out their cigarettes themselves.
"Brother Dazhi, did you find him?" Red Hair asked.
Zheng Dazhi glanced at him and shook his head, "No."
Red Hair waved his hand, saying, "No problem, we have many people, we’ll help Brother Dazhi find him together. Yellow Hair, go call the guys, say they come to help Brother Dazhi find someone."
Yellow Hair agreed and turned to leave.
"Brother Dazhi, anything else you need to instruct?"
Zheng Dazhi suddenly thought this kid was quite useful, thinking that if cultivated a bit... The thought barely flashed through his mind before he immediately quashed it. The less people know about this matter, the better, ideally only himself. Everyone else deserves to die! Dying is also in vain!
Zheng Dazhi suddenly shivered, he was startled by his own thoughts.
"Alright then, hurry and find him."
Zheng Dazhi also lit a cigarette for himself, took a few deep drags to stabilize his mind. When he looked up again, Yellow Hair had already led people into the crowd. Many hands make light work isn’t an empty saying; scanning horizontally across with five people covers an entire street, much more efficient than searching alone. No matter how well the kid hides, he won’t leave this street. The police station holding his dad is nearby. Would he really leave?
When he reached a hat stall, Zheng Dazhi stopped, thought for a moment, and still bought a hat that could cover his cheeks.
He Ku’s house was the one his people had smashed; there’s a chance he might hide if he recognizes him. Better to be cautious.
With a dogskin hat on, Zheng Dazhi wandered aimlessly through the crowd, yet his eyes were open to the widest, carefully checking anything that roughly matched He Ku’s height; even the child mannequins at the clothing stalls were scrutinized three times. The vendor only thought he encountered a perverted lunatic, keeping his large-screen Huawei phone on the dial-up interface.
Zheng Dazhi admits he’s a scoundrel, yet he also firmly believes in the principle that where there’s a will, there’s a way. Although laughable, he prefers thinking of himself as a heroic figure which makes it more comfortable to receive heaven’s reward. He also believes that not far off, He Ku is the gift heaven has sent him this time.
He is in the toy shop right across the police station, door to door, amid a sea of people, which helps him hide and quickly blend into the crowd if spotted—a clever child, unknown to Zheng Dazhi, he learned all this from Ye Tian. A clever rabbit has three burrows, and every man for himself as heaven watches.
It must be said, the hat Zheng Dazhi hastily wore did him a great favor. He Ku, while looking out for people, was also cautious, not particularly against Zheng Dazhi, but if he saw him, he would definitely turn and hide. Nobody cares to favor the person who smashed their home.
The toy shop was crowded, mostly adults buying toys for their children, making it hard for outsiders to spot He Ku. However, he overlooked one thing: this setup greatly reduced the scope of the outside world he could see.
A ten-year-old child knows fear and how to hide, but forgets the wickedness of the human heart.
The glint in Zheng Dazhi’s eyes grew brighter, knowing his second half of life depended on this final gamble.
Suddenly, the crowd erupted into chaos, Zheng Dazhi was pushed by the surging force of the crowd. Turning his head, a unicycle loaded with white sacks burst into the crowd. The unicycle’s stability was poor, wobbling through the crowd, an old man with earmuffs struggled to stabilize it, but helplessly, the cycle still charged towards the people.
Zheng Dazhi suddenly thought of He Ku across. When he looked up again, there was no sign of anyone, just a crowd in utter chaos, occasionally stepping on his foot.
This is the most crucial chip!
Zheng Dazhi stood on tiptoes hoping to see clearer, but the dense crowd significantly blocked his view. Although he is a policeman, pulling out his badge now would likely make people think he’s crazy.
After a long search, indeed, there was no sign of him. The child from across had disappeared. Zheng Dazhi was busy pushing away the people in front, forgetting that he was facing real, resourceful common folks who wouldn’t budge on anything, especially when dealing with fierce common women.
"What are you pushing for! Hurrying home to suck on milk?"
Zheng Dazhi looked and saw a middle-aged woman wrapped in a yellow scarf, her face covered with dry, wrinkly skin devoid of any moisture, like sandpaper. It’s useless to reason with such a person. Zheng Dazhi skipped aside, not wanting to engage in pointless quarrels.
"Oh, what are you avoiding, what do you mean? Disdain for your mom here! Today, if you don’t clarify things, you’re not going anywhere!"
Zheng Dazhi hurried away, but his sleeve was tightly grabbed by the middle-aged woman. Staring at her mouth spitting saliva, Zheng Dazhi grew anxious, flicking his hand in panic, accidentally knocking down the woman behind him. In a blink, the squeals reverberated across the street like a pig being slaughtered.