Chapter 1163 Three-day appointment
After Chen Yixin arranged for Ma Yuling to live in the camp, he did not specifically order to restrict her activity area. After all, for such a little girl who has run away from home, it is really difficult for people to be defensive. So while Chen Yixin and Tian Yeyou were busy working on the construction site, Ma Yuling had the opportunity to walk around the camp and gain a first-hand understanding of Haihan, a group that she had once been quite excluded from.
In addition to the special operations battalion and artillery stationed here, the remaining personnel in the mine camp are mainly young migrant workers recruited from Dengzhou and Pi Island. However, Ma Yuling was afraid that some locals would find out her identity, so she did not dare to contact these people. She only watched the daily training of the garrison and the work of civilian workers from a distance.
Order can be said to be one of Ma Yuling's most intuitive feelings about this place. Everything seems to be in order. Starting from the wake-up call that sounded in the camp in the early morning, everyone started the day's operations according to the unified schedule. After Ma Yuling asked the female medical soldier who was taking care of her, she learned that this camp was actually a mine that was being mined, and that the newly built road outside the camp was also to facilitate the transportation of ore and materials in the future. Repair supporting projects.
Ma Yuling can't figure out whether she was lucky or unlucky when she walked along this fork in the road to the mine yesterday. If he hadn't come here, he might have been caught up by his family and taken back, and he would still be protected by the Haihan people here at least for the time being. But if his identity is exposed, his fate may be much worse than being captured by his family. Although the young officer named Chen seems to have a full sense of justice, if he knew that his marriage partner was his boss, or even his boss's boss, would he still have the same courage to continue to protect himself?
Even if you have the courage, you may not have enough ability! Ma Yuling also felt a little desperate when she thought about this difference in status. One was a small officer guarding the mine, and the other was a general with military power. Even if the former opposed the marriage, it would be difficult for him to stand up to his superiors. And the pressure of power. And although Dengzhou is big, where can I go? Even if he escapes to his elder brother's place and waits for his family from Majiazhuang to arrive, he will still be captured and taken home.
If Ma Yuling knew that her family had reached a three-day agreement with Haihan, she would be even more sad. If she went back, she would be forcibly married. If she didn't go back, her family would be held accountable by Haihan. It would be even more difficult. situation. But this pressure is not on her now. The ones who are feeling nervous are the family members who are searching hard for her whereabouts.
The closer he got to Majiazhuang, the more uneasy Ma Dongqiang felt. On his way back from Dengzhou, he searched more carefully than when he went there, but he still didn't get any news related to Ma Yuling. He had a vague feeling that after leaving Majiazhuang, his daughter did not go directly to Dengzhou, but went in another direction that he had not expected. As for the other route that he entrusted to his son Ma Cai to take, Ma Dongqiang also intuitively believed that there would be no gains, because Ma Yuling had never walked that route. In this situation of traveling far away from home alone, a normal person should Will choose a more familiar route.
But to the north of Majiazhuang is the sea, and there is no dock and ferry to the sea; to the east is the Jiahe River under the control of the Haihan people, which has long been closed, and only Haihan ships can travel with it; to the south is the mountainous area that stretches for dozens of miles. The environment is complicated, and it is not easy for a single woman to travel long distances with her luggage. These three directions are not a way out for Ma Yuling. Only heading west to Dengzhou City is the theoretically safer route.
Ma Dongqiang did not believe that his daughter had the ability to cover up her whereabouts so seamlessly. After repeated searches, there was no information at all. It could only be that she never walked in this direction at all. Thinking about the cause and effect of the incident, Ma Dongqiang wondered whether his concubine Dongmei was protecting his daughter, and the mother and daughter teamed up to deceive him? Perhaps Ma Yuling never left Majiazhuang at all, but just found a place to hide. Dongmei deceived her out of Fushan County by lying that her daughter had left home for Dengzhou.
This seems to be the only reasonable explanation that can be drawn at present. As for other less good possibilities, Ma Dongqiang is not willing to think about it now. He only hopes to get the exact news of his daughter's whereabouts after returning to Majiazhuang. Otherwise, in another day, he would have to face questioning from the Haihan people.
Ma Dongqiang hurriedly walked through the snow, hurriedly and slowly, and finally returned to Majiazhuang that night. However, the route taken by his son Ma Cai was longer and it was estimated that he would not be able to arrive until tomorrow.
The first thing Ma Dongqiang did when he returned home was to ask his daughter Ma Yuling if she had returned home. However, the result made him very disappointed. His family thought he would bring Ma Yuling back from Dengzhou, but he thought Ma Yuling was hiding in Ma Yuling. He didn't leave the village. Although Jiang Sheng also led people to search inside and outside the village during the two days he left, there was indeed no trace of Ma Yuling. And he called his concubine Dongmei over and interrogated her carefully, but he didn't find any flaws in Jiang Dongmei's words. On the other hand, Jiang Dongmei heard that Majiazhuang went to Dengzhou twice to look for her daughter but could not find any trace of her. She burst into tears and complained that Ma Dongqiang should not forcefully betroth his daughter to General Haihan, otherwise he would not force his daughter to leave home. He ran away and ended up in the current situation where his whereabouts are unknown.
Of course, Ma Dongqiang felt helpless. He planned this marriage for his daughter. He originally wanted to consider the interests of the family and try his best to find a reliable husband for his daughter. However, an unexpected combination of circumstances turned a good thing into a bad one. This has become the current situation. Now the last hope can probably only be pinned on Ma Cai who is still on the way.
Although Ma Dongqiang was extremely tired after running around for two and a half days, he kept thinking about Ma Yuling's whereabouts. He tossed and turned all night and barely fell asleep until almost dawn. However, he couldn't sleep for long, and a servant woke him up, saying that the eldest young master Ma Cai had arrived home.
Ma Dongqiang stood up and put on his coat, and hurried to the flower hall in the front yard. When he saw Ma Cai and his entourage were still dusting off the snowflakes on their bodies, but their daughter Ma Yuling was nowhere to be seen, his face darkened and he said: "I can't find you. "Little sister?"
Ma Cai's face was not very good, and he bowed and responded: "My child visited me all the way, but I never found out about my little sister's whereabouts. My child knew that the time was limited, and he did not dare to delay outside too much, so he hurried back overnight so that his father could make a decision earlier. ”
Ma Dongqiang saw that Ma Cai's eyes were red, and there was still snow on his head and shoulders that had not been brushed off. He thought that he had to rush back from Dengzhou City for hundreds of miles day and night. Although he had a mount, it was still a very hard job. At the moment, I can't bear to blame him anymore for his poor performance. Ma Dongqiang raised his hand and gently brushed the snow on his shoulders, and ordered: "Hurry up and get some hot food for the young master, and make a bowl of hot ginger soup. Don't get sick because of the snow! ”
Ma Dongqiang can't find his daughter now, which is already a huge loss. He must not involve his son because of this, so he immediately arranged for Ma Cai to eat something to replenish his strength.
Ma Dongqiang was not the only one who was anxious. Jiang Sheng, who was responsible for communicating with Haihan, was also one of the scapegoats. At this time, he was also extremely panicked. After Ma Cai went out, he asked hurriedly: " Yuling can't be found now, and tomorrow will be the three-day period. When the Haihan people arrive at the village, they can't see anyone. How should they explain it?" Ma Dongqiang had thought about this matter repeatedly on the way back, and now he had a rough plan. Shen Sheng responded: "Before noon today, we sent people to post missing person notices everywhere outside the village, offering a reward of one hundred taels to find Yuling's whereabouts... By the way, we also posted a few notices outside the county town. Don't make things bigger. Let Haihan be suspicious!”
Jiang Sheng said worriedly: "It's not too early or too late. We put up the notice just one day before the Haihan people are coming to Majiazhuang. It's hard for the Haihan people not to be suspicious!"
"Then what else can we do? Now that no one can be found, we can't wait until General Chen arrives at home to tell him. That will only cause him to misunderstand even more!" Ma Dongqiang also looked helpless.
Ma Dongqiang can be regarded as a popular figure in Fushan County. What he has said can never be taken back. Although the marriage cannot be disclosed to the outside world before it is settled, many people actually know about it, especially the relatives of the Majiazhuang clan. They have heard to some extent that the clan leader, Ma Dongqiang, plans to marry him. The marriage between Hai and Han people. There are also some people who are opposed to this plan, and there are even many people who are waiting to see Ma Dongqiang's joke.
Ma Dongqiang is naturally aware of these situations. If this matter is not handled satisfactorily, on the one hand, he will offend the Haihan people and bring huge trouble to the Ma family. On the other hand, his own status in the clan will be greatly affected. , and these two bad results are unacceptable to Ma Dongqiang. Now it is very likely that he will not be able to retrieve his daughter before the time limit arrives, so he must now try to minimize the negative impact of this incident.
For now, the only way is to post the missing person notice first, at least before the Haihan people arrive, let the outside world know that Miss Ma is missing and has not returned, and then try to appease the Haihan people so that they will not pursue this matter. thing. Ma Dongqiang can only be glad that the General Haihan he likes is not enthusiastic about the marriage. He has refused several times. He thought that this time there was an unexpected change, as long as he explained it well and gave more benefits as compensation, it would not make the other party too unhappy. Too angry.
As for Ma Yuling's true whereabouts, in fact, Ma Dongqiang's hope is not too high. The snow began to fall in the afternoon when Ma Yuling left, and it has continued until today. Although it cannot be said to be heavy snow, after two or three days of continuous snow, the temperature has already dropped to a level that can freeze someone to death. If Ma Yuling didn't have a definite place to go and wandered aimlessly like this, her small body might not be able to last for three days and two nights.
This kind of inference can be very pessimistic, but according to the clues Ma Dongqiang currently has, it seems to point to this only possibility. If he asked Jiang Sheng to post a missing person notice, it was very likely that what he would find in the end was just a body that froze to death in the suburbs. But he couldn't say such depressing words to his family just yet. Everything had to be postponed until tomorrow's hell gate.
However, Ma Dongqiang did not need to wait until tomorrow to see the Haihan people. In the afternoon of that day, Sun Zhen came to Majiazhuang with a platoon of soldiers. Although the appointment between the two parties was the next day, due to security considerations, the Haihan Army must enter the scene first to ensure the safety of the environment. Although it is not necessary to clear out the entire Majiazhuang, it is at least necessary to ensure the safety inside and outside the Majiazhuang and the main channels in and out of the village. This way, in case of any unexpected situation, armed personnel can cover the evacuation of the leaders in time. In addition, the water source in the village, the food prepared by the Ma family, as well as the kitchen and cooking personnel that will be used tomorrow must all be monitored in advance. Some fresh ingredients must be prepared today for the Ma family to eat first. Make sure no one poisons you.
Dengzhou is not the coastal area of Fuzhou and Guangzhou. Although Haihan apparently controls the situation in Fushan County, the public security situation is not as good as in the south where he can easily enter and leave the Ming people's settlements. For safety reasons, Chen Yixin's security team not only includes the platoon of special operations battalion personnel stationed at the front, but also has a security squad specially responsible for his personal safety.
Chen Yixin had implemented similar security measures when he was a guest in Majiazhuang last time. Moreover, the last time Jiang Sheng went to the mine to lobby, Haihan had already informed him about security matters in advance, so Sun Zhen brought When the Haihan Army entered the village, it did not cause any trouble, but many people in the village came out to see the Western scenery. After all, Hai Hanbing had entered the village last time, and his performance could be regarded as innocent, and the villagers had a good impression of him.
Sun Zhen led people to check the inside and outside of Ma's house, then asked Ma Dongqiang to gather all the servants in the house together, checked their identities one by one, and then went to the kitchen to watch the cook cook dinner, confirming that all There is no problem in every aspect.
However, when it was time to start dinner, Sun Zhen still remembered the most critical issue: "Tomorrow, Chief Chen will meet with Miss Ma. We need to confirm Miss Ma's identity first."
Jiang Sheng, who was responsible for connecting with Haihan, asked: "How can we confirm this?"
"Just ask Miss Ma to come out and let us recognize her. From tonight until the end of the meeting tomorrow, our female soldiers will protect Miss Ma's personal safety." Sun Zhen finished speaking and pointed to the two same people behind him. Woman in gray military uniform. It's said to be protection, but it's actually a disguised form of surveillance to prevent the other party from cheating. It's okay to use an ugly monster to deceive the chief into a blind date, but it would be a big trouble if it's a female assassin.
Jiang Sheng licked his lips and said with difficulty: "Actually... my niece has not returned from going out..."
(End of chapter)