Chapter 48: Missing Persons Notice

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When Mother saw the envelope, she picked it up with a puzzled look, and Father couldn’t help but stretch his neck to peek as well. Mother opened the envelope and found a stack of bills—at least a dozen or so.

“Where did you get so much money?” she asked.

Zhou Yi picked up some food with his chopsticks and said, “Third Uncle gave it to me before he left, saying to give it to you all to buy some food for Grandpa.”

As soon as Mother heard it was from Zhou Jianye, she immediately felt relieved. She pulled the money out and counted—it was exactly fifteen bills.

Fifteen hundred yuan, nearly half a year’s salary for Zhou Jianguo.

“Ah, that Fourth Uncle—sharp-tongued but soft-hearted,” Father said, reaching for the money in Mother’s hand.

Unexpectedly, Mother pulled back slightly. “What are you doing?”

“This money is from Fourth Uncle for Dad. I’ll take it over to him later.”

Upon hearing this, Mother’s expression changed instantly. She poked Father’s head with a finger.

“Zhou Jianguo, are you out of your mind?”

“Why would you say that?”

“If you give this money to Dad, do you think it’ll be safe? Just look at the way the Second Uncle and his wife are—they’d even tear apart stitched shoe insoles to see if there’s money inside. If you hand the money over to Dad, it’s like sending sheep into the tiger’s den.”

“Well, we can’t keep the money either. This is Fourth Uncle’s goodwill. If we take it, wouldn’t that be heartless?”

Zhou Yi’s father was just that kind of man—stubborn, obstinate, but upright and principled, with no tolerance for wrongdoing.

His second uncle, Zhou Jianjun, who shared the same mother, was a completely different person.

“I’m not saying we keep the money ourselves. We’ll hold onto it for Dad first. If he ever needs money for a minor illness or hospital visit, we’ll use it then.”

“Look, this time, it was still Zhou Yi who advanced the hospital fees.”

“Oh, speaking of hospital fees, once Dad is discharged, you have to call Second and Third Uncle over. We need to discuss how to split these hospital costs; it can’t just come out of our family’s pocket.”

“The money from Fourth Uncle is here; we can deduct from it later. But the money from Second and Third Uncle must not be shortchanged, especially Second Uncle. The two of them haven’t even been to the hospital.”

“Our family doesn’t have money; Zhou Yi needs to save his own money to get married.”

Once Zhang Qiuxia started talking, it was endless—like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube.

Just as the two were about to start bickering again, Zhou Yi, having finished his meal, put down his chopsticks and said, “Third Uncle said to have Mom keep the money; it’s for Grandpa to buy some food. But he specifically told me not to let Grandpa know.”

Zhou Yi deliberately altered a small detail, knowing his father’s personality—this money was safer in Mother’s hands.

“Also, I have an idea about Grandpa’s situation that I want to share with you.”

With that, Zhou Yi stood and took a folded piece of paper from the desk drawer and placed it on the table.

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Father picked up the paper with a puzzled look. After just a glance, his face changed instantly.

...

The next morning, Zhou Yi was full of energy as he put on his police uniform, preparing to report to the city bureau.

Before leaving, Mother asked anxiously, “Son, about what you said last night—will it work? Don’t make things too embarrassing; these are neighbors and folks from the neighborhood. We don’t want to make a laughingstock of ourselves.”

“Mom, don’t worry. I know exactly what I’m doing.”

Last night, Zhou Yi had told his parents everything—the wrongdoing of Second Uncle’s family, the forged will, Zhou Kai’s gambling debts, and more.

It left Zhou Jianguo and Zhang Qiuxia utterly stunned, speechless for a long time before they came back to their senses.

Father was trembling uncontrollably while holding the will.

Zhou Yi then briefly explained his plan again—not for discussion, but purely to inform.

Because he had already made up his mind.

He told his parents out of respect, and also to let them know not to interfere going forward.

Zhou Yi’s reasoning was exactly as his mother had said: don’t let outsiders mock the Zhou family.

With his status as a policeman and with gangs waiting to deal with Zhou Kai, it was both reasonable and lawful for him to take action.

As long as the other family members stayed out of it, this fragile peace would remain unbroken.

Of course, that was only the last bit of dignity left.

On the way to the bureau, Zhou Yi encountered a small incident.

At an intersection, he saw a large crowd gathered, voices rising in a clamorous buzz.

Unsure of the situation but fulfilling his duty as a police officer, Zhou Yi got out and approached.

Someone spotted Zhou Yi in uniform and shouted, “The police officer is here!”

The crowd parted immediately.

Only then did Zhou Yi see the man at the center—a thin, crew-cut middle-aged man.

Around his neck hung a sign with many words.

The two largest characters read: “Reward of 10,000 yuan for finding my wife.”

Below were some details and a blurry photo of a chubby middle-aged woman with curly hair.

“What’s going on here?” Zhou Yi asked.

“Officer, my wife is missing,” the man said gravely.

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Zhou Yi lowered his head and carefully read the details on the missing person notice around the man’s neck.

The missing woman was named Zhang Hui, aged forty-six.

She had disappeared on March 13, five days ago, last seen at home.

No further details were provided—no height, weight, or distinguishing features.

The notice appeared somewhat amateurish.

“She’s been missing for five days already. Did you report it?” Zhou Yi asked.

The man nodded stiffly.

“What did the police say?”

“They said my wife left without taking anything—no ID, no wallet—so she probably didn’t go far. They told me to wait at home for news, but there’s been nothing since.”

“Officer, I had no choice but to do this. We have an eight-year-old daughter at home who cries every day asking where her mother went.”

As the man’s story grew more pitiful, the gathered crowd grew emotional and began voicing their opinions loudly.

Some said the woman was cruel for abandoning her husband and child.

Others accused the police of negligence, saying they hadn’t found her after so long.

As the situation grew chaotic, Zhou Yi raised his voice: “Quiet! Everyone quiet!”

His voice instantly drowned out all noise. All eyes turned to the young officer, curious to see how he would handle the situation.

“Which police station handled this case?” Zhou Yi asked the man.

The man shook his head. “I don’t know. I called the police, and they came.”

“Where do you live?”

“Over there,” he pointed north. “Donghai Community.”

Zhou Yi checked the nearby street signs and roughly identified the relevant police station.

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Xu Jiaguang. My wife is Zhang Hui.”

“Alright, I’ve got your name. I’ll look into the situation for you later,” Zhou Yi said, patting the man on the shoulder.

Unexpectedly, someone in the crowd sneered, “So young, barely a whisker on his chin, and already unreliable. Asking questions is just laziness to avoid responsibility.”