“Xu Meili, what’s going on? Didn’t you say you were just trying to scare her? You’ve taken the people, but it’s already midnight—why can’t we go back yet? Both my sons are running a fever!”
In the dim thatched hut, Su Xiaomei sat on a pile of straw, holding her two sons who were still suffering from low-grade fevers. She looked up and questioned Xu Meili.
Xu Meili smiled sweetly. “Sister Su, don’t worry. I’m worried about your kids having fevers too. Didn’t I give you fever reducers when we got in the car? Once they’ve taken the medicine, they’ll be fine. If I let you go back now, do you think you’d be able to smooth things over with your family? I’m just trying to scare Bai Lan a little, make her family worry. Who told that damned Bai Li to reject my big brother multiple times?”
Hearing these comforting words, Su Xiaomei still didn’t want to stay in that pitch-dark thatched hut and wanted to take her children home as soon as possible. But she was also truly afraid that if she went back now, Xu Jianbei and the Bai family would question her.
After all, many people at the textile factory knew that Bai Lan had been called out by her.
Realizing this, Su Xiaomei gritted her teeth and raised other demands.
She asked for hot water and meat porridge. Xu Meili satisfied each one. Finally, things quieted down.
On the other side of the wall, Bai Lan was also leaning against a pile of thatch. She had overheard the entire conversation between Xu Meili and Su Xiaomei and had only one assessment of Su Xiaomei in her heart—an idiot.
How could anyone be so foolish as to personally set herself up to lure Bai Lan out? Now, everyone outside must believe that Bai Lan’s disappearance has a lot to do with Su Xiaomei. No one will know that the real instigator behind the scenes is Xu Meili. Or rather, that the person behind it all is actually Xu Qiang.
As for the purpose, it’s definitely not as simple as Xu Meili claimed—her second sister rejecting Xu Qiang.
Smelling the scent of pig manure in the air, Bai Lan could now be one hundred percent certain of Xu Qiang’s goal and the goal of the people behind Xu Qiang.
Thinking of this, Bai Lan sighed.
She truly hadn’t expected that as an ordinary person, she would end up encountering something often found in period novels—espionage.
Yes, espionage. Industrial espionage for technology.
There’s no other explanation for this.
This conclusion was something Bai Lan and Xu Jianbei had already speculated about. It’s just that today’s kidnapping confirmed their guess.
If you ask Bai Lan whether she’s afraid? To be honest, a little. But she and Xu Jianbei had already discussed what to do if something like this happened. For now, she won’t act rashly. She’ll just wait for Xu Jianbei to make his move.
—
At the same time, after reading the contents of the letter, Xu Jianbei let out a cold laugh. He first went back to his office, then took a thick kraft paper envelope and returned to his residence from the factory.
His second brother, Xu Jianxi, was already waiting there.
“Don’t worry about the Bai family—they don’t know yet that your sister-in-law is missing.”
Xu Jianxi felt a bit guilty as he said this. If he hadn’t brought back those blueprints, things might not have implicated his younger brother.
Xu Jianbei shook his head. “Second Brother, even without your situation, I would have been targeted by Xu Qiang a long time ago. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to try to marry Bai Lan’s second sister.”
If he married her, he would become Xu Jianbei’s brother-in-law, making it even easier to steal information.
As for why Xu Qiang had set his sights on him—Xu Jianbei knew it had to do with last year’s trip to the Haicheng Machine Tool Plant.
Back then, most of the people at the Haicheng Machine Tool Plant project were there for an ordinary study tour. But a few, including him, Bai Baowei, and several other young people, were selected for a special team. There, alongside several veteran experts, they were exposed to some advanced technology.
If it hadn’t been for Bai Baowei and Bai Ping’s family background being exposed later, forcing him and Bai Baowei to return to Beicheng early, they would have stayed in Haicheng for another month. Even so, both of them had been in contact with classified technology.
Moreover, back when the project was selecting participants, Xu Qiang had been jumping up and down trying to get in for a long time.
And now, with Second Brother suddenly returning and placing that large order with the steel plant, Xu Qiang had also taken a keen interest in the matter.
These things might seem insignificant on the surface, but with a little attention, the clues become clear.
So, Xu Jianbei had already discussed things with his second brother, planning to find a way to capture Xu Qiang and the people behind him in one fell swoop.
But before they could make a move, the other side suddenly acted out of desperation.
Seeing that his younger brother remained composed, Xu Jianxi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
In fact, his return this time was specifically to bring that order to Beicheng as bait. Xu Jianxi had thought it would take months to round everyone up. But then the other side unexpectedly pulled this stunt. Instead, things became much easier to handle.
“Second Brother, I’m taking these documents over now. While I’m negotiating with Xu Qiang, your people can move in and make the arrests.”
Xu Jianxi nodded. “That’s already arranged. According to their progress, they should have the place surrounded by now. But are you sure you want to go in person? Do you want me to find someone to replace you?”
Xu Jianbei looked up at the bright moonlight outside and shook his head. “Second Brother, I want to deal with this myself and get justice for Bai Lan.”
That’s right. The envelope he received contained a demand: Xu Qiang wanted the classified materials and technology Xu Jianbei had been exposed to, in exchange for Bai Lan’s safe return. The exchange was set to take place at a pig farm on the outskirts of the city.
—
At the suburban pig farm, under the same moon, Bai Lan had already used the small blade she had on her to cut through the ropes binding her hands and feet.
But she didn’t dare run outside alone. It sounded quiet out there for now. But when she had been captured during the day, she had clearly seen that those men had guns. Faced with such weapons, Bai Lan knew she didn’t have any plot armor. She wasn’t willing to take the slightest risk.
Still, she had confidence in Xu Jianbei. They had long since analyzed that the suburban pig farm was suspicious—especially since the Xu siblings were so familiar with the place.
So Bai Lan prepared to protect herself at a moment’s notice.
Just then, she heard footsteps outside. Immediately after, Xu Qiang’s voice came from near the door.
“Xu Jianbei is coming from the screw factory? Carrying a thick kraft paper envelope? He’s coming alone, right?”
As soon as Xu Qiang fired off these questions, someone replied flatly, “The target has taken the documents. We’ve confirmed he got them from his office. Xu Qiang, you can’t mess this up again.”
Xu Qiang didn’t like being spoken to in such a reproachful tone. But it was true that he hadn’t done a good job with this mission.
Initially, he had planned to take a roundabout approach—establish himself at the steel plant, build good relationships with various technical personnel, and get close to promising skilled workers like Xu Jianbei. This would prepare him to continuously obtain all kinds of confidential information in the future.
Who would have thought that Bai Li would be so difficult to deal with? It had made all his schemes impossible to execute. Fortunately, Xu Jianbei had a foolish sister-in-law, which allowed them to capture Bai Lan.
“Once we get the documents, leave no one inside alive,” Xu Qiang suggested to his companion with a sinister tone.
The other man nodded casually. “When the time comes, remember to burn all the evidence. Then lay low with your sister for a while. Once the heat dies down, the organization will make further moves.”
Inside the hut, Bai Lan realized that they truly intended to kill her. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be having such a conversation within earshot.
She was a little scared, instinctively tightening her grip on the blade. Soon, the voices outside stopped, followed by the sound of footsteps walking away.
Another hour or so passed in silence. Bai Lan estimated that it was probably past one in the morning by now.
At this hour, there wasn’t a sound outside. But what was strange was that she couldn’t even hear the chirping of insects.
After all, their location was a pig farm up in the suburban mountains.
Just as she thought this, Bai Lan felt the air suddenly grow still. There was a sense that something major was about to happen.
Then, she heard footsteps again. This time, the footsteps were very familiar. Bai Lan immediately realized that Xu Jianbei had arrived.
Xu Jianbei was indeed standing less than ten meters away from the thatched hut.
“Where’s the person?” In the darkness, Xu Jianbei could only make out vague figures standing at the entrance of the hut.
The man at the door spoke in a low voice, “Did you bring the things? We need to see them first and make sure everything is in order before we release her.”
Xu Jianbei: “No. I need to see that she’s unharmed first before I hand over the documents. Otherwise, you’re not getting them.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a flame suddenly appeared in Xu Jianbei’s hand, as if he was about to set the documents on fire.
This startled the ambushers lying in wait nearby, and they had no choice but to agree to Xu Jianbei’s demand.
Inside the hut, Bai Lan knew her chance had come the moment she heard Xu Jianbei negotiating with the criminals.
She loosely tied the ropes back around her hands and feet, pretending to be asleep. When she heard someone open the door and come in, she immediately acted as if she had just woken up in fright.
The person who entered was a burly stranger. He reached out and grabbed Bai Lan by the arm.
Bai Lan pretended to cry out in pain as he yanked her arm. Then, when the man wasn’t paying attention, she slashed the blade in her hand across his neck.
As the burly man focused on his neck, she kicked him hard between the legs.
The man immediately cried out, clutching his groin and howling in pain.
That cry seemed to be the signal. Instantly, all sides that had been holding back sprang into action.
Bai Lan took the opportunity to snatch the gun from the man’s pocket and pointed it at him, telling him not to move.
Outside, the sounds of a fight broke out. Xu Jianbei then ran inside.
With all this commotion, Su Xiaomei and her two sons, who were sleeping in another room, naturally heard the noise. Su Xiaomei, acting on instinct, had pretended not to hear anything just moments ago. But now that she heard Xu Jianbei’s voice, she immediately started shouting for help.
Xu Jianbei ignored her and ran straight to Bai Lan’s room. Following Bai Lan’s instructions, he quickly used the ropes she had used earlier for her disguise to bind the burly man’s hands and feet.
At this point, their task as ordinary civilians was done.
—
“Are you hurt?” the couple finally had a moment to ask each other.
“I’m fine. The authorities are already here. Once they take care of the people outside, we can go home.”
Bai Lan nodded. “Yes, let’s go home.”
Xu Jianbei reached out and took one of Bai Lan’s hands, while holding the gun with his other hand, still aiming it at the burly man.
The gun was actually quite heavy. Bai Lan’s hand had gone a little soft from holding it earlier. She thought to herself that she had now handled a gun in the 1970s—something she could brag about to future generations.
As Bai Lan’s mind began to wander, the action outside moved swiftly.
Because they had prepared well in advance, even though there were quite a few enemies, the operation went smoothly. There were no casualties, though several people were injured.
When Bai Lan and Xu Jianbei were led out of the thatched hut by Second Brother Xu, they even had the presence of mind to greet him.
Seeing that his younger brother and sister-in-law were both fine and didn’t seem too shaken, Xu Jianxi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, Su Xiaomei also came running out. She opened her mouth to start wailing about her “grievances,” but before she could, Xu Jianxi called out to his men: “This one is also an accomplice. Take her back too.”
Upon hearing this, Su Xiaomei screamed in fright: “Second Brother, if you won’t help me, fine! But now you’re trying to frame me!”
Xu Jianxi didn’t bother to hide his disdain. “It’s not just you. Xu Jiandong will also be brought in for questioning. Whether you’re innocent or not, the authorities will determine that.”
In the darkness of the night, amid Su Xiaomei’s curses, Bai Lan found it truly astonishing.
This woman had dared to lead a kidnapping, and now she thought she could still wriggle out of it? Not getting shot would already be the best outcome.
Bai Lan felt sorry for the two children inside who were still running fevers. Their fevers were real, but it was no coincidence that both were sick at the same time.
So, those fevers were most likely caused by Su Xiaomei herself.
What a heartless person. She wasn’t fit to be a mother to those children. Bai Lan wondered what Su Xiaomei had gained by selling herself out to Xu Meili.
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