Chapter 6 — My Daughter's Iron Box

Nine hundred and seventy-six, all mine. Shen Zhiqiang reached out to touch that faint indentation, his chest tightening with a sharp, suffocating pain. The drawer had been thoroughly ransacked. Yet, wedged deep in the very back, a tiny piece of paper remained. He pulled it out. It was a bus ticket stub. From the southern city to Linshui County. The date was seven days ago. Without a moment's hesitation, he snapped a photo and sent it to the police. Almost immediately, his phone rang.

We have tracked down a van bearing a red blessing amulet, the officer reported. The vehicle is registered under a small garment workshop located in Linshui County. However, the place was reported three days ago for illegal employment practices, "and the owner has already fled."

Shen Zhiqiang gripped the phone so tightly his knuckles turned white. "And what about the child?"

The voice on the other end paused for a moment. Several minors were recovered from the scene. Shen Anan is not among the names on the list. But someone mentioned that on the night before the workshop was raided, a young girl suffering from a severe stomach ailment was taken away by the female boss.

Shen Zhiqiang's breath caught in his throat. Taken where?

The police replied, "We are not entirely certain at the moment. But their last known whereabouts were near the old bus terminal in Linshui County."

Shen Zhiqiang hung up the phone, grabbed his car keys, and strode out the door. Tang Meiqin blocked his path, her face twisted in disbelief. "Have you lost your mind?" For the sake of a rebellious child who ran away of her own accord, are you willing to throw away our entire family?

Shen Zhiqiang looked at her, his gaze cold and resolute, and finally uttered the words he had held back. Starting today, you no longer have any say in this household.

Tang Meiqin's face drained of all color. He Jia You stood at the far end of the hallway, lowering his head in silent dread, not daring to utter a single sound. Shen Zhiqiang did not linger. Just as the elevator doors began to close, he caught sight of Tang Meiqin frantically running back toward her bedroom, seizing her phone with trembling hands. His heart skipped a beat. For the very first words he heard her utter were, Sister, the person has already crossed over to Linshui, you all must make sure he never finds them.

When Shen Zhiqiang's car tore out of the residential compound, the night sky opened up in a torrential downpour. The wipers swept frantically across the windshield, smearing the amber glow of the streetlights ahead into long, blurred streaks of light. Driving with one hand, he relayed the details of Tang Meiqin's phone call to the police. The officer on the other end remained silent for several long seconds.

"Do not rush in blindly on your own. We will coordinate directly with the local precinct in Linshui County."

Shen Zhiqiang clamped his hands onto the steering wheel, his fingers stiff and bloodless. She is my daughter. Right now, she might very well be trapped in the hands of those monsters.

The officer's tone grew stern and unyielding. Precisely because she is your daughter, you cannot afford to act recklessly. If the perpetrators realize you are closing in, they may relocate the child and vanish again.

A crushing weight pressed down upon Shen Zhiqiang's chest. He remembered the poignant words Shen Anan had left on that slip of paper: Starting today, I will no longer be a burden to you, Father. The realization hit him with such force that even drawing breath became a physical agony. Resting on the passenger seat was that familiar iron box. Beside it lay a few battered textbooks salvaged from the secondhand market. A physics notebook fell open to a creased page, holding a pale blue sticky note between its leaves. Taking advantage of a red traffic light, Shen Zhiqiang picked it up to read. Scrawled across it were a few neat lines: If I ever get the chance to return to school, I must master the advanced electricity section of the Physics Olympiad. Teacher Jiang said I still have a shot at the provincial competition. Father always said that a person must make something of themselves and never rely entirely on others. "I remember."

Shen Zhiqiang stared fixedly at the final three words, and a sudden, burning heat stung his eyes. He had indeed said those words in the past. Yet, when he uttered them then, it was merely a harsh reprimand meant to stop Shen Anan from constantly asking for money. He had never imagined that his fifteen-year-old daughter would engrave those very words into her heart as a guiding principle for survival.

As his car approached the highway toll plaza, Tang Meiqin's name flashed on the screen once again. Shen Zhiqiang rejected the call without hesitation. Moments later, a text message pinged through. "Do not make a mountain out of a molehill." She is merely throwing a childish tantrum. If you go chasing after her now, she will only use this to blackmail us further in the future.

Reading those callous words, a cold knot of nausea churned in the pit of Shen Zhiqiang's stomach. He did not reply. Instead, switching his phone to recording mode, he dialed He Jia You's number.

The phone rang for a long time before someone finally picked up. He Jia You's voice trembled slightly. Uncle.

Shen Zhiqiang lowered his voice. "Is your mother still at home?" "Yes, she is." "Has she made any more phone calls?"

He Jia You hesitated for a second. "Yes." She locked herself inside the bedroom. "I only managed to catch a few sentences."

Shen Zhiqiang slowed his vehicle down slightly. "What did you hear?"

He Jia You sniffled on the other end. Mother said you must not be allowed to bring the police along. She also said the child was far too sick to travel very far anyway.

A dull roaring sound echoed inside Shen Zhiqiang's ears. "What else did she say?"

He Jia You's voice grew even fainter. Mother said the money has already been paid. "There is no need to invite any more trouble."

Shen Zhiqiang slammed his foot down on the accelerator. The car surged forward like an arrow piercing through the weeping, rain-drenched night. For the very first time, he realized that the home he had lived in for so many years had silently woven a dark web of complicity right beneath his nose, a web whose threads he had been too blind to see. Tang Meiqin's actions went far beyond mere favoritism. She might have known all along where Shen Anan was headed. She might even have known the exact identity of the person who took her away.