My Promotion Story Through Time Travel

Chapter 52 Returning to Chunhua Tower

Zhang Mo's words did have an impact on Lin Ziping, specifically in that he didn't pay attention to Tao Ju'an for a long time, but only arranged for Master Li to deliver some things to the village head of Tao Family Village and ask him to pass them on to Tao Ju'an.

After visiting several times, Mr. Li returned and reported that Tao Ju'an had moved, and the village head was nowhere to be found.

This era has relatively relaxed household registration management, but many people spend their entire lives in one place. The reluctance to leave one's hometown is still a true reflection of many people's lives. Situations like Tao Ju'an's, where the whole family moves, are really rare.

Lin Ziping took Tao Ju'an's move in stride. In the past, society was highly mobile, and he himself had worked hard alone in a foreign land for many years. Such moves were nothing to him. However, Tao Ju'an hadn't left an address. In this era without telephones and WeChat, it was too difficult to find someone in the vast sea of ​​people. But life is so long, and so many people come and go. Lin Ziping didn't dwell on it for too long. He had experienced similar partings before, and they would meet again if they were meant to.

There has been progress in the child trafficking case that I asked Ji Xun to keep an eye on some time ago. Ji Xun delivered the information about the other children to Lin Ziping's yard.

Recently, Lin Zhong has been in close contact with Ji Xun, Fang Zhili, Zhao Xiancheng, He Jinbao, Zhang Mo and others. Lin Zhong does not stop them. When they come to the Lin residence, there are no more formalities than before. They do not need to visit Lin Zhong in person. They can go directly to Lin Ziping's courtyard with just a word.

Apart from Xiao Fuzi, all the other children who were abducted along with Lin Ziping during the Lantern Festival are registered with the government, which also conducts regular follow-up visits. With the help of the patrol officer, the efficiency is greatly improved.

After receiving the documents from Ji Xun, Lin Ziping sat in the courtyard and carefully reviewed them.

The first few pages describe several boys. Zhao Xiancheng's situation needs no further explanation. The others had contact with each other at the banquet organized by the Ji family last time, so it can be seen that the incident did not have a major impact on them. They have gradually recovered and their lives are no different from usual.

Lin Ziping turned to the last page, where the descriptions of the four girls' situations were only a few words long, and the page wasn't even filled.

Yang Xiaobao's older sister, Yang Daya, was sent away, but the Yang family refused to say where she was sent.

The other three families acted as if nothing had happened. After returning home, the three girls rarely appeared in public, and the servants of the three families remained silent about any news related to their young ladies.

"Don't you know anything about their current situation?" Lin Ziping frowned.

“I questioned the yamen runners from these families carefully, and it turns out that almost all the servants have been replaced. They are all new and don’t know much about their masters’ situation. The neighbors haven’t seen the women from these families go out for a long time either,” Ji Xun said. “They should be alright.”

Lin Ziping had initially thought that with women in power in this era, women would be much more tolerant and open-minded towards women, but now he was somewhat disappointed.

Being able to survive and stay at home is already a blessing. Her family members might even feel sorry for themselves, thinking they love their daughter very much. They might find a suitable husband when she reaches a certain age, have several children with her, and have the children grow up safely, becoming a symbol of a happy and fulfilling life in the eyes of others. But what is the actual situation? Who cares about their thoughts and feelings?

Lin Ziping wanted to change something, but felt powerless. She herself had to wear a mask, dress up as a man, and enjoy the privileges and conveniences that came with this male identity. She couldn't do anything.

"That's enough about this matter. There's no point in thinking too much about it," Ji Xun said, trying to comfort Lin Ziping when he saw her displeasure. "I'll take you to visit Chunhua Tower again today."

"Going to Chunhua Tower again?" Lin Ziping asked with a surprised smile. "Do you want to get punished again?"

Ji Xun glared at Lin Ziping: "Last time you didn't notify my family and you weren't punished, this time we'll go see if you don't drink."

Lin Ziping said helplessly, "It really wasn't me who said it, why don't you all believe me?"

"Okay, okay, it's not you. We're just going to take a look this time," Ji Xun said.

"Oh, so this is a market research trip," Lin Ziping immediately understood.

Lin Ziping nodded: "Then we need to choose a few more places to look at."

Ji Xun explained, "Besides Huaizhou, Chunhua Tower has branches in several other places."

This...this can even be a chain? The owner of Chunhualou has a very modern mindset.

The two were quite familiar with the place when they went to Chunhua Tower this time, and Yun Niangzi was the one who greeted them.

"Isn't this Young Master Ziping?" Lady Yun greeted the two of them.

"Greetings, Sister Yun." Lin Ziping bowed to Lady Yun.

Lady Yun covered her mouth and giggled: "Young Master Ziping, are you going to drink this time?"

Lin Ziping smiled and waved his hand, looking at Ji Xun and indicating to Yun Niangzi that this was the boss this time.

"We're just taking a look around," Ji Xun said.

"Is it the same room as last time?" Lady Yun asked.

Ji Xun nodded.

"Please wait a moment, young masters. I will have Chunfan come and play a piece."

The two went up to the second floor, and soon Yun Niangzi arranged for some side dishes and snacks to be served, and Chun Fan also brought in her zither.

"No need to serve us wine today." It's likely that the last time he drank at Chunhua Tower, Ji Xun had a deep memory of it.

Lady Yun withdrew with a smile.

Ji Xun let Chunfan play as he pleased, ate two pastries, and then whispered to Lin Ziping, "You stay here, I'll go out and take a look."

Lin Ziping nodded, then, thinking of the brothels depicted in TV dramas, he cautioned Ji Xun, "Be careful."

Ji Xun gave him a reassuring look and then went out.

Seeing that only he and Chunfan were in the room, Lin Ziping asked, "Sister Chunfan, is there any news about Xiaofuzi, whom I asked you to keep an eye on last time?"

When Chunfan's zither music paused, Lin Ziping understood; it seemed there was news.

"Young Master Ziping, there's news. Do you have any message for him?" Chunfan stopped and asked cautiously.

Lin Ziping thought for a moment, and realized that the reason he had asked Xiao Fuzi about it was nothing important. He just remembered that Xiao Fuzi had saved him last time, which left a deep impression on him.

"Is there anything to tell you? How is he now? Is he alright?" Lin Ziping asked.

Chunfan pursed her lips tightly and lowered her head: "He's doing fine now."

Lin Ziping sensed something was off about Chunfan and pressed her for details, asking, "Sister Chunfan, are you sure?"

After a long while, Chunfan remained silent, her hands hanging down, clutching the hem of her clothes.

Seeing this, Lin Ziping did not press further or say anything. He got up, poured Chunfan a glass of water, and opened the window, where he could see people coming and going on the street.

Chunfan stood up and knelt down in front of Lin Ziping.

"Sister Chunfan, what are you doing? Get up quickly." Lin Ziping was startled and quickly helped Chunfan up.

"Young Master Ziping, please, save Xiaochunzi," Chunfan cried.

Xiaochunzi, isn't that the same person who was with Xiaofuzi last time?

Lin Ziping helped Chunfan sit down on a stool, brought the water he had poured to her, and stuffed his handkerchief into her hand. After she stopped crying, he asked, "Sister Chunfan, tell me in detail what happened to Xiaochunzi?"