Chen Lan decided not to watch any further here. Even if she saw it now, she couldn't help. She might even get herself into trouble! Besides, it made her heart ache.
With that in mind, Chen Lan decided to go to the affiliated middle school first and deliver the supplies to the children. She would find a way to help this family later when fewer people were around.
Chen Lan quickly rode her bicycle away. After delivering the supplies to the children, she only chatted with Liu Man'er, who was helping with cooking there this semester, and then rode away.
She didn't go home. Instead, she rode her bicycle to the Harbin Municipal Revolutionary Committee, located in the Nangang District, which was formerly the Harbin People's Government building.
Chen Lan parked her bicycle opposite the Revolutionary Committee building, near the entrance of Harbin Department Store No. 1. From a distance, the building was a three-story gray structure. The overall architectural style belonged to the Art Nouveau period. The exterior walls were decorated with gray bluestone slabs. The building had a simple and dignified architectural form, with smooth and elegant curves in the details.
Chen Lan used her mind to check the system time and found that it was only 10:30 in the morning. So, she decided to go to the Housing Management Office to chat with Zhao Hongmei and inquire about her director's home address.
Zhao Hongmei was naturally very happy about Chen Lan's arrival. She held Chen Lan's hand tightly and talked incessantly. Chen Lan smiled and responded. They stood there talking for a while before belatedly realizing something was amiss.
Zhao Hongmei smiled and invited Chen Lan to sit down. Chen Lan took out a one-jin bag of White Rabbit toffees from her cloth bag and handed it to Zhao Hongmei, saying, "Here, Sister Hongmei, this is for your little grandson!"
Upon hearing Chen Lan's words, Zhao Hongmei understood Chen Lan's personality and didn't refuse. She happily accepted it, muttering, "You shouldn't have! Just come! Why bring such an expensive thing?"
Chen Lan smiled and said, "What's so expensive? It's just to sweeten the child's mouth."
Then, they started chatting. As they talked, Chen Lan quietly brought up the matter of the Revolutionary Committee confiscating property at the alley entrance that she had seen earlier that day.
After hearing Chen Lan's account, Zhao Hongmei only sighed. She looked around before quietly saying to Chen Lan, "This is evil! These people are truly insane! They've done many such wicked things in recent years. I guess they've set their sights on something of theirs and are using this crime to frame them!"
Hearing Zhao Hongmei's words further solidified Chen Lan's resolve to deal with these people. She then casually asked, "Does your director know about him doing these wicked deeds?"
Zhao Hongmei looked up, glanced at her director's office, and whispered, "How could he not know? They're used to taking other people's things! When they see something good, they want to get their hands on it. It seems they are truly unafraid of retribution." Su Dan Novel Network
Chen Lan casually asked, "Sister Hongmei, I see your director rides a bicycle to and from work every day. Is her home far from your Housing Management Office?"
To her surprise, Zhao Hongmei replied disdainfully, "Far from what? She lives on Yi Yuan Street, not far from here. That little red Russian-style building is easy to find. It's said to have been built by a wealthy Jewish merchant in the early years. According to the elderly people nearby, the Jewish merchant hadn't lived there for long before the Northeast fell. Later, the Jewish merchant left Harbin with his whole family and returned to the Soviet Union!"
Chen Lan had gotten the information she wanted! Seeing that it was almost noon on the system clock, she stood up and prepared to leave.
At this moment, her director happened to walk out of her office and walked away without looking at anything.
Chen Lan seized the rare opportunity, immediately bid farewell to Zhao Hongmei, and left the Housing Management Office.
Chen Lan rode her bicycle and followed from a distance, all the way to Yi Yuan Street, where she indeed saw a three-story small building in the Russian Baroque style. Then, she saw her director get off her bicycle, open the gate, and push her bicycle inside.
Immediately after, Chen Lan heard a woman's voice saying, "Director, you're back. Lunch is ready. Today we have your favorite..." It seemed they had entered the house, and their voices gradually faded.
From the outside, the entire building looked elaborately decorated and truly opulent. Chen Lan wondered how luxurious the interior would be!
Since she had found the location, Chen Lan decided to leave, planning to investigate that night if there was no moon.
Chen Lan hurried home for dinner and prepared to go out. Her mother asked curiously, "Lan'er, why aren't you taking a nap today? It's hot now. If there's nothing urgent, take a nap before going out!"
Chen Lan replied in a hurry, "Mom, there's something very important. I won't be napping today! You should go rest. I'll tell you what it is later."
When Chen Lan rushed back to the alley, she found that the crowd had already dispersed! The door of the house was tightly shut, with a seal pasted on it.
A kind elder sister saw Chen Lan standing at the entrance of the house and quickly pulled her to a secluded spot, asking, "Younger sister, who are you to this family?"
Chen Lan pretended ignorance and replied, "I'm not related to them. I was just curious. Yesterday, when I passed by here, people were still coming and going. Why is it sealed today, and where are the people?"
As she spoke, Chen Lan took out a handful of peanuts from her pocket and handed them to the kind elder sister. She continued, "Here, big sister, please try these. My relatives just brought them."
The elder sister was also straightforward. She took the peanuts Chen Lan handed her, and they started chatting while eating. Finally, Chen Lan asked, "Big sister, where were they all taken, this whole family?"
The elder sister pointed outside the alley and said, "I saw the whole family, young and old, walking towards the haunted house."
Seeing that she couldn't get any more specific information, Chen Lan thanked the elder sister, took another handful of peanuts from her pocket to give to her, and then turned to leave the alley, heading in the direction the elder sister had pointed.