Chapter 194 - 182: Investigation
Chapter 194: Chapter 182: Investigation
The people from Beijing had made a special detour through the county, deliberately posturing to handle things in a strictly official capacity. They carried formal letters of investigation to thoroughly look into the baby-swapping incident at Wancheng Hospital from all those years ago. The parties involved, Tang Qingyun and Wu Xiaowen, were both present.
The news spread quickly, and the villagers rushed to tell one another. Everyone already knew that Xiao Man had been mistakenly taken home by Liu Fengying, but now, after more than a decade, her biological parents had suddenly shown up to switch the children back. The two kids would return to their own families, to their real parents! Could there be a more perfect ending? It was more captivating and thrilling than a movie! Nearly the entire village stopped working and sat out on the streets, waiting for the officials to arrive.
The meeting for all parties involved was held at the brigade headquarters.
The number of investigators had grown from two to about a dozen, with additional personnel from the county, the commune, and the brigade, forming a truly imposing investigation team.
The officials from on high were a different breed. They were swift and decisive, skipping all pleasantries about food and drink. After a brief round of handshakes and introductions, they got right down to business.
The brigade militia was sent to fetch Mo Guoqiang and Liu Fengying. Meanwhile, the representatives from Beijing and Wancheng Hospital, along with cadres from the county, commune, and brigade, all sat around the simple, long table in the village brigade office. As one of the involved parties, Tang Qingyun was naturally seated among them.
The note-takers and interrogators took their positions. Before Mo Guoqiang, Liu Fengying, Grandpa, Grandma, and Xiao Man arrived, the team first gathered information from the village cadres. They also invited the Mo family’s neighbors and a few other villagers to come in and answer questions about how the couple had raised the child and what Mo Xiaoman’s living conditions had been like.
Tang Qingyun stared at the documents in his hands, his expression grim. He had questioned the village party secretary last night and learned that Mo Guoqiang and his son were convicts on supervised release, which made him break out in a cold sweat. ’How could Xiao Man have grown up in a family like this?’ Then, to learn that their crimes had all been committed against Xiao Man! He was shocked and furious. But before he had a chance to do anything, the men his father sent had arrived—without a word of warning to him beforehand!
’It was clear how furious his father, mother, and brother were that he had hidden the truth about the switch.’
Tang Qingyun’s heart was heavy with immense regret. ’I never should have listened to Xiao Wen and kept this a secret! My intuition was right at the time; the child in the photo didn’t look like she was mine. I should have come to see for myself. Just as Xiao Man said, it was only a five-yuan bus ride! I wouldn’t have even spent a cent if I’d driven... What a terrible, terrible mistake!’
Wu Xiaowen was tending to Tang Yaxuan, who sat on a long bench in a corner. Tang Yaxuan still had an IV drip in her arm, and a doctor stood beside her.
The courtyard of the brigade headquarters was packed with villagers. They were crowded three layers deep at the windows and doorway, and they refused to be shooed away. Tang Yaxuan’s brow was furrowed, her face a mask of repressed anger and disgust. She hated this environment; it was filthy, chaotic, and the air reeked. ’These villagers are like savages,’ she thought, ’utterly uncivilized!’
She knew the secret was out; they were going to lay everything bare for the world to see. She was genuinely afraid, which was why she had actually fallen ill with a severe cold, fever, and cough. But they hadn’t spared her, dragging her here to be gawked at by these people like a monkey. ’It’s despicable!’ she fumed. ’Thankfully, Mom still adores me and promised she would never, ever abandon me, no matter what!’
Tang Yaxuan burrowed into Wu Xiaowen’s arms, looking frail, helpless, and utterly pitiful. She firmly believed, ’Mom and Dad will definitely protect me!’
Wu Xiaowen lovingly stroked Xuanxuan’s soft hair. She had positioned herself on the outside of the bench, turning her body to shield Tang Yaxuan from the crowd’s prying eyes.
The villagers outside the door and windows clicked their tongues and began to gossip:
"Well, who would’ve thought? That shrew Liu Fengying actually gave birth to such a delicate darling, like a regular Lin."
"I know, right? Look at her, getting chauffeured around in a car. She comes to our village, feels a little breeze, and gets so sick she needs an IV."
"You don’t get it, do you? That’s a ’rich girl’s sickness,’ comes from being pampered! Let her try living with Liu Fengying like Xiao Man did—never enough to eat or wear, running around barefoot every day digging for pig feed, chopping wood, and carrying heavy loads. Let’s see if she’d still get sick then!"
The crowd roared with laughter. The aunties in the group chimed in, "Exactly! Our country kids are toughened up by the wind and rain. They don’t have all the sicknesses the city kids do."
"But Xiao Man was toughened up too much. Her life was just too bitter! I remember she started carrying water at six or seven, half a bucket on each side. Her tiny body would be all hunched over as she staggered along. It was a pitiful sight!"
"Is that what you call toughening up? That was just plain abuse from Liu Fengying! For heaven’s sake, look at how the other mother raises her biological daughter! All that coddling and hugging, making sure she doesn’t suffer one bit. Can you imagine how much she must dote on her day to day? Comparing the two of them, Liu Fengying is just the worst!"
"That’s right. But now that Xiao Man can go back to her real mother, she’ll get to be cherished like that, too. Her suffering is finally over."
"Then again, Xiao Man is doing very well with her Grandpa and Grandma now."
"Yes, that’s true..."
The village women paid no mind to their surroundings, saying whatever they pleased in loud voices. Their conversation was perfectly audible both inside and outside the building.
Wu Xiaowen’s hand, clutching a handkerchief, faltered for a second. She sighed softly before resuming her task of gently wiping the tearstains from Xuanxuan’s face.
When Xiao Man and Tang Haocheng followed Grandpa and Grandma into the room, the cadres at the table looked in unison from Xiao Man to Secretary Tang. Some, who had a better vantage point, also glanced at Wu Xiaowen. It was clear to everyone. No investigation was needed; one look was enough to confirm that this girl was, without a doubt, Secretary Tang’s daughter.
Wu Xiaowen had previously learned from Mr. Wang and Mr. Ye that Xiao Man had gone to Beijing and met the two Tang elders, which was why the investigators from Beijing were here. It was only then that she realized Liu Fengying had tricked her, fobbing her off with a fake Mo Xiaoman. At that moment, she hated Liu Fengying with a passion.
At the same time, she couldn’t help but resent Xiao Man. ’She wasn’t raised by me, after all, so of course she isn’t close to me,’ she thought bitterly. ’If you knew the truth, and you weren’t disfigured, why didn’t you come find your parents? Why did you have to go over our heads and run straight to Beijing to see the elders! Aren’t you just making trouble for your father and me? What child could be so thoughtless?’
’As a daughter-in-law of the Tang family, even though the old madam never liked me, the old master always treated me fairly. He became even kinder after I gave birth to Hao Hao. Whenever I asked for anything, he would always grant it behind his wife’s back. But this time, all because of Mo Xiaoman, he reprimanded me so harshly over the phone and even sent a team to conduct a full-blown investigation, questioning me as if I were a suspect. They didn’t even spare Xuanxuan, insisting on questioning her separately! The two of them are being so unreasonable, completely disregarding our reputation. This was a private matter we could have handled within the family, but they’ve aired it out for all to see. We’ve completely lost face!’
’That Xiao Man... so unlikable!’
Filled with resentment, Wu Xiaowen turned to glance at Mo Xiaoman. The sight, however, made her gasp. Her eyes lit up, her expression softened, and a delighted smile bloomed on her face. ’She’s so beautiful,’ she thought. ’Her features resemble Qingyun, but her expression, her bearing, her figure... they’re just like mine! Heavens, it’s miraculous! The fruit of my love for Qingyun, our first child, inherited and combined all our best traits!’
Wu Xiaowen stood up, smiling and waving at Xiao Man. "Xiao Man, you must be Manman, right? Come here, quickly!"
Xiao Man glanced over. "I don’t know you."
Wu Xiaowen: "..."
Tang Qingyun coughed lightly and said in a soft voice, "Manman, this is your mother. Your biological mother."
Xiao Man chose not to answer. She looked around and said to her grandmother, "Grandma, there’s nowhere for us to sit."
Someone shouted from outside the door, "Coming! Stools are on the way!"
The onlooking villagers passed a few stools inside, allowing Grandpa and Grandma to finally take a seat. Xiao Man stood right behind Grandma, leaving only the top of her head visible to Wu Xiaowen.
Having lost face in front of so many people, Wu Xiaowen couldn’t help but feel a renewed sense of disappointment and resentment toward Xiao Man. She started to walk over, but Tang Yaxuan tugged on her sleeve. When she turned and saw Xuanxuan’s pale, adoring face, her heart melted. She returned to her seat and held the girl, patting her gently. ’The daughter I raised with my own hands is still the most thoughtful one.’
Tang Haocheng walked over to greet his mother and father, then returned to Xiao Man’s side where there was a stool. He then heard Tang Yaxuan call out in a soft, delicate voice, "Hao Hao, come over here! Come sit by your sister!"
Tang Haocheng pretended not to hear and sat down beside Xiao Man.
Tang Yaxuan whined to her mother, "Mama, look at poor Hao Hao. He comes to Wancheng and there’s no one to look after him, he’s just running wild. And what is he wearing? It’s so big and long, it doesn’t fit him at all. He looks like he’s from *The Wanderings of Sanmao*..."
Xiao Man turned to Tang Haocheng. "What’s *The Wanderings of Sanmao*? This is a new jacket Zheng Guimao just got this year, and he loves it. Why don’t you just take it off then? Don’t wear it!"
Tang Haocheng paused for a moment, then stood up and retorted in their direction, "Who looks like Sanmao? Who’s a wanderer? I came here to find my sister!"
Tang Yaxuan’s lips trembled as she fought back tears. "Hao Hao, you don’t like your sister anymore? How could you yell at me..." She broke into sobs, which turned into a fit of coughing. "SOB... COUGH COUGH COUGH!"
The doctor quickly interjected, "Don’t get agitated! You must avoid any strong emotions..."
Wu Xiaowen also rushed to comfort her. "It’s all right, it’s all right. Your brother loves his sister the most, he would never yell at you."
Then she turned and called out to Tang Haocheng, "Hao Hao, come over here! Come to Mama!"
Tang Haocheng reluctantly walked over to Wu Xiaowen, who immediately started tugging at his jacket, inspecting it from every angle while peppering him with questions. Upon hearing her say, "How can you just wear any old thing? Let me check you for lice," Xiao Man rolled her eyes dramatically.
Grandpa and Grandma exchanged a look, shaking their heads with wry smiles.