Chapter 353 - 310: A Timely Rescue
Chapter 353: Chapter 310: A Timely Rescue
Grandma handed a cup of water to Yu Wumei for her to take a sip, sighing, "My poor, ill-fated child. Didn’t you ever think of leaving again?"
"Of course we did. We tried to leave several times. We would have rather gone back to where we came from and lived in a straw hut, but we could never make it out of the Hu Family Courtyard! Hu Laosan is an expert manipulator. He can play the victim and cry a river of snot and tears. The moment he brings up filial piety, Jiabao just freezes up and can’t bring himself to leave. This went on until last winter. They said they needed charcoal for the New Year and sent Jiabao into the mountains to cut wood and burn it. Then, while I was away doing odd jobs for another family, they all conspired to trick our eldest daughter into going to the market, where they had someone abduct and sell her. My husband and I searched for so long but couldn’t find her. Finally, someone told us it was the Hu Family who had sold our daughter. That’s when we lost it and were determined to cut ties with them completely. With no house to live in, we just took the children, carried our belongings, and worked our way here, looking for our eldest daughter all along the way!"
"How did you know your eldest daughter was sold over here?"
"Jiabao and I stormed their house with knives. We grabbed Old Mrs. Hu’s youngest daughter and her cousin’s daughter by the throat and threatened to slash their faces before they would talk. They finally admitted it: a relative of theirs, from Old Mrs. Hu’s side of the family, had set up a trafficking route to G Province over here. They specialize in buying and selling women and children, and who knows how much blood money they’ve made!"
"Vile creatures! Animals!" Grandma’s body trembled with anger. "That Hu Laosan and that damned old woman should be arrested and shot! And their daughter and niece, too! It sounds like they’re old hands at this. They should all be arrested!"
Yu Wumei patted Grandma’s back to calm her down and said, "Old Mrs. Hu’s youngest daughter and that cousin’s daughter are only seventeen or eighteen. They’re even community-run school teachers. They probably weren’t used to this kind of thing, but they’re shallow and black-hearted. They couldn’t stand that our eldest daughter was prettier than them. I’m not just boasting, but in all the surrounding villages, no one could compare to our daughter’s looks! She’s only sixteen this year and has never been to a single day of school. She’s weathered the wind and rain, carried heavy loads, and done rough work, but no matter how hard it was, she was as fresh and delicate as a flower. There’s a Teacher Yao at the commune’s middle school, a new university student who was assigned there. He’s handsome and educated. Those two teachers from the Hu Family were hoping to get involved with him and invited him over to their house. But who would have thought that when Teacher Yao came, he saw our eldest daughter. When he found out she couldn’t read, he insisted on coming over every day to teach her and her younger siblings... That’s what made those two black-hearted, rotten little wenches hate her. They went and plotted with Old Mrs. Hu, tricked our daughter into going to the market, and then said they’d take her to the county town for fun. Our daughter is so kind-hearted, how could she have known that people she saw and spoke to every day could be so evil... That poor child had never been far from home, didn’t know the way, and had no money on her. She never made it back... We didn’t even dare to celebrate the New Year. We borrowed a little money and chased after her, working along the way. We finally found the village she was sold to and, after a great deal of effort, managed to secretly exchange a few words with her. The day before yesterday, her father finally managed to escape with her to the city to meet up with us. We had already bought the tickets. All we had to do was get on that train and we’d have been safe. Who could have known those wicked people could track us down so fast? They chased us all the way to the station!"
Yu Wumei and Grandma helped each other wipe away their tears. Xiao Man couldn’t help but cry as well. The experience of being trafficked in her past life was still vivid in her mind. She, too, had tried to escape, and she, too, had failed to get away. She had been beaten black and blue. It was only because she couldn’t bear children that she was taken out to work and earn money, which gave her the opportunity to run.
’So, if I ever see a trafficker, I’ll absolutely make them wish they were dead!’
Yu Wumei looked at Xiao Man and asked Grandma, "Is this a relative’s child? She’s so pretty, and so well-behaved and sensible, just like our eldest daughter!"
Grandma beckoned Xiao Man over and said with a smile, "Her name is Xiao Man. She lives with us. She’s also your father’s and my granddaughter. Your father’s surname is Mo. The Mo family has its own long story, and we’ll tell you all about it slowly. It’s because we ran into an acquaintance of Mr. Tang that you were all brought to the hospital in time. Your eldest daughter’s situation is also being handled now. Mr. Tang is Xiao Man’s... Second Uncle. Xiao Man’s father is probably a year or two older than Jiabao, so Xiao Man should call you Uncle and Aunt!"
Grandpa was still talking with Mo Jiabao. Xiao Man first called out "Aunt" to Yu Wumei. Yu Wumei was delighted and nodded repeatedly. "Yes! Yes! Good child."
Then she called her two children over and had them call out, "Sister Xiao Man."
The fourth child, a boy, and the fifth, a girl, were both as thin as bean sprouts, but their features were delicate and refined. Yu Wumei told Grandma and Xiao Man that the fourth child was named Dapeng and was eight years old, and the fifth was named Qiuyan and was five.
The eldest, who had been sold for over half a year, was sixteen and named Xinghua. The second child had died from illness, and the missing third child was also a boy named Da Zhi, who was twelve.
As they spoke inside, the sky outside gradually darkened. At first, they thought it was just nighttime, but a look out the window showed the weather had turned. A great wind bent the treetops low, and dark clouds roiled in layers. A clap of thunder sounded, and a torrential downpour followed.
Xiao Man walked over to close the window, thinking, ’The wind is so wild and the rain so heavy. Will Xinghua be able to come back today? She just escaped. If she isn’t rescued in time, she’ll definitely be beaten horribly! A more vicious family would beat you half to death just to serve as a warning!’
Tang Qingyun and Xiao Feng had left the hospital room at some point and hadn’t reappeared. With the Mo family having their reunion, there was indeed no reason for them to be standing around.
Xiao Man stood at the door of the hospital room and looked down both ends of the corridor. Not seeing the two of them, she headed down the hall toward the stairwell to look. She ran into Xiao Feng at the top of the stairs. He had just come down from the floor above. Seeing Xiao Man standing by the railing shrouded in misty rain, he quickly pulled her further inside. "It’s pouring rain out here. What are you doing outside instead of staying in your room? You want to go play in the rain?"
Xiao Man said, "Tell me straight. Can Xinghua come back today? If she can’t..."
"It’s raining this hard. What are you planning to do?"
"Give me that address, and find me a vehicle that can handle mountain roads. Otherwise, I’ll rent one myself. I’m leaving to go get Xinghua right now!"
Xiao Feng’s mouth fell open. "Good grief, don’t mess around!"
"I’m serious. You can go ask your Mr. Tang: I’ve learned how to fight. As long as my opponents don’t have guns or bombs, I’m not afraid of them, no matter how many there are!"
"Alright, alright, I believe you!" Xiao Feng raised his hands in surrender. "I’ll tell you the truth: we just got off the phone. She’s been successfully rescued. She’s at the East County Public Security Bureau right now. She’s fine, perfectly safe, not a scratch on her! Because of the heavy rain, the mountain roads are difficult to travel. For safety’s sake, the plan is to wait until tomorrow morning to bring her back to the region, to Wancheng!"
"Really?"
"Mr. Tang is upstairs. The hospital gave us an office to use. I was just coming down to let your Grandpa and Grandma know. Why don’t you go up? You can have a word with Xinghua on the phone, and then chat with your ’Second Uncle’ to foster some father-daughter bonding?"
Xiao Man shot him a glare and turned to go back to the hospital room.
Xiao Feng followed behind, chuckling to himself. ’Silly little girl. You’re not that clever. Did you really think I could handle you?’