Chapter 29 The Legend Begins 2: Prepare to invest heavily to retain talent! ...

Feng Shengnan couldn't sleep in the hotel. She tossed and turned, thinking about many things, until she finally closed her eyes in a daze in the middle of the night.

The next day, when she heard a knock on the door, she was so frightened that she immediately opened her eyes. She looked around the guest room but couldn't find any weapons to defend herself. In the end, she had no choice but to remove the shower head and hold it in her hand.

Reaching the guest room door, she still hesitated to open it, and called out, "Who is it? I don't need my guest room cleaned!"

Qiu Xiaoman had heard her say this on her way back; she and the other two children had been tricked by an old woman posing as a hotel cleaner. No wonder she was so careful.

Qiu Xiaoman replied, "It's me. I'll take you to have breakfast, and then we'll go to the police station later."

Feng Shengnan breathed a sigh of relief. Afraid that Qiu Xiaoman would misunderstand, she quickly threw the showerhead under the coat rack behind her and opened the door.

Qiu Xiaoman didn't come in, but just glanced at her watch: "The Public Security Bureau starts work at eight o'clock, we still have an hour, you should go wash up."

"Okay." Feng Shengnan quickly went to tidy up. She originally intended to pick up the showerhead and put it back, but then she was afraid that Qiu Xiaoman would ask her about her well-being.

She didn't want to leave Qiu Xiaoman with the impression that she was frightened, that would be embarrassing, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and brush her teeth and wash her face.

However, Qiu Xiaoman, with her sharp eyes, had already spotted the half-sprinkler head. She silently turned around and waited in the corridor.

She understood that seventeen or eighteen-year-old girls are at the age when they have an excessive sense of self-esteem, and any extra concern could have the opposite effect, so she decided not to provoke Feng Shengnan.

When Feng Shengnan came out after finishing her work, she saw that Qiu Xiaoman was standing in the corridor with her back to her old newspaper, so she quickly picked up the showerhead and put it back.

She took a deep breath, glanced at the pink wool coat on the back of the chair, and lowered her head in shame.

She was so dirty, but yesterday Xiaoman didn't mind and just put this clean coat on her. She was so touched and embarrassed.

After all, the lining of her coat was very dirty from the mud and grass scraps on her clothes, so she had to fold the coat up, carefully hold it in both hands, and come out to say, "Sister Xiaoman, your clothes are dirty. I'll buy you a new one later."

Qiu Xiaoman put the newspaper on the shoe rack by the door, turned around and walked over to her, took the coat, shook it open twice, and draped it over her shoulders: "It's cold, wear it, you can wash it when you get home, I'm not that fussy."

Feng Shengnan gritted her teeth, did not refuse, and obediently put on the clothes, locked the door, and followed behind her. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, she stammered, "I...I don't have any money on me. Can you lend me some? I can give you an IOU. When I return to Beidu, I will find...I will find a place to work and pay you back."

Qiu Xiaoman understood that what she really wanted to say was to ask her parents for money, but she swallowed the words back. How could Qiu Xiaoman, who shared the same plight, not understand the bitterness in her heart?

She gave Feng Shengnan five hundred yuan: "Don't rush to pay me back. Tuantuan just found an apprentice. When you go back to Beidu, you can also look for one. We'll talk about it when you have the money. Come on, I'll treat you to meals these next few days. Don't be shy."

"Okay, thank you." Feng Shengnan was always strong-willed, but this time she had suffered a terrible setback, and she had to rein in her arrogance and follow Qiu Xiaoman's arrangements.

She walked behind, afraid that a room door might suddenly open and the guest inside would see her dirty shoes. Every time she passed a guest room door, she would subconsciously run faster.

These are old cotton shoes that her grandmother in Yunnan made for her before she passed away. They didn't break even after running around in the mountains and forests. She can wash them and still wear them. She can't bear to throw them away.

Lost in thought, Feng Shengnan bumped her forehead into Qiu Xiaoman's shoulder and couldn't help but look up: "Sister Xiaoman, why aren't you moving?"

"Yangyang and the others are out." Qiu Xiaoman glanced behind her and saw Liu Xiangyang walking out with another girl.

The girl's name was Qin Baolian. She was thirteen years old and not very tall, only reaching Liu Xiangyang's shoulder. However, she was quite talkative and had been asking Liu Xiangyang about Qiu Xiaoman the whole way. Now that she had seen the person in question, she quickly and enthusiastically greeted her as "Hello, Sister Xiaoman."

Qiu Xiaoman nodded: "Let's go, there's a steamed bun shop at the intersection ahead, order whatever you want."

The children weren't very hungry. Although they had been trapped in the mountains for the past few days, Feng Shengnan hadn't let them go hungry. She had taken good care of them, and they ate quite a bit of roasted meat.

However, because there was no salt or other seasonings, their mouths were already a bit bland, but the children still got hungry when they heard the word "steamed buns".

They happily followed Qiu Xiaoman to the steamed bun shop. The three children were very reserved and did not order too much. Although Qiu Xiaoman did not know Qin Baolian's appetite, she had experienced Feng Shengnan and Liu Xiangyang's appetites along the way from Yunnan to Beidu.

Children this age are growing rapidly, so she ordered three more baskets of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings): "Eat up, it's so cold, eat more to warm yourself up."

The three children were embarrassed, but they couldn't refuse the hospitality and ended up eating everything.

Qiu Xiaoman paid the bill: "Let's sit here for a while. Brother Jiang will come to pick us up later."

"Sister Xiaoman, once we've finished what we need to do here, can you take me home?" Qin Baolian asked anxiously; she missed her parents.

Qiu Xiaoman comforted her, "It will probably take another two days before we can leave, but it's okay. Brother Jiang has already notified your parents, and they are on their way. They should arrive this afternoon."

"Really!" Qin Baolian was overjoyed and asked, "What about Xiuxiu and Lele's families?"

"They've all been notified, and they've all come." Qiu Xiaoman knew she was asking about the two with fevers, so she simply told her, "Their fevers broke as soon as they arrived at the hospital. They didn't need IV drips. It must be the herbal medicine your sister Shengnan found that worked."

"Wow! Sister Shengnan is amazing!" Qin Baolian exclaimed sincerely. "If it weren't for her, we probably would have starved to death."

"Yes, she has strong wilderness survival skills." Qiu Xiaoman glanced at the shy Feng Shengnan and stated objectively, "When you grow up and have the opportunity to travel to scenic spots, you can invite her to come along. She is very reliable in this regard."

Qin Baolian smiled and nodded: "Definitely. By the way, could you write down the addresses of the three of you? Let's keep in touch."

Qiu Xiaoman was already prepared. She simply pulled a small note out of her pocket: "Here, the three of us will live in one courtyard."

"Huh?" Qin Baolian didn't understand. "Why? Are you relatives?"

Qiu Xiaoman smiled. How could ordinary children possibly understand the plight of these pitiful creatures?

So she mumbled, "We have a good relationship, and the courtyard is big; many people live there."

"Oh!" Qin Baolian's imagination was limited, and she thought they were just neighbors in the same courtyard.

After all, Feng Shengnan and Liu Xiangyang were cautious and did not tell the traffickers and other children about their family situation. They only said that their parents were from Beijing and that they would definitely call the police to find them, so that the traffickers would not make another mistake. However, the traffickers were not afraid and still took them away.

It's infuriating just thinking about it.

Soon, Jiang Mingyuan arrived in a police car, followed by another police car. The group went to the Public Security Bureau to finalize some details and check if any key points had been overlooked.

Jiang Mingyuan had a question he couldn't figure out, so he asked Qiu Xiaoman: "It's strange. Logically speaking, the villagers all live off the mountains and should be very good at tracking, but the traffickers have been searching for two days and still haven't found these five children. Could it be that the villagers are playing a trick on them? If that's the case, the people in this village are actually quite nice."

“Huihui said she helped the children cover up the smell, and the next day, Feng Shengnan took her to clean up the footprints. Feng Shengnan is indeed an expert in this area, so it’s not that the villagers didn’t want to look for them, but that they simply couldn’t find them.” Qiu Xiaoman had already asked around, and the two-day delay was entirely thanks to Huihui and Feng Shengnan.

Jiang Mingyuan was even more confused now. If he couldn't even find the villagers, how did Qiu Xiaoman find them?

He still feels like he's floating on clouds.

Last night, after entering the mountains, Xiao Qiu was as nimble as a lynx, quickly darting away to a distance.

They even handed the injured white dog to him to hold.

Perhaps to avoid them, in any case, Jiang Mingyuan did not catch up. When she returned to the group, the route had been readjusted, and she quickly discovered the few clues left behind by the children after they had covered up their tracks.

However, he was too busy questioning at the time, and after finding the children, he was too shocked to ask questions now.

He called Qiu Xiaoman to the outside of the police station lobby, where no one was around, and whispered, "Can you tell me the truth? What secrets do you still have that I don't know about?"

Qiu Xiaoman told the truth: "There are musk deer, rabbits, pheasants and all kinds of birds in the forest. I can find out as soon as I ask."

"Ah!" Jiang Mingyuan doubted his ears. He stared in shock at the eighteen-year-old girl, so shocked that he forgot to say anything.

Finally, Qiu Xiaoman ended the conversation. She tilted her head and smiled sweetly in the bright morning sunlight: "Brother Jiang, remember to praise me to the leaders when you get back, so I can negotiate with them."

"Talk...talk about terms? A raise? Or—" Jiang Mingyuan was dumbfounded. This guy was really fearless!

An intern instructor with no official position and a non-local household registration actually wanted to negotiate with the leadership.

Okay, she has the looks! Absolutely!

It turns out she can not only communicate with dogs, but also with small animals in the mountains and forests—that's terrifying!

Their Director Wen has struck gold!

Why did he suddenly feel a little envious? He wanted to ask something more, but Qiu Xiaoman had already turned around and gone back to the hall.

He quickly followed and whispered, "Why didn't you ask the birds on the street a couple of days ago if they had seen that truck?"

"I asked, there are plenty of trucks, and they can't read, so what can I do? Besides, the traffickers aren't on the same route as us. I've asked them everything I could." Qiu Xiaoman gave him a disdainful look; she wasn't an idiot.

Jiang Mingyuan could only awkwardly say, "I knew it! Why do you always like to charge ahead alone?"

Qiu Xiaoman smiled and called to Feng Shengnan and the others to go to the hospital to pick up Xiuxiu and Lele.

At lunchtime, local police returned from the village and the hospital with two pieces of news: first, another elderly woman had also died; second, the villagers had indeed searched diligently for two days, but had not found any trace of the children.

This result undoubtedly enhances the value of Qiu Xiaoman's abilities!

Everyone in the Mengyin County Public Security Bureau was filled with curiosity, admiration and praise for Qiu Xiaoman!

Especially their bureau chief, tsk tsk tsk, he wished he could directly snatch the person from Director Wen, but what a pity, first come, first served, it wasn't his turn!

Back in Beidu, Director Wen hung up the phone, also extremely satisfied and shocked by Qiu Xiaoman's performance.

He called Captain Zou over, ready to invest heavily to retain talent!

It's just a position! Xiao Qiu has made such a great contribution, I don't believe he can't get one!

Of course, he was very busy and had other things to deal with, so he could only ask Captain Zou to make a trip to the higher-ups.