"They would first investigate the target family's situation, specifically targeting girls with poor relationships with their parents. After the girl 'eloped,' the family often assumed she had run off with a man, which was too shameful, so they rarely called the police."

"No...that's not how it is..."

Su Yuzhen's voice had turned into sobs as she slowly squatted down and hugged her knees.

"Brother Qiang said... he said he would take me to Hong Kong... he said he loves me..."

Wang Xiulan finally couldn't hold back and rushed over to hug her daughter tightly.

Su Yuzhen struggled at first, but soon collapsed in her mother's arms and burst into tears.

"Why...why are you telling me all this..."

Her cries were heart-wrenching.

"I'd rather... I'd rather know nothing..."

Su Jianguo walked up to Officer Li and asked in a low voice.

"How many years will Zhang Qiang be sentenced to?"

Officer Li put away the documents, his voice cold and stern.

"This kind of gang crime is particularly heinous, and it must be set as a model case; the death penalty is non-negotiable."

He glanced at Su Yuzhen, who was curled up in Wang Xiulan's arms, and sighed.

"I think your child needs time to process this. We'll come back another day to take a more detailed statement."

After seeing the police off, Su Jianguo stood in the courtyard, looking towards the west wing.

Wang Xiulan has already brought Su Yuzhen back to the house.

Su Yuzhen's crying gradually subsided, but her desperate sobs were even more heartbreaking.

He slowly walked back to the main room, picked up the cup of tea that had gone cold, and drank it all in one gulp.

The bitterness of the tea leaves spread across his tongue, much like the feeling in his heart at that moment.

"father..."

Su Mingfu appeared at the doorway at some point, his face filled with worry.

"Is my little sister... alright?"

Su Jianguo put down his teacup and let out a long sigh.

Hopefully, this lesson will teach her a lesson!

...

That afternoon, Su Jianguo rode his bicycle straight to Sujiatun.

The September sun was quite scorching.

The wheels rolled over the bumpy dirt road. The cornfields on both sides of the road had grown taller than a person, and the lush green leaves rustled in the breeze.

In the distance, the outline of Sujiatun gradually became clear, with wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys of the mud-brick houses.

"Brother Jianguo! You're back!"

A loud voice came from the roadside.

Su Jianguo stopped the car and turned around to see Zhang Laotou's eldest son, Zhang Dazhu, carrying a hoe as he walked out of the field.

The farmer, in his forties, had a dark face covered in sweat, but his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.

"Dazhu, why are you still working in the fields in this heat?"

Su Jianguo wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and asked with a smile.

"We just watered it."

Zhang Dazhu rushed to the roadside and grabbed Su Jianguo's hand.

"Brother Jianguo, we owe you so much for what happened last time! If you hadn't bought my family's property, I don't know how we would have survived."

Su Jianguo waved his hand.

"We're all from the same village, why are you saying such things? By the way, how's your wife doing? I heard you're lucky, you've got three boys in your family now!"

"Haha, they're old enough to work in the fields now."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Tiezhu burst into laughter.

"My old man talks about it every day, saying, 'Brother Jianguo, you are so kind and righteous; you saved the lives of our whole family.'"

Just then, another greeting came from afar.

It turned out that it was Widow Wang from the village returning from the market with a basket in her arms. When she saw Su Jianguo, she jogged over.

"Hey, isn't this Brother Jianguo?"

Widow Wang was in her early fifties, and her wrinkles were filled with smiles.

"Last time you treated the whole village to a meal, my two boys have been talking about it for days, saying that Uncle Jianguo's braised pork was really delicious!"

Su Jianguo nodded with a smile.

"Aunt Wang, are you going to the market?"

"Of course, I bought some salt and a needle and thread."

Then, several villagers gathered around and greeted him all at once.

"Brother Jianguo is so righteous! Look at him, he's smoking high-end city cigarettes, Da Qianmen!"

"Uncle Jianguo, when are you going to treat us to drinks again?"

"Jianguo, my wife said that if you have any good news, you should think of the people in our village first..."

Su Jianguo agreed to everything, but he was somewhat surprised.

He never imagined that he had such a high standing in the villagers' hearts.

It seems that buying Old Zhang's land and treating the whole village to a meal last time really established his prestige in the village.

After finally saying goodbye to the enthusiastic villagers, Su Jianguo pushed his bicycle to his father's house.

In the courtyard, Su Jianjun was squatting on the ground repairing a shovel. Hearing the noise, he looked up, immediately dropped his tools, and stood up.

"Big brother? Why are you back?"

Su Jianjun stepped forward and took the bicycle from Su Jianguo.

"Didn't you just get back to the city?"

Su Jianguo patted his younger brother on the shoulder.

"I have something important to discuss with you."

As they were talking, a cough came from inside the room, followed by Old Master Su's hoarse voice.

"Jianjun, who's here?"

"Father, it's my eldest brother!"

Su Jianjun replied loudly, then turned to Su Jianguo and said.

"Dad's resting inside; it's too hot today."

Su Jianguo nodded.

"Let's talk under the grape trellis, it'll be cooler there."

In the southeast corner of the Su family's courtyard, there is an old grapevine with lush branches and leaves that climbs all over a trellis made of bamboo poles, under which sits a wooden table and several bamboo chairs.

This is Grandpa Su's favorite spot; in the summer, the whole family often sits here to cool off and chat.

Su Jianjun called into the house.

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