Chapter 29: Former Friend Abducted and Died

Cheng Zhenzhen's eyes lit up.

She was about to scream when the man stuffed a piece of cloth he had picked up into her mouth.

No one has ever come to their village before. This sudden appearance of people must have been caused by that wretched woman.

The man who bought Cheng Zhenzhen looked at her swollen face and felt increasingly hateful.

He slapped her hard several times, and seeing her face swollen like a pig's head, he was still not satisfied, so he kicked her in the stomach several times.

He only spat when Cheng Zhenzhen curled up like a shrimp.

"You damn old hag, you just wait! Once I've dealt with the police, I'll kill you!"

After saying that, he was still worried, so he took a couple of steps and then came back. He kicked Cheng Zhenzhen into the cellar, closed the cellar door, and then left with peace of mind.

Cheng Zhenzhen huddled in a corner of the cellar, watching the cellar door slowly close, a sense of despair welling up inside her.

She sat on the cold, damp ground, clutching the few clothes she wore, tears streaming down her face.

"Dad, Mom..."

"Please help me..."

She was listless for two minutes, then realized this wouldn't do, so she ran to the cellar entrance and started yelling, trying to attract the attention of people outside.

"Is anyone there? Police! I've been locked up!"

"Help! Someone help me! I'm here!"

"Mom and Dad, I'm here! Mom, Mom!"

She didn't know how much time had passed, but her voice grew softer and softer, her throat hurt more and more, and every time she swallowed, there was a bloody taste in her mouth.

In this gloomy and cold environment, she soon felt dizzy and lightheaded, her forehead began to burn, and boundless despair enveloped her.

Just as she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, her hope slowly fading away, the cellar door opened.

The moment she saw the light of day again, she was surprised to find that it was already broad daylight outside.

The moment she was hit by the light, she was blinded by the sudden glare.

A familiar voice called her, "Zhenzhen? Cheng Zhenzhen! Cheng Zhenzhen, wake up!"

She struggled to open her eyes. "Aunt?"

"Why!"

The aunt responded and quickly dragged her out of the cellar.

Upon seeing familiar faces, Cheng Zhenzhen hugged her loved one's neck and burst into tears.

"Aunt, you've finally arrived! I thought I was going to be locked up in this cellar forever, waaaaah..."

"Auntie, where are my mom and dad?"

When her parents were mentioned, her aunt spoke in a flat tone, with a hint of reproach.

"Zhenzhen, look at what you've done! Your cousin is getting married soon, and you pull this stunt. Your parents will have to make time to see you. What bad luck!"

"..."

Cheng Zhenzhen's joy at being rescued vanished considerably. She pursed her lips tightly and slowly released her arms from around Cheng Zhenzhen's neck.

The aunt continued nagging, "Your parents already promised your cousin they'd help put together a nice banquet, and all this trouble you've caused has wasted so much time."

"Your cousin is the eldest grandson in the family. If you don't even have a proper wedding for the eldest grandson, how can your parents be proud?"

Cheng Zhenzhen's grandmother quickly found her way over, "Zhenzhen!"

She ran over crying and examined Cheng Zhenzhen all over.

Seeing that she was alright, he took off his clothes and wrapped them around her body, and started chanting.

"You silly girl, what are you doing! Your cousin is about to get married, and you have to do this. Your parents and all the relatives are coming to see you, causing so much trouble!"

"Grandma knows you and your cousin don't get along, but you can't be reckless! This is a major life event for your cousin, you can't ruin it for him!"

As they kept talking, the joy on Cheng Zhenzhen's face vanished completely.

She gritted her teeth, stood up, and walked outside without saying a word.

Grandma slapped her thigh in anger, "Look at this child! Her parents have spoiled her rotten! You can't even say a word to her!"

Auntie pouted, "Zhenzhen, if you keep doing this, your auntie has to talk to you. Your dad doesn't have a son, and when you get married, your cousin will be the one to take care of him in his old age. How can you deliberately cause trouble for your cousin!"

They kept muttering to themselves, and Cheng Zhenzhen bit her lip tightly. She bumped into someone as she went out.

When she saw Chu Ci standing outside the door, her face flushed red.

"You saw everything?"

She gritted her teeth and said, "Seeing that I, who have parents, am not as well off as you, who have no parents, are you very proud of yourself?"

Chu Ci, who came to help find her: "???"

She pulled off the scarf and wrapped it around Cheng Zhenzhen's lower body, staring at her speechlessly.

"You don't say a word to those sarcastic people who are talking to you like that. But when it comes to me, who actually came to help, you start biting people indiscriminately."

"Cheng Zhenzhen, are you out of your mind?"

Cheng Zhenzhen: "..."

She froze at Chu Ci's actions, and almost cried when she heard what she said.

"You're insulting me? I'm already like this, and you're still insulting me!"

"They've said so many things to you, and you haven't said a word. I say one thing to you, and you start crying?"

Chu Ci looked at her grandmother and aunt behind her, and seeing their embarrassed expressions, she smiled slightly.

"So, in your hearts, Zhenzhen's cousin's wedding is more important than her life. I'm here to help out today, and also to broaden my horizons."

Cheng Zhenzhen's aunt turned pale, and her grandmother, enraged, ran over and pointed at Chu Ci's nose, cursing him.

"Whose daughter are you? This is our family matter, what right do you, an outsider, have to meddle?"

Chu Ci slapped the old lady's hand away, "You two are practically blaming yourselves for living off the family's wealth. What's wrong with me saying something fair?"

Before the old lady could say anything more, she grabbed Cheng Zhenzhen, who was about to leave, and asked, "Have you said these things to your parents?"

"What did we say! What did we say?"

The old lady slapped her hand and pulled Cheng Zhenzhen away.

"Zhenzhen, don't listen to her nonsense! Your parents are going crazy looking for you, let's go find them right now!"

Cheng Zhenzhen did not refuse and was pulled away by her.

Aunt Cheng Zhenzhen passed by Chu Ci and glared at her fiercely. "Mind your own business!"

Chu Ci: "..."

When she returned, Cheng Zhenzhen had already been dressed in new clothes by her mother and was wrapped in a blanket while giving a statement.

Upon seeing Chu Ci arrive, Cheng Zhenzhen's father quickly came over to express his gratitude, "Ci, thank you for your help today. You've already gone home, but we still called you over to help us look for Zhenzhen."

He handed over an envelope. "Your aunt and I really don't know how to thank you. You and your grandma just moved, so you must have a lot of things to buy, right? Take this money, don't be shy about it."

"No, I'll just take what I'm entitled to."

Chu Ci took one letter out of the envelope and returned the rest.

"Uncle, it's getting late. When are you going back?"

"We'll leave after Zhenzhen finishes giving her statement."

Cheng Zhenzhen glanced in her direction, then quickly lowered her head and pursed her lips tightly.

Chu Ci glanced at her and said, "Okay, I'll get in the car and wait for a bit."

When she went back, she rode in the same car as Cheng Yingkang and his wife, as well as Cheng Zhenzhen. She never heard Cheng Zhenzhen tell her parents about her aunt and grandmother complaining about her.

When Chu Ci got home, Grandma was already asleep. The next morning, Chu Ci told her about what happened the night before, and Grandma suddenly remembered something.

"Zhenzhen's grandmother used to be quite a handful!"

At that time, Grandma had only moved into the landlord's house with Chu Ci for a few years when Cheng Zhenzhen was taken away by her grandmother.

"At the time, her grandmother urged her parents to have another child, but the two of them didn't have any children. Instead, their business got better and better."

Grandma pouted, "Seeing that their business was doing well, Zhenzhen's uncle said that he couldn't let his younger brother die without descendants, acting as if he was sacrificing for his brother, and wanted to give his son to Zhenzhen's father for adoption."

“When Zhenzhen’s father didn’t have that much money, he simply adopted his son. Now that he has money, he’s saying he wants to adopt him again. Isn’t this just eyeing someone else’s property?”

"And then what?" Chu Ci asked, "Why wasn't it adopted later?"

"Zhenzhen's mother isn't happy about it! She has her own child, why should she raise someone else's child?"

Grandma shook her head and sighed, "Back then, Zhenzhen's grandma caused quite a stir. Their whole family became famous in the neighborhood. But her dad was clueless back then, thinking that having another child meant having more bowls and chopsticks. In the end, Zhenzhen's mother even threatened to divorce her, and that's when the matter finally ended."

"Later, Zhenzhen's mother was worried that her grandmother would abuse the child, so she brought Zhenzhen back as well. Zhenzhen's father also forbade her grandmother to come to the house all the time, and their family's life gradually calmed down."

Chu Ci poked at the breakfast in her bowl with her chopsticks. "So it seems that her grandmother and her uncle's family still haven't given up on eating the last of their children."

"Sigh, with so many children in the family, there are bound to be many disputes," Grandma sighed. "You've already reminded Zhenzhen about this matter. It's up to her to decide what to do. After all, it's their family matter, and outsiders shouldn't interfere."

"Okay, I wasn't planning on saying anything anyway. Cheng Zhenzhen can't stand up on her own, so there's no point in me trying to help."

After finishing the last bite of his meal, Chu Ci took the bowl to the kitchen to wash it.

When she came out of the kitchen, she saw an acquaintance in the store.

Looking at Lin Ming sitting on the sofa, Chu Ci was somewhat surprised.

"Inspector Lin, what brings you here?"

“Miss Chu,” Lin Ming extended his hand, “thank you for your help. We were able to find Cheng Zhenzhen so quickly.”

He paused for a moment, then said, "Regarding yesterday's case, we caught the man who sold Cheng Zhenzhen. His name is Meng Zehai, and he's a habitual human trafficker."

"Starting five years ago, he has been casting a wide net to find all kinds of women, deceiving them for their feelings and money. After they have lost all their money, he will find an opportunity to sell them to the countryside to make money."

"After we caught him, he confessed to part of the case..."

"So..." Chu Ci felt increasingly uneasy as she listened, "You came here this time for..."

Lin Ming took out a photograph. "Do you recognize this person?"

Chu Ci looked at the photo and felt it looked somewhat familiar.

Before she could speak, Grandma slapped her thigh, pointed at the photo, and shouted:

"Jiang Caixia! Aci, it's Jiang Caixia! The one who introduced Wang Qiang to you!"

When it came to Wang Qiang, the gangster who almost beat her and her grandmother to death, Chu Ci finally remembered who he was.

That friend who introduced Wang Qiang to the original owner of this body!

The original owner even gave her a hundred yuan as a brokerage fee!

"I know her, what happened to her?"

“She was also sold by Meng Zehai.” Lin Ming took out another photo.

The photo shows a naked female corpse, her body bluish-gray, with many wounds and numerous lividity marks, clearly indicating that she had been dead for some time.

“The buyer said she ran away the day after she was sold to us. When we went to find Cheng Zhenzhen yesterday, we unexpectedly discovered her body.”