Chapter 131 Human Traffickers!

After the Zheng family reported the incident to the police, the officers immediately assured them that they would do their best to find the person, but they also told the family to be prepared for the possibility that they might not be able to find them.

It's not that they didn't try their best, but these days, due to limitations in traffic and crime-solving techniques, very few lost children are ever found. The police officers were also worried that the family members might become too heartbroken and cause a scene at the police station, so they gave them a heads-up beforehand.

These words caused Chang Dafeng a pang of pain in her heart, and she immediately burst into tears.

"Haihua, my Haihua!"

They say the youngest son and eldest grandson are the old lady's lifeblood, and isn't that true?

Compared to the eldest son who had to rely on earning money to support the family and the second son who was often neglected, Chang Dafeng loved her youngest son, Zheng Haihua, who had never seen his father since birth. Now, suddenly learning that her most beloved youngest son might never come back, it was like having a knife cut into her heart.

Chang Dafeng, who usually only makes others feel bad, felt a rare pang of pain in her heart.

However, Chang Dafeng never looked for problems within herself. She quickly attributed Zheng Haihua's abduction by human traffickers to the cold and heartless neighbors in the courtyard.

In Chang Dafeng's heart, if the people in the courtyard had helped her look for her son last night, her son wouldn't have been lost!

They won't be kidnapped by human traffickers!

Yes, it's them!

It was these heartless, callous, and cold-blooded people who ruined Haihua!

So after reporting the incident to the police, she stood in the middle of the second courtyard with her hands on her hips and started cursing, "Heartless, ungrateful, and despicable! My husband died for you! A whole compound of your sons bully us widows and orphans, aren't you afraid they'll come after you in the middle of the night? If anything really happens to my Haihua, I'll burn your house down! Murderers! You damned bastards!"

This is intolerable!

Chang Dafeng blamed her neighbors in the compound for her lost son, and she kept hurling insults at them. Considering that she was upset because her child had just gone missing, everyone refrained from arguing with her, closed their doors, and pretended not to hear her foul language.

Unexpectedly, this old shrew went even further, distorting the facts and twisting the truth, claiming that Grandpa Zheng, who died in the line of duty, died for them!

This is something everyone can't tolerate!

Cheng Jiajia quickly pulled back Yu Junsheng, who looked unhappy and wanted to open the door to confront Chang Dafeng.

"Where are you going?"

Yu Junsheng snorted, "This old bastard is getting more and more shameless, he'll say anything!"

"Grandpa Zheng died in an accident while at work. What does that have to do with us?"

Cheng Jiajia was speechless for a long time. Although she knew Chang Dafeng wasn't telling the truth, she hadn't expected her to be so shameless.

She cautioned, "She is, after all, from our parents' generation, and she has lost her child. Her situation is special. We are of a younger generation, and anything we say at this time will be considered wrong by others. Let's just wait and see; someone will naturally step forward."

Some people couldn't help but jump out and criticize Chang Dafeng, so why should they be the ones to stick their necks out?

Yu Junsheng thought about it and agreed, so he didn't go out to confront them. Instead, he watched the show from the window, just like Cheng Jiajia.

Cheng Jiajia was right. Almost as soon as she finished speaking, Guan Ailian from the Third Hospital darted out from the hanging flower gate.

In the same pose as Chang Dafeng, she put her hands on her hips, pointed at Chang Dafeng's nose, and cursed, "Pah! Chang Dafeng, you shameless thing! Your old Zheng was clearly involved in an accident at work, what does it have to do with us? You even said he died for us, you really know how to pat yourself on the back!"

Bah! You shameless bastard! What do you mean Old Zheng died for them? That's completely unrelated!

If this slut keeps talking, wouldn't Old Zheng become their savior? That's unacceptable!

Guan Ailian spat and said disdainfully, "The factory only recognized him as a martyr because they felt sorry for you and your children. Over the years, you've taken advantage of this to ask the factory for favors without anyone saying anything. But don't be ungrateful and think we're all fools!"

"Don't you know how your husband, Lao Zheng, got into this accident? They say it was a work-related death, but I think it might have been an accident caused by his own operational error!"

Haha!

This was truly a shocking revelation, stunning everyone in the courtyard who were watching the spectacle.

"Oh my god, is this for real?"

"Aunt Guan, are you serious? Her husband, Lao Zheng, made a mistake on his own? Then he's not a martyr. Isn't this deceiving the factory?"

"I remember the factory gave out a compensation payment back then, right? If that's true, we can't give that money back to the factory!"

Chang Dafeng's eyes flashed, and she said fiercely but weakly, "Guan Ailian, what nonsense are you spouting?! My husband, Lao Zheng, was recognized as a martyr by the factory. This is slander, blatant slander!"

Cheng Jiajia raised an eyebrow. Based on her experience of watching gossip countless times, there was definitely something fishy going on here!

Her eyes suddenly lit up, and her cheeks were almost pressed against the glass, as if she wanted to stick her head out to see what was going on.

Good heavens, who would have thought that such an old bombshell would break out today!

Aunt Guan, if you're so talkative, then say a little more!

Unfortunately, after Guan Ailian unleashed this powerful move, she stood there motionless.

Cheng Jiajia: "..."

Cheng Jiajia tugged at Yu Junsheng's arm, "Could it be that there's some other story behind Zheng Haiyang's father's death?"

Yu Junsheng shook his head. "I don't know. I was only about ten years old when Grandpa Zheng passed away. What could I possibly know?" Even his parents wouldn't mention this to him.

But judging from Chang Dafeng's current behavior, there's probably something fishy going on.

Cheng Jiajia's disappointment was palpable. Why wasn't her man a few years older? That way she could have gotten the whole story!

Aunt Guan, hurry up and tell me! What are you standing there for?!

Guan Ailian didn't mean to be unwilling to speak; rather, she didn't actually know much!

She was in a state of complete shock.

Her husband also worked in the workshop back then. He only remembered that after Lao Zheng's accident, Ren Wenhua came back and said that he seemed to smell alcohol on Lao Zheng, but when he smelled it again, it was gone. So he wasn't sure. However, he never drank alcohol at work after that.

But judging from Chang Dafeng's reaction now, could it be that he was right after all?

Guan Ailian looked at Chang Dafeng with suspicion.

Seeing this, Chang Dafeng knew something was wrong. She immediately sat down on the ground, slapped her thigh, and wailed, "Heavens above, old man, you died so unjustly! You were clearly a martyr who sacrificed your life for the factory, but these past few days, people who have been struck by lightning are twisting the truth and saying you died because of your own mistake! Old man, how could you be so heartless as to leave me and the children behind, leaving us, a widow and orphans, to be bullied by everyone! Why didn't you come and take us with you tonight, so we wouldn't have to suffer from these people's bullying!"

Chang Dafeng was crying with snot and tears streaming down her face, looking quite pitiful, while Guan Ailian, standing to the side, looked down on her with an air of superiority, making it seem to anyone unaware of the situation that she was bullying her.

Coincidentally, Xu Dongliang and Dong Siwei arrived at that very moment.

Upon seeing this scene, I instinctively assumed that Chang Dafeng had been bullied.

Thinking this was another excellent opportunity to show off, the two quickly divided the work, with Xu Dongliang helping the person up.

Dong Siwei frowned at Guan Ailian and, believing herself to be righteous, rebuked her, "Auntie, what are you doing? Aunt Chang's family is having a hard time right now. You're not just offering to help, but you're bullying her? This won't do. Which department does your family work in? I'm going to report this to the machinery factory. What do they mean by condoning their employees' families bullying a widow and her child?"

Everyone: "!!!"

Guan Ailian: "...!!!"

Damn it, where did this meddlesome little brat come from?!

Even a dog isn't as long as your arm, is it?!

Cheng Jiajia clicked her tongue repeatedly. Her stepsister would do anything to get on Zheng Haiyang's good side, and she even dared to step on Guan Ailian to build her own reputation.

Do they really think the people in this compound are easy to mess with?

Guan Ailian was not one to suffer a loss, so how could she tolerate Dong Siwei, this little brat, jumping around on her head? She immediately put her hands on her hips, pointed her finger at her nose, and cursed back, "Pah! Who do you think you are? Which eye of yours saw me bullying someone? Why are you meddling in other people's business? Why don't you go to heaven!"

As she spoke, she added suspiciously, "You young girl claim to be Cheng Jiajia's stepsister, yet you never visit Cheng Jiajia and are always running to the Zheng family. Could it be that you have something going on with Zheng Haiyang?"

With a mocking look, he said, "No wonder! I knew your eyes were crooked; it turns out your heart is crooked too!"

These words made Dong Siwei's face turn red and green with anger, but she didn't dare to refute them, because the old woman was actually right about some things.

She definitely wanted to seduce Zheng Haiyang.

Dong Siwei dared not speak again, and silently went to the other side to help Chang Dafeng up. "Come on, auntie, we don't talk to unreasonable people!"

Chang Dafeng didn't understand anything about carp, but she did understand one sentence from Guan Ailian: this girl was trying to seduce her eldest son.

Chang Dafeng's eyes darted around.

Let's leave aside for now what people say about Old Man Zheng's status as a martyr.

...

The next day was the 28th of the lunar year. Although everyone was a little worried about Zheng Haihua, he wasn't their own child after all. They were worried, but that was all. Life went on as usual, and everyone was preparing for the upcoming New Year.

On this day, Cheng Jiajia and Yu Junsheng also delivered New Year's gifts to Old Man Wang. Putting aside Yu Junsheng in the past, Cheng Jiajia has received a lot of care from Old Man Wang in the past six months. If it were someone else, she wouldn't have had it so easy.

Both out of courtesy and reason, the couple should give Old Man Wang some New Year's gifts.

Of course, they didn't forget Grandpa Zou's family either. Speaking of which, it was Aunt Hao who arranged the wedding banquet for Cheng Jiajia and Yu Junsheng, so they couldn't forget her. Yu Junsheng delivered the banquet to them before leaving home this morning.

On their way back from Old Wang's house, the couple were discussing how to spend the next few days of the Lunar New Year. They didn't have many relatives, so aside from visiting their neighbors on the first day of the new year, they didn't need to go out much. They should also visit their colleagues, but those families had many relatives during the holiday, so it wouldn't be appropriate for them to go over. They decided to stay home and enjoy themselves.

The two had just turned a corner when they saw a group of people gathered together, seemingly doing something.

Cheng Jiajia perked up; there was going to be some excitement!

He quickly grabbed Yu Junsheng and ran over.

Unexpectedly, one of their old acquaintances was Ren Yongsheng in the crowd.

Ren Yongsheng was seen clinging to the trouser leg of a burly man with a kind face, refusing to let go. "You're not allowed to leave! You've knocked over all the things I bought and you think you can just leave like that? Dream on!"

Damn it, this is so unlucky!

I finally managed to get some flour in Pigeon Market, and those two clueless bastards knocked it all over the ground, ruining everything!

Ren Yongsheng naturally wouldn't let the two leave easily, and for some reason, he felt disgusted and irritated whenever he saw them. He immediately grabbed the man's leg and started throwing a tantrum.

A flash of ferocity crossed the tall, burly man's face. He glanced at Ren Yongsheng on the ground with disgust, wanting to kick him away, but then he held back, remembering something.

Cheng Jiajia happened to see this and raised an eyebrow. This person isn't as simple as he looks; he's not simple at all.

The basket that the burly man was carrying was knocked over by Ren Yongsheng, and its contents were scattered all over the ground.

There was food inside, and even a few pieces of clothing and diapers for babies.

The burly man panicked for a moment, and in that instant, Cheng Jiajia caught his eye.

The man quickly squatted down, grabbed the things on the ground, and put them into his basket. However, Cheng Jiajia always felt that he was afraid of being seen.

What's wrong with this being seen by others?

Cheng Jiajia was a little confused. Suddenly, she remembered hearing that a baby had also gone missing in their area, and she started to overthink things.

So he smiled and said, "Oh, I never would have guessed that this man, who looks fierce, is such a loving husband and father. He even remembered to bring clothes and diapers for his baby while out shopping. By the way, how old is your baby? He must be a well-behaved one, right?"

Another short man immediately chimed in, "Hey, that's just how he is. He never forgets his wife and kids, no matter where he goes! Don't take offense, sister!" He didn't mention a word about how old the kids were.

The two men didn't want to get entangled with Ren Yongsheng any longer, so they gave him ten yuan and left.

Judging by how readily they handed over the money, they didn't seem like people who were poor. Yet, the clothes they were wearing made them look like farmers from the countryside.

It was indeed very strange.

Cheng Jiajia's brow twitched, and after saying something to Yu Junsheng, she trailed far behind the two men.

Yu Junsheng didn't want to agree, but he knew he couldn't stop his wife from making a decision. He could only repeatedly tell her to be careful and not to be reckless.

Cheng Jiajia followed the two for about an hour, and finally arrived at a dilapidated courtyard house in a remote suburb.

The courtyard seemed deserted, but Cheng Jiajia didn't think her intuition was wrong. Undeterred, she crouched down and walked around the courtyard. Finally, she heard faint cries of children in a spot in the backyard, and it seemed like there was more than one.

Cheng Jiajia was secretly delighted.

This proves that I didn't go to the wrong place!

However, Cheng Jiajia did not intend to alert the enemy. She tried to be as quiet as possible and retreat slowly back the way she came.

When I got home, I sent a letter to the police station.

Although she has some fighting skills, she is not arrogant enough to think that she can bring the child back from the traffickers on her own. It is better to leave professional matters to professionals.

Hopefully the police can find them soon and rescue the children.

...

In a dilapidated house in the suburbs.

In the cellar in the backyard, there were five or six boys of different ages, some only three or four years old, and some about ten years old.

What they had in common was that they all had sallow complexions, were in a sorry state, and were tied up and left in a corner.

Only at mealtimes would the men outside give each of them a bowl of thin porridge, enough to keep them from starving but also enough to keep them from running away.

Overwhelmed by hunger and fear, the boys all began to wipe away tears.

Only one boy didn't cry. He was clever and knew that he had probably encountered human traffickers since he woke up in the cellar.

But the child didn't panic. Instead, he thought about how to save himself and quietly began to untie the ropes binding his hands little by little. After a few days, he finally untied the ropes on his hands and then quickly untied the ropes on his feet.

Seeing this, the other children all begged him for help, asking him to untie the rope.

Zheng Haihua shouted excitedly, "Hurry up and untie mine too, I want to run too!" He had heard the men above say that they were going to sell the boys to the mountains. Zheng Haihua didn't want to go to the mountains. He had everything he could eat at home, but he couldn't get anything like that in the mountains!

The boy frowned and gestured for them to be quiet, "There are people outside, so please keep your voices down. I'll do it one at a time."

Zheng Haihua was very dissatisfied. Why wasn't he the first to get relief? But he also knew that he had to rely on others now, so he could only suppress his resentment.

The boy was about to untie the rope from the hands of the little boy closest to him.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside. The boy was startled and immediately shushed everyone, whispering, "Don't make a sound. I'll help you untie the ropes after they leave."

After saying that, he returned to his original position, put the rope around his wrists and put it behind his back, pretending to still be tied up.

The other boys immediately fell silent, watching the doorway warily.

The cellar door creaked open, letting in a sliver of light, and a tall, burly man with a fierce look crawled down from above, holding a candle.

The children all watched him very warily, especially the boy, whose forehead was sweating with nervousness. After all, he was just a child, and he couldn't hide his feelings on his face.

The man glanced at the bun and immediately noticed something amiss. He chuckled and said, "Hungry? Uncle has a white steamed bun here. Whoever tells you what just happened, this bun is theirs, okay?" The man's voice was enticing, like a big bad wolf luring a little rabbit.

The other children were taken aback, and then hesitation appeared on their faces. They hadn't had a proper meal for several days, and the fragrant and soft white steamed buns were too tempting for them.

But if we tell him, will that brother be in trouble? Will they be unable to escape? They don't want to be sold to the mountains.

Only Zheng Haihua didn't hesitate at all. He immediately pointed at the boy and shouted, "He's untied the rope. He's trying to run away! Uncles, hit him! Hit him!"