"I'm so sorry, ma'am. I really don't have any left. That's why I was thinking of borrowing some from my neighbors!"

"How could that be? I even saw someone bringing food to your house before. You wouldn't be so stingy! You have food but don't even know to lend us some. Look at my granddaughter."

"That man's poop is dog food! Look at my dog, Jinbao, let him bark twice for me!"

"Woof woof woof woof!" Jinbao's barks grew louder and louder, scaring the children outside so much that they cried and fell to the ground.

"Ouch! They've bullied my granddaughter and me! They even set their dog on me! Everyone come and see!"

"Jinbao. Let's go."

After speaking, Feng Ran went straight inside. She didn't even glance outside. They really were giving her too much credit!

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Open the door! You have the nerve to scare people? Open the door!"

The constant wailing and howling annoyed Feng Ran to no end. She simply closed the door and turned on the TV.

Go ahead and make a scene. Just don't go inside her house.

Sure enough, the person left in less than half an hour.

It wasn't until evening, when Feng Ran was about to take a walk in the courtyard, that she heard some noises at the gate.

I walked closer, turned on my phone's flashlight, and saw... wasn't that the little girl from earlier in the day?

Through the crack in the door, Feng Ran asked, "Girl, why are you still here?"

"Waaah... I... my grandma won't let me go home... She said if you don't give me grain as compensation, she'll make me... die at your doorstep... Waaah..."

She cried so hard.

Feng Ran thought for a moment and then opened the small door.

The girl was wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt. It was March, and the nights were still quite chilly.

A person huddled up against the wall.

They were as pitiful as could be.

"What happened? Why did your grandma leave you here?"

"...Speak up? If you don't, I'll call the police and have you arrested?"

"No, no! Sister, Grandma said my little brother is starving to death. She wants me to beg for food to take back home. Otherwise, I might as well freeze to death and save some food for him."

"You really have no food left? Your brother is starving to death?"

"Waaaaah... I... I... I saw Grandma feeding my little brother eggs this morning. My little brother eats every day... Grandma said that he's little and needs to eat. The little girl doesn't need to eat every day... I... Waaaaah... I haven't eaten all day."

"Alright. Stop crying. Go home now. It's getting dark."

"No way! Grandma said she'd break my legs when we get back."

"...Where does your village chief live?"

“Ahead…” In the darkness, the girl pointed to the left.

"Go find your village chief. Have him take you home."

"No way! Sister, when Grandpa, the village chief, used to take me back, Grandma beat my legs until they were black."

"...What's your name? You're about five or six years old, aren't you?"

"Little girl, I'm eight years old, older sister."

Eight years old...so thin and small.

"You're called 'Little Girl'? Aren't you in school?"

"Grandma won't allow it."

How pitiful...

"Wait."

Feng Ran went back inside and pretended to take out two steamed buns.

"Eat."

"...Sister, can I take it home for my little brother to eat?"

"Eat here. Otherwise, don't take anything!"

"No, I'll eat here!" The girl grabbed the steamed bun and wolfed it down. She looked quite fierce.

"Eat slowly. Go home after you finish eating. If your grandma hits you, just tell her you'll sleep at home tonight and come back to the gate tomorrow."

"Uh-huh."

"Remember to wipe your mouth clean. Don't even mention eating here. Otherwise, your grandma will definitely beat you and say you didn't leave any for your brother."

"I won't tell, I won't tell!" The girl shook her head vigorously, still chewing on the steamed bun in her mouth. Even in the darkness, the girl's dirty appearance was visible.

It's really hard to imagine that in this day and age, there are still children suffering so much.

The girl finished her steamed bun and slowly walked away. Feng Ran didn't offer any further assistance. That was all she could do.

The next morning, the girl that Feng Ran thought would never come back was already sitting at the front door of his house.

This time, I didn't kindly offer her any food.

He simply went back inside silently.

However, trouble came his way in the afternoon.

...

The police came knocking.

“Knock, knock, knock…”

"who!"

I'm so annoyed every day. If it's still that same old woman from yesterday, I'll teach her a lesson!

"Chengxi Police Station. Open the door."

Feng Ran frowned. Nevertheless, he opened the door.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Feng Ran tried her best to appear friendly.

"Hello, these are our identification documents. We're here to investigate a few cases: the murder of Li Yan, the theft at Li's Department Store, and the theft at the dairy company's factory."

"What? What does this have to do with me?"

“We checked the surveillance footage, and there are records of these two vehicles appearing in the vicinity of the theft site on that day.” As he spoke, the male police officer took out a photo of his own truck.

"Now please come with us to the police station. Also, this is a search warrant; we need to search your home."

Good heavens, thankfully I didn't have much stored at home. Let's check.

"First of all, officer, this has nothing to do with me. How could a girl like me steal so many things? I've seen the news online. Secondly, the second-hand truck I bought was stolen when I first moved here. You can go in and check if you don't believe me."

Just then, the older woman from before showed up again. She even went so far as to claim she wasn't a good person! "Officers, hurry up and search her. This woman is no good. Yesterday she even set her dog on my granddaughter."

"Hey, ma'am. You asked me for grain yesterday, and I said I didn't have any, so you sent your granddaughter to beg at my door. We didn't even open the gate, and my dog ​​was barking in the yard. When did it bite you?!"

"Speaking of which, officers, after you've searched me, you'll need to help me with this case. She's been harassing me! What do you suggest we do?"

"Don't talk nonsense! We're good people. Who asked you for food! Come on, you brat!" With that, he hurriedly pulled the little girl next to him away.

"Alright. Don't delay our investigation."

"Come in."

Two police officers searched the area around the house and inside. They found a lot of dog food cans piled up in Jinbao's room, which he had left there earlier.

There's nothing else there.

"Is there a basement?"

"No. This is a house I bought just a few months ago. You should be able to find that out. Anyway, I don't know where the basement is. You can look it up yourselves."

Feng Ran's calm and composed reply.

"Old Zhang, what should we do?" a young male police officer asked.

"Take him back to the police station first."

"Let's go, ma'am."

Can I bring my dog ​​with me? What will happen to my dog ​​if you don't let me come back?

"Little Sun, take this with you."

Feng Ran locked the door and immediately got into a police car.

...

"Name?"

"...Feng Ran".

"gender?"

"Beauty."

"Be serious."

The interrogator was... a young, handsome guy. He really was quite good-looking.