Chapter 43 Grandma Sells Her Granddaughter
"What?!" Gu Qiuyue's heart skipped a beat and her hands clenched subconsciously. "Lost? When did it happen? Wasn't she still in confinement? The child was so young and it was impossible for her to leave the family compound alone. How could she be lost? Have you found her?" She asked several questions at once.
"We did find him," Sun Juan patted her chest, looking still frightened. "But the process was really scary. We mobilized everyone in the compound to help look for him. We searched every nook and cranny. Several groups of police officers came. Zheng Chuncao was so anxious that she fainted on the spot. Her little son, who was not even a month old, burst into tears with fear!" She vividly described the chaos and tension at the time.
Gu Qiuyue's heart tightened when she heard this: "Then...how did the child get lost? Where was he found?" She imagined Zheng Chuncao's anxious look, and her fingertips felt a little cold.
Sun Juan leaned closer, almost whispering into Gu Qiuyue's ear. Her voice couldn't be any lower, filled with disbelief and horror: "We've found out. Guess what? I'll scare you to death when I tell you!" She took a deep breath and spoke the earth-shattering truth word by word. "It was actually the child's grandmother who secretly took him away and sold him to human traffickers!"
boom!
It was as if a bolt of thunder exploded directly in Gu Qiuyue's brain. She froze in her chair, blood rushing to her head in an instant, then draining away in the next second, leaving her hands and feet cold.
Grandma, selling her granddaughter to human traffickers?
This sentence was like a poisoned ice cone, piercing into her cognition and bringing a physical nausea and dizziness. She opened her mouth, but her throat seemed to be blocked by something and she couldn't utter a single syllable.
"...why...why?" It took a long time for Gu Qiuyue to find her voice again. It was very dry. Mother-in-law Zheng Chuncao's mean and calculating face swayed before her eyes. Her heart was gripped by a huge absurdity and cold fear.
Sun Juan sighed heavily, her face a complex expression of both anger and sadness. "Why else? Money! And... because she's just a girl! I heard that old woman owed gambling debts and they were pressing her hard. And seeing that Zheng Chuncao had given birth to a son, she thought keeping this 'money-loser' would give her one more mouth to feed. So, in the heat of the moment, she just...she got possessed.
While Zheng Chuncao was exhausted and fell asleep, she secretly tricked the child out, saying she was going to town, and then… Oh, what a sin!” She slapped her thigh and shook her head.
Gu Qiuyue felt her stomach churning and a strong sense of nausea surged up. She suddenly covered her mouth and her face turned pale as paper.
"Qiuyue? Are you okay? Why do you look so bad?" Sun Juan was startled and quickly supported her.
Gu Qiuyue waved her hands, suppressing the discomfort, and felt cold all over. It's not like she had never seen the evil of human nature, but her grandmother sold her granddaughter to human traffickers because of gambling debts and because of her preference for boys over girls... This cruelty that broke the bottom line made her feel a chill that penetrated her bones.
"That child... was found? Zheng Chuncao she..." Gu Qiuyue's voice trembled slightly.
"We found it, thank goodness!" Sun Juan mentioned this, finally feeling a bit relieved. "That old woman was greedy and asked for a high price when she was dealing with the traffickers. She also wasted time bargaining. The police station comrades took advantage of her panic and followed the clues to track her down. They moved incredibly quickly.
"We blocked the gang in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. The child had just been given some sleeping pills and hadn't been moved away yet. You didn't see how Zheng Chuncao rushed over to get the child back... She was crying heartbreakingly while holding the child, laughing at the same time, like she was crazy... Oh, how pitiful!"
"Then...what about the child's grandmother? And those human traffickers?" Gu Qiuyue asked.
"The old woman was handcuffed and taken away on the spot. She was so scared that she was paralyzed, and her feces and urine were all flowing out! Pah!" Sun Juan spat in disgust. "Those human traffickers, I heard, are a roving gang that specializes in targeting remote areas and places where there's a serious bias towards boys, and they resell babies and girls.
She paused and lowered her voice and said, "I heard from my husband that this criminal gang is very cruel. They make the abducted women pregnant, and then sell the children... The division headquarters was furious and directly sent people from the Security Department to cooperate with the local police and take joint action with police forces in many places to eradicate this crime." Sun Juan's tone was a little bit resentful when she said the latter part.
Gu Qiuyue listened silently, feeling heavy in her heart. Although justice came a little late, it finally came.
But how can the pain endured by the little girl sold by her own grandmother, the heartbroken Zheng Chuncao, and the women whose lives were ruined be remedied? This shadow will likely haunt them for the rest of their lives.
This incident was like a heavy stone pressing on Gu Qiuyue's heart. She felt listless for several days and had a poor appetite.
At noon that day, Xie Shiyu ordered braised pork, which was rarely served in the cafeteria. However, when Gu Qiuyue smelled the greasy smell, she covered her mouth and rushed into the bathroom to retch for a long time, tears coming out.
"Qiuyue, you...are you sick from exhaustion?" Xie Shiyu hurriedly put down his bowl and chopsticks, handed over the water, and asked with concern.
Gu Qiuyue took the water and rinsed her mouth. The cold water slid down her throat, and her chaotic mind seemed to clear up a little. She shook her head and said, "It's okay. Maybe I'm just a little tired. I'll go lie down for a while. You eat first. Don't worry about me."
"How can that be? I'll take you to the clinic." Xie Shiyu took his coat and put it on her, then was about to pull her out.
Gu Qiuyue smiled and refused: "It's really nothing. Maybe the last translation was a bit stressful for me and I haven't recovered yet. How about you go to the office this afternoon and ask for leave so I can rest at home?"
"Okay, then you have a good rest. If you're still not feeling well when I come back tonight, we'll go to the clinic." Seeing that she seemed in good spirits, Xie Shiyu took a step back. "Then I'll warm the food in the pot for you. Remember to eat enough later. I'll make you something delicious tonight."
In the afternoon, when Xie Shiyu went to the Propaganda Department to ask for leave from Sister Xu, Sun Juan happened to hear him and asked, "Is Qiuyue okay?"
Xie Shiyu knew that Sun Juan and his wife had a good time together, so he said, "It's nothing, she just seems a little tired and can't eat. Let's rest for a while and see if she can get better. If she still doesn't feel better, I'll take her to the health center."
"Then I'll find time to go see her later." Sun Juan remembered that when she told Gu Qiuyue about the human traffickers in the morning, she seemed a little nauseous. Now she couldn't eat, and an uncertain idea popped up in her mind.
But she didn't say anything. She just left work two hours early in the afternoon and went to Gu Qiuyue's house to find her. Seeing that she looked listless, she hurriedly pulled her to sit down and asked, "What's wrong with you? Are you really sick?"
"No, I just feel lazy all over. I feel nauseous when I see those greasy meals, but I can't vomit anything." Gu Qiuyue said dejectedly.
Sun Juan's eyes lit up and she glanced at her belly, "Are you pregnant?"
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