The Tragedy of Art vs. Child Trafficking (Part 3)
In a slightly dilapidated house in the rural-urban fringe area in the west of the city, an eight-year-old boy was wearing a white vest with several holes on the chest. He had a pair of slightly larger shorts hanging around his waist. The shorts were gray, as if they were modified from adult pants, and he had a pair of sandals on his feet.
The boy had a crew cut and a large patch of dirt on his face. He had a pair of big eyes with distinct black and white, and looked very smart.
This child is Jiang Shengyu’s eight-year-old son Jiang Xuyao. Jiang Xuyao is in the second grade. Although he is young, he has many clever ideas and Jiang Shengyu is often troubled by him.
At first Jiang Shengyu’s wife Lin Fan disagreed. Who would be willing to risk their child’s life, especially in a case of child trafficking? Jiang Shengyu's repeated assurances failed to change her mind.
Jiang Xuyao was very willing to do so. He often listened to Jiang Shengyu's stories about solving cases and had long dreamed of becoming a criminal policeman like his father one day. He absolutely could not miss this opportunity.
So the father and son went to the Municipal Bureau secretly. Zhang Changming saw that this was unacceptable and he couldn't let the family members down, so he immediately called Lin Fan. Although Lin Fan cursed, he agreed.
Zhang Changming strictly ordered Gu Fang to ensure Jiang Xuyao's safety. Gu Fang signed a military order, putting Jiang Xuyao's safety first, even if the criminal could not be caught.
Gu Fang made all kinds of preparations. He sewed a locator into Yang Xuyao's clothes and installed hidden cameras around the room and on the nearby roads to ensure that there were no blind spots. Some members of the Second Team live nearby as neighbors, some run breakfast stalls, and some run small businesses. In short, they cannot let Jiang Xuyao out of their sight.
Gu Fang originally planned to pretend to be siblings with Shen Xingyan, but Jiang Shengyu instigated the team members, saying that they didn't look alike at all and outsiders would definitely not believe it. It would be better to pretend to be a couple and have a child, so as not to arouse suspicion. Gu Fang thought about it and it was okay, since they had already pretended to be a couple.
Jiang Xuyao is the child of Gu Fang's brother and sister-in-law. His sister-in-law ran away because she disliked the family's poverty. His brother is in poor health and cannot take care of the child, so the two of them had to take the child out.
Shen Xingyan is a "bad" aunt. Because she "dislikes" Jiang Xuyao, she often treats him harshly when Gu Fang is not around, and sometimes even beats him.
After being "beaten", Jiang Xuyao ran to the street and told everyone that his aunt was abusing him. He also told others that he would escape from this home sooner or later.
Every time Shen Xingyan saw his angry eyebrows raised, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This kid was more immersed in the play than them.
After five days, there was no news at all. Jiang Xuyao was a little discouraged and asked Gu Fang, "Why hasn't anyone come to kidnap me yet?"
Gu Fang was so angry that he laughed. He was still looking forward to being abducted. "Don't worry, maybe they are secretly observing us from a corner we can't see. I will go out to work as usual tomorrow, and you and Sister Xiao Shen will put on another big show."
Jiang Xuyao's eyes lit up immediately, and he patted his thin chest, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
The next day, Gu Fang went out to "work" early. Shen Xingyan stood at the door with her hands on her hips and shouted, "Why don't you get up, little bastard? The sun is already burning your butt!" She was wearing a floral skirt, her hair was pinned behind her head with a plastic clip, she was wearing plastic slippers, she hadn't washed her face, and she tried to make herself look as sloppy as possible.
"I'm telling you, I'm raising you for your uncle's sake! If it weren't for the fact that he's so tall and handsome, I wouldn't have raised him as a burden! I just don't understand why we have to take you with us when your dad is sick. You're so old now, you should stay in your hometown to take care of your dad who's paralyzed in the hospital bed, why are you following us!
Not getting up yet? ! I’m going to beat you to death! ”
Jiang Shengyu listened to Shen Xingyan's scolding and looked at his legs helplessly, feeling "paralyzed" for unknown reasons.
Shen Xingyan entered the room angrily, and soon the sound of a child howling like a ghost came from her. "Ahhh! You dead woman, you hit me again. I'm going to tell my uncle and ask him to divorce you!"
"You little kid, you don't learn well, do you know what Hugh is? I tell you, if I hadn't married him, your family would be so poor, who would be willing to marry him?"
"You're talking nonsense! It was you who came to my house. My uncle is tall and handsome, and many women like him. Who knows what kind of seductive tricks you used to seduce my uncle!"
Shen Xingyan was stunned by what the child blurted out. She didn't know what to say for a moment, so she could only pick up her shoe and hit the bed hard, "I told you to stop talking nonsense!"
Every time she hit him, Jiang Xuyao would scream and rub red medicine on his body, which was so horrible.
The members of the Second Team who were listening to the two people's performance outside twitched their lips and tried to hold back their laughter.
Yang Dawei whispered to Jiang Shengyu, "We have a successor for our team. Look at Xiao Jiang's acting skills. It would be a waste of his talent if he doesn't go and act."
Jiang Shengyu bit his back teeth, his face turning red and white. What a mess this brat has been learning all day long!
He glared at Yang Dawei and said, "Stop talking nonsense. Your Pengcheng didn't come. Who knows what he would say if he came." Yang Pengcheng is Yang Dawei's son, who is a senior in high school this year.
"Haha, next time there's a mission, let Pengcheng come and satisfy his acting addiction, so he won't have to stay at home all day and complain that I don't care about him."
As the two were talking, Jiang Xuyao ran out, his body covered in blood. The two were stunned. Jiang Shengyu reflexively wanted to step forward, but was stopped by Yang Dawei. Jiang Shengyu suddenly came to his senses. This brat wasn't even afraid of overdoing it.
Shen Xingyan chased after him, holding a cane in his hand, "You little bastard! If you have the guts to run away, don't come back!"
Jiang Xuyao made a face at her, "It's none of your business! This is my uncle's home!"
Shen Xingyan was so angry that he threw the cane out and said, "Get out!"
Jiang Xuyao snorted and disappeared.
Shen Xingyan was so angry that his chest heaved violently and his forehead was covered in sweat. Acting is such a tiring job!
Suddenly a voice sounded beside my ear, "Girl, have you just moved in? I haven't seen you before."
Shen Xingyan looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman who was nearly fifty years old. The woman was wearing a blue vest with red flowers, which exposed her armpits. Her breasts were severely sagging, like two lumps of flesh hanging in front of her chest, and her belly was bulging. She wore a pair of black trousers and a pair of blue slippers. The toenails were covered with dirt and the insteps were covered with dust.
When the woman smiled, she showed her yellow teeth and had a bad breath.
Shen Xingyan subconsciously wanted to hide, but she tried her best to resist the urge to leave and let a smile creep onto her face, "Yes, my husband and I just moved here. I heard that it's easy to make money here."
"Lack of money?"
"If I wasn't short of money, I wouldn't have run so far. My family is so poor that we can't even afford to eat. My wife insisted on bringing a burden with her. How can we afford to support him?"
The woman's eyes flickered. "That was very hard."
"What's your name, Auntie? If you have any way to make money, tell me. I can endure hardship and do anything."
"My family name is Qian, and they all call me Po-zi Qian. ...Is it true that I do everything?"
"I'll do anything. Aunt Qian, take care of me." Shen Xingyan took off a string of beads from her wrist and stuffed them into her hand. "They're made of nanmu wood and have been blessed in a temple. They can ward off evil spirits."
Mrs. Qian pushed it out, "That's not possible."
"Oh, it's just a small amount of money, please accept it, Auntie. Please help me find a way to make money. I've had enough of the hard life."
Mrs. Qian accepted it with a smile and said, "Mention me in Miaoqian Street, and everyone will give me some respect. Don't worry, I'll help you keep an eye out, and you'll find a job soon."
Shen Xingyan was overjoyed, "Thank you so much."
Mrs. Qian looked behind her and vaguely saw the empty walls in the room and the wilted vegetables on the floor. "Where's your husband?"
"I went out to work as a laborer on a construction site. I didn't make much money and it was tiring."
"That's right. I saw a child running out just now?"
"That's my man's nephew." When talking about Jiang Xuyao, Shen Xingyan deliberately showed a disgusted expression, "He studies all kinds of nonsense all day long. If he doesn't study hard, he will be a scoundrel in the future."
"Where are his parents?"
"His mom ran away because she despised his dad for being poor. His dad is sick and can't even take care of himself, so how can he take care of a child. My husband loves his nephew, so he brought him out with him." Shen Xingyan snorted, "I hate children the most. They're not mine. If I beat them, they'll hate you, but if I don't, you'll be a coward."
"Who says it's not true? It's not easy to be a stepmother, let alone you as an aunt."
Shen Xingyan excitedly held Mrs. Qian's hand, "Auntie still understands me. Forget it, I won't talk about him anymore. It makes me angry. Auntie, can you come in and sit down?"
"No, I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."
"Then I won't keep Aunt. Please help me find a way to make money. When I make money, I will never forget Aunt."
"Okay, okay." Mrs. Qian looked at her deeply and walked away in her slippers.
Shen Xingyan looked at her back and winked at Yang Dawei. Yang Dawei pushed his bicycle and shouted, "Candied haws..." and walked towards the direction where Qian Pozi disappeared.
Shen Xingyan was a little worried about Jiang Xuyao. She called him "Xiao Yao" and cursed him. She looked very impatient, but her steps were getting faster and faster.
Seeing a group of children gathered together, one of them had his head buried in the crowd, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, walked up to him, and patted his head, "What are you doing? Didn't you hear me? Are you deaf?"
Jiang Xuyao snorted, "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"What's there for a kid to be busy with!" Shen Xingyan leaned over to look over, and saw something like a finger on the ground with dried blood at the end and many ants crawling on it.
Shen Xingyan shouted at them, "Go away! What is there to see?" Although Shen Xingyan had only been there for a few days, she had already become notorious for swearing at the door all day long. So when she shouted, the children all ran away, leaving only her and Jiang Xuyao staring at each other.
Shen Xingyan smiled maliciously, grabbed Jiang Xuyao's vest, and tore off a piece of cloth. Jiang Xuyao was about to scream, but Shen Xingyan hushed him, picked up the suspected finger on the ground with a cloth, wrapped it up, and held it in his hand.
Then he twisted Jiang Xuyao's ears, and Jiang Xuyao immediately cooperated by screaming like a pig being slaughtered.
Shen Xingyan shouted, "It's time for dinner, why don't you go home? Come with me and cook!"
"I don't want to! Cooking is a woman's job. I want to do something big in the future!"
"Hmph, wait until you do something great in the future!"
The two of them went home tugging at each other and closed the door as soon as they entered. Jiang Xuyao's eyes lit up, "Is that a real finger?"
Shen Xingyan nodded, "It should be a child's. We need to take it back to the forensic laboratory for testing as soon as possible."
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