Chapter 127 Choice

◎Try to be a good person◎

Qiao Hongyu arrived in Yao City at around 1 p.m. the next day. She didn't even put down her luggage and went straight to the Yao City Public Security Bureau.

Under Lei Ling's arrangement, Qiao Hongyu met Min Jiadie.

After 34 years, the sisters finally met.

Lei Ling, Zhao Xiangwan and Zhu Kang were there with him.

The eight characters "Leniency to those who confess, severity to those who resist" were written on the wall of the interrogation room, looking solemn and cold. The table and chairs were all made of metal, shining coldly.

Across a large table, Qiao Hongyu looked at Min Jiadie sitting in an iron chair.

The red dye marks on half of Min Jiadie's face had been washed off. He was handcuffed and wearing a loose blue-gray coat, with no expression on his face.

Seeing Qiao Hongyu's tears streaming down her face, Min Jiadie remained calm.

Qiao Hongyu's voice choked with sobs: "Little sister, you are my little sister. For so many years, I have been looking for you. My parents are dead, and you are my only relative in this world..."

Min Jiadie interrupted her: "Are you married?"

Qiao Hongyu nodded: "Yes."

Min Jiadie asked: "Do you have children?"

Qiao Hongyu: "Yes, yes, yes, I have a son, he is 20 years old this year and is studying at a university in Xing City."

Min Jiadie's eyelids twitched slightly: "Where are you now?"

Qiao Hongyu told the truth: "I opened a store near the Luoxian bus station and opened a grocery store. Business is pretty good."

Min Jiadie lowered her eyes and looked at the ground: "Then you are doing well. You have a husband and a son. I am not the only one you have."

Before Qiao Hongyu came, she had already prepared herself mentally.

She knew that Min Jiadie would definitely complain and resent her, and would vent the pain of being abandoned on her. However, when they actually met and heard Min Jiadie's cold words, Qiao Hongyu's heart was pierced.

Qiao Hongyu explained anxiously, "We are relatives, sisters born from the same mother. I had my husband and son after I got married, but before that, you were my only relative. I have always been thinking about you and I have been looking for you, really! But the charity hall is gone and the children are nowhere to be found. I am a farmer and have never been far away since I was a child. I am not capable enough, so I have never found you. If Officer Zhao had not met Min Chenghang and Min Jiahuai during the investigation, and if I had not asked Officer Zhao for help, Officer Ji had drawn your portrait, and Officer Zhu had not recognized you in the portrait, we would not have been able to find you at all."

The corner of Min Jiadie's mouth twitched to the right, and with sarcasm, she looked up at Qiao Hongyu, and the words she said were like a knife cutting into Qiao Hongyu's heart.

"If you can't find it, don't look for it!"

"If you throw it away, then throw it away. What are you looking for?"

"It's been more than 30 years. Why did you care about me for such a long time? You have a husband and a son, you own a shop and you are the boss. You live such a good life. Why do you care about a poor bug like me?"

"Or are you just tired of your good life and want to give me some alms?"

"No need! I, Hu Die, will bear the consequences alone, whether she lives or dies."

Qiao Hongyu was so stung by Min Jiadie's words that she couldn't breathe and burst into tears.

"I didn't know you would suffer so much, I really didn't. My family was so poor at the time, we had no other options, we just wanted to save every last child we could."

Min Jiadie snorted coldly: "I left the Charity Hall in 1968. Why didn't you come to see me in six years?"

Qiao Hongyu's tears never stopped after she met Min Jiadie: "I am only six years older than you! My father passed away in 1962, and I lived in my second uncle's house. I was only seven and a half years old at that time. I lived in fear every day, fearing that my aunt would dislike me and kick me out of the house. Every day when I opened my eyes, I had endless housework to do. I had to stand on a small stool and cook pig food on the stove. I went barefoot in the winter because I had no shoes to wear."

Qiao Hongyu's voice became louder and louder as she spoke, and her emotions gradually became more agitated.

"Do you think I had a good life? Do you think I had an easy life? It wasn't like that! Before I was six, my family was poor and had nothing. I followed the older kids around to pick up rice ears and cut pig grass, and to bring meals to my father who worked on the farm. I could only wear new clothes once a year. My mother died when I was six, and my father died when I was seven. If it weren't for my second uncle who gave me food and a bed to sleep on, I would have starved to death or frozen to death."

"My husband is a relative of my second aunt. His family was so poor that they could barely afford to marry. But I was willing to marry because I wanted to have my own family. When I got married, I only had a quilt as a dowry, but I was content. My uncle and aunt had four children and I was one more mouth to feed. They had done their best for me. Later, when the country allowed farmers to work in cities, I went to work as a nanny and breakfast seller. I got up early and worked late. I did whatever I could to make money. At that time, I really suffered a lot."

Qiao Hongyu spoke quickly, and she spoke even faster when she became excited. Her crackling voice, like firecrackers, echoed throughout the interrogation room.

Min Jiadie's attitude gradually softened.

【She also suffered a lot. 】

【It’s not easy for us. 】

[Why should a woman make things difficult for another woman? She wasn't the one who threw me away, so why should I scold her? ]

Zhao Xiangwan added fuel to the fire at this time: "Sister Qiao, you said that it was not easy for you, but is it more difficult for you to have Min Jiadie? At least you have your uncle to take you in, you have a bed to sleep on, you have food to eat, and someone arranged a decent marriage for you. But what about Min Jiadie? Do you know what happened to her?"

Min Jiadie's attitude, which had just softened, was successfully provoked by Zhao Xiangwan and hardened again.

She leaned forward, her eyes filled with sorrow, and the hatred, anger, and grievances that had been pent up in her heart erupted like a volcano.

"Do you know what I went through? Although I had a hard time in the charity hall before I was six, and I had to steal food and clothes, at least I had a church to shelter me from the wind and rain, and I was not abused or scolded. After I was six, I and a few friends who could run and jump were sent to a circus troupe to learn acrobatics. A year later, the circus disbanded, and Min Yejiao and I followed the old man Hu in the troupe, changed our names to Hu Die and Hu Jiao, and lived a life of hawking on the street."

"You must have never experienced the pain of practicing Jiu-Jitsu, right? Every inch of your bones is broken into pieces, and then glued together again, and the pain makes you unable to control your tears. But you dare not cry out in pain, as long as you cry out in pain, Old Man Hu will whip you, whip you all over the head and face with a whip. He said that only those who endure the most hardships can become the best. If you can't even endure this little bit of hardship, how can you be rich?"

"I have strong bones and great strength. After torturing me for two years, Old Man Hu realized that I was not good enough to learn Jiu-Jitsu, so he had to make me the one who supported her. I carried the pole at the bottom, and Jiao Jiao performed various difficult movements on top. The two of us followed Old Man Hu around the streets and alleys to make a living."

Min Jiadie's chest heaved violently as she lost herself in memories of the past, her facial expression gradually turning crazy.

"Jiaojiao and I depended on each other for survival. We traveled to one city after another with Old Man Hu. Later, we were thirteen years old. Jiaojiao had her period first, and Old Man Hu looked at her with more and more shameless eyes, like a bee seeing a flower, clinging to her. Later, in front of me, Old Man Hu raped her. I kicked, hit and scolded him desperately, but he hit me with two horse shoves and I passed out."

Lei Ling couldn't stand it anymore and pounded his fist on the table: "Beast!"

Min Jiadie gritted her teeth and said, "I wanted to kill him, but Jiaojiao wouldn't let me. Jiaojiao and I are both orphans, and we finally have our own family. If Old Man Hu dies, what will we do? The money, food, and household registration books are all in Old Man Hu's hands. He hides them very carefully and keeps a close eye on them because he's afraid that we'll run away."

"Later, Jiaojiao got pregnant at the age of 14, and Old Man Hu forced her to have an abortion. After the abortion, she continued to perform, but she fell and broke her leg. Old Man Hu was old and could no longer perform, so he took us to a small county town to settle down. He kept a close eye on Jiaojiao and me, locking us in the house every day to prevent us from running away."

Min Jiadie's expression suddenly became strange: "Jiao Jiao treated Old Man Hu as a relative and refused to leave him. In order to make money for him, she started a sex trade. The old man was a worthless person. He tied me up and knocked me unconscious, and forced me to start receiving clients at the age of sixteen. I was pregnant once and wanted to give birth to him. I kept it a secret for more than five months, but the old man beat me. The old man said that three people were enough in the family and he couldn't support one more."

Zhao Xiangwan clenched his fists. Damn this old man!

Min Jiadie looked at the reactions of the crowd and smiled faintly: "Why are you so excited? No one will feel pain unless the knife cuts oneself. When I saw the baby was born, I got angry and rushed to the kitchen to pick up the knife. I stabbed the old man to death with one stroke. Jiaojiao cried and scolded me, blaming me for destroying this family. The police arrested me and put me in prison. You see, the police are not good people either."

Everyone was stunned.

Min Jiadie was very satisfied with everyone's reaction: "I was a juvenile delinquent. I was disciplined for several years. When I was released, I could do nothing. I hated him so much, but I didn't know who to take revenge on. I killed old man Hu who bullied me, but I still have his last name. I don't know how Jiaojiao, who depended on me for everything, became blind in one eye. She no longer wanted to talk to me and blamed me for killing old man Hu and leaving her homeless. The only person who was related to me by blood was the child who had grown into a full-grown child, but that child is gone too."

Qiao Hongyu's heart seemed to be grabbed by something, and the pain was unbearable.

After hearing this, looking at Min Jiadie's indifferent expression and listening to her seemingly nonchalantly revealing her pain, Qiao Hongyu stood up suddenly, ran to Min Jiadie, reached out and hugged her.

淚水簌簌滾落，喬紅玉喉嚨又幹又澀，翻來覆去地只知道說着一個詞：“對不起，對不起，對不起……”

對不起，把你一個小小嬰兒抛棄；

對不起，讓你沒有家人依靠；

對不起，讓你受了這麽多苦。

闵家蝶陡然被一個溫暖的臂膊環住脖子，腦袋貼在一個溫暖寬厚的懷抱，她整個人有些不知所措，完全不知道如何反應。

從來，沒有人這樣抱過她。

從來，沒有。

闵家蝶感覺內心缺失的那一塊，有什麽溫暖的東西在源源不斷地注入。

早就幹涸流不出一滴眼淚的眼睛，忽然開始濕潤。

感覺到胳膊裏抱着的闵家蝶身體漸漸僵硬，喬紅玉心中更加酸楚。

如果不是從小缺失關愛，她怎麽會一直跟着那個無恥的惡人？

如果不是因為極度渴望一個家，她怎麽會忍受折磨那麽多年？

如果不是被逼得狠了，她怎麽會走上犯罪的道路？

喬紅玉喃喃自語地說着對不起，眼淚紛紛而落。

闵家蝶猛一擡頭，喬紅玉的眼淚落在她嘴邊，鹹鹹的、苦苦的。

闵家蝶忽然就吼了起來。

“對不起，有什麽用？”

“是你們不要我，把我扔了！”

“是你們不要我，嫌我拖累。”

“是你們不要我，不要我的——”

所有的埋怨，所有的憤怒，終于找到宣洩的渠道，全都爆發出來。

喬紅玉沒有生氣，她現在滿心滿眼都是對妹妹的心疼、愧疚，她伸出手将闵家蝶抱得更緊，一只手輕輕拍打着她不斷抽搐的身體，柔聲道：“是是是，是姐姐不對，姐姐應該早一點找到你，姐姐應該陪着你。”

一聲又一聲的姐姐，終于填滿了闵家蝶內心空空的那一塊。

當喬紅玉松開手，姐妹倆對視一眼，闵家蝶嫌棄地撇了撇嘴：“眼淚鼻涕糊一臉，醜死了。”

喬紅玉從口袋裏掏出塊小手絹，重重地擤了擤鼻涕，再擦眼淚，白了闵家蝶一眼：“我平時不這樣，不是見到你，太激動了嗎？”

趙向晚微笑，不是一家人、不進一家門，這姐妹倆，還真是像。

喬紅玉叮囑她：“警察挺好的，要不是趙警官幫我找人，我一輩子都找不着你。殺人償命咧，你殺了那個惡人，只坐了幾年牢就放出來，這都是警察查清楚了事實，知道你是受害人，所以才沒槍斃你。你好好配合警察，把知道的都告訴他們，你要是坐牢了，我會經常去看你。等你出來，我接你回家，一起過日子。我這就把副食店旁邊盤一家門面出來，你想做點什麽小生意？我先替你打點好，等你出來就當老板娘。”

闵家蝶搖頭：“我除了雜技撐竿子，什麽也不會。”

喬紅玉：“沒事，那你過來幫我管貨架，免得被人偷了東西去，我給你開工資。”

闵家蝶說：“嬌嬌留下一個女兒，叫珍珠，我不放心留下她一個人。”

說到這裏，闵家蝶看着喬紅玉，猶豫片刻：“姐，我只求你把珍珠帶在身邊，你就當她是我小時候，行不行？等我出來了，我再來接珍珠。”

喬紅玉問清楚情況之後，鄭重承諾：“好，交給我吧。以後珍珠就是我的孩子，我送她上學，給她紮小辮，給她準備一間單獨的房間，一個大大的床。”

闵家蝶看着喬紅玉，有個姐姐為她承擔一切，這種感覺真好。

趙向晚看着差不多了，提醒道：“喬大姐，我們接下來還有工作要做，你先回去吧。”

喬紅玉與妹妹依依不舍地道別，又留下兩件毛衣、兩條褲子、兩套內衣，這才離開。

闵家蝶抱着喬紅玉留下的包裹，臉上那冷硬的線條轉為柔和，眼睛裏多了溫暖與感動。

闵家蝶的目光落在趙向晚身上，主動開口：“趙警官，謝謝你幫我找到親人。你有什麽問題，就問吧。我知道的，都會告訴你。”

審訊進行得十分順利。

闵家蝶的确有下線，是一名星市郊區姓董的婆婆。闵家蝶這邊拐了孩子，就送到董婆婆手裏，再由董婆婆賣到南方富裕地區。

闵家蝶記性不錯，将董婆婆的聯系方式、現在住址、曾經在哪裏拐來的孩子，又把他們送到哪裏……一五一十地告訴了趙向晚。

趙向晚問她：“你只拐男孩，為什麽？”

闵家蝶說：“男孩子拐了之後一般都是賣給那些家裏缺男孩子的家庭，是享福去的。女孩子被拐賣之後可憐，好的麽，去鄉下當童養媳，不好的，養一陣子等到例假來了就接客。我也是女人，女人何必欺負女人？”

趙向晚繼續問：“為什麽拐賣孩子？”

闵家蝶聳聳肩：“來錢快啊。我年紀大了，也不想賣身；進廠當工人吧，受不得那個約束；販毒要掉腦袋，我不敢。拐孩子多簡單，抱起就走，賣一個至少賺三千塊。有了錢，我和嬌嬌就能過好日子了，是不是？”

趙向晚看着她，目光似電：“有了錢，你過上好日子了嗎？”

闵家蝶呆了一呆，嬌嬌死了，珍珠到了六歲依然沒有上學，她恨天恨地恨政府，她與人做着違法的事情，賺到了一點錢，可是……她并沒有過上好日子。

趙向晚再問：“你的錢呢？”

闵家蝶張了張嘴，可是卻有些茫然。對啊，她賺來的錢呢？賣一個孩子賺三千塊，同夥一分，到手一千塊，比很多在城市打工的人賺得更多，可是她的錢呢？

因為害怕警察發現，她沒有一個固定的家，有錢的時候住賓館、吃飯館；沒錢的時候住窩棚、啃饅頭，根本沒個定數。

雖然從少管所出來之後辦了身份證，但她不敢在銀行開戶。居無定所，飽一頓、餓一頓的日子，讓她根本沒辦法存下錢來。

今朝有酒今朝醉，錢花完了再去幹一票。

——闵家蝶過得就是這樣的日子。

面對闵家蝶這個複雜的人，趙向晚的審訊手段與平時不一樣。

第一步，宣洩。

讓喬紅玉出面，讓闵家蝶把內心的憤怒心情宣洩出來。

第二步，填補。

每一個從孤兒院出來的孩子，對親情、親人的渴望，讓內心空了一個大洞，只有先補上這個洞，才能再來誅她的心。

第三步，誅心。

她曾經受過苦，所以她走上犯罪情有可原？抱歉，這個邏輯在趙向晚這裏是不正确的。

如果不讓她認識到自己的錯誤，如果不讓她發自內心地忏悔，等她從監獄裏出來，依然還是一個危險份子。

她太有行動力，她缺失善惡教育，她根本不懂得這個社會的基本規則——她和闵成航一樣，是缺乏管教的聰明人，一旦讓她放出內心的惡念，破壞力驚人。

果然，趙向晚問了兩個問題之後，闵家蝶若有所思。

趙向晚再問：“你賺錢速度很快，為什麽沒有存下錢？”

闵家蝶終于想到了一個理由：“我不識字，我不敢去銀行。”

趙向晚搖頭：“銀行有工作人員，可以幫你開戶，幫你存錢。”

闵家蝶哼了一聲：“我說了，我不識字，要是他們騙我呢？”

——看來，闵家蝶對公衆機構缺乏基本的信任感。

趙向晚問：“好，不存銀行。你可以存現金，随便找個盒子，一次存幾百，一年下來也能有不少錢。然後買個房子，讓自己的生活安定下來，不行嗎？”

闵家蝶說：“我這樣一個拐子，哪裏敢有固定的住處？警察上門，一抓一個準。”

——闵家蝶知道自己做的是犯法的事，惶惶不可終日。

趙向晚問：“你活着，是為了什麽？”

闵家蝶更加茫然：“為什麽？不就是為了活着嗎？”

趙向晚再問：“你剛剛說，當拐子是為了賺錢，賺了錢之後就能和嬌嬌過好日子了，是不是？”

闵家蝶點頭。

趙向晚認真地看着闵家蝶：“你想要的好日子，無非就是安居樂業。”

“安居，有一個遮風避雨的地方，旁邊有可以買到食物的菜場，有可以買到衣服、日用品的商場，有可以看病的醫院，對不對？”

闵家蝶眼中有了渴望：“對。”

“樂業，有一份正常的工作，一份受到社會認可的工作，努力就有回報，拿着幹幹淨淨賺來的錢，坦然地走在陽光之下，帶嬌嬌去看病，送珍珠去上學，是不是？”

闵家蝶被趙向晚所描述的場景所感動，點頭道：“是啊。”

趙向晚的聲音突然變得嚴肅起來。

“你想要安居樂業過好日子，可是你做到了嗎？”

“嬌嬌病了，你沒有帶她去看病。”

“珍珠到了入學年齡，你不送她去讀書。”

“你躲躲藏藏、擔驚受怕，活得像一只陰溝裏的老鼠，怎麽可能給你、給你在乎的人一個好的生活？”

“你所做的，和你所追求的，根本是兩條方向相反的線，我問你，你怎麽可能過上好日子？！”

說到最後，趙向晚拍案而起，怒火排山倒海地撲向心虛的闵家蝶。

"If you don't have something, does that mean other children don't deserve it?"

"You kidnapped innocent and lovely children, leaving their parents crying every night and kneeling helplessly at the gate of our public security bureau, begging the police to help them find the whereabouts of their children. Aren't you afraid of retribution?"

Min Jiadie never expected that Officer Zhao, who had been so gentle and persuasive just now, would suddenly lose his temper.

This was the first time someone scolded her like this.

However, every word struck her heart, making her back cold and sweaty.

[I didn't get it, so I hate those children, so I deliberately destroy those happy families? Is that so? ]

[Am I really a bad person? ]

[No one has ever taught me what is good and what is bad.]

"Every step you take is your own choice. Why do you choose this one instead of another?"

Hearing what Min Jiadie was thinking, Zhao Xiangwan's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he stood straight, staring at her.

His eyes were cold, yet clear as a mirror.

It reflects the facts that Min Jiadie has always been unwilling to face in her heart.

[Why am I reluctant to leave Old Man Hu? Because I don’t dare to go out and face strange people and things.]

【Why did you kill him? Because I was afraid of his revenge. 】

[Why do people kidnap children? Because this is the easiest way and the least effort. Children have no power to resist and are easy to bully.]

[Step by step, Min Jiadie, admit it, you are a lazy, useless wimp! ]

Even when she saw her long-lost relatives, even when Qiao Hongyu hugged her, Min Jiadie did not shed tears.

However, facing Zhao Xiangwan's cold and clear eyes, tears silently flowed down Min Jiadie's cheeks.

Shame, sadness, bitterness, guilt...

With all kinds of emotions intertwined, Min Jiadie finally lowered her rebellious head: "I, I was wrong."

"Good and evil are just a thought away. Jiaojiao is dead. I just hope you can work hard to be a good person in the future."

Min Jiadie met Zhao Xiangwan's gaze, her heart sank, and she nodded subconsciously: "Okay." Since there is still justice and relatives in this world, I will try my best to be a good person.

After walking out of the interrogation room, Zhao Xiangwan and Zhu Kang retired and said goodbye to the people from the Yao City Public Security Bureau.