The results of case 87 are in.
Unfortunately, today is Monday, and Mr. and Mrs. Huo had already taken several days off to investigate these matters, so there was a backlog of work at their workplaces.
It would be really inappropriate to ask for leave again today.
The situation was similar in the other units; no unit was not busy on Mondays.
When the group finished their work and rushed back to the old house, they still missed Brother Huo's phone call.
It would be a lie to say that Huo's mother wasn't disappointed at not being able to receive a call from her son.
Fortunately, I have Jiang Si, my sweet little darling.
When she noticed a change in her mother-in-law's mood, she offered a few words of comfort.
"Mom, if we didn't receive a call from my older brother this time, there's always next time, right?"
"Besides, your grandparents have already given your and Dad's office phone numbers to your older brother, so he might call you back in a couple of days."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Huo forced a smile.
She understands the logic, but...
After hesitating for a while, Mrs. Huo finally asked the question that had been on her mind.
"Mom and Dad, does he...do he resent me and Zhendong?"
"Look at you, you're getting stubborn again..."
Before Mr. Huo could finish speaking, Mrs. Huo interrupted him.
"Old Huo, it's understandable that the child resents me. If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have suffered so much, and the third child wouldn't have been kidnapped."
She often thinks about what would have happened if she hadn't entrusted the child to the couple.
Will these subsequent events not happen?
Mr. Huo firmly said, "You can't think like that. In that situation back then, if the child had been entrusted to them, there was still a chance of survival. But if he had stayed with us, he would have only faced certain death."
When Mr. Huo said these words, he was not exaggerating. Not long after they joined up with the main force, the War of Resistance against Japan broke out in full force.
No one knows how long this battle will last, let alone whether the final outcome will be a victory or a defeat.
Every day when I open my eyes, I am met with either machine gun fire from the enemy or repeated bombardments from airplanes and artillery.
In that situation, do you think they had any other choice but to entrust their child to the two of them?
Grandma Huo nodded in agreement: "Yue Ling, none of us wanted this to happen."
"The Yang family has never uttered a single word of remorse for what they have done."
"How could you be so foolish as to take all this on yourself?"
As she spoke, she patted Huo's mother's hand: "His adoptive parents have told him everything that happened back then, and he really doesn't blame you and Zhendong."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Huo quickly looked at the old man and asked, "Dad, is it true?"
The old man smiled, his tone very certain.
"It's true. The child was raised very well by his adoptive parents and is a sensible and good child."
Although they only talked for less than ten minutes, the child's speech, behavior, and mannerisms still showed some resemblance to his father.
What pleased the old man most was the child's humble yet confident attitude!
He did not immediately abandon his adoptive parents because of the Huo family's current status, but treated them with a normal attitude.
"The child said that both the kindness of giving birth and the kindness of raising are equally important to him."
"So he hopes to maintain the status quo, and when he has time next year, he will bring his wife, children and elderly parents to Beijing to visit us."
"But the child said that he will still stay in Xinjiang Province in the future, and he hopes we can understand."
"By the way, the child's adoptive parents sent us photos of him when he was a child, as well as a family photo of the four of them."
Fearing that Mr. and Mrs. Huo might feel burdened, the old man comforted them after he finished speaking.
"As children grow up, they have their own ideas. We must learn to respect them, and more importantly, we must learn to let go."
"It's already a stroke of luck that he's alive and well until now; nothing else really matters."
"Dad, we understand."
Mr. and Mrs. Huo nodded in unison. In fact, they had been mentally prepared for this from the moment they learned that their child was still alive.
"It's good that you know."
The old man said, "The fourth son's family also contributed a lot to this matter. Let's invite them all over this Sunday and have a lively family reunion dinner."
"Okay, Dad."
"However, Beijing is cracking down hard recently, so the fourth brother might be quite busy. I don't know if he'll have time until the very last day. I'll give him a call and ask."
Mr. Huo's idea was good; he would make the call on Saturday afternoon.
If the fourth brother said he had time tomorrow, then he really did have time.
To everyone's surprise, on Thursday evening, as soon as Mr. Huo arrived at the gate of the old house, he saw Mr. Huo's fourth son.
Seeing the smile on his face, Mr. Huo asked a question that seemed to understand his meaning.
"Has the case been decided?"
In this day and age, as long as the evidence in a case is conclusive, the verdict is usually delivered quickly.
During a crackdown like this, it's quite normal for someone to be arrested in the morning and executed the next day.
As expected, Uncle Huo nodded with a smile after hearing this.
"Okay, let's go back first and talk about it later."
Once he got home, he didn't keep anyone in suspense and took out several court judgments directly from his briefcase.
Yan Sanye was convicted of multiple crimes, including trafficking in multiple women and children, engaging in gang fights, and violently assaulting others, and was sentenced to death by the court.
The brothers Yang Zhiqi and Yang Zhiqiang were only involved in one instance of child trafficking.
However, the police investigation revealed that the amount of money in their bank accounts did not match the actual wages they received.
Later, following this lead, it was discovered that Yang Zhiqi frequently took advantage of his night shift to steal scrap metal from the factory.
He then handed it over to his younger brother, Yang Zhiqiang, to resell on the black market.
Ultimately, the court sentenced the two to death for crimes including child trafficking, speculation, and theft of public property.
The evidence against these three individuals is irrefutable, and the judgment will be enforced within a week of its issuance.
Next was Sister Tian. Because her crime was relatively minor, and she later took the initiative to report Yang Zhiqi, she was eventually sentenced to one year of labor reform.
Originally, Dong Lihua and Su Shanshan had nothing to do with this.
But the two of them insisted on violently obstructing the police officers from handling the case, and because of this crackdown, they were sentenced to a year of labor reform, just like Sister Tian.
Although they were only sentenced to one year, they were all formal employees of the company.
Once you've been disciplined, it's hard to say whether you'll be able to keep your job after you get out.
Of these people, Yang Tingtao is the most troublesome.
Firstly, he was only nine years old when he committed the crime, and secondly, he did not directly participate in the subsequent trafficking process.
Therefore, even with Huo Tingzhou's testimony, he could only be treated as an accomplice.
After trial, the court sentenced him to twenty years in prison.
Although the death penalty was not imposed, the Huo family was already very satisfied with the outcome.
For someone like Yang Tingtao, who was used to a good life, 20 years of labor reform was practically the same as taking his life.
Just as the Huo family was feeling gratified, Uncle Huo suddenly coughed a few times.
"Third niece-in-law, could you please do me a favor?"
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