In the early hours of the morning in Nanmu Town, Zhang Yanni patted off the coal dust clinging to her body and followed the others through the railway tracks and woods to the main street in front of the station. The breakfast stalls on both sides of the street added a touch of everyday life to the city.
Touching her rumbling stomach, she was penniless, with only a few sets of clothes in her bundle.
Zhang Yanni walked along the main street of the train station, where there were not many small shops scattered along the way.
She wanted to find a job to support herself, but after asking around at several shops, she was turned away. The main reason was that they looked down on her because she was from a rural area and didn't have all the necessary documents to come to the city. In this day and age, it was not allowed to work illegally without a temporary residence permit.
After a busy morning, her feet were almost blistered, but she still hadn't made any progress. Disappointed, Zhang Yanni sat down to rest at the entrance of the state-run store.
She hasn't eaten anything since yesterday, and her throat feels like it's on fire.
Being hungry was bad enough, but the real problem was that she hadn't even had a sip of water. Her lips were so dry that they were peeling and felt like they were cracking.
People came and went in and out of the state-run store carrying large and small bags of food, some even carrying a bag of soda.
The colorful liquid in the glass bottle made her eyes sparkle.
She has never tasted soda since she came to live with her adoptive parents.
But in her memory, there was always a type of tea she drank, a fruit-based tea, and the taste was simply divine.
**
Ge Qiuqin and Qin Gang followed the police officers to Nanmu Town and found Liang Jiaheng.
The two groups then drove to Yaoping Village and arrived at Jia Dongshan's house.
Jia Yulian was eating melon seeds in the yard, listening to her parents arguing inside the house.
Since Jia Yufeng was jilted and ran away from home yesterday, there has been no peace at home. Her mother has been smashing things and beating her father.
He was actually cursing Jia Yufeng, calling her a jinx.
To be honest, Jia Yulian had no feelings for Jia Yufeng.
From a young age, she knew that Jia Yufeng was a kidnapped child, and neither her parents nor her brother ever gave Jia Yufeng a kind look.
Although they share the same surname, Jia, their living conditions are vastly different.
She can attend classes, has pocket money, and can go to the town hospital when she is sick.
Jia Yufeng, however, could not. She could only do hard labor at home like a servant. When she was sick, her parents would only give her a few pills that they had at home, and whether she could survive depended on her life.
However, Jia Yufeng was lucky to survive and was in good health.
I've never had any serious illnesses since I was a child; I just get minor ailments and they're fine after a couple of days.
Sure enough, she's incredibly resilient; no matter what you do, you can't kill her.
Yesterday, the kidnappers abducted them halfway through the journey, and the groom was beaten and brought back covered in blood.
Jia Yufeng was brought back by the police without any apparent reason, ruining the family's good news and preventing them from getting the bride price.
Jia Yulian grew angrier the more she thought about it. She was terrified that if Jia Yufeng left, she would be married off to earn dowries for her two brothers.
She doesn't want to get married so early, especially not to a farmer from the countryside.
She was very ambitious after starting school, and planned to take the entrance exam for high school in town. She was determined to get a government job and marry someone with a government job.
I can't spend the rest of my life living such a poor life in the countryside.
Jia Yulian is now increasingly resentful that Jia Yufeng didn't shield her from disaster.
It's disgusting that after eating and drinking for free for so many years, my own family has turned into a worthless piece of trash that nobody wants.
She saw two police cars hurriedly stop at the gate of her compound, kicking up dust that spread for quite a distance.
Thinking that Jia Yufeng had been kicked out of the house, he called the police and ran home in fear, calling for Jia Dongshan and Hao Caimei.
As Ge Qiuqin got out of the police car, she felt a pang of sadness when she saw the low, mud-brick farmhouse in front of her.
Has my daughter grown up in such an environment all these years?
They're not even as good as they were when they were young.
Qin Gang helped Ge Qiuqin into the courtyard with the police.
Jia Dongshan and Hao Caimei came out of the house and were a little scared when they saw so many people entering the yard.
Could it be that Jia Yufeng ran away from home and got into trouble, and now the police are coming to her own house?
Jia Dongshan, seeing that Liang Jiaheng had visited his home the day before, hurriedly went to greet him.
"Officer, wasn't yesterday's matter resolved? What's going on today?"
He bowed slightly and asked in a low voice.
"We're here to see Comrade Jia Yufeng. Please call her out!"
"Yu Feng?"
Upon hearing this, Jia Dongshan realized that it wasn't Yu Feng who had gotten into trouble, but that he had come specifically to find her. "Yu Feng ran away from home yesterday. I'm afraid she was humiliated by the kidnappers yesterday. She's really upset and refuses to stay at home any longer. Her mother and I couldn't persuade her no matter what we did!"
"Run away from home?"
Liang Jiaheng frowned.
Upon hearing this, Ge Qiuqin hurriedly went up and asked:
"Where did she go? Which direction did she go?"
Jia Dongshan, of course, had no idea and stammered out a bunch of random points.
"Okay~~ It seems she went east. This girl won't listen to reason. Her mother and I said a few words to her, and she actually threatened to cut ties with us and run away from home."
If this child had known it would turn out this way, we wouldn't have taken her in!
Jia Dongshan noticed that Ge Qiuqin's attire was quite extraordinary, especially the two gold earrings on her ears; he had never seen such large gold earrings in his life.
The satin of the clothes was so smooth that it seemed to reflect light like river water when the sun shone on it.
He was confused, wondering what this woman wanted with Yu Feng.
Liang Jiaheng turned around and asked:
"You previously said that Jia Yufeng was a child your family bought. Can you explain in detail when you bought her and from whom you bought her?"
When Jia Dongshan heard the police ask this question, he felt a little scared and glanced at his wife, Hao Caimei.
Upon hearing the police ask this question, Hao Caimei walked over from a distance and stammered:
"Who said we bought it? We found it by the river. We brought it back because we felt sorry for her. We know nothing else about her."
Liang Jiaheng knew Hao Caimei was lying; she looked nervous and kept looking up.
Yesterday they clearly said the child was bought, but today they're saying the child was found.
"I advise you to tell the truth. Talking nonsense and deliberately concealing the truth in front of the police will result in detention."
Whether what you're saying is true or not, we can find out by asking our neighbors!
I'll give you two another chance. Tell me how Jia Yufeng came to your house?
Hao Caimei panicked upon hearing this. She tugged at Jia Dongshan's sleeve and shrank back, her eyes darting around, avoiding Liang Jiaheng's gaze.
When Jia Dongshan realized that the police knew his wife was lying, he was afraid she would really go to jail, so he hurriedly waved his hand.
"Officer, I told you that Yu Feng was abducted to our village by human traffickers eight years ago. The child cried and made a fuss the whole way."
The trafficker asked several families but no one wanted her, so he came to our family. We didn't have any daughters at the time, but we bought her for 20 yuan because she was pretty.
We know nothing else!
Upon hearing this, Ge Qiuqin burst into tears.
20 yuan! He sold his youngest daughter for just 20 yuan after being separated from her for so many years?
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