Walking down the street again, Qiao Xia felt as if she had forgotten something.
As she passed the courthouse, she heard whispers around her and finally remembered what she had seen before she lost consciousness.
Qiao Xia never imagined that she would see Zhao Yuncheng again under these circumstances.
He was wearing prison clothes, looking at Qiao Xia through a glass partition. He was calm and even had a smile on his lips when he answered the phone. "I didn't expect it would be you coming to see me."
Qiao Xia scratched her head, somewhat doubting whether she was dreaming. "Are you crazy? Why would you do that?"
Zhao Yuncheng glanced at the time and smiled, saying, "I promised I would tell you this time. There's still time. Do you remember those people who were swindled out of their demolition compensation? My dad was one of them."
Around the time Zhao Yuncheng was nine years old, his family's house was located on the route that the subway and high-speed rail would take, so they received a considerable amount of compensation for the demolition.
His mother had already found a house in the county town. It was a well-equipped residential complex that included the best schools from elementary to high school.
His parents had little formal education and made a living by selling their labor. His mother was calculating the remaining balance after buying the house and thought about taking a break.
Farmers have few forms of entertainment, and playing mahjong is one of them, but gambling is something that can be mastered in many ways, especially when one thinks they have money.
In less than a week, his father gambled away all the demolition compensation money and even owed a large sum of money. Since they were all from the same village, no one was foolish enough to report him and get themselves implicated.
But the creditors refused to forgive the debts.
The debt collectors gave his father two choices: either cut off two fingers and they would take him abroad to mine until the debt was paid off, or sell his mother to pay off the debt.
Zhao Yuncheng lost his dream of buying a house in a good school district, and his mother was nowhere to be found at home. His father said that his mother had run away with someone else.
The men around them all used the same lie, and many children believed it. Their longing and dependence on their mother gradually turned into hatred.
However, Zhao Yuncheng was clever enough to sense that something was wrong, but his power was too weak to see the truth.
He studied hard and returned to that small county town when he grew up. Through constant visits and inquiries, he managed to piece together a little bit of the truth from back then.
But when the events involving the Jiang family unfolded vividly before his eyes, he suddenly understood what had actually happened back then.
The truth he had been searching for for half his life had always been right beside him. He didn't understand why the demolition compensation, which was clearly meant for his family, seemed to be just a game played by his father alone.
He could gamble away all his family's wealth at will, and if he lost, he would use his wife to pay for it. His mother had no human rights whatsoever throughout the entire process.
In fact, if it weren't for his father's lingering feudalistic ideas, and his clear understanding that no woman would bear his child again, he would have been the one to die that time.
After Jiang Xiaomian's case was closed, he returned home again, wanting to ask his father if he had ever regretted it over the years. But the answer he received was: "I did it all for you!"
"If it weren't for you... if it weren't for you, how could I have ended up like this? It's your fault, I'm not wrong! I'm not wrong!"
He shouted those words with righteous indignation, and then fainted again. Zhao Yuncheng felt ridiculous. How could he have any hope for such an irresponsible person?
But that conversation also gave him a glimmer of hope: his mother might not be dead, or she might still be alive in this world.
Therefore, after the cruise ship incident, he took the initiative to follow up on the trafficked people. He found the middleman who trafficked his mother back then, and was very fortunate that he did not see his mother's name on the list of organ harvesters.
But the traffickers had handled so many people over the years that they couldn't remember exactly where he sold his mother.
Zhao Yuncheng curled his lips into a smile, "I thought I would never have the chance to see her again in this lifetime."
Qiao Xia suddenly realized, "Is it in Mangshan?"
Zhao Yuncheng nodded. "When I found her, she was in a terrible state. She had given birth to seven children over the years, and that family called it taking them in. Ha—taking them in."
Qiao Xia asked, "So you killed...?"
“No.” Zhao Yuncheng shook his head slightly. “I killed a human trafficker.”
Zhao Yuncheng settled his mother in the hospital, but she showed great resistance to her surroundings and could not even take care of herself in a basic way.
While taking care of his mother, Zhao Yuncheng kept a close eye on the progress of the case, concealing his relationship with his mother for this purpose.
He also remembered the criminal's response when he questioned him.
"How many people have you trafficked over the years? Why did you do it?"
"Why do they do this... it must be to make money. 20,000 yuan per woman, I forgot how many they abducted, but they were all women. I heard from a lawyer on a short video that no matter how many women they abduct, they'll get three years in prison..."
"Women aren't like children; if they get lost, no one will look for them. Besides, many of them are sold by their husbands. It's a consensual relationship, so you can't blame me entirely, right?"
Just as the trafficker had said, in court, when faced with the charges brought by Zhao Yuncheng's lawyer, the trafficker was only sentenced to three years.
Zhao Yuncheng sighed helplessly, "The law has lost its deterrent effect on people like them. I cannot accept that after my mother has suffered and wandered for more than ten years, those who hurt her only spend three years in prison and then start a new life again."
"Moreover, there are so many people in the same situation as her."
Qiao Xia's eyes had already welled up with tears without her realizing it. "I will find a way to help all the rescued women and help them rediscover the world. I will hire the best lawyer for you."
Zhao Yuncheng shook his head. "Thank you, but no need. I deserve to die."
"What are you talking about?" Qiao Xia looked at him in confusion. "You did nothing wrong. Those people are the ones who deserve to die. I believe any normal person would understand you. I will help you gain public sympathy, hire the best lawyer for you, and perhaps even push for legislation."
Zhao Yuncheng smiled and shook his head. "I look forward to that day, but I must die. Power should never be abused."
“The moment I raised my gun, I was prepared. If I let a policeman who pointed a gun at a civilian go today because of my extenuating circumstances, then there will only be more people pointing guns at civilians in the future, and that is not what I want to see.”
Zhao Yuncheng wiped away Qiao Xia's tears through the glass, "I once thought about climbing to a higher place to change this imperfect world, but that path is too tiring, and I can't do it, but I believe you can."
Qiao Xia proudly raised her chin. "Of course I can."
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