Trafficking False Accident
The next morning, Daya, who had changed her name to Fengnian, waited outside the door early.
Seeing her reserved demeanor, An Hongdou offered a few words of comfort and then had Qiuyu and Dongxue take her to do her work.
When it was time to distribute porridge, Fengnian's mother hurriedly squeezed to the front. The helpers maintaining order noticed and shouted a few times, and she reluctantly returned to the line to wait.
“Da Ya, I was worried about you, so I’ve been waiting here since early this morning! If I hadn’t seen you at the porridge distribution today, I was going to report you to the county government! Luckily, those two people yesterday weren’t kidnappers.” When it was finally her turn, Da Ya’s mother said eagerly, holding a bowl in each hand.
“Mother, according to the rules, each person can only receive one bowl. I’ll give you a little more rice. You can dilute it with some water and divide it into two bowls when you get home!” Fengnian looked at his mother and whispered to her.
"You ungrateful little brat! You know your brother is sick! How could I bring him to queue up? Are you holding a grudge because he drank the porridge you brought home before, and now you're deliberately making things difficult for him!"
"Mom, keep your voice down!"
"Keep your voice down! If you don't make a move, I'll let everyone judge this!" Seeing Feng Nian show weakness, she felt even more justified.
Feng Nian, with tears in her eyes, lowered her head helplessly.
Qiu Yu and Dong Xue exchanged a glance and stepped forward in unison.
One man pulled Feng Nian aside and told her to go work in the kitchen in the yard. Another man took a bowl of porridge and said loudly, "Auntie, each person can only take one bowl of porridge. Everyone follows the rules. If you break it, no one will be happy. Ask the people in line; you're not the only one with a sick family member!"
Seeing that she still wanted to argue, Dongxue quickly handed the bowl back to her and whispered, "Please don't make a fuss. Daya will bring food back later after she finishes her work. Why argue over a bowl of porridge? If it affects the distribution of porridge, the master will probably stop using Daya."
Hearing this, Daya's mother calmed down, took the porridge, and hurried away.
"What is that!" Qiu Yu couldn't help but exclaim as she left.
In the following days, the two men, mindful of the hard-won harvest, took care of each other in every way, which brought the group closer together.
After finishing work one day, Fengnian lingered, following the two men around.
Seeing this, Qiu Yu raised an eyebrow and said, "Speak, little sister! What's the matter?"
"Sister Qiuyu, I wonder if the master family needs any farmhands? I can do laundry, cook, and farm work. I'm willing to learn anything else!" she said after hesitating for a moment.
"What did your mother say to you this time?"
“My mother said the flood will pass sooner or later, and that I can get married once the porridge distribution stops. All the girls in my neighborhood are married, but they do more work and are often beaten and scolded. I don’t want to live like this.” Feng Nian began to sob softly as she spoke.
The two looked at each other with sympathy and a sense of pity.
"That's not up to us to decide. The only thing we can do to help you is ask your wife. The soup kitchen can't be closed down anytime soon, so just wait patiently for news! My wife is kind-hearted, and even if she doesn't want you to stay, she'll try to find a way to help you!"
That evening, Qiu Yu and Dong Xue relayed the matter to An Hongdou and Wu Linglong.
An Hongdou was somewhat moved.
Seeing this, Wu Linglong said, "Look, you feel sorry for her now! That's why I said, why don't we think of a way to help these poor children? We've seen quite a few cases like this these past few days when we've been distributing porridge. They're being brought home one by one, and I'm afraid they can't all stay."
“Even if I wanted to, what could a group of girls do? We still need to think about their safety,” An Hongdou pondered.
“Zeren wants to open a security escort agency. Do you think it would be possible to have them dress up as men and become security escorts in the future?” Wu Linglong responded with a whimsical idea.
An Hongdou thought about the scene and couldn't help but reach out to pat Wu Linglong: "We're talking about serious matters, stop fooling around! How could you even think of that? It would be better to let them learn needlework."
"Then let them learn embroidery! It's a good idea. If they learn well, they can become embroiderers in the future. If they don't learn well, they can still sew and mend to supplement their family income," Wu Linglong suggested.
After careful consideration, An Hongdou felt it was feasible.
There are many mulberry trees here, which is suitable for raising silkworms. Silkworms can also produce silk. If we embroider finished products in the future, we can ask Li Zeren to sell them while he is transporting goods. That would be a viable option.
After careful discussion, the two decided to try recruiting five female apprentices first.
The next day, the two drafted the conditions: to recruit five female embroidery apprentices, under the age of fifteen, unmarried, healthy, and willing to engage in the work long-term.
They also discussed the compensation package: room and board included, bonuses for outstanding performance, and profit sharing from the sale of works.
The notice had been posted for several days, but no one had signed up yet.
An Hongdou was puzzled, and Wu Linglong was also somewhat baffled. After discussing it for a while, the two called Feng Nian over to ask him questions.
"Girl, didn't you want to stay? Why didn't you sign up for such a good opportunity?" Wu Linglong asked as soon as she saw her arrive.
Feng Nian lowered his head and bit his lip, remaining silent.
Seeing this, An Hongdou comforted her, "Don't be afraid, it's not my fault. I called you here to ask why no one has come to sign up."
“Yes, not a single person has come to inquire these past few days. Aren’t our conditions tempting enough?” Realizing she had scared Feng Nian, Wu Linglong asked in a gentler tone.
Feng Nian felt relieved and said truthfully, "It's not that the conditions are bad, but rather that they are too good. My mother said that there might be some unknown tricks involved, such as keeping concubines for rich families."
"Your own mind is dirty, so you think everyone else is dirty too! You really don't appreciate kindness, ptooey!" Wu Linglong said angrily.
While comforting Wu Linglong, An Hongdou gestured for Feng Nian to continue.
Feng Nian thought for a moment and explained, "Embroidery skills are mostly passed down through families, and outsiders who want to learn have to pay money and pull strings. Apprentices are traditionally only men, and male apprentices have to obey orders after learning the craft and becoming apprentices to their masters. This is the first time that female apprentices have been recruited and paid money. My mother said that this is probably just a cover."
She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Any family that can make a living would rather marry off their daughter than let her go out into the world. My mother thinks this is a scheme to kidnap girls from poor families."
“My mother also said when she went back that the world is not peaceful due to the floods. If a child is lost, there is nowhere to look for him. Poor families don’t even have a place to seek justice. I suppose other families probably think the same way.”
After bidding farewell to the bountiful harvest, An Hongdou and Wu Linglong remained silent.
“There’s always a reason why someone is pitiful!” Wu Linglong broke the silence first.
“Everything is difficult at the beginning, but we can think of another way. What, are you going to give up after such a small setback?” An Hongdou knew that Wu Linglong was strong-willed, so she deliberately provoked her.
"If anyone wants to give up, I'll just sigh. After I've eaten and slept well, I'll think of a better solution for you tomorrow."
The next morning, An Hongdou was woken up by Dongxue. She rubbed her eyes and asked what had happened.
"Madam, a group of people came in early this morning, saying they've lost a girl and want her back. They wouldn't listen to our explanations and were making a scene, which was inappropriate. So Qiuyu and I invited her in first. What do you think we should do?"
An Hongdou instantly woke up from her sleepiness upon hearing this. "What exactly happened? What's their daughter's relationship with us?"
"From what that family said, their daughter has been insisting on enrolling in the apprenticeship program these past few days. Her family doesn't allow it, and they're afraid she'll sneak over, so they've locked her in her room. This morning when they brought her food, they found she wasn't there. They searched for a long time but couldn't find her, so they started to suspect us."
"Has that girl been here?"
"We've never been here. I asked Qiuyu, and neither of us received anyone who came to register."
"Then just tell them the truth."
"I told them, but they didn't believe me. They insisted that we were hiding their daughter and wouldn't let her go."
This was the first time An Hongdou had encountered something like this, but as the lady of the house, although she was scared, she still tried to remain calm.
"Go and call some people, let's go and take a look together."
Dongxue received the instructions and went out, while An Hongdou hurriedly did her hair and makeup.
"You say your daughter is with me, but what proof do you have?" An Hongdou asked in a deep voice when she saw the family.
Perhaps seeing that they outnumbered them, the family toned down their tantrum.
A middle-aged man stepped forward and said, "My daughter said she wants to come here as an apprentice. Where else can a young girl like her go if not here? I know this is an official's residence. If I could find her, I wouldn't dare to cause trouble here even if you gave me a hundred lives."
“Words are no proof. Do you have any witnesses to prove that your daughter entered my house?” An Hongdou then asked.
"This... this is your territory, surely no one would dare say they saw it." The middle-aged man was speechless for a moment, then said confidently.
An Hongdou was so angry she laughed. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Go and call the constable on duty. Someone is stealing something here. Arrest him and interrogate him."
The man was shocked and exclaimed, "How can you lie through your teeth and frame us like this!"
"Oh? Tell me, where are you being wronged?"
“None of us stole anything.”
"How could I have lost money for no reason? You are the only outsiders who came to the manor today."
"If you don't believe me, I'll let you search me."
An Hongdou gave Dongxue a wink, and Dongxue understood immediately. She stepped forward, tugged at the sleeve of the woman next to the middle-aged man, and turned around, shouting, "Found it!"
The man was dumbfounded and hurriedly said, "You're framing me!"
"So many people saw it being found during the search, they can all testify. Am I framing you, or are you denying it?"
Seeing that the man panicked, An Hongdou continued, "But since you're still looking for the girl who ran away from home, I'll let you off the hook for now. I told you she's not here, so don't waste your time here."
Before the man could speak, An Hongdou continued, "Go back and search carefully. If you really can't find any clues, then report it to the authorities according to the law. If you're still worried, leave someone to guard my door. If she really comes to register, then you can take her home."
After finally getting rid of the family, An Hongdou went to find Wu Linglong.
Have you thought of a new idea?
"Don't even mention it! After what happened today, our reputation for abducting young girls has probably spread far and wide. What's the point of trying to find a solution?" Wu Linglong said dejectedly.
"There is both crisis and hope. Why don't we go help find him? Once he's found, we'll not only clear our names, but we can also prove that the apprenticeship scheme wasn't a scam."
Hearing this, Wu Linglong became interested. "Are we going to solve a missing persons case? Do you think we should come up with nicknames to make things easier for us in the underworld?"
"Miss Wu, the clues won't wait, shall we go?"
"Coming!"
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