Chapter 33: Misunderstanding
Old man Zhao bought a few cakes in the alley, carried them in a plastic bag and continued walking in, turned right and then left, and then walked straight into an open door, as casually as if he was walking into his own home.
Deng Xiuzhen had been to this place many times in her previous life, and she knew that this was the ancient city area of Pucheng. Not only were there ancient city walls and towers made of bluestone slabs, but even the roads were paved with bluestone slabs.
In the 1980s, this place was home to many of Pucheng's most influential people, and was the most symbolic area in Pucheng. But in the 1990s, it became a place where people from all walks of life lived.
It is such a narrow straight alley that you can see the end at a glance, and there are people sitting at the doorways on both sides of the street chatting.
It is absolutely impossible to track and observe a person here.
Deng Xiuzhen could only pretend to be passing by and walked straight ahead. When she passed the door that the old man went in, she glanced inside.
That glance made her heart beat wildly and she broke out in a cold sweat: Old man Zhao was dragging a child into the room!
The child was leaning against the door, with his head tilted up and his mouth open, as if he was shouting, but she heard no sound.
This reminded her of those children who were poisoned and made mute. These people were really vicious! Deng Xiuzhen was filled with resentment, but she did not dare to stay.
She quickened her pace, walked to the end of the alley and turned right, then she dared to take a deep breath.
Turning around and looking into the alley, she found that the people who were chatting just now were now looking at her.
Her heart was pounding like thunder, and she ran away in a panic. She bumped into someone without paying attention. She looked up and found it was Tian Guoqiang.
"Sister Deng? Why are you in such a hurry? What happened?" Tian Guoqiang looked at her puzzledly.
"I..." Deng Xiuzhen had just said the word "I" when she saw Tan Yanxiang behind Tian Guoqiang, and the words that were about to come out of her throat were forcibly choked back.
"Hello, Director Tian!" Tan Yanxiang greeted with a smile.
Tian Guoqiang didn't say anything, but nodded slightly in response.
Deng Xiuzhen saw the interaction between the two. Although Tian Guoqiang's response was polite and even a little cold, it was obvious that they knew each other.
Whether they are familiar or not cannot be judged from the surface. This is what Deng Xiuzhen is thinking at the moment.
"I'm fine. I just had something to do here and forgot about it. Then I thought about the children not having dinner yet, so I was anxious to go back." Deng Xiuzhen decided not to tell her about her discovery.
First, Tan Yanxiang was right here, and in her eyes, Tan Yanxiang was a liar. She didn't like Tan Yanxiang and didn't believe her; second, she was not sure whether Tian Guoqiang knew Tan Yanxiang.
Also, in her previous life, she had watched a lot of TV and short dramas, in which many police officers colluded with drug dealers and human traffickers, or acted as their protectors.
She was not familiar with Tian Guoqiang, and she did not understand Tian Guoqiang. She did not dare to gamble, and she could not gamble!
"That's right. It's really past dinner time at this time. You have to go back quickly so as not to let the child go hungry." Tian Guoqiang said with a smile.
"Director Tian, why are you here?" Deng Xiuzhen thought for a moment and asked.
"I live here. It's in the alley in front. Turn left and it's the third house on the right. You can come and sit for a while when you have time." Tian Guoqiang answered casually.
"Okay, I'll come when I have time. I'm in a hurry to go back today, so I'll leave first." Deng Xiuzhen said and walked forward. She heard Tan Yanxiang and Tian Guoqiang say goodbye behind her, and then heard footsteps chasing after her.
"Hey, Deng Xiuzhen, wait for me!" Tan Yanxiang caught up.
"I have to go home to cook, I don't have time!" Deng Xiuzhen said as she quickened her pace.
"Did you know that Song Yuanxiang went into the city?" Tan Yanxiang followed.
"What does it have to do with me if she goes to the city? You know our relationship." Deng Xiuzhen paused for a moment and continued to walk quickly. After walking for a while, she turned back and found that Tan Yanxiang had not followed her, so she walked back home.
"Xiuzhen, what's wrong? Where have you been? Did something happen?" Tan Yanlin asked secretly.
"I saw Old Man Zhao at Dafeng Restaurant earlier, and Tan Yanxiang, the one who was blackmailing us with Sister Yuanxiang and was staying in the hospital."
"Everyone goes to restaurants to eat, so it's normal to run into them there." Tan Yanlin said, and suddenly remembered something, and asked: "Did you follow them? What did you find? Do they know each other? Is it related to the child?"
Deng Xiuzhen told Tan Yanlin in detail what she had seen, took a deep breath and said, "Why don't we move away? It feels unsafe."
"Move away? Where can we move to? The house over there was sold to us by Chen Guohu. Chen Guohu may have a closer relationship with the old man that Liu Xiaozhen and the others mentioned. Moving there won't solve the problem at all.
Besides, the children go to school in the Third Primary School, which is closer and safer here.
We don’t have much money now and we can’t move to other places.
If we pay more attention, it should be okay?" Tan Yanlin frowned, looking worried.
“That’s right, there are so many children, and now is the time to fight against human trafficking. As long as the children don’t run around and we keep an eye on them, it shouldn’t be that serious.
It's just what happened today. Should we call the police? If we call the police, I'm afraid they will send out all their people, and I'm afraid they will retaliate.
But I always feel uncomfortable if I don’t call the police.
Put yourself in their shoes. If it was my child who was abducted, and others did nothing and pretended not to see anything…” Deng Xiuzhen didn’t continue.
Tan Yanlin also fell silent.
The two walked out the door and looked in the direction of the old man's house, looking at the house that was still dark.
They stood there silently for a long time, and finally made up their minds that they must call the police. Only by catching the bad guys could they be truly safe.
The two returned home and told their children: "Stay home and don't go out. Lock the door. Don't open the door unless someone calls you, your parents." Then they went out to the police station.
As soon as they reached the entrance of the alley, they saw Old Man Zhao.
Old man Zhao didn't see them. He was holding a child's hand and pulling him towards the alley, saying, "Let's go. We don't want to play anymore. It's getting late. We should go home. I'll make you a paper airplane when we get home, okay?"
The child tilted his head back, twisted his neck, opened his mouth but made no sound, and staggered, refusing to move forward.
Tan Yanlin and Deng Xiuzhen walked over. Old Zhao looked up and saw them. He asked in confusion, "Where are you going so late?"
Deng Xiuzhen did not answer, but asked: "Who is this child?"
"You are talking about Xiaobao. He is the grandson of one of my comrades-in-arms. He suffered a brain injury when he was born, so he can't speak and can't walk flexibly. But he is a very smart child." Old Man Zhao touched the child's head and looked at him lovingly.
Deng Xiuzhen observed the child again and found that the child was indeed suffering from cerebral palsy. She immediately felt embarrassed: Old Man Zhao had helped her so much, but she had suspected him for no reason just because she heard about a bad old man. This led to such a big misunderstanding.
After thinking about it carefully, I found that my inference was really unreasonable: if it was a human trafficking case, why would the door be open on such a busy street?
"Where is your home?" Deng Xiuzhen made small talk to hide her embarrassment.
"My home? Which home are you asking me about?"
"I'm just asking. You're busy, so I won't disturb you!" Deng Xiuzhen said as she pulled Qin Yanlin home quickly.
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