Li Sha comforted her, "Aunt, you should go back to your room and go to sleep early. No matter what noises are happening outside, don't get up."
Aunt's legs trembled as she asked, "Sasha, if anything happens to you, your father and I won't be able to explain it to you."
Li Sha pushed her aunt into the room and comforted her, "Auntie, I'll be fine."
Li Sha moved the ladder over and propped it up against the wall.
She took a rope and a towel out of her bag.
"Little girl, let's play a game, a really fun game, okay?"
"Okay, Sister Sasha, I love playing games the most."
“Little girl, let’s climb up this ladder to the yard over there. It’s a lot of fun there.”
Li Sha climbed over the wall and slipped into Widow Wang's yard.
Little Ya also climbed over the wall.
Li Sha said, "Little girl, let's play a game of hide-and-seek. I'll tie you up with a rope, gag you, and make you hide in a corner. After a while, a group of people will come in, and then you can point to two strangers and say, 'They're the ones who tied me up.'"
The little girl nodded repeatedly, jumping up and down as she said, "Sister Sasha, this game is so much fun! Come and tie me up!"
“Little girl, remember this: you must say that it was those two outsiders who tied you up.”
"I remember, they were two men wearing leather shoes and with cloth strips tied around their collars."
Li Sha tied the little girl up with a rope, then gagged her with a towel, carried her to a corner, and covered her with some yams.
Li Sha asked, "Little girl, would you like some candied hawthorn berries?"
The little girl's mouth was gagged, so she could only nod in acknowledgment.
"Little girl, don't make a sound. Just close your eyes and sleep in this corner. Tomorrow morning, I'll buy you two skewers of candied hawthorn. Oh, and I'll buy you five skewers so you can eat your fill."
The little girl nodded repeatedly, looking overjoyed.
Li Sha left Widow Wang's yard and climbed over into her aunt's yard. She murmured, "Little girl, I'm sorry. Today, I used you as a prop. There was nothing I could do. But I will make it up to you. I will treat you to a meal at a restaurant and buy you candied hawthorns often. Oh, and I will also buy you a new set of clothes."
The two merchants went to Qinglong Town and went straight to the barbershop.
Li Sha's father, Mr. Li, is busy.
The tall man asked, "Master, is your daughter home?"
Old Master Li glanced at the two men and said rudely, "What do you two want with my daughter? I'm warning you: don't you dare lay a finger on my daughter, or you won't be leaving Qinglong Town."
The shorter man stuck out his tongue in fright and quickly pulled the taller man along, saying, "Let's go, this old man is not someone to mess with."
The two men walked out of the barbershop and looked around.
The tall man said, "That's strange. I made an appointment with the girl and I didn't see her anywhere."
The short man muttered, "Brother, this little woman must have gone out to eat with another man."
The tall man said dejectedly, "Without a beautiful woman by my side, even the best food just doesn't taste good."
They waited outside the barbershop for half an hour, but still didn't see Li Sha.
The two went to the Mantanghong Hotel and looked around, but still couldn't find Li Sha.
It wasn't until after 9 p.m. that the two businessmen returned to Xujiazhuang.
They opened the courtyard gate, and before they could even close it, a group of people rushed in.
The tall man asked in a panic, "Who are you people?"
The short man grabbed a stick from behind the door and shouted, "Are you trying to rob me?"
An old man said slowly, "I am the village chief of Xujiazhuang. I heard that you two kidnapped a woman. We received a report and came here to search."
The tall man shrugged and said, bewildered, "Village chief, someone called the police saying we've kidnapped a woman. It's really baffling."
The short man put down his stick and said with dissatisfaction, "Village chief, this is slander! We are honest merchants, how could we possibly kidnap a woman? It's simply a fantasy."
The village chief said authoritatively, "Whether you two kidnapped a woman or not, we'll find out by searching you. Our policy is: we will not wrong an innocent person, nor will we let a bad person go free."
The tall man said frankly, "Village chief, go ahead and search. Even if you dig three feet into the ground, I have no objection."
The short man said with dissatisfaction, "Village chief, in principle, you need a search warrant if you want to conduct a search."
The tall man waved his hand and said, "Brother, this isn't the city. You can't tell them what a search warrant is. I'm telling you, just let them search."
The village chief waved his hand and said, "Search carefully, search every corner."
The ten militiamen searched the yard and the houses.
A short while later, they found the little girl in a corner of the yard.
"Village chief, the hostages have been found."
The tall man was startled. He glanced into the corner and his eyes widened in shock. He saw a girl bound hand and foot, with a towel stuffed in her mouth, huddled in the corner.
"Ah! Who is this girl? What's she doing here?"
The village chief sneered and questioned, "The evidence is overwhelming, both witnesses and physical evidence are irrefutable. Let's see what you two have to say now."
The short man was trembling all over, looking completely bewildered.
The tall man said, "We're doomed! Someone's framed us!"
The short man shouted, "Injustice! This is a tremendous injustice!!"
The village chief waved his hand and roared, "Tie up these two scoundrels!"
Several militiamen rushed forward and tied the two men up tightly.
The village chief pointed to several trees in the yard and ordered, "Tie them to the trees and take them to the town police station tomorrow morning."
Two militiamen untied the ropes binding the girl and pulled the towel out of her mouth.
The little girl smiled foolishly and said, "This game is so much fun, so much fun!"
The village chief asked, "Young lady, were you tied up by these two men?"
Xiao Ya looked down and saw that the two men were wearing leather shoes and had strips of cloth tied around their necks. She nodded and said, "Yes, these are the two men who tied me up. They said they would sell me tomorrow to buy candied hawthorns."
The tall man said aggrievedly, "Village chief, I've never seen this girl before, and it's impossible for me to have kidnapped her. There are people coming and going all day long here, and we're busy harvesting yams. We simply don't have time to kidnap a girl."
"Haha... You still want to argue and deny it? Then let me ask you: Did this girl tie herself up?"
The tall man sighed and said, "Village chief, someone must be trying to frame us. It's a conspiracy."
One of the militiamen said angrily, "These two bastards still dare to deny it in the face of witnesses and evidence. I think they deserve a beating. Give them a good beating and they'll behave."
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