Chapter 220
As the sky slowly darkened, no one in the Song family wanted to go home, and they all continued to search outside. The weather was freezing cold, but it was nothing compared to the coldness in their hearts.
Song Jianye should have been home by now. Feng Guizhi sighed and called the children to go back together. Song Jianshe and the others continued to look for him outside.
Yang Yulan's eyes were swollen from crying, but thinking that Song Jianye didn't know about this, she finally followed him back. She had to tell Song Jianye about this.
The group went back in silence. Before they got home, they ran into Song Jianye who was anxiously looking for them outside. When Song Jianye got home from work, he found the house was dark and no one was there. Realizing that something might have happened, he ran out to look for someone and happened to run into Feng Guizhi and the others who had rushed back.
"Mom, Yulan, what happened?" Song Jianye asked hurriedly.
There was not much light outside at the moment, so Song Jianye did not see Yang Yulan's red eyes.
Feng Guizhi felt a surge of fatigue in her heart and said, "Let's talk about it when we get back."
After arriving home, a group of people stayed in the main room. When the kerosene lamp was lit, Song Jianye saw Yang Yulan's red and swollen eyes, and several other children, all with their heads down, wiping away tears.
Song Jianye glanced around and found Baoya was not in the room. His heart suddenly skipped a beat. He asked with a slight tremor in his voice: "What happened? Where is Baoya?"
Yang Yulan fought back her tears and said, "Baoya, she was abducted by human traffickers. Jianshe and the others are still looking for her outside, and they have also reported the case..."
Song Jianye staggered a bit when he heard this, and he was a little unsteady. He moved his mouth, but in the end no sound came out.
The atmosphere in the room was extremely silent.
After a long while, Song Jianye turned around and walked out. A voice came back from the front: "I'll go look outside."
Yang Yulan wanted to call out to him, but in the end she didn't say it. She now understood Song Jianye's feelings better than anyone else. Compared to being outside in the cold, staying at home and waiting was the most uncomfortable thing.
No one could eat right now, but they hadn't eaten anything at lunch, and if they didn't eat at night, the kids wouldn't be able to make it. Besides, Baoya hadn't been found yet, so if any of them collapsed again, what would happen to the others?
Feng Guizhi stood up and said, "Go wash your faces and cheer up. Baoya is still waiting for us to find her. Now is not the time to blame yourself. When we find Baoya, you can cry all you want. Now you just have to eat and sleep well, okay?"
After saying that, Feng Guizhi went into the kitchen and started cooking, and Yang Yulan followed her.
The eyes of the little ones were red from crying, but when they heard Feng Guizhi's words, they slowly stopped crying.
"Grandma is right. We can't do this. We need to cheer up to find our little sister Xiaobao." Bowen said in a muffled voice.
"Yes, little sister Xiaobao is still waiting for us to rescue her." Yuanbao wiped his tears and said heavily with his fists clenched.
"Go wash your face first, and eat more later. Only when you are full will you have the energy to look for little sister Xiaobao."
The other children all agreed silently, and then went to wash their faces together. After washing, they sat on the stools in the main hall, lowered their heads, and tried hard to suppress the urge to cry.
They all felt very guilty. After all, they were the ones who took Baoya out to play, but in the end... the younger ones all felt that it was their own fault. They were the ones who did not take good care of Baoya. They felt sad and guilty, and wished that they were the ones who were abducted by human traffickers.
However, it was too late to think about these things now, so the little ones kept thinking about where to find Baoya, and said in their hearts that they must find Baoya.
Not long after, Song Aiguo and Chen Xiuxiu also came back. They didn't know that Baoya was missing. It was only after they entered the house and saw that the children were in a bad mood that they found out what happened.
At that moment, the two of them didn't care about eating. They left their things and went out to look for it together.
Feng Guizhi didn't want to keep them, so she left them alone. It wasn't long before the meal was ready: a pot of dumpling soup, a bowl of egg custard, and two plates of stir-fried vegetables. The food arrived, and the children ate in silence. Although they were too upset to eat anything, they each finished their bowl of dumpling soup.
They must eat their fill so that they will have the strength to travel further tomorrow to find their little sister.
"Go back to your rooms and sleep. It's not safe outside at night. Let's go out and look for it together tomorrow morning." Feng Guizhi said to the children.
She was a little worried that the little ones would run out in the middle of the night, so she reminded them from behind, "Everyone is feeling bad right now, so you guys better behave and don't make me worry anymore, okay?"
The younger ones nodded in agreement and then went back to their rooms to sleep.
.......
This night felt particularly long. Yang Yulan, Feng Guizhi and the others tossed and turned in bed until midnight and still couldn't fall asleep. Just thinking about Baoya's current situation made their hearts ache.
Song Jianshe and his companions returned in the middle of the night, their bodies frozen stiff. After soaking in hot water for a long time, they finally warmed up a little.
Feng Guizhi left some rice in the pot for them. They simply heated it up and started eating. Then, without saying anything more, they went back to their room and went to sleep in silence.
Go to bed early and get up early tomorrow so that you can continue looking.
Meanwhile, Baoya also had a rough night. Luckily, the couple, fearing they'd freeze to death, had provided plenty of blankets, so the room remained relatively warm. However, she was terrified she'd never see the Song family again, and Baoya spent the entire night half asleep and half awake.
The next morning, the Song family all woke up early, ate a simple breakfast in silence, and then went out to look for Baoya. Time was especially precious for them now, because a minute earlier might increase their hope of rescuing Baoya.
While they were searching for Baoya all over the county, the couple had already planned to buy train tickets to leave.
"We can't delay any longer. We've been here for a while, and it's not safe outside anymore. Let's take a bus to the provincial capital tonight, and then buy train tickets to leave overnight." The man said with a serious face.
"Okay, let's do as you say."
"When the time comes, we'll go our separate ways. I'll take three, and you'll take three. If anyone asks, just follow our agreement."
The woman nodded, and the two of them picked out the people they wanted to take with them. In the end, Baoya, the youngest boy, and the oldest boy followed the woman, while the remaining three were taken away by the man.
The two of them didn't have anything to bring, so they just threw their bedding and other things here and took only the most important things. So they packed up their things quickly and waited for the last bus to the provincial capital in the afternoon, and then took the train to another
A city so that he could sell his six children to others.
During this time, worried they might get into trouble, the men and women took turns going in and giving them a beating. Aside from Baoya, who had just been captured yesterday, the others had been captive for a few days and had endured numerous beatings, so they were now terrified. Furthermore, the men and women only hit them in inconspicuous areas, so on the surface, the younger ones remained completely unharmed.
"We're leaving in the afternoon, so all of you should behave yourself. If you dare to talk nonsense, I'll break your legs!" The woman said viciously, and with a glance, she went straight up and grabbed a boy's ear.
She didn't use any strength at all, and the boy's ears were directly deformed by the pull, and he wailed in pain: "Ahhhh..."
The other children started shaking violently when they saw this, tears welling up in their eyes. They wanted to cry but didn't dare, so they could only hold it back.
"Don't think that if you get out and see someone, they'll save you. I'm telling you, I've encountered this before. He caught someone when we weren't paying attention and said I wasn't his mother. But after a few words, no one believed him. They just thought he was throwing a tantrum. So, he couldn't get away at all. So guess what happened to him?"
The woman sneered and said fiercely, "When I got home, I dislocated his arm and broke his fingers. He was in so much pain that he couldn't even speak. When we met again, he didn't dare to say a word. He just followed me obediently and didn't dare to leave even if I told him to."
"So, if you don't want to experience an even more tragic end, remember to behave yourself today. Otherwise, you won't even have a place to cry when the time comes."
After hearing what she said, the little ones were frightened even more. Their bodies were shaking like sieves. They bit their lips tightly with their teeth, not daring to cry out loud.
After scaring them, the woman softened her voice and continued, "So, instead of suffering like this, you'd better be honest. When we get there, we promise to sell you to a good family. Then you'll have new parents who love you, plenty of money, and good food and drink. Isn't that better than staying in this small county town?"
"Let me tell you, there was a good kid who didn't make any noise or trouble, and we sold him to a very wealthy family.
The wife of that family couldn't have children, so he was sold there and became the only child in the family. Everyone in the family treated him like the apple of their eye, and their life was the best."
“…”
The woman talked a lot, and only after seeing the eagerness in the children's eyes did she turn around and leave with satisfaction. Perhaps because they gave her a stick and then a sweet date, the lunch was particularly rich, with meat and vegetables, but the portions were not too much, and the children could only eat about 60% to 70% full.
After eating, the little ones stayed where they were, their desire to escape gradually fading. Baoya, on the other hand, hadn't spoken a word all day. Her large eyes were slightly lowered, and she looked incredibly well-behaved. Seeing her like this, the woman didn't scold her any further, figuring she wouldn't dare stir up any trouble.
As the afternoon wore on, the man and woman prepared to take their children out. However, before leaving, they looked at Baoya's unusually fair face, feeling that it was a little eye-catching, so they took some soot from the pot and threw it on Baoya's face. In an instant, Baoya's face turned gray, but her eyes remained surprisingly bright.
The group split into two groups and headed for the station, one in front and one behind, quickly purchasing their tickets. With a little time left before departure, the woman sat with Baoya and the others nearby, waiting. As they did so, the woman kept a vigilant eye on her surroundings, watching for any signs of movement.
Baoya was beside her, looking around, trying to find someone who could save them. Even though there were people around, Baoya didn't dare go over easily, fearing that she would end up like the woman said. But thinking about leaving soon, Baoya felt anxious and scared, worried that she would never see anyone from the Song family again.
Baoya tried hard to suppress the urge to cry and looked at the crowd with wide eyes.
Meanwhile, the Song family was still searching for Baoya. Then, Song Jianshe suddenly realized the traffickers might try to escape, so he decided to go to the station and wait. There was only one station in the county, so Song Jianshe didn't hesitate. He went straight home, rode his 28-inch bicycle, and rushed to the station.
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