Chapter 025 New Connections

"Hey, have you heard about the commotion outside? It's said that some uncles and aunts sold their children, and the Women's Federation has sent out a lot of people, saying that they might have to go to jail."

"Ah? How can an aunt sell a child?"

"It seems that their parents passed away, and their uncle and aunt raised them. They received compensation and lived in the same house. Both sisters were raised by their uncle and aunt. The elder sister even made matchboxes to support her younger sister. As a result, she was not paying attention and her younger sister was sold. There was a lot of noise yesterday and this morning. The Women's Federation and the police station were all alarmed."

"This... I have heard of this before. I don't know if it's the same one, but if you can't raise a child, isn't it normal to give the child away?"

"I gave the child away, but I couldn't sell him. I heard that the Women's Federation had evidence that the couple sold the child for 300 yuan."

"Three hundred? Who is so kind as to give three hundred yuan to adopt a child?"

"That's right. Life is hard these days. If a childless family adopts a child, it will reduce your burden. Three hundred... that's selling a child, right? How can you do that?"

"That's right. Anyway, I heard that the people from the Women's Federation didn't plan to intervene at first. They wanted to persuade the child. After all, it's normal to give away a child if you can't raise one these days. But when they said 300 yuan, it was like they were selling the child. We can't open their mouths. Once they open their mouths, some families will no longer raise children."

"Especially for girls, some families were unwilling to raise them in the first place, so they had to be punished. What is the result now?"

"I don't know. Anyway, it's a big fuss. I can't just let it go."

…

In the stove room, everyone was talking and expressing their opinions. Without exception, they were all criticizing the uncle and aunt who were not behaving like human beings. The room suddenly became very lively.

Tang Yuan looked around, then lowered his head again. In the blink of an eye, his consciousness changed.

Not long after, she appeared among the crowd watching the excitement.

The fact that the little girl went to the Women's Federation had something to do with her, and it was she who asked the little girl to talk about the "selling of the child" in front of the people from the Women's Federation. She didn't know the exact amount of money, and the main source of inspiration came from the man's words "I'll sell you too" before he closed the door yesterday.

Since he could blurt out this sentence, it shows that selling children is not his first time.

This is normal these days. It is possible that children are sold, but it is mainly for food. The officials will not investigate unless the people report it. To be honest, this matter is more legitimate than the existence of the black market.

But this does not mean that they are capable. If they investigate the black market, they will be arrested, and if they investigate the case of selling children, they will also be arrested.

Three hundred yuan is a lot of money.

Tang Yuan earns fifteen yuan a month, and can only earn eighteen hundred yuan a year without eating or drinking. What's more, there are many people watching who are unemployed and can only be supported by their family members. When this number came out, the girl was standing on the moral high ground.

"If you can't afford to raise the child, you can find a good family to send him away. How can you sell the child?"

"That's right. Children are not commodities. What's the difference between selling children and being a human trafficker?"

"In my opinion, all human traffickers should be beaten to death. Anyone who sells children is not a good person. I thought the couple were nice people who were willing to support the two sisters. Who would think of doing such a thing?"

"I hope the little one can be found."

"What good would it do to find it? How would the two sisters live at such a young age?"

"That's better than following this heartless couple. My uncle and aunt aren't good to them. If they sell this house, how can they live a good life? Who knows when... Alas..."

“It’s so hard.”

"Isn't it?"

Tang Yuan listened to everyone's conversation and stepped back. She had told the little girl how she would live in the future. She could make money by making matchboxes, and with the help of the Women's Federation, the daily food and drink for the two children would not be a problem.

If this matter can be solved, the two of them can share the house and the compensation left by their parents' death, and their lives will be better than they are now.

“Ouch…”

Hearing the sound, she subconsciously reached out and supported the person who was almost falling down due to being squeezed by the crowd not far away.

Seeing the other person's foot paddling action, she smiled and said, "Why are you squeezing in while holding the child?"

"I just came to take a look," the other person said, looking at the child awkwardly, and reluctantly backed out. "Really, I heard someone sold a child, and I was upset, so I came here. How could I sell a child here?"

"That's right." Tang Yuan took her out a little further as they were free. "I have roughly heard the whole story. Let's go sit down and talk. There are so many people there, squeezing the children."

"Well, well, look, this is my granddaughter," the other person turned around to let Tang Yuan see, "Isn't she cute?"

Tang Yuan took a look and said sincerely, "It's really cute. It's rare to see a child being raised so well. Your family must be very good to the child."

"Of course, my son and daughter-in-law work on the railway and they brought back some milk powder," the other party said proudly. "Ordinary people can't eat milk powder, but our children can eat milk powder every day."

Tang Yuan glanced at her and sat down on a low stool with her on the roadside: "This child is lucky to have such good parents, unlike the two sisters inside..."

The other person turned around and looked at her excitedly: "Hurry up, tell me..."

"What's your name?" Tang Yuan asked.

"My last name is Cao, you can just call me Aunt Cao. I heard about the Women's Federation and the police station before I came here, and I don't know what happened." She held the child and continued to look at her, then took out a handful of candy from her pocket and put it in Tang Yuan's hand.

Tang Yuan glanced at the candy in his hand.

"You can eat it. We can buy a lot of candy at home," Aunt Cao said generously. "Children of your age should love to eat candy."

Tang Yuan wanted to say that she didn't like candy, but she still accepted the candy and began to tell her the cause and effect of today's incident.

Putting aside the advice she gave to the little girl, many people knew the whole story and watched the entire process without having to worry about exposing themselves.

After this, Aunt Cao was so angry that her voice unconsciously got louder.

"There are really all kinds of people in the world. What kind of people are they? How can they do things like this? The compensation is all there, but they still sold the child. I am so angry!"

The last sentence startled the sleeping child.

Tang Yuan looked over and saw Aunt Cao soothing him while shaking her hands. He took the initiative to reach out and take it: "Let me hold you for a while. I will definitely not leave your sight."

"I believe you. You are definitely not a bad person." Aunt Cao handed the child to Tang Yuan, and her hands finally relaxed a little. "That's what I was talking about. Right, how can you sell a child? Fortunately, the child is smart and knows to go to the Women's Federation."

"Yes, the Women's Federation also has to take care of children. They can't just ignore the child after he or she is sold." Tang Yuan adjusted the way she held the child so that she could maintain a comfortable sleeping position. Soon she fell into a deep sleep again, pursing her lips, looking very cute.

"We definitely need to intervene. The police station has come this time and they must arrest the person. We definitely cannot tolerate people selling children. It really makes us angry to death," Aunt Cao said angrily. "Let me tell you, I've heard of a case before, where a child was also sold..."

Maybe it’s because she loves gossip by nature, the gossip that Aunt Cao talks about is even more explosive than what happened today.

Tang Yuan just listened and expressed her thoughts from time to time.

I have to say, it is also very interesting to listen to gossip when you are bored. She usually has nothing to do and basically reads books. Compared with these gossips, reading seems not so interesting.

What's more, Aunt Cao also has a son and daughter-in-law who work at the railway station.

She is now next to the train station. She didn't meet Aunt Cao today, so she wanted to find a way to contact her. However, she doesn't have much to sell at the moment, so she is not in a hurry to contact the people at the train station.

Meeting Aunt Cao today can only be considered as adding another connection.

I don't know how long we talked, Cao suddenly looked at her watch and said, "Oh, I have to go back to cook and prepare food for the children."

"If you're in a hurry, I can help hold the child. I'm fine now," Tang Yuan stood up holding the child. "Let's walk faster. We should be able to get to your house earlier."

"Hey, thank you then." Aunt Cao thanked her and walked forward quickly.

Tang Yuan followed her and never left her sight no matter how she walked, making her feel safe.

Soon, the two of them arrived at an independent courtyard. Aunt Cao opened the door and went in, mumbling, "I need to make milk powder, cook, urinate, and more..."

Things had to be done, but Aunt Cao's personality seemed to make it impossible for her to arrange everything in an orderly manner.

Tang Yuan could only speak: "Auntie Cao, go make the milk powder first and make sure the temperature is right. I'll feed the baby later, and then go cook. I'll take care of the baby's diaper..."

"Okay, okay, make the milk powder. I'll make the milk powder first." After saying that, Aunt Cao immediately went into the inner room and came out with a bag of milk powder in a few moments.

Tang Yuan carefully woke up the child in her arms and took her outside.

Diapers nowadays are all made of cloth and need to be washed when they get dirty. There are still many diapers hanging in the yard at the moment, so it is best not to get them dirty.

Children can't hold their diapers, but if they pee at the right time, they can reduce the chances of dirty diapers.

She had never raised a child, but fortunately the Internet was well developed in her previous life, so many things could be seen online. Even though it was her first time, she did a pretty good job.

However, she also asked Aunt Cao some precautions. After she was done, she picked up the child and let her look after him.

The baby, who was still drinking milk, didn't recognize people. He just looked at her with his round eyes, with a bit of doubt in his eyes, as if he was confirming her identity.

Even when the bottle was handed to her, she still looked at Tang Yuan with her big eyes while sucking milk. However, in the end, the milk attracted all her attention. She soon began to concentrate on sucking milk, gulping down half a bottle in a short while.

When I was half full, I happily kicked my feet up.