"Liu Qiang, get down here, or his legs will go numb."
“Young man, it’s alright. Chen Xu, you can put the child down after he falls asleep.”
The little girl didn't even look up; she just nodded.
The man hadn't eaten at all; he was already very hungry after watching Shi Tou and the others eat flatbread.
"Brother, I still have some steamed buns here. If you and this young lady don't mind, you can each have one?"
"How could I accept this?" she said, but she still took the steamed bun.
Stone skillfully dodged his other hand and placed it directly under the little girl's face.
"I didn't see you eating, so I'm just having something to eat to help you through the bumpy ride."
The man took the steamed bun and began to eat it in large bites. This group of people usually didn't bring any food with them when they went out; they just endured it or waited for others to give them something.
Actually, they don't earn much money. Even a young woman like Chen Xu can only earn around 40 or 50 yuan by being sent to a local place.
However, children, especially little boys, earn more. A good one can earn a hundred.
Chen Xu took the steamed bun and ate it in small bites. Shi Tou noticed she was having difficulty swallowing. "Big brother, do you have a water cup? I'll go get you some water? Or maybe I can make you some milk powder?"
"Thank you so much, young man."
"Don't mention it. It's fate that we met here. Give me your water cups." Shi Tou only filled their water cups with milk powder, then took the two cups to get more water.
The man coughed, but Chen Xu didn't even look up. He handed him the half-eaten steamed bun he was holding.
When Shi Tou returned, the steamed buns were all gone. The man didn't stand on ceremony, took the milk powder container, and slowly drank from it—it smelled so good!
Everyone on the bus was asleep, and it was unusually quiet. Shi Tou leaned back with his eyes closed, while the man next to him was already snoring.
Shi Tou opened his eyes and gently kicked Chen Xu.
The little girl also looked up at the stone, then suddenly leaned forward and lay down on the table. The stone looked at her, and after a few minutes, it also lay down.
The two men stood close together. "I was sold to them by my brother and sister-in-law. They wanted to sell me to the north. There were four other people in their group on the train, all in this carriage."
"Okay, just wait patiently, I'll save you."
"Thanks."
Stone was too embarrassed to get so close to the girl, so he leaned back against the chair after a short while.
Thinking about what the little girl had said, he realized he had to figure out a way to deal with the four of them.
The next day, Liu Qiang woke up and smiled sheepishly at Chen Xu.
"Auntie, are your legs numb?"
Chen Xu simply lowered his head and shook it gently.
"Chen Xu, aren't you going to the restroom? I'll keep watch outside for you."
Chen Xu stood up after hearing this, and after a while, he slowly walked out.
Liu Qiang leaned close to Shi Tou's ear and said, "Second Uncle, I heard him say that he was going to sell Auntie Na Ye."
"Yes, they are human traffickers, be careful."
"So we're able to save this lady?"
"Okay, just be a good boy and listen to me."
"Okay, I understand, I'll be good."
"They should be back soon."
Shi Tou took the toothbrush cup out of his bag and led Liu Qiang to wash up.
After returning, he took out a lunchbox and said, "Liu Qiang, are you going to sit here and wait for me, or come with me? I'll go buy the food."
"Yes, Second Uncle, I'll follow you obediently."
Taking this opportunity, Shi Tou observed most of the people in the carriage, but only found two suspects. He guessed the other one should be in the other half of the carriage.
Shi Tou led Liu Qiang directly to the train police officer, took out his ID, and explained what had just happened.
"Comrade, I think they are a group of human traffickers. Please arrest them."
"Okay, comrade, I'll report to our captain right away."
The captain is also very concerned about this incident.
"Comrade, here's what we'll do. When we go to Yunshi later, we'll keep an eye on them. Just watch my look and we'll work together to catch them. The one next to you is yours."
"No problem."
Half an hour later, Shi Tou returned with Liu Qiang, put down the lunchbox, and handed Liu Qiang a comic book.
"Young man, what's your name?"
"My nickname is Shitou (Stone), and my full name is Liu Aidang (Liu Aidang). Where's my older brother?"
"My name is Bai Xiong'an. I'll need Brother Shi's help along the way."
"It's nothing, it's nothing. We're just going out with friends. Judging from your accent, you're from Y province, aren't you?"
"Yes, our ancestors have lived there for generations. Stone, where are you from?"
"I'm from Northeast China."
"The Northeast is great, I'm going there this time."
“Great! Come visit my house. Our village is a well-known wealthy village.”
"Haha, I see now, otherwise who could afford baby formula?"
"It's all because his family spoils him." Around 8 PM, the train police patrolled, five officers together. Finally, to prevent that, they closed the carriage door.
This didn't attract Bai Xiong'an's attention either; he was still chatting with the stone.
The train police officer walked to the other end of the carriage and closed the door as well. This time, Bai Xiong'an noticed.
Why are they closing the door?
Stone shook his head. "I don't know either. They came over again and seemed to be trying to open the door here."
Bai Xiong'an watched as the train police officer walked past him without looking to the side, and only then did he feel relieved. However, he did not notice that only four people had just passed by.
Shi Tou got the hint, stood up, took out a steamed bun from his bag, and handed it to Bai Xiong'an. "Brother, have a steamed bun."
Bai Xiong'an tried to catch him, but Shi Tou grabbed his arm and pulled it behind his back. Looking around, he saw that the other four people had also been restrained.
Chen Xu, standing nearby, watched Shi Tou and the others nervously.
What are you doing?
"What are you doing? Don't you know that if you do too many immoral things, they'll eventually come after you?"
"Let me go! What right do you have? What immoral thing have I done? It's illegal for you to say that." But no matter how much Bai Xiong'an struggled, he couldn't break free from the stone's hold.
Liu Qiang deftly took out a rope from his bag and handed it to Shi Tou.
"Second Uncle, tie him up. I saw that the others have been tied up as well."
Without saying a word, Shi Tou quickly tied up Bai Xiong'an.
"Liu Qiang, you stay here with her and wait. I'll go take him to the train police first."
"Yes, Second Uncle."
Seeing Bai Xiong'an being pushed away, muttering curses in his dialect as he left, Chen Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Auntie, you're saved."
Chen Xu twitched the corner of his mouth. "Yeah, I guess I'm saved."
"Auntie, don't worry, my second uncle... Look how brave he was just now!"
Chen Xu thought of Shi Tou, and after listening to Liu Qiang's words, he nodded seriously, "Yes, your second uncle is very brave."
"Auntie, you must be hungry. I'll find you some biscuits." But before Liu Qiang could go look for them, Shi Tou returned.
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