After leaving the photo studio, Qin Yuanjiu rode his bicycle and took the two men to the police station.
Halfway there, Ke Meiyu saw the wooden trays full of candied hawthorns at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative and couldn't help but tug at Qin Yuanjiu's clothes, "Comrade Qin, stop, I want to buy candied hawthorns!"
She had eaten candied hawthorns when she was a child. Because there were so many delicious foods, this sweet and sour red snack didn't occupy much of her memory.
But who told her to come from the apocalypse, she was transformed from a rich young lady into an ignorant country bumpkin who wanted everything she saw!
"Uncle Qin, I want to eat too," the little guy whispered shyly.
Qin Yuanjiu braked the gate, his long legs bracing against it.
Ke Meiyu jumped off the car seat and said, "Comrade Qin, do you want some? Men probably don't like sweets, so I'll buy some for both of us."
She turned around and went to buy candied hawthorns, muttering to herself.
Most of the men she'd met didn't like sweets, except for the big boss who was a sweet tooth!
I bought two skewers of candied hawthorn, gave one to my little girl, and she took the other and jumped back onto the back seat.
Qin Yuanjiu glanced at her and said, "Hold on tight, or you'll regret it if you get on me!"
Ke Meiyu made a face at his back, "Just ride steadily, I'll hold this hand, it won't touch you! A grown man like you is so fussy, so picky..."
She muttered the second half of the sentence softly, but every word reached Qin Yuanjiu's ears.
The little girl's adorable complaints seemed to be wrapped in cloying sweetness.
He lowered his eyelids to conceal his horrifying emotions, but he put his strength into his feet and darted away a long distance.
As a result, Ke Meiyu subconsciously wrapped her arms around his lean waist, feeling the strength and texture of his muscles.
"Ke Meiyu!" Qin Yuanjiu shouted through gritted teeth.
"Wh...what are you doing..." Ke Meiyu looked guiltily at the sugar syrup stains on his clothes. "Who told you to ride so fast all of a sudden? Besides, I, I'll wash it for you later, okay? Humph, who's being unreasonable here?"
However, the little girl, on the verge of tears, said, "Uncle Qin, sister, please stop arguing, my candied hawthorns have all fallen..."
Ke Meiyu laughed out loud, which was rather unkind of her, and then she comforted her, "It's okay, I'll make you candied hawthorns later, I guarantee you'll eat them until you're sick of them!"
The little dumpling nodded repeatedly: "Sister, you must remember, you mustn't lie to children."
"I won't lie. Whoever lies will have a long nose," Ke Meiyu replied, but in her heart she was thinking that the system had given her a recipe, and there were countless hawthorns, wild fruits, and various nuts on the mountain. The old lady also had rock sugar. With all the ingredients, she could satisfy her cravings.
She took a big bite and ate the last hawthorn. The syrup was crunchy and the fruit was sweet and sour—it was truly delicious.
So beautiful, she couldn't help but hum a song, "They say candied hawthorns are sour, but inside the sourness is sweetness; they say candied hawthorns are sweet, but inside the sweetness is a hint of sourness..."
The little dumpling cheered, saying how beautiful it sounded, and even wanted to imitate it: "It sounds so good, sister, teach me, I'll show it off in the compound later."
The two, one big and one small, arrived at the police station laughing and joking through an ice pop.
Upon hearing their report, the officers at the station immediately took out their phones and started dialing the address, repeatedly transferring the call until finally a hurried male voice came through the other end: "Hello, this is Lu Xiangjin. Who are you? Is my nephew really with you?"
"Xiang Jin, it's me," Qin Yuanjiu glanced at his newly appointed wife, who was blocked outside the door by him under the pretext that military calls were inconvenient for outsiders to answer, and calmly condensed his voice into a line on the phone: "Ying Yan, now renamed Qin Yuanjiu."
"Yingtuan?" Lu Xiangjin exclaimed in surprise, "Why did you go there?"
“The matter is a bit complicated. Your nephew secretly followed his father’s car to Qianzhuang Market in Jixian County, N Province, where he was spotted by human traffickers. Fortunately,” he paused, his voice softening slightly, “my wife saw him.”
Lu Xiangjin broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this. Many children are going missing these days, especially little boys. People in the countryside and even in the city are ignorant and the neighbors are united, so there is no chance for anyone to escape.
Once it's lost, it's truly lost; not even half of them can be found again.
Lu Yuehai was lucky this time; otherwise, he could hardly imagine how his family would react to such devastating news!
He thanked him repeatedly, saying, "Commander Ying, I need to call my brother and sister-in-law right away and tell them about this. I will definitely come to thank you in person later."
"I am Qin Yuanjiu now, no longer your regimental commander. Just call me by my name when we meet in the future."
Lu Xiangjin responded. He was genuinely anxious; after hanging up, he immediately called his brother's workplace.
Lu Yuehai's father had already arrived at his business trip destination and was anxiously waiting for his wife's call. Now, receiving news from his older brother, the weight that had been pressing on his throat finally lifted.
Now that the child had been found and his brother's comrade was watching over him, he focused on completing his mission and would bring the brat home on his way back to the city!
"Alright, let's go," Qin Yuanjiu said with a cold expression.
Ke Meiyu glared at him, realizing she had been waiting there foolishly, only to be met with a complete silence from him.
"Uncle Qin," the little dumpling couldn't hold back any longer, "what did my uncle say?"
"What can I say? Your family has been looking for you like crazy," Qin Yuanjiu sneered.
The little dumpling felt incredibly guilty. Just thinking about how she might have been abducted and never seen her parents and relatives again made her burst into tears.
Ke Meiyu pushed Qin Yuanjiu and yelled, "Why are you, an adult, arguing with a child?"
"He's young, what could he possibly understand? Can't you phrase it differently?"
Qin Yuanjiu pursed his lips, his dark eyes tinged with anger, but the woman tenderly pulled the little guy into her arms and patted his back comfortingly.
"Don't listen to your Uncle Qin, he's just jealous of you and nobody loves you." Ke Meiyu coaxed the child softly, "Your parents are definitely worried. When you meet them, you should apologize first, be sincere, and then tell them how scared you've been these past few days. Then, just like before, pout and cry. Make sure your parents don't dare to hit or scold you!"
"Really?" The little dumpling opened one eye and couldn't help but ask curiously.
He was only four years old. No matter how sensible and intelligent he was, he was still a little kid. What he feared most was his parents getting angry.
"Of course, your parents love you very much. But this is enough, there won't be a next time."
The little dumpling nodded repeatedly, his face serious and earnest: "Sister, I will be more sensible when we get back and won't be naughty anymore. I have to work hard to grow up to be as tall and handsome as Uncle Qin, and then marry the little sister you gave birth to!"
Ke Meiyu was stunned. This little kid was already planning for the future?
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