The silence in the carriage was eerily quiet.
Jiang Shiyue took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and quickly thought of a solution.
"Big sister! Why are you going out with your child so late at night? Where is your husband?" The woman pretending to be a fake ticket seller took the initiative to speak. She still had a simple face and a grin that looked particularly simple and sincere, making it difficult for people to be on guard.
Jiang Shiyue guessed that this was an attempt to inquire about her financial background and whether she had any family members nearby, and she immediately came up with a plan.
"Man? What man?" Jiang Shiyue looked confused, but quietly poked Yangyang with her hand, trying to wake him up secretly.
The fake ticket seller obviously didn't expect Jiang Shiyue to answer like this. He was stunned for a moment and pointed at Yangyang, "Where is the child's father?"
"Oh...ah..." Jiang Shiyue stammered, "I'm...waiting for you at home!" As he said that, he half turned his body to shield Yangyang from the fake ticket seller.
The fake conductor narrowed his eyes and exchanged glances with the driver in the rearview mirror.
The fake ticket seller smiled even more enthusiastically and held out his hand to Yangyang, "Your son is so handsome! Can I hold him?"
Jiang Shiyue rolled her eyes inwardly. He wasn't even praising her face?! But she had a panicked expression on her face and shook her head in denial, "This child is timid and shy. He doesn't like strangers holding him!"
At an angle invisible to everyone, his lips moved slightly against Yangyang's ear, "Yangyang, we are in danger. Don't be afraid, I will protect you, but I need your help..."
The fake ticket seller glanced back and forth between Jiang Shiyue and Yangyang, saying, "Really? You two look so fair and clean, you can't tell at a glance that you are not farmers. Are you from the city? Where are you going so late at night?"
"Yes, we live in the city. We need to... see a doctor, yes, see a doctor, take the child to see a doctor. He is sick." Jiang Shiyue's voice was a little stuttering.
The fake ticket seller looked over at Yangyang in surprise. "Being sick... isn't that good? Besides, shouldn't you go to the hospital to get treated? Why are you going to the countryside?"
Yangyang seemed to have just woken up, his little face was a little sleepy, his lips were red, his teeth were white, and his eyes were big like black grapes. He looked very cute and didn't look sick at all.
Jiang Shiyue seemed a little angry and embarrassed. She straightened up and raised her voice two notches higher: "How can a mother curse her child? If she says she's sick, then she's definitely sick. What's wrong with the countryside? Can't there be good doctors? My second uncle has a good fortune teller in the village. She can cure any serious illness with just a single visit."
"Big sister, I'm just concerned. Why are you so anxious?" The fake ticket seller saw Jiang Shiyue's anxiety and smiled in a very relaxed manner. "How old are you, kid?"
"Over two years old, less than three... No, less than four years old!"
The fake conductor exchanged glances with the driver in the rearview mirror, dropping his pretense of enthusiasm and directly questioning Jiang Shiyue: "Are you the child's biological mother? How come you don't even know how old he is?"
Jiang Shiyue hugged Yangyang tightly, "Of course! I just... I just didn't remember it clearly for a moment."
Yangyang suddenly struggled hard, and Jiang Shiyue pressed him down hard to prevent him from moving.
"Help!" Yangyang suddenly spoke.
But the cry for "Help" was dry and there was no urgency at all.
Fortunately, his voice was muffled when it came out from Jiang Shiyue's arms, making it difficult to hear clearly.
The fake ticket seller was so close to Jiang Shiyue that he heard Yangyang's cry for help. He suddenly stood up, pointed at Yangyang and asked Jiang Shiyue, "This child is crying for help? Are you a human trafficker?"
Question sentences are indeed affirmative.
Jiang Shiyue shook her head repeatedly, looking flustered. "Sister, don't talk nonsense! How could I be a human trafficker? I am this child's mother."
The fake ticket seller stretched out his hand towards Jiang Shiyue and said, "Show me your ID!"
"I...I..." Jiang Shiyue's tone became weaker, "I forgot to bring it!"
"Is that so?" the fake conductor turned to the driver and said, "Master, this woman is a human trafficker. Let's go to the police station first."
Jiang Shiyue, with a look of panic on her face, pulled the fake conductor's pants down hard, "No! Big sister, please don't send me to the police station. I'm really not a human trafficker! This... This is my first time."
The fake ticket seller pulled Jiang Shiyue's hand away by his pants, "Let go! You're almost pulling my pants off!"
The driver sneered, "Any thief who gets caught always says it's his first time!"
"This is really my first time!" Jiang Shiyue pointed at her backpack. "I came out to buy textbooks. I saw this child wandering around the street by himself. I wanted to take him to find his parents, but no one came after waiting for a long time. I... I suddenly remembered that my second uncle doesn't have any children yet, so..."
She didn't say anything else, leaving the fake ticket seller and the others to imagine it on their own.
The fake ticket seller bent down and picked up Jiang Shiyue's backpack. Seeing that there were indeed a few books inside, she couldn't read and didn't even flip through them. She threw them back and curled her lips in disdain. "You want to take the college entrance examination? Kidnapping children is illegal. You will go to jail!"
Jiang Shiyue seemed terrified, tears streaming down her face. "Sister, I was just possessed by a ghost! The people in my second uncle's production team generally have bad backgrounds, so it's hard for them to find wives. Most of the young men in the production team are bachelors. My second uncle finally found a wife, but she has mental problems and can't have children. I just feel sorry for my second uncle. Please don't send me to the police station! I won't dare to do that again! I... I'll send the child back to the city right now."
She suddenly stood up, holding Yangyang and rushed to the car door.
The man sitting by the door pulled her back and pressed her down on the seat. He smiled and said to the fake ticket seller, "Sister Hua, you're really good! You're really good at playing the thief crying thief!"
The fake ticket seller rolled his eyes and said, "You are the only one who is considerate to women! I just threatened you a few times and you feel sorry for them." He did not refute the man's accusation.
Jiang Shiyue seemed to be frightened, her face turned pale and her whole body was shaking. She hugged Yangyang tightly, with a dazed look on her face, as if she didn't understand what they were saying.
The fake ticket seller no longer pretended to be innocent. She leaned against the back of the aisle seat with her arms folded, looking down at Jiang Shiyue, "Big sister, let me tell you the truth! You are just showing off your skills. These girls..."
She raised her chin and gestured to the women in the car, "We brought them all from our hometown. We wanted to find good families for them here. Did you just say there were so many bachelors in your second uncle's production team?"
Jiang Shiyue nodded, "Yes! Most of them are bachelors. In the past, they had a lot of land, so most of the people in the team had bad backgrounds. When they reached the age to get married, the girls were unwilling to marry into their production team. The policy is better now, but my second uncle and his family are too old, and the girls are unwilling to marry him. I really feel sorry for my second uncle and worry that he will have no children. I will never dare to steal a child again! I..."
She seemed to suddenly realize something mid-sentence, exclaimed, and turned to look at the angry young women in the carriage who dared not speak out. Then she looked up at the fake conductor, pointed at her, and asked in shock, "Are you the human traffickers?!"
The fake ticket seller slapped Jiang Shiyue's hand away and rolled his eyes. "You're a human trafficker! I told you we're just helping these girls find partners. Are the people in your second uncle's production team rich?"
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