After returning from Xiao Kui's place, Sun was once again convinced that Old Man Cui had not been mistaken. He must have seen Yang Hong that day. Old Man Cui was unwilling to talk about it because he was worried about something, which meant that Yang Hong was likely in grave danger.
After dark, the village was quiet. The elderly couple, Sun and his wife, quietly came to Old Man Cui's house and knelt down before him as soon as they entered.
This terrified Old Man Cui. He knew the purpose of the Sun couple's visit, but he still insisted that the person he saw last time was not Yang Hong, and that he had been mistaken.
Knowing Old Man Cui's concerns, Madam Sun spoke up:
“Only you know the truth about this. If you tell us, we won’t tell anyone.” After saying this, Madam Sun took out a string of agate beads and handed it over.
"This is agate, a gift from my mother-in-law. I'm giving this agate to you now, only asking that you tell me the truth."
The rural folks had never seen anything so valuable before. This thing was worth a lot of money, and Old Man Cui and Aunt Cui began to get a little tempted.
Aunt Cui took the agate and examined it carefully; this was the first time in her life she had ever handled such a valuable item.
Old Cui took out his pipe, began to fill the bowl with tobacco, lit it, took a leisurely puff, and then slowly opened his mouth.
"I may be the only one who knows about this. The reason I dare not tell you is because I am afraid of bringing disaster upon myself. You must not let Xiao Kui know that I told you this."
If he finds out, not only will our family suffer, but your Yang family will also be in deep trouble.
Old Cui's words left the Sun couple speechless. It seemed that things were not so simple, and there must be something big going on.
Seeing that Yang Dahai and Sun were so frightened they didn't dare to breathe, Old Man Cui continued:
"One afternoon three months ago, my coworkers and I were carrying sacks to load goods onto a merchant ship. The ship was very big, and we had been carrying sacks for three whole days. We estimated that in another hour, the goods would be loaded and we could finish work."
Just then, a ship came along. It wasn't a big ship, and it didn't look like a merchant ship; it seemed to be carrying people.
After the boat came to a stop at the dock, several people disembarked. These men were tall and each carried a large machete at their waist.
Just by looking at these people, you can tell they're outlaws, desperate criminals. We laborers don't even dare to look at them.
Not long after the group went ashore, Manager Xiao followed them and boarded the boat.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Manager Xiao got off the boat. As soon as he got off, he told us that we were done for the day and all the laborers carrying sacks should go home immediately.
I didn't expect to finish work so early today. Since Manager Xiao wants us to leave immediately, let's go.
After we put the last sack on our shoulders onto the boat, we all left.
As I was about to disembark, I instinctively reached for my waist and discovered that my purse was missing. It contained yesterday's wages, thirty copper coins. If I lost it, all the work I had done yesterday would have been for nothing.
I remember my purse was still there when I boarded the ship for the last time. I must have lost it when I put the sacks away earlier. I need to find my purse, or I'll lose a lot of money.
So I went back to where I had put the sack and started searching for it.
I searched through several sacks but couldn't find the money bag. The cargo hold was full of sacks, making it impossible to look for it. I was a little disappointed.
Forget it, it's my bad luck. I should just go back. Just as I was about to turn around and leave, I saw a sack slide down from above and hit me.
I tried to dodge, but it was too late. The large sack hit me squarely on the head, knocking me unconscious on the spot.
When I woke up, it was already dark and I couldn't see anything. After a while, I finally realized what was going on, pushed the sacks off me, and groped my way out of the cabin.
By this time the moon had risen, and I was surprised to find that the cargo ship was not docked at the pier, but was moored in the middle of the river, probably anchored there.
There was a lantern hanging at the bow of the boat, and there should be someone there, so I reached out and touched it.
As we approached the bow, I heard people talking, and one of them said:
"It's safe to say that this is just a small-scale sale of boats. I don't know how many poor people will be taken away tonight. This Manager Xiao actually gave them the right to use this dock. This kind of money is not to be earned; they will be punished."
"Say less. We're just trying to make our cargo ships safe. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning, and we hope to avoid any trouble."
The two fell silent and did not speak for a long time.
I finally found the bow of the ship. The two people on the bow were terrified when they saw me and hurriedly asked who I was and what I was doing on the cargo ship.
So I had to tell them about how I was looking for my money bag on the boat and was knocked unconscious by a sack. The two of them were shocked, but thankfully nothing bad happened.
The boatman told me that they would be leaving early tomorrow morning, and it was already past midnight. If I wanted to go back, they could take me ashore in their small wooden boat.
After I nodded my thanks, the boatman arranged for someone to take me ashore in a small boat.
The path along the shore was very difficult to walk on, and I scrambled and crawled until I finally reached the dock.
After walking a few steps from the dock, we saw a group of people coming from the front, many of them carrying lanterns.
It's past midnight, why are so many people still coming to the dock? I'm pretty sure they're not here to work, are they going to board a ship?
Out of curiosity, I wanted to see what was going on, so I stood still and waited for those people to come over so I could take a closer look.
Soon the group of people arrived, lined up in a long queue, all tied together with ropes, and escorted by their guards, whose large machetes gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
I was so frightened that I shuddered and quickly shrank behind a nearby sand pile, nervously watching the group of people.
Gradually, the group of people walked over and passed by the sand pile. I was so scared that I didn't dare to breathe. If these people escorting me saw me, I would be in big trouble.
There were at least a hundred people being escorted, seemingly to board the boat on the river. Who were these people? Were they prisoners?
I have seen the scene of the government escorting prisoners. It usually takes place during the day, and they beat gongs as they walk, which is to warn the people around them and let more people know that they cannot break the law.
But these people were secretly escorting people in the dead of night, as if they didn't want anyone to know. Were they doing something shady?
I suddenly remembered what the boat captain had said earlier: that the boat might be a slave ship, the kind that human traffickers used to transport slaves. Thinking of this, I became even more panicked.
The atmosphere was so heavy it was suffocating. If they discovered me, I would undoubtedly be captured and become a slave to be sold.
I don't know if I'm unlucky or lucky, but I actually stumbled upon such a big event.
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