Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“It’s been a while. I can’t remember how long it’s been. I saw him and Chunsheng being taken away together. Mom, that person isn’t my uncle. I could tell at a glance. Am I smart or not?”
At this point, Xue Xiaohua was feeling smug. She felt that if it were not for her cleverness, even her mother would not be able to find him at this moment.
Bai Wenjing took a deep breath and thought to herself, “You’re not smart at all. You told me to stay calm.”
Xue Bainian was four years old and almost five years old. Chunsheng was one year younger than Bainian. Xue Xiaohua was also present at the time of the incident. The two younger ones could be abducted with a string of ice-sugar-coated haws. Of course, they had to choose two.
Furthermore, Xue Xiaohua was already eight years old. An eight-year-old girl would remember things and it would not be easy to abduct her. Therefore, it was reasonable to abduct the two younger ones and leave the older one behind.
At the moment, finding the two children were more important, Bai Wenjing could only grab Xue Xiaohua with one hand and said, “Your brother is missing, yet you still have the mood to play. I really don’t know what your brain is for.
“Where’s the boss? Where’s the boss? Don’t dig wild vegetables for now. Go find your brother and follow him to chop firewood. If you run around blindly, I’ll beat you up.”
She was really angry. At this moment, she was burning with anxiety. After instructing Xue Xiaohua, she ran towards the village entrance. She only hoped that the few old men and old ladies who sat at the village entrance all year round basking in the sun could provide some clues. It would be best if the human trafficker was inconvenient to bring out during the day, he was still hiding in a corner of the village.
When Bai Wenjing returned, she saw sister-in-law, Zhaodi, and Grandma Lee Guilan each holding a gong in their hands. As they knocked, they shouted the names of Xue Bainian and Chunsheng. It was as if they were patrolling the village.
Grandma Wang, who used to wander around aimlessly in the village, saw this scene and curled her lips. “What are you shouting for? I think they’re most likely lost. Our village didn’t lose a baby this time. Just last month, we also lost a girl. Until now, we still haven’t found her. If you want me to see it, then so be it. Instead of shouting non-stop here, we might as well give birth to another one while we’re young.”
As Granny Wang spoke, her dry mouth moved as if she was eating something.
When Zhaodi heard this, she started to cry again. “My Chunsheng, my Chunsheng, a human trafficker with a thousand knives, he will die a horrible death. How could they be so heartless to kidnap him. Isn’t he courting death?”
Lee Guilan was even more flustered. She turned around and slapped Zhaodi’s face again, following that, she wailed, “It’s all because of you, you useless thing. Tell me, what did my old Xue family do? Not only did you give birth to a few brats, you even gave birth to a golden lump after much difficulty. What use do you have? You can even kill a pig to sell its meat during the new year. You only know how to give birth to a few money-losing goods!”
Lee Guilan’s scolding was unpleasant to hear. Even Bai Wenjing felt uncomfortable listening to it, she took a step forward and said, “Mother, sister-in-law, you guys are playing drums and gongs here. The child might not have been found, but it scared the thief who was hiding away. It’s better to ask around to see if anyone saw them.
“There are so many pairs of eyes in our village, I don’t believe that no one saw them!”
After she finished speaking, the two of them wiped away their tears. Bai Wenjing was too lazy to bother with them anymore and went straight to the village entrance.
The few old men and women who usually sat on the big rocks and basked in the sun were still there. They were all people who were too old to work, and only these old men and women were the most nosy.
“Grandma Zhou, Grandma Lee, have you seen our Bainian and Chunsheng?”
Because the old people’s ears were not good, Bai Wenjing almost shouted at the top of her voice.
The old man heard her and waved his hand. “I’ve been sitting here for the whole afternoon, but I haven’t seen those two little brats. What’s wrong? Did your little brats cause trouble again? Let me tell you, your little kid isn’t obedient. He’ll be fine after a beating.”
She wanted to give Xue Bainian a beating, but she could not do it at this time. She did not know where he had been abducted to, and the sky was about to turn dark. If he was taken out of the village by human traffickers, it would be even harder to find him.
The other old lady also said, “He didn’t leave the village.”
Bai Wenjing asked again, “Did you see anyone who wasn’t from our village coming in and out?”
The old lady pondered for a moment. “There was one. He didn’t tell us what he was doing and just went straight into the village. What’s wrong? Whose pig was stolen? There are many people stealing pigs and cows these days. I remember when I was young, one night in my cowshed…”
The old lady had already begun to babble about her past. Bai Wenjing felt that it was easy to deal with the thief when she heard that he had not left the village. One had to know that Buffalo Bay was called Buffalo Bay because the village was built on the bend of a big river, the village was backed by a mountain. If the thief wanted to leave the village, it was the only road at the village entrance. If he was not hiding in the village, he must be hiding on the mountain.
On the other side, the more Xue Xiaohua thought about it, the angrier she became. Her mother did not scold her, but now she was even chasing her to cut firewood. She did not want to do dirty and tiring work.
She walked aimlessly. When she raised her head, she saw Xue Baijun sitting on the field. Not only did he not cut firewood, but he was also staring at the cow eating the crops in front of him. At this moment, he was holding a stone and throwing it at the big buffalo.
Did her mother not ask Xue Baijun to chop wood? Why was he fighting the cow now?
Xue Xiaohua thought that their mother would be angry and scold them again if he did not chop enough wood. she immediately screamed, “Brother! Why are you here if you don’t chop wood!”
Xue Baijun rolled his eyes at Xue Xiaohua and said angrily, “None of your business.”
After saying that, he picked up a big stone and smashed it at the buffalo. Perhaps it was because the stone hurt when it was hit, the buffalo suddenly jumped and then ran around like it was possessed. Xue Baijun laughed out loud when she saw it, soon, the buffalo disappeared.
Xue Xiaohua realized what Xue Baijun had done just now. She screamed, “Big brother, you drove the buffalo away! If we can’t find it, the herdsman will make us pay for it if he sees it.”
Xue Baijun also reacted immediately. He stood up and grabbed Xue Xiaohua’s hand and ran away. “Hurry up and go home. Don’t let anyone see you. If you dare to tell anyone, I’ll cut off your hair!”
“Ah!”
Xue Xiaohua was so frightened that she covered her head with the two little balls of hair that her mother had tied for her. She nodded repeatedly.
When the brother and sister returned to the village, Bai Wenjing had only gathered a few families to help out. Other than the in-laws, the first and second uncle families, only the wife who had lost her child was left to participate. There was also Qiao Zhen, who had been willing to lend her some food.
Bai Wenjing could not understand why these people were so cold after such a big incident. In the end, she could only blame it on the poor relationship with the original owner.
At that moment, Bai Wenjing raised her voice and said, “The person who kidnapped the child must still be in the village. Let’s first interrogate the dozens of families in our village to see if anyone saw or hid in any of them. If they still haven’t seen it, then meet them in front of my house. When the time comes, we will enter the mountain to search again. We must be fast. The longer we delay, the more danger the child will be in.”
As soon as Bai Wenjing finished speaking, she saw the village chief appear with a group of people. She had thought that they were here to help look for the children, who knew that the village chief was beating the drums and gongs as he said, “The old Huang family’s cow is missing. Everyone, come out and help the old Huang family look for the cow.. That’s a fellow that’s worth more than a human life!”