Qin Yuanzheng had been gone for a long time and still had not returned. Outside, the crowd was surging, and there was no sign of him.
As time passed, the train blew its whistle and slowly began to move.
Qin Yuanzheng still had not come back.
Qiao Lanshu was extremely anxious.
The two young men next to her turned to look at Qiao Lanshu. One of them lowered his voice and asked, "Comrade, did... did your husband ditch you and run away?"
He asked hesitantly, "You don't owe any debts back in your hometown, do you?"
Qiao Lanshu: "..."
Hearing his question, Qiao Lanshu did not know whether to laugh or cry.
She turned to look at him and said in a low voice, "Brother Zheng went to catch a human trafficker, he didn't run away."
Originally, Qin Yuanzheng had not found anything suspicious, and since they were on a train, he had not planned to get to the bottom of it.
However, the woman had a guilty conscience. As soon as the train stopped, she grabbed the child and ran.
When Qiao Lanshu had just seen her through the window, the woman was walking in a great hurry, constantly looking back as if she was worried someone was chasing her.
Even Qiao Lanshu could tell something was wrong with the woman, let alone Qin Yuanzheng.
So under the circumstances, Qin Yuanzheng vaulted out the window without a second word.
He was afraid that if he was a step too late, she would escape.
The young man asked in surprise, "A human trafficker? There was a trafficker outside just now?"
The other young man said with a serious expression, "Speaking of which, there really have been traffickers appearing around various train stations lately, and the police haven't been able to catch them. Those traffickers are very smart, disguise themselves well, and run away very fast every time."
The young man then said to Qiao Lanshu, "Then you have to be careful. Those traffickers target young and pretty girls like you."
Every year, you hear about girls going missing.
Even though the household registration system is quite strict nowadays.
But no matter how strict the system is, there are always people who find loopholes.
And no matter the era, young and beautiful women are always scarce in the mountains.
In her previous life, Qiao Lanshu had experienced being locked up in a cave dwelling, so she naturally knew what the people in the mountains were like.
She remained silent, just looking anxiously out the window. Watching the train slowly start and move forward, Qin Yuanzheng still had not returned.
She was not worried about Qin Yuanzheng getting lost. This was a city with a train station, and Qin Yuanzheng was a soldier with identification and a letter of introduction on him.
She was just worried that he might have an accident. After all, human traffickers usually operated in gangs, and they were fierce desperadoes with cruel methods.
She was afraid he would get hurt.
She quickly stood up and said, "I'm going to find the train crew and see if they can delay the departure."
Saying that, she hurriedly ran out.
...
Qin Yuanzheng had felt all along that the woman seemed to know him.
At the very least, she had seen him before and knew his identity.
This made Qin Yuanzheng even more suspicious, and he did not know what her background was.
Qin Yuanzheng was fast and chased her all the way outside the platform. Then, he saw the sleeping child casually tossed by the side of the road, while the woman had long since disappeared without a trace.
Qin Yuanzheng: "..."
Someone had already noticed the child lying on the ground.
Before it attracted more attention, Qin Yuanzheng quickly ran over and briefly checked the child's condition.
The child was sleeping deeply and had not woken up even after being thrown down.
Other than that, everything else seemed normal.
Qin Yuanzheng checked his breathing, felt his forehead, and then picked up the child with one arm, running back toward the platform.
He had just heard the train's whistle signaling its departure.
He had to hurry, or he would miss the train.
He could not bear to leave Qiao Lanshu alone on the train, especially one heading to a labor farm in the Northwest.
Qin Yuanzheng rushed back to the train station, watching the train gradually speed up, about to leave the station.
He sprinted forward, holding the child in one arm, grabbed the train window with his other hand, and vaulted sideways into the train.
He had jumped into a hard sleeper carriage. When he came in, he accidentally bumped into other passengers. Amidst their scolding, he carried the child and went to find the train staff.
The child was still sleeping, which was not normal. He guessed the fleeing trafficker had drugged him.
This child was probably abducted from Longcheng, or if not Longcheng, a nearby city.
Looking at the child, his family seemed quite well-off. It was even possible that Qin Yuanzheng knew his family.
This would also explain why the trafficker recognized him; maybe she had spent some time in Longcheng.
Qin Yuanzheng handed the child over to the train conductors, explained the whole situation to them, and asked them to take good care of the child. He told them to feed him when he woke up, hand him over to the police at the next station, and have someone take him to the hospital for a check-up.
Then, when he returned from the labor farm in the Northwest, he would go pick up the child and take him back to Longcheng to find his family.
The train crew knew Qin Yuanzheng's identity, so his words were very credible. There were female comrades among the crew, so taking care of a child was no problem. After all, the next station was only two hours away, and they could just hand the child over to the police then.
After arranging this, Qin Yuanzheng quickly walked toward the soft sleeper carriage.
Just as he entered, he saw Qiao Lanshu walking out, and the two ran into each other.
Qin Yuanzheng immediately hugged her and asked in a low voice, "Where are you going?"
Qiao Lanshu: "..."
When Qiao Lanshu realized it was him, she hugged him back tightly: "You scared me to death when you jumped off the train."
Saying that, she quickly asked, "Was that really a human trafficker? Did you catch her?"
Qin Yuanzheng frowned and shook his head. "No, she got away. Time was tight, and I was afraid of missing the train, so I brought the child back first."
Qiao Lanshu then looked behind him and asked in confusion, "Where is the child?"
Qin Yuanzheng felt a bit helpless. His wife only cared about the child of unknown origin and did not even ask if he was hurt, when he got back, or how he got back...
Forget it, why be petty over a child?
Qin Yuanzheng then told her about the arrangements for the child.
After all, they still had to go to the labor farm in the vast Northwest, and bringing a child would not be convenient.
The child had clearly been drugged and needed to go to the hospital for a check-up. He was too young to endure such a long, arduous journey with them.
Hearing this, Qiao Lanshu immediately let out a sigh of relief.
As a mother herself, she could not bear to see such things happen.
If the child had not been recovered, she probably would not have been in the mood to do anything.
She asked softly, "Was the child abducted from Longcheng too? Could it be a family we know?"
Qin Yuanzheng shook his head. "I'm not sure, but the possibility exists because it's highly likely they boarded at the Longcheng train station as well."
Not to mention, that woman actually recognized him.
Qiao Lanshu wanted to go check on the child, but Qin Yuanzheng told her the little one was asleep and convinced her not to go. Putting his arm around his wife's shoulders, he led her back to the soft sleeper carriage.
Seeing his return, the two young men in their compartment immediately leaned in. "Comrade, you're finally back! We heard you went to catch the human traffickers. Did you get them?"
Qin Yuanzheng shook his head. "No."
The two young men fell silent.
Qiao Lanshu quickly chimed in, "But the child was safely recovered. He is with the train staff now."
The two young men breathed a sigh of relief. They then began talking to Qiao Lanshu about how rampant traffickers had become lately. In their home city, some women had even gone missing, and the police highly suspected they had been abducted.
They chattered on for quite a while. However, noticing Qin Yuanzheng's expression growing increasingly cold, they eventually didn't dare to speak to Qiao Lanshu anymore.
The soft sleeper carriage slowly quieted down.
By this time, evening was approaching. Qin Yuanzheng turned to Qiao Lanshu and said, "You should go up and rest. It's getting late."
With that, he helped Qiao Lanshu up to the upper berth. He remained sitting on the lower berth, feeling no sleepiness at all.
Whenever he recalled the look on that trafficker's face as the man stared at Qiao Lanshu, his expression turned grim.
Human traffickers nowadays were far too brazen, abducting not only children but women as well.
Thank goodness Qiao Lanshu hadn't run into any trouble when she traveled all the way to Longcheng alone to find him.
From now on, she had him to protect her.
...
Whenever Qiao Lanshu took the train alone, she never dared to sleep.
But now, with Qin Yuanzheng guarding the lower berth, she fell asleep with complete peace of mind, even sleeping quite deeply.
By the time she woke up, the sky outside was already bright.
She pulled out the watch hidden in the inner pocket of her clothes and took a look. It was already past seven in the morning.
Their train was scheduled to arrive at the station around half past nine, which meant they had less than two hours to get ready to disembark.
Qin Yuanzheng had been awake for a long time. When he was away from home, his habit was to barely sleep, and even when he did, it was a very light sleep so he could remain alert.
He had gotten up at the crack of dawn to pack their belongings. He also took their thermos to fetch some hot water, preparing to soak a towel for Qiao Lanshu to wash her face and wipe her hands as soon as she woke up.
The two of them looked so loving and affectionate that it made the two young men across from them sour with envy.
After the couple finished packing, they shared some flatbread and biscuits. Qin Yuanzheng also pulled an apple from his bag and gave it to Qiao Lanshu to eat.
Once they finished eating, Qin Yuanzheng slung the luggage bag over his shoulder, held Qiao Lanshu's hand tightly, and left the soft sleeper carriage.
Right before they got off the train, the train staff gave Qin Yuanzheng an update on the child. "Comrade Qin, the child was sent to the Jingcheng City Public Security Bureau last night. Because he wouldn't wake up, the police officers took him overnight to the nearby military hospital for a checkup. I informed them that you would go pick up the child in a week, and I also left your military unit designation and address with them."
This was exactly what Qin Yuanzheng had instructed the night before, so he nodded. "Alright, understood."
When the train doors opened, he led Qiao Lanshu off the train.
Thinking about the child's condition, Qiao Lanshu said with a hint of worry, "I wonder what kind of drug those traffickers fed him. How could a three-year-old sleep so deeply?"
Such a small child—it would be terrible if the drug ruined his health.
To this, Qin Yuanzheng could only say, "If they were planning to sell the child to a childless family, they probably wouldn't give him anything that would permanently damage his health."
Unless, of course, they weren't planning to sell him but intended to keep him for begging. That would be a different story entirely.
However, Qin Yuanzheng kept that thought to himself.
There was no point in voicing uncertain speculations and scaring his little wife.
She had just recently become a mother herself and was at her most tender-hearted.
Not long after leaving the train station, Qin Yuanzheng headed straight to the nearby military district and borrowed a car from a comrade.
He then drove for over four hours along winding mountain roads before they finally arrived at their destination.
The midday sun was scorching. The air was thick with gray dust, and looking out, all they could see were endless, rolling mountains and forests.
The yellow mud road was bare, and the surroundings looked like an absolute wilderness.
Taking in the desolate scene, Qiao Lanshu couldn't help but fall silent.
Qin Yuanzheng parked the car. After stepping out, he glanced around, his face showing no sign of surprise.
Qiao Lanshu asked in a low voice, "Brother Zheng, are you sure we didn't take the wrong road?"
Qin Yuanzheng shook his head. "I don't think so. The labor reform farm should be over there. The road is too narrow for the car to pass. Come on, let's walk over and take a look."
He parked the car under a large tree by the side of the road, then took Qiao Lanshu's hand. Following a side fork in the road, they walked for about ten minutes until they indeed spotted the sign for the labor reform farm.
After walking for another ten minutes or so, they finally saw an open mountain clearing and a building nestled in the hills.
The entrance of the building was plastered with various notices. An old, weathered plaque bore the words "XX Prison."
The first two characters were so mottled they were unreadable, but the word "Prison" could barely be made out.
In this era, prisons were no longer traditional prisons; they were various labor reform farms.
Within the labor farm, inmates were divided into over a dozen teams based on the severity of their crimes. Those with the most serious offenses labored deep within the farm, heavily guarded by armed soldiers at every level.
Ordinary inmates, however, were managed much more loosely, overseen only by regular supervisors.
After all, in these times, a random accusation or a single report could easily get someone sent away for labor reform.
Strictly speaking, many of these people weren't even real criminals.
Even without anyone watching them, these inmates wouldn't dare run away. The labor farm was surrounded by endless, towering mountains. If they escaped, they would never make it out of the mountains and would freeze to death in the winter.
In the summer, they would likely be eaten by wild beasts, or starve and die of thirst after getting lost.
Even if they luckily managed to follow the mountain paths out, the farm supervisors would just chase them down on tractors and catch them in no time.
Furthermore, because the inmates' household registrations had been transferred to the farm, returning home was useless. Without an ID or a registered residence, they would inevitably be sent right back.
While Qiao Lanshu spent some time reading the notices at the main gate, Qin Yuanzheng went forward to negotiate.
Soon enough, a supervisor came out and very politely led them inside.
The supervisor was a man in his forties. He smiled courteously and said, "Comrades, the Zhong Mei you are here to visit indeed arrived here not too long ago. Her offense wasn't too serious, so she was assigned to Team 12. Right now, she should be up in the mountains digging irrigation ditches..."
Just as he was speaking, shouts from the inmates echoed from the distance: "Supervisor! Supervisor! Bad news! A fight broke out in the dormitory area!"
