Early the next morning, Xiao Mandong went to the Public Security Bureau. The officer who received her was the same one from yesterday. Everyone knew she was close to Director Lin’s family, so his manner was exceptionally courteous. He leafed through the statement, asked a few more questions about the details, and finally nodded.
“All right, we’ve recorded everything. You can go home for now. We’ll notify you after we’ve verified the facts.”
Xiao Mandong did not ask any further questions. After signing her name, she left.
The weather was getting colder by the day. Since she did not need to return to the village to see patients, she planned to visit her family in a few days and bring them some supplies. For the time being, she would not go back to the village. Staying at the compound meant she would not have to travel back and forth, and it was more comfortable besides.
When she reached the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative, Xiao Mandong decided to buy some vegetables. She had just parked her bicycle when she heard a burst of commotion.
After locking her bike, she headed toward the crowd. Before she could squeeze her way in, she heard an old woman crying out at the top of her lungs:
“Everyone, judge for yourselves! This is my daughter-in-law. Her baby is barely a month old, and just because my son gave me one yuan, she got angry and ran away. We’ve been looking for her for three days, and now we’ve finally found her.”
Beside the sharp-faced old woman stood a man in his thirties. He wore a wrinkled Mao suit and looked utterly helpless. His eyes were red as he stared at the young woman standing in the crowd.
“Wife, my father really is sick and needs to see a doctor. That’s why I gave Mother the money. Can you please stop being angry? Next time, I’ll definitely discuss it with you first. The baby is at home crying from hunger. We don’t have money for malted milk or formula, so all we can give the child is rice water. Please, for the baby’s sake, come home with me.”
Across from him stood a young woman of barely twenty. She was dressed far too lightly for the weather, wearing only a faded old cloth shirt. Her hair was disheveled, her lips blue with cold, and her eyes brimmed with tears.
“I don’t know you! You’ve got the wrong person!” Her voice shook as she spoke.
The old woman wailed as if heartbroken. “You heartless thing! My son treats you so well, and yet you ran away just because he gave me one yuan? You abandoned your baby when it was only a month old—how could you be so cruel? If we weren’t truly desperate, would we ever ask you for a single yuan? We raised our son—don’t we even have the right to ask for one yuan to pay for medical treatment? What a disaster this is!”
The young woman shook her head desperately. “No... I’m not...”
Before she could finish, the man cut her off.
“Xiaoli, I’m sorry. It was my fault. Let’s stop fighting and go home, all right?”
More and more people gathered around, pointing and whispering.
“Girl, you’ll be a parent someday too. Abandoning your child just because of one yuan for an old person’s medical treatment—that’s really wrong.”
“Exactly. The baby’s only a month old. It can’t live on rice water without being nursed. You should go back and live properly with your family.”
“She looks like such an honest girl. Who would’ve thought she could be so unreasonable?”
Then someone muttered, “Could they be traffickers? I’ve heard there have been people lately who specialize in abducting young women.”
The old woman’s expression changed. “Madam, you can’t just say things like that. This girl is my daughter-in-law. We know every scar on her body. And here is my letter of introduction.”
As she spoke, the old woman took out an introduction letter and showed it to everyone. “You can ask her yourselves. She’s from the same village as us. How could we possibly be kidnappers?”
Xiao Mandong stood outside the crowd, watching the scene with narrowed eyes. The old woman’s tearful pleas, the man’s begging, the girl’s inability to defend herself—why did this all seem so familiar?
In her previous life, she had often seen news reports like this online. Human traffickers would pretend to be a girl’s family members and snatch her away in broad daylight, while onlookers assumed it was merely a family dispute.
But if they really were human traffickers, where had the introduction letter come from? Had they slipped it into the girl’s bag in advance?
She glanced around. She had no idea whether they had accomplices. If there were too many of them, she certainly wouldn’t be able to fight them off. What should she do? Should she go and report it to the police?
Just then, a man in his twenties stumbled through the crowd. He wore a foolish smile, his eyes vacant and staring. Dressed just as thinly as the girl, he hunched his neck against the cold as he ran straight toward her.
“Little sister… Little sister…”
The old woman reacted quickly and grabbed him.
“Come here, Bowen. Listen to Auntie. Tell Auntie, do you know me?”
The man called Bowen nodded. “Auntie… Auntie, Bowen is hungry.”
The old woman then pointed at the man beside her. “Bowen, what’s his name?”
“Brother Dashan. Brother Dashan is a bad person. He peed in Bowen’s bowl. Grandma won’t let me play with Brother Dashan.”
Dashan’s face flushed bright red. He hurriedly explained to the people nearby, “We were just mischievous when we were little. He didn’t only pee in my bowl—he even peed into my father’s mouth once.”
As he spoke, he scratched his head. He came across as a simple, good-natured fool, nothing like a kidnapper.
The person who had raised the earlier objection was left speechless and awkwardly fell silent.
Someone in the crowd laughed. “Who wasn’t mischievous as a child? When I was little, I once peed into the flour at home and my grandmother gave me a beating.”
The old woman laughed as well and released Bowen’s hand. “Bowen, go find your sister. Let’s take Xiaoli home, all right?”
Bowen nodded and ran straight over to the girl, grabbing her hand.
“Little sister, let’s go home. Go home and have some porridge.”
The girl held tightly to her brother’s hand, tears streaming down her face. She had no way to refute them.
They were from the same village, after all, and she couldn’t deny knowing them. Her brother had even acknowledged them just now.
All she could do was squeeze her brother’s hand tightly and shield him behind her as she glared at the old woman.
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
The old woman pleaded, “Xiaoli, what could we possibly want? We only want to take you home so you can live a good life.”
The girl clenched her teeth, her eyes red. “I’m not one of your family. Why should I go back with you?”
“I admit we’re from the same village, and I know you, but I…”
“That’s enough.” Dashan cut Xiaoli off, his tone turning forceful. “Xiaoli, stop making a fuss and come home with me. The child is really pitiful.”
With that, Dashan stepped forward and reached out to grab her.
The girl recoiled, her voice trembling with helplessness.
“I’ve never had a child. I haven’t. I want to report…”
Dashan stepped forward and clamped a hand over Xiaoli’s mouth. “Xiaoli, I’m willing to support your brother. Don’t leave me and the child.”
Seeing Dashan dare to touch his sister, Bowen shoved him away and shielded Xiaoli behind him.
“Get lost! Get the hell away from my sister!”
The onlookers began whispering among themselves.
An auntie nearby sighed.
“Miss, go back home. No matter what happened, a child can’t grow up without its mother. Feeding a baby nothing but rice water at just one month old won’t keep him healthy.”
A middle-aged man chimed in as well. “Exactly. What family doesn’t have its share of troubles? Go back and live properly together. That’s better than anything. It’s only one yuan, so don’t quibble over it. Everyone gets old someday.”
The old woman took Bowen by the hand. “Come on, Bowen. Come home with Auntie. I’ll stew some meat for you.”
Bowen turned around and tugged at Xiaoli’s arm. “If my sister isn’t leaving, neither am I.”
Dashan lost patience. Leaning close to Xiaoli’s ear, he whispered, “Shi Xiaoli, don’t push your luck. Be careful, or I’ll dig up your father’s ancestral grave.”
