“I am Xiao Mandong.” Xiao Mandong knew that the police must have come about the baby-swapping incident, so she agreed without hesitation to go to the police station.
Dean Cao wanted to tag along as well—the hospital still bore responsibility for this. Director Qi couldn’t leave, so he asked Dean Cao to look after his young apprentice.
Pei Jiaojiao sized up Xiao Mandong from head to toe. She was indeed pretty, but her outfit clearly marked her as a country girl. Pei Jiaojiao, however, was a division commander’s daughter. If Shen Linzhou married her, it would do wonders for his career. Watching Xiao Mandong leave with the police, Pei Jiaojiao stamped her foot in frustration.
She had come today specifically to warn Xiao Mandong to stay away from Shen Linzhou, but before she could say a word, the girl had left. So her trip today was a complete waste. Though she did wonder—could Xiao Mandong be in some kind of trouble? Otherwise, why would the police come for her?
It wasn’t until Xiao Mandong arrived at the police station that she learned the truth: the woman who had fled in the middle of the night had been admitted to the hospital without any identification or paperwork. The police had searched all day and found no trace of her.
Zhao Xiuxiu wept pitifully, tears streaming down her face. She explained that the previous night, a frantic woman had come to her, saying her sister-in-law was about to give birth and that their hometown was far away, so they hadn’t had time to get the proper documents. The woman begged her to bend the rules. Zhao Xiuxiu initially refused, but the woman slipped her two yuan, and she, blinded by greed, forged the paperwork and secretly admitted the patient.
At first, she hadn’t seen the so-called aunt clearly. When she had taken the baby out, she truly believed the woman was one of Lin Wenhui’s relatives.
But when she discovered the baby had been switched, the family had already fled. So she kept quiet. The reason she hadn’t confessed this morning was the same—she knew that family had left no information behind and would be impossible to find.
The midwife, Doctor Liu, nearly broke down. She couldn’t believe Zhao Xiuxiu had been so reckless. This time, Zhao Xiuxiu had dragged her into deep trouble. In a surge of anger, she lunged at Zhao Xiuxiu, and the two started fighting and accusing each other. Doctor Liu said Zhao Xiuxiu regularly extorted bribes from pregnant women, while Zhao Xiuxiu claimed Doctor Liu used dirty tricks on patients.
According to Zhao Xiuxiu, Doctor Liu would perform episiotomies on nearly every mother she attended, even when a woman could deliver naturally, just to shorten labor and save her own effort.
Moreover, Wang Meixia from yesterday hadn’t needed an episiotomy at all. It was true the baby was in distress and a C-section was necessary. But that snip with the scissors had been done intentionally by Doctor Liu out of spite, because Wang Meixia had cursed at her so viciously.
When Xiao Mandong heard this, she couldn’t control herself and slapped the doctor across the face. How could anyone do such a thing? Even if the woman had cursed horribly, a doctor had no right to harm a patient like that. That kind of behavior was beyond inhuman.
The police officers didn’t stop Xiao Mandong. The doctor’s actions had crossed the line of basic humanity. Giving birth was already a life-or-death ordeal; how could anyone do something like that? If it weren’t for their uniforms, they would have wanted to slap the doctor themselves.
Doctor Liu held her cheek, shocked that Xiao Mandong had struck her. In her fury, she spewed reckless words: “What’s wrong with my episiotomy? I’m a doctor! I have the right to choose the quickest delivery method. I’m saving the hospital time and resources!”
Xiao Mandong grabbed her by the chin, backing her into the corner, her eyes fierce and cold: “I promise you—you will lose your job, and you will go to prison.”
Someone like that had to pay a heavy price. Who knew how many innocent patients she had harmed.
Seeing how agitated Xiao Mandong had become, the police worried something might happen and quickly separated the two women.
They had brought Xiao Mandong here because they had run out of leads. They wanted to ask if she remembered what the couple looked like, their accents, anything at all. Most crucially, the police wanted to know whether that family was actually local.
Xiao Mandong thought back to her conversation with that supposed aunt the day before and answered with certainty that they weren’t from out of town, but she couldn’t guarantee they hadn’t already gone into hiding temporarily.
Just then, Director Lin walked in. He looked nothing like the man from the previous day—his shirt was wrinkled, his hair was a mess, and his face was lined with anxiety. “I’m sorry to trouble you, Comrade Xiao. Please, think again. Is there any other clue you can give us?”
Xiao Mandong suddenly remembered that this morning at the black market, she had seen the woman’s older brother. She wanted to tell the police about this lead, but her mind flashed back to the scenes from the market: the old woman with a limp, carrying her basket of eggs to sell; the grandfather so thin he looked like skin and bones, selling wild rabbits; a woman clutching her baby, trading for coarse grain. Everyone there moved cautiously, hiding from the authorities, scraping by. A heavy weight pressed on her heart. If she spoke out, would it implicate all those people at the black market? They weren’t bad people engaged in speculation or profiteering—they were just ordinary folks trying to survive, trading for a bit of food. If the police surrounded the market, confiscating their goods would be the least of it. If they were labeled speculators, they could be fined or go hungry, and in worse cases, sent to labor camps for reformation. Life wasn’t easy for anyone these days.
But if she stayed silent, the police would have nothing to go on, and that child might never be found. If that family mistreated the baby, the child would suffer a fate never meant for him.
Xiao Mandong bit her lower lip until she tasted blood, still unable to make up her mind.
Then, abruptly, the phone rang. Director Lin answered it and collapsed back into his chair, his eyes instantly reddening. He wiped his face and spoke in a voice almost pleading: “Comrade Xiao Mandong, can you draw a sketch of that family? Wenhui just slit her wrists. Fortunately, a nurse found her in time and saved her. She’s lying on the hospital bed crying, saying she’s useless, that she couldn’t even protect her child, that she has failed her husband who is serving on the border as a soldier.”
Xiao Mandong’s heart felt as if a hand had gripped it and squeezed tight. Lin Wenhui’s husband was a soldier, protecting the country while his wife and child suffered this at home. Xiao Mandong let out a deep breath. “Director Lin, may I speak with you alone?”
She followed Director Lin into his office. “Director Lin, I can give you an important lead, but you must agree to one condition of mine.”
Lin Huaiqing said he would agree to not just one condition, but a hundred, without hesitation.
“I saw the woman’s older brother at the black market this morning. He was selling mushrooms. So I’m certain they’re local.”
Lin Huaiqing was so excited he jumped up from the sofa. “You’re telling the truth? What’s your condition?”
“I have only one condition: you must guarantee that you will not arrest anyone at the black market—neither the sellers nor the buyers, nor even the middlemen. So long as you leave them out of it, I can help you wait at the market. Even if he doesn’t show up tomorrow, he’s bound to come eventually.”
No one would risk imprisonment by going to the black market unless they were trying to survive. She couldn’t sacrifice everyone there just to help Lin Wenhui—because those people had children too, and poor people’s children were just as precious.
Lin Huaiqing quickly agreed, "Don't worry, I promise I won't breathe a word of this. The people I bring with me will be the most reliable."
In truth, the police weren't unaware of where the black market was located—they simply turned a blind eye to it. When they did make arrests, it was usually to coordinate with the Revolutionary Committee and the Commerce and Industry Bureau, or to go along with campaign-style crackdowns and special operations against speculation and profiteering. The rest of the time, no one went out of their way to stir up trouble.
"Alright, at three o'clock tomorrow morning, meet us at the entrance to our Red Flag Brigade village."
