Chapter 06

The bowl of noodles in front of them, giving off a rich and fragrant aroma, was especially appealing. Shu Yuan quickly took a large bowl and divided the noodles between the two of them.

Hearing Xiao Man’s stomach growl with a loud rumbling sound, Shu Yuan pushed the big bowl of noodles in front of him with a smile on her face. “Xiao Man, are you hungry? Go ahead and eat.”

Xiao Man’s little face flushed as he listened to his stomach grumble. He picked up his chopsticks and stared at the snow-white poached egg in the bowl, quietly swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

In his memory, he had never eaten an egg before. What did it taste like? It must be delicious. Otherwise, why would the old woman from the Zhang family guard the chicken coop like a thief, afraid he’d secretly pick up and eat the eggs inside?

Xiao Man picked up the egg and gave it to Shu Yuan, speaking in a tone like he was offering a precious treasure. “Mom, you eat it.”

Back at the Zhangs and in the foster families, he never had a share of the good food. He had long grown used to it and felt he didn’t deserve to eat well. Besides, he wanted to give the egg to his mom.

Shu Yuan was very surprised. Xiao Man’s bowl was empty, while her noodles had two eggs sitting on top.

Xiao Man didn’t like eggs? Impossible. A child raised like a pig or a dog wouldn’t have the luxury to be picky about food.

So it was this five-year-old child who gave the eggs to her?

Shu Yuan felt a complicated mix of emotions.

She picked up the eggs and placed them back into Xiao Man’s bowl, speaking gently. “Xiao Man, eat up. Children need to get proper nutrition. When we return to the city, Mom will earn money to buy eggs for you.”

Xiao Man was picking at his noodles with his chopsticks when his throat suddenly tightened. A sour feeling rushed to his nose. Mom said she would earn money to buy eggs for him.

No one had ever spoken to him so gently before, and no one had ever given him anything delicious.

The child’s emotions were surging inside, but he did his best to hide it. He didn’t want Shu Yuan to notice how he felt.

He ate the noodles in big mouthfuls. The handmade noodles made from pure wheat flour were incredibly delicious, with a strong wheat fragrance. They were chewy, springy, and smooth, not at all rough on the throat.

The boiled poached egg was also tasty—plump and white, with tender egg whites and a rich, fragrant yolk.

This was the most delicious food Xiao Man had ever eaten, and he was eating it with his mother.

Shu Yuan wanted to chat and bridge the distance between them, so she asked casually, as if by accident, “What did you used to eat, Xiao Man?”

Xiao Man swallowed a big mouthful of noodles and answered calmly, “Cornbread, tofu dregs, bean cakes, sorghum rice, elm leaves, sweet stalks…”

He didn’t think there was anything wrong with eating those things.

Shu Yuan suddenly felt that this topic was unbearably heavy.

It was truly no small miracle that this child had managed to grow up like this.

She clenched her back teeth and asked, “Then what does that old Zhang usually eat?”

Xiao Man glanced at Shu Yuan and said, “He likes drinking. Eats peanuts, scrambled eggs, and pig head meat.”

He really ate quite well. And yet he couldn’t give a child some proper human food? This Zhang Laocai was vile. He must be brought to justice. Ideally, he’d end up in prison chewing on cornbread and eating iron-hard peanuts.

“Zhang Laocai liked to hit people, didn’t he?” Shu Yuan asked in a relaxed tone.

Xiao Man looked at Shu Yuan again. He didn’t want to say that Zhang Laocai would beat people after drinking, and he didn’t want to say that every time he was beaten, he would think of his mother and wish she would appear out of nowhere and take him away.

Seeing that the child didn’t want to talk, Shu Yuan gently patted his soft, yellowed hair and said, “Let’s eat first. The noodles will get soggy if we wait too long.”

The mother and son finished every last bit of their noodles, not even leaving any broth behind. The meal was delicious, and both of them ate until they were full.

While the two of them were happily enjoying the fragrant noodles, the two human traffickers and Zhang Laocai next door could only sit and drink the northwest wind. Smelling the aroma wafting in from the doorway, Zhang Laocai pulled a long face and smacked his lips, eager to hurry home and eat his pig head meat.

The moment he saw Shu Yuan, Zhang Laocai began spewing nonsense. “Comrades from public security, don’t believe a word this woman says. She abandoned Xiao Man long ago. He’s been raised in our home, or he would’ve died already. Now that she sees we’ve raised him well, she shamelessly shows up to take him back. She’s definitely planning to sell him. Those traffickers were brought here by her. Why are you investigating an honest man like me? You should be investigating her!”

Xiao Man: He didn’t believe it at all. His mother would never sell him.

Seeing that everyone present, including the public security officers, was listening to him, Zhang Laocai became convinced that he had fooled them all. His eyes darted around wildly, fixating on Shu Yuan with growing arrogance. Becoming increasingly smug, he began spouting filth nonstop. “This woman has a slutty look about her, fooling around with men in the countryside. Who knows which bastard she slept with to have that illegitimate brat. The kid doesn’t even have a father. Maybe she slept with so many men she doesn’t even know who the father is. Serves her right. The kid’s a fool too, thick-headed and dumb as a block of wood. Crooked mouth, slanted eyes, and a lame leg to top it all…”

Shu Yuan saw, under the glaring sunlight streaming in from outside the door, the disgusting spit flying from his filthy mouth. She wasn’t enraged, nor angry. She simply held Xiao Man’s hand and lowered her head to look at him. The child looked back up at her, and she couldn’t tell whether he understood the meaning of those vulgar insults.

She had to make Zhang Laocai shut that foul mouth of his as soon as possible. And the best way to do that, of course, was—

She stepped forward, raised her arm, and gave the scumbag a resounding slap. With a loud smack, the force was so great that Zhang Laocai’s large head swung to the side, his facial features nearly coming apart, and every vulgar word was sealed back in his throat.

One slap wasn’t enough, of course. A symmetrical one from the other side followed—left, then right. After eight heavy slaps, Zhang Laocai was seeing stars, his head spinning, ears ringing, and the world before him went black. He couldn’t even tell north from south anymore.

The room was utterly silent, with only the thunderous smack smack sounds echoing through the air.

The two traffickers were completely stunned. They had never seen a woman who could hit like that. If it weren’t for her, they would’ve already reached the edge of the cliff and escaped down the rope they had prepared in advance to flee from public security’s pursuit.

Standing near the doorway, Xiao Man had his mouth half open in astonishment. He hadn’t expected the same gentle mother who treated him so kindly to be like this. He felt completely protected by her, an overwhelming sense of security flooding him.

Shu Yuan rubbed her wrist and stepped back to Xiao Man’s side, speaking to him softly. “Don’t be afraid, Xiao Man. Human traffickers deserve to be beaten.”

She didn’t want to seem violent in front of her child. She wanted to be a gentle mother. But there was no point reasoning with traffickers. She had no other choice.

Xiao Man clutched the hem of Shu Yuan’s clothes, his voice sweet and clear. “I’m not afraid. Mom is amazing.”

Zhang Laocai was dazed from the heavy slaps. Fear surged up inside him, and he no longer dared to spout a single word.

The public security officers had no intention of stopping her. In fact, they felt those slaps were thoroughly satisfying. However, since their investigation wasn’t yet complete, they were a bit worried that Shu Yuan might end up slapping Zhang Laocai into a stupor, so they were just about to intervene when Shu Yuan spoke first. “Director Xu, Zhang Laocai is also a human trafficker. Those five spacious tile-roofed houses of his weren’t built with inherited money. They were built with money he made from buying and selling children.”

There was a flame of anger in her eyes. “Zhang Laocai, trading children makes fast money, doesn’t it? Now you’re going to face retribution.”

Xiao Man spoke out in a loud, clear voice. “Uncle Public Security Officer, I can testify. Zhang Laocai is a trafficker. Die Lai from the Xiaohe Production Team was sold by him to Liu Erleng’s family, and Gou Sheng from the Shimo Production Team too—he sold him as well. Sometimes when he went out of town, it was to search for children.”

Shu Yuan held Xiao Man’s little hand, feeling proud of the sharp-tongued child who was supplementing the evidence.

Panic surged in Zhang Laocai’s heart. It was as if a funeral bell had struck deep within him. No one had ever suspected him before. No one had ever leaked the slightest bit of information. How did they know all this? This mother and son were clearly his nemesis. He must have been cursed for eight lifetimes.

Xu Dashu efficiently slapped a pair of handcuffs onto Zhang Laocai and barked out sternly, “Zhang Laocai, stop trying to stir up trouble. We already have leads on your involvement in human trafficking. Come clean now, and you’ll be treated with leniency if you confess truthfully.”

Zhang Laocai stared blankly at the silver handcuffs on his wrists. How had things spiraled this far out of control? Originally, he was supposed to get rid of Xiao Man today and bring in another smart boy to the household.

Reinforcements from the county had already arrived, so the issue of manpower was no longer a concern. The public security officers decided to interrogate the two traffickers and Zhang Laocai separately. They would also send people to bring over Die Lai, Gou Sheng, and their families, along with Lin Dahu, the man who had sold Xiao Man.

Shu Yuan bent down and picked Xiao Man up, asking him softly, “Do you still remember Lin Dahu?”

Xiao Man nodded. “I remember.”

Shu Yuan had mixed feelings about Xiao Man’s foster family. Wang Chunhua, who had raised him, had taken money to care for someone else’s child. But she had given it her all, raising Xiao Man with her sincere love and strong sense of responsibility. Otherwise, a young child like him could have easily suffered misfortune. It had taken great effort on her part to raise Xiao Man to this age.

While she had been alive, she had protected Xiao Man. But after her death, her eldest son, Lin Dahu, immediately sold Xiao Man to Zhang Laocai.

There had been nothing wrong with the original host choosing that foster family for Xiao Man. Wang Chunhua had been a good person. The real culprit was her lazy, idle, and gluttonous son, Lin Dahu.

After thinking it over for a moment, Shu Yuan quickly walked into the courtyard and caught up with the public security officers who were preparing to leave. She said, “Bring Lin Dahu’s younger sister, Lin Xiaoya, as well. She’s involved in all of this too.”

Good. It was best to settle all the grievances with these two families once and for all. After that, neither she nor Xiao Man would ever need to return to Baihua County.

The public security officers split up to handle their tasks, and for now, there was nothing for the mother and son to do. Seeing that it was only two in the afternoon and still early enough, Shu Yuan thought they had time to visit the county hospital to have Xiao Man’s leg checked. She asked the officers if there was a bicycle she could borrow.

Given the significant contribution made by the mother and son, the officers offered preferential treatment. They asked a commune cadre to take them to the hospital. The commune arranged for a tractor, and in less than fifteen minutes, the mother and son were seated in the rumbling, smoke-spewing trailer, heading toward the county town.

Leaving behind the noisy, chaotic environment of the substation, the chilly wind blowing against them actually felt quite pleasant.

It had been a day of running around, and the trailer at the back of the tractor jolted so violently it felt as though it could shake a person’s bones apart. But at last, Shu Yuan’s mind began to relax.

She held Xiao Man on her lap, shielding him from the cold wind and the constant jostling.

Xiao Man was a handsome child, with large, dark eyes full of spirit, a straight nose, and lips pressed into a firm line. He didn’t look much like Shu Yuan, so he probably took after his father, who had been a doctor.

His father was now working in the northwest. He knew of Xiao Man’s existence, but not about his situation, and he didn’t even know that Xiao Man was his own son.

Shu Yuan closed her eyes. The image of Chen Zai in her memory was already very faint. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t recall his face clearly. Still, judging by Xiao Man’s features, Chen Zai was likely quite good-looking.