Chapter 93

Sanshui Alley was located in the southernmost part of Yunshui County. As the old saying goes, ‘The east is rich, the west is noble, the south is poor, and the north is cheap.’

This saying originally came from old Beijing, referring to the layout of the city. Even small towns like Yunshui County were built following this pattern.

Sanshui Alley was filled with low, rundown houses with roofs covered in weeds and moss. The residents were a mix of factory workers from small local factories, like sugar and match factories, as well as peddlers, scrap collectors, rickshaw pullers, and street performers. The area was a hub for all sorts of people.

Xu Xiangqian, holding an umbrella, helped an old lady walk through the winding, narrow alleyways, which grew increasingly desolate as they went further.

Even Xu Xiangqian, a native of the area, got lost in the maze of twists and turns. Xu Xiangqian felt relieved that he had followed Old Gu’s advice and scattered beans along the way instead of using lime powder to mark the path, which would have been washed away by the rain.

The old lady, with her head of white hair, clung tightly to Xu Xiangqian’s hand, her expression kindly as she kept asking him questions.

“Girl, where in Yunshui County is your home? Do you have any siblings?”

“What do your parents do? Won’t they miss you if you don’t go home?”

“Are you engaged?”

“Girl, don’t be shy. Men marry, and women settle down. I have several grandsons, all of them good boys. Would you like me to introduce you to one?”

At the train station earlier, the old lady had been weeping and acting pitiful. But now, in Sanshui Alley, she acted as if she were in her own home, talking rapidly while gripping Xu Xiangqian’s hand with a strength that contradicts her age.

Xu Xiangqian grew suspicious. The old lady seemed well past seventy, and earlier, she had struggled to walk even with a cane, needing to be carried down the steps. But now, her grip was as strong as a young person’s, something an elderly lady should not be capable of. Based on his years of dealing with criminals, he suspected that she was either in disguise or a seasoned martial artist.

He was deep in thought when his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the old lady beside him. She smirked, revealing a strange, inscrutable smile, and pulled out a packet from her bosom, tossing it in his direction.

An alarm rang in Xu Xiangqian’s mind, and he immediately held his breath, but it was too late. A peculiar, sweet scent filled his nostrils. Xu Xiangqian cursed the old woman inwardly, realizing she was shamelessly using underhanded methods. His limbs quickly grew limp, and he collapsed like a ragdoll.

The old woman sneered, whistling as two men emerged from the dark, rain-soaked alley. One was burly with a scarred face, and the other was thin and unremarkable.

The scarred man reached out and pinched Xu Xiangqian’s backside with a greasy hand, clearly satisfied. “Third Aunt, this one’s good today—big butt and round waist, looks perfect for breeding!”

“The buyers below love this kind of merchandise. Damn, it feels great!”

The thin man couldn’t resist and also crouched down, rubbing Xu Xiangqian’s chest.

Xu Xiangqian thought to himself, “Human traffickers, to hell with you!”

Third Aunt, seeing him savoring the moment, had her wrinkled old face twist into a scowl. “Hurry up and drag this one back to the cellar. Don’t waste my time and money, or I’ll skin you alive!”

The thin man reluctantly let go, signaling to the burly man. The two of them dragged Xu Xiangqian back to the cellar like a pig, tied his hands and feet, stuffed a rag in his mouth, and tossed him into a corner. They locked the cellar door, covered it with firewood, and went off whistling, drinking, and eating pig’s head meat.

In the dead of night, Third Aunt and the two traffickers, having drunk two jars of wine and thoroughly intoxicated, were sprawled around the yard, snoring loudly.

Suddenly, a few cuckoo calls came from outside the wall. After two calls of “cuckoo,” the yard fell silent, and the snoring continued unabated.

In the darkness, a few agile figures climbed over the wall, landing softly in the yard. They cautiously inspected the front yard and then searched the back yard, discovering two sets of wet footprints leading to the cellar entrance.

Gu Shi’an gestured to the others. Two young men, armed with weapons, rolled into position at the cellar door.

One of the young men accidentally knocked over a tilted wine jar, which spun around noisily. The snoring Third Aunt’s eyes flew open, and she suddenly leapt up, hanging from the rafters like a bat, her thin, withered arms outstretched, and a murderous aura enveloping her as she lunged at them.

The closest young officer, having just started his job, had never seen such a scene before. As Third Aunt attacked, his blood seemed to freeze, leaving him paralyzed.

“Scarface, the cops are here!”

“Run!”

The drunken Scarface and the thin man, startled awake, tried to escape in the chaos but were caught by the surrounding police officers.

Other officers fired their weapons to rescue the young officer.

“You little punk, next year on this day will be your memorial!”

Third Aunt cackled, flipping her wrist to reveal a glinting knife. Just as she was about to slice the young officer’s neck with the sharp blade, a fierce kick struck her abdomen. She staggered several meters, convulsed, and spat out a mouthful of black blood before collapsing, only hearing a cold voice, “Keep an eye on him, don’t let him die.”

“….”

In the pitch-black, rainy night, the cellar door above was opened.

Xu Xiangqian, lying in the cellar, regained some consciousness. Hearing noises above, he initially thought it was the two greasy hands coming to harass him. He was so furious he planned to bite them if they came in.

To his surprise, when he looked up, he saw a familiar handsome face.

“Woo woo!”

Old Gu, you finally came!

Excited, Xu Xiangqian wiggled like a fish, and a big bun fell from his chest into his waistband, causing the thin man identifying the crime scene to almost drop his eyeballs.

“This is terrible! This woman’s breast fell off!”

“…”

The case of the missing young women who had troubled the people of Yunshui County for days was finally solved.

The county police acted decisively, using the three major suspects they had captured as a starting point. They successfully solved several related missing person cases. Third Aunt had originally come from a bandit lair in the south, which had been wiped out after liberation. She had fled to Yunshui County, networked with a few subordinates, and started secretly trafficking. Over the years, she had kidnapped many girls. After interrogating Scarface and the thin man, the county rescued seven or eight girls who had been kidnapped, and victims from other counties were also saved as the traffickers were arrested.

Xu Xiangqian, having sacrificed himself and disguised as a woman to infiltrate the enemy, earned unanimous praise from the police.

When the old director returned from his recuperation, he patted Xu Xiangqian’s shoulder in front of Father Xu, praising him from head to toe.

“Old Xu, your son is truly exceptional. With his intelligence and bravery, he rescued so many girls and families. He is an exemplary model for all of us in the police department!”

Father Xu, thrilled, almost had his mouth stretched to his ears but still humbly said, “Oh, no, no! Loving one’s work is normal! Serving the people is this kid’s duty! It’s not just thanks to Deputy Director Gu’s good ideas but also the hard work of all the comrades. Without this little brat, nothing would have been accomplished!”

The old director then remembered Gu Shi’an and looked around but couldn’t find him.

“Right, where’s Shi’an?”

“Deputy Director Gu went home to see his wife and son!”

“And where’s Xiangqian? Why isn’t he here either?”

“Brother Xu ran away too!”

Old Director: “……”

*

Last night, the spring rain fell all night long. In the morning, Gu Doudou had eaten his supplementary food and had a messy diaper, so he couldn’t fall back asleep and was fussing to go outside to play.

Lin Yao took her chubby son by the hand and walked a few steps, setting up a bamboo mat and a thin quilt in the room. She placed a small pillow, a small quilt, and the toys Doudou usually plays with—a big fish and a big tiger—on the mat for him to play with.

The family waited until past seven, but Gu Shi’an still hadn’t returned.

Zhang Cuilan sighed. “No more waiting, let’s start cooking.”

If they waited any longer, they would be late for work.

“Daddy!”

Gu Doudou lifted the big tiger he was holding and said in his milky voice.

These days, with his father not at home, the little chubby boy missed him a lot and would mention him several times a day.

“Daddy isn’t back yet, let’s eat first.”

Lin Yao blew on the egg custard she had made and said this, but she turned her head to look outside several times. She missed him too.

After the rain, the sun was shining brightly. Zhang Cuilan made corn porridge and reheated the leftover flatbreads from last night. The family had a bowl with pickled radish and then went about their day—some to work, some to school.

Deputy Director Gu was busy with a case, and with no one to look after the little one at home, Lin Yao took a day off to stay at home.

After the rain, the vegetable garden was damp and had sprouted a lot of tender grass. Lin Yao pulled the weeds and used a hoe to loosen the soil. While she was working, Daju sat by the edge of the garden, occasionally licking its paws or running out to catch bees that were collecting nectar in the garden.

Lin Yao scolded it. “What are you doing? You can’t catch bees! Be careful or you’ll get stung and end up with a swollen mouth.”

Daju meowed as if it understood, and carried its bed to the corridor to lazily bask in the sun.

Lin Yao continued to loosen the soil in the garden. With a swing of the hoe, Deputy Director Gu burst through the door. He hadn’t slept all night, and his narrow eyes were bloodshot with dark circles. Despite his disheveled appearance, he still managed to look attractive. Lin Yao rushed over and tears started to fall.

“You jerk! How come you’re only back now? If you didn’t come back, I would have left you and taken our son with me.”

“Mm, it’s my fault. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

With him apologizing, Lin Yao forgave him generously.

Gu Shi’an washed his hands, hugged the chubby son, and despite his dirty clothes, the little one didn’t mind and happily rode on his father’s shoulders, laughing.

Lin Yao prepared a pot of hot water, put Doudou to sleep, and then sent Gu Shi’an to the bathroom for a shower.

After Gu Shi’an showered, he collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep immediately. He slept until noon. When Lin Yao went in to check if he was awake, he pulled her into his arms.

°.✩┈┈∘*┈˃̶୨୧˂̶┈*∘┈┈✩.°

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