The three children didn’t leave immediately after taking the pig intestines.

They went to check out the vegetable section to see if there were any fresh corn available.

Fresh corn kernels could be used as bait for fishing.

However, as they walked towards the vegetable section, they saw a familiar figure hunched over, picking up vegetable leaves.

“Big Brother…” Sanbao was the first to spot the figure and instinctively called out to Yibao, “Big Brother, look, it’s the old woman with the meat buns from this morning. She’s not…”

Sanbao didn’t finish his sentence, but he meant to say that she had been taken to the police station earlier, which meant she wasn’t a human trafficker after all.

Yibao followed his gaze and saw the woman.

Erbao, hearing Sanbao, also stopped and looked in that direction.

Even Erbao, who wasn’t very quick-witted, realized that the old woman being a trafficker was a misunderstanding.

He said, “Big Brother, she’s picking up discarded vegetables over there.”

In that era, the vegetable market was state-owned, and the stalls in the market were also state property.

Damaged or rotten vegetables would be discarded in a pile to be dealt with by garbage collectors.

At that time, if someone went to pick up those discarded vegetables, no one would say anything.

Many people did this.

The grandeur and prosperity of the capital were for show, while poverty was widespread among the residents.

The old woman had gone to the police station earlier that day and arrived late to pick through the discarded vegetables.

Normally, she would have arrived earlier and found quite a few.

Although the vegetables were not in good condition, she could still handle them.

Because she had some leftover vegetables from the previous days, she wasn’t in a hurry to pick up more.

She had planned to go sell buns first, but…

Seeing that there was nothing more to pick, the old woman picked up her basket and left.

“Big Brother? Should we follow and see?” Erbao asked.

Yibao agreed without much hesitation, “Yes, let’s go check it out.”

So, the three children followed the old woman.

They followed her for a while and saw her enter an alley.

They weren’t scared; it was broad daylight, and the alley was not a narrow, cramped one but fairly open.

However, the alley seemed like a different world from the compound.

Though it was spacious, it was quite dirty.

There were urine buckets placed in front of some houses, some people were wearing inappropriate nightclothes, and others were chatting with each other.

The three children had never seen such a scene before.

Even when they were little back in their hometown, they had never seen urine buckets placed at the doorsteps.

Even in the county town they moved to later, and even in the city, such things were not common.

Even small towns had standards, so why was it like this here?

Although the alley was not clean, it was quite lively with many people.

“Big Brother, there’s a strange smell here,” Erbao said.

Yibao frowned, “Should we still go on?”

Erbao hesitated, “Maybe we shouldn’t. After all, the old woman isn’t a trafficker anymore.”

Yibao didn’t respond immediately.

Sanbao was also silent.

The reason the three brothers followed was to confirm the identity of the old lady and also to apologize.

They had mistakenly thought she was a child trafficker and had involved the security guard to arrest her.

If everything was cleared up, they needed to apologize to her.

San Bao said, “We should go and check.”

Yi Bao decided to go as well, “Let’s go.”

The three well-dressed boys attracted curious looks as they walked through the alley.

People wondered who these boys were and why they were carrying baskets with what seemed to be a small piece of pig intestines.

“Who are these kids?” someone asked. “They don’t seem to be from around here. In White Sheep Alley, everyone knows each other’s families.”

“These kids must be from the market,” another person said, noticing the baskets.

The three brothers didn’t pay attention to the whispers.

They followed the old lady at a distance.

When she turned into a courtyard, they approached but hesitated to enter.

Just then, an old lady nearby shouted, “Hey, kids, what are you doing here?” She ran over and recognized the boys. “I know you! You’re the ones who had someone arrest Qing Di’s mother-in-law. What are you doing here now?”

This old lady was the one who had informed Liu Qingdi earlier.

Though she often spoke critically of the old lady, she would still help in times of trouble.

Seeing the three boys, she was not going to let it go.

The three brothers were startled to be recognized. They looked at each other and then at the old lady.

“Bro?”

“Bro?”

Er Bao and San Bao looked at Yi Bao.

Before Yi Bao could respond, the old lady shouted towards Liu Qingdi’s house, “Qingdi, come out! The kids who had your mother-in-law taken to the police station are here again!”

The whole White Sheep Alley soon knew about the incident because of the old lady’s shouting.

People gathered around the three brothers.

Hearing the commotion, Liu Qingdi and the old lady came out of the house.

Seeing the boys, the old lady felt nervous, and Liu Qing Di stepped in front of her, “Young friends, what’s going on?”

Although Liu Qingdi didn’t hold a grudge against them, she was still anxious about their visit.

San Bao looked at the crowd and then at Liu Qingdi and the old lady.

Finally, Yi Bao spoke up, “We’re here to apologize. We misunderstood the old lady this morning. We’re sorry.”

Er Bao added, “Sorry, old lady.”

“Sorry, Grandma,” Sanbao said.

Seeing the three children apologize so earnestly left the onlookers in the alley stunned.

Even Liu Qingdi and the old woman were surprised; they had never anticipated such a turn of events.

They thought that once the old woman was released from the police station, the matter would be over.

Usually, when children make mistakes, they wouldn’t apologize so formally, especially since the three children hadn’t actually done anything wrong.

Nonetheless, Liu Qingdi and the old woman felt a great sense of relief.

When Liu Qingdi picked up the old woman from the police station, the news had already spread to much of Baiyang Alley.

Neighbors had been asking about what happened, but Liu Qingdi couldn’t reveal the full story.

She couldn’t say that the old woman was mistakenly thought to be a trafficker and was actually just selling buns.

Revealing this would make it seem as if they were blaming the police for the misunderstanding.

Since Liu Qingdi couldn’t explain, everyone was left to speculate, and the rumors weren’t flattering.

The children’s apology was a welcome resolution for her and the old woman.

Liu Qingdi was very pleased with the children’s behavior.

Smiling warmly, she said, “It’s really not a big deal, and you’ve come to apologize. You’re such good kids. The police have already cleared my mother-in-law’s name. Everything is fine now.”

The old woman, initially frightened by the children, stepped out from behind her daughter-in-law. “Thank you for coming all this way to apologize. I’m fine now.”

She laughed at the mix-up, realizing that the children might not have understood her situation.

“It’s our fault for misunderstanding, so we should apologize,” Yibao said.

“Yes, yes, what my brother said. Our mom taught us that when we make a mistake, we should correct it. If we correct it, we’re still good kids,” Erbao agreed.

Sanbao simply smiled without speaking.

Their sincerity and politeness won the onlookers over, who now thought very highly of the three children.

They were impressed not only by how the children looked but also by the good upbringing they had received.

Yibao then added, “Auntie, we’re a bit thirsty from walking. Could we have some water?”

If it were adults, Liu Qingdi might have hesitated, even after an apology.

However, since these were just children, and they had come all the way to apologize, Liu Qingdi felt a soft spot in her heart.

Plus, she had always wanted children of her own and had a particular fondness for them.

Without hesitation, Liu Qingdi agreed, “Of course, come in. I’ll get you some water.”

“Thank you, Auntie,” the children said.

Seeing the three children enter Liu Qingdi’s house, the onlookers lost interest and began to disperse, thinking there was nothing more to see.

Inside the yard, the three children didn’t enter the house but instead curiously looked around.

Yibao then asked the old woman, “Grandma, do you sell meat buns without tickets?”

The old woman was startled by Yibao’s question.

Her heart raced, and she was momentarily speechless.

She worried, “Oh no, are these children here to cause trouble?”