Xu Shuang had already heard the whole story over dinner. He gently stroked her shoulder. “But the police didn’t find anything either, did they?”
Wang Ying grew even more animated. “The police coming was strange too!”
When she suggested Ma Dalian go to the police station, she only meant to register the case. She hadn’t expected the police to come immediately. After all, in those days, children ran around everywhere in the city. It wasn’t uncommon for kids to wander off on their own. So how was it that as soon as Ma Dalian went, two officers came right away?
Police resources weren’t abundant in those years. A local station might have only four or five officers. People usually turned to their factory units first; very few went straight to the police.
Wang Ying said firmly, “There must be something behind this.”
She explained her reasoning in detail. Some things disguised as food could be drugged. “Medicine can heal, but in the wrong hands, it can also harm. For example, someone could give a child a piece of candy, and who knows what might be in it. I just think Lüdan’s sleepiness wasn’t normal.”
Xu Shuang tightened his arm around her. “Just keep your suspicions to yourself. Don’t go to the police.”
Human traffickers weren’t like ordinary criminals. If they weren’t completely wiped out, even one left outside could retaliate.
Xu Shuang knew that although Wang Ying seemed laid-back, she had unusually firm moral principles when it came to major matters. For example, when the village started an elementary school, she had pushed it forward despite not liking to take the lead.
Later, when they planted medicinal herbs, he had the feeling she did it partly because the school enrollment rate in the village was low. She wanted to improve everyone’s income. By the time they left the brigade, nearly every child in the Seventh Brigade—boys and girls alike—was attending school.
Any family that didn’t send their child to school would be criticized harshly.
Everyone knew the Seventh Brigade was making money from medicinal herbs. School cost only one yuan per child, and paper and pens were used sparingly. If parents still refused to send their children, people would say they were heartless.
In short, Xu Shuang believed that deep down, Wang Ying was a compassionate person. As long as someone’s character was decent and she happened to encounter them, she would help within her ability.
“If you want to pursue this matter,” Xu Shuang said, “then let me handle it. Don’t show yourself.”
Wang Ying lightly slapped him. “You’re overthinking it. I’m not reckless. I’m just discussing it with you because I can’t figure it out.”
“This whole thing is strange. Liu Dama said earlier that children went missing in the county the year before last, and that case was never solved.”
“I’m wondering if the two incidents could be connected.”
Xu Shuang asked quietly, “So you still think someone tried to abduct a child this time?”
Wang Ying hesitated, then nodded. “But I don’t understand why that person gave up in the end.”
Xu Shuang thought for a moment, then said slowly, “You said that after the police came, they asked Lüdan whether he had met anyone, and Lüdan said no. Is it possible that the person wasn’t an adult… but a child?”
Even though she was lying in a warm bed, goosebumps ran up Wang Ying’s arms.
“You mean… one of the kids who was playing with Lüdan?”
Xu Shuang continued, “Think about it—we didn’t consider that possibility either. Lüdan said he was playing the whole time with a few children. Besides the ones from our courtyard, there were Zhuangzhuang and his friends. When kids play together, they don’t ask where each other come from. If one unfamiliar child mixed in, it wouldn’t seem like a big deal. Lüdan wouldn’t think much of it. Kids sharing snacks with each other is normal too. Once Lüdan got sleepy, that child could’ve hidden him. Then, after the adults dispersed and went home, an accomplice could’ve taken him away. Wouldn’t that be completely unnoticed?”
Wang Ying shuddered. “No wonder… no wonder the people searching said a child told them about the haystack. Maybe it was that child!”
She grabbed Xu Shuang’s hand. “Neither you nor I should show ourselves in this matter. Pass a message to Master—ask if he has connections at the police station. Quietly send this information over. The sooner, the better!”
She placed a hand over her stomach. “If this were before, I wouldn’t hesitate to step forward and say something. But now we have a child too… The fact that this group can use children to do such evil things shows how ruthless and without limits they are. Since they didn’t succeed this time, the chances of catching them aren’t high. We can’t take risks! Let Master help pass along the message. We won’t appear.”
What Wang Ying didn’t say aloud was that the fact they had abandoned the attempt was also strange.
The searchers hadn’t found Lüdan yet—so why did they give up?
Was it because they knew someone had reported to the police?
But how would they know that? Did they have an informant at the station? Or some other channel for information?
All of it was unknown—and deeply unsettling.
Xu Shuang nodded. “Don’t worry. Master’s network is wider than you think. I’ll talk to him at work tomorrow. He’ll find a foolproof way.”
Wang Ying exhaled. “I just hope the traffickers are caught soon!”
Otherwise, once their own child was born, she would always live with her heart in her throat.
Late at night, everyone in the courtyard was asleep.
Xu Lei quietly got out of bed. He put on a thick coat, hunched his shoulders, tucked his hands into his sleeves, and slipped on a pair of thick cotton shoes. He looked drowsy, as if he were stepping out to use the toilet.
Once outside, however, his eyes changed. The sleepiness vanished. He glanced around carefully to make sure no one was watching.
Then he moved swiftly through the narrow alleyways. In less than five minutes, he reached a dilapidated house.
He knocked lightly. As if someone had been waiting, the door opened a crack immediately.
Xu Lei slipped inside.
The roof of the broken house let in drafts; no one lived there normally. Inside, three men sat in a circle, pieces of flatbread scattered in the middle.
“Well, well, our Third Brother Xu is here! Eaten yet?”
Xu Lei’s gaze was icy. “You still have the appetite to eat? Explain why today’s target ended up in my courtyard.”
One of them, a man with a scarred face, gave a sheepish grin. “Well… it was just bad luck. A case of friendly fire.”
“Yeah, yeah. Fourth Brother saw a good opportunity and thought he’d grab one. Who knew it would land right at your doorstep? What a coincidence!”
Xu Lei snapped, “I suppose you’d be happy if I got arrested? Were the old rules meaningless? We agreed I’d give you leads before you acted. Even if you were picking targets, it was only supposed to be on trains or in rural areas. And you dare operate in the city? Want to get caught?”
Scarface scratched his nose awkwardly. “It was Fourth Brother being careless… Come on, Fourth Brother, give Third Brother a bow—consider it an apology.”
Xu Lei snorted but said nothing.
Then a small figure stood up. In the dim light, the shadow was much smaller than the others.
It was a child who looked only seven or eight years old!
Yet when he spoke, his voice was mature and steady—he was clearly a dwarf.
“Third Brother, I misjudged today. It won’t happen again.”
Xu Lei barely accepted the apology. Then he urged them, “After today’s incident, it’s not suitable for you to stay. Take the earliest train tomorrow morning and leave.”
Scarface frowned. “Third Brother, what are you saying? You don’t want the leads anymore? You already lined them up, didn’t you? Three in total. We’ve even found buyers.”
Xu Lei sneered. “Yes, I lined them up. And you just had to grab one early. Now look what happened.”
Scarface rubbed his face. “There’s really no way?”
Xu Lei said firmly, “The police came to our courtyard. You think that’s nothing? Leave early. Don’t stay here. This year’s opportunities are ruined. At the latest, come back in the spring the year after next. I’ll give you six leads to make up for it.”
Scarface hesitated. “We don’t have to leave tomorrow morning. We could scout the surrounding communes and brigades…”
“You must leave!” Xu Lei cut him off.
The others stared at him in surprise. Xu Lei’s face was grave.
“It wasn’t just that the police came—they sent two officers. The older one kept asking questions. Even though they didn’t get much, it’s clear they’re already suspicious. Wait and see. After thinking it over tonight, they’ll come back tomorrow to question the child again. Fourth Brother’s disguise is good—but once someone connects the dots, they’ll become twice as cautious. It’s only a matter of time before they trace it back to you.”
Scarface grew tense. “Fourth Brother’s never failed before. It can’t be that serious, right?”
Xu Lei replied coldly, “What about the case from the year before last? It’s still unsolved. I saw it clearly today—the older officer was the same one who handled that investigation. The worst kind is someone who’s worked on both cases. Once he pieces them together, we’ll be in serious trouble.”
Scarface gritted his teeth. “Fine. We’ll pack up and leave in a bit.”
They definitely couldn’t come back to this place anytime soon.
After coordinating with them, Xu Lei quickly left.
The moment he pushed open the courtyard gate, he came face-to-face with Ma Yongjun, the Ma family’s eldest son.
Ma Yongjun: “Damn—”
Seeing it was Xu Lei, he snorted. “I was wondering who it was. Even going to the toilet at night, I run into bad luck!”
Xu Lei: “…Brother Yongjun, you’ve already had your fight. We live in the same courtyard—does it have to be this tense?”
Ma Yongjun spat. “Brother? You think you’re fit to call me that? So what if we beat you? Your kid didn’t act like a human being! Your mom and your wife even laid hands on us. Your whole family is trash!”
Ma Yongjun had a flawed personality and wasn’t very bright. Beating Xu Lei earlier had felt incredibly satisfying. He tended to bully the weak and fear the strong. Now, with no one around and Xu Lei speaking softly, Ma Yongjun’s arrogance shot sky-high. In high spirits, he threw another punch at Xu Lei!
Xu Lei was stunned by the blow.
Ma Yongjun continued to sneer. “See that? If your wife or your mom ever bully us again, I’ll beat you alone!”
After issuing his threat, he jogged off to the toilet, not bothering to look back at Xu Lei, who had been knocked to the ground.
Strictly speaking, Ma Yongjun’s punch wasn’t that powerful. But Xu Lei was as fragile as a paper lantern.
Xu Lei’s fighting ability was truly pitiful. He was weak all over. Forget Ma Yongjun—even one of the young wives in the courtyard could push him over.
After taking that punch, Xu Lei was burning with rage.
Damn it! What a brainless bastard! He shouldn’t have targeted the Ma family’s second branch today—he should’ve taken the entire branch of Ma Yongjun instead!
With a dark expression, Xu Lei returned home. His wife Zhang Yun had also been beaten badly. She lay on the bed, unconsciously groaning in pain.
Xu Lei’s eyes were full of disgust.
If he hadn’t needed to establish a family as cover, he would never have chosen a woman like Zhang Yun!
Self-righteous, aloof, easily deceived by a few sweet words—stupid beyond belief.
Exhausted in body and mind, Xu Lei lay on the bed, calculating.
He couldn’t keep doing this job for much longer. The risk was too high. At first, he hadn’t been a core member of the group—just someone who provided tips in exchange for money. Later, he built connections and became a professional informant.
Their larger network consisted of dozens of people, divided into smaller groups. Some dealt in black-market trading, some ran underground gambling, and others—like him—were traffickers.
They covered for each other. Not just in this county, but in several surrounding counties as well.
Most of them were locals, with families, children, and stable jobs to avoid suspicion. Every two or three years, they would make a move, abducting several children at once. In rural areas, they could grab a few more opportunistically. A child could fetch at least 200 yuan; if the child was good-looking and clever, 300 or 400 yuan wasn’t uncommon. Young women were even more expensive, starting at 300 yuan.
A few operations a year could bring in several hundred yuan.
Xu Lei had already saved around a thousand yuan.
Once he decided to quit, he planned to dump Zhang Yun. Before leaving, he would sell off all the children in this courtyard! With money in hand, he could sneak down south and eventually smuggle himself to Hong Kong.
Once in Hong Kong, what kind of woman couldn’t he find?
With such sweet dreams in mind, Xu Lei fell into a deep sleep…
Xu Shuang told Chen Dong about his suspicions. At first, Chen Dong thought his apprentice had come to scold him for eating meat and drinking again the day before. But after hearing everything, the old man’s face darkened.
He had never married or had children in his life, but he despised traffickers.
Even in the old society, traffickers were beaten to death if caught. And now, in the new society, there were still traffickers? Chen Dong was furious.
“They dared to operate in our courtyard? Hah. They’re asking for death!”
Chen Dong quietly passed word through his contacts. Then, after work, he made a trip to the black market. He returned not long after, looking refreshed.
Wang Ying had just finished work and came to eat. Seeing his expression, she was puzzled. Chen Dong lowered his voice. “I contacted someone. That old fellow isn’t a saint either, but he never touches trafficking. I asked him to keep an eye out.”
Wang Ying laughed softly. “…Master, I didn’t realize you had influence on both sides of the law.”
Chen Dong snorted. “What ‘both sides’? He’s a law-abiding citizen now! Just had a lot of brothers back in the old days. Anyway, he said they’ve probably already run. Once they’ve fled, it’s hard to track them down. The local informant will probably lie low too. We’ll have to wait until they show up again. When they do, he’ll definitely hear about it.”
Wang Ying felt much more at ease. “That’s good.”
Otherwise, she wouldn’t feel safe carrying her child.
She yawned as she spoke. Xu Shuang came over with her meal and said, “Eat first, then I’ll take you home to catch up on sleep.”
The events of the previous night hadn’t ended so simply. In the early hours of the morning, the Ma household had erupted in chaos. Wang Ying, listening closely, realized that little Lüdan had suddenly developed a high fever.
As a doctor, she couldn’t sleep peacefully. She threw on a coat, went over to guide the Ma family in reducing the child’s temperature, and after feeling his condition wasn’t good, she gave him two medicinal ingredients from home. After administering them, she urged the family to take him to the hospital.
By the time everything settled, dawn had broken. She had lost her drowsiness and couldn’t sleep again, so she simply went to work.
Xu Shuang made her a bowl of guo chuliu: white flour mixed with water into a batter, poured along the oiled edge of a hot pan. When it was half set—half pancake, half still batter—he added hot water, making sure to use lard and boiling water. This created a slightly thicker pancake soaked in the hot broth. He cracked an egg into it, sprinkled chopped scallions, and dripped in a few drops of sesame oil. It didn’t look pretty, but it smelled delicious—light yet warming to the stomach.
After eating, Wang Ying went home to catch up on sleep, completely unaware that the police had already come and gone again.
The old policeman had been reminded about the issue of the child today. He went back to question Lüdan again and asked about the addresses of the other children who had been playing together. After comparing the information, he discovered the key point.
Among the children who had been playing together, one was missing!
The old policeman immediately understood. The other side must have had a child within their team—or perhaps that wasn’t a child at all!
He had heard stories from the old society about dwarfs being used to abduct children. Rubbing his face, he began linking this case with the one from two years ago. They had now figured out the method the traffickers used to take children away. But more importantly… the fact that they could so accurately identify targets meant there had to be a local informant! In the previous case, they hadn’t even managed to identify a single unfamiliar face. There was no doubt someone local had been feeding them information.
After repeated comparisons, the old policeman successfully found one overlapping person between the two cases — Xu Lei.
In the abduction case from two years ago, the missing children had all been from families living around the State-Owned Restaurant compound. One of the families was even, like Xu Lei’s, a restaurant worker’s household. In this year’s case, it was even more obvious: the victim’s family reported the crime, and shortly afterward the child was found. In between, only Xu Lei’s family in the courtyard knew that Ma Dalian had gone to report it.
The old policeman wasn’t satisfied with identifying just a single nail in the board. He retrieved old case files and made several phone calls to police stations in nearby counties. In the end, he formed a hypothesis. With a grave expression, he reported his findings upward, submitting them directly to the county’s top official in charge of public security.
“Oh? You’re saying there’s a large criminal organization?”
The official flipped through the report. His expression wasn’t grim—instead, there was an undercurrent of anticipation. The report didn’t just include local cases but also unsolved cases from neighboring counties. When the information was pieced together, it suggested that the group on the other side was not merely a simple band of traffickers, but a large organization.
“Notify all jurisdictions. This time they got away, but the next time this group appears, we must wipe them out in one sweep! And this Xu Lei, suspected to be an informant—keep a close watch on him!”
