The beloved but ungrateful girl is reborn: This time she has truly changed.

As Qi Weiwei watched the scenery rushing past the window, a sense of hope welled up in her heart.

almost.

We are getting closer and closer to the truth, and to our daughters.

This time, she was determined to find them.

for sure!

……

"Weiwei, wake up!"

After an unknown amount of time, Qi Weiwei was gently woken up by Ling Heping.

His voice was soft, but carried an undeniable sense of urgency.

Qi Weiwei jolted awake and suddenly opened her eyes.

She then realized that she had fallen asleep in the passenger seat of the jeep without her noticing.

The car had stopped, and the sky outside was bright. The morning light shone through the dusty car windows, casting dappled shadows inside the car.

She rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her head.

He was covered with a military overcoat, which belonged to Ling Heping and had a faint smell of tobacco and soap.

"arrive."

Ling Heping said that he had already gotten off the car and was standing outside the door.

Qi Weiwei lifted her coat and opened the car door.

The cold morning wind immediately rushed in, making her shiver.

She then realized that the jeep was parked in a fairly large yard.

The courtyard is square, paved with blue bricks, with a cement flagpole in the middle. The flagpole stands bare, and the small pulley at the top sways gently in the wind.

The surrounding area consisted of a row of red brick bungalows with dark green doors and windows. Some of the windowpanes were broken and covered with old newspapers.

Several bicycles were parked in the yard, and some miscellaneous items were piled up in the corner.

Judging from its appearance, it should be a unit of the commune—perhaps the armed forces department, or perhaps a militia training point.

Ling Heping walked over and draped the military overcoat over her shoulders: "Wear this, it's cold in the morning."

Qi Weiwei nodded and wrapped her coat tighter around herself.

The coat is thick and warm.

Ling Heping led her toward the row of bungalows.

His steps were quick, but steady.

Qi Weiwei quickly walked a few steps to catch up.

The westernmost room in the bungalow has a dark green door, and most of the paint has peeled off.

Ling Heping pushed open the door, and a smell mixed with dust and mildew hit him.

There were no windows in the room, only a door letting in light.

A high-wattage incandescent bulb, about two hundred watts, hung from the ceiling, emitting a blinding white light that illuminated the entire room as if it were daytime.

A worn-out wooden table and two chairs.

The table was empty except for a stack of documents and a pen.

There was a person handcuffed to the chair behind the table.

The handcuffs were made of iron and gleamed coldly under the light.

One end was handcuffed to the armrest of the chair, and the other end was handcuffed to the person's wrist.

It was an old lady.

Her gray hair was tied up in a bun at the back of her head and secured with a black hairpin.

A round face and a slightly chubby figure—in this era of widespread food and clothing shortages, slightly chubby people are truly rare.

She was wearing a dark blue cotton-padded jacket, made of good quality material, which looked somewhat new, with the cuffs worn shiny.

At that moment, she was facing the doorway, her face filled with terror and pleading.

The 200-watt incandescent light shone directly on her face, so bright that she couldn't open her eyes and could only squint, tears streaming down her face.

The moment the door opened, the old woman, as if grasping at a straw, wailed at Ling Heping who had just entered:

"Boss! You're the boss, right? I was just helping out with a small favor to earn a little extra money! Su Cuilan is ruining me! I only shortchanged her by twenty yuan, and she's doing me this wrong!"

Her voice was shrill and sharp, tinged with sobs, echoing in the empty room.

Ling Heping didn't speak, he just stared at her coldly.

He usually had a gentle and smiling demeanor, but at this moment he seemed like a different person—his brows were slightly furrowed, his eyes were sharp, and a sense of oppression almost burst forth from between his brows.

He just stood there, doing nothing, and the old lady instinctively trembled and lowered her voice.

"If we don't have solid evidence against you," Ling Heping finally spoke, his voice low but each word like shards of ice, "we won't arrest you."

He walked to the table, picked up the stack of documents, and casually flipped through them: "Tell me, how many children have you trafficked over the years?"

The old woman's face was deathly pale, her lips trembling: "Boss, I... I was just helping out... to earn a little extra money..."

"An introduction?" Ling Heping sneered, throwing the documents in his hand onto the table with a loud "thud." "Stealing a child from their biological parents and selling them to strangers—that's what you call an 'introduction'?"

The old woman shrank back in fright, her face contorted with fear: "Could you...could you turn off the light? I'm going to go blind! Boss, I'm old, my eyes can't take it..."

Ling Heping ignored her and instead pulled out another chair for Qi Weiwei to sit down.

He leaned against the table, arms crossed, looking down at the old lady.

"Your youngest son," he suddenly said, his voice calm, "is a commune cadre, isn't he? I've checked."

The old lady suddenly raised her head, her eyes wide open.

"Your matter could be a big deal or a small deal."

Ling Heping continued, his tone unhurried, but every word struck the old woman's heart like a hammer blow.

"If you don't cooperate and don't tell the truth, we'll have no choice but to send an official letter to the commune, and have the commune secretary accompany your youngest son to persuade you to tell the truth."

He paused, then added, "Your youngest son just got his permanent position this year, right? What if he gets implicated because of you and loses his job, or even..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

The old lady's face turned deathly pale in an instant, and even her lips lost all color.

She began to tremble, and the handcuffs rattled on the armrests of the chair.

"No...no, no, no!" she almost screamed. "Boss, I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Whatever you want to ask, I'll tell you!"

Ling Heping glanced at Qi Weiwei, gesturing for her to ask.

Qi Weiwei took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

She looked at the old woman, her voice trembling with hatred: "Tell me, how many children have you sold?"

The old woman swallowed hard, her eyes darting around, and then she started to play dumb again: "I...I'm old, my memory isn't good...there are some things I can't remember..."

"Then let's talk about the last five years!" Ling Heping said sternly.

The old woman shrank back after being yelled at, but the cunning in her eyes didn't diminish:

"Boss, please let me finish what I have to say."

I have a bad memory, so... so I wrote everything down in a little notebook.

Every time a "matchmaking" was successful, I would make a note in my notebook: the time, the man and woman, where the sale took place, how much money I received...

As she spoke, she secretly observed Ling Heping and Qi Weiwei's expressions: "I hid the little notebook. If you want to see it, I'll go get it, okay?"

Ling Heping: "..."

He stared silently at the old woman, his eyes sharp as knives, as if trying to pierce through her lies.

The old woman felt uneasy under his gaze, but she still forced herself to continue, "If you agree, then untie me. I'll go home and get it, I promise I'll bring it back obediently."