CHAPTER 65: CHAPTER 65: MEETING

That’s right. Zhao Dong hadn’t told the children about this when they set out. He had consistently asked Wang Dachui, his partner in selling tofu in the county town, to help him gather information.

Just a few days ago, when Wang Dachui came to pick up tofu, he had relayed the information he’d gathered: the Human Trafficker woman who had bought Zhao Ya was at the Human Trafficking Place on South Street.

He had specifically taken a day off, ostensibly to bring the two children to the county town for an outing, but his actual intention was to let them see their sister.

However, he hadn’t told them. Firstly, he was worried they would dwell on it too much during the journey. Secondly, he was concerned that if they couldn’t find Zhao Ya, the two children would get their hopes up only to be let down.

Seeing the two children staring at him with wide eyes, Zhao Dong finally sighed and said, "I only recently received this information myself, and it’s not certain we’ll find her. She might have already been sold elsewhere. So try not to get anxious. Let’s go and take a look first. Rest assured, we will definitely find Zhao Ya."

The two brothers were stunned for a long time before tears streamed from their eyes, and then they knelt down in the street.

Neither of the brothers was particularly eloquent, nor could they offer any fine-sounding words. They just kept kowtowing, saying they would definitely repay Sun Mei and Zhao Dong with the devotion due to their own parents and cherish Zhao Zhitong like their own sister.

The sight of the two children kneeling in the street truly startled Sun Mei and Zhao Dong. It also drew curious stares from the surrounding passersby.

The couple hurriedly went forward to help the two children up.

Sun Mei said, "What are you two doing? Hurry and get up! You’re scaring your uncle and me. We’re all family; don’t speak so formally anymore."

Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yu continued to kowtow; even their own mother hadn’t treated them as well as Sun Mei and Zhao Dong did.

At this moment, the two children felt a deep, sincere gratitude towards Zhao Dong and Sun Mei from the bottom of their hearts, so each kowtow they performed landed with distinct, heartfelt thuds.

After Sun Mei and Zhao Dong finally managed to pull and help the two of them up, their foreheads were already bruised and even bleeding slightly.

Sun Mei said helplessly, "You two children, why are you so stubborn? To kowtow so forcefully... look at your foreheads, your skin is broken."

Zhao Yu’s eyes were filled with tears, yet he managed a smile. "Auntie, it’s alright, really. It doesn’t hurt at all."

This child, only eight years old, had already learned to read people’s expressions and try his utmost to please them.

Since moving into their home, he had always been this way. Even if he got injured and bled while working, tears streaming down his face from the pain, he would still grin at them and insist it didn’t hurt at all, claiming he simply loved to work.

Seeing the child’s cautious smile, Sun Mei’s eyes reddened. She pulled Zhao Yu into her embrace, wanting to say, Child, you don’t have to be so careful trying to please everyone around you.

But when the words reached her lips, she found she couldn’t voice them.

He’s only like this because he has so little sense of security and is terrified of being abandoned. At this point, more words would be useless.

Zhao Cheng’s personality was more reserved and stoic. He also wasn’t one for sweet talk, nor would he smile and try to curry favor. He only knew to bury himself in his work.

In his mind, as long as he worked diligently and accomplished a lot, his mother would be happy. And if his mother was happy, he and his younger siblings would have enough to eat.

This way of thinking persisted. He believed that if he worked himself to the bone, Sun Mei and Zhao Dong would surely be pleased.

Little did he know that the desperate way he pushed himself each time only made Zhao Dong and Sun Mei’s hearts ache for them.

At this moment, Sun Mei suddenly recalled a saying she had encountered online in her previous life: "Some people are healed by their childhood for a lifetime, while others must spend a lifetime healing from their childhood."

She hoped these two children could be the former, not the latter.

Zhao Zhitong looked at her two older cousins, especially Zhao Yu, who had tears in his eyes but a smile on his lips.

She didn’t quite understand, but she felt an unease in her heart. So, she smiled, trying to distract them, "Big Brother, Xiao Ge, you must never ever hit your heads like that again, okay? Otherwise, you’ll turn into little dunces, the silliest children in our family!"

The child’s sweet, childish voice made Sun Mei laugh. "That’s right, listen to your little sister. Don’t bang your heads like that anymore, or you really will become little dunces."

Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yu both stopped their tears and nodded with smiles.

「...」

The Human Trafficking Place was situated in an alley. They had to ask several passersby before finally finding it.

After they knocked, an older woman emerged. Upon seeing Zhao Dong’s group, she eyed them up and down. Noticing their shabby attire, she immediately knew they weren’t there to buy servants.

That left only one other possibility. So, she stated directly, "Girls are three taels of silver, boys are five taels."

Hearing this, Zhao Dong quickly waved his hands. "No, no, no, you’ve misunderstood. We’re not here to sell children."

"Not here to sell children?" the older woman asked, surprised. She looked them up and down again. "Then what are you here for?"

Zhao Dong smiled. "Actually, we’re looking for someone. Do you have a little girl here named Zhao Ya? She’s eight years old this year and about as tall as this child here."

Saying this, he pulled Zhao Yu forward to show the Human Trafficker woman.

The woman’s expression turned cold. "I have plenty of girls matching that description here. How would I know which one you mean?"

After a moment’s thought, Zhao Dong changed his approach. "In that case, is there an older woman named Jin Hua working here?"

Zhao Yu and Zhao Cheng had obtained this information when they overheard the Zhu Clan woman refer to that Human Trafficker woman as ’Grandma Jin Hua.’ Using this name, Wang Dachui had then managed to locate this place.

Hearing this, the older woman nodded and turned to call out.

Soon, a slightly plump older woman with a mole at the corner of her mouth, dressed in dark green robes, came out. Her features seemed relatively amiable.

This woman looked at Zhao Dong and his group for a few moments, somewhat puzzled. "You’re looking for me?"

By now, Sun Mei had recognized her as the woman who had taken Zhao Ya away that day. She quickly spoke up, "Grandma Jin Hua, do you remember me? About half a month ago, you took a young girl from Zhao Village. We met at the entrance."

Grandma Jin Hua frowned in thought for a moment. Then, her gaze fell upon Zhao Zhitong, who stood at the front, staring at her with big, round eyes. Sudden recognition dawned. "Oh, I remember now! What, have you had a change of heart? Are you here to sell your daughter?"

As she spoke, she reached out to touch Zhao Zhitong’s cheek.

Sun Mei’s heart lurched. She instinctively pulled the three children behind her and said with a forced smile, "No, no, that’s not it. We just wanted to ask... the young girl you took from us that day, is she still here?"

Grandma Jin Hua wasn’t an inherently bad person. Seeing that Sun Mei, though not the child’s biological mother, cared for her even more than one might, she was somewhat moved. So, she nodded. "Yes, she’s still here."

When Sun Mei added that they wished to see the young girl, Grandma Jin Hua nodded again, telling them to wait by the door while she went inside to fetch her.

Zhao Dong, Sun Mei, and the children were extremely grateful.

A short while later, she returned, leading a small, thin young girl dressed in servant’s attire.

Zhao Ya, thinking she was about to be sold again, was terrified, her body trembling uncontrollably.