Chapter 308 - Chapter 308: The Misery of Being a Woman
Chapter 308: The Misery of Being a Woman
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At this moment, Zhou Jia walked out with his men. Bodyguard Chen dragged the old woman forward and said, “Sir, I’ve captured her.”
Zhou Jia looked at the old woman with Bodyguard Chen and scolded, “You look loyal and honest, but you’re doing evil things behind my back. Bring her back to the government office.”
When the children saw the old woman in Bodyguard Chen’s grip standing there in fear, they did not even have the courage to walk past her. Ruyi comforted them. “Don’t be afraid. Get in the car.”
“Little girl, don’t be afraid. Uncle will hold on tightly.” Seeing this, Bodyguard Chen grabbed the old woman and retreated to the side. A bold little girl carefully walked over before the other little girls followed her into the carriage.
After the children got into the car, Zhou Jia said to Old Lin, who was following behind, “Old man, tell Boss Lin that this garden has to be sealed for a few days. It can only be unsealed after our investigation. Remember to let her go to the government office to settle the procedures.”
Old Lin bowed and said, “Yes, sir. I understand.”
Zhou Jia left a constable guarding the entrance of the theater before leading the rescued young ladies and subordinates toward the government office.
The people around the theater looked curiously at the dirty and smelly little girls. After Zhou Jia left with his people, the surrounding people surrounded Old Lin and asked for information curiously. Old Lin gestured nimbly and told them that the owner of the theater was a human trafficker.
Zhou Jia brought his men back to the government office. Wu Tingxian looked at the young ladies who got out of the car and asked curiously, “Sir, didn’t you go to search the theater? Where did these children come from?”
“I found them from inside…” Zhou Jia told him the situation and said, “Get someone to register the addresses of these children and send them back.”
Wu Tingxian looked at the young ladies and was worried. He thought to himself, It’s easy if they’re boys, but it’s troublesome if it’s all girls! He pulled Zhou Jia to the side and whispered, “Sir, these are all girls. What if we encounter a pedantic family that refuses to take the child back?”
Zhou Jia thought for a while and pointed at the box to discuss with Wu
Tingxian. “Senior Wu, there’s silver in the box that we found in the theater. It looks like it’s quite a lot. Look! Why don’t we arrange for someone to send the children back first? My heart really aches for the children’s families. They’re naturally happy to have their children back. If a pedantic family doesn’t want to keep the child, she’ll probably lose her life. Since we saved these children, we can’t just watch them die. We’ll bring them back and give them some silver to those kind families who have no children.”
Wu Tingxian thought for a moment. “Sir, your idea is not bad. They were kidnapped by the people in the theater. It’s just right to use the money we obtained from the confiscation to supplement those children.”
Zhou Jia smiled and cupped his hands at Wu Tingxian. “Lord Wu, arrange for people. I’ll interrogate that old woman.” He then said to Ruyi and Mr. Qian, who were waiting at the side, “Ruyi, go to the shop and buy some clothes for these children. Mr. Qian, bring these children to the back office and get Old Madam
Liu to bring them to wash up and make some food for them.”
The men answered in unison. “Yes, sir.”
The old woman was brought to the hall to start the interrogation. Zhou Jia shouted, “Who is kneeling in the hall? What’s your relationship with Boss Su of Yunyin Drama Theater?”
As the old woman prostrated on the ground, her body was trembling like a sieve. She said with a trembling voice, “Master, I’m Mu Sanniang. I’m doing odd jobs in Yunyin Drama Theater. Those little girls have nothing to do with me. Boss Su instructed me to do the deed after taking a good look at the girls.”
Zhou Jia asked in a low voice, “Did Boss Su instruct you to do this? Why did a young lady say that she ate the candy you gave her and was locked in a cage when she woke up? What’s going on? Why didn’t you tell me that?”
Mu Sanniang kowtowed and said, “Lord, Boss Su used the excuse of rushing to performances to go to the countryside to find beautiful girls with the mute. When she saw someone she liked, she would ask the mute and me to kidnap her and bring her back to Yunzhou Prefecture. A few days ago, the mute even kidnapped a girl outside the city and accidentally killed her. I heard that the mute threw her to the mountain to feed the wolves.” Mu Sanniang panted and said, “Boss Su also said that these girls were all booked. She originally planned to leave, but she took on another job. She went to the farm outside the city to kidnap an official’s wife. Lord, I’m just an errand woman. Please spare me this time.”
Zhou Jia looked at her. “Do you recognize the person who hired Boss Su?”
Mu Sanniang shook her head and said, “I only found out last night that she was going to kidnap someone. Only Boss Su and the mute have seen that master.”
Zhou Jia looked at Mu Sanniang and was already certain that Wang Zheng had hired Boss Su to kidnap Li Yu. Zhou Jia thought to himself that Old Master Wang had already suffered a stroke and was paralyzed. With Wang Zheng having taken the wrong side, the Wang family had already begun to decline in Yunzhou City. As long as he obtained evidence of Wang Zheng’s crime, he could prevent future troubles. It seemed that he had to return to the manor and let Boss Su confess before he could deal with Wang Zheng.
Zhou Jia said to Secretary Zhao, “Get her to sign her confession. Bring her down and lock her up.”
Wu Tingxian thought about how Liu Yi had helped find the people Zhou Jia had taken in. He thought to himself that Lord Zhou was at ease with Liu Yi.
After Zhou Jia returned to the escort room, he stood up and reported to Zhou Jia, “Sir, can you arrange for Liu Yi to bring two people to send those children back?”
“You and I are on the same page. Liu Yi is mature and down-to-earth. It’s appropriate to get him to send those children back. Divert a sum of money from those stolen silver and reward each family with one tael of silver.” Wu Ting cupped his hands and said, “Yes, sir. I’ll do it now.”
In the back office, Old Madam Liu and Aunt Zhang stood at the door. Looking at the children sitting at the table and wolfing down their bowls, Old Madam Liu sighed and said, “Sister, the people with the most bitter lives in this world are women. When I was ten or so years old, three children in the village were kidnapped by a kidnapper during the New Year. A few days later, the government office caught the kidnapper. The parents of the boy who was sent back burned incense happily and thanked the Buddha. The girl who was sent back was sold to a human broker in a few days.”
Aunt Zhang also sighed and cursed hatefully, “In my opinion, these criminals should be cut into pieces and executed.”
Ruyi walked to the door of the kitchen and saw the two of them sighing in the kitchen. He smiled and said, “Auntie Liu, Auntie Zhang, why are the two of you sighing here?”
The two of them turned around and saw Ruyi. They smiled and said, “Nothing much. I’m just worried about these children.”
Ruyi comforted them. “You don’t have to worry. Master has made the arrangements. Team Leader Liu is already waiting in the outer courtyard with his men. I’ll bring these children out and send them home now.”
When the children heard Ruyi’s words from inside, they poured the remaining noodle soup into their mouths in two or three mouthfuls. They wiped their mouths and ran to the door. They looked at Ruyi with sparkling eyes. “Uncle, are you sending us back now?” “Aye! I’ll send you back now..”