"Daddy, cars are faster than donkeys!"
The next day, Chen Yang embarked on his second bus trip to Qinghe City. The first time he came to Qinghe, it was to find Zhang Weiyang and plan his money-making ventures.
This time, however, he was accompanied by Shen Xue and their little one, on a quest to find news of his other child.
"Yanyan, cars are propelled by machines, of course they're faster than donkeys."
"There are even bigger vehicles in this world. Trains are faster than cars, and there are airplanes that can fly in the sky. Whoosh, those are even faster."
After all, the little one was just a child. Seeing a car for the first time, this novel sight, quickly made her forget her unhappiness from the previous day.
She spent the journey peering out the window with great curiosity at the passing scenery. Seeing the little one return to her usual lively and cute self, Chen Yang's mood also lightened considerably.
Similar to last time, about an hour and a half later, at 12:30, Chen Yang and Shen Xue arrived in Qinghe City.
As they exited the bus station, just as Chen Yang was about to ask for directions, a ragged child holding a broken bowl approached him and Shen Xue.
"Uncle, Auntie, please spare some change. I haven't eaten in three days. Look, my brother is so hungry he can't walk."
"Please, give us some money to eat."
The child begging for money, who appeared to be about five or six years old, Chen Yang hadn't noticed him at first until he came closer.
Only then did Chen Yang notice that one of the child's hands was twisted, as if it had been wrung, into a pretzel shape.
In the direction he pointed, a child, looking about the same age as their own little one, was curled up by the wall of a row of buildings outside the bus station.
The child was too weak to even walk and could only lie by the wall, also holding out a broken bowl to beg for money from passersby.
It was pitiful, so pitiful.
Shen Xue, being a mother herself and having lost her own child, couldn't help but feel for these two unfortunate children. She took out a ten-yuan note from her purse.
"Child, take this and buy something to eat quickly."
The little beggar seemed surprised by Shen Xue's generosity. In those days, ten yuan was a considerable sum.
After a long pause, he hesitantly took the money from Shen Xue's hand and then quickly knelt on the ground, kowtowing.
Chen Yang opened his mouth to say something, but seeing the smile on Shen Xue's face as she looked at the two pitiful children who had run to huddle together by the wall, he couldn't bring himself to speak.
In his past life, due to the information explosion, many people had learned online that those children with crippled legs and broken hands who often begged in crowded places were mostly not born with their disabilities.
Many of these unfortunate children had their hands and feet brutally twisted by damned traffickers and were used as tools to elicit sympathy.
If they didn't get any money, they would be beaten when they returned. Even if they did get some money, it would only be enough for a meal, and they would still be beaten and scolded by the traffickers.
Damned traffickers, they deserve to die!
Thinking of the child's hand twisted into a pretzel shape, which didn't look like a natural deformity at all.
Chen Yang gritted his teeth. He had never imagined that such wicked scoundrels already existed in this era.
By the time he and Shen Xue left the station, the two little beggars were already shakily walking towards an alley behind them.
Clearly, Shen Xue had given them too much, enough for the two little beggars to deal with the traffickers. If he followed now, they might be able to find the traffickers who were harming them.
But the moment he was about to follow, Chen Yang hesitated.
He wasn't alone; he had his wife and child with him!
He hadn't even found his own other child yet!
If he followed now, how many traffickers were there, and could he defeat them? What would happen to Shen Xue and their daughter if something happened to him?
In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
At this moment, Chen Yang had to admit one thing.
Even after being reborn, he was still just an ordinary person, more ordinary than anyone could imagine.
Most people's hearts are filled with justice and courage.
However, they also have their own families, their own responsibilities and burdens. It's not that they don't want to act heroically, but they truly cannot afford the consequences of failure.
But if he didn't follow now, what awaited these two pitiful little beggars might be endless persecution by the traffickers.
When they grew older and lost the advantage of their young age, which easily garnered sympathy, those damned traffickers might even cruelly kill them.
Facing brutal traffickers, these children, already tortured into disabilities, had no ability to resist!
At this moment, Chen Yang's heart was filled with immense turmoil.
To save, or not to save?
Watching the two little beggars almost disappear from his sight, Chen Yang ultimately couldn't bear to watch the two pitiful children continue to suffer at the hands of the traffickers.
"You and Yanyan wait inside the station for me. Don't come out until I return. Remember that."
Chen Yang placed the bundle containing the money into Shen Xue's hands. Gritting his teeth, he secretly followed in the direction the two little beggars had gone.
If he walked away today, his conscience would likely never be at peace.
Shen Xue had no idea what had happened, but from Chen Yang's eyes, she sensed something unusual.
She was extremely anxious, worried that Chen Yang was in danger.
However, she had their daughter with her, and with Chen Yang's instructions, she dared not follow.
Time ticked by, and Chen Yang followed the two little beggars into the alley, with no sound coming out.
Shen Xue's heart was nearly in her mouth.
Her child was not yet found, and if Chen Yang also met with misfortune, how could she go on living?
Just as Shen Xue was breaking into a sweat from worry, Chen Yang had followed the two little beggars to a secluded small courtyard at the deepest part of the alley.
Chen Yang saw that the two little beggars, who had looked happy before, lost their smiles as they reached the courtyard entrance, their faces filled with fear instead.
Trembling, he pushed the door open, and Chen Yang's pupils constricted sharply.
In the small courtyard, over a dozen children were confined in cages, like dogs, within the yard.
"Slap!"
The two little beggars were dragged inside, and the gate slammed shut. Chen Yang heard a duck-like voice bark out.
"You two sons of bitches, you were only allowed out for an hour. Who told you to come back?"
"Big dog, do you believe I'll break your sister's hand today!"
"And you, winter melon head, I'll find a buyer for your sister tomorrow."
"Listen up, all of you. Anyone who disobeys and goes out, look at Niu Wa. I fed him like trash just to show you little brats the consequences of disobedience and escape."
"I broke Niu Wa's hands and feet one by one, and I burned his eyes out one by one with fire. Anyone who disobeys will be the next Niu Wa."
As soon as the duck-like voice finished, Chen Yang heard the sounds of thudding and the cracking of sticks hitting people.
"Don't hit anymore, don't hit anymore! I got ten yuan, and I ran back because I was afraid of being robbed."
The courtyard was filled with the painful cries of the little beggar. Hearing his pleas, Chen Yang felt a surge of rage about to explode within him.
Indeed, behind the little beggars were the damned traffickers!