This cry broke the silence and attracted everyone's attention.
Taking a closer look, it was a skinny little girl, about six or seven years old. She was in rags, her whole body was dirty, and she looked like a street child.
The person who cursed was a burly man. He had an ordinary appearance, but his bright bald head reflected the dazzling light in the sun, making him eye-catching.
You actually scolded a child like this?
The onlookers could not stand it.
"You are such a grown man, how can you be so cruel to a child?"
"That's right, how can I be a father like you?"
"..."
Looking at the child again, she was curled up, shivering, and her eyes were full of fear.
so poor……
Liu Quan stared blankly, with tears in his eyes.
Qi Yu observed carefully for a while and whispered to his wife: "This child should not be the bald daughter."
"Why do you say that?" Liu Quan raised his head and asked.
"Look, there is no pity in this bald man's expression, let alone doting. Animals still have the feeling of licking their calves, let alone humans. Isn't it strange that he is so cruel?" Qi Yu
explained.
Liu Quan looked carefully and found that it was indeed the case.
"Look again, the bald man's clothes are very clean, but the child's clothes are ragged. If they are a family, how could there be such a big difference in their clothes? So I highly doubt that he bought this child.
...No! It’s possible that he was trafficked! Look, the child has a hemp rope tied to his feet!”
From ancient times to the present, selling sons and daughters is a common thing. The person being sold is either a slave or a slave, and it is also a legal transaction.
As for girls, if they are lucky, they may become maids or child brides, while if they are unlucky, they may be sold to women's shops and become so-called "skinny horses."
However, this type of transaction is carried out voluntarily between the buyer and the seller. After the two parties have negotiated, they have to go to the Yamen Household Office for registration. The purpose of this is to prevent people from abducting people, especially children.
Human trafficking is a serious crime. Strict laws have been enacted since the Song Dynasty. Human traffickers will be investigated and dealt with severely regardless of the reason, especially cases involving children.
The "Da Ming Code" of later generations even clearly stipulates that if a child is kidnapped and sold into someone else's descendant, he will be sentenced to three years in prison; if a child is kidnapped and sold into slavery, he will be sentenced to hanging! If the method is bad, he can be sentenced to death in Lingchi!
The more Liu Quan listened, the more sad she became, and her eyes filled with tears: "Ms. sir, actually... I had the same experience when I was a child. If my parents hadn't saved me..."
Qi Yu suddenly trembled, and his heart was full of emotions.
Before, although I knew that the lady was a child adopted by the Liu family, I did not expect that it would be like this. It is not difficult to see that the lady has a destiny resonance with this simple child.
"Help me..."
The child didn't know where the courage came from, and she actually called out for help, and her eyes did not stray away, and happened to fall on Qi Yu.
So pitiful, those eyes were full of pleading and helplessness.
Facing this situation, a feeling of compassion emerged in Qi Yu's heart, and at the same time it pricked his conscience. Looking at this ill-fated child, even a stone heart would be melted.
"Ms. sir, let's save her. Didn't you say that a house that has accumulated good deeds will always be happy? Let's do a good deed today!" Liu Quan said softly.
Qi Yu was a little hesitant, but still nodded. It seemed that the mother's compassion became stronger after her pregnancy.
But, how to save it?
It would be better to use some means.
It's best to be like Mr. Yu, who can get things done as soon as he tells the truth and lies!
…
"Eh? Isn't this Xiaotong? Why are you here?"
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Qi Yu walked out calmly, waving his folding fan, and after approaching the child, he touched her forehead, as if he was an elder.
Liu Quan was startled, and then he understood his husband's intention, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
The child blinked and actually nodded in recognition.
The bald man looked shocked. He widened his eyes and looked at Qi Yu in confusion, saying, "Master, I'm afraid you have mistaken the wrong person. This is my biological daughter. Who is Xiaotong?"
Qi Yu, however, took his time and glanced at them calmly a few more times. After confirming that there was no genetic difference in appearance between the two of them, he became even more sure of his guess.
"You are talking nonsense! She is obviously my niece, how can I say she is your daughter?"
"You saw it wrong, you really saw it wrong." The bald man's eyes dodge, with a panic look on his face.
"Absolutely! Either way, let's go to the county government office to check and see what happens!" Qi Yu smiled meaningfully.
As soon as he heard the word county government, the bald man immediately panicked. He didn't answer, picked up the child and made a show of leaving.
Snapped!
Absolutely cold!
Qi Yu slapped the handle of the fan, hitting the bald man's wrist: "Want to leave? Then tell me clearly, where did you snatch this child from? Come on, come on, all the folks, come and take a look.
, someone robbed the child!"
The word 'rob' instantly aroused the anger of onlookers.
Regarding human traffickers, the common people have only one thing in their hearts: I wish I could eat their flesh alive!
So, they all spontaneously gathered around and blocked the bald man in the middle.
The power of the masses is huge!
Facing the people on the third floor and the third floor here, the bald man's aura instantly waned, his expression also changed several times, and finally, he ran away with a whoosh.
You guessed it right, this child was either stolen or robbed, otherwise the bald man would never be so guilty.
Qi Yu was very proud of himself. He tried his best and succeeded!
Even Liu Quan, who was always smart, admired his husband and saved the child in a moment.
Qi Yu untied the hemp rope from the child and said with a smile: "Child, where do you live? I'll take you home!"
As soon as he heard that he was about to be sent away, the child immediately became nervous and hugged Qi Yu's legs tightly.
"Haha, this child seems to be very close to you." Liu Quan smiled at her husband, took out a piece of dried meat for serving from the basket, and said to the child gently: "You are hungry, eat it."
Facing the food, the child's eyes flashed a few times, as if he wanted to eat but did not dare to eat.
Qi Yu encouraged: "Don't be afraid, just eat."
The child felt brave enough, and tentatively stretched out his hand to touch it. After seeing that there was nothing unusual, he took it and started eating it with confidence.
"Eat slowly, don't choke." Liu Quan said with a happy smile.
…
Everyone dispersed, and in the end only Qi Yu, his wife and their children were left.
While the child was eating, Liu Quan hurriedly went to the temple to burn incense, and then prepared to return home directly.
At this moment, the sky suddenly became gloomy, and it seemed like it was going to rain.
Qi Yu looked at the sky and hesitated.
What should I do with the child? Take it with me?
Forget it, just wait until you find out whose family the orphan belongs to and then return it.
On the way back, the child was still taciturn, but no longer as scared as before.
As soon as we arrived home, there was a loud thunder in the sky, and the June rain poured down from the sky like a torrent.
It's time to come back.
Although Mrs. Zhou was a little unhappy about this child, she didn't say anything. A child couldn't eat much, so he just thought it was to do good things for the Qi family.
…
Liu Quan first gave the child a bath, and then went to a neighbor's house to beg for some children's clothing that she couldn't wear, so that she could change into it. She also cut her bangs and put on two braids. She was a pretty and lovely little girl.
It showed up.
Haha, I didn’t expect this little devil to be a beauty.
The more Qi Yu watched it, the more he liked it. He was so happy that he opened his broken gong voice and sang two children's songs to her.
Slowly, the child let down her guard and began to smile. Qi Yu also took the opportunity to ask about her life experience.
She is still young and her speech is not very logical. She speaks one sentence from left to right and it is difficult to connect them together.
Even so, some important news was still understood.
"That night, a group of bad guys dressed in white came to my house and beat my parents to death... Wuwu"
"Later, I was captured by the bad guy without hair, and he said he wanted to sell me..."
"He didn't give me food to eat and even beat me..."
Qi Yu thought about it for a while and understood the general idea. The child should be talking about the Emperor Worshiping Cult taking the opportunity to cause chaos not long ago. It is said that many people have suffered disasters. I think this child's parents are among them.
1. As for the people in white clothes she mentioned, they should be the villains of the Emperor Worship Cult.
These people are really doing evil and have no conscience.
I didn’t understand before that why cultists were punished in all dynasties, but now I can see it with my own eyes!
Obviously, the bald man is a remnant of the Emperor Worship Cult, which also confirms the reason why he is timid today. If a person like him is caught, he will face a severe legal punishment!
Whether it's murder or child abduction, either one is a capital crime!
He certainly ran wisely.
"What's your name?" Liu Quan asked gently.
"My surname is Jiang. I don't have a name. My parents call me Big Girl."
Qi Yu smiled: "Big girl, although the name is easy to pronounce, it sounds a bit tacky. Let me give you a name. I called you Xiaotong before. This name is really good and sounds nice. How about that?
Just call her Xiaotong."
In rural areas, it is very common for scholars to choose names for their children.
"Jiang Xiaotong? What a nice name!" The child was very happy and jumped up and down waving his little hands.
…
In the evening, there was still drizzle in the sky, and night began to fall.
Liu Quan took out an unused door panel from Qi Yu's study and put it together to turn it into a small bed, just right for Xiaotong to sleep there.
Although the bed is simple, the child is very content and his face is full of joy.
At night, Qi Yu saw his wife frowning and asked, "What's wrong?"
Liu Quan hesitated to speak, thought for a while, and finally said: "This child's parents have died, and now she has no relatives. How do you think we should arrange for her?"
In fact, Qi Yu also thought about this matter, it was indeed a difficult problem.
Do you keep it at home?
Thinking of this, Qi Yu's heart skipped a beat inexplicably.