So Xiao Wenqiang recounted to them everything she knew about how the original owner, Zhu Qingyan, was sold. Both Xie Yinuo and Mao Genhong listened with righteous indignation, finding it hard to imagine that such a heartless, patriarchal family still existed in a modern civilized society.
“Don’t worry, Sister Qingyan, we will definitely help you and bring these bad people to justice,” Xie Yinuo had automatically upgraded himself to a brother.
Mao Genhong, as an adult, considered things more comprehensively. If what the young girl said was true, then even if she escaped this time, her future days would not be easy. So, he had already silently made plans in his heart, at least to sponsor this girl through high school and university until she graduated and had the ability to earn a living for herself.
Of course, Mao Genhong was not in a hurry to say these words now; everything would be decided after the police investigation.
On the way, the police called back to confirm the girl's safety and informed them that the ambulance had taken the mute old man who was found unconscious by the roadside to the hospital for emergency treatment. They had also dispatched police to pursue Zhang Yi and her car, as Xiao Wenqiang had provided the license plate number.
Finally, the police gave them the location of the town’s police station and instructed them to drive directly there, as they had already contacted the local police to meet them.
Mao Genhong followed the navigation, and this time he smoothly arrived at Shuangling Police Station. This police station was responsible for the two villages of Dongling and Xiling and was the closest police station to their location.
“You must be the ones who reported the case? Come in quickly and sit down!” Officer Wang at the entrance of the police station warmly welcomed them. “Xiao Hu, go and get some glasses of water!”
“Alright!” A beautiful female police officer responded and left, presumably Officer Hu.
After everyone was seated, Officer Wang said with a smile, “Don’t be scared, little girl. We’ll take a statement as per usual. There aren’t many people here, so you can just talk right here.” Officer Hu, standing nearby, also took out a pen and paper to start recording.
Xiao Wenqiang explained the situation to the police again and then added, “Police uncle, I vaguely heard my grandma and mother mention before that I’m not their biological daughter and that I was swapped at birth. I don’t know if this is true.”
“There’s such a thing?” Officer Wang expressed understanding and said he would focus on questioning Zhang Ju about this matter later.
The sound of car brakes echoed from the police station entrance, and soon several other police officers entered, escorting Zhang Ju, Aunt Zhang, and the others. Everyone else was handcuffed, except for Liu Feiyun, who was pregnant and was escorted in by two female officers holding her arms.
Zhang Ju had been shouting things like, “The police are arresting people illegally, they’re killing people, help!” all the way, but when she saw Xiao Wenqiang at the police station, she was stunned. Realizing what had happened, she immediately cursed, “So it was you, you jinx, causing trouble! Tell the police quickly that they’ve made a mistake and let us go!”
Before Xiao Wenqiang could speak, the police officer escorting her pushed her towards the interrogation room, saying, “Whether it’s a mistake or not will become clear after our investigation. Please cooperate with our work now!”
Then, this group of people was sent into the interrogation room in batches, and Officer Wang also went in to join the interrogation. The police station was suddenly left with only Officer Hu accompanying them.
While waiting for the interrogation results, Xiao Wenqiang could no longer suppress her physiological reactions, and her stomach growled. Under everyone's gaze, she bashfully covered her stomach and said with a blush, “I’m sorry, I’m just too hungry.”
It had been several hours since she transmigrated into this body. During this time, she had only drunk some hot water provided by the police station and had not consumed any solid food.
Mao Genhong finally reacted, “Didn’t you have dinner?” Seeing the young girl nod shyly, he cursed himself for his carelessness. It was already past 10 PM, and when he met the girl, he and his nephew had already eaten, so he hadn’t considered that the girl hadn’t eaten anything so late.
“I have some bread in my car. I’ll go get it for you!” With that, Mao Genhong got up to go out.
However, Officer Hu, the beautiful police officer, stopped him and said, “Our duty officers here have instant noodles prepared. These are hot, so how about I make you a bowl?”
Actually, Xiao Wenqiang hadn’t eaten instant noodles for a long time to maintain her figure. Since this was the original owner Zhu Qingyan’s body, and she was still young with no figure concerns, why not indulge her taste buds? So, she nodded vigorously in agreement.
Soon, the steaming instant noodles were ready. Xiao Wenqiang twirled the noodles and began to wolf them down without any regard for her image. There was no helping it; when a person is starving to a certain extent, even an accomplished actress turns into a hungry wolf.
After a whirlwind meal, she drank the last sip of soup from the bowl and let out a satisfied burp. Only then did she feel a little shy. However, no one laughed at her; they all knew that this child had had a very difficult day and only felt pity for her.
Just as Xiao Wenqiang was leaning back in her chair, feeling full and spacing out, she saw Officer Wang emerge from the interrogation room. He said to the beautiful female police officer who had been accompanying them, “Xiao Hu, these people have all confessed. And Zhang Ju has explicitly admitted that she swapped the girl at the hospital back then. Contact the police in Jing’an County and let them know to investigate the hospital.”
Officer Wang gave them a brief overview of the interrogation of Zhang Ju.
“Really? That’s great!” Xiao Wenqiang jumped up happily. “You uncles are amazing!”
Of course, when Officer Wang first questioned Zhang Ju, she denied everything, saying she was just tricking her daughter-in-law and that this girl was their Zhu family’s child. She had only found a good family for her granddaughter, not sold a child.
However, how could a foolish old woman escape the eyes of the police? Criminals could not withstand the professional interrogation of the police, and in the end, Zhang Ju and her group confessed to their crimes one by one.
Xie Yinuo would never have imagined that what started as a simple good deed on the way to choose a factory site with his uncle would ultimately help the police crack a major human trafficking ring and successfully rescue a young girl who might have suffered inhumane treatment.
Every young boy has had days of watching martial arts dramas. Xie Yinuo had also fantasized about being like the heroes in the TV shows, possessing extraordinary skills, roaming the martial world, and upholding justice. The entire incident today had greatly satisfied his sense of justice. He turned to share the joy of doing such a significant good deed for the first time with his uncle, only to find his uncle staring blankly.
“Excuse me, what did you just say? What year, month, and where was this young girl’s mother born?” Mao Genhong asked Officer Wang, who had just finished explaining, with a slightly trembling voice.
“August 1990,” Officer Wang looked down at the notes in his hand. “August 13th, at Jing’an County People’s Hospital. Why, do you know the family whose child was swapped?”
“I don’t know yet… Did they mention the name of the woman whose child was swapped?” Mao Genhong’s expression was a little strange, a mix of anger and confusion.
Officer Wang continued to search. “The specific name doesn’t seem to be mentioned, but I remember she mentioned a surname. Let me look…”
“That aunt’s surname should be Xie. I heard Grandma… no, I heard that person say it once, but I don’t know if it’s the ‘Xie’ in ‘gratitude’,” Xiao Wenqiang replied first, a strange feeling stirring within her.
“Haha, what a coincidence, Uncle! We have the same surname!” Xie Yinuo rubbed the back of his head and laughed a little naively. After a moment, he seemed to snap back to reality. “Oh, this date seems to be the same as Sister Wenjing’s. Could it be…”