Xia Yuqing rushed to the kindergarten at the first opportunity.
At this moment, her younger sister, Xia Xueqing, was squatting at the kindergarten gate, looking lost and full of despair.
"Sister, do you think Qianqian might have been kidnapped by Duan Kun and his gang again?" she asked anxiously as soon as Xia Yuqing arrived, quickly standing up.
Xia Yuqing had a vague suspicion of this possibility, but she couldn't be certain yet.
Shaking her head, she replied, "We can't be sure yet. I've already contacted Qianqian's homeroom teacher. She'll be here soon."
In reality, she was more panicked than her sister, but for her daughter's safety, she had to force herself to remain calm.
Not long after, Song Qian's homeroom teacher, Sun Juan, also hurried to the school.
Having only recently finished work, her heart skipped a beat when she received Xia Yuqing's call.
If a child were lost, she, as the homeroom teacher, would bear undeniable responsibility. Her professional career would likely be over if the parents pursued the matter.
She arrived at the school with trepidation and saw the anxious parents waiting at the gate.
"Mrs. Qian's mother? Please don't worry too much."
"I've already called a few other parents. They said they saw Qianqian being picked up by her father."
"Boom."
Xia Yuqing's head buzzed, and a deep sense of fear rose within her.
"What is he trying to do? Did he lose so much in gambling that he's now gambling away our daughter?"
Her mind went blank. Song Qiao's recent erratic behavior was clearly part of a larger scheme. Now, it seemed, his target was her daughter, Qianqian. This was the only way he could get more gambling money.
"This scoundrel!"
Xia Yuqing gritted her teeth, cursing him inwardly. Her daughter was her only hope of survival. If anything happened to Qianqian, she would haunt Song Qiao even in death.
Xia Xueqing, hearing the news, immediately erupted, "Song Qiao, you bastard! I knew he wasn't up to anything good these past few days."
The homeroom teacher breathed a sigh of relief. Since the child was picked up by a parent, she was no longer responsible.
Having calmed down, she offered, "The most important thing now is to contact Qianqian's father. I think you should find him as soon as possible..."
Xia Yuqing snapped back to reality, quickly said goodbye to the teacher, and, pulling her sister along, rushed to Song Qiao's tofu shop.
...
Passing by the department store, Song Qiao stopped his bicycle and led his daughter to the tofu shop where he had previously sourced his goods.
"Boss, another two large boards of tofu," Song Qiao called out to the owner as soon as he entered.
"Coming right up, brother," the owner replied, standing up to select the tofu for Song Qiao.
"Brother, which restaurant are you from? Your business must be good, selling two large boards of tofu in just two days."
"I run a stinky tofu shop, so the daily demand is quite high," Song Qiao replied with a chuckle.
"You mean that Xiang Piaopiao Stinky Tofu?" the owner looked up, surprise in his eyes.
Song Qiao was delighted to hear this. It seemed his tofu shop had already gained a reputation, and many people had heard of it. As the saying goes, good wine needs no bush, but for a business, a shop's reputation is its best advertisement!
Upon receiving Song Qiao's affirmative answer, the owner's demeanor changed to one of deep respect. In the past few days, he had heard from fellow vendors that a new stinky tofu shop had opened near the market, and its business was booming, reportedly making two to three thousand yuan in daily turnover. Tofu makers like themselves knew the cost of stinky tofu, and many were envious, wanting to befriend Song Qiao or learn from him to open their own stinky tofu shops in the city. Now, the man himself was standing before him – a golden opportunity.
He quickly used a knife to cut out a large piece of tofu separately and placed it in Song Qiao's bag.
"I never expected you to be the owner of Xiang Piaopiao. Consider this piece of tofu a gift."
"If you need tofu in the future, just give me a call, and I'll deliver it to your door." With that, he handed Song Qiao his business card.
Song Qiao took the card, his heart filled with joy. His biggest worry, the supply of ingredients, was finally solved. From now on, he wouldn't have to make an extra trip to buy tofu, saving a lot of time and effort.
After thanking the owner, he bought two more stuffed dolls for his daughter before returning to his own tofu shop.
...
Just as Song Qiao finished preparing the stinky tofu for his daughter, the sisters Xia Yuqing and Xia Xueqing arrived anxiously.
At that moment, Song Qiao was sitting at the entrance of the shop, carefully feeding his daughter stinky tofu. The little girl was raving about the shop's Orleans-flavored stinky tofu, having eaten several skewers consecutively.
Seeing her daughter safe and sound at the shop, Xia Yuqing first breathed a sigh of relief, but then a surge of anger rose within her.
Xia Xueqing was even more furious. She lunged at Song Qiao.
"Slap."
A loud slap landed on Song Qiao's face.
"Song Qiao, you scoundrel! Why didn't you tell us you were picking up Qianqian?"
"Do you know how worried we were?"
The air suddenly fell silent. Many passersby cast curious glances their way. Some busybodies were already whispering amongst themselves.
"Xiang Piaopiao Stinky Tofu shop might be booming, but their family life doesn't seem harmonious."
"I heard the boss did quite a few things to wrong his wife in the past. I guess she's here to settle the score today."
Song Qian, startled by the scene, trembled and burst into tears.
Xia Yuqing ignored Song Qiao and rushed forward to embrace her daughter. After a quick check, finding her daughter unharmed, she finally relaxed.
"Yuqing, I..."
"Enough," Xia Yuqing interrupted him as Song Qiao was about to explain. Picking up their daughter without a word, he had acted like a complete scoundrel. At this moment, any shred of trust she had begun to develop for Song Qiao vanished without a trace.
Feeling the strange looks from the surrounding people, Xia Yuqing's face flushed. She picked up her daughter, intending to leave. She had always been thin-skinned and couldn't stand being pointed at.
"Sister, we can't leave!"
"If we leave like this, aren't we letting this bastard off easy? He needs to be taught a lesson today."
Xia Xueqing, however, was relentless. Disregarding the stares of onlookers, she continued to vent her anger at Song Qiao.
"Enough. Nothing you say now will matter. Come home with me."
Xia Yuqing's face darkened. She glared at her sister and turned to leave without looking back.
"You, you just wait!"
Seeing her sister's anger, Xia Xueqing dared not stay longer and quickly followed.
"Mom, Dad already told you on the pager."
Qianqian, nestled in her mother's arms, whispered, sobbing softly.
Xia Yuqing froze, suddenly realizing something. She quickly took out her pager from her bag to check.
Indeed, there were three messages from Song Qiao, sent an hour ago.