The outside of the waste recycling station was piled high with neatly sorted recyclables.

Inside, there was a makeshift shanty dwelling, four rooms in total, with a stove built outside and a gas cooker for cooking. At this moment, a woman in her forties or fifties was standing there, stir-frying dishes.

It was clear that she had good skills, tossing the food expertly. It was also clear that she was in a good mood, even humming local folk songs.

The hunchbacked old man squatted on the doorstep,

biting a cigarette in his mouth, puffing away until it was almost burned down to the filter before reluctantly letting it go.

At his feet,

was a pile of cigarette butts.

"That singing is irritating,"

the hunchbacked old man grumbled.

"It's not like I'm singing for you. What's irritating you?"

The woman wriggled her waist.

She wasn't much to look at, and she was old, but there was a natural sexiness about her.

"Business is bad. How can you still sing?"

The hunchbacked old man asked curiously.

"We've collected so much this time. If we can't sell it, we'll lose money."

"So what if we lose money? Haven't you earned enough these years?" The woman glanced at the hunchbacked old man with disdain. "Your eldest, second, and third sons have all gotten wives, and new houses have been built in the village.

You've made your money back.

If you really can't sell them, you can just take one back yourself and warm your bed, right?"

"Humph, I'd rather have you than those women."

The hunchbacked old man chuckled.

"You old fool, you're blinded by greed.

I was trafficked once when I was seventeen.

You want to traffic me a second time?"

"You sexy old woman, I remember how you cried when you were first trafficked. Now you're so ruthless doing this business."

The hunchbacked old man obviously knew the woman's background and reputation. She was well-known in the area where she was active, called "Matchmaker."

If you can't find a wife, you can find her. She can help you get one.

"So what if I do? People need to eat. Shouldn't I?"

The woman picked up the dish.

"Okay, let's eat when Third Brother gets back. I'll go take some food to the people inside first."

"Hey, there's something I've never understood." The hunchbacked old man grabbed the woman's hand and asked, "It's easy enough to trick young, clueless girls out here, but why did Third Brother insist on snatching a little girl from the city this time?

There are so many cameras in the city. Isn't that too risky? And he specifically wanted a good-looking girl from a good family. Isn't that courting death?"

"Third Brother must have his reasons. Why are you in such a hurry? You, on the other hand, took it upon yourself to find a back-alley way to sell the girl into a club yesterday. Luckily, they didn't take her.

Didn't you see Third Brother's eyes turn red when he came back and found the girl was gone?"

"So what if they turned red?" the hunchbacked old man said sullenly. "That girl is too much trouble. The sooner we get rid of her, the less trouble we'll have. We've been walking by the river for so long. It'd be a shame to get our shoes wet now that we're old!"

"Yesterday, Third Brother..." The woman lowered her voice and whispered to the hunchbacked old man, "He was so anxious, he really wanted to kill someone."

The hunchbacked old man was startled and asked suspiciously,

"Is it that serious? I didn't plan on pocketing the money myself. This..."

"This girl is very important to Third Brother. Just don't have any other ideas. This is the last deal. After this, we're both retiring to enjoy our old age.

I'm warning you,

don't be careful your whole life, only to be caught not by the police, but by your own people. Don't think Third Brother is always smiling and friendly. I've heard that he has a lot of lives on his hands from his earlier years."

The hunchbacked old man nodded, indicating that he understood. He silently took out his cigarette, but his hands trembled so much that he couldn't light it after several tries.

The woman glanced at the hunchbacked old man, who was obviously panicked and afraid.

She rolled her eyes,

picked up the food, and walked into the house.

Inside the house,

there were three people, two adults and one child.

The two adults looked to be around twenty years old.

Their hands and feet were tied, and their mouths were tightly gagged. When they saw someone come in, their eyes were filled with panic and pleading.

The woman "hmph"-ed,

and placed the food in front of them.

She said,

"I'll let you eat later, but don't yell or scream. This is the countryside. No one can hear you even if you scream your throats out!

I've been through this myself.

Women,

it doesn't matter who you spend your life with.

Anyway, what's done is done. You should cooperate, but if you don't, you still have to cooperate. When you get handed over to them, if you listen, you'll suffer less.

Then have a couple of kids for them,

and life will pass like that.

Even if you want to go home and see your family, you can, right?

But don't you dare scream!

Or I'll tear your tongues out!

I know all the tricks you're thinking of!"

Saying that,

the woman removed the strips of cloth from the two women's mouths.

Instead of rushing to eat, the two women cried and begged the woman to let them go.

"You have no sense of propriety. You're already at this point, and you're still crying? If you don't want to eat, then don't eat!"

The woman grabbed their hair and lifted their heads, stuffing the strips of cloth back into their mouths, gagging the two women again.

They won't die of starvation in two days anyway. There's no worry about selling these two women. Third Brother has already gone out to negotiate, and he'll probably deliver them to their buyers this afternoon.

As long as they're thrown into those mountain villages,

it'll be another world.

Even if the police find out and want to rescue them, it'll be difficult.

The woman knew those two villages. Half of the women in the whole village were trafficked in. The entire village, young and old, men and women, were united in their hatred of outsiders. They kept a close eye on these women, making sure no one could escape.

If the human cargo can't get out, then these traffickers are safe.

The woman walked to another corner.

A very delicate little girl was sitting there with her hands tied.

The little girl's eyes were full of confusion and fear.

"Here, have some."

The woman handed her a steamed bun.

Wang Rui took the steamed bun,

even instinctively nodding and saying "Thank you." Then she brought the bun to her mouth, took a bite, and before she could even chew, tears began to well up in her eyes.

The woman looked at the little girl's pitiful appearance.

For some reason, even this hard-hearted woman felt a little soft, but she had long been good at suppressing that feeling.

When she was young, she was trafficked into the mountains. After finally escaping, her family didn't even want her back. They locked her out, ashamed of her!

What others have done to me,

why can't I do to others?

"Be good and eat. Just don't make trouble."

The woman put down two more steamed buns, got up, and walked out.

Inside the house,

only the two adults and the one child were left again.

The two adults continued to sob.

Wang Rui sat there silently,

holding the steamed bun in her hand.

She was very scared, really scared.

She didn't know why she was here. It was like she was having a very long dream.

When the dream woke up,

she was tied up here.

At this moment,

if one looked closely,

one could see a dark mass flashing incessantly in the depths of Wang Rui's eyes,

as if something inside was trying to break out,

but failing time and time again.

This also caused Wang Rui's pupils to turn very dark for a moment before returning to normal.

Corresponding to this,

was the bodhisattva statue placed among the clutter and clothes on the table in the middle of the room, the one with the black dog blood smeared on its base.

The statue was actually trembling slightly,

swaying back and forth,

but the process was so weak,

so weak that it couldn't be detected unless one observed it closely.

Finally,

the statue was about to sway to the edge of the table,

and was about to fall off.

The colors in Wang Rui's eyes began to churn even more violently,

but Wang Rui herself was completely unaware. She took another bite of the steamed bun,

remembering what her father had told her, that when encountering danger and bad people, she must learn to protect herself, that crying alone was useless.

At this time,

only imagining her father

could keep her from completely losing her composure.

It wasn't that Wang Rui had a better mental fortitude than the other two older girls, but because Wang Rui was young, she knew less and thought less. She still believed that her father would soon appear and find her.

In the corner,

Wang Rui's shadow began to sway,

as if someone was imprisoned inside,

struggling to break free.

Finally,

the bodhisattva statue was about to fall,

just a little bit more,

just a little bit more!

At this moment,

the door was pushed open again.

The old driver, who always had a smile on his face and had been drinking and bragging with the old Taoist priest yesterday, walked in.

The old man was still wearing his sunglasses.

After entering, he first looked at the two older women, but said nothing.

Then,

he walked to the corner of the wall and looked at Wang Rui, who was sobbing as she gnawed on the steamed bun.

"That's right, you should eat."

The old man bent down,

and reached out to stroke Wang Rui's head.

He could feel the tremor that Wang Rui was transmitting when his hand was placed on her head.

"Don't be afraid, Grandpa likes well-behaved girls the most. I'll take you to see your mom and dad tonight. Eat your food obediently, don't make trouble, understand?"

Wang Rui nodded silently.

She knew

that she needed to eat, otherwise she would be hungry.

If she was hungry,

she wouldn't have any strength.

When her dad found her, she wouldn't be able to walk.

The old man "eh"-ed softly,

squatted down,

grabbed Wang Rui's face and looked into her eyes.

Just now,

he seemed to have seen a light flash in Wang Rui's eyes.

But after looking closely,

he found nothing.

He must have been seeing things.

Alas,

he was getting old.

It seemed like he really had to retire.

Standing up,

the old driver planned to go out to eat. Buyers had been found for the two older women and they would be sent over this afternoon. He had also contacted a buyer for this little girl and he would personally deliver her there tonight.

They had paid a deposit in advance, specifically requesting this kind of foreign, clean city girl. The price was high. With the deposit and the final payment, he could really retire.

As he walked out, he passed the table and saw that the bodhisattva statue was placed on the edge of the table, looking like it was about to fall off at any moment.

The old man picked up the statue and placed it back in the middle of the table,

then clapped his hands,

pushed open the door,

and walked out.

After the old man left,

a silent roar that ordinary human ears could not capture began to echo in the room.

It was very angry,

very frantic,

just a little bit more,

just a little bit more!!!