Gu Xiaoqing and Fang Shaonan each carried a child on their back. Gu Xiaoqing carried Gu Xiaojie, and Fang Shaonan carried Zhang Zijie. The other children stayed in the house, waiting for them to find people to rescue them.
Their estimation wasn’t wrong at all.
The window burned to such an extent but still didn’t attract any attention.
In the end, the entire window burned into charcoal, leaving a gaping hole there.
Gu Xiaoqing and Fang Shaonan discussed and decided that the two of them should go down the mountain to find people to rescue the children.
With so many children, and all young ones at that, it would be too exhausting for just the two of them to get more than a few down. It would be a waste of time, and it’d be faster to go down and get help instead.
But Gu Xiaojie refused to leave Gu Xiaoqing’s side.
Zhang Zijie wouldn’t leave Gu Xiaojie, so in the end, Gu Xiaoqing and Fang Shaonan each carried one child down the mountain.
After comforting the remaining children, the two of them each carried a child down the mountain.
Stepping out, Gu Xiaoqing’s eyes were a bit dazzled by the sunlight. There was still time; it should be at most around two or three in the afternoon.
Fang Shaonan urged Gu Xiaoqing, "Let’s go quickly, don’t waste time."
The two started heading down the mountain.
The waist-high wild grass, each blade sharp like a knife, cut mercilessly into Gu Xiaoqing’s body. She wasn’t sure how Fang Shaonan was faring, but Gu Xiaoqing was already numb.
A dull pain throbbed at the back of her head, the aftereffects hadn’t disappeared, and she felt dizzy and light-footed. Despite this, Gu Xiaoqing gritted her teeth and persevered, if not for herself, for Gu Xiaojie. She must hold on until rescue came.
This was the lifeblood of her parents’ generation.
The root of suffering for her and her sister in the past life, her brother who held up the family. She absolutely couldn’t let anything happen to Gu Xiaojie again.
Gu Xiaoqing wasn’t traditional or patriarchal, but in the countryside, a boy was the family’s hope.
Gu Xiaoqing knew how important Gu Xiaojie was to their parents.
All the hardships in the past life stemmed from trying to save Gu Xiaojie’s life.
It seemed this was fate.
In the past life, it was for Gu Xiaojie, and in this life, it was the same.
Maybe this was destiny.
Countless golden stars flashed before her eyes. Gu Xiaoqing pinched the tender flesh of her arm, the stabbing pain jolting her to clarity.
Her steps steadied considerably.
"How are you?"
Fang Shaonan’s voice came from ahead, sounding far away as if Gu Xiaoqing struggled to hear him.
She murmured a faint reply, "I’m fine, I can hold on."
She stumbled slightly.
A hand stretched over to support Gu Xiaoqing’s arm. The arm of a boy, not yet strong, but trying its best to help her walk.
The sound of rapid breathing proclaimed the two of them were exhausted.
Stuck here without food or water: it was how the traffickers operated, starving them so they’d have no energy to run.
Now with two children on their backs, Gu Xiaoqing and Fang Shaonan, still kids themselves, were clearly running out of energy.
"We’re almost there; I can see the smoke from the village’s cooking fires. Just hold on!"
Fang Shaonan was faring much better than Gu Xiaoqing, but even a sixteen-year-old boy was struggling. Gu Xiaoqing, heavy as a mountain, pressed onto his arm.
Gu Xiaoqing looked pale, like she was gravely ill.
After being hungry for two days, people lose water and weight. Now, Gu Xiaoqing seemed like she might collapse any minute.
Fang Shaonan was anxious.
He tried to encourage Gu Xiaoqing.
Gu Xiaoqing nodded, forcing each step forward. Her legs felt heavier and heavier, each step as if bearing thousands of pounds, ready to stop at any time.
"I know we’re almost there."
Gu Xiaoqing reassured Fang Shaonan, feeling like a burden herself but needing to instill confidence in him.
When the four weary figures reached the village’s entrance, Fang Shaonan breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, safety.
They thought they’d walked a long time; actually, it was only three miles from the mountain, but it felt like a hundred years to them.
Since it was afternoon, villagers had returned from the fields, everyone cooking at home. It was truly as they suspected.
At the village entrance, men and women carrying hoes were coming back, about to chat among themselves, when they spotted the four children.
Gu Xiaoqing nearly collapsed on the spot.
Just then, a tractor appeared in everyone’s sight, speeding toward Fang Shaonan and Gu Xiaoqing.
Gu Xiaoqing was startled.
A tractor?
It was over; it was the traffickers.
Two men sat in the back of the tractor, wearing straw hats. The driver was clearly the big, burly man Gu Xiaoqing had knocked out.
The three of them saw Gu Xiaoqing and Fang Shaonan.
Their expressions changed, and one man snatched off his straw hat and jumped down, swearing.
"You damn kids, this is getting out of hand. Just because we didn’t buy you a bun, you dare run off with the kids? Look how worried you’ve made your uncles, driving a tractor through several villages."
"I reckon if I don’t beat you, you’ll never learn."
The man rushed at them as he spoke.
In a panic, Gu Xiaoqing hurriedly handed Gu Xiaojie to a villager, shouting, "Help me, we’re not their kids. They’re traffickers."
The villager was startled, automatically holding Gu Xiaojie in his arms, looking confused.
Everyone stopped walking, leaning on their hoes, confused as they watched the three men jump off the tractor, heading toward Gu Xiaoqing and Fang Shaonan.
Fang Shaonan also put down Zhang Zijie, pushing him toward the villager.
"We were really kidnapped by traffickers."
Upon hearing this, disbelief appeared on many faces.
A sixteen-year-old claiming to have been kidnapped, who would believe that?
Kidnapped to be sold to whom?
Gu Xiaoqing was anxious. Without belief, the traffickers would easily capture them back.
Going back would surely mean death.
Desperation was their only option.
The man swiftly reached them and grabbed Gu Xiaoqing’s arm. His hands were like vise grips, the pain in her arm was excruciating.
A slap landed on Gu Xiaoqing’s face, her ears buzzed, and she could hardly hear.
Her mouth was stained with blood.
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Haha, please recommend and favorite. The favorites are really low, and I don’t know if people like it or not, I just want a little comfort. Usually, I wouldn’t ask for this, but if the stats are poor, maybe a thicker skin is necessary.
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