Chapter 54 Encountering Human Traffickers

Leaving the county people's hospital, Tang Jiancheng first went to the county supply and marketing cooperative. He asked the clerk to take out a fishing net for inspection, but feeling the quality was substandard, he turned around and left. Unsurprisingly, curses from the clerk came from behind, but Tang Jiancheng couldn't be bothered and walked toward the river with his head down.

To the south of Shunbei County flowed a wide river called the Wushui River, which was one of the source tributaries of the Pearl River.

The Wushui River was relatively rich in fish and shrimp with a wide variety of species. Many households near the river wove their own fishing nets, so Tang Jiancheng wanted to try his luck and see if any family had a surplus net to sell.

Such handmade fishing nets were definitely sturdier than those mass-produced in factories sold at the supply and marketing cooperative.

Of course, this was just Tang Jiancheng's personal idea.

Half an hour later, Tang Jiancheng arrived at a small village by the river. Just as he was about to go in and make inquiries, he saw a man and a woman, both middle-aged and dressed very plainly, walking out of the village in a hurry.

Both of them looked somewhat flustered. The woman's eyes were darting around, while the man was holding a three- or four-year-old boy, keeping his head down as he walked fast.

The little boy seemed to be asleep, his entire body limp, neither shouting nor crying in the man's arms.

"Hey, folks..."

Tang Jiancheng thought they were villagers from this village and greeted them with a smile, but the two were startled and walked even faster.

"Folks, let me ask..."

Tang Jiancheng called out again and reached out to block their path. The man suddenly glared coldly at Tang Jiancheng. "Get lost! Don't block my fucking way!"

"Third Brother, be polite to people!"

The woman seemed quite composed. She scolded him and then forced a smile at Tang Jiancheng. "Brother, what do you want to ask?"

"I just want to ask, does anyone in this village have a fishing net for sale?"

While asking, Tang Jiancheng was sizing up the two and the child in the man's arms, vaguely feeling that something was amiss. The child didn't look like he was asleep; rather, he looked like he had been knocked unconscious by some drug.

Unable to resist, he asked an extra question, "Is this child yours?"

In an instant, their expressions changed drastically, and the man roared with a grim expression again, "Ask your mother's cunt! Does it have a damn thing to do with you? Get lost!"

The woman's expression also shifted, and she said in a deep voice, "There are people selling fishing nets everywhere in the village, hurry up and go! Third Brother, let's hurry, Xiaoming's illness cannot be delayed any longer!"

With that, the two hurried away.

"Catch the traffickers!"

Feeling that something was deeply wrong, Tang Jiancheng deliberately shouted.

The two were indeed greatly startled, and the man turned back fiercely, his eyes filled with a cold, murderous intent as if he wanted to return and kill Tang Jiancheng, but he was pulled along by the woman and ran forward.

Tang Jiancheng immediately confirmed that these two were human traffickers and shouted even louder, "Come quickly! Catch the traffickers! Catch the traffickers!"

Hearing the shouts, someone in the village quickly ran out.

Villagers working in the fields against the cold wind all raised their heads one after another, then hoisted their hoes and ran toward this side.

"Hurry up and chase! Catch the traffickers! Don't let them escape!"

Seeing the villagers chasing after them, Tang Jiancheng also gave chase to the two traffickers.

Lately, he had been walking long distances every day, so his stamina had improved considerably. Coupled with the fact that he was empty-handed, even though the traffickers had gotten a significant head start, it didn't take long for him to catch up.

"Second Sister, you run with the child first, I'm going to butcher him!"

The man shoved the child into the woman's arms, drew a sharp butcher's knife from his waist, turned around, and charged toward Tang Jiancheng.

"Fuck your mother!"

Seeing this, Tang Jiancheng felt his heart skip a beat with fright and turned to flee.

He was just doing a good deed; there was no need to risk his life for it!

Besides, that wasn't his own child. Raising the alarm and calling for help at the top of his lungs was already doing all he could do; there was no need to let hot-headedness drive him to risk his life against ruthless traffickers.

"Coward!"

The man seemed not to expect that although Tang Jiancheng looked tall and strong, he was such a coward, fleeing in fright the moment he brandished a knife.

The man spat at Tang Jiancheng's retreating back, then turned to chase after his second sister.

Yet the moment he turned around, Tang Jiancheng also turned back around to continue chasing them, shouting as he ran, "Everyone pay attention, the trafficker has a sharp knife in his hand!"

Thwack!

Suddenly, a stone flew out from goodness knows where, striking the hand the man was using to hold the knife. The man let out a miserable scream, and the sharp knife dropped to the ground.

Thwack!

Immediately after, another stone flew out, striking the man's face and knocking him flat onto the ground, where he covered his face and wailed miserably.

Thwack!

Following that, yet another stone shot out, hitting the leg of the woman running in front and causing her to tumble directly to the ground, landing squarely in a puddle of water and soaking her entire body.

The four-year-old child was held tightly in her arms; she seemed to want to use the child as leverage.

Thwack!

However, the very next moment, another stone was fired, hitting her hand with extreme precision and forcing her to let go in a flash of pain, causing the four-year-old child to slip out of her arms.

The child was still unconscious, and at that moment there happened to be a deep puddle on the ground. If he fell right into it, even if he wouldn't choke to death, he would likely suffocate.

Seeing this, Tang Jiancheng rushed over at a sprint.

Just as the child fell into the puddle, Tang Jiancheng scooped him up and carried him far away from the two traffickers.

Only then did Tang Jiancheng spot a young man emerging from the bushes not far away, holding a slingshot. The young man also had quite a few sparrows, turtledoves, and other small birds hanging from his body, clearly an expert at hunting birds on snowy days.

After walking over, the young man glanced at Tang Jiancheng, nodded slightly, and then walked up to the man. He picked up the man's sharp knife and, with a swift slash, drove it straight into the palm the man was using to cover his face, the tip of the blade piercing right through the opposite cheek.

Blood flowed freely!

"Ah!"

The man let out a shrill scream.

Tang Jiancheng's eyelids twitched violently at the sight; this young man was also a ruthless person!

Next, he watched the young man walk up to the woman, grab her by the hair, and drag her out of the puddle. Tang Jiancheng initially thought the young man was showing pity for her, but to his surprise, the next moment he didn't dare to watch anymore.

The young man actually grabbed the woman's head and smashed it against a rock by the roadside, bashing it until it bled and rendering her completely unconscious.

"A-shui! Stop!"

At this moment, a stocky man in his thirties ran over and grabbed the young man with the slingshot.

"Ah-ba ah-ba ah-ba!"

The young man turned out to be mute. Filled with intense fury, he shouted, demanding to continue punishing the two traffickers.

The stocky man held him back tightly. "Murder is a capital crime! Don't be foolish! Wait until the village secretary arrives."

"My child! Where is my child?"

Meanwhile, a woman came running over in tears.

Other villagers, along with those working in the fields, had also arrived, all wearing furious expressions. The village secretary had also arrived.

Tang Jiancheng handed the child to the woman and said, "Your child must have been drugged by them. You need to rush him to the hospital immediately to avoid any lasting complications."

"Thank you, thank you! If it weren't for you, my son would have been snatched away. Thank you!"

The woman expressed her gratitude profusely.

Tang Jiancheng waved his hand. "Don't thank me, hurry to the hospital! The child comes first!"

The woman left carrying the child, accompanied by several others who were presumably members of the child's family.