Goudan, hurry up and kowtow to your benefactor!

"Leaving? No, you can't leave yet. You must stay for a meal before you go!"

"That's right, Jiancheng. You've helped our village immensely. You have to stay today, if only to let A-shui's third uncle and aunt come back and thank you properly. Otherwise, their hearts won't be at ease."

Qiangzi and Jiang Chengfa both blocked his way, and mute A-shui even stood right in the middle of the path, refusing to let Tang Jiancheng leave.

Tang Jiancheng offered a wry smile. "Brother Qiang, Brother Chengfa, A-shui, I really need to catch the bus back. I have a whole bunch of kids waiting for me at home! After going through all this, I'm feeling a bit shaken, too."

"Isn't your wife at home? What are you afraid of?" Qiangzi asked.

"My wife is still in confinement; it's inconvenient for her to go out," Tang Jiancheng replied. "Brother Qiang, I really have to go. If I miss the scheduled bus, I'll have to walk over sixty li to get back!"

"But A-shui's third uncle and aunt took the child to the hospital... Why don't you wait a moment for the village Party secretary and see what he says?" Seeing that he couldn't persuade him to stay, Jiang Chengfa brought out the village secretary as a shield.

Just as they were speaking, the village secretary arrived.

"Qiangzi, did you give the fishing nets to this young man?" the village secretary asked.

"I did," Qiangzi answered.

The village secretary looked at Tang Jiancheng and smiled. "Is it enough? If not, I'll ask around at some other families in the village."

Tang Jiancheng nodded. "It's enough, more than enough. I won't even be able to use all of them."

Qiangzi said, "Secretary, Jiancheng is heading back. No matter how we try to persuade him, it's no use."

The village secretary said, "It's still early, and lunchtime is just around the corner. How can you leave without having a meal at least?"

"I really have to go. I need to get to the station to catch the two o'clock bus, or else I'll have to walk home. It's over sixty li!" Tang Jiancheng repeated what he had said earlier.

The village secretary said, "What bus? Although our village isn't a wealthy one, we do have a few tractors. When the time comes, I'll have someone fire up a tractor and drive you straight back."

"This..."

Tang Jiancheng hadn't expected the village secretary to be so generous as to provide a tractor just to send him off.

"Alright, it's settled then."

The village secretary then looked at mute A-shui. "A-shui, hurry up and tell your mother and second aunt to go to your third aunt's house and get lunch ready. If there aren't enough dishes, tell them to go to my place and get some—just say I said so."

"A-ba!"

A-shui turned and rushed off.

"Wait a minute."

Tang Jiancheng hurriedly called out. Thinking that Tang Jiancheng was going to refuse again and preparing to continue their persuasion, they watched as Tang Jiancheng unhooked the sparrows and turtle doves hanging from his waist and handed them to A-shui. "A-shui, take these and stir-fry them."

A-shui hesitated for a moment, but the village secretary spoke up, "Take them. That counts as a meat dish, too!"

A-shui accepted the sparrows and turtle doves and hurried away.

Meanwhile, the village secretary pulled Tang Jiancheng aside to make casual conversation, which inevitably turned to whether he was married, whether land had been allocated to him, how much land he received, how many family members he had, and the like.

Upon learning that Tang Jiancheng had nine daughters but not a single son, the village secretary, Jiang Chengfa, and Qiangzi all involuntarily changed expression. A flash of sympathy and pity crossed their faces, and the scene suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

Being older, the village secretary chuckled and broke the ice. "Having daughters is pretty good, too. Sons are a real handful!"

He then forcefully steered the conversation back to fishing techniques and precautions.

About an hour later, A-shui's third uncle and aunt returned, carrying the little boy.

The little boy had indeed been drugged, but fortunately, the dosage was small. After being given some revival medication at the hospital, he had woken up and suffered no lingering aftereffects.

Because he had remained unconscious throughout the ordeal, the little boy had no impression of the terrifying events and suffered no trauma. Upon waking, he was even demanding that his uncle and aunt—referring to the two human traffickers—give him more candy.

A-shui's third uncle looked as though he wanted to slap him twice, but the thought of how close he had come to being abducted softened his heart, and he couldn't bring himself to do it.

A-shui's third aunt was still in tears.

When she spotted Tang Jiancheng, she suddenly clutched the little boy and dropped to her knees right in front of him. "Benefactor, thank you! Thank you so much! Gouidan, kowtow quickly to your benefactor!"

"Get up, please! You shouldn't do this!"

Tang Jiancheng quickly stepped aside to avoid their kowtow. "Secretary, please get them up! What era is this, still kneeling? Aren't you just cutting short my lifespan?"

The village secretary also put on a stern face and said, "Qingtao, get up quickly. If you want to show gratitude, do it normally; don't go dropping to your knees at every turn!"

A-shui's third uncle hurriedly helped Qingtao up and explained, "Brother Jiancheng, I'm sorry. My wife is just too emotional. You have no idea—we had to give birth to four daughters in a row before we finally got this son! If he had been abducted, it would have literally cost us our lives!"

"Gouidan, you must remember what your benefactor looks like. When you grow up, you must remember to repay him, you hear me?" Qingtao instructed Gouidan very sternly.

Gouidan had no idea what had happened and was utterly bewildered, but since his mother had said so, he nodded in agreement, his dark eyes staring fixedly at Tang Jiancheng for a long time.

However, being only a four- or five-year-old boy, he would probably forget all about it in a few days.

At that moment, A-shui came over to announce that dinner was ready.

The meal was exceptionally lavish.

Tang Jiancheng noticed that everyone else's bowls were filled with sweet potato rice or pumpkin rice, but the bowl A-shui handed him was piled high with pure, white rice, brimming to the very top.

He felt too embarrassed to eat it. Seeing Qingtao's four daughters standing timidly near the doorway—girls about the same age as his own third, fourth, fifth, and sixth younger sisters—he beckoned for the four girls to come over.

The four girls didn't move, only staring at him with wide, unblinking eyes.

Left with no choice, Tang Jiancheng walked over himself and handed the bowl to the eldest girl. "Here, take this bowl of rice. Share it with your little sisters."

Qingtao hurriedly chimed in, "Benefactor, we can't accept this! Dahua, don't you dare take it!"

The girl shrank back in fright and turned to run, but Tang Jiancheng caught her by the arm. "Don't be afraid. I'm giving this to you to eat. Go ahead and eat; your parents won't scold you."

Qingtao made to stop them again, but the village secretary quickly pulled her aside and muttered a few words in her ear. Her expression shifted slightly, and she fell silent.

Dahua accepted the bowl and chopsticks, cast a deep, lingering look at Tang Jiancheng as if trying to etch his appearance into her memory, and then led her sisters to squat in the corner of the wall to eat.

Tang Jiancheng returned to the table, asked for a bowl of sweet potato rice, and ate with great satisfaction.

The dishes on the table were plentiful—fish, shrimp, meat, sparrows, Chinese cabbage, and radishes—easily qualifying as the highest standard of hospitality in this era.

The village secretary even produced some liquor.

However, because Tang Jiancheng still needed to travel back, he didn't drink much, only sipping half a cup.

Naturally, the meal was filled with renewed expressions of gratitude and condemnation of the human traffickers.

After the meal, the village secretary indeed arranged for a tractor to take Tang Jiancheng back to Daping Village.

A-shui, Jiang Chengfa, and Qingtao's family—along with Gouidan—insisted on accompanying Tang Jiancheng back to Daping Village, refusing to be dissuaded. Fortunately, the tractor bed was spacious enough to seat everyone comfortably.

Once the baskets filled with fishing nets were loaded onto the tractor and everyone had taken their seats, the tractor sputtered to life and chugged out of the village.

"Jiancheng, remember to come visit again!"

The village secretary and the others waved warmly in farewell to Tang Jiancheng.