Chapter 535: Saving People (10)

Two days later, after trekking through mountains and wading through rivers, a large force mobilized by the city and county governments finally reached Taoyuan Village.

Most people from the city didn’t know about Taoyuan Village, but some from the county did.

Taoyuan Village was considered the most remote and backward village in the county. The general impression people had of its inhabitants was the same as anyone else’s: they were just really poor.

These villagers only occasionally made a trip to the town or county seat. When they did, they always spoke very loudly. Because of their poverty, they often seemed a bit stingy, or rather, somewhat timid and withdrawn.

Seeing their pitiful lives, many people had sighed with sympathy on numerous occasions.

Who could have imagined that the entire village was so terrifying? Men and women, young and old—from sixty- and seventy-year-olds down to children of eight or nine, even six or seven—every single one of them was a trafficker.

They trafficked women themselves, so they feared their own women would be sold if they left the village. That was why the village women rarely had a chance to go out.

But they were part of the logistics. The work they did behind the scenes was still that of human traffickers; only their tasks were different.

Those born and raised in Taoyuan Village truly knew the business of abduction from a young age.

Due to their parents’ twisted worldview, they didn’t think there was anything wrong with abducting people. Instead, they saw it as a chore, no different from cutting leaves for pig feed—just another job that could get them candy and meat.

The slower children didn’t get this opportunity, and they would feel ashamed, while their parents considered them worthless.

But the cleverer children, those over six, could already start "helping" by the time they were seven or eight.

Of course, their roles were different. They would obey their parents, pretend to be lost or something similar, and cry their eyes out on the side of the road to make kind-hearted women pity them and want to escort them home.

Once they offered that escort, there was no coming back.

Those poor women would never have imagined in their entire lives that their own kindness would lead them to such a devastating fate.

Meanwhile, the women who couldn’t be bothered with the children, or who weren’t so full of compassion, were the ones who escaped this fate.

Oh, and this trick also worked with the elderly.

The village elders were also a main force. They would pretend to feel unwell or to have fallen somewhere. When kind-hearted women offered to help them home, they, too, would never return.

Taoyuan Village had no custom of abusing or abandoning its elderly. Everyone was very filial. But no one knew the real reason: the elderly were useful.

These methods and tactics had been effective for decades, if not centuries, and so they were passed down through the generations.

In short, it was all based on experience accumulated and passed down by their ancestors.

Every single one of them truly dedicated their lives to the act of trafficking, from cradle to grave.

Not just one or two, but the entire village.

The results of the past two days of separate, round-the-clock interrogations had left everyone so shocked they had become numb, devoid of feeling.

Most of the children, some just seven or eight, others around ten, already had experience. Some had even become experts through practice.

They might not have known how to read a single word and only had a half-baked understanding of many things, but they knew exactly what was going on when it came to this business.

During the interrogations, the captain and several other officers looked at those clear-eyed, innocent-looking faces, at their bright, piercing eyes, and heard the most terrifying words come out of their mouths. It made their blood run cold.

They wanted to curse, but they no longer knew what to curse at.

After the interrogations ended, the captain couldn’t sleep that night and just chain-smoked.

The next day, the reinforcements arrived. After finishing a meeting with them, the captain came out and saw Little Tang Mo helping Su Li take care of the rescued women.

He watched Little Tang Mo running back and forth, a vein throbbing on his forehead. He suddenly turned to a colleague beside him and murmured reflectively.

"I used to... I always taught my own kid to be a good, kind child. But now, I suddenly don’t dare to teach him that anymore."

His colleague, who happened to be a father himself—and a father to a daughter, no less—immediately understood what the captain meant.

He took a deep breath and said nothing, but the same thought was running through his mind. ’Yes, we teach our children every day to study hard, to be kind and sensible, to be happy to help others. We never imagined that someone would exploit that very kindness to harm them. It’s fine to be a little selfish, but to be harmed for being enthusiastic and helpful... it’s just too ironic. If this is the world we live in, we’d rather our children weren’t so kind. We just want them to be safe and sound.’

Su Li understood the turmoil in the captain’s heart. She was just as shaken and didn’t know what to say.

She wasn’t a police officer, so she didn’t participate in the interrogations, but she knew everything she needed to know.

Looking at the picturesque Taoyuan Village, she saw how its beauty had nearly concealed such filthy, disgusting evil.

For the past two days, all she had done was care for the rescued women. All things considered, Miao Zhi and Xiao Mi were both the most unfortunate and the most fortunate, because they had been rescued while there was still time.

Although they were both in poor physical and psychological condition, after seeing the other six women, they pulled themselves together and joined the effort to help.

When Father Miao received the call and rushed to Taoyuan Village as fast as he could, he saw a pale and much thinner Miao Zhi bustling about, helping others.

"Zhi-Zhi," Father Miao called out, tears streaming down his aged face.

"Dad!" Hearing Father Miao’s voice, Miao Zhi turned, saw him, and immediately threw herself into his arms.

Everyone watching the father and daughter felt both relieved and ashamed.

On the night they brought the whole village under control and rescued the victims, no one slept. Instead, they searched the entire village from top to bottom.

They didn’t miss a single corner, afraid they might overlook something.

They confiscated the hunting rifles hidden in the village, along with other dangerous items.

Almost every household in Taoyuan Village had a gun. Families with many able-bodied young men might even have two.

Wu Sheng found all of these guns, eliminating any future threats.

Afterward, seeing that there was no more danger and that the people of Taoyuan Village were all under control, he knew he couldn’t be away for too long. Since he was also the fastest, he left Taoyuan Village first to return and notify the county authorities.

Wu Sheng left early the next morning, reached the town by that evening, and notified the county and city authorities. After that, he informed Father Miao, who was far away in the Imperial City.

Father Miao must have been worried sick.

Wu Sheng’s guess was right. Father Miao had truly been so desperate he felt like dying. But then came the sudden turn of events: the news that Miao Zhi had been found. Without a second thought, he had rushed over as fast as he could.

Of course, he was accompanied by a young man assigned by his work unit specifically to ensure his safety.

The man who came with them was their guide. He had previously been asked by Father Miao why their county had never discovered such a large trafficking den operating at the village level. After arriving here and hearing the whole story, he finally understood why.

Why? Because their methods were unlike those of Beard and his group. They specifically exploited women’s kindness, abducting them silently and stealthily, without anyone ever noticing.

Moreover, they always operated in other regions, never committing their crimes within their own county, which was how they managed to stay hidden for so long.

Fortunately, they had finally been exposed.