This cry broke the silence and attracted everyone's attention.
Taking a closer look, it was a skinny little girl, about six or seven years old. She was in rags, her whole body was dirty, and she looked like a street child.
The person who cursed was a burly man. He had an ordinary appearance, but his bright bald head reflected the dazzling light in the sun, making him eye-catching.
You actually scolded a child like this?
The onlookers could not stand it.
"You are such a grown man, how can you be so cruel to a child?"
"That's right, how can I be a father like you?"
"..."
Looking at the child again, she was curled up, shivering, and her eyes were full of fear.
so poor……
Liu Quan stared blankly, with tears in his eyes.
Qi Yu observed carefully for a while and whispered to his wife: "This child should not be the bald daughter."
"Why do you say that?" Liu Quan raised his head and asked.
"Look, there is no pity in this bald man's expression, let alone doting. Animals still have the feeling of licking their calves, let alone humans? Isn't it strange that he is so cruel?" Qi Yu explained.
Liu Quan looked carefully and found that it was indeed the case.
"Look again, the bald man's clothes are very clean, but the child's clothes are ragged. If they are a family, how could there be such a big difference in their clothes? So I highly doubt that he bought this child ...No! It’s possible that he was trafficked! Look, the child has a hemp rope tied to his feet!”
From ancient times to the present, selling sons and daughters is a common thing. The person being sold is either a slave or a lowly servant, and it is also a legal transaction.
As far as girls are concerned, those who are lucky may become maids or child brides, while those who are unlucky may be sold to women's shops in jiaofang and become the so-called "skinny horses".
However, this type of transaction is carried out voluntarily between the buyer and the seller. After the two parties have negotiated, they have to go to the Yamen Household Office for registration. The purpose of this is to prevent people from being trafficked, especially children.
Human trafficking is a serious crime. Strict laws have been enacted since the Song Dynasty. Human traffickers will be investigated and dealt with severely regardless of the reason, especially cases involving children.
The "Da Ming Code" of later generations even clearly stipulates that if a child is abducted and sold into another person's descendant, he will be sentenced to three years in prison; if a child is abducted and sold into slavery, he will be sentenced to hanging! If the means are bad, he can be sentenced to death in Lingchi!
The more Liu Quan listened, the more sad she became, and her eyes filled with tears: "Ms. sir, actually... I had the same experience when I was a child. If my parents hadn't saved me..."
Qi Yu suddenly trembled, and his heart was full of emotions.
Before, although I knew that the lady was a child adopted by the Liu family, I didn't expect that it would be like this. It is not difficult to see that the lady has a destiny resonance with this simple child.
"Help me..."
The child had the courage to call for help, and her eyes fell on Qi Yu without deviation.
So pitiful, those eyes were full of pleading and helplessness.
Facing this situation, a feeling of compassion emerged in Qi Yu's heart, and at the same time it pricked his conscience. Looking at this ill-fated child, even a stone heart will be melted.
"Ms. sir, let's save her. Didn't you say that a house that accumulates good deeds will always be happy? Let's do a good deed today!" Liu Quan said softly.
Qi Yu was a little hesitant, but still nodded. It seemed that the mother's compassion had become stronger after her pregnancy.
But, how to save it?
It would be better to use some means.
It's best to be like Mr. Yu, who can get things settled as soon as he tells the truth and lies!
…
"Eh? Isn't this Xiaotong? Why are you here?"
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Qi Yu walked out calmly, waving his folding fan, and after approaching the child, he touched her forehead, as if he was an elder.
Liu Quan was startled, and then he understood his husband's intention, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
The child blinked and actually nodded in recognition.
The bald man looked shocked. He widened his eyes and looked at Qi Yu in confusion, saying, "Master, I'm afraid you have mistaken the wrong person. This is my biological daughter. Where is Xiaotong?"
Qi Yu, however, took his time and glanced at them calmly a few more times. After confirming that there was no genetic difference in appearance between the two of them, he became more certain of his guess.
"You're talking nonsense! She's obviously my niece, why do you say she's your daughter?"
"You're wrong, you're really wrong." The bald man's eyes dodge and he looked panicked.
"Absolutely! Either way, let's go to the county government office to check and see what happens!" Qi Yu smiled meaningfully.
As soon as he heard the word county government, the bald man immediately panicked. He didn't answer, picked up the child and made a show of leaving.
Snapped!
Absolutely cold!
Qi Yu slapped the handle of the fan, hitting the bald man's wrist: "Want to leave? Then tell me clearly first, where did you snatch this child from? Come on, come on, folks, come and take a look , someone robbed the child!"
The word 'rob' instantly aroused the anger of onlookers.
Regarding human traffickers, the common people have only one thing in their hearts: I wish I could eat their flesh alive!
So, they all spontaneously gathered around and blocked the bald man in the middle.
The power of the masses is huge!
Facing the people on the third floor and the third floor here, the bald man's aura instantly faded, his expression also changed several times, and finally, he ran away with a whoosh.
You guessed it right, this child was either stolen or snatched, otherwise the bald man would never be so guilty.
Qi Yu felt very proud that he had succeeded in his little plan!
Even Liu Quan, who was always smart, admired his husband and saved the child in a moment.
Qi Yu untied the hemp rope around the child and said with a smile, "Child, where do you live? I'll take you home!"
As soon as he heard that he was about to be sent away, the child immediately became nervous and hugged Qi Yu's legs tightly.
"Haha, this child seems to be very close to you." Liu Quan smiled at her husband, took out a piece of dried meat for serving from the basket, and said to the child gently: "You are hungry, eat it."
Facing the food, the child's eyes flashed a few times, as if he wanted to eat but did not dare to eat.
Qi Yu encouraged: "Don't be afraid, just eat."
The child felt brave enough, and tentatively stretched out his hand to touch it. After seeing that there was nothing unusual, he took it and started eating it with confidence.
"Eat slowly, don't choke." Liu Quan said with a happy smile.
…
Everyone dispersed, and only Qi Yu, his wife and their children were left.
While the child was eating, Liu Quan hurriedly went into the temple to burn incense, and then prepared to return home directly.
At this moment, the sky suddenly became gloomy, and it seemed like it was going to rain.
Qi Yu looked at the sky and hesitated.
What to do with children? Bring it with you?
Forget it, just wait until you find out whose family the orphan belongs to and then return it.
On the way back, the child was still taciturn, but no longer as scared as before.
As soon as we arrived home, there was a thunder in the sky, and the June rain poured down from the sky like a torrent.
It's time to come back.
Although Mrs. Zhou was a little unhappy about this child, she didn't say anything. As a child, he couldn't eat much, so he just thought he was doing good deeds for the Qi family.
…
Liu Quan first gave the child a bath, and then went to a neighbor's house to beg for some children's clothing that she couldn't wear, so that she could change into it. She cut her bangs and put on two braids. She was a pretty and lovely little girl. It appears.
Oh, I didn’t expect this little devil to be a beauty.
The more Qi Yu watched it, the more he liked it. He was so happy that he opened his broken voice and sang two children's songs to her.
Slowly, the child let down her guard and began to smile. Qi Yu also took the opportunity to ask about her life experience.
She is still young and her speech is not very logical. It is difficult to connect one sentence to another.
Even so, some important news was still understood.
"That night, a group of bad guys dressed in white came to my house and beat my parents to death... Wuwu"
"Later, I was captured by that bad guy without hair. He said he wanted to sell me..."
"He didn't give me food and beat me..."
Qi Yu thought about it for a while and understood the general idea. What the child was talking about should be the Emperor Worshiping Sect that took the opportunity to cause chaos not long ago. It is said that many people suffered disasters, and I think this child's parents were among them. one. As for the people in white clothes she was talking about, they should be the villains of the Emperor Worship Cult.
These people are really doing evil and have no conscience.
I didn’t understand before that why cultists were punished in all dynasties, but now I can see it with my own eyes!
It was obvious that the bald man was a remnant of the Emperor Worship Cult, which also confirmed the reason why he was timid today. If a person like him is caught, he will face a severe legal punishment!
Whether it's murder or child abduction, either one is a capital crime!
He certainly ran wisely.
"What's your name?" Liu Quan asked gently.
"My surname is Jiang. I don't have a name. My parents call me Big Girl."
Qi Yu smiled: "Big girl, although the name is easy to pronounce, it sounds a bit tacky. Let me give you a name. I called you Xiaotong before. This name is really good and nice. How about Just call her Xiaotong.”
In rural areas, it is very common for scholars to choose names for their children.
"Jiang Xiaotong? What a nice name!" The child was very happy and jumped up and down waving his little hands.
…
In the evening, there was still drizzle in the sky, and night began to fall.
Liu Quan took out an unused door panel from Qi Yu's study and put it together to turn it into a small bed, just right for Xiaotong to sleep there.
Although the bed is simple, the child is very content and his face is full of joy.
At night, Qi Yu saw his wife frowning and asked, "What's wrong?"
Liu Quan hesitated to speak, thought for a while, and finally said: "This child's parents are dead and now she has no relatives. How do you think we should arrange for her?"
In fact, Qi Yu also thought about this matter, it was indeed a difficult problem.
Do you keep it at home?
Thinking of this, Qi Yu's heart skipped a beat inexplicably.
