An Junxi was quite excited. If they could find He Yiqing, this trip to Lianshan County would indeed be an unexpected gain, and Jingxiu could also let go of his burden and study abroad in peace.
Then she thought, if He Yiqing was really here, these past few years must have been tough for her, right? The environnt here is harsh, and He Yiqing had been raised in comfort.
As An Junxi was worrying, Gu Yikun asked her, "What’s so strange about ’Potato Caterpillar’? Isn’t that your online na?"
An Junxi clutched her clothes. How could her husband have such a good mory? Back then, she didn’t want him to bla Jingxiu for exposing He Sirui’s ugly photos online, so she admitted she was ’Potato Caterpillar’.
She said, "Don’t ask so much, I’m feeling dizzy."
Gu Yikun put the matter aside, applied ointnt on her temples, and asked, "Still dizzy?"
An Junxi felt much better, "You even brought ointnt, you’re quite thoughtful."
"Taking you out, I have to be careful."
Gu Jingxiu was questioning the child, "You sang quite loudly just now, and now you can’t speak anymore? I asked you, who taught you that song!"
The little boy looked fearfully at this fierce brother and the several strange adults nearby. His sister had warned him to be wary of bad people driving small cars, saying they would abduct children to sell their organs.
Gu Jingxiu was impatient and yelled, "Not talking?"
An Junxi rescued the child from him, "That’s not how you ask questions, you’re scaring the little brother."
She squatted down, smiled gently, and handed the child a candy, "Little friend, what’s your na, where do you live?"
The little boy stared at the candy and swallowed, but never took it. He suspiciously said, "Sister said not to eat things given by strangers, there’s poison in them."
Gu Yikun frowned. How could this child be so deeply wary of others, even considering poison?
The town mayor and two subordinates were terrified. The mayor scolded the child, "Where are your parents? They really don’t know how to educate their child, being so disrespectful to elders!"
The little boy’s lips quivered, about to cry. An Junxi quickly coaxed him, "Auntie is not a bad person. Auntie just wants to know, who taught you to sing ’Potato Caterpillar’? The tune is very familiar to Auntie."
The little boy cried out loud, "Bad people! You want to capture my sister!"
At this ti, several villagers ca running from afar, with the leading child shouting, "Little Hu is being bullied by bad people, over there!"
The villagers ran with farming tools, cursing, "Abducting children in broad daylight, what do you take Lianshan for?"
The town mayor was almost faint with anger. These unruly villagers! President Gu ca here to help alleviate poverty, and they dared to say such outrageous things. No wonder they deserved to be poor forever!
The mayor couldn’t let things get worse. Offending President Gu was no joke.
He stepped forward, "Who spread the rumor that we’re abducting children? Want to get sued? This is slander, you know that? A bunch of legal illiterates!"
The villagers recognized the mayor, and their farming tools scattered to the ground in confusion. Why was the mayor here?
A man ran up and picked up the boy, "Huzi, this is the mayor, why are you crying?"
He looked at the young couple present and the noble-looking young boy. These outsiders clearly weren’t ordinary folks. Had his son offended them?
The man was an honest farr, he was so worried that he started to scold the child, "Why are you crying, speak up!"
An Junxi felt even more headachy. She protected the child, "The child didn’t do anything wrong. Are you his father? How can you scold him without understanding the situation?"
Gu Yikun stood beside her, worried she might get hurt by unreasonable people.
The mayor saw President Gu’s angry face and severely reprimanded the villagers, then formally introduced the President Gu couple and the young master. The villagers felt embarrassed and kept rubbing their hands, realizing it was a huge misunderstanding, "President Gu, Madam, we heard there were strangers trying to abduct children and got too anxious..."
The mayor also told President Gu, "I didn’t know you would personally co, I didn’t prepare well for your visit, which caused this misunderstanding. It was my fault."
Gu Yikun indeed wasn’t in a good mood, mainly because they had scared his wife.
An Junxi tugged at his hand, telling him not to look so stern. She said, "It’s just a misunderstanding. We didn’t take it to heart. We’re just here to look around, no need for everyone to be nervous."
After clearing the misunderstanding, it was much easier for An Junxi to ask questions. A villager said, "Old Zheng’s family brought back a little girl a few years ago. She should be the one you’re looking for. The little girl was fair and clean. After coming here, she didn’t go to school. After Old Zheng died, she was fostered at a relative’s house. The relatives were not rich either, so they made her help out in the orchard, and she just got an extra pair of chopsticks at al tis."
An Junxi felt heartbroken hearing this. She was sure the little girl was He Yiqing. The He family’s butler was indeed surnad Zheng. That old Zheng must be the old butler, right?
Gu Jingxiu asked, "What’s her na?"
The villager shook his head, "Nobody knows her na, she only has a nickna, Little Qing. The first year Old Zheng brought her back, strangers frequently ca around asking about Old Zheng. We all suspected that Old Zheng did sothing bad outside; otherwise, why couldn’t that little girl see the light of day? It took two years for her to dare to play with other kids."
An Junxi felt a chill hearing this. The He family was already like this, who else could be seeking He Yiqing? Couldn’t they even let a little girl go?
No wonder the butler took He Yiqing to hide in such a place. Outsiders couldn’t get any information no matter how hard they searched.
An Junxi thought of the sa thing as Gu Jingxiu, who was now looking furious, with his fists clenched.
It had been a long ti since An Junxi had seen Jingxiu like this. She patted the child’s shoulder, "We’ll go find her right away. Mom and Dad will help her."
Gu Yikun, listening on the side, had caught most of it. He didn’t realize his son was still thinking about that elentary school desk mate.
The mayor accompanied them in the search. The village wasn’t large, and villagers, knowing there were important visitors, all ca out to see.
Those in the know led them to a farmhouse, "It’s here."
Gu Jingxiu walked in first. Inside the yard, a little girl was doing laundry. The basin was twice her size, and she struggled to wash the clothes.
From inside the house ca scolding, "Still not done yet? Useless! Hurry up, we need to go to the fields to do the weeding this afternoon!"
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