Chapter 541 - 537: Picked Up a Bag of Silver for Free (Four Updates)
Chapter 541 - 537: Picked Up a Bag of Silver for Free (Four Updates)
Holding a heavy black cloth bag in her hands.Mu Shuangshuang did not hurry to open it and count, but went to the backyard to see how many people were kept by the human trafficker.
She had no idea what to expect, but was shocked at what she saw.
In the narrow house in the backyard, almost ten women were kept, all bound like livestock.
Their bodies were bruised and swollen, indicating they had been bullied by the trafficker more than once or twice.
It was the first time these people saw strangers come, and they were all crying out.
Their eyes were filled with fear; they thought Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng were new buyers and feared being chosen.
Generally, those who got bought were either made the wife of a widower,
or a concubine to a man who was hideously ugly.
If not tortured to death by the first wife, they were beaten to death by the widower.
They would rather be beaten by the trafficker here, at least they wouldn’t be beaten to death.
Given the scale of things, Mu Shuangshuang knew this was beyond what she and Lu Yuanfeng could handle.
This matter must be dealt with by the government.
"Don’t be afraid, we are here to rescue you. Later, we will send those bad guys outside to the government. Tell us where your home is, we will send you back if we can, if not, I will take you to town to make a living, and you’ll have to rely on yourselves in the future!"
Most of these people did not come by their own will, some were abducted by traffickers along the way.
Some were sold by their uncles at home.
Those truly sold by their parents were few and rare.
Everyone looked at Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng, hoping to be the first to have their ropes untied, the first to be let go.
Those who have never lost their freedom don’t know how important freedom is.
They have endured so much suffering, no matter how difficult it is, they will continue to live.
Mu Shuangshuang stepped forward to help untie the ropes of each woman, then said to everyone, "Are there any children here?"
This was the first room Mu Shuangshuang entered, but there were only women inside, no children.
This wasn’t like the trafficker’s usual behavior!
Women and children are vulnerable groups, the easiest to be bullied and beaten.
As soon as everyone gained their freedom, they cried out as if they couldn’t believe they were suddenly free, also afraid of being captured again.
So when Mu Shuangshuang spoke, no one responded immediately.
A few timid ones looked at the door, wanting to leave but afraid of the trafficker.
One of them, a girl who seemed to be about thirteen or fourteen, said, "Yes, in another room. The trafficker caught a particularly handsome young master yesterday."
That little girl was wearing a tattered garment full of patches, her face black and blue, swollen on one side.
She appeared to have been terribly abused.
Mu Shuangshuang couldn’t understand, since the trafficker wanted to sell people, they should keep them well-maintained, why were each of them beaten into a pulp?
"Little girl, can you take me to find them?" Mu Shuangshuang lowered her voice, inexplicably feeling a bit close to this little girl.
Lu Yuanfeng beside her found it both amusing and exasperating.
Simply because Shuangshuang’s way of addressing people was rather funny.
She herself was a child, yet she called others little girl.
Though this young girl had been beaten badly, she wasn’t short, standing in front of Mu Shuangshuang, even taller than her.
The two followed the little girl to the farthest corner room.
A large lock was placed on the door, Lu Yuanfeng found a stick, wanting to break it open, but was stopped by Mu Shuangshuang.
"Leave this to me, Fengzi, you go elsewhere to see if there are more people, let them all go!"
Mu Shuangshuang took a small piece of wire out from her sleeve, and fiddled the lock a few times, and it opened.
The little girl beside was utterly amazed.
Mu Shuangshuang walked in and saw in the corner, a child about seven or eight years old curled into a ball, wearing luxurious clothing that clashed with the thatched hut.
As the door opened, Mu Shuangshuang clearly felt the child tremble.
Mu Shuangshuang rushed over, whispering, "Don’t be afraid, I’m not a bad person. My brother and sister were caught here, so I’m here to find people."
The child raised his head and asked in a childish voice, "Is it Little Zhi?"
Actually, this child wasn’t kept together with Little Zhi and Yuanbao, but all of yesterday, through the wall, he heard Yuanbao calling Little Zhi’s name, telling Little Zhi not to be afraid.
Naturally, he remembered it.
Mu Shuangshuang nodded heavily.
"You know my sister?" Mu Shuangshuang asked.
The child shook his head, after a while, he gritted his teeth and said, "Take me back to the Xue Family in Qingshan Town, I... I can give you a lot of money!"
It turned out this child was the son of Xue Yi’s elder brother, only just returned from the Capital with Old Mrs. Xue yesterday, who knew, he was abducted just after getting off the carriage.
The trafficker took away the only valuable longevity lock from him, seeing he was good-looking and well-dressed, they locked him up separately.
As they say, timing can be as good as fortune.
Mu Shuangshuang happened to know Old Mrs. Xue and had a good relationship with her.
"What is Xue Yi to you?" Mu Shuangshuang asked.
"You know my second uncle..." The child was surprised.
"Oh, it’s your second uncle!" Mu Shuangshuang nodded understandably.
Now, Mu Shuangshuang felt even more compelled to help this child.
"Later, you come back with us, I’ll make you delicious food, after lunch, I’ll escort you to the town, I know your second uncle and your grandmother!"
Once Mu Shuangshuang finished speaking, the child let out a long sigh.
When Mu Shuangshuang mentioned the brother and sister, he no longer doubted her.
Gradually, more people were released, and Mu Shuangshuang led them out, surprisingly, one person was missing among those originally sprawled everywhere.
And it was the leader of the traffickers.
Mu Shuangshuang was stunned.
"Fengzi... someone is missing, what do we do?"
Lu Yuanfeng rushed out, searched around but found no trace of the person.
Mu Shuangshuang was filled with regret, wishing she had beaten that person one more time.
"Never mind, one is missing, the rest are still here, let’s take these people to prison to face trial!"
"Okay!"
Lu Yuanfeng borrowed a fast horse from Wang Fugui’s house to report to the government, while Mu Shuangshuang washed the little boy’s face.
No one was allowed to leave temporarily, those women all shouted to leave.
"Wait until the government people arrive before you leave, you also wouldn’t want the traffickers to go unpunished, besides I don’t have Silver to send you all back, we can only let the government handle it!"
This finally quieted them down.
Having suffered so much, a while longer didn’t matter.
"Are you hungry?" Mu Shuangshuang asked.
Of course, they were hungry, even the little boy was holding his stomach.
"Those who can cook, come with me, I’ll make food for everyone."
These people hadn’t had breakfast, and last night, while the traffickers celebrated, no food was given to them, they were already starving.
Fortunately, most of them had cooked at home before, and followed Mu Shuangshuang to the kitchen...
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