Chapter 20: Don’t Sell Me, Mom

The night had grown too dark, so the police had no choice but to light their torches.

The homemade torches could only burn for about five minutes each before going out, requiring frequent relighting.

Xu Huiqing couldn’t bear the look in Xiaoxi’s eyes any longer. After sitting down on a rock, she immediately reached out to hold Xiaoxi in her arms.

She remembered what Xiaoxi had written in her note: “Mom, if you don’t love me…”

She didn’t understand where she had made Xiaoxi feel unloved, but she forced back her tears, holding the child tightly and gently stroking her back. She pressed her forehead against Xiaoxi’s and softly said, “Xiaoxi, I’m sorry. It’s only now that Mom has found you. I’m sorry.”

The quiet, calm little girl suddenly had tears welling up in her eyes again. Her dirty little hands wiped away her mother’s tears as she hugged her and choked out, “It’s okay…”

“I’m sorry, Xiaoxi. Mom lost you. It wasn’t on purpose. Please forgive me.” Xu Huiqing’s voice cracked with sobs, unable to control her emotions. She had tried to hold herself back, afraid of scaring Xiaoxi, but the tears still flowed uncontrollably.

Xiaoxi quietly continued wiping her mother’s tears and obediently said again, “It’s okay…”

The more Xiaoxi said “It’s okay,” the more Xu Huiqing’s heart ached. How could it be okay?

Bathed in the dim yellow light of the torches lit by the male police officers, she let Xiaoxi sit on her lap. Holding her little face carefully, she cleaned the tangled grass stuck in her hair and the dirt on her face. She earnestly told her, “Mom loves you. I’m sorry. Mom didn’t protect you well…”

The usually well-behaved and sensible little girl suddenly threw herself into her mother’s arms, clutching her neck and crying bitterly, “Auntie said that after you had a little brother, you didn’t want me anymore and wanted to sell me! Mom, please don’t sell me, okay? Xiaoxi is very good. Please don’t sell me, okay?”

The little girl was just over three years old but spoke clearly.

She had always been fearful, scared, and obedient, but when her mother said she loved her, she couldn’t hold it in any longer. She cried into her mother’s embrace, releasing all the fear and anxiety she had kept hidden deep inside.

She was only three, yet how had she hidden these feelings until now?

As she cried, so did Xu Huiqing. The mother and daughter clung to each other, crying together.

Xu Huiqing comforted her while crying, “No, Mom didn’t sell you. Auntie was lying. Xiaoxi is Mom’s most beloved child. Mom will always love you, always need you. Mom can’t be without Xiaoxi!”

The only answer was Xiaoxi’s louder crying, as if trying to vent all the fear and insecurity of the past days through her sobs.

In the empty mountain valley, the sound of a child’s innocent cries echoed.

Only when Xu Huiqing coaxed Xiaoxi into stopping did she seriously stroke the child’s face and ask, “What else did Auntie say to you?”

The little girl sniffled and said, “Second Aunt said that Mom didn’t want Xiaoxi anymore, and Grandpa and Grandma didn’t want Xiaoxi either. They wanted to sell Xiaoxi to buy candy for the little brother. Mom has a little brother now, so she doesn’t want Xiaoxi.”

As she spoke, the little girl once again buried her face in Xu Huiqing’s neck, sobbing sadly.

Xu Huiqing repeatedly told Xiaoxi, “Xiaoxi, be good. Second Aunt is a liar. She’s tricking you. Remember what Mom says—Mom will always love Xiaoxi, Mom will never abandon Xiaoxi. Xiaoxi is the most important person to Mom. See? Didn’t Mom come to find you?”

Xiaoxi sobbed uncontrollably in Xu Huiqing’s neck, gasping for breath and unable to stop.

Fearing Xiaoxi would choke, Xu Huiqing turned her back and could only stroke her back, guiding her to breathe deeply. “Baby, be good. Don’t cry. Mom loves you. Mom needs you the most. Xiaoxi is more important than anyone or anything else in the world!”

Xiaoxi seemed hesitant to believe it, sitting on her lap with her arms around her neck, choking out, “Rea… really…?”

Tears shimmered in Xu Huiqing’s eyes, but she smiled firmly at her. “Of course. It’s just that I’m very sorry. I trusted the wrong people and didn’t protect you well.”

The little girl just shook her head, still crying softly, pressing her face into Xu Huiqing’s neck and holding her neck tightly. She wasn’t crying loudly like before but still sobbed incessantly.

The mother and daughter’s conversation made the female police officer nearby shed tears as well. While Xu Huiqing comforted Xiaoxi, her gaze turned fierce like a wolf as she glared at Zhao Erjie, who cowered behind the male officers, nervously laughing, “I was just joking with Xiaoxi. She’s so little. How would she understand? She wouldn’t remember any of it!”

Xu Huiqing didn’t know if Xiaoxi could remember because after all, she never dared to mention the three-plus years Xiaoxi had been missing, hoping time would fade those painful childhood memories.

Xiaoxi never brought it up either.

The six police officers, along with Zhao Erjie and the mountain couple, totaled eleven people. Someone said, “It’s time to go,” then asked Xu Huiqing, “Can you carry her? If you can’t, I’ll carry her.”

After going hungry all day, and frightened after losing her child, Xu Huiqing felt faint and her vision darkened at the slightest hint of hunger. Now, her hands and feet were weak and trembling.

Although reluctant, she finally reached out to the male officer. He weighed her in his arms and said to Zhao Erjie, “You’re cruel, scaring your own niece like that and lying to her. How can you be so heartless? Tell her what her mother said, okay? Your mom loves you the most. She didn’t sell you. She nearly lost her soul, her health isn’t good, yet she came to find you. You must never believe your aunt, understand?”

Xiaoxi looked at Xu Huiqing, who smiled and nodded reassuringly. “Uncle’s right. Second Aunt is a bad person, a liar. Mom will always love you.”

Xiaoxi blinked her big eyes, pouted, and almost cried again.

They finally got into the police car. The male officer suddenly found a bag of candy somewhere on the car and peeled it open, popping a piece into Xiaoxi’s mouth.

Three other officers took Zhao Erjie and the couple into the back of the car.

Halfway back, the driver asked Xu Huiqing, “Where will you stay tonight? Do you have anywhere?”

Although Zhao Lao and Zhao Lao Tai were temporarily detained at the police station, several of their daughters and sons-in-law were still outside. They worried about Xu Huiqing, a lone woman with a young child who had just left confinement after childbirth, staying at the Zhao family home was unsafe.

But if not at the Zhao house, then where else could she stay?

Xu Huiqing said, “Please take me back to the Zhao family. This matter has to be dealt with. I’m not the one who did anything wrong. The people who should be afraid aren’t me.”

The three officers silently nodded and took Xu Huiqing and Xiaoxi back to the Zhao home.

By the time they arrived, it was already past eleven at night, yet the Zhao household was still brightly lit. Xu Mu, along with Xu Huiqing’s third older brother and sister-in-law, were still at Xu’s house, not having gone to bed. Zhao Dajie, Zhao Sanjie, Zhao Sijie, and Zhao Wujie and their husbands were also still at the Zhao home. The whole street was silent except for the light coming from the Zhao house.

Upon hearing the car, those waiting in the Zhao electronics shop hurried out. When they saw Xu Huiqing carrying Xiaoxi get out of the car, Zhao Dajie smiled and said, “Luckily we found her! My goodness, you scared me half to death!”

At that moment, Zhao Wujie looked over at Zhao Erjie sitting in the back of the car. Suddenly, she ran over, opened the door, yanked Zhao Erjie out, grabbed her hair, and started beating her mercilessly. “I’ll beat you to death, you troublemaker! Our family was fine until you stirred up all this trouble. Now Mom, Dad, and Zongbao are all caught up in it. You’re ruining the family! Are you happy now?!”

She pulled large clumps of Zhao Erjie’s hair out while striking her, cursing, “I knew you were heartless. Among all the sisters, you’re the most wicked and stupid. All you know is to do harm!”

Zhao Erjie rolled on the ground, crying and trying to hide under the car. “Stop hitting me! It wasn’t me who wanted to sell her! It was Mom and Dad who told me to! How could I disobey them?”

Zhao Wujie screamed like a madwoman, “If Mom and Dad told you to die, would you do it? Are you brainless? That’s your own niece! You’re useless, having lost five or six daughters in a row for some man. Do you think everyone is like you? If you break up the Zongbao family, I swear I’ll kill you!”

Zhao Dajie, Zhao Sanjie, and Zhao Sijie quickly came over to pull her away. Zhao Wujie struggled, kicking Zhao Erjie, shouting, “Don’t stop me! This fool deserves to be beaten! She won’t learn otherwise!”

Zhao Dajie pleaded, “What good does it do to hit her now? At least Xiaoxi has been found. Now we have to think about getting Mom, Dad, and Zongbao out.”

Zhao Wujie’s outburst was as much for Xu Huiqing’s benefit as anything else. She truly hated Zhao Erjie — her cruelty and stupidity — but Zhao Erjie was still her sister, Zhao Lao and Zhao Lao Tai were her parents, and Zhao Zongbao was her younger brother.

Now that Zhao Erjie, their parents, and Zongbao had all been arrested and locked up at the station, Zhao Wujie was anxious.

Especially Zongbao, whose leg Xu Huiqing had broken. They still didn’t know his condition.

She wiped her tears and came over, crying as she said to Xu Huiqing, “Huiqing, if you’re angry, go ahead and beat her. Even if you kill her, we wouldn’t say a word. She brought it on herself. Mom and Dad are old, and Zongbao’s leg is still injured and hasn’t been treated yet. Could you talk to the police officers and ask them to let Mom and Dad go for now and take Zongbao to the hospital to fix his leg? As for that stupid woman, you can lock her up as long as you want!”

Her words were meant not only for Xu Huiqing but also for the officers who had brought her back.

Zhao Dajie also came forward to plead pitifully with the police officers, “My parents are in their sixties and not in good health. There’s a newborn baby at home who needs care. Now that Xiaoxi has been found and is okay, could you please release my parents and brothers for now, even if just to get treatment for the leg?”

When Zhao Wujie dragged Zhao Erjie out of the car, the police guarding Zhao Erjie were indeed shocked. But when they saw Zhao Wujie beating her, several officers got out to watch but didn’t intervene, letting Zhao Wujie continue the assault.

Though her movements seemed fierce, Zhao Wujie’s blows weren’t heavy, and Zhao Erjie’s screams only sounded pitiful.

The officers could clearly see this small act, as could Xu Huiqing standing nearby holding Xiaoxi, watching their sisters’ drama unfold.

A cold smile involuntarily appeared on her lips.

Xu Huiqing understood their thoughts well. They probably figured that since the child was found and Zhao Zongbao already had ten children, life would go on. As long as Xu Huiqing wanted to live her life quietly, she wouldn’t make things too difficult. They preferred to keep the peace.

Xu Huiqing ignored them and instead invited the officers inside to eat something. They had been interrogating the Zhao family and helping her search the mountains since morning, yet it was almost midnight and none had eaten.

The officers were eager to take Zhao Wujie back and said hurriedly, “You just gave birth. You should go back and rest. The child needs to rest too. We have things to do back at the station.”

After hours of mountain travel, everyone was exhausted and hungry.

The female officer collapsed halfway under the police car, crying and begging Xu Huiqing to let Zhao Erjie be lifted into the vehicle. The police car soon left the Zhao family’s doorstep.

The Xu family all came outside. Xu Mu saw Xu Huiqing and hurried over, reaching to take Xiaoxi from her arms, but Xu Huiqing refused. “Mom, have you eaten?”

Xu Mu said, “We ate noodles. You haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ll go make some noodles for you. You just gave birth; you can’t overwork yourself. I’ll carry the child.”

Xu Huiqing stepped aside and gently rocked the waking Xiaoxi, saying, “Mom, I’ll take Xiaoxi back to the room to rest first.”

Zhao Sanjie and Zhao Sijie saw the child in Xu Huiqing’s arms and said comfortingly, “It’s good that Xiaoxi was found. We’re relieved now. You’ve been up all day with no one to hold the child. Hurry and hold her.”

Xu Huiqing’s lips curled into a faint cold smile as she looked at the three Zhao sisters. “It’s already past eleven at night. Keke just turned one month old. You don’t let him rest in the room but bring him out now for me to hold?”