After a while, Zhou Yingying called, saying that the classmate had visited her home before, in the countryside, and she didn't know if she was still living there.
I quickly said, "Can she find it? If she can find it, I'll take a taxi to school to find her and ask her to take me there."
Zhou Yingying: "She can probably find it. You come over. I'll help her ask for leave, and you can pick her up at the school gate."
Xiao Hong was also one of Zhou Yingying's people. If her people were in trouble, she should help.
But I still thanked her for her help. Without her, I would have no clue right now.
I stood up and hailed a taxi, telling him to go to the middle school.
There was a short-haired girl standing at the school gate. I asked her if she was Cui Chunhong, and she said yes. I asked her to get in the car and told her that I was Cui Chunhong's friend and that she had been kidnapped this afternoon.
She was very angry when she heard this, biting her teeth. It could be seen that their relationship was very good. Otherwise, she wouldn't have taken her in for so long.
She told me that Xiao Hong's stepfather was a very bad person and warned me to be careful when I met him.
I told her to let her and the driver wait at a distance when we arrived, and I would go alone.
The road was a bit far, but luckily Xiao Hong's classmate could still remember. She said that she had accompanied Xiao Hong to handle the enrollment procedures. The school required the parents' ID cards and marriage certificates. Neither of her parents showed up, so they had to borrow a bicycle to get them, and it took them a whole day to complete it.
No wonder, if she came by bicycle, she would remember the road clearly.
The car ran for more than forty minutes before reaching the entrance of the village. Xiao Hong's classmate pointed to a few dilapidated houses ahead and said that those were Chunhong's mother's house.
I said, "Let's park the car here. I'll give you my phone. If anything happens to me, you inform Zhou Yingying or call the police. I'll go alone."
It was now close to dusk, and the road was muddy and difficult to walk on. I approached her house, stepping in mud.
There was no courtyard wall, only a few lonely adobe houses by the roadside.
The middle house had its door open. I walked in. It was pitch dark inside. After my eyes adjusted, I saw an empty room, which could be described as completely bare. If you say my home is poor, my home at least had a stove, a table, chairs, and a bed. But here, a few planks of wood were laid in the corner of the room, with a few pieces of torn cloth on them, and some worn-out clothes. The cooking stove was piled with several bowls of indistinguishable color and a pot whose original appearance was no longer visible. Smoke was rising from the hearth, emitting a choking smell.
I thought to myself, "It's a wonder her mother had the heart to drive her out. If she had grown up here, she would have gone crazy or become foolish."
I walked through the back door into another room. There was movement inside. I pushed the door, but it was locked from the inside and wouldn't open. I listened, and it sounded like a muffled cry. I looked at the room; this should have been where the cattle were kept. The room was large, with no windows, only this wooden door.
I called out a few times, but there was no response from inside. I kicked the door, and it opened a crack with a creak. I kicked it again, and the entire door fell to the ground.
The room was still very dark. I guessed correctly; this was once a cowshed. A man and a woman were standing in the room. The woman looked at me fiercely, while the man, holding a pitchfork, charged at me.
By the time I saw it, the pitchfork was already upon me, and I couldn't dodge it. I could only block it with my arm. The force was so strong that the man's pitchfork flew out of his hand and clattered to the ground. My arm ached terribly.
Seeing that he had missed, the man grabbed a wooden stick from the ground and swung it at me. My arm, which had just blocked the pitchfork, hadn't recovered yet, so my reaction was a little slow. His stick hit my shoulder, almost knocking me over.
I turned and grabbed the stick in his hand, then shoved him aside. He was already leaning forward to hit me, so my shove sent him face-planting.
I stepped over and stomped on his hand, then twisted my foot on the ground. He cried out in pain.
I kicked him in the stomach, and he knelt there in pain, hunched over, cursing in the local dialect. I grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. He stood unsteadily, and I grabbed his hair, hitting him left and right until blood gushed from his mouth!
I let go, and he collapsed on the ground like a dead dog. I stepped over him and walked towards the trembling woman.
I asked her, "Where is Cui Chunhong?"
She looked at me timidly and pointed to a corner with her eyes. I turned and looked. I saw Xiao Hong tied to a cattle tethering frame, with a dirty towel stuffed in her mouth, crying.
I walked over, removed the towel from her mouth, and untied the rope. Seeing her covered in wounds, I helped her up and walked to the woman. I knew this person must be her mother.
I asked her, "Tell me, what happened?"
She was still trembling and couldn't say a word.
Xiao Hong stopped crying and pulled me aside. She told me that this man had lost a lot of money gambling and had borrowed money at exorbitant interest, which he couldn't repay. Originally, he had planned to steal or rob on the street today, but he accidentally spotted me and decided to target me. He had conspired with the loan sharks to sell me to pay off his debts. When I refused, they tied me up here and beat me, saying that someone would take me away in the latter half of the night and sell me abroad.
I asked, "What about your younger brother and sister?"
She said that they had both been sold to human traffickers long ago, and she didn't know where her brother and sister had been bought. Now, only the two of them were left at home.
These two beasts, how can such trash exist in this world? They sold their own flesh and blood one by one, and now they are targeting Xiao Hong. Their actions are truly inhumane!
I walked over and kicked the man. He lay there like a dead pig, feigning death. I walked to the woman and said to her, "You gave birth to her, and you have the grace of giving birth, so she respectfully calls you mother. But you two dogs and bitches, your actions are worse than those of animals. You don't raise your children, and you engage in these shameful deeds. You are not fit to be parents. Today, I still acknowledge you as Xiao Hong's mother, and I won't hit you. Next time, your fate will be the same as this man's!"
After speaking, I took out a stack of money and threw it on the ground, saying, "Take this money to treat your man's injuries. With the rest, buy some rice. As for whether you owe gambling debts to others, it has nothing to do with Xiao Hong. If you don't believe me, come and find her again. If I don't send you two to the police station, I swear I'm not human!"
"With what you've done, it's either a death sentence or life imprisonment, believe it or not!"
After speaking, I helped Xiao Hong out and walked along the dark path.
I helped her into the car and put her in the back seat. When she got in the car and saw her classmate, she hugged her and cried.
I told the driver, "Let's go back."
The car drove for a long time, and Xiao Hong's crying didn't stop.
Is there any kind of harm that is deeper and more unforgettable than the harm inflicted by one's own relatives?