Nannan didn't stand on ceremony when she saw the food, grabbing chopsticks and eating with gusto. Her speed was second only to Bai Ling'er, and she ate with such relish, as if she hadn't eaten in her life.
I was taken aback, but then I thought about her current predicament and understood. After all, she was a ghost now, no longer a child of five or six. Did she not know she had become a ghost?
I ladled a bowl of soup for her and said, "Eat slowly. I'll make more if you don't have enough. Don't rush and choke."
"Mmm-hmm..."
Nannan nodded in agreement while stuffing food into her mouth, her eating speed increasing by another third. She looked truly famished.
After devouring the four dishes, one soup, and a large bowl of rice with the speed of a whirlwind, Nannan patted her slightly bulging belly and let out a contented burp, "I haven't eaten this much in so long. Nannan is stuffed."
I felt speechless. The incense and candles I prepared for Nannan were enough for two adult ghosts. For such a small ghost, she ate the food of two people. It seemed she had likely starved to death.
After chatting with her about other things for a while, I finally got to the point.
"Do you know your parents' names?"
Nannan nodded seriously and replied, "Of course, I know! One is called 'husband,' and the other is called 'wife.'"
Upon hearing this, I stumbled, almost falling off my chair. What kind of answer was that! You're revealing your parents' private affairs! Besides, I already knew how couples addressed each other. Although I wasn't married and didn't have a girlfriend, I'd seen pigs run even if I hadn't eaten pork.
Fearing she didn't understand my meaning, I explained the meaning of names to her again. But the answer was still that her father was called husband and her mother was called wife. This completely dashed my hopes of finding her parents by name.
Regaining my composure, which had been shaken by her, I continued, "You must know where your home is, right?"
"Nannan definitely knows! I live at my home. My home is very big. There's Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie, and many people who play with me..."
"Stop... stop... I'm asking where your home is, not who is in your home!" I was utterly defeated by this little one. How could all her answers be so irrelevant?
"My home is just my home. Is there another location?" Nannan looked at me with a hint of grievance, tears welling up in her eyes, looking as if she would cry if I continued to ask.
Fine, it seemed this question was also asked in vain. I took a few deep breaths to adjust to this mode of answering questions with non-answers and then asked, "You know who you came with, right?"
"I know this." Seeing my disbelief, she continued, "I came out with an uncle to find my mommy and daddy. Then... then I fell asleep. When I woke up, I couldn't find them. Big brother, can you help me find my mommy and daddy? They must be worried if they can't find Nannan."
"Wuwu..."
Uncle?
My heart sank. Could she have been so unlucky as to run into human traffickers?
I knew that the country had been cracking down on crime in recent years, especially on human traffickers. However, some people still took the risk because high risk meant high reward, so some always wanted to take shortcuts to get rich. Sudan Novel Network.
Nannan cried heartbrokenly, tears streaming down her face. It pained me deeply. Damn it, who was the wicked bastard who abducted such a small child, and then killed her? This was simply inhumane. Even if I didn't make money, even if I didn't gain merit, I had to find this scoundrel.
Although I had decided to find and kill Nannan's murderer, determination was one thing, but facing Nannan, who knew nothing, made me feel like a dog trying to bite a turtle – nowhere to start.
Besides knowing her own name, she knew nothing else. She didn't know her parents' names, nor where she lived. As for what the uncle looked like, I couldn't even be bothered to ask, because the answer would surely be "I don't know."
Even if she remembered something, human traffickers wouldn't show their true faces. They would definitely be disguised or have put on makeup.
Just as I was wondering what to do next, Bai Ling'er, who was nearby, burst into laughter.
"Haha... so funny! Big idiot, you won't get anything out of her even if you ask all night." Bai Ling'er rolled around on the lounge chair, laughing until her stomach hurt.
"Hmph, if you're so capable, you ask. If you can get anything useful, I... I'll respect you." I originally wanted to say I'd buy her a sheep, but then I remembered a sheep cost over two thousand, so I gave up. I'd let her find wild game in the mountains herself. Even if she didn't, Huang San could do it.
"Tsk, stingy. You want the horse to run but not give it grass. Is there such a good thing in the world? Do I need your respect? Don't forget your own identity, you are my pet?" Seeing that I was still unconvinced, she continued, "If you can't beat me, just be my pet honestly. Talk about it when you can finally beat me."
As soon as she mentioned fighting, I lost my spirit. The main reason was that I really couldn't beat her. Perhaps with Zhang Dabiao, there might be a chance to fight, but would she concede then?
Bai Ling'er had completely gone bad. Ever since the first time I agreed to buy her sheep, she learned to blackmail. Now, she was completely opportunistic, acting like a shrewd businesswoman.
"One sheep."
"Two."
"Just one. Eat it or don't. If you want sheep in the future, it will depend on your performance, otherwise, I'll cut off your food supply. See what you do?"
"You... you, so stingy, you're making me so angry."
Seeing that this tactic was effective, I was secretly delighted. It seemed that if I wanted to train Bai Ling'er to be obedient in the future, I would have to rely on her food and drink. As for conquering her with force, I'd better forget it. I couldn't stand being beaten by her, and I couldn't bear to injure her.
I cleared my throat and said, "Hurry up and tell me the solution. If it works, I might consider giving you an extra half a sheep."
"That's more like it. Can't you use the internet? You can check the news, see if any children have gone missing in nearby cities. Wouldn't that solve the problem?"
My eyes lit up when I heard this. That's right! How could I have forgotten this? I'm a good youth of the new era, and in this era of advanced internet, I actually forgot about checking the news online. It was utterly humiliating.
Seeing Bai Ling'er playing with Nannan with a smug look, I felt speechless. How did she become so smart? Had I become stupid?
I opened my phone and connected to the internet. First, I searched for news in my own county, but there was no information about missing persons or lost children.
Just as I was wondering if Nannan was a missing child from a neighboring city, a striking red news headline caught my eye.
"High Reward for Child's Clues. Anyone who sees this child and provides clues will be rewarded with 300,000. If you help find the person, you will be rewarded with 1 million." Below it was a photo of the child, with contact information.
I zoomed in on the photo and saw that this child was none other than Nannan!