Witty Wife, Better Life

Chapter 579: Chapter 569 Moving Back Home (Part 2)

Soldiers eat quickly, and in less than ten minutes, the dumplings and dishes on the table were all eaten clean.

Shen Yunfang wiped her mouth, probably because she was hungry, she thought the food at this small restaurant was quite good.

"You guys sit for a while, I’m going to order more dumplings to eat later," Shen Yunfang said, standing up and walking towards the front.

"Sister-in-law, it’s so hot today, will they last until evening?" Xiaohai thought this idea was very unreliable.

"It’s fine, I’ll put them in a thermal container. If they can’t be eaten, we just won’t eat them," Shen Yunfang insisted with a stubborn look.

"Don’t mind her, just let her do her thing," Li Hongjun knew his wife’s secret. No matter how much she ordered or how hot the weather was, the food would never spoil.

"Waah, I want Mommy, hm..."

Suddenly, a child’s heartbreaking cry came from the side. Everyone turned to look and saw a middle-aged woman holding a boy, her large hand covering the child’s mouth to stifle his cries.

The man sitting at that table, feeling their gazes, hastily scolded the woman, "How can you watch the child like this, mother? Soothe him quickly, there are so many people here, why did you make him cry?"

"Alright, I was wrong, okay?" the middle-aged woman replied, with a good temper, admitting fault to the man opposite her. She then tightened her hold on the struggling child in her arms, "Be good, son, stop crying. Tell Mommy what you want to eat, Mommy will get it for you."

The man, with a smile plastered on his face, apologized to the surrounding onlookers, "Sorry about that, the child doesn’t understand, he’ll be soothed soon."

Everyone took a glance and then went back to their own meals, not making a big deal of it.

Li Hongjun and his companions also turned back around.

Afterwards, the child burst into tears several times before finally calming down.

By then, Shen Yunfang had packed up the food and dumplings she ordered, and of course, under the cover of a black bag, everything went into the space.

"Okay, let’s go, it’s almost time," Shen Yunfang glanced at her watch. There were only ten minutes left before the train arrived at the station, and it was not too early to leave now since Li Hongjun’s mobility wasn’t great.

Supported by Shen Yunfang, Li Hongjun stood up, and they all slowly left the restaurant.

"You two, come here." Not far from the restaurant, Li Hongjun stopped and called Xiaohai and the man who looked for opportunities to come over.

"What’s up, Captain?"

Li Hongjun mumbled his instructions and then asked, "Can you complete the mission?"

"Guaranteed to complete the mission." The two soldiers instinctively saluted again.

"Alright, no need to salute now. The situation is special, you should start your separate actions now," Li Hongjun said seriously.

Then, they watched as Xiaohai ran off like a shot, and the driver found a concealed spot to lie in wait.

"Is what you described true?" Shen Yunfang still couldn’t quite believe it. Had they really just encountered child traffickers?

"Just suspicions, but better to be wrong about a hundred than to let one guilty person go free." Li Hongjun couldn’t be one hundred percent sure that the two individuals they had come across were traffickers, but their behavior was highly indicative that they might not be the biological parents of the boy. Being a father himself, he knew no parent would treat their child in such a manner.

"Right, when there’s suspicion, it must be thoroughly investigated; otherwise, it’s possible to ruin a child’s life." Shen Yunfang wholeheartedly agreed with his sense of responsibility.

But when there are suspicions, they must be verified. If it turns out to be a mistake, then at worst apologize and compensate for any inconveniences caused, but if it’s not checked, it could ruin a child’s entire life, possibly even lead to the breakdown of a family. So, taking this risk is a must.

"Okay, let’s get going," Li Hongjun signaled to Shen Yunfang to help him board the train as the two others were ready to go.

"Don’t we need to wait and see?" Shen Yunfang was a bit curious.

"No need to wait. If those two can’t handle even this little thing properly, they might as well go back to farming." Li Hongjun had great confidence in the two of them.

Even if they were not up to it, hadn’t Xiaohai gone to find the police? They would surely capture the perpetrators.

"How did you realize those two were traffickers?" Shen Yunfang asked as they walked. She hadn’t been around when the child began crying, as she had gone to pack dumplings. When she returned, she hadn’t noticed anything wrong with the family of three.

"Initially, I found it odd when the boy was crying; the way that woman covered his mouth to keep him from making noise seemed abnormal. If it were my own child, I certainly wouldn’t have the heart to treat him in such a way." Li Hongjun made his observation from his personal perspective, and it alerted him that something was off.

"Just because of that? Could it be that she was simply trying not to disturb others?" Shen Yunfang thought the reason seemed a bit far-fetched. She knew not everyone was like Li Hongjun, a father who cherished his child. Many men only had children to carry on their lineage; it was more of a duty, and after the child was born, they wouldn’t care for or cherish them at all.

"You wouldn’t do that to our son, would you?" Li Hongjun looked at his wife with a disapproving gaze.

"What’s wrong with you? Let’s talk this out properly. Why are you bringing this up?" Shen Yunfang felt a surge of irritation and almost raised her hand to hit him, but she couldn’t find a place to land the blow.

"Ahem," Li Hongjun suppressed a laugh and continued, "It wasn’t just that. The woman’s action merely aroused my suspicion. Although nobody was paying them attention after that, I observed that the woman tried several times to soothe the child without success. Then, the man took out something similar to a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to the woman. She then made the crying child sniff it behind our backs, and the child stopped crying. It appeared as though the woman had lulled the child to sleep, but I think the handkerchief was drugged, and the child was knocked out." Li Hongjun’s military background as a recon soldier provided him with the skill to unobtrusively monitor and detect unusual behavior.

"Then, those two must definitely be traffickers. No family would treat their child that way," Shen Yunfang concluded, upon hearing the child was likely drugged.

"It’s too early to say that now. Wait till Xiaohai and his team take those two into custody; they won’t be able to resist spilling the truth."

While talking, they reached the ticket inspection, where Shen Yunfang showed their tickets and letters of introduction to ease their way into helping Li Hongjun board the platform.

After a short wait, the train arrived at the station and Shen Yunfang helped Li Hongjun get on board. Getting on and off was extremely difficult for him at that moment; seeing him sweat from the pain, she felt she should just carry him on board.

Of course, that was just a thought; if she really did so, Li Hongjun would probably be offended for a whole year.

Once they found their bunks, Shen Yunfang hurried to spread the bed sheets and help Li Hongjun lie down. Standing or sitting all day had been a heavy burden, and the best thing for him to do now was rest and recoup.

Just before the train’s departure, Xiaohai rushed in to report that the two child traffickers had been successfully apprehended and were awaiting further investigation at the police station.

Upon hearing this news, both Shen Yunfang and Li Hongjun felt relieved. They made Xiaohai promise to call and inform them about the outcome of the case.

"Woo... woo..." With a whistle, the train pulled out from the station, heading toward the Capital.