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Wei Dong, casually stopped a kidnapper.
It wasn't done on purpose, not like a good person, but after he looked at the man a couple of times, he realized that the man, who was hunched over, was following a little beggar, and his feet seemed suspicious—he was clearly up to something.
At that time, Wei Dong didn't yet realize this man was a human trafficker. He just felt that the man was probably trying to take advantage of the beggar.
The town didn't have many evil people who bullied men and women; it mainly had thieves. Over the years, though, there had been quite a few petty criminals.
Whenever he sold his prey and his money pouch was bulging, some people had bad intentions.
Anyone who dared to lay a hand on him would typically end up crippled—not only had their fingers been broken, but they also ended up with worse injuries.
This situation was the norm that even if one reported it to the authorities, no one would care.
After all, if you were eyeing someone else's money and got beaten up for trying to steal, you deserved it.
As time went on, more and more people got beaten by him, so the number of petty thieves gradually decreased. After all, Wei Dong was ruthless—getting your leg broken was painful.
So when Wei Dong saw the man following the little beggar, his first reaction was that he was going to rob him.
He was even trying to steal the little beggar’s few meager coins. He deserved to be punished!
Wei Dong wasn’t particularly righteous; he just felt uncomfortable seeing the little beggar—young, skinny, and limping slightly on his right leg as he walked. It made him feel uncomfortable.
So, he decided to intervene.
Wei Dong was tall and strong. Even though he hadn't been involved in a lot of fighting recently, he had earned a fair amount of money after marrying a beautiful husband.
In the past, his fierce reputation had been somewhat faded, and now people didn’t instinctively avoid him when they met him on the street.
But his face gave people an impression of being fierce and menacing, so when he saw the man grabbing the little beggar’s arm and pulling him, he stepped forward to stop him.
The little beggar, scared, screamed and ran away.
Wei Dong, somewhat confused, pressed the struggling man to the ground. He glanced at the little beggar’s figure getting farther away, his face full of bewilderment.
The man on the ground was struggling, and Wei Dong coldly sneered, mocking him: “You’re not even as strong as my pig. Why are you grabbing that little beggar?”
The man on the ground was pressed by Wei Dong’s hand on the back of his head, his face pushed into the dirt path. He whimpered and grunted, and the more he struggled, the harder Wei Dong pressed.
Eventually, realizing he was about to suffocate from the dirt, the man finally stopped struggling and obediently lay still on the ground.
Wei Dong released his grip. The man tried to push himself up with both hands to run, but Wei Dong kicked him back down.
“What are you running for? Answer me. What were you grabbing that little beggar for?”
The kick sent the man flying two meters away, and not only that, it made him cough up blood.
Wei Dong, with a cold expression, walked over, grabbed the man by his hair, and lifted him up.
He narrowed his eyes and asked, “What were you grabbing him for?”
The man was gasping more than he was breathing, and after being shaken several times, he was dizzy and swaying.
“Sell, sell, sell for money,” his lips trembled as he stammered.
Wei Dong furrowed his brows, then dragged him toward the town chief.
Afterward, he didn’t ask much. He only heard that the yamen officers took the man away. After that, Wei Dong went shopping and then directly returned home.
He didn’t pay much attention to it and didn’t mention it to Tang Xu when he got back home.
However, today, as soon as he went out the back door of the restaurant, not even having walked two steps, he was bumped into by a little beggar.
Looking at the little dirty child sitting on the ground, shaking nervously and watching him, Wei Dong couldn’t help but smile.
“What’s the matter? You bumped into me, and now you’re waiting for me to apologize to you?”
The child was skinny, dirty, and had a strange smell. His face was streaked with black and red marks, making it impossible to tell what he looked like.
He didn’t speak, but his eyes showed a hint of panic as he looked at Wei Dong, though there was no longer the same fear he had shown earlier.
Wei Dong, eager to go and buy things with Tang Xu, didn’t bother to argue with the little beggar.
Instead, he took a few copper coins from his money pouch, bent down, and placed them beside the little beggar.
As he straightened up and turned around, the little beggar, who had been huddling on the ground, suddenly lunged at him.
Wei Dong didn’t know where that small, frail body got so much strength from, but the little beggar grabbed onto his leg with both arms.
Wei Dong was stunned for a moment, looking down at him. “What’s this supposed to mean? Are you trying to cling to me now?”
The little beggar’s body was trembling, but he clung to Wei Dong’s leg without letting go.
Wei Dong furrowed his brows, his voice turning colder. “Let go!”
He didn’t dare pull at the little beggar’s thin arms, afraid he might hurt him if he pulled too hard.
The little beggar didn’t seem to understand what was going on. He neither loosened his grip nor tightened it, and he started crying with soft sobs.
Their current position might have made someone think that Wei Dong was bullying the little beggar.
Wei Dong sighed, took a deep breath to suppress his frustration, and asked, “What exactly do you want? Speak up.”
“Save, save... save Grandma!” The little beggar cried, his face covered in tears, and snot was almost dripping into his mouth as he sobbed in distress.
Wei Dong understood what he said and squatted down to look at him. “You want me to save your grandma?”
The little beggar, with tears in his eyes, nodded vigorously. The tear tracks on his face were streaked with dirt, and his filthy appearance made Wei Dong want to wash his face immediately.
Having become a father, Wei Dong couldn’t stand seeing children in such a pitiful state.
“Where is your grandma?” Wei Dong asked.
The little beggar’s eyes lit up. He wiped his face with his arm, but in doing so, he smeared his snot and tears onto the already unrecognizable sleeve of his shirt, making his face even more of a mess.
Wei Dong took a deep breath, reminding himself to stay calm.
“Let go.”
The little beggar clung to the hem of his pants, looking at him with a bit of disbelief.
He seemed afraid that if he let go, Wei Dong would immediately leave.
Wei Dong bent down and lifted him up, treating him like he would to his second child, straightening the little beggar. “Let’s go, lead the way.”
The little beggar nodded vigorously, walking a few steps before turning back to check if Wei Dong was following him.
Wei Dong sighed, thought for a moment, and said, “Wait here.”
The little beggar immediately stopped and stood still.
Wei Dong went into the restaurant's backyard and found the stableman who helped take care of the mule. He gave him a few instructions, in case Tang Xu and the others couldn’t find him later.
He told him to wait there, as he had something to handle first.
The little beggar kept his eyes on the back door. When he saw Wei Dong come out, his eyes brightened, and he quickly continued to lead the way.
They didn’t walk too far and took a couple of small paths before arriving at a shabby thatched hut. There was no small courtyard surrounding it; it was just a standalone house.
The thatched roof had already deteriorated a lot. The little beggar rubbed his hands, looking a bit awkward, and quietly said, “Grandma... Grandma is here.”
Wei Dong glanced around before bending down to enter the low door of the house.
Inside, the light was dim, and there was a musty, foul smell in the air. Wei Dong frowned and immediately saw the lifeless, elderly body lying on the earthen bed.
The little beggar hadn’t expected the person on the bed to be so still. Every time he returned, his grandma would always say something to him.
“Grandma?” The little beggar shakily reached out and pushed the old woman’s withered body.
Wei Dong sighed. Just as the little beggar was about to rush over, he grabbed him and held him back.
The little beggar cried out and struggled, repeatedly calling out for his grandma.
2 Comments
Poor child :( Thank you for the chapter
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chapter!
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