Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next day.

Wang Guizhi reclined on the hospital bed, peeling a green-skinned orange and popping a segment into Xiao Dizi's mouth. "See? Not sour, right? Don't let its plain looks fool you, but this tree of ours bears fruit that's thin-skinned, juicy, and even the green ones are quite sweet."

She looked up and said to the other kids in the room, "You all have some too. There are more here when you finish."

Early in the morning, Shen Guoqing had arrived again with the ox cart, bringing along a large bag of oranges from the old tree in the Shen family courtyard. He'd picked the tree clean.

In the family, Shen Ailin was the youngest. In previous years, everyone would save the oranges for him as snacks. This year, however, all these oranges were a windfall for the group of little kids in the ward.

Shen Banyue quickly finished one, slurping it down, patted her belly, and let out a contented sigh.

She could hardly remember the last time she had eaten such fresh, juicy fruit.

Wang Guizhi, on the bed next to hers, was amused by her little display and tossed two more oranges over. "If you like them, eat more."

Xiao Dizi, leaning against her bedside, said in a milky voice, "Xihuan, Xiao Dizi ye xihuan!" (I like it, Xiao Dizi likes it too!)

Wang Guizhi quickly stuffed another segment into her open mouth. "Yes, yes, you like them too. You eat as well."

Shen Banyue treasured the two oranges and placed them into the enamel basin by her bedside, which was now scrubbed shiny and bright—she had grabbed this basin from the state-run restaurant during the chaos.

The steamed buns were gone, but the basin remained.

Besides the two oranges, the basin now contained three pieces of candy, a peach shortbread cookie, and a rubber band, all given by the doctors and nurses yesterday.

A nurse had told her not to put things like rubber bands in her eating basin, but Shen Banyue didn't see a problem with it. Someone who had lived through the apocalypse wouldn't fuss over such details. As long as she wasn't using a zombie's skull as a bowl, she could accept it.

—

Shen Guoqiang hurried in, carrying a large cloth bag in his left hand and a large lunchbox in a net bag in his right. Following him was Lin Xiaohui, her face still damp, clearly having just washed up.

"Here, have some steamed buns."

The couple distributed the buns from the cloth bag to the children, then took bowls brought from home to share the soy milk from the lunchbox.

"Where's Guoqing?" Shen Guoqiang asked.

"After hearing we wouldn't be going back until evening, that kid couldn't sit still. He ran off in a flash ages ago. He's definitely off playing with those good-for-nothing friends of his in the commune. Don't worry about him." Wang Guizhi shook her head, picked up a bowl, and fed a few mouthfuls to Xiao Dizi, who was watching eagerly. "That rascal, not like our Xiao Dizi here, so well-behaved."

Xiao Dizi, with milky soy milk foam at the corner of her mouth, gave a soft, happy laugh.

The children had already eaten the mixed-grain porridge the nurses gave them, but the meat buns were so fragrant they still devoured them ravenously.

Only Shen Banyue didn't want buns for now. Yesterday, aside from the two Xiao Dizi ate and the one Lin Mian had, the rest had all gone into her stomach. So, she asked a nurse for a clean piece of paper, wrapped her bun, and placed it in the enamel basin by her bed.

Looking at the room full of children, a complicated look came into Lin Xiaohui's eyes. She averted her gaze to hide it, hesitated for a moment, and asked Wang Guizhi, "Mom, are we really waiting until evening to go back?"

After all, it was Shen Aimin's wedding day. It wasn't really appropriate for all of them not to go back and help, only returning for the main banquet.

Wang Guizhi, sipping the hot soy milk and eating the oily meat bun, waved her hand dismissively. "What could go wrong? We went over everything during dinner yesterday. All the arrangements are settled; nothing will go awry."

She snorted and continued, "Besides, Shen Dechang isn't dead. Would he really let his eldest grandson's wedding banquet have problems? And furthermore, I, as the stepmother, practically raised Shen Guoxing myself, got him married, had his children, and now his son is getting married. I've done more than enough."

Lin Xiaohui looked at Shen Guoqiang. After a moment's thought, he said, "Let's listen to Mom."

The children were happiest that Shen Guoqiang and the others weren't going back. For lunch, they each managed to get a spoonful of scrambled eggs with chives.

No family was well-off in these times. Those in better conditions might eat an egg occasionally once a week; those worse off might not eat a few eggs all year.

Moreover, these eggs were fried with plenty of oil, making them so delicious you could swallow your tongue.

Oranges, steamed buns, scrambled eggs, and in the afternoon, Dai Xianghua brought another large bag of candy and biscuits to share. Not to mention after being kidnapped, even before, they hadn't eaten like this at home.

The group of children, who had been listless and droopy yesterday, were practically ecstatic today, seeming much livelier.

Dai Xianghua had dark circles under his eyes and looked very haggard, but his spirits were good. Despite being busy for two days and a night straight, he still had the energy to pull Shen Guoqiang aside to squat by the door and discuss the case.

"Thanks to Xiao Yue, that child. She overheard a lot of useful information. We found a ledger recording the trafficking of women and children by this gang in our area since February last year. One of the traffickers, surnamed Hu, is a local. He tricked quite a few people into being his brokers, making our area their base of operations.

Many villages in our Yunling Commune, as well as the neighboring Mingxing Commune and Qishan Commune, are involved. We conducted overnight raids on those villages and brought back all the trafficked women and children, along with the relevant personnel."

Having been a Public Security Commissioner for over ten years, this was Dai Xianghua's first time involved in such a major case, and he was very excited. "Over a hundred people are involved. The county sent two large trucks to transport everyone away."

Shen Guoqiang split an orange and gave him half. "So the county has taken over the case?"

"Definitely. A case this big, the city and maybe even the province will probably send people. Us grassroots, non-staff personnel, we just help out when needed."

Dai Xianghua gave a self-deprecating laugh, peeled the orange, and took a segment. "Qiangzi, your oranges are really sweet! The skin is so green, I thought they'd be terribly sour."

Just then, Xiao Dizi toddled over, holding an orange in each hand. She offered them to Dai Xianghua, saying in her milky voice, "Uncle, Grandma gave them!"

Facing the little one, Dai Xianghua's voice softened. "Thank you, Xiao Dizi!"

He then turned and smiled at Wang Guizhi on the bed. "Auntie, your oranges are sweet. I'll shamelessly take a couple to satisfy my brat's craving back home."

Wang Guizhi chuckled. "You eat. I'll give you a few more later for the child."

She paused, then asked, "I heard you say earlier that the others were sent to the county. What about these children?"

That was precisely the headache for Dai Xianghua.

"The situation with those people is more complicated. Taking them to the county for questioning is also for their protection. You know how strong clan mentality is in our rural areas. If we hadn't carried out a surprise raid this time, we wouldn't have been able to bring out so many people.

We acted in groups last night. I heard one group in Qishan Commune got into a dispute with villagers after entering the village. The Public Security Commissioner almost had his head bashed in. So, if those people stayed in the commune, things would likely go wrong."

He sighed. "As for these children, their situation is simpler. They don't involve buyers. The county's idea is for us to arrange things ourselves, to lessen the burden a bit."

With over a hundred people involved, the suspects could be thrown into detention, but the trafficked women and children needed to be placed somewhere. With so many people, food, lodging, and management were big problems.

The higher-ups, thinking one less to manage is better, told them to handle it themselves. Although they promised appropriate grain subsidies, where could he find trustworthy families who could take in so many children on such short notice?

They couldn't stay at the clinic indefinitely either. When he entered earlier, Director Liu of the clinic had stopped him, saying three to five days was fine, but any longer was definitely not okay. He also reminded him that if the children caught the flu, chickenpox, or something here, it would be even more troublesome.

Dai Xianghua scratched his head, looking worried. Wang Guizhi, however, seemed interested. "There are grain subsidies?"

"Yes, eight *liang* of grain per person per day."

"That's quite a lot! Factory workers only get less than thirty *jin* of grain coupons a month. These children are only a few years old; how much can they eat in a day?"

"It is indeed quite a bit. The extra is meant to help the families taking them in. The commune will also supplement a few yuan. If my house weren't so cramped and I had someone to help, I'd take them home myself."

Dai Xianghua's eyes suddenly lit up. "Hey, Auntie, would you be willing to look after them for a while?"

Dai Xianghua knew the Shen family. Their courtyard was quite large, with several blue-brick tile-roofed houses built the year after Shen Guoqiang became a permanent factory worker, arguably the best in the entire Xiaodun Village.

The Shens were locals. Shen Guoqiang and his mother were honest, decent people, trustworthy. Dai Xianghua was also familiar with the Xiaodun Village production team leader and the Militia Captain, both steady and responsible characters. Thinking about it, entrusting the children to the Shen family seemed quite suitable.

However, Dai Xianghua glanced at Wang Guizhi's leg, all wrapped in gauze. Too bad, with Auntie Wang's condition like that, it probably wouldn't work.

Wang Guizhi didn't answer yes or no. Instead, she asked, "You mean raise them until their parents are found? Can they even be found? What if they can't? We can't keep them forever."

She sounded like she was actually considering it. Dai Xianghua quickly said, "At most, a month or two. If the children's families are found, they'll come get them right away. If not, the county will make arrangements for them."

Wang Guizhi pressed on, determined to get to the bottom of it: "What kind of arrangements?"

Dai Xianghua scratched his head. "They'd offer some subsidies and find families to adopt them."

Wang Guizhi thought it over briefly, then slapped her thigh—the good one, of course—and declared, "Alright then, we'll take care of these children! If any of them can't find their parents later, our family will adopt one!"

Dai Xianghua suddenly turned to look at Shen Guoqiang, and it dawned on him. Overjoyed, he exclaimed, "Oh, oh, oh! Of course, that would be perfect! If you're willing, that's the best possible outcome. You're a kind-hearted person, and I couldn't be more at ease leaving the children with you... But, Auntie, with your injury, can you handle so many kids?"

Wang Guizhi waved it off. "I can't work anyway, so isn't staying home to look after children just right?"

That did make sense.

Having solved a major problem, Dai Xianghua was thrilled. He immediately dashed out to get the grain ration coupons approved by the commune secretary.

Wang Guizhi was quite pleased too. With a wave of her hand, she told Shen Guoqiang to fetch Shen Guoqing. Soon, an ox cart was loaded with the family and seven little tykes, bumping along its way back to Xiaodun Village.

"Come on, Grandma will take you home for a big meal!"