Human traffickers are hated in any era—but in this age, where people are filled with passion and a sense of justice, they are even more despised.
After a while, the train stopped. Several police officers boarded and took the traffickers away.
The two military wives gave their statements, then returned in tears, holding their children tightly.
“Thank you so much, comrade. If it weren’t for you, we might not have found our children so quickly,” the middle-aged woman said, coming up to Wen Qiqi with her child in her arms.
“Not just not so quickly—we might not have found them at all,” the thinner woman added, choking back sobs.
It turned out that there were four traffickers on the train.
They had set their sights on Wen Qiqi and the two military wives as soon as they boarded with their children.
The journey to Jinzhou was long, with many stops along the way—perfect for slipping away.
They had carefully planned the timing and sent two people to give the children candy laced with sleeping drugs.
Luckily, Ping’an and An’an were alert and didn’t accept anything from strangers, preventing the plan from succeeding.
But the two children who ate the candy weren’t so fortunate. As the train entered a tunnel, the traffickers rushed over, grabbed the children, and ran.
One of them even tried to snatch Ping’an, but Wen Qiqi noticed in time and kicked him away.
The middle-aged woman wiped her tears, clutching her child tighter. “It’s all my fault… I trusted others too easily and almost got my child harmed… I even said you were being overly cautious, but now…”
She broke down completely.
Her two sons had their heads wrapped in floral scarves, their clothes stripped and replaced with girls’ outfits.
The traffickers seemed to have some twisted idea about girls—they had smeared bright red lipstick on the children and painted red cheeks on them.
It was said that in the front carriage, two girls had already had their heads shaved and were dressed as boys. The traffickers were holding them near the door, ready to get off the train.
The thinner woman, eyes red, added, “Comrade, you’re really amazing. How did you think of this trick the traffickers would use?”
“It was just a bit of reasoning—not anything that impressive,” Wen Qiqi said modestly.
In truth, she wasn’t that extraordinary—she had simply watched a lot of legal awareness videos in her previous life.
“This young comrade is too modest! Thanks to her careful thinking, four children were saved!”
“Exactly! She’s so young yet so capable. These children are lucky to have met someone so quick-witted—otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable!”
People around them began discussing animatedly. The way they looked at Wen Qiqi had completely changed from earlier, when they thought she was overly suspicious and difficult.
Seeing the children safely returned, Wen Qiqi finally relaxed. “Actually, sister-in-law, you weren’t wrong either. The world may not be peaceful, but in the end, there are still more good people than bad.”
“Just now, if everyone hadn’t worked together, we wouldn’t have found the children so quickly. But we still can’t let our guard down. Trusting others too easily comes at too high a price—one we mothers simply can’t afford.”
Her words made the two women nod repeatedly.
Ping’an and An’an, sensing the eased tension, peeked out from Wen Qiqi’s arms. Ping’an asked softly, “Mom, were the bad guys taken away?”
Wen Qiqi nodded gently. “Yes, the bad people were taken away by the police. They won’t bully children anymore.”
“That’s great!” An’an clapped happily.
The carriage gradually returned to normal. Passengers who had rushed forward earlier went back to their seats, though anger still lingered on their faces as they talked about the traffickers.
When the two military wives learned that Wen Qiqi was also heading to Jinzhou to join her husband, they quickly asked to switch seats with the person next to her.
After what had just happened, everyone sympathized with the two mothers and readily agreed.
Now, the three military wives and four children were seated together.
With three adults together, they could look after one another.
Wen Qiqi finally felt a bit more at ease and dared to drink some water and eat something.
The middle-aged woman’s surname was Meng—Meng Shaohua. Her husband was a company commander. Her son, Li Xiaohu, was five years old, strong and lively—though now he was still fast asleep.
The thinner woman was Zhao Lan. Her husband worked in logistics. Her son, Shitou, was six and about to start school. She planned to send him to the military district’s primary school—they couldn’t stay apart as a family for too long.
Hearing that the Jinzhou military district had both a kindergarten and a primary school, Wen Qiqi felt relieved.
That was wonderful—whether or not she and Guan Xianzhi could stay together, Ping’an and An’an would at least have schools to attend!
“Oh dear, you must be hungry—come on, let’s eat!”
“Here, try some of this. I brought cured meat from home.”
The two women laid out food while holding their still-sleeping children, warmly inviting Wen Qiqi to join them.
She took out the prepared dishes she had brought and shared them as well.
Meng Shaohua, cheerful and outgoing, held Wen Qiqi’s hand and started chatting—asking which unit her husband was in, enthusiastically introducing Jinzhou’s customs, warning that winters there came early and were very cold, and asking whether she had brought enough warm clothes for the children.
That was something Wen Qiqi had indeed overlooked.
She had focused on bringing food and hadn’t had time to buy enough clothing.
Sensing her concern, Zhao Lan placed a piece of dried tofu in each child’s hand and said, “If you didn’t bring enough, it’s fine—I have a sewing machine at home!”
“That’s great!” Wen Qiqi’s worries immediately disappeared.
Nothing was more practical than a sewing machine. She had plenty of fabric coupons—so as long as there was a machine, the children’s clothes could be made.
After what had just happened, the three women took turns staying awake.
After all, children were their most precious treasures—none of them wanted a repeat of the earlier incident.
Because of her habits from her previous life, Wen Qiqi was used to staying up late. She let the other two sleep first and only went to sleep near dawn.
She didn’t know how long she had slept before being awakened by a child’s crying.
It wasn’t Ping’an—it was Shitou.
Shitou had secretly eaten the candy behind Zhao Lan’s back.
Greed in childhood comes at a price.
And that price was a sound beating.
With his lips still smeared with red lipstick, Shitou cried loudly as his mother scolded and hit him. The rouge on his cheeks, put there by the traffickers, was smeared everywhere.
Xiaohu was so frightened that he hid beside Wen Qiqi, clinging tightly to Ping’an.
“It’s okay—your mom won’t hit you,” Ping’an said seriously, patting Xiaohu’s hand.
“W-why not?” Xiaohu stammered.
He had eaten the candy too!