She had been in that kitchen for a long time, cutting and preparing food, until her face felt wet.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the little faces of Nian Nian and Sui Sui peeking over.
Each child pressed half their face against hers, giving her a kiss.
Yet neither of them made a sound. Now that Song Qinghuan had woken, Nian Nian and Sui Sui immediately snuggled up to her, their mouths sticky and messy, calling out, “Mom, Mom!”
Song Qinghuan smiled. She quickly sat up on the bed and dressed. Though she felt like she had been in the kitchen for hours, pulling back the curtains showed that only one night had passed.
She moved her wrists and noticed the weakness that had plagued her was gone.
[Your wrist is healed. I hope you can inherit their culinary legacy well.]
“Will the food I make also be that magical?” Song Qinghuan clenched her fist.
[You’ll see in time. But your world doesn’t have cultivation; how far you go depends entirely on you. If nothing else comes up, I won’t appear again.]
“I’ll study hard.”
She glanced down at her wrist. The skin was still marked with scars, but the tissue underneath had already healed.
“Thank you,” she whispered, then smiled. The sunlight streamed through the window glass, warming the room. She looked at Nian Nian and Sui Sui, playing under the blankets. “Mommy will cook for you from now on, alright?”
“Okay!”
“Okay!”
In the children’s eyes, Mom Song Qinghuan was incredible. Last night, in their dreams, bad people had tried to take them, but as soon as Mom appeared, she chased the bad guys away.
Super amazing!
After breakfast, Li Xiangyang, the police officer who had accompanied her to the guesthouse yesterday, was already waiting. Song Qinghuan held the children and went downstairs. Li Xiangyang stood there, in his neat uniform, looking alert and ready.
“Comrade Song!” Li Xiangyang greeted, coming over. “Have you eaten?”
“Yes,” Song Qinghuan nodded. Li Xiangyang lifted Nian Nian from her arms to help carry the weight. “Then let’s go straight to the station.”
“Alright.”
Word of yesterday’s events had spread overnight. On the way to the station, people stared, some even asking if the story was true.
Finally arriving at the station, Song Qinghuan breathed a sigh of relief.
She saw Pang Anguo, the officer in charge of her case, approaching with a female colleague.
“This is Zheng Hongying from the County Government’s Propaganda Department. She heard about your actions yesterday and wanted to interview you. She arrived early this morning.
“But the interview can wait. First, we have some questions for you, Comrade Song.”
“No problem, I can wait here,” Zheng Hongying said cheerfully. “I can even play with the two children while we wait.”
Nian Nian and Sui Sui weren’t shy. The two little ones explored the new place curiously, whispering and giggling together.
“That would be helpful,” Song Qinghuan said, following Pang Anguo into a small office. Li Xiangyang, who had picked her up earlier, came along.
“We found account books at Yu Dezhi and his wife’s home. We’d like you to explain yesterday’s events,” Pang Anguo said. He had wanted to light a cigarette, but seeing the two female colleagues, he put it away.
Yesterday, they had quickly interrogated and captured Yu Dezhi’s lower-level accomplices, even a clerk from the street office who had helped issue introduction letters. That clerk was supposed to get a share of the money, but he’d secretly kept copies of the letters, which was crucial for tracing the trafficked children.
Cases of missing children that the station had been investigating could now be resolved together.
Song Qinghuan was ready. She explained calmly, “My parents-in-law went to Majiazhuang and near the village. I heard another couple went to the county town, so I asked the brigade leader for an introduction letter and borrowed a bicycle to go there.
“On the way to the commune, I asked around. They were also on bicycles, but one had two baskets tied to the back. Liu Jianguo’s family wasn’t wealthy—how could they fill those baskets with food for them?
“The village didn’t hear about any exchange, so the baskets were suspicious.
“Also, the couple gave Liu Jianguo a foot of coarse corduroy fabric, a gift from a distant relative he barely knew. Why would they do that? The purpose was obvious—to make the villagers think they were wealthy, so no one would suspect them of stealing children.”
Liu Jianguo’s family loved to show off, and everyone in the village knew this.
“So you suspected Yu Dezhi and his wife?”
“Yes.”
Pang Anguo nodded.
Li Xiangyang recorded everything.
Li Xiangyang couldn’t help but give Song Qinghuan a thumbs-up. Few people were so sharp.
Song Qinghuan smiled faintly.
Pang Anguo said nothing. Song Qinghuan hadn’t gone straight to the alley yesterday but had first visited the address on the introduction letter. Her discretion prevented Yu Dezhi and his wife from moving.
After an overnight interrogation, the Yu couple confessed. They were cunning, with multiple safe houses in the county town.
Song Qinghuan signed her statement and then gave an interview to Zheng Hongying before leaving the station.
At the station entrance, the Chen family was waiting. Song declined their gifts of meat and pastries but exchanged them for two baskets, securing them to her bicycle’s back seat. This made it safe for her to ride the children home.
Money felt insecure, so Song bought some eggs from the cooperative to use as part of the trade. The Chen family initially refused but finally accepted. Representing a military family, Song preferred to avoid taking advantage of anyone.
Zheng Hongying, who had come to learn about the case, saw this and remembered Li Xiangyang’s words—Comrade Song was indeed very smart.
Whether finding the children, dismantling the kidnappers’ operations, or handling small details, Song Qinghuan had been precise.
At the time, the “Four Cleanups” task force was conducting inspections across areas, and being cautious was wise to prevent people from exploiting the situation.
Song Qinghuan didn’t know Zheng Hongying’s thoughts. She first took the children to the hospital. Both were in good spirits, and the doctor confirmed they were fine.
Feeling reassured, Song prepared to take the two children back to Liujiagou, where the elderly family members were probably worried sick.
The children fell asleep on the way to the city. Sitting in the baskets, eating peach pastries on the return trip, they found everything quite novel and amusing.