Chapter 46: CH 23.1

Anyang City, Nanping District.

Wang Zhonglu arrived early at Nanping Park, pushing a candy floss cart.

The weather was nice.

The park was already full of old people walking with their children and young people jogging for exercise….

Wang Zhonglu began to unpack his things as usual.

He took out the candy cane, turned on the machine and in no time, a beautifully colored marshmallow was inserted on the wooden shelf of the trolley.

And in a short time, the whole wooden shelf was full.

At that moment, an old lady came over with her grandson.

She seemed to be familiar with Wang Zhonglu as she greeted him directly, “Boss Wang, you’re here again today.”

Wang Zhonglu smiled good-naturedly, “I wouldn’t dare be called boss, just call me Xiao Wang.”

“Auntie Li, are you buying candy floss for your grandson?”

Grandma Li replied, “Yes, this child loves sweets. He’ll cry if I don’t buy it for him and I’m too old to coax him.”

The little grandson she was holding was about four or five years old.

Smiling, Wang Zhonglu handed out two marshmallows: “Here, buy one, get one free.”

“You’ve been patronizing my business, so here’s an extra one for you, take it and try it.”

Embarrassed at his words, Grandma Li waved her hand hastily, “No, no, it’s not as if I can eat the sweet, so take it back, one is enough.”

But Wang Zhonglu insisted, putting both marshmallows into Grandma Li’s hand.

He told her, “It’s ok if you can’t eat it, just give it to your grandson. It’s not a problem for children to eat sweets, so just take it….”

Grandma Li eventually couldn’t resist, so she thanked him, took the two marshmallows and left.

The moment they left, Wang Zhonglu’s eyes went cold.

And asking someone to watch the marshmallow trolley, went to the public washroom in Nanping Park.

Wang Zhonglu took the opportunity to make a call from the cubicle: “The goods are here, have you seen the old woman in purple?”

“Yes, that’s right…. she is holding two marshmallows and holding the hand of a little boy in a blue hat.”

“That’s the target….”

“Don’t worry, I’ve made all the necessary inquiries. The boy’s parents are currently away on business and it’s left with just the grandparents in the family.”

“His grandfather isn’t well, so it’s usually his grandmother who brings him out to play….”

The person on the other end of the phone seemed to say something, because Wang Zhonglu laughed at his words, “OK, you guys move fast and remember to credit my account with the money you get….”

“Alright, I’m hanging up.”

Then he ended the call.

After which Wang Zhonglu put the phone in his pocket.

Humming a little tune in a good mood, he lit a cigarette then unbuckled his trousers to ease himself….

This was one of the remote public washrooms in Nanping Park, which few people usually took the long way around to come to.

Wang Zhonglu was sure no one was inside before he had entered the washroom and that there were no cameras or anything like that around, so he began to think about how much money he was going to get this time.

I’ll be sure to gamble when the time comes….

The sound of the toilet being flushed sounded.

Then Wang Zhonglu used his elbow to open the door of the cubicle as he fastened his belt.

After he had fastened his belt, he reached up, took the cigarette out of his mouth then looked into the mirror and turned around to go out without even washing his hands….

However before he could cross the steps outside the public washroom, his vision blurred and he was then held to the ground with his hands placed forcefully behind his back.

“What are you doing?”

Unable to see who the hll had the guts to do this to him, Wang Zhonglu struggled angrily, “Fcking hll, who the fck is that….”

“Wang Yong, you’re under arrest.”

–The voice in his ears instantly stopped Wang Zhonglu in his tracks as if he were frozen in place….

…….

“Grandma, marshmallow.”

Only a short distance away, the little grandson tugged on Grandma Li’s hand for a candy.

Helpless, Grandma Li could only stop and seeing a row of seats at the side of the park, took her grandson’s hand and walked over to them.

After eating the marshmallow for a while, her little grandson became restless then his eyes were drawn to a puppy on the lawn.

–He couldn’t help but jump out of his chair and run over to it.

Noticing that he was going to play, Grandma Li was just about to get up but then stopped and sat back down again.

At her age, she didn’t have the energy of a child.

At first, Grandma Li’s eyes were fixed on her grandson, but gradually, the marshmallows in her hand began to melt a little, so she had to divert some of her attention to the marshmallows.

She wiped the sticks and her hand with a tissue.

But just a moment later, when she looked up again, her grandson, who had been watching the puppy on the lawn intently, was nowhere to be seen.

“Hao Hao!”

Grandma Li stood up in a flash, not even caring that the marshmallows had fallen to the ground.

A cold sweat broke out on her back as she looked around and saw no sign of her little grandson.

She started rushing about busily.

–First she rushed out onto the lawn and asked in a panic if anyone had seen her grandson, then running, pulled people along the roadside to ask them.

Finally, someone said, “Is it that little boy in a blue hat?”

“I just saw him seemingly being carried away by a man. They were far away, so I didn’t see his face…. wasn’t that man his father?”

Grandma Li only felt a spell of dizziness and breaking down, started to cry, “That’s not his father, his father is away on a business trip. My Hao Hao! My Hao Hao!”

Unable to take the blow, the old lady fell to the ground at once and cried out.

Just then, a little boy’s cry came from the distance, “Grandma, Grandma….”

The passer-by rushed to help the old lady up and pointed out, “Look, isn’t that your grandson! The police have brought him back, the police have brought him back!”

Grandma Li looked into the not so far distance in surprise and delight.

Running over to him with her arms outstretched, she called his name and finally the little boy jumped into her arms and the two of them hugged each other tightly.

…….

News of the successful arrest of the human trafficking ring case in Anyang City, Nanping District had not yet reached Xicheng.

In this case, Li Qingzhou had asked Liu Bohuai for help in finding any clues that might have been left behind in the beginning.

— And following this line from Yuancheng,

Liu Bohuai sent someone to find Wang Zhonglu, only to discover by accident that he was still secretly engaged in human trafficking.

However Wang Zhonglu wasn’t personally involved in it.

Rather, he scouted for younger children with a single family size, preferably with no parents, for the organization in every new location….

And then afterwards, they were taken away by the organization.

Immediately realizing that this could lead to a major case of inter-provincial abduction and trafficking, Liu Bohuai wasted no time in contacting the Xia family, that is, his uncle Xia Xinjian.

–The Xia family had a military-political background and Xia Xinjian’s son, Xia Cenze, was now the chief of the Yanjing police.

And operating through the people involved, the police in Anyang City, Nanping District acted very quickly and arrested Wang Zhonglu and others at the first opportunity.

The follow-up work went very smoothly because all parties cooperated quickly and well.

–All the organizers involved in the trafficking were arrested.

And all the children were rescued and the police were now helping them find their parents, relatives, etc.

…….

Xicheng.

Li Chengkang and Jiang Biling had been trying to meet Old Master Li about the will.

But it wasn’t to be.

Old Master Li claimed to be ill and didn’t want to see them, so the old butler stopped them from entering the house.

Sometimes Li Chengkang’s phone calls would go unanswered and when they were answered, the old man would hung up after just a few words, not giving him the chance to talk.

This treatment made Li Chengkang more and more aware that something unusual was going on.

He kept on feeling that something was going to happen….

Jiang Biling asked him, “Is the old man still angry with you?”

“Or…. it can’t be that the old man has had his will notarized already, right?! But that can’t be, because we haven’t seen Lawyer Wang going to the old house recently….”

“Chengkang, what do you think is going on?!”

Jiang Biling couldn’t figure it out either.

They had just been stopped outside the old house again and had now returned home.

Coincidentally, Li Hongjie had also returned from school holidays and was slumped on the sofa playing with his cell phone.

Remembering something, Jiang Biling’s eyes lit up and she said, “Hongjie, go to the old house with mom. Your grandfather is sick, let’s go see him.”

He wouldn’t turn his own grandchild away right?

Keeping his eyes on the phone, Li Hongjie said impatiently, “I’m not going. Can’t he go see a doctor if he’s sick! What if it spreads to me, would I even be able to go to school?!”

“Besides, he might not even want to see me, his grandson.”

“Why don’t you send Li Qingzhou to see Grandpa, or else Li Hanyu or Li Xusheng will do….”

“By the way, Li Hanyu, for some reason, hasn’t been coming to school.” Li Hongjie finally said in a casual tone.

Jiang Biling didn’t care much.

Li Chengkang, however, frowned, “Li Hanyu hasn’t been to class? How many days has it been?”

Li Hongjie stopped the game he was playing at the sound of his voice and thought, “About a week or so? I didn’t count, after all we don’t really communicate in school….”

“What specific date did she stop attending class?” Li Chengkang continued to ask.

Li Hongjie gave a date.