WBSGVS Chapter 114

It was already past 9 p.m. when a group of police officers suddenly arrived at the Tang family home in their patrol cars, waking up the surrounding neighbors. Soon, the whole village gathered to watch the commotion.

When they heard the police were arresting people for selling their granddaughter, they were dumbfounded. It was the first time many of them were learning about the laws. They were shocked: “Isn’t that her biological granddaughter? Is that even illegal?”

“Weren’t they saying she was married off? How did that become illegal?”

The officers standing nearby overheard and couldn’t help but laugh bitterly, replying sternly, “Human trafficking is illegal! A ten-year-old is still a child, and she cannot be married off. Forced marriages are also not allowed. No one can force a woman to marry if she doesn’t want to! If any of you encounter something like this, make sure to report it to the police!”

The villagers were stunned.

How many laws had they broken over the years without realizing it?

Their faces turned pale, and they no longer dared to watch. After muttering some vague responses, they quickly dispersed while the officers weren’t paying attention.

It was terrifying!

The Tang family was equally terrified. Li Lanhua had reported her in-laws and her husband, but the rest of the family had to be questioned as well.

The Tang sons and daughters-in-law, like frightened quails, answered truthfully.

Though they hadn’t directly participated, they knew a little, especially the eldest son’s family. Even though Tang Dashun and Qian Guiying adored their daughter, Tang Tiantian, their heir was still their eldest son, so they revealed a few details.

Tang Dasong said, “Don’t arrest me. I didn’t participate. I just heard my parents talking about finding a good family for Sanya. I didn’t know who they were looking for.”

The eldest daughter-in-law said something similar, and the other two families knew nothing, especially the fourth son’s family, who had only found out at noon that day.

In the end, only Tang Dashun, Qian Guiying, and Tang Ersong were taken away.

As the car drove off, a shocked Tang Tiantian, watching the police car leave, burst into tears, crying, “Mom—”

But the car quickly disappeared, and there was no response.

Once the police left, the remaining villagers surrounded her again, curious. “Tiantian, did your parents sell Sanya? Why did they do that? Has your family fallen so low?”

“Geez, I thought things were going well. I just heard the police say it’s illegal. If you really can’t make ends meet, you should borrow from the village team instead.”

Tang Tiantian couldn’t listen to any of it. She just cried uncontrollably. Her leg was still in a cast, and she couldn’t run fast, so she was being scolded by the villagers, each offering their opinion. In frustration, she snapped, “Sanya is lazy and good for nothing. Why wouldn’t she be sold?”

The villagers responded with a shocked silence.

One of them retorted, “Look at yourself before you talk like that.”

Tang Tiantian, crying from anger, glared at the person.

But now that Tang Dashun and Qian Guiying weren’t around, and with no one to back her up, her siblings and their spouses ignored her. No one was afraid of her, and they all thought she had been spoiled. They shook their heads, muttering, “I told Guiying not to spoil her so much. Which family raises a daughter like this? She doesn’t know anything but to talk about others.”

“She’s the lazy one. How can she talk about Sanya like that? Sanya has lived alone in the deep mountains for so long. She’s much stronger than her.”

“Exactly. Oh, Tang Dashun’s family caused a disaster by selling their child.”

Tang Dasong, who had been startled, came to his senses and didn’t want anyone coming over to watch the scene anymore. He hurriedly shooed them off, saying, “Alright, alright, go to bed. It’s late already.”

This comment also jolted Tang Sishong and his wife awake.

They quickly took their two children inside, still shaken. Tang Sishong’s wife urgently said, “Husband, we shouldn’t wait anymore. Once our parents come back, we’ll split the family.”

“Something’s happened to them, and they might not come back,” Tang Sishong said in shock, struggling to believe it. But there was little sorrow in his voice—this was their own doing. Their family hadn’t reached the point where they couldn’t survive. They just thought the second brother’s family was easy to push around and couldn’t stand Sanya bullying Tang Tiantian, so they sold the child.

Why did they have to do this?

Before this, no one could have predicted that the illiterate second daughter-in-law would be capable of such actions, causing the police to get involved.

It seemed Li Lanhua had gone to the county to find the police.

Tang Sishong’s wife’s expression changed slightly, but it wasn’t panic—there was a hint of excitement. If this was the case, then their family would be split!

However, they remained silent as the two were, after all, their parents.

Meanwhile, the third family was also thinking about the same issue. If their parents were in trouble and couldn’t come back, what would they do?

The two, used to relying on their elders, were slightly panicked. But after some thought, they realized, “If we split the family, it’s not so bad. We just need to work hard and take care of these two children for now. We won’t have children for a while, okay?”

“Okay!” The third daughter-in-law nodded quickly.

They had both wanted children before, thinking that as long as the elders were around, someone would help raise them. But now, that wasn’t the case.

So, they decided to hold off on having children and figured they could manage with the split.

The eldest family, however, was thinking, “If something happens to our parents and they don’t come back, who will take care of Tang Tiantian?”

Despite how much the eldest daughter-in-law appeared to dote on her sister-in-law, it was all for show in front of her in-laws. If she had to raise this child, they wouldn’t want to.

In situations like this, the eldest usually takes charge, and now things are complicated.

Everyone was considering their escape routes, while only Qingli was waiting.

Could Li Lanhua do it?

Could she truly fight back, experience the support society offers, and protect herself through the law? If so, she would be able to withstand the consequences of her divorce in the future.

The word “divorce” seemed easy enough, but even after more than 60 years, it was still not something that happened casually. Women were often expected to endure, and that was especially true back then.

Once divorced, a woman would be scorned by everyone, with her family and in-laws constantly criticizing her. Without a strong mentality, a woman could easily lose her mind.

Only if Li Lanhua stood up for herself could she truly survive in such a harsh world for women.

Qingli had planned all this with the hope that if the right people were sent away, the resistance from the Tang family would lessen, making the divorce easier. Ideally, she wanted to send Tang Ersong away as well, so even if a divorce didn’t happen, it wouldn’t matter.

When the time came, she thought the Tang family would at least be on high alert for a day or two, so she was very patient and went to bed calmly. But to her surprise, as dawn was breaking, there was a sudden noise followed by the frantic, shocked shouting from the Yang family, along with the cries of their foolish son calling for his parents.

Qingli sat up in shock. Soon, the locked door was broken open, and a group of police officers appeared at the door. The officers let out a sigh of relief when they saw Qingli, clearly afraid the soulless people wouldn’t even spare a ten-year-old child.

A female officer ran over to hug Qingli and comforted her, saying, “It’s okay, your mom already reported it. We’ve arrested the bad guys. Don’t be afraid, little girl!”

Qingli: “???”

This was all happening way too fast!

It wasn’t until later that Qingli realized she had underestimated the power of ignorant people when it came to legal matters.

Around 9 a.m., the police went to the Tang family, took them to the police station, and interrogated them overnight. The higher-ups were watching closely, so no one dared slack off.

At this time, human rights protection wasn’t as strict as it was in the 1960s, and sometimes methods like appropriate threats and intimidation were still effective.

Tang Dashun and Qian Guiying weren’t important figures. As soon as they realized they had committed a serious crime, they were terrified, and after being interrogated repeatedly, they ended up telling the police everything.

Where was the child sold? To Yangjia Village.

How much did they sell her for? Twenty yuan.

When was she sold? This morning.

After the interrogation, the police immediately took action. A ten-year-old girl, sold to become a wife to a fool—who dared delay such a thing?

By the early morning, within less than 24 hours, Qingli was rescued.

Qingli thanked the female officer, and as she was led out of the room, she glanced at the foolish son of the Yang family with a feeling of regret. She had planned to find an opportunity to beat him up!

Now, surrounded by police, she felt too embarrassed to do so in front of the legal personnel.

Seeing her parents being taken away, the Yang family’s son sat on the ground, crying. As he cried, he saw that the woman his parents had found for him was also being taken away. He immediately stood up and tried to pull Qingli over.

What a great opportunity!

Qingli raised her foot and kicked him!

With a loud “bang,” he fell to the ground, his buttocks hurting from the fall, and he cried even harder.

The police officers protecting Qingli didn’t have time to react, and they stared at the scene, speechless.

Well, this kid… should he be hurt if they weren’t there?

Qingli smiled apologetically and followed the officer to the police car.

The car slowly drove across rough terrain. Though it wasn’t fast, it was still much quicker than riding a bike, and before long, they arrived at the police station.

At the station, Qingli saw Li Lanhua, who was overjoyed to be reunited with her daughter. She rushed over and hugged Qingli tightly, crying, “Sanya! You scared me to death!”

Hearing that her daughter had been sold, Li Lanhua almost believed she would never see her again, and she wished she could die with Tang Ersong. But once she calmed down, she knew her smart daughter would never get into real trouble.

She had to pretend to be upset, though, so they would pity her as a mother who had lost her child.

When she acted pitifully, it worked even better.

Qingli smiled, hugging her back, and reassured her, “Mom, I’m fine. Don’t be scared anymore.”

Li Lanhua sniffled, nodded, and said, “Yes, I know you won’t be in trouble.” After checking Qingli carefully and confirming she was unharmed, she sincerely thanked the police.

Qingli bowed with her, and they were helped up multiple times. The sound of Qian Guiying’s endless crying regretfully echoed from the nearby interrogation room, which only steadied Qingli’s heart.

After the thanks, Qingli was taken to make a statement. Once she was finished, she and Li Lanhua were arranged to rest in a room. The police kindly brought them breakfast—warm soy milk and buns to eat.

After working all night, Li Lanhua hadn’t slept a wink and needed to eat well and rest.

Once the door closed, Qingli flashed a big smile and complimented her mom, “Mom, you’re amazing!”

Li Lanhua, her spirit more resolute and courageous, smiled and patted her daughter’s head, softly replying, “Sanya, you’re amazing too!”

If Li Lanhua hadn’t made Qingli remember the route, she wouldn’t have been able to find her. From crying at the county government’s door to finally meeting her daughter, she felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and self-affirmation.

Although she had once considered divorce, she had also worried about what the Tang family would do to her after it. In all the surrounding villages, no one had ever heard of a successful divorce, but there were rumors of women being beaten to death for wanting a divorce, or mothers-in-law forcing their daughters-in-law to drink pesticide.

So she had kept quiet about wanting a divorce, living as usual—not just for her daughter’s sake but because she was scared too.

But now she wasn’t afraid anymore. She knew how to protect herself and her daughter. If they were beaten, she could go to the police, the Women’s Federation, and many others for help.

She wasn’t afraid anymore!

When she saw Tang Ersong later, she was going to bring up the divorce!