Chapter 15

Finally, Buck rode the three-wheeled motorcycle and brought the two children back home.

Since the little beggar refused to see the police or go to a welfare institution, and with the faint sound of sirens in the distance, Buck didn't want to be surrounded by a large number of police cars in that desolate area. He decided to bring them back first.

When Ba Dacheng and Liu Shufen heard the commotion and came out, they saw their son pulling two children out from under the barbecue grill!

Liu Shufen's first reaction was: "Whose children did Zhi Ming have before he went abroad?!"

What could they do, the old couple was watching Korean dramas at home.

The little beggar had stopped crying, holding an old denim bag. Upon seeing the old couple, he intended to kneel down, but perhaps remembering what Buck had said earlier, he bent over deeply to bow. Liu Shufen, who hadn't had children for many years, quickly pulled him up: "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Ba Dacheng was much calmer, noticing that the child his son was holding was unconscious: "What happened?"

Buck briefly replied: "Bad guys, drugged..."

Ba Dacheng cursed and helped his son lift the curtain. Buck carried the little girl to the sofa bed and looked at the little beggar who had just come in: "Do it yourself, give your sister a bath, Mom will help... Clean yourself up too, she won't wake up for a while." Then he went outside to unload the things from the car.

Just as he finished unloading and took a shower, Liu Changyuan, drenched in sweat, ran over, his rarely exercised body panting heavily, his hands resting on the wall outside the Ba family's door, eager to speak: "Bro... they... I..."

Buck draped a towel over his wet shoulders, skillfully flicking two cigarettes out of the pack, putting one in his mouth and offering one to Liu Changyuan. The unlucky kid's hands were shaking so much he couldn't hold the cigarette. Buck didn't try to comfort him, lighting his own and then helping Liu Changyuan light his. Liu Changyuan took a puff and immediately started coughing uncontrollably. Buck watched him with a mischievous look, not offering any comfort. Instead, Ba Dacheng, hearing the commotion, poked his head out: "Liu Changyuan, you should smoke less."

Ignoring the cigarette in his son's hand, Ba Dacheng thought, "What have you spoiled him into?"

Liu Changyuan finally stopped coughing, his face still showing a suppressed smile: "Bro... you did that on purpose..."

Buck didn't respond: "What's going on with them, tell me."

Liu Changyuan returned to the information he had gathered: "They... many barbecue stalls are now selling grilled meat, just like what you taught, big chunks cut off, drizzled with sauce, twelve yuan per serving!" His face showed anger, not the carefree young man who only cared about his phone a few days ago.

Buck remained unperturbed, saying "Oh" and turning to go back inside. Liu Changyuan, in a panic, grabbed him: "Bro! Aren't you going to do something?"

Buck blinked, his face too dark to see clearly in the dark: "What should I do?"

Liu Changyuan, matter-of-factly: "They are copying your grilled meat, our business will be ruined. Didn't you teach me to control my temper and do business well? To work hard and win?" He was getting carried away.

Buck, as if trying to recall if he had ever said such low-quality things: "Ah? Grilled meat is easy to copy, and it's just a novelty. Do you think it's a long-term business?"

Liu Changyuan was indignant: "Bro! You shouldn't be like this!"

Buck was surprised: "What should I be like?"

The young man, just entering society, was full of enthusiasm: "Bro! You should expand your business. Your business is so good, how can you let others take it away?"

Buck, nonchalantly: "How do you expand?"

Liu Changyuan, taken aback, then angrily: "Don't let them take your business, it's your unique skill... that flavor is all yours!"

Buck shrugged: "Any decent chef can figure out the seasonings after a few bites. The technique of grilling large pieces isn't special. They are just following the trend. Are you going to go around with a knife and stop them from selling?"

Liu Changyuan was speechless but unwilling to give up: "Bro, it's not like that. Didn't you teach me to do things? When you chased those guys away with a knife, you looked so cool!"

Buck flicked the ash off his cigarette: "I was just messing with you, like when I made you choke on the smoke. No one will be genuinely sincere to you except your parents. Go to bed early..." He took the towel off his shoulder and turned to go inside.

The inexperienced young man was left outside, stunned!

Ba Dacheng was clearly listening inside, asking his son in a low voice: "Is the business really in trouble?" These days, Buck brought back a thousand or two every day, and after deducting the cost of ingredients, there were no business taxes or rent, so the income was really substantial.

Buck didn't care if the business was good or not, he just wanted to look like he was doing something: "It's always like this, competition is a daily thing. Don't worry about it. I was just messing with the kid, to make him less naive."

Liu Shufen's voice came from the kitchen, sounding very pleased: "Talking so mature, how old are you? You're only a few years older than him. There's a nice girl from the Zhang family in the second village, tomorrow..."

Buck quickly interrupted: "Mom! I don't have a household registration!"

Ba Dacheng laughed heartily, his son's return had made him laugh almost every day.

But it was clear that there were now more than just the three of them in the house.

Liu Shufen then brought out the little girl. The old dormitory had a small bathroom next to the kitchen, where they could take a shower. This was something Liu Shufen and Ba Dacheng had fought for a few years ago, otherwise they would have had to live in the shanty town.

Buck sat on the sofa: "Dad, you'll have to make do. Let the kids sleep with Mom tonight, and I'll figure out where to send them tomorrow..."

Thump! The small figure behind Liu Shufen suddenly knelt down. Buck was about to scold him, but his mouth was blocked as if by an egg. Looking over, he saw the clear, clean face of the little girl he had just saved.

Had the little beggar fainted again? He turned to look at his mother's arms, and the face was the same, except for the longer hair, there was no difference at all!

Twins?!

Buck felt himself swallow involuntarily: "You... are you a boy or a girl?"

The little beggar's voice was still a bit hoarse: "I... I am the older sister, eleven years old, my name is Shen Yinan. That is my younger sister, Shen Zhaonan, also eleven years old."

Buck felt that the person who named them must have really wanted a son. Shen Yinan was still kneeling: "Uncle Ba... please, please take us in, I will work for you, I will take care of my sister..."

Liu Shufen, not knowing the whole story, opened her mouth to say something, but Ba Dacheng pointed to the sofa with a fan, and she carefully laid the child down.

But before Uncle Ba could speak, Shen Zhaonan, lying on the sofa, opened her eyes a little and suddenly cried out in fear: "Mom... Sister..." Her voice was so hoarse it was heartbreaking. Shen Yinan, still kneeling, moved over and hugged her sister: "It's me, it's me... Zhaonan..." The two sisters immediately burst into tears!

Buck couldn't bear to watch such a heart-wrenching scene and got up to go outside for a cigarette. Shen Yinan turned and threw herself at his feet: "Uncle Ba..."

Buck winced: "I'm not that old..."

The little beggar quickly changed his words: "Brother Ba... please, please..." He had heard Liu Changyuan call him that before and had a good learning ability.

Buck, feeling a headache, bent down to look at Shen Zhaonan, who could only move her facial expressions and tear glands, a normal reaction to the anesthesia: "You are Zhaonan? What happened to your mother?"

Fresh tears welled up in her eyes: "Mom... Mom..." Buck really wasn't used to this, wanting to give her a clean and quick slap. Liu Shufen was almost in tears, grabbing a towel to wipe the child's face and hugging Shen Yinan to comfort her: "Good girl... don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Tell us what happened, we need to understand to know what to do..."

A mother's tenderness is the most comforting, especially to girls. Shen Zhaonan, with difficulty: "Sister went out... it was my fault. I wanted to change my clothes, and they saw me, took me away. Mom tried to stop them, and... Mom was cut because of me..."

Shen Yinan, who had just learned the whole story: "When I came back, I saw Mom lying there, motionless. She only had time to tell me to take care of my sister..."

With a cry, the two girls burst into tears again, their voices synchronized, like stereo sound.

Buck stood there, feeling helpless.

Ba Dacheng's fists were clenched, his slightly hunched back tensing as he looked at his son: "Is it really...?" Liu Shufen also looked.

Buck, feeling no real emotion: "Buried... three of them were likely human traffickers, they had been watching them for a while. I've already taken care of them and sent them to the police, but the murder case is uncertain."

Turning his gaze to Shen Zhaonan, who was trying to avoid her sister's embrace, he felt a stirring in his heart, sensing something: "It wasn't your fault..."

Shen Zhaonan stopped crying: "It was me... I wanted to change my clothes and they saw me. Mom was even combing my hair... I was wrong, I shouldn't have been a girl..."

Shen Yinan, trying to hug her sister, sobbed: "We are a curse, always being looked down upon. I didn't want to be a girl... even as a beggar, I shouldn't be a girl..."

Buck, seeing through the situation, knew that human traffickers preferred boys under five, as they were easier to sell as adopted sons. But for older children, around ten years old, they preferred girls, as they were easier to sell and more pliable.

These girls would be bought and forced into the most tragic paths, becoming thieves, prostitutes, or con artists, much more malleable than boys.

Suppressing the irritation in his heart: "You... don't have household registration, no identity. We can't raise you, what will you do when you grow up? So you should still go to a welfare institution..."

Shen Yinan quickly responded: "We do! We have ID cards!" She hurriedly opened the old denim bag.

There were really three!

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