Chapter 208
Xiao Feng, in his panic, stuttered even more severely. His words were broken, choked with sobs, and unclear.
That morning he had gone into the mountains to pick wild vegetables. He had originally wanted to take Guaizai along. Guaizai often boasted about being good at digging for wild vegetables, and that wasn't an empty boast. Though young, he had nearly two years of experience. In the past, when Zhao Ger took him to work in the fields and he couldn't help much, he would search for wild vegetables on the ridges. After all, back then, wild vegetables were the only food for him and Zhao Ger. To fill their stomachs, he learned to dig for them quickly, accurately, and efficiently.
Whenever Xiao Feng took him along, they could always gather half a basket. Today, after seeing Fang Zichen off, Guaizai was listless. With the continuous spring rain, the mountain paths were slippery. Last time, Guaizai had taken a fall on the mountain, bruising his little bottom. So this time, Xiao Feng didn't take him along.
At noon, when Xiao Feng returned carrying the wild vegetables, the courtyard was eerily quiet.
The women and fulangs had all gone to the river to slaughter the ducks. At this hour, it was indeed quiet at home. But when he heard the low whimpers of the little dog coming from inside, Xiao Feng immediately sensed something was wrong.
He rushed in. Zhao Ger was lying in the courtyard. He must have been hit on the head by something heavy; there was a gash on his forehead, blood trickling down. His clothes bore some messy footprints, and the courtyard was in disarray, as if a struggle had taken place. The little dog had also been kicked and was lying to the side, unable to get up, only able to keep licking Zhao Ger's hand.
Xiao Feng was terrified on the spot. He helped Zhao Ger up, calling his name repeatedly. It took a long moment before Zhao Ger gradually regained consciousness. With red-rimmed eyes, he weakly called out to Xiao Feng, telling him to go to town to fetch Fang Zichen, saying the child had been snatched away.
Xiao Feng was obedient. An eight-year-old child who hadn't experienced much, he easily lost his composure in a crisis. Given the instruction, he directly ran toward town.
Several waiters gathered around, not understanding clearly. Worried and about to ask Fang Zichen if something had happened, when they saw Fang Zichen pick up Xiao Feng and dash out.
Shopkeeper Yang frowned. "Something must have happened. Xiao Hu, you go and take a look too."
"Alright, alright!"
Wang Xiaohu was a true town local who had never left the town. He chased them all the way to the city gate. Once out on the main road and seeing the fork ahead, he immediately didn't know which way to go.
Fang Zichen ran as if his feet were on fire. From beginning to end, Wang Xiaohu never managed to catch up.
Sprinting all the way, Fang Zichen had just reached the village entrance when he saw Zhao Ger staggering out, running.
His face was covered in blood. That vivid, shocking red was enough to drive Fang Zichen mad.
"Husband..."
Upon seeing Fang Zichen, Zhao Ger's tears fell. "Our son... someone took our son."
"I know." Fang Zichen set Xiao Feng down and picked Zhao Ger up. "Let's go back first."
Zhao Ger cried, "No, I won't go back. I have to find our son."
"How can you search in your condition now?" Fang Zichen's tone unconsciously turned harsh. "We go back first."
Zhao Ger also knew he was barely holding on. The other party had hit him with a heavy object and kicked him several times in the abdomen. He was now in severe pain all over, his vision blurred, and his legs so weak he could barely walk, stumbling with every step as if about to fall. But with his child snatched away, he couldn't just sit and wait passively at home.
Fang Zichen's face was frighteningly dark, and he was also very panicked inside. After hearing Xiao Feng's story, he had picked up Xiao Feng and run home. This series of actions seemed like his body's instinctive reaction. His mind was now in complete chaos. He had never encountered such a thing and didn't know what to do. But there were only a few of them at home. Xiao Feng was too young to rely on, and Zhao Ger was badly injured. Fang Zichen couldn't afford to panic—he still had to find his son. He absolutely must not lose his composure.
He forced himself to calm down. He had Xiao Feng first go and fetch the barefoot physician. The wound on Zhao Ger's temple was too deep and needed to be stopped from bleeding first.
"Tell me everything that happened today in detail."
Zhao Ger’s face was pale, waves of cramping pain tightening in his abdomen. He buried his face in his hands, consumed by guilt. The scent of blood filled his nose, and heartbroken sobs—impossible to hold back—leaked through his fingers.
"This morning..."
Nothing was particularly unusual this morning. After Fang Zichen left, he heated a pot of water as usual. Not long after the ducks were delivered, Aunt Liu and the others arrived. After slaughtering and scalding the ducks, they took buckets and went to the riverside.
Guaizai was feeding the chickens in the backyard. With many ducks, the yard quickly became dirty. Zhao Ger went to the kitchen to get some plant ash, intending to cover the duck droppings before cleaning. Suddenly, the sound of cart wheels came from outside.
Because Yang Mutao and the escort agency people had come before, Zhao Ger heard it but wasn't on guard, only thinking it might be Yang Mingyi arriving. But when he came out to look, he saw a young master and two burly men stepping down from the carriage.
Zhao Ger didn't recognize the visitors. They were utterly rude, swaggering into the courtyard without even asking, looking around.
The ground was covered in duck feathers and droppings. The young master showed obvious disdain. Just as Zhao Ger was about to ask who he was, Guaizai, hearing the commotion, ran out from the backyard. The moment that man saw Guaizai, his eyes lit up. In two or three steps, he bent down and gripped Guaizai's shoulders, his expression frantic and fervent.
Seeing something was wrong, Zhao Ger stepped forward to shield the child behind him but was pushed away by one of the burly men, who then restrained him.
"So it's you, hahaha, so it's you! This young master has searched for you for so long, with not a single trace before. Truly, heaven doesn't disappoint the hard-working person. She indeed didn't deceive me."
As soon as he finished speaking, he tried to pick up Guaizai. Guaizai had started struggling when he saw Zhao Ger being pushed, wanting to run over to Zhao Ger, and was unwilling to be held by him.
Zhao Ger was frantic. "Who are you? What do you want? Let go of my son! My husband will be back soon."
His voice was somewhat loud. Though their house wasn't located within the village and was somewhat remote, too much commotion might attract people. One of the burly men punched him in the stomach.
"Daddy..."
This punch was heavy. Zhao Ger didn't even have the strength to let out a sharp cry. His whole body went numb for a moment.
Busy all morning, he hadn't eaten a thing. Now his stomach clenched as if it were being crushed, forcing him to double over and retch up water. Then, a sharp, heart-wrenching pain surged through him, searing his nerves.
His internal organs felt pierced by ten thousand burning blades. His whole body trembled uncontrollably, his face as pale as paper, devoid of blood, cold sweat breaking out all over.
"Don't hit Guaizai's daddy! Let go of Daddy! Quickly let go of Daddy! You are bad people! Guaizai won't play with you! Let go of Guaizai! Quickly let go of Guaizai!"
Guaizai struggled fiercely, his cries sharp and piercing. One of the burly men handed over a handkerchief. The young master took it and clamped it over Guaizai's nose. In a moment, Guaizai stopped moving.
Watching the other party carry Guaizai onto the carriage, Zhao Ger went mad. Strength surged from somewhere unknown. He broke free from the restraint, staggered over, calling out while trying to snatch his son back. But before he could even get close, the other burly man kicked him to the ground.
The young master frowned, full of impatience. "This young master taking a fancy to your son is giving you face. How dare you scream and shout? Beat him."
The number of kicks and punches that landed on him were uncountable. Resistance brought no result. How the other party had insulted him for overestimating himself was already blurred in his memory. He only remembered the agonizing pain—a deep, clinging torment, like maggots burrowing into bone.
As the carriage was about to depart, Zhao Ger half-knelt, half-crawled over, clinging to the wheel. The two big men beat him again, yet he stubbornly held onto the wheel, refusing to let go. The young master, impatient, clicked his tongue. "Hurry up and deal with him. The villagers will be back soon."
The two burly men exchanged a look, then snatched up a heavy object from the carriage floorboard and swung it straight at Zhao Ger's head. The hand that had been gripping so tightly just a moment before suddenly went limp.
With that blow, Zhao Ger no longer had the strength to struggle or scream.
The events after that, Fang Zichen didn't need to be told.
After recounting everything from beginning to end, Zhao Ger sobbed softly. Tears mixed with blood dripped one by one, trickling down his chin. "Husband, it's all my fault, all my fault." His words fragmented, he tightly grasped Fang Zichen's hand. "If I had been more vigilant, the child wouldn't have... Husband, I want my son, I want my son. Without my son, I... I can't go on living."
"I know, I know." Fang Zichen tried his utmost to stay composed. "It's not your fault. I will definitely get our son back. Don't cry, be good."
This truly couldn't be blamed on Zhao Ger.
For someone to brazenly come right to their doorstep and snatch a child—nothing like this had ever happened in the village.
Who could have possibly imagined it!
The old physician arrived quickly. Fang Zichen had Xiao Feng keep watch and stepped out of the room.
Once out of Zhao Ger's sight, Fang Zichen's eyes also reddened.
Damned bastards.
Someone took my son. How dare they? They even beat my fulang. This is absolutely unforgivable.
Fang Zichen was both furious and couldn't help but feel afraid.
In these ancient times, there were no surveillance cameras. If nothing special happened, inspections for entering or leaving the city weren't strict. If a child were truly lost, in this vast world, nine times out of ten, they would never be found.
In this era, people emphasized blood relations, always feeling that non-biological children wouldn't bond. If one couldn't have their own, they mostly adopted from collateral branches; buying children was rare.
If children were abducted, girls and gers were mostly sold into brothels, young boys sold into servitude as slaves.
How slaves in wealthy households lived, Fang Zichen didn't know. Zhao Ger was the only example he had encountered.
Just the thought—if the child couldn't be found, his son might follow Zhao Ger's old path, being casually humiliated, beaten, and scolded, bowing and scraping to others, working like an ox...
His son was still so small, unable to work much. Perhaps no one would even buy him.
Fang Zichen suddenly recalled going to the slave broker and seeing those people, like dogs, locked in cages, dressed in rags, sallow and emaciated. This thought filled him with a deep and powerful dread, a mix of fury and fear, followed by a pain that felt like his heart was being torn apart.
His heart filled with anxious unease; he didn't dare think deeper.
A cold wind blew in his face, making Fang Zichen's whole body ache sharply.
He slowly took a breath. Forcing himself to calm down, his first reaction was to go to town and report to the authorities. But arriving at the village entrance and seeing several children playing there, kneading mud and playing house, his steps abruptly halted.
The children saw him and greeted him one after another.
Fang Zichen's throat felt as if he had swallowed sand, somewhat hoarse. "Have you all been playing here all day today?"
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