W Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Indenture

Wang Youmai found Ling Xing and quickly recounted his encounter with a child matching Ling Yue’s description.

Unable to stay at the baozi stall, Ling Xing immediately wanted to go to Mayou Street.

However, Shen Hui stopped him.

“Ge’er, please calm down first; something isn’t right.”

His younger brother was very important to the original owner of this body, being the only relative he still cared for and loved.

The original owner’s feelings for Ling Yue remained, not dissipating.

But his feelings for others, whether love or hate, were gone.

Ling Xing could feel the obvious emotional fluctuations and could confirm this.

Sometimes Ling Xing wondered if the original owner had done this to prevent the soul, newly merged with the body, from searching for his brother and fulfilling his last wish.

If time travel and possession could happen,

Ling Xing wouldn’t find anything too strange anymore.

Having finally received news of Ling Yue, Ling Xing couldn’t remain calm.

He only wanted to see Ling Yue as soon as possible to confirm his safety.

Shen Hui’s words didn’t stop Ling Xing’s footsteps.

Upon hearing Wang Youmai say that the child was covered in injuries and had fainted in front of the noodle stall, he couldn’t wait to get to Mayou Street immediately.

Helpless, Shen Hui could only quickly step forward and block Ling Xing’s path.

“Ge’er, if we rashly go, we won’t be able to bring the child back. Instead, we’ll be threatened by Fang Xiuxia.”

Fang Xiuxia?

Ling Xing regained his senses, somewhat puzzled.

Wang Youmai didn’t know Fang Xiuxia’s name, only that she was the wife of the Pingshun Grain Shop’s owner.

When speaking, he naturally said it that way.

Shen Hui knew it was the same person, and considering that Fang Xiuxia had conflicts with the Shen family, having such a big weakness in her hands would lead to unpredictable consequences if she found out.

“Fang Xiuxia’s husband is the owner of Pingshun Grain Shop, and I think it’s suspicious that Ling Yue is in her hands.”

Ling Xing suppressed his anxious emotions, biting the tip of his tongue to stay rational.

After careful thought, it was indeed as Shen Hui said.

These days, Tu Hai had sent out all the manpower he could, yet there was still no news.

The person was likely not even in Yunxia Town.

Moreover, this was the first time Wang Youmai had seen someone so similar to Ling Yue; he had never seen him in Mayou Street before.

It was highly likely that he had only arrived in Mayou Street recently.

This was the most probable reason after combining what Tu Hai and Wang Youmai had said.

Shen Hui thought that since Ling Yue had been sold, his status was likely not as a slave, but as someone else’s registered child.

In this situation, the worst thing they could do was directly contact him.

He softly said to Ling Xing, “Ge’er, Ling Yue is no longer Ling Yue. Whatever the reason is for him being in Fang Xiuxia’s hands, our best course of action is to have Tu Hai step in, clarify the situation, and then think about what to do next.”

Ling Xing hadn’t truly been completely controlled by emotions; the control of his body was in his hands.

After that instant of emotion was suppressed, Ling Xing became more and more calm after hearing what Shen Hui said.

The more this was the case, the less he could rush.

“Okay, let’s find Tu Hai.”

As an eyewitness, Wang Youmai also followed along to the gambling den.

The bouncers outside the gambling den blocked the three of them with fierce expressions. Wang Youmai was most afraid of these people, never even getting close to the gambling den usually.

He subconsciously hid behind Shen Hui, thinking in his heart that he hoped he could leave this place quickly.

Ling Xing, however, wasn’t intimidated by the two’s appearances; he only wanted to see Tu Hai quickly.

After being stopped, Ling Xing quickly announced his identity.

The bouncers, knowing it was Ling Xing, immediately put away their fierce demeanor.

Now that the gambling den’s cold noodle business was doing well, they would eventually be unable to keep working as bouncers and would have to retire. At that time, they would be counting on doing this business.

Everyone knew where the cold noodles came from, so the two’s attitude towards Ling Xing made a complete 180-degree turn.

They forced some smiles onto their unsmiling faces. One immediately called someone to go inside and report, while the other raised his tone, politely asking Ling Xing to wait a moment.

This performance of changing faces stunned Wang Youmai, who had watched the whole thing from the side.

Sure enough, this small baozi stall owner was truly capable.

Soon, someone came from inside and invited the three of them in.

Before entering the backyard, they had to be searched according to the rules.

Ling Xing was a ge’er, so Tu Hai thoughtfully had a ge’er come to search him specifically.

If others came, whether male, female, or ge’er, it would all be done by men.

After all, the gatekeepers were all men.

Ordinary women and ge’ers wouldn’t come to find Tu Hai either.

After entering, Tu Hai was practicing calligraphy in the courtyard.

The ground was scattered with papers, all covered with writing.

Seeing the people arrive, Tu Hai put down the brush in his hand. His men led the three to sit down and offered them tea.

Tu Hai inconspicuously looked around at the three’s expressions, finally focusing his gaze on Ling Xing. “You look so anxious; is it about your brother?”

“Yes.”

Ling Xing briefly recounted the information Wang Youmai told him. Upon hearing this, Tu Hai shook his folding fan, feeling that something was strange.

In families that legitimately bought children, if the child ran away and couldn’t be found, they would have alerted the neighbors long ago.

Moreover, the reaction of those four people was also very strange. Logically, if they were worried about the child getting lost, they should have all surrounded him to check on his condition the moment they saw him.

Why did it sound like the three acquaintances were trying to hide?

Were they afraid of being recognized?

Tu Hai had something he couldn’t figure out, so he questioned Wang Youmai further.

He didn’t ask Fang Xiuxia and the other two, but the one person the other party didn’t recognize.

The acquaintances had already said almost everything they knew, and couldn’t say anything else.

“Do you remember any characteristics of the man who spoke to you?”

Because Tu Hai’s appearance wasn’t intimidating and he even had some scholarly air about him, Wang Youmai wasn’t too afraid. He could answer the questions fluently at this moment.

“He didn’t seem to have anything particularly different about him.”

Wang Youmai said as he thought, and after pausing for a moment, he suddenly raised his voice. “Oh, that’s right, that man had a scar on the side of his left thumb. I happened to look down and see it when he snatched the child.”

Ling Xing didn’t know the reason Tu Hai was asking about this person. Although anxious, he didn’t interrupt.

A scar on the side of the left thumb.

Tu Hai pondered, going through people in his mind.

He was, after all, someone in the underworld, and saw things more clearly than ordinary people.

Hearing the description earlier, Tu Hai already felt something was wrong.

If Wang Youmai and his people hadn’t inquired with the people in the alleys of Mayou Street, he might not have thought too much about it.

The alleys were narrow, and anything that happened to the neighbors would spread two miles away.

Moreover, the people living in Mayou Street weren’t like villagers; they were basically all from the same clan. Generally speaking, if a family bought a child, or if a family had an extra child, as long as people knew about it, someone would definitely let it slip.

It wouldn’t be like in the village, where they would help conceal it to the death.

He had even secretly sent people to the human trafficker in Yunxia Town to inquire, and they hadn’t sold a child who looked like Ling Yue.

Even if the age matched, the characteristics on the body wouldn’t match.

These were all recorded in the records; if it wasn’t there, it wasn’t there.

Therefore, the person wasn’t being traded in Yunxia Town, but somewhere else.

Not only that, but before Wang Youmai ran into this child, the person probably wasn’t even in Yunxia Town.

Tu Hai had figured out the matter in his heart. He finally remembered who the person with the scar on his left thumb was.

That wasn’t originally a scar, but a finger.

“Traveling salesman” Zhao Wuxiang was originally from Guzhou in the northeast, and had six fingers on his left hand. It was said that the sixth finger grew out when he was around ten years old, and it wasn’t that obvious before.

His family thought it was inauspicious for him to suddenly grow a sixth finger, so they sold him off.

Although Zhao Wuxiang was young, he was clever.

After arriving at the human trafficker, knowing that people like him could only be slaves in the future, he begged the owner, saying that he would earn a certain amount of silver for him within a month.

As long as he did it, he wouldn’t sell him.

The owner found it interesting and nodded in agreement.

Within that one month, Zhao Wuxiang led nearly twenty children to the human trafficker.

He had tricked them all.

Because he was young, no one was wary of him. He was also good at talking, coaxing a group of children to listen to him.

Zhao Wuxiang helped that human trafficker for ten years in this way, earning the owner’s appreciation and trust, and getting back his indenture to regain his freedom.

Unexpectedly, not long after, the human trafficking place caught fire, and no one survived. He was able to escape because he was away at the time.

Since then, he had traveled all the way south from Guzhou to Yunshui County.

Without other skills to make a living, Zhao Wuxiang could only do his old job.

In order not to be noticed so quickly, he even cut off the sixth finger on his thumb.

Tu Hai knew all this because he had dealt with this person before.

At that time, it was because the brothers who had retired wanted to continue working, and he couldn’t do anything about it. Zhao Wuxiang said he could help.

When he did business, he had to find out the other party’s background.

Although he didn’t have anyone in Guzhou, he had sworn brotherhood with the head of the Xingsheng Escort Agency in the county. They had gone to Guzhou more than once. There happened to be a batch of escorts going there, and he calculated that they would be arriving soon.

So he wrote a letter and had the courier deliver it quickly, asking the brothers from the escort agency to take a detour and inquire about Zhao Wuxiang.

Everything about Zhao Wuxiang was written down in detail and quickly delivered to Tu Hai’s hands by the courier.

After reading it, he directly refused to cooperate with Zhao Wuxiang.

This person was too ruthless.

They were all in the underworld, so no one should pretend.

If the fire at the human trafficking place wasn’t related to Zhao Wuxiang, he, Tu Hai, would call Zhao Wuxiang “father.”

Although there was no contact afterward, Zhao Wuxiang had left a deep impression on Tu Hai.

After asking Wang Youmai for some general descriptions of the body shape and appearance, Tu Hai could confirm that this person was Zhao Wuxiang, who was now pretending to be a traveling salesman, but was actually abducting children.

It was really bad to have this matter connected to Zhao Wuxiang.

Zhao Wuxiang was ruthless. The child ran away under his nose, so he was likely in danger.

“Brother Ling, I didn’t handle the matter of finding your brother well before. Now that the person is in Yunxia Town, leave the rest to me.”

Tu Hai paused for a moment. “Although I can’t guarantee that he’ll be safe and sound, I can definitely guarantee that he’ll be alive.”

He really couldn’t make any other guarantees to Ling Xing. Tu Hai didn’t believe that Zhao Wuxiang would suddenly have a change of heart and show mercy to Ling Yue alone.

Ling Xing had heard Wang Youmai’s description before, so he knew that Ling Yue had been seriously injured.

He didn’t ask for anything else, as long as the person was alive.

As long as he was alive, there was hope for everything else.

Ling Xing observed that Tu Hai was very concerned about the stranger Wang Youmai mentioned. His expression changed greatly afterward, becoming much more serious.

He probably recognized this person.

He first thanked him, then asked, “What does Boss Tu plan to do?”

Tu Hai said, “Go to the human trafficking place. Don’t leave the gambling den.”

Ling Xing believed that professionals should specialize in their respective fields. He would never force himself in areas he wasn’t familiar with.

Since Tu Hai had spoken, he would wait in the gambling den and definitely wouldn’t insist on following.

Tu Hai was surprised by this. He thought Ling Xing would say that he would just follow from a distance and wouldn’t disturb.

“You’re very obedient, which suits my temperament.”

Ling Xing smiled slightly. “I’ll have to trouble you with my brother, Boss Tu.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely bring him back.”

Shen Hui hadn’t spoken for a long time, and chased after him at this moment.

“Boss Tu, can you tell me the reason for going to the human trafficking place?”

Tu Hai knew that he must have something important to say if he was stopping him at this time. He truthfully said, “If it’s related to the human trafficking place, having them step in can easily trick the person out. Without an acquaintance, that woman probably won’t open the door. Forcing it would easily cause problems too.”

This was a good method.

Shen Hui completely agreed.

He lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then lowered his voice and spoke with Tu Hai for a while.

Tu Hai’s eyes lit up again and again as he listened, nodding from time to time. He looked at Shen Hui, wondering how he had thought of these things.

After listening, Tu Hai asked suspiciously, “Can this really work?”

Shen Hui looked at Ling Xing, who was worried about his brother. “As long as there’s a glimmer of hope, we have to try.”

“You’re right, leave it to me.”

Tu Hai gave his guarantee and pointed at two sturdy men to follow.

They couldn’t find Zhao Wuxiang at the human trafficking place, but they could find the human trafficker, Zhao Baocai, who colluded with Zhao Wuxiang in private.

The two shared the same last name Zhao, and at first relied on the sentence “We might have been from the same family eight hundred years ago” to get closer. Later, they became partners in crime.

Everyone at the human trafficking place recognized Tu Hai. Zhao Baocai happened to have nothing to do. Seeing Tu Hai, he wanted to curry favor and came to the door with a flattering look.

“Boss Tu— oh dear!”

He had just called out “Boss Tu” obsequiously, when the burly man behind Tu Hai grabbed his arm and twisted it backward, causing him to cry out in pain.

“If you call out again, I’ll cut out your tongue!”

The burly man exerted some force, threatening in a rough voice. Zhao Baocai was so frightened that he shivered, enduring the pain and daring not to cry out.

The others at the human trafficking place didn’t dare to provoke Tu Hai, keeping far away.

Even the owner wanted to come over, but was glared back by Tu Hai.

Zhao Baocai couldn’t bear the pain. After thinking carefully, he had been very honest and law-abiding recently, and hadn’t even gone to the gambling den. Why had Boss Tu come to beat him up personally?

Enduring the pain, he boldly asked, “Boss Tu, when, where, what year, what month did this little one offend you? Even if I’m going to die, let me die knowing why, right?”

“Did Zhao Wuxiang come to you this morning? Did he give you a child?” Tu Hai didn’t want to waste time, and directly cut to the chase.

Zhao Baocai thought to himself, was that all it was?

Their boss also knew about buying and selling stolen and abducted children.

But he had always turned a blind eye to it.

As long as it wasn’t put on the surface for people to see, they could be seized and reported to the authorities.

Even if they were reported, the human trafficking place only needed to say they didn’t know, and they could completely absolve themselves of responsibility.

Naturally, they wouldn’t interfere with this kind of good thing that could generate revenue and not be implicated.

Why was Tu Hai, who ran a gambling den, caring about the rules of the human trafficking place?

“Yes.”

Zhao Baocai wondered why Tu Hai was asking this, suspiciously nodding.

After confirming, Tu Hai directly said, “That’s the person I’m looking for. Now tell me in detail what’s going on.”

Zhao Baocai was stunned upon hearing this. Only now did he remember that the people from the gambling den had indeed come to the human trafficking place some time ago to look for a child.

He didn’t take it to heart at the time. Moreover, Zhao Wuxiang wasn’t even in town.

Zhao Wuxiang rarely stayed in town. He would only come over to trade after he had abducted someone. He didn’t understand anything about the gambling den looking for someone. He didn’t expect that the one he had abducted was the one the gambling den was looking for.

What was going on!

Zhao Baocai exclaimed in his heart. Knowing the crux of the matter made it easier to resolve. He hurriedly said, “Boss Tu, please spare me! I’ll help you buy the person back right now!”

Those who made Zhao Wuxiang come forward were all related to child abduction.

Tu Hai was betting on this. It seemed that the Ling brothers had some luck, and didn’t have to suffer to the end.

“Let’s go.”

Zhao Baocai was released. He rubbed his shoulder and smiled again, trying to please Tu Hai by letting him go first.

On the way, he heard Zhao Baocai say that a minor manager from the grain shop had approached Zhao Wuxiang, wanting to kidnap a child and sell him.

After inquiring, he learned that the child was the adopted son of the elder brother of the other party’s sister’s husband.

Zhao Wuxiang was planning to pester the Fang family with this matter later, making them support him.

There might not be a lot of money, but there would definitely be a steady stream of small amounts. Moreover, if the Fang family didn’t have money, there was still the Zhao family, who was kept in the dark. If the Fang family couldn’t pay, they could force the Zhao family to give it.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have agreed to this unprofitable matter so readily.

Zhao Wuxiang didn’t hide this from Zhao Baocai. He even said he would share some silver with Zhao Baocai. In the future, if there were similar things, he would ask him to help keep an eye on them.

Therefore, now, Zhao Baocai was saying everything in order to sell a favor and curry favor.

Anyway, the matter couldn’t be accomplished now. Tu Hai wouldn’t specifically find Zhao Wuxiang to talk about this. If he said it, he could leave a better impression, so why not?

Tu Hai saw through Zhao Baocai’s little thoughts.

But he was too lazy to point it out, thinking about Ling Yue’s matter in his heart.

Fortunately, he was afraid of alarming the enemy when he was looking for someone before. In case someone bought him to be a son, if they knew that someone was looking for him, they would definitely take the child and hide for a while.

Therefore, he had been secretly investigating, asking his men to observe and then ask the children.

The questions were interspersed, and the children couldn’t remember them, so he wasn’t afraid that they would go back and repeat the words.

If he had looked for them from house to house with a portrait in a high-profile manner, the Fang family would definitely have reacted long ago, and this child, Ling Yue, wouldn’t have been brought to Yunxia Town.

In the village of Yuewan Town, and Zhao Family Village was a large clan village, very united. The gambling den wouldn’t be able to find anyone. Even if they did find him, it would take a lot of time.

A stroke of good luck in the midst of misfortune.

Pingshun Grain Shop, Fang Jiaxing looked up and saw Zhao Baocai waving at him.

Frightened, he didn’t scold his men, and hurried over.

“Why are you here?”

The two had just met in the backyard of the human trafficking place in the morning. Although it was quite dark, it had only been a short time, and Fang Jiaxing could still recognize him.

Zhao Baocai grinned, showing no signs of abnormality, looking enthusiastic about making money.

“Manager Fang, I have a buyer here who wants a child. I don’t have any suitable ones, and I happened to think that you were eager to sell, so I brought the person here.”

Fang Jiaxing couldn’t wait to get rid of him. That child was like a hot potato. The longer he stayed in his hands, the more he suffered.

He looked at Tu Hai, attracted by his scholarly air.

He was also frightened by the fierce burly man behind him.

Zhao Baocai said in a timely manner, “This gentleman wants a young bookboy to accompany him, traveling all the way to the capital to take the imperial examinations. Those two men are guards. As long as you’re not disrespectful to the gentleman, they won’t lay a hand on you.”

Fang Jiaxing had no doubts. He had seen some things in the grain shop.

He also knew about bookboys, and knew that some bookboys were raised to not only accompany the young master when he went out to study, but also to help the young master solve his needs.

In addition, Zhao Baocai had brought him, and the person was indeed scholarly, so Fang Jiaxing had no doubts. “Wait for me for a moment.”

He hurried inside to find Fang Jiahe, roughly explaining the situation and instructing him, “If my brother-in-law asks, say that there was a sudden emergency at home, and someone was asked to come and take us back. You’re afraid of delaying the work, so you stayed to replace me.”

Fang Jiahe nodded. “I understand, brother.”

Exiting the grain shop, Fang Jiaxing led the people towards Mayou Street.

The tightly closed door of the Zhao family’s small courtyard was knocked on.

Fang Jiaxing, who was knocking on the door outside, was also feeling nervous at this time.

There was no movement inside for a long time. Fang Jiaxing was afraid that something had happened, and was preparing to knock again.

Just as he was about to raise his hand, he finally heard a familiar and cautious voice from inside, “Who is it?”

“Open the door quickly, someone wants the goods.” Fang Jiaxing lowered his voice.

Fang Xiuxia didn’t doubt him. She had also been there that morning, and recognized Zhao Baocai.

She didn’t recognize the other three people. Two of them looked fierce.

The person in the middle looked like he had studied, and was quite handsome, wearing a green shirt and jade pendant.

It was only spring, but he was already waving a folding fan in his hand. He had a smile on his face, looking very easy to talk to.

Fang Jiaxing led the people into the courtyard like a thief, walking while introducing them in more detail in a lowered voice, “Fourth Sister, this gentleman said he wanted a younger boy to be his bookboy.”

Fang Xiuxia was actually a little afraid of the sudden strangers in the house.

But she couldn’t show it, in case they knew she was flustered and lowered the price later. What would she do?

She nodded, pretending to be calm, turning to ask Zhao Baocai, “What’s the price?”

It was best to ask the human trafficker about the price.

Also, because of Zhao Baocai and Tu Hai’s trace of scholarly air, Fang Xiuxia also had no doubts.

Zhao Baocai had handled many transactions, and his grasp of the price was just right.

Too little would lead to wrangling and waste time, and too much would arouse suspicion.

“Three taels of silver.” After saying that, he didn’t forget to add, “If it weren’t for the urgent need, this gentleman is in a hurry to get on the road and doesn’t have time to ask his servants to pick slowly. I don’t have any on hand either. Two taels of silver is the usual price.”

Fang Xiuxia was a little unwilling to hear that it was three taels of silver, but Zhao Baocai’s words made her feel a sense of crisis.

Yes, if they weren’t in a hurry, which young master would personally come to choose?

But Fang Xiuxia still felt that three taels was too little. How could her hard work be worth only three taels of silver?

She took a chance, raising the price, in case they agreed?

“Five taels.”

Zhao Baocai chuckled, saying with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “Do you think you’re the only one? If the gentleman doesn’t like him, he can continue to buy him in the next place.”

Fang Jiaxing pulled Fang Xiuxia, glaring at her, implying that she should know when to stop.

This wasn’t a glorious thing, so was it their turn to haggle over the money?

“Three taels it is. Bring the person out for him to take a look.”

Being stopped like this, Fang Xiuxia finally stopped being so focused on the money and calmed down a lot.

“Understood, big brother.”

Fang Jiaxing knew the location and went down to find the person himself.

Before going down, he didn’t forget to tell Zhao Baocai and the others to wait a moment.

Tu Hai casually looked around, gently shaking his fan, and said with a smile, “No rush.”

Because he was easy to talk to, Fang Xiuxia, who was watching from the side, felt confident about this transaction.

Soon, Fang Jiaxing climbed out of the cellar carrying a tightly bound child on his shoulders.

Fang Xiuxia guarded the cellar entrance, catching the thin child in time.

Tu Hai only glanced at him and knew that this child was seriously injured.

“Why so many injuries?”

Seeing that the child had been silent, he continued to ask in a lowered voice, “Is he dead?”

Fang Xiuxia was startled. He couldn’t die; if he did, who would give her three taels of silver?

She shook the child vigorously, so quickly that Tu Hai didn’t even have time to stop her.

Fortunately, the child let out a soft groan after she shook him, otherwise Fang Xiuxia would have been ready to raise her hand and hit him.

Tu Hai wanted to say he wanted him directly, but he couldn’t say that.

As a buyer, he needed to be picky.

Moreover, given Ling Yue’s current state, he wouldn’t catch anyone’s eye at all.

Who would buy a person who was half-dead for no reason?

“Are there any others? This one has too many injuries; I’m afraid he won’t live.”

Before Zhao Baocai could pick up the act, Fang Xiuxia hurriedly said, “This child used to be from a wealthy family. He started learning to read at the age of three, and is literate. If you want a bookboy, you’ll save the trouble of teaching him. Moreover, this child has a cheap life, he’s very tough. Don’t look at all the injuries, he doesn’t need to spend money to treat them. He’ll be fine as long as he lies down for two days.”

Fang Jiaxing also echoed her, hoping to send this hot potato away as soon as possible.

Tu Hai finally seemed interested.

“He’s literate? Are you lying to me?”

Seeing that there was hope, the Fang siblings nodded repeatedly, guaranteeing, “No lie! No lie!”

Having received the promise, Tu Hai reluctantly replied, “In that case, add this to the indenture. If I find out later that he’s illiterate, I’ll return him.”

The more picky he was, the more at ease the Fang siblings were.

The human trafficker carried the indenture with him, along with a small wooden box containing small versions of the Four Treasures of the Study.

Zhao Baocai quickly wrote the indenture, writing the time on two copies and having both parties sign the date.

This kind of situation where someone was sold as an adopted child and then stolen and sold again had happened before.

As long as he was taken out of his original residence and registered as a slave, it could basically be resolved.

Zhao Baocai did this work neatly, very experienced.

Tu Hai took the indenture as Shen Hui had told him to, finally relieved.

The burly man stepped forward to give the silver and untied Ling Yue.

The child was still unconscious, so the burly man could only carry him, leaving the Zhao family.

In the gambling den, Ling Xing felt that every second was like a year.

Wang Youmai had already left, and Shen Hui had been with Ling Xing all the time.

He didn’t dare to make any moves, and could only comfort him from time to time.

Finally, footsteps came from the courtyard. Ling Xing quickly got up to greet them.

The moment he saw the child in the burly man’s arms, Ling Xing’s tears welled up.

“Younger brother!”

Ling Xing didn’t dare to touch Ling Yue’s injuries after getting close.

Tu Hai said, “Let’s go inside and let the child lie down. I’ve already asked someone to call a doctor, don’t worry.”

Ling Xing nodded repeatedly, wiping his tears with his sleeve, and followed them inside.

There was only one room in the courtyard where people could sleep, which was Tu Hai’s room.

He didn’t mind that Ling Yue was dirty, and directly had the man put the child on his bed, thoughtfully covering him with a quilt.

After settling him down, Tu Hai stopped Ling Xing, whose mind was focused on his brother.

Under normal circumstances, those who were abducted and stolen would be sold to other counties and prefectures.

Moreover, they would all be sold as slaves, making them registered as slaves.

This way, even if relatives came looking for them later, they would have to pay the money for buying the person, as well as the money for food, clothing, and accommodation in order to take the person away.

Adding it all up would be no small amount, and basically no one would be redeemed, so they could only accept it.

But Ling Yue was special. He didn’t leave the place.

Moreover, he wouldn’t be registered as a slave.

Precisely because of this, Tu Hai had never considered buying him back from the beginning.

It was Shen Hui who told him that he had to get the indenture, so he forced Zhao Baocai to put on that show.

“This is the indenture.” Tu Hai took out the indenture, but his expression wasn’t relaxed.

“If the Zhao family doesn’t report it to the authorities, go directly to the county government to remove your brother’s registration. At that time, you can use the indenture you have to establish a new registration for him.”

Tu Hai emphasized, “If the Zhao family chooses to report it to the authorities to find the child, rather than pay an extra head tax each year according to the child’s age, don’t hide when the government looks for him.”

As long as he hid, if they couldn’t find him within a certain period of time, they would determine that he had been abducted.

At that time, Ling Yue’s information would be notified to all prefectures, and he wouldn’t be able to register anywhere.

A vagrant couldn’t do anything, and Ling Yue would live in the shadows like a rat that couldn’t see the light.

If he wanted to see the light, he could only return to the Zhao family.

Become the Zhao family’s child.

It would be fine if the Zhao family was good to Ling Yue, but the child was covered in injuries. He didn’t even dare to touch him, which was simply a tiger’s den!

Ling Xing carefully put away the indenture, cupping his hands in thanks to Tu Hai.

“Thank you, Boss Tu.”

He turned to look at Shen Hui, whose emotions were somewhat chaotic due to the influence of his emotions. Ling Xing didn’t notice Shen Hui’s flustered avoidance of his gaze.

“Second Brother, thank…”

“We’re family, no need to say thank you. Whether this method works depends on what we can come up with to make the county magistrate willing to help us.”

Shen Hui didn’t want to hear Ling Xing say thank you to him so distantly, so he shifted his attention in a timely manner.

The reason he thought of needing the indenture was also because of the previous matter of the yeast recipe. The county magistrate was willing to help.

At least they had a direction that could make the county magistrate possibly be moved.

Because there was this possibility, he had considered it from the beginning, thinking of this method just in case.

But the county magistrate was only a “possibility,” not a complete certainty.

Now, it depended on whether the Zhao family would report it to the authorities or not.

The doctor arrived quickly. The gambling den’s men had gone to invite him, and the doctor didn’t dare to delay at all.

After seeing Ling Yue’s injuries, the doctor looked at Tu Hai and the others in horror.

The child was young, and was so seriously injured, and had even been given medicine not long ago.

The more the doctor examined him, the angrier he became.

Anger overwhelmed his other emotions, and he couldn’t help raising his voice. “What’s there to treat? These people didn’t plan to let him live!”