But without any bait, the woman wouldn’t meet with her contact.
They weren’t sure if the traffickers had the patience to keep waiting. If they fled, there was no telling how many more children would be harmed in the future.
The two officers said, "We’ll head back first. We’ll definitely come up with a reasonable plan."
"That’s good, that’s good. We’ll be counting on you, officers."
Yun Jiao stood to the side, completely ignored.
’But... I want to go.’
She sulked. ’If I don’t go, how am I supposed to scam her out of all that candy?’
Yun Jiao was confident she could take that woman in a fight.
As for the knockout drugs that the police said human traffickers often used—she was resistant to poisons.
That night, Yun Jiao tossed and turned on her bamboo mat, unable to accept the situation.
"What’s wrong, Jiaojiao?"
Yun Xiaowu and the others asked, yawning.
Yun Jiao huddled together with her brothers and whispered her idea to them.
Finally, she declared righteously, "That trafficker tried to trick me, so why can’t I trick her out of her candy!"
Yun Xiaowu and the others thought Jiaojiao had a point!
He rubbed his chin. "I think Jiaojiao’s right. I heard that candy is from overseas. It’s really rare."
"She tried to trick Jiaojiao, so what’s wrong with us taking some of her candy!"
"But they’re traffickers. Jiaojiao will be in danger," Yun Xiao Liu said slowly.
Yun Xiaowu thought for a moment, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
"How about this..."
Like a bunch of fearless young calves, they put their heads together and began plotting their plan to take down the traffickers the next day.
They were just young boys, and each one had a hero’s dream in his heart.
"Isn’t this a bad idea? What about the police officers...?"
Yun Xiaowu patted his younger brother’s head. This brother of his wasn’t just lazy; he also thought too much.
"Just say it. Are you in or not?"
Yun Xiao Liu frowned in thought, then slowly nodded.
"Alright, then."
"Little Nine isn’t going."
Yun Xiaojiu was indignant. "Why not?"
Yun Xiaowu said, "Your legs are short. You can’t run fast."
Yun Xiaojiu: ’This is so unfair!’
"Tomorrow, you have to distract Grandma and the others so we don’t get caught."
Yun Xiaojiu was very unhappy. Every time they did something, he was the one on diversion duty.
’He hated being born several years too late!’
The next day, Yun Xiaowu and his brothers ran out first thing in the morning. Granny Yun and the others couldn’t stop them even by shouting.
"You little rascals, where are you running off to!"
Yun Xiaowu shouted back, "We’re going to find Yang Wa and the others! We’ll be back soon."
They were going to prepare manure pellets.
They did indeed come back quickly, and then they took Yun Jiao out to play.
Shen Yunlian said, "Don’t you know how dangerous it is right now? And you’re still going out to play?!"
Yun Xiaowu argued forcefully, "But we can’t keep our sister cooped up at home forever. Who knows when those people will be caught? It’s too pitiful to not let her go out and play."
Right on cue, Yun Jiao put on a pitiful expression.
Shen Yunlian’s heart softened at the sight. It really wasn’t good to keep a child cooped up.
"Then don’t go far. Just stay nearby."
"Got it."
After Shen Yunlian and Wang Mei went to gather things by the sea, only Granny Yun was left at home to watch them.
Now that they knew there were traffickers in the village, the adults didn’t dare let any of the children out of their sight.
Even boys like Yun Xiaowu would be within the traffickers’ scope if they were caught alone.
However, the prime targets were toddlers, around two or three years old.
Yun Xiaowu shot Yun Xiaojiu a look.
Although reluctant, Yun Xiaojiu fell to the ground, crying out with a pained expression that his stomach hurt.
He looked so convincing that if Yun Jiao hadn’t known he was acting, she would have thought Brother Nine’s stomach really did hurt.
She had no idea how he managed to make his face turn pale and even break out in a cold sweat.
Granny Yun grew anxious.
"What’s wrong? Little Nine, what’s the matter?"
Yun Xiaojiu’s voice was weak. "Grandma, my stomach hurts."
Yun Xiaowu said, "Grandma, I bet Brother Nine ate something bad. You should hurry and take him to the clinic to get checked out."
"Don’t worry, I’ll stay home and watch everyone."
He puffed out his chest, looking like a responsible little man.
"Alright, alright. Grandma will take Little Nine to have a look."
"Xiao Wu, you watch your younger brother and sister. Don’t go running off."
Yun Xiaowu nodded. "Don’t worry, Grandma, I’ll definitely keep a good eye on them!"
However, the moment Granny Yun left with Yun Xiaojiu, Yun Xiaowu and the others immediately rushed into their room and took out the slingshots Yun Chenbei had made.
"Jiaojiao, these pebbles are for you. You’ve got good aim, so you can hit them from the inside."
"Remember, you have to check if they have any weapons first. If they do, we snatch them immediately!"
Yun Jiao nodded. "Mm-hm, got it."
The ammunition for Yun Xiaowu and his brothers wasn’t pebbles—or rather, not just pebbles.
They were pebbles coated in a layer of cow and pig manure.
When they came out carrying the wrapped-up bundles, Yun Jiao backed away in disgust.
’So stinky.’
"I’m off, then, brothers."
"Okay, we’ll go hide by the village entrance and wait for you."
Unlike the adults, the brothers who were always with Yun Jiao and had personally witnessed her capabilities were much more confident in their little sister.
’How dare they target our sister! We’ll make them find out what eating shit is like!’
Yun Jiao went by herself to the spot the woman had told her about.
It was still early, but the woman had arrived even earlier than Yun Jiao and seemed very anxious.
Her eyes lit up the moment she saw Yun Jiao arrive.
"Over here! Jiaojiao, come over here."
Yun Jiao sauntered over nonchalantly.
"Where’s my candy? How much did you prepare?"
The woman took out a package of chocolate with about twelve pieces inside.
"This should be enough, right?"
Yun Jiao’s eyes sparkled as she nodded.
Then, without a hint of politeness, she held out her hand. "Give it to me."
"Here, take it."
’Eat it ’til you burst!’
The woman irritably shoved the chocolate at her, glancing around warily.
"See? Now you know what I can do. Do you want even more candy? I have lots more at my house."
Yun Jiao looked expectant. "Really?"
"Of course, it’s true."
Seeing that the girl had taken the bait, she breathed a sigh of relief and began her temptation.
"At my house, I not only have delicious candy, but all sorts of fun toys, too."
Looking pure, innocent, and easily fooled, Yun Jiao said, "Then I’ll go with you."
"Good, good, good... Let’s go right now."
She took Yun Jiao’s hand and, after a series of furtive glances, led her out of the village.
Thankfully, no one was at the village entrance at this hour; everyone was busy with their work.
Thus, the woman successfully led Yun Jiao out of the village without any issues.
But along the way, they still ran into people heading to the fields to work.
They all greeted Yun Jiao upon seeing her, which made the woman tense up immediately.
Yun Jiao took the initiative and said, "Grandpa Niu, I’m taking this aunty out to play! Are you heading to the fields?"
"Oh, that’s right. The weeds in the fields need pulling."
"Well, we’ll be going then. Goodbye, Grandpa Niu."
"Goodbye, goodbye."
Once the man was far away, the woman realized her palms were sweaty and her head was spinning.
’Wait a minute, who’s taking who out to play here?’
Meanwhile, in the nearby cornfields that provided easy cover, Yun Xiaowu and his brothers were following close behind with swift movements.
They often ran around on the beach and in the mountains and were familiar with the local terrain, so hiding themselves from view was all too easy.
Besides, the woman was so nervous that she wasn’t paying any attention to her surroundings at all.
"Aunty, where are we going? The corner store isn’t this way."