Spring comes to the desperate place

Chapter 327 Feeling guilty

Song Chunlin did what he said. He checked out of the hotel early the next morning, asked the shopkeeper for directions, and headed straight for the county town.

He was lucky today as he happened to encounter a big market which was held three times a month. Halfway through his journey, he met many people who were going to the county town in ox carts. He randomly found an ox cart with few people and got on it. Song Chunlin also did not forget to ask the people on the cart about some things about the county town.

Song Chunlin was so sweet-talking that he made the women and uncle in the car very happy, and told them a lot of news about the county town.

For example, the largest grain store in the county was owned by a man named Xue, who was said to be a relative of a wealthy family in the capital. Any information that the wealthy family could leak out would be enough for the Xue family to show off their power in this remote area.

However, when Song Chunlin wanted to ask who the aristocratic family was backed by, some of these people said it was surnamed Li, some said it was surnamed Zhao, and some even said it was the queen's family, and the current queen's maternal grandfather's family was surnamed Xue.

But Song Chunlin had been in the capital for so many years, and he really couldn't think of any Xue family that had such great ability to cover up everything in such a remote place, not to mention that the queen's maternal family was involved.

Song Chunlin didn't seem to have the impression that there was any big family with the surname Xue, but he would ask Mrs. An Huaibo about it when he returned to the capital, as she was much more informed about this matter than he was.

After talking about the Xue family, Song Chunlin naturally talked about the grain shop run by the Xue family.

"I heard that many people in the capital are already growing sweet potatoes and potatoes, and the yield per mu can reach 1,000 kilograms, which is twice as high as wheat. Why haven't I seen you growing these since I came here? Even the grain stores don't sell them. Is it because the local seeds here don't grow well?"

The three people in the car looked at each other in bewilderment. Finally, one of them, the uncle who seemed to have a bad temper, curled his lips and whispered, "There is no such thing as food that cannot be grown in the fields. I'm afraid that some people just don't want to give us a way to live."

Seeing that he looked unhappy, the other aunt also tugged at his clothes, signaling him to speak more quietly. The uncle was obviously a little unconvinced, but still cursed a few times in a low voice.

Song Chunlin was completely confused at first, but finally realized that the manager of the grain shop had said that many people's seeds had just sprouted and were dug out overnight, and coincidentally, the uncle in front of him was one of the victims.

I went to the Agriculture Bureau happily to get the seeds, hoping for a good harvest so that my family would no longer go hungry. But I didn't expect that the potatoes had just sprouted a little and the sweet potatoes had just grown leaves, but they were dug out and destroyed. I was thinking about planting them again to see if they could survive, but all the seeds were trampled to pieces. How could I grow anything?

Speaking of this, Uncle Na gets particularly angry. It can be said that if he knew who the person digging the ground was, he would definitely rush up and hack the person to death and destroy the person's food. It would be like killing someone's parents. This hatred is irreconcilable.

As his companions heard him getting more and more excited, they quickly covered his mouth with their hands, indicating that there were other people in the car. When the uncle raised his eyes and met Song Chunlin's gaze, for some reason, his mind, which had been dizzy with anger, suddenly became clear. He seemed to realize what nonsense he had said, and then he became a little scared. He looked around in panic. Fortunately, they knew everyone in the car, and the only stranger was the young man in front of him.

However, this young man didn't look like a local, so he was a little nervous, fearing that the other party was acquainted with the Xue family and revealed what he said today to the Xue family, which would then be a disaster for their family.

Song Chunlin saw his fear and didn't ask any other questions. Instead, he smiled at him. It happened that they were almost at the city gate, so Song Chunlin got off the car early and planned to stroll around the small market at the city gate.

Several people on the other side also got off the car at the city gate. They did not plan to enter the city because they had to pay an entrance fee. They did not have that much money. If there was nothing important or something they had to buy, they would usually just go to the market at the city gate.

There are many people who have the same idea as them. Most of them cannot afford the entrance fee and can only set up stalls at the city gate. What they sell at the stalls are mostly vegetables grown by themselves, firewood chopped from the mountains, and some homemade gadgets, which are all worthless things. They can't make a few copper coins even if they sell them all. However, they have to pay ten cents to enter the city, and this does not include the cost of setting up a stall. The people from the Street Department will charge a fee according to the size of the stall, and the price ranges from ten to fifty cents. In other words, many people who want to set up stalls in the city to do business have to pay at least twenty cents a day.

Twenty cents may not sound like a lot, but for those who can only make a living by selling things on the street, it is a huge expense. It would be better to save the money to buy some rice and flour to feed their families.

So Song Chunlin walked along the way and found that this market was actually quite large, and they had also roughly divided the locations, with each item having its own area, making it more convenient for those who want to buy things. They can just go to that area to find what they need, and there is no need to waste time going the wrong way.

Song Chunlin first found a small breakfast stall and sat down. This stall sold hand-rolled noodles. The boss was kneading the dough on the chopping board, then rolling it into a huge pancake, folding the pancake and cutting it into thin noodles. When a customer wanted some, he would grab a handful and throw it into the pot to cook. The boss's wife was responsible for collecting money and scooping out the noodles.

Song Chunlin sat down and ordered a bowl of noodles with meat sauce. The noodles were chewy and springy, and the meat sauce was added with mushrooms. It tasted quite good, and Song Chunlin was very satisfied with the meal.

After eating the hand-rolled noodles, Song Chunlin asked the boss how to get to the dental clinic in the county. The boss was a dark and strong man, and he just smiled happily when he heard the question.

"We don't go into the city often. It costs ten cents to go in each time, and only the people in the city are willing to pay this money. My wife and I always wait until the stock at home is sold out before we go in to buy some from the owner of the dry goods shop. I really don't know where the dental shop is, but I heard it's in the Qiushui Street area. You can find it if you go in and walk east."

Song Chunlin was silent for a while, because he had no idea of the directions, but he didn't want to trouble his boss any further, so he thought of asking around when he got to the county.

It was still early, and Song Chunlin was not in a hurry to go into the city. Instead, he walked around the market stalls outside before leisurely entering the city.

After paying the money and entering the city, Song Chunlin could clearly feel that the city and the outside world were like heaven and earth. The streets in the northern city were obviously wider and the scenery was more desolate. There were basically no green plants along the way, and there were no many small vendors hawking their wares on the street like in the capital. Here there were more shops and the like.

Song Chunlin casually walked into a shop, which was a grocery store that also sold some rice and other grains. He looked around the shop and found that there were no potatoes, sweet potatoes or corn here either. The shopkeeper came out to greet him, and after Song Chunlin asked about the location of the pawnshop, he turned around and left the shop.

The pawnbrokers are not too far from here, but there are two types of pawnbrokers in the county: government-run and private. Government-run ones will definitely not accept people of unknown origin. Only private pawnbrokers might try to save money and secretly trade in human beings with traffickers.

Song Chunlin asked people for directions along the way and finally found the largest private dental clinic in the county. It must be said that the service in this big shop was quite good. As soon as he entered, someone came to greet Song Chunlin. However, after hearing Song Chunlin's request, the person looked embarrassed.

"Sir, it's not that we don't want to do business with you. It's just that we really don't have any five or six-year-old girls in our store these past two months. Five or six is still a little young. People only buy girls around seven or eight years old. At this age, they can already work in the fields. They can be used after two years of training. Rich families like to buy children of this age. If they are too young, you still have to take care of them, right?"

The dentists did not lie about this. Most of the dentists Song Chunlin had met said the same thing. Except for a few who were extremely poor, every family would only sell the children when they were able to work. At this age, the price would be higher, and the children were also old enough to remember things. They could help the family in the future when they received a monthly salary.

Song Chunlin then asked again whether he had bought a girl of four or five years old in the past two years.

"About a year ago, a little girl was sold here from the capital. Think carefully, is there such a person?"

The yahang was a little surprised when he heard Song Chunlin's request, and began to look him up and down. Song Chunlin interrupted his gaze with some displeasure.

"I'm asking you a question, yes or no? If you dare to look around again, I'll dig out your eyes!"

Ya Xing was frightened by the sudden burst of aura emanating from him, and wondered how come this young man had red lips and white teeth, but such a murderous aura, which almost frightened him to death.

However, the dental practitioner still gave no answer, and Song Chunlin did not insist. After getting the answer, he turned around and left without any hesitation.

The man from the pawnbroker heaved a sigh of relief after he left. However, the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He quickly handed the matters on hand to other people and went to report to the manager of the pawnbroker.

"Is that person really here to look for someone?"

"That's right. He came up and asked if we had ever bought a little girl of five or six years old. I heard from his tone that he didn't seem to want to buy anyone, so I was more cautious and said that we didn't have a little girl that young. But he was still persistent and wanted to see our account books for the past two years. How could we let an outsider see this? So I quickly sent him away and then came to tell you the news. Butler, do you think this man is here to look for those goods?"

The manager glanced at him sideways, and the human trafficker was so scared that he immediately lowered his head and dared not say anything more.

The manager then stroked his beard with satisfaction and gave a few instructions.

"Remember, no matter who comes and asks about that batch of goods, just say no. We are doing a serious business here, and we value mutual consent. As for the news they are talking about, it's all fake. Do you understand?"

"I understand, I understand." The human trafficker nodded and bowed, and immediately slipped away after receiving the order from the manager.

However, what the two of them didn't know was that their conversation was actually "heard" clearly by Song Chunlin. Song Chunlin frowned tightly, thinking that it was indeed so, this pawnshop must be secretly engaged in human trafficking, no wonder they insisted that their pawnshop had never bought any girls.

After learning that there was something fishy going on in the pawnbroker, Song Chunlin did not leave in a hurry. He first went to the largest inn in the county and asked for a room upstairs, preparing to recuperate and wait until dark and windy night to sneak into the room of the pawnbroker's manager. However, before entering, he had to find the location where the other party's account books were kept.

Along the way, Song Chunlin never relaxed his mental strength, because he found that he seemed to be followed. But think about it, the manager was not a fool. Knowing that he was here to inquire about information, he would naturally send someone to keep an eye on him. As soon as Song Chunlin walked out of the inn, he found someone following him on the street. He walked on the street calmly and leisurely, as if he was really just here for shopping.

While shopping, he did not forget to ask people about the little girl. However, Song Chunlin did not ask everyone he met, but selectively asked some shops. However, he did not get the answers he wanted and returned empty-handed.

At noon, he randomly found a restaurant, ordered two side dishes, and filled his stomach with steamed buns. Song Chunlin did not plan to continue searching aimlessly, so he wanted to go back to the inn to rest.

The people who were following Song Chunlin saw him go straight back to the inn. They waited at the door for a long time before giving up and leaving to report to the manager.

After Song Chunlin returned to the inn, he never came out again. He first went into the space, collected everything on the field, and then plowed the field again with a plow. This was a bit troublesome because Dabao was not in the space now, so he had to do everything by himself.

Song Chunlin was thinking about the possibility of tying Dabao to his belt next time he went out.

After the crops were planted in the fields in the space, Song Chunlin was shocked to realize that it was already four or five in the afternoon, and there were only a few hours left before dark, so he quickly grabbed a bunch of food and drinks from a pile of supplies, and then took out a tablet to watch a TV show.

Song Chunlin filled his bed with food and lay on it with his feet up. He watched TV series while eating braised snacks and drinking milk tea. He was living a truly comfortable life.

The manager on the other side was not so relaxed. He took out the secret account book several times to check it to make sure he had not missed anything. He put the account book back and hid it. After listening to the reply from his subordinate, the manager still couldn't feel at ease. He asked the man to continue squatting at the door of the inn and guarding the person. If there was any movement, the other party must come back and tell him.