Things proceeded smoothly from there.
Zhao Xiubo was found hidden inside a wicker basket on a horse carriage.
At this moment, Zhao Xiubo was still unconscious. As expected, her hair had been shaved off, and her beautiful floral dress had been replaced with tattered, patched clothes worn by boys.
Her pretty little face was smeared with mud, a very effective disguise; one could never link her to that exquisite little girl in the beautiful floral dress.
The Third Aunt, who was being pressed into the mud, was still screaming: "What are you doing? Where are you taking my grandson? Who are you? Let me go!"
Sun Qin climbed onto the carriage, hugged her groggy daughter, and wailed loudly. She then carried the child toward the Third Aunt and slapped her across the face: "Open your blind eyes and see who I am!"
She recognized this old woman, as she often came to their house to chat with Old Lady Zhao.
Only then did the Third Aunt realize it was Sun Qin. Her heart sank—it was over, it was all over.
Good heavens, the disguise was so perfect; how did they find out?
The driver was her accomplice; seeing that the situation was turning sour, he tried to bolt.
He was caught by Qin Hengzhi's quick hand, and just then, a squad of soldiers riding military motorcycles came speeding toward them.
After sending Sun Qin and Zhao Xiubo to the Workers' Hospital, Lu Qiaoge rushed straight to the Street Office.
Today's matter was quite significant; she needed to report to Director Hu and Deputy Director Huang first.
As she reached the main gate, she happened to run into Master Liu and Li Ying, who were just walking out.
Lu Qiaoge suddenly said, "Xiao Shao, the Third Aunt has been caught. We might be able to squeeze a lot of information out of her."
Shao Le didn't quite understand, but he followed Lu Qiaoge's lead: "Yeah, she looks like a professional. She's too bold, actually daring to kidnap children from our military compound. She's nothing but a piece of filth."
Lu Qiaoge thought to herself that such a person wasn't even worth being called filth.
She observed Master Liu and Li Ying discreetly.
Li Ying heard the name "Third Aunt" completely off guard.
Her heart panicked, and she lost her footing, nearly falling to the ground.
Master Liu also suddenly became restless.
He stopped walking and looked at Lu Qiaoge and Shao Le with suspicion.
"What did you just say about the Third Aunt? Is she Tiezi's mother?"
There could be many "Third Aunts," but there weren't many in the military factory, and only one had a son named Tiezi.
Lu Qiaoge also stopped walking. Instead of answering him, she asked Master Liu with a beaming smile, "Have you remembered who took your eldest daughter away?"
Li Ying's expression shifted repeatedly, and her voice sounded unstable. She pulled Master Liu and said hurriedly, "Let's go, it's already noon. Our daughter and son must be hungry."
At the mention of this, Master Liu fell silent.
However, he continued to mutter as he walked, "How do I remember that the couple who adopted Liu Xia back then was introduced by the Third Aunt?"
Li Ying said exasperatedly, "Shut up! Have you lost your mind from being questioned just now? You don't know any Third Aunt or Fourth Aunt!"
Shao Le looked at Lu Qiaoge.
He didn't know how her brain worked.
After leaving the city, her analysis was actually quite similar to Representative Qin's.
They both thought the kidnappers would go to the pig farm outside the city.
As for why, neither of them explained it to him.
But there really wasn't time to explain.
He could only wait to ask Lu Qiaoge for guidance once everything was finished.
Lu Qiaoge reported the thrilling two-hour ordeal to Director Hu.
Director Hu had already received a call from the factory headquarters.
He said solemnly, "We are going to the factory headquarters for a meeting. The factory leadership is taking this very seriously. The Third Aunt has already confessed. She said Duan Xiaoxiang approached her first, and then Old Lady Zhao agreed to sell Zhao Xiubo to a family in Paomagou, Northwest, for a child bride at a price of 150 yuan. The other party paid 300 yuan."
In other words, the Third Aunt and her accomplice made a profit of 150 yuan.
No wonder human traffickers have been impossible to eradicate since ancient times; the profit margins are indeed too high.
Director Hu said angrily, "This is truly heinous. I can hardly believe such a thing happened in our military factory."
Lu Qiaoge was also furious: "Director Hu, this matter cannot be handled lightly. I suggest we make this a typical case. We must make those who look down on girls yet happily count the money made from selling them realize deeply that this is illegal and not permitted by the law."
Deputy Director Huang slammed the table: "Good! It should be made a typical case and announced to the entire factory!"
Director Hu: "Qiaoge, you and Shao Le are responsible for this. We'll go to the factory canteen to eat first. There is much to do after lunch."
Shao Le was clever; on the way, he reported to Director Hu about the encounter with Master Liu and his wife at the gate.
He specifically told Director Hu about their conversation.
Director Hu said thoughtfully, "Those two were pretending to look at the records, but even after looking to the end, they couldn't confirm which couple went to the Liu family to adopt Liu Xia. But with this probe, perhaps the breakthrough lies with the Third Aunt."
After eating in the large canteen, everyone went to the conference room.
The Third Aunt and Old Lady Zhao were both taken to the Security Department. Officer Li from the police station was also there; this was a joint investigation.
Being a special unit, the controls were naturally strict. For these people to dance on the edge of a blade, one had to admit they had considerable courage.
Without the factory leadership even needing to step in, the Third Aunt confessed everything for the sake of her son Tiezi and her grandson.
Mainly, why should she take the fall for everyone?
She even began to hate Duan Xiaoxiang for recruiting her; it was that damned woman who had planted the idea in her head.
Otherwise, returning to her hometown would have been better than being a prisoner now.
Zhao Qing's face was pale without a trace of color. He stared blankly at his mother and wife, who had been brought to the Security Department alongside them.
He truly could not believe that his mother and wife had conspired with the Third Aunt to sell his daughter.
The money under the pillow was the money from selling his daughter.
And he had even helped lie about it.
He couldn't help but think of Representative Qin's majestic voice.
That was a chance given to him.
But he failed to seize it.
This time, he had been driven into a dead end by these two women.
His eyes, filled with hatred, turned toward Old Lady Zhao and Duan Xiaoxiang.
Especially toward Duan Xiaoxiang, Zhao Qing roared at her with resentment: "Duan Xiaoxiang! Ever since my eldest brother passed away, in what way have I, Zhao Qing, ever wronged you? Have I ever let you suffer or work hard? Never! When you spread rumors about Master Lu and caused me to be criticized and have my wages docked, what did I say to you? All I wanted back then was for you to live a peaceful life. Duan Xiaoxiang, you are foolish and vicious—are you my enemy?"
Old Lady Zhao was crying uncontrollably: "It's all my fault, all my fault! Leaders, leaders, if you want to punish someone, punish only me! My son didn't know about this; it was all my daughter-in-law's doing!"
Duan Xiaoxiang's eyes were filled with hatred: "Zhao Qing, blame only the fact that you met me. I was born with toxicity. I cannot stand the child you had with Sun Qin. As long as she is alive, I cannot eat or sleep in peace. Does that have nothing to do with you? Everything started because of you! If you hadn't developed feelings for me, I wouldn't have married you, and I wouldn't be sitting here. You are the real culprit!"