15: Are they human traffickers?
"My son is one year and eight months old. Is yours a son or a daughter?"
The Female Comrade opposite her wasn't suspicious, and she replied with a smile.
"It's a son. He just turned one."
Xiao Niannian immediately grew suspicious.
When they boarded the train earlier, this couple wasn't holding a child. Why are they holding one now? Moreover, the carriage is so noisy, yet the child hasn't woken up. Could it be that he was fed something? Are they human traffickers?
Although Xiao Niannian was several meters away, the sound of people talking in the carriage reached her ears.
"Ding! Hearing +1."
Hearing the voice in her mind, Xiao Niannian looked toward the distance again.
She decided to take the steamed buns and beef noodles back to Carriage Four, and then return later.
When passing by the couple, Xiao Niannian's gaze met theirs, but the man and woman immediately withdrew their eyes, their guilty demeanor making Xiao Niannian even more suspicious.
Xiao Niannian's gaze fell on the child's face, but the woman used a piece of clothing to cover the child's face.
After Xiao Niannian walked a meter or two away, she heard the woman whisper.
"What should we do? That's the woman from Carriage Four. She seems to be watching us."
"What are you afraid of? This isn't her seat. If she causes trouble again, I'll make her pay." The man said viciously. "Hold the child properly and don't let him wake up."
The woman hummed in acknowledgment, then looked back at Xiao Niannian. Seeing Xiao Niannian looking back at them, she felt even more panicked.
Xiao Niannian grew increasingly suspicious that the couple was problematic.
Xiao Niannian looked around and saw two middle-aged men staring at her not far away, with very unfriendly eyes. Their gaze then shifted toward the couple nearby.
Are these their accomplices?
Xiao Niannian immediately thought of this. She withdrew her gaze and squeezed back into Carriage Four.
"Grandma, Uncle Xiao Shu, I bought meat buns and beef noodles."
"Niannian, Uncle Xiao Shu will give you the money."
Uncle Xiao Shu immediately shoved over a bunch of change—one-dime and five-cent coins.
"No, Uncle Xiao Shu, you take it back."
Xiao Niannian refused.
After several back-and-forths, Uncle Xiao Shu knew Xiao Niannian wouldn't accept it, so he had to take the money back.
"Grandma, Uncle Xiao Shu, try these beef noodles. There's a lot."
As Xiao Niannian spoke, she tried to pour the beef noodles into the lunch boxes that Grandma Xiao and Uncle Xiao Shu brought.
"No need, Niannian, you eat. I prefer meat buns."
"Grandma doesn't like beef noodles."
Hearing their refusal, how could Xiao Niannian not know that they were reluctant to eat it and wanted to save it for her?
Xiao Niannian directly poured one-third of the portion for each of them, and then picked up the remaining beef noodles to eat herself.
It's fragrant, truly delicious.
These beef noodles taste much better than the ones decades later.
When Xiao Niannian tasted the beef noodles, this was the only feeling she had.
After finishing the beef noodles, she ate the large meat bun. Fragrant, truly fragrant, and too delicious. The meat inside must weigh two or three liang.
Xiao Niannian finished the two large meat buns in her hand and took out her military canteen to drink a few sips of water.
Watching Grandma eat the large meat bun, chewing slowly and reluctant to finish it, Xiao Niannian felt a little uneasy. In her era, except when performing missions, they always ate highly balanced meals.
But in this era, rice and flour were extremely precious. The fact that Grandma Xiao and Uncle Xiao Shu were eating bran cakes while insisting she eat meat cakes was a huge shock to her heart.
Xiao Niannian looked away, her gaze falling into the distance. She discovered that a suspicious man she had noticed earlier in the couple's carriage was now standing at the entrance of her carriage, staring at her.
Did they know she suspected the couple? Or did the couple get hit, feel indignant, and want to find accomplices to vent their anger? To kidnap and sell her?
Xiao Niannian suspected that the mother and son sitting opposite them earlier were also targeted by that couple. Perhaps they intended to first get close, then secretly feed or give the Female Comrade something drugged, and afterward, the child would end up like the one they were holding. Moreover, she just saw that their accomplices in that carriage were also holding several sleeping children. One or two children sleeping soundly is normal, but several children sleeping soundly in the carriage is a major red flag.
Thinking of this, Xiao Niannian couldn't sit still. Before boarding, she had checked the stopping stations for this train and knew where they were now. The next stop was less than half an hour away, and that station was a very remote county seat.
The middle-aged man opposite saw that Xiao Niannian had noticed him staring. He first nervously looked away, and then looked back at Xiao Niannian.
"Grandma, Uncle Xiao Shu, I'm going to the restroom."
Xiao Niannian walked toward the front carriage. She decided to go find Lu Jing and his group. She could handle the couple by herself, but if they used the children as hostages, although she could fight four or five people alone, the carriage was crowded and they could run in both directions, allowing them to potentially escape.
Lu Jing saw Xiao Niannian walking back quickly with a very serious expression. He narrowed his eyes. Could it be that something happened while she was eating?
Lu Jing saw Xiao Niannian waving at him and was stunned for a moment. The previously cold little girl was actually waving at him now? He looked around, ensuring there were no suspicious people nearby. Lu Jing then gave a few instructions to his subordinates.
"Protect the Old Chief well, and pay attention to the people around you..."
Although Xiao Niannian was standing far away, she clearly heard what Lu Jing said.
It seems Grandpa Gu's identity is indeed extraordinary; otherwise, Lu Jing and his Special Forces Soldiers wouldn't be so cautious.
"Yes."
The men immediately responded.
Lu Jing walked over to Xiao Niannian and spoke in a flat tone.
"What is it?"
After speaking, Lu Jing wondered if his tone was too cold. Although he suspected Xiao Niannian had issues, what if his guess was wrong?
Xiao Niannian didn't mind Lu Jing's cold words. Most of the comrades-in-arms in her old unit had similar personalities; only a very few were warm and lively.
"I just found a couple in Carriage Five. They were sitting in my grandma's and my seats yesterday... At that time, I didn't see them holding a child... Just now, in their carriage, I also found several other suspicious people..."
Hearing this, Lu Jing understood what Xiao Niannian meant.
"Fang Qiang, He Yong, come here."
Hearing Lu Jing's words, two plainly dressed comrades stood up not far away. Xiao Niannian had seen these two before and felt that their demeanor was also like that of Soldiers, along with several others like them.
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