Chapter 231: Going Home
Ning Xiyue’s attempt to comfort him didn’t work, so she tried another way.
She took a fruit candy from her pocket, placed it in Gou Dan’s little hand, crouched down to his level, and half-hugged him.
One hand gently patted his back to help him calm down, the other softly stroked his head.
She didn’t say anything—just let him vent all the sadness bottled up inside.
Gradually, Gou Dan’s sobbing quieted down.
He had been crying for so long that it took a while for him to stop completely, hiccupping softly.
“There now,” Ning Xiyue said gently. “Our little Gou Dan is the cleanest and most handsome kid in the whole team. No more tears, okay? Wipe your nose and face, and you’ll be our bright, tidy little boy again.”
She took out a tissue and helped him wipe his face.
Once his tears and snot were gone, the sound of crying stopped too.
Then Gou Dan, still pitifully pouting, tugged at Ning Xiyue’s sleeve with one hand and pointed at his right thigh with the other.
“Big sister Xiyue,” he complained in a tiny, muffled voice, “a bad person grabbed me—she pinched my leg.”
“The bad people have been caught,” Ning Xiyue assured him softly. “They can’t hurt our little Gou Dan ever again.”
She took out a small tin of bruise ointment and started to pull up his trouser leg.
“Come on, let big sister take a look.”
Gou Dan blushed and quickly held his waistband. At four years old, he already knew what it meant to be shy.
“There’s too many people here, big sister,” he whispered.
Ning Xiyue chuckled—adorable, really.
Respecting his wishes, she called her second brother over to take Gou Dan to a quieter corner to apply the medicine.
“If anything else hurts, you have to tell brother and sister, okay?”
“Here,” Gou Dan said, pointing to his left side, near the waist.
After applying the ointment, they checked for other injuries.
Thankfully, there were only two bruises—one on his thigh where he’d been pinched, and one on his waist from a bump.
Neither was serious; with some medicine, they’d stop hurting in a day or two.
When Ning Xiyue saw that Gou Dan was fine, she got up to help comfort the other children.
The others, with no family nearby, were still crying.
The few male comrades trying to calm them were completely flustered—no idea what to do, trying everything to no effect.
Ning Xiyue wasn’t great at coaxing children either, but seeing their helpless faces, she couldn’t just ignore them.
So she joined in to help—though results were limited.
Behind her was a tiny tail—Gou Dan.
He gripped the corner of her clothes with one small hand and followed her everywhere, never letting go.
Even when Ning Qingyuan tried to take him, Gou Dan refused.
He only trusted Ning Xiyue.
She didn’t mind.
She knew it was normal—children who’d been through trauma clung to the person they felt safest with.
Still, there was some good news: Gou Dan actually started helping her comfort the others!
And, surprisingly, it worked—one child finally stopped crying.
Soon, another little “tail” joined them—the little girl from the train.
Then another, and another… until four little ones followed her everywhere.
Eventually, the remaining children, exhausted from crying, quieted down too.
The comrades from the Armed Forces Department bought fruit candies for everyone—one piece each—and finally, no more tears.
All the adults let out a long sigh of relief.
Ning Xiyue unbuttoned her jacket—phew.
It felt like she’d fought a war.
After receiving his candy, Gou Dan tugged her sleeve again.
He held up his new candy to her, his eyes bright, and shook it a little while still clutching the one she had given him earlier.
A rare, sweet smile appeared on his little face.
“Big sister Xiyue,” he said happily, “one for you, one for me.”
“Alright,” Ning Xiyue said, smiling back. “Thank you, Gou Dan.”
She took the candy and, like before at the health clinic, tapped her candy gently against his.
That made Gou Dan’s smile grow even brighter.
It was getting late when Ning Xiyue noticed Li Comrade returning from his assignments.
She walked over and asked, “Comrade Li, is there anything else? If not, my brother and I will head back soon. I’d like to get this child home as soon as possible so his family doesn’t worry.”
“In that case,” said Li Comrade, “I’ll arrange for someone to drive you back to town. It’ll be safer that way.”
Ning Xiyue’s identity was somewhat special, and after today’s events, Li Comrade was extra cautious.
He couldn’t risk any accidents—he’d never be able to explain it to his superiors.
“Thank you, Comrade Li.”
She then brought Gou Dan forward and continued,
“Also, Comrade Li, this child is from our team. Could you help call them so they don’t worry? I’ll take him back myself.”
“Come with me,” Li Comrade said after a glance at timid little Gou Dan.
Ning Xiyue told her brother to wait, then followed Li Comrade to an office with a telephone.
She recited the team’s number, and he dialed it for her.
After a moment, the strong voice of the team leader came through:
“Hello? Who’s this?”
“Hello, this is the County Armed Forces Department,” Li Comrade replied.
“There’s a child named Gou Dan from your team—we’ve found him. He’ll be brought back by your comrade Ning.”
Before the team leader could even react, Li Comrade handed the phone to Ning Xiyue.
“Captain, it’s me—Xiyue,” she said quickly. “I’ll keep it short. Please tell Uncle Anguo that Gou Dan is safe at the County Armed Forces Department. I’ll bring him home right away.”
“Xiyue, really? You found Gou Dan?” came the captain’s excited voice.
“Yes,” she said. “Here, Gou Dan, say hello.”
She held the phone to Gou Dan’s ear.
“Gou Dan? Is that you?” the captain asked cautiously, full of hope.
Hearing the familiar voice, Gou Dan’s eyes turned red again.
“Uncle Youwei, it’s me—it’s Gou Dan!” he cried.
“Ah! Good, good! Be a good boy and go home with your sister Xiyue. I’ll go tell your parents right away!”
The captain hung up, overjoyed, and rushed out to find someone with a bicycle to spread the word along the road.
Then he turned back and called the commune and the police station to notify them as well.
Meanwhile, in town, Zhao Anguo and his wife were still searching desperately with half the team, nearly turning the town upside down.
Another group was following the police along the bus route, but there was still no trace.
“Gou Dan! Where are you, my son, Gou Dan!”
Aunt Huaihua collapsed onto the ground, crying uncontrollably.
She slapped her face over and over until it was bright red, tears streaming down as she scolded herself through sobs.
“It’s my fault! I never should’ve brought him to town! Never should’ve trusted that woman! I shouldn’t have gone to the toilet—oh, my poor boy, I’m so sorry, please come back…”
Aunt Yangliu sighed and rushed to hold her back, stopping her from hitting herself again.
“Huaihua, stop it. It’s not your fault—it’s those damned traffickers. How could anyone have known that woman was evil? You have to stay strong. Gou Dan’s still waiting for us to find him.”
She herself felt heartsick.
They had all watched Gou Dan grow up.
He was the precious, long-awaited child of the Zhao couple—everyone in the team knew how much they doted on him.
And now, he’d disappeared in the blink of an eye.
How could they live with that?
“Huaihua, you can’t give up,” Aunt Yangliu said firmly. “Gou Dan is a lucky child. He’ll come back safe and sound.”
“You’re right,” Huaihua said, forcing herself up. “I can’t collapse. My Gou Dan is waiting for me. He’s such a good boy—I have to keep looking.”
She stood quickly, wiped her tears with her sleeve, and said with determination,
“Keep searching. House to house if we have to. We will find him.”
Just then, Comrade Sun from the police station came running, waving his arm excitedly.
“There’s news about Gou Dan! The County Armed Forces Department just called—they found a group of children, and one of them’s named Gou Dan!”
Aunt Huaihua’s eyes went wide.
She grabbed Aunt Yangliu’s hands, trembling.
“It’s him—it must be my Gou Dan! Yangliu, it has to be my Gou Dan!”
“Yes, yes, it must be,” Aunt Yangliu nodded quickly, her own heart full of hope.
At the same time, Comrade Li from the commune, a friend of the captain, came rushing over with a beaming face.
“Your team’s Gou Dan has been found! Zhang Dawei just called—your educated youth Ning Xiyue is bringing him back right now. No need to worry anymore!”
When Aunt Yangliu heard Ning Xiyue’s name, she grabbed Aunt Huaihua’s hands excitedly.
“Huaihua, did you hear that? Xiyue’s bringing Gou Dan back! He’s safe! Tell everyone—we can stop searching!”
“Got it, got it!” the others said, their faces breaking into smiles as they ran off to spread the good news.
“He’s found, he’s found! Thank heavens! With Xiyue there, I can finally rest easy,” Aunt Huaihua sobbed, overcome with joy and relief—
And then she fainted straight into Aunt Yangliu’s arms.
“Huaihua!” Aunt Yangliu gasped, quickly checking her breathing and pulse.
Finding she had only fainted, she sighed in relief.
Together with the others, she carried the unconscious Aunt Huaihua to the commune gate to wait anxiously for their loved ones to return.
