They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 375 Lou Er's Fate
Zeng Xiaojuan, who had been standing there blankly without any reaction, suddenly brightened up and looked at Xu Zhichun expectantly.

Zeng Xiaoyan grasped Xu Zhichun's hand, her eyes brimming with tears, and choked back sobs: "Sister-in-law Zhichun."

"Don't cry, it's okay."

Xu Zhichun gently squeezed Zeng Xiaoyan's hand and stepped forward, saying, "Aunt Xiaojuan, Qiao'er is young, but she's smart and capable. She'll be alright. So many people have gone to look for her; how far could someone so small have gone? They'll find her. If you fall ill and Qiao'er comes back, who will take care of her? She'll feel sorry for you seeing you like this."

Zeng Xiaojuan's lips trembled, and tears streamed down her face like beads falling from a broken string. She covered her face and cried loudly.

Zeng Xiaoyan and others quickly patted and comforted her.

The village head's wife and the other older women secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that they had cried; it was better to cry than to keep it inside.

Xu Zhichun said that she and Granny Qin Qing would stay with Zeng Xiaojuan tonight, and then politely asked everyone to go back. Zeng Xiaoyan was pregnant and could not stay with them indefinitely, so everyone left one after another.

With no one around, Xu Zhichun briefly recounted what he and Liang Minglang had seen during the day to Zeng Xiaojuan.

Despite her repeated insistence that she had not seen Qiao'er, Zeng Xiaojuan still became agitated.

"It must be him! It must be him!"

“I knew Qiao’er was such a well-behaved girl. Even when she goes out to play, she never stays for long and always tells me before she goes. She clearly said she would be back in a little while, so how could she possibly run off?”

"He's so cruel, so vicious! Qiao'er is his own flesh and blood!"

"No, I have to go pick Qiao'er up and take her home. Qiao'er must be very scared. I have to go pick her up."

“Auntie, calm down,” Xu Zhichun said. “Don’t worry, if Qiao’er is really at the county government office, Lord Lu will definitely have someone take good care of them. It’s already dark, and the city gates are closed, so we can’t get in. Besides, it’s so late at night, are we supposed to knock on the county government office gate? How about we go first thing tomorrow morning?”

"Qiao'er is very sensible; she can take good care of herself."

"Besides, I'm just guessing. It's hard to say for sure whether that's true or not. Maybe we'll find Qiao'er."

Zeng Xiaojuan was stunned for a moment. Yes, wait a little longer, wait a little longer.

It will be fine when it gets light.

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

The night was extremely difficult. They searched all the mountains around the village, but there was no trace of Qiao'er.

The next morning, before they even entered the city, Magistrate Lu had already sent someone to bring Qiao'er back.

Everyone was astonished!

Xu Zhichun and Liang Minglang had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on. After all, they had helped Magistrate Lu a lot, and once it was confirmed that there were children from Liangjia Village, Magistrate Lu would order them to be sent back as soon as possible, which would be a way of repaying the favor they had done.

The yamen runner who brought Qiao'er back was very straightforward; he told the truth about everything except Xu Zhichun and Liang Minglang.

Shocking the entire village!
Zeng Xiaojuan hugged Qiao'er and cried bitterly.

"Lou Er? Qiao'er's biological father! My God!"

"I was wondering why Qiao'er, who is such a well-behaved girl, would run around like that. It turns out it was her own father who coaxed her away. No wonder."

"What kind of biological father is this? Is he even human? Even tigers don't eat their cubs."

"Who says it isn't?"

"Fortunately, Lord Lu is wise enough to find Qiao'er. Otherwise... Heavens above, who would have thought of that Lou Er? Absolutely no one would have guessed! Qiao'er would have been—"

"Ugh"

The villagers all shuddered.

Lou Er and his gang were escorted to the provincial capital. Lou Er, being a newcomer, received the lightest sentence: ten years in prison. The others were repeat offenders; their sentences would be handed down separately after their involvement in other human trafficking cases was investigated. They would either be exiled to salt fields or mines as slaves for life, or beheaded—in short, they would never be free again.

Ironically, when the news reached Loujia Village, the Lou family was shocked. Aunt Lou San actually had the nerve to take her whole family to Liangjia Village to try and "settle accounts" with Zeng Xiaojuan.

Aunt Lou, with a strong sense of justice, burst into tears and cursed Zeng Xiaojuan: "This little bitch is my second son's flesh and blood. Even if I, as his father, sell her, it is only right and proper. You are so vicious, you must have used some trick to harm my second son!"

Lou Er's family's reputation was completely ruined; who would want to associate with them? Liang Lizheng ordered his men to drive them out of the village.

“If it were a famine, children might sell themselves to support their parents because they couldn’t bear to watch them starve to death. But I don’t think your family is that poor. To sell your own children is utterly heartless!”

“Your son not only sold Qiao’er, but also participated in the trafficking of other children, which is why Lord Lu arrested him. What are you doing here causing trouble in our Liangjia Village?”

"If you're so capable, go and cause trouble at the county government office."

"You're so in the right, what are you afraid of? Lord Lu is the most reasonable person."

"Get out of here right now, or don't blame us for kicking you out. Don't ever come back again. We don't welcome you in Liangjia Village."

The villagers all loathed him and were united in their hatred.

"Yes, let's go quickly!"

"Don't come again, or I'll chase you away every time I see you."

"Who knows what you're up to? Heh."

If Lou Er is capable of such heinous acts, who knows if the Lou family members might do the same? In any case, we can't afford to gamble on that possibility.

Aunt Lou cried her heart out, and the whole family left Liangjia Village in a sorry state.

But Loujia Village could not tolerate them either, and expelled them from the clan.

They were not allowed to set foot in the village.

The reasoning was the same: Lou Er was a scoundrel, and Lou Da wasn't much better. Who knew if Lou Da would do something evil? Besides, Lou Er had ruined the reputation of Loujia Village. Who would tolerate them? They were driven away.

Who can tolerate child trafficking?

The Lou family panicked and begged and pleaded, but no one in Loujia Village stood up for them or spoke up for them. They were coldly forced to get out.

It was ridiculous that Aunt Lou ran to the outside of Xu Zhichun's estate, pleading with Liang Xiaoman to take her family in with a long face.

"Your estate is on the edge of Loujia Village, not in the village itself. Staying here means we're practically living away from Loujia Village. We're willing to do any kind of work. Please, Steward Liang, have pity on our family of lonely orphans. We truly have nowhere else to go, sob sob sob."

"Please, Steward Liang, please!"

“The bad things the second brother did have nothing to do with us. We’ll make sure we work hard and don’t cause any trouble for Manager Liang.”

Liang Xiaoman was so angry she laughed, and told someone to close the door and ignore it.

He didn't even need to ask Aunt Zhichun for permission; he knew she would never take in this family.

This family really knows how to think.

Does he look like such a confused and clueless person?
The Lou family stayed outside the village for two days and two nights, acting like they were deliberately ignoring everyone.

Liang Xiaoman couldn't send anyone to drive them away, since they were from Loujia Village, not the manor. As long as they couldn't set foot in the manor, that was fine.

If Lou Lizheng doesn't take any action soon, he's going to complain to Aunt Zhichun.

It makes no sense that Loujia Village would handle such scoundrels so poorly, allowing them to come and disgust their neighbors.