Chapter 2513 - 2577: Li Manli
"Wake up?" Li Yifei gently nudged the girl’s arm. At this moment, she was completely lying on the back seat, sleeping soundly, her clothes a bit disheveled, with a part of her collar askew. If one had ill intentions, it would be easy to... Of course, Li Yifei had no such bad thoughts, he just felt that this girl really trusted him, sleeping so deeply.
After a few nudges, the girl woke up. She slowly opened her eyes, murmured, then blinked drowsily. A few seconds later, she saw a stranger’s face in front of her and was so scared that she leaned back and assumed a defensive posture. This completely sobered her up, and she remembered who the man in front of her was.
"Uncle, I... I fell asleep, I’m sorry!" the girl said timidly.
Li Yifei shook his head and said, "No problem, we’ve already reached Dan City. Where is your home, I’ll drive you directly to your house."
The girl sat up, bit her lip, clearly hesitating. Li Yifei turned his head and smiled lightly, "It’s alright, my business isn’t urgent, taking you home is on the way, I can also familiarize myself with Dan City."
"Uncle, my home... is a bit messy."
"Hmm?" Li Yifei didn’t understand. Seeing the girl a bit embarrassed, seemingly having some difficulties, he said, "Is it convenient to talk about?"
"Uncle, you can just drop me off when we get into the city, I can go home by myself!" the girl insisted, adding, "Uncle, thank you, you are a good person!"
"No need to thank me, it was just a coincidence today, but you still need to be careful in the future. Don’t talk to strangers when you’re out and about. You’re still young and lack a sense of defense, it’s easy for bad people to take advantage of you. If something really happens, it will be too late to regret it." Li Yifei said.
The girl nodded firmly and said, "Uncle, I’ve taken note, I will be careful in the future."
"Hmm, you’re not always going to be this lucky," Li Yifei said as he started the car, preparing to continue driving.
Dan City isn’t big, and the population isn’t large, but the scenery is lovely. The city’s greenery is something Li Yifei has seldom seen in other cities, and it’s also considered a tourist city, difficult to fault in many respects. It’s much better than Mile City, famous for its seafood, and because it borders the frontier, many outbound trips start from here.
The girl sat in the back seat, becoming silent. From the rearview mirror, Li Yifei saw the girl seemed a bit distracted. After driving a certain distance, he asked, "If there’s something difficult, just talk about it!"
"Uncle, I... I don’t really want to go home," the girl said with a frown.
"Hmm?" Li Yifei furrowed his brows, looking at the girl with some suspicion. She didn’t seem to want to get off the car, speaking like that... Hmm, Li Yifei didn’t doubt her previous story, just found her actions a bit odd now.
"I... my mom is sick, I should go home, but I don’t want to," the girl seemed to sense the change in Li Yifei’s mood and quietly explained.
"You said you came back from Mile City just to see your mom?" Li Yifei asked.
The girl nodded, a trace of sadness in her eyes, "Yes, uncle, I didn’t lie to you, it’s just... just that now I’m back in Dan City, but I don’t want to go back."
"What do you mean? Are you afraid your mom will scold you?" Li Yifei asked.
"My mom... she will scold me, but I’m more worried..." the girl paused here. Li Yifei had encountered some scammers, like girls dressing pitifully, setting up placards at the corner of overline bridge streets asking for money to go home. But Li Yifei didn’t think this girl was using those tricks to deceive him, it was an intuition.
So Li Yifei asked, "Girl, if there’s difficulty, just say it directly. Since we met, and you called me uncle, I’ll help if I can!"
"No!" the girl quickly shook her head, she’s not young, and heard Li Yifei seemed to misunderstand, quickly explained, "Uncle, it’s because... my dad, he’s not good to me and my mom, especially to me... every time I’m home for the past few years, he goes crazy, so I don’t dare to go home!"
"Hmm? Your dad beats you and your mom?" Li Yifei pressed further.
The girl bit her lip, thought for a while, and finally disclosed the reason.
The girl’s name is Li Manli, which Li Yifei already knew, she’s from Dan City, specifically she should be a member of the Fresh ethnic group. Her mom came over the border more than a decade ago, commonly referred to as a Fugitive to the North, also considered an illegal immigrant, unable to obtain an ID card. Such people are not protected by law in Huaxia, and if found, they are immediately repatriated. Returning to their country means death, immediate execution, as the neighboring country’s punishment for Fugitive to the North is extremely severe.
Li Manli’s mom is a Fugitive to the North and didn’t escape far, just in the border city of Dan City. Naturally, her situation isn’t great, as after escaping, she was targeted by human traffickers. Though she escaped that dreadful country, she still hadn’t escaped from the gloom in the hands of traffickers. Li Manli’s father is not her biological father; she has no memory of her biological father anymore. Her current father is named Wu Gang, initially a bachelor, in Dan City he was called an errand boy, an extremely derogatory term. Adding "old" in front makes it worse. Before 40, Wu Gang hadn’t even touched a woman, and after his parents died, he struggled to make ends meet. Later, with a change in national policies, village leaders felt pity and set him up with benefits, helped him apply for money to build a house, and set up a greenhouse, allowing Wu Gang’s elders to supervise him. After two years, he had about ten or twenty thousand yuan in hand.
Wu Gang, fed and clothed, turned to thoughts of lust and desired to marry a wife. However, he was inherently ugly, nothing about him standout. Together, it was even worse, he had no chance with a big girl. Though the house was newly built, brick and tile, the coffers were empty. Ultimately, Wu Gang turned his thoughts to buying a bride.
In Dan City, or rather some northern villages, there are often such errand boys. Normal family wives are hard for them to marry. They despise those who are of age, and refuse divorced women. Consequently, evil thoughts were put into buying a bride, their low education meant they had no concept of law, viewing bride-buying as reasonable. They paid to traffickers to buy a bride, with whom they could do as they wish.
In recent years, such incidents have decreased, at least in the North laws have become more established. Yet Wu Gang still bought a bride. Huaxia brides were beyond his affordability, and he feared legal trouble, so he turned his thoughts to these Fugitive to the North. Unable to withstand hunger and persecution, they risked lives to flee to Huaxia. Most died en route, some were caught and sent back, only the so-called lucky ones eventually stayed in Huaxia.
Compared to the country without food, Huaxia is paradise, yet more like a slightly better hell, for they have no status, many things in Huaxia were off-limits, confined to rural or small places. Unable to travel, illnesses untreated due to lack of an ID card.
Once Li Manli’s mother was spotted by traffickers on arrival, she had some looks among Fugitive to the North but was short, about 1.5 meters due to poor childhood nutrition. When she arrived in Huaxia she was sold to remote mountain villages for heavy labor.
The first ’owner’ died, Li Manli’s mother fled, only to fall into another trap, brought home by another man... After several such times, Li Manli and her mother ultimately escaped to Wu Gang’s home.
It’s been a year and a half now. Li Manli had fairly decent grades, so she finished middle school but couldn’t afford high school. No money was one reason, and her mother’s health issues another, so Li Manli opted to work in Mile City, earning to cover household expenses, and hopefully treat her mother.
Unfortunately, due to her young age and having lived with her mother, her grasp of Chinese wasn’t great. Classmates weren’t fond of talking to her, so once in Mile City, all she could do was work in a restaurant.
Having worked for two months, Li Manli received one month’s pay, totaling two thousand. She saved three hundred for herself, sending the remaining two thousand home, planning to work two more months before returning to check on her mom. But then received a call from Wu Gang, saying her mom wasn’t well, urging her to hurry back.
Li Manli took two days’ leave, took a bus home, and then encountered her ordeal, narrowly escaping being trafficked away.
Li Yifei was speechless after hearing this. Happy people are alike, unhappy people are each unhappy in their way. Such a birth and family, listening made Li Yifei feel a bit sad. The little girl showed little sadness discussing her family, seemingly having accepted it long ago. Of course, she had no means to change it, it was a fact.
With her mother sick, Li Manli must be very worried. She only has one relative in the world, unlike her peers with maternal relatives, paternal friends, or acquaintances. Her father had kicked mother and daughter out, and Li Manli hadn’t considered returning.
Yet with her mom ill... she was very worried, but upon reaching Dan City, she dared not return, because of Wu Gang, her stepfather. Though called stepfather, he didn’t fulfill that role. As Li Manli put it, he initially treated her mother well, claimed to take care of both, but soon reverted, giving the greenhouse to Li Manli’s mother to manage, while he lazed about. Drinking today, going somewhere the next day, always seemingly busy, yet bringing home no money.