Chapter 62: Identification
As soon as Jiaming said this, everyone’s gazes in the carriage unanimously turned toward the two of them.
Just about to say something to persuade the other, she had to stop now, and Yan Bei glared at Jiaming while seizing the chance to find a reason to shut her up.
In the instant of looking over, she met a sharp gaze, that scrutinizing and appraising look impossible to ignore and even carrying a somewhat inexplicable sense of oppression.
It was him.
That middle-aged man with a flat top, when he first came in Su Ning had sensed a very familiar aura from him, the baleful aura of someone tempered by blood and gunfire, forged in battlefield slaughter.
This was a battle-hardened warrior just like Grandpa Fu, Brother Zhang, and Brother Mao!
Many things, as long as there’s even the slightest change, can lead to completely different outcomes.
Her eyes suddenly lit up; if that was the case…
“I have a way!”
“I have an idea!”
The two spoke at the same time, Yan Bei exchanged a glance with her and then tacitly looked toward that man together.
This wordless, like-minded feeling made both of them feel a sense of novelty.
A smile rose in Yan Bei’s eyes, he nodded to her, found an excuse, and called Wu Tao out of the carriage together.
Though puzzled and with the sensitivity of a J person, Wu Tao trusted his intuition that something was off but didn’t ask more and happily accepted.
As the two explained the matter in detail, Wu Tao’s face changed and without another word he said he’d handle the whole thing.
Returning to another carriage, Wu Tao called his guard, then found the train conductor, stated his identity, and concisely recounted the situation.
When the conductor arrived at the dining car carriage and found the two, needing her to come help identify, the forewarned Su Ning stood up without refusal and agreed.
“Comrade JC, can I come along…”
“The fewer people the better, to avoid alerting the enemy, we can only follow Comrade Su from afar to confirm and act only after she safely leaves, so please Comrade Yan don’t worry and give your understanding and cooperation.”
“Yan Bei rest assured, I’ll be fine, you go back to the carriage and wait for news.”
She said that, but without seeing it with his own eyes and not being by her side, he couldn’t possibly relax or not worry.
But the matter was already in the hands of the J side, unable to proceed as he wanted, Yan Bei could only helplessly agree and return to the carriage restlessly anxious.
Su Ning followed him to the duty room on the train, waiting inside were Wu Tao and his guard, plus one in plainclothes and a female train attendant in a blue uniform.
This train attendant not only matched her age, but height and build too, almost instantly she understood their intent.
Sure enough, after hearing Wu Tao’s plan it matched what she thought with no discrepancies, so when the train attendant handed over a clean uniform, she very cooperatively took it and quickly went to change.
“Comrade Su, since the suspect has seen you, this still carries danger; if you’re worried or scared, we can switch to another…”
“No need, this is fine; it can dispel her suspicions and let me get results faster and more accurately, and I trust you all!”
Her words were resolute and decisive, not worried at all about danger, because she trusted them.
It moved everyone present with her sincere trust, and they all saluted her.
……
Wearing the uniform, Su Ning pushed the small dining cart, shuttling section by section through the carriages, her hawking and business so lifelike after just a short practice, without any flaws.
Especially her mental fortitude was excellent; the closer she got to carriage number twelve, the more calm and composed she was, making those following not far behind couldn’t help but praise her inwardly.
“Excuse me, coming through!”
Seeing that big aunt still holding the child and little girl close by the door, Su Ning breathed a sigh of relief.
When the cart passed the door, she deliberately didn’t lift the rear wheel, letting it catch in the narrow gap at the interface.
Taking advantage of bending down to lift the rear wheel, she quickly checked the two children’s conditions.
With such a loud noise by their ears, not only did the little girl not react, but the baby even easier to startle showed no signs of waking.
Because of Xiao Qiu’s words, she specially glanced at the girl’s wrist, and sure enough as she said there were deep bluish-purple injury marks.
“Eh?”
The one coincidentally woken was only the big aunt holding the baby; sensing someone very close, she immediately hugged the child tight, but upon seeing it was a train attendant, her expression clearly relaxed.
After staring at her face for a few looks, Li Chunhua felt it more and more familiar.
Such a pretty face, with that pair of little dimples clearly visible even when not smiling.
Her eyes rolled around once, and Li Chunhua immediately remembered, a not-so-good feeling surging in her heart: How could this girl be on this train? And as a train attendant?
A flash of suspicion quickly passed in her turbid eyes, but on her face Li Chunhua showed surprise and grabbed the person about to stand, “Girl, how come you’re here too?”
Seeing her looking at her strangely, not forgetting to pull away her wrist, Li Chunhua’s smile intensified, “Oh, you forgot that gourd cart from Fengzhu Ridge?”
“Oh, I remember now, it’s you, Big Aunt!”
After pulling back her hand, Su Ning calmly turned her back, and as agreed naturally crooked two fingers.
“Yes it’s this old woman, girl did you find the place that day?”
Li Chunhua probed step by step, and the hand holding the child took the chance to pat the swaddling clothes three times.
Whether she actually went to the path she had pointed out then, both knew clear as day.
Unexpectedly the girl opposite just raised her brows calmly, not panicking at all, and nodded.
“I found it. You had just left not long when a little girl came to catch bamboo bugs to eat, she insisted on taking me on a shortcut saying it would save more than half the time, and don’t tell me the folks from Hongqi Commune weren’t unusually warm and nice!”
Really such a coincidence?
Li Chunhua stared at her unblinkingly, seeing her smile naturally, with genuine sigh in her face and eyes, nothing off.
Thinking it over, maybe she was just too nervous?
The hand on the swaddling hesitated a bit but finally patted twice more.
Watching her actions the whole time, Su Ning looked up and tucked back the stray hairs falling before her eyes.
The skinny man in the first row aisle seat facing front, when she first patted the child, quietly gave an eye signal to the couple two seats back behind him, and stood up at the same time.
Just when she patted the second time, that person casually stretched and sat back down.
“Big Aunt, sorry, I still have work and can’t chat more.”
“I know, child go busy yourself!”
Smiling at her again, Su Ning stood and pulled back some distance, pushed the cart across the interface aisle, and quickly whispered something to the one waiting outside the toilet.
Just as she left and passed in front of the skinny man entering the carriage, she paused two seconds, and when coming before the couple two seats back, routinely asked aloud, then slowly left after they shook their heads in refusal.
The four who received the accurate signal immediately sprang into action, cooperating with tacit understanding as previously appointed.
Except for taking some effort controlling Li Chunhua to avoid hurting the child, this capture went quite smoothly.
Su Ning didn’t participate in the follow-up, only hearing Wu Tao mention a couple things when he returned.
Including the little girl and baby plus the three the couple had, a total of five children had been drugged and gotten off at the previous station to be sent to the hospital.
Knowing the matter resolved, the traffickers caught and children rescued, and foreseeing from the earlier touch with Li Chunhua her end executed, the relieved Su Ning heavily exhaled a turbid breath.
“Little Comrade Su, you’re really something!”
Wu Tao unsparingly gave a thumbs up in praise; looking at her age not much more than his own daughter, but her on-the-spot reactions and outstanding observation skills in danger were too excellent!
Sure enough, the excellent ones are always others’, while the worrying troublemakers are his own!
Facing his praise Su Ning returned a modest smile; no one knew that during those few minutes of brief clash with Li Chunhua her back was soaked in sweat.
Afraid that one wrong reaction from her would lead to an accident with the children as hostages.
Fortunately all safe, everything smooth.
“You okay?”
Yan Bei who rushed over upon hearing the news, the first thing upon seeing her was to look her over from head to toe, only fully relaxing his suspended heart after finding no injuries.
