strictlysupreme Chapter 37 Will We Receive Support?
Chapter 37 Will We Receive Support?
The group of grown men in the room rarely saw such a cute child in this place. Most of the people here have numb eyes, and even the children are thin and emaciated from a young age.
He Bin glanced at Xiao Shenxi; she did look quite like this child.
The burly men with dark faces looked at Xiao Jiangci, whose face had become fair and tender after washing it, and all of them had smiles on their faces.
Xiao Jiang Ci felt a little timid under her gaze, so he tugged at Xiao Shen Xi's clothes and hid behind her, shrinking his little head.
Xiao Shenxi stared at these uncles expressionlessly.
He Bin raised his hand to his mouth, made a fist, coughed, and looked at Li Zhi, saying:
"Li Zhi, take the child to the back and sit for a while. Ask about the situation. We still have a meeting to finish here."
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Li Zhi also thought about this mission, and his mood inevitably became somewhat heavy.
He nodded and led the two children to the back side room.
Once in the room,
Li Zhi arranged for the children to sit opposite him and poured them a glass of water.
Xiao Jiangci and Xiao Shenxi sat side by side.
Li Zhi casually snapped his police cap back on, placing the sealed documents under a red book; the tough guy was now amiable.
"How old are you two children?"
Xiao Jiangci frowned, looking conflicted, and hesitated before speaking, "Uncle, my brain is messed up, I can't remember."
Xiao Shenxi looked up.
Li Zhi: Why does this kid sound so arrogant?
He scratched his head and looked at Xiao Shenxi, who had been silent all along, and asked, "Little friend, how old are you this year?"
Little Shenxi looked down at the teacup: "Eight years old."
Li Zhi's eyes widened. The child was so thin; he had thought he was only five or six years old.
He was heartbroken: "My child, you have suffered so much."
Xiao Shenxi glanced at him quickly, then lowered her eyes and remained silent.
Li Zhi, holding a worn-out fountain pen, asked and wrote down, "What's your name?"
“Shenxi, the stream in stream.”
Do you know the name of the little brother next to you?
"I don't know." She didn't ask.
"Could you give a brief description of how you were captured by the bad guys?"
Xiao Jiang shook his head.
Xiao Shenxi took a sip of tea and looked at the ripples in the water in the cup: "In Yunxia Xiang, I was knocked unconscious, tied up and dumped in a cold storage room behind this place. That's where I met him."
She explained the escape process clearly and concisely, and casually mentioned that Xiao Jiang Ci had eaten something wrong and damaged his brain.
Xiao Jiangci, who was standing next to him, then realized what he had been through and looked at Xiao Shenxi thoughtfully.
Xiao Shenxi looked down and happened to meet his gaze, then casually looked away.
Li Zhi thought the two children were both brave and resourceful, especially the boy named Shen Xi, who was both brave and resourceful, able to escape quickly and even save the little boy next to him.
The little boy next to me... well... he's cute too.
Li Zhi wrote a lot in his notebook, then suddenly looked up and asked, "Have you guys not eaten in a long time?"
The two children drank all the hot water in front of them.
Xiao Jiangci said with an honest look, "Uncle, my brother and I are really hungry."
Li Zhi looked annoyed. He had been so focused on getting the child back that he hadn't thought about this at all.
"How about this, Uncle will take you to my house to rest for a while, and then bring you back when you need to go home to rest, okay?"
Neither child objected, but Xiao Shenxi remained unusually silent upon hearing the word "go home".
Li Zhi went to ask He Bin for instructions and submit a report. After He Bin and a few other men in the team heard the situation, they all took out crumpled bills from their pockets and made up a round number.
“The conditions at our police station are tough, there’s no place to stay, and a few of us grown men can’t afford this much money. If you pool your money, you can take the kids out for a nice meal and see a doctor here. He Kuang and I are going to a place with better signal tonight to ask the province for more support, and we’ll also mention this to the higher-ups.”
He Bin's eyes were filled with melancholy. He had to speak quickly, or it might be too late.
Li Zhi clutched the money, his eyes red-rimmed: "Leave the children's affairs to me. My house is big enough to accommodate two children."
He choked up.
"But Captain, will we be able to wait for reinforcements?"
Li Zhi wiped away his tears: "We were all unmarried, so dying would be considered sacrificing ourselves for the country, a worthy death. But what will happen to the people left here after we die?"
They've stayed here for most of their lives. People come and go, but they've remained here, unchanged.
He Bin took a drag of his cigarette. "As long as we can get in touch with the provincial authorities tonight, people from above will arrive soon. We'll stay here even if it kills us."
Seeing that everyone looked rather unwell, and not wanting to undermine morale at this crucial moment, Li Zhi waved his hand.
"Okay, I'll listen to the captain. The two little ones are still waiting for me. I'll take them back first."
The deputy captain, He Kuang, leaned back in his chair and added, "Buy them some new clothes. If they run out of money, they can ask me for it. I have plenty of money."
Li Zhi had no intention of taking his money, so he nodded and turned away.
Moreover, He Bin is a descendant of a martyr, and this money is a martyr's pension.
……
Xiao Shenxi and Xiao Jiangci were taken to Li Zhi's house.
Li Zhi pointed to the bathroom: "I'll adjust the water temperature. You guys take a shower first. Uncle is going out to buy some clothes and some food."
Both children nodded obediently.
He patiently taught them how to turn the water on and off, and only felt at ease after seeing that the children could operate it themselves.
Li Zhi scratched his hands, then pointed somewhat awkwardly to the bathroom: "There's only one bar of soap in there. Uncle's living a rough life, so please make do with it."
Li Zhi thought the shorter boy was handsome and cute, like he came from a wealthy family.
Xiao Jiangci was very sensible: "Uncle is already very kind, there's no need to be so polite."
Xiao Shenxi's eyes were calm: "These conditions are good enough."
Li Zhi felt a warmth in his heart. He smiled and said, "I'll be back soon. Take good care of yourselves at home!"
After Li Zhi left.
Little Jiang Ci's eyes lit up as he invited Little Shen Xi, "Brother, let's take a bath together~"
He sidled up to his brother, trying to take his hand.
Xiao Shenxi turned her hands behind her back and dodged, saying, "You wash first, I'll wash later."
Her gaze was calm but unwavering.
Xiao Jiangci sighed dramatically, "Alright, I'll go in first."
Before he went in, he was still worried: "Brother, don't run around, you'll get lost."
Xiao Jiangci knew, of course, that his brother wouldn't run away; he was afraid that his brother would leave him alone and abandon him.
Xiao Shenxi, of course, didn't understand his ulterior motives and sat impatiently by the bathroom door: "Go in, I understand."
Seeing her brother's impatient expression, Xiao Jiangci felt reassured and took small steps inside. Before going in, she peeked out and asked, "Brother, are you really not coming with me?"
Shen Xi took a deep breath and uttered, "Get lost."
Xiao Jiang resigned and obediently left.