The loss of a child is a serious matter, so everyone started to help look for the little girl.
A little girl in a blue dress should have been quite noticeable. But after searching around, not only was there no sign of the blue dress, they couldn't even find a little girl wearing a proper dress.
Someone nearby immediately said, "There was a man wearing a cap over there just now. He looked so sneaky. I wonder if he's the child - snatcher. Everyone, hurry up and look for him!"
Since the man in the cap stood out like a sore thumb, most people had an impression of him.
"Yeah, yeah. He didn't look like a good person at all. He's either a pickpocket or a human trafficker!"
"Everyone, hurry up and search. If we wait any longer, the child might be taken away."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone immediately joined the action.
Anyway, they were just waiting for their tickets. Instead of just sitting around, they might as well be heroes and catch the bad guy.
Someone with sharp eyes spotted the man right away. "Hey! There he is!"
Everyone's eyes followed the shout. They saw that the man in the cap had already walked outside. He had just passed by a flower bed and was about to get on a three - wheeled vehicle with a shed beside it.
"We can't let him get away! The child must be in the three - wheeler!"
This statement seemed to stir everyone's blood.
A few burly men were afraid that the man would escape. They rushed forward and pinned him to the ground. The man was caught off guard. His face was rubbed against the ground, and he got a mouthful of sand when he opened his mouth.
"Um... um... Let me go..."
The men who pinned him down cheered. "We've got him! We've got him! We've caught the human trafficker!"
The man struggled violently. "What are you doing? I'm not a human trafficker!"
The people around held him down tightly. "You still won't admit it even when you're about to be caught? It was you who stole the child! Hurry up and check if the child is in the three - wheeler!"
The gentle - looking man quickly peeked inside.
It was empty.
His brows furrowed deeper. "No, the child isn't in there!"
As soon as they realized they had caught the wrong person, those men were like deflated balloons and immediately let go.
The man in the cap got up from the ground, furious. "Do you have any evidence? How dare you arrest people at will! I'm going to call the police!"
Those people were still confident even though they were in the wrong. "Then why are you dressed like that? Afraid of being seen? Wearing a cap in the middle of summer. Aren't you afraid of getting heat rashes? I don't think you're a good person even if you didn't steal the child."
The man was so angry that he didn't know what to do. Since those people wouldn't let him go, he could only shout that they were causing trouble and that he would call the police station to mediate.
On this side, the child was lost, and they could only worry helplessly. They also had to call the police.
...
Li Chuchu frowned slightly and scanned the surroundings.
The human trafficker had led the suspicion to the man in the cap while also getting a chance to quickly escape. By the time the police arrived, who knew where the child would be taken.
But the girl was wearing a dress. In this era, such a dress was very eye - catching and couldn't disappear without a trace all of a sudden.
There was only one possibility then.
She had been hidden.
The train station wasn't that big, so it should be difficult to hide a person. Moreover, the dress was too eye - catching. The best way was to change the child's clothes.
As Li Chuchu thought, she sized up the people around her.
Suddenly, she remembered.
When they were queuing up just now, there was an old woman who had been waiting around, trying to exchange for a lower - berth ticket. And the position she stood in seemed to be quite close to the ticket window.
Li Chuchu immediately looked around. It seemed that the old woman was really gone!
"Yan Shan, did you notice where the old woman who was looking for someone to exchange tickets just now has gone?"
Shen Yanshan was a bit stunned by her way of addressing him. Hearing her serious tone, he guessed that Li Chuchu might have figured something out.
He glanced in the direction where the old woman had been standing and shook his head. "There were too many people just now. I didn't notice."
Li Chuchu couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
His voice was low. "But... if I were her, I might choose that place to hide someone..."
Li Chuchu immediately looked up and saw him pointing to the
public toilet.
...
Just then, the police arrived.
"Who called the police?"
The man in the cap quickly raised his hand. "Me, me, me! These people just came up and pinned me down for no reason, saying I'm a human trafficker. Officer, look at these scratches on my face! They're causing trouble!"
The man pointed at his face. A grown man was almost on the verge of crying.
Those people explained, "A comrade's child is lost here. We thought this guy looked so sneaky and didn't seem to be doing anything good, so we accidentally hurt him. It's because he acted so strangely!"
The policeman sized him up from head to toe. His look was a bit hard to describe. With this kind of outfit in the crowd, it was really hard not to be suspected.
"Why are you wearing a hat in the middle of summer?"
The man seemed to be touched on a sore spot. He stood there awkwardly, stuttering for a long time before finally saying, "I have a serious hair - loss problem. I'm actually going to another place for treatment for this hair - loss problem."
He took off his cap, and it turned out that he was bald.
In this era, everyone had thick and fluffy hair. The most common service in the barbershop was hair - puffing. No one would have thought that such a young man would have this problem.
The looks of the people around changed from suspicion to sympathy.
"Forget it, forget it. Everyone has their own difficulties."
"Brother, sorry. We're really sorry."
People patted the man on the shoulder and apologized to him. The man put his cap back on, looking miserable.
What a mess.
Considering that those people were just trying to do a good deed, the policeman gave them a verbal warning and left.
...
On the other side,
The police had just arrived and asked who had called the police. The gentle - looking and anxious middle - aged man took out a certificate from his pocket and showed it to them. "My daughter is lost at the train station. Please help me find her."
As soon as the policemen saw the certificate in his hand, their expressions immediately became respectful.
"Children getting lost at the train station happens almost every year. We can only do our best to look for her, but..." The policeman didn't finish his sentence. Since human traffickers were so rampant and always changed their identities, it was very difficult to catch them. They could only do their best.
After the policeman asked about the little girl's appearance, he immediately sent people to block the train station.
The officer sent policemen to block all the entrances and exits of the train station.
However, the train station had a huge flow of people, and they couldn't completely control who came in and out. They could only conduct a part - by - part search.
This was not an easy task.
Su Wan had just come to Ning City to take up his post as the secretary of the municipal party committee. He had planned to take his daughter to her mother's place during the summer vacation. He never thought that such a thing would happen right under his nose.