Chapter 257: Reunion

"Dad, don't be anxious yet. Uncle is over in Modu, and I just bought the earliest ticket for tomorrow. Let's go home first and come back tomorrow morning," Jia Dongxu said, looking at his restless father and constantly trying to comfort him.

"Alright, alright, let's go back first." Although Lao Jia was anxious inside, there was nothing he could do but wait for tomorrow's train.

After returning to the Siheyuan, the Lao Jia family prepared to rest after a simple meal, but Lao Jia tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

"Lao Jia, don't worry. Don't you trust Ping'an's character? Since he said there is an eighty percent resemblance, then it likely is him. Everything he investigated also matches."

"Mm, Xiaohua, I understand, I'm just afraid that everything is a dream."

"Lao Jia, you've been under too much pressure all these years. Don't think too much; you'll be able to see him the day after tomorrow."

"Mm." Zhang Xiaohua couldn't do much now, so she could only try her best to comfort Lao Jia with her hands, which were not particularly large.

Neither of them slept well that night. Because of his Body Refining, Jia Dongxu was in good spirits. At eight in the morning, the three of them grabbed their luggage and hurried to the train station.

"Dad, Mom, you should close your eyes for a while. This train will take at least a day and a night to reach Modu."

"That's fine."

Neither of them had slept well the night before, and their eyes were bloodshot. Even if they couldn't sleep in the current environment, they could still close their eyes and rest their minds.

Over in Modu, Zhang Ping'an went to the waste station again. Seeing that Jia Erleng was focused on reading, he didn't go up to disturb him. He rummaged through the paper trash for a while, then started chatting with the gatekeeper.

"Young man, you... are you Public Security?" To make things easier, Zhang Ping'an hadn't changed out of his clothes.

"Yes, Uncle. Actually, I came here this time because..."

Zhang Ping'an repeated the excuse he had used at the Street Office, as he felt this old man seemed to know more.

"Sigh, I didn't expect you all to find us after all."

The old man lit a cigarette and smoked silently for a while. Zhang Ping'an didn't disturb him, instead signaling for him to continue.

"Actually, I was the one who originally bought Er Leng," the old man said with a wry smile.

Zhang Ping'an stood up abruptly, staring at the old man with sharp eyes, but the old man ignored him and continued to speak to himself:

"Thirty-two years ago, my wife and I tried for many years but never had children, so we thought about buying one to support us in our old age."

"I learned of the news by chance and bought Er Leng, who was a bit dull at the time. At first, we thought the child was just frightened, but we didn't expect him to remain slow and foolish even after raising him for three years."

"Only then did we realize we had been cheated. We were young then, and in a fit of anger, we threw the eight-year-old Er Leng away."

"But I regretted it as soon as I threw him away. After all, he was such a small child. I went looking for him and found that he had been adopted by someone else."

"He was adopted by a Lao Qigai who had come fleeing from famine. He seemed to know Er Leng, so I didn't try to take Er Leng back. But feeling guilty, I would secretly send them some things from time to time."

"They relied on each other like that for over ten years. Because of his advanced age, the Lao Qigai's health went from bad to worse, and he finally passed away in the year of '49."

"He knew I had been secretly sending them things, so before he died, he told me about Er Leng's background and hoped I would look after him a little in the future."

"Mm, and what is Er Leng's background?"

"Erleng's original name was Jia Youwei, and he was from Sijiucheng. His mother had a difficult labor, which caused his intellectual disability. He also has an older brother. That's all the Lao Qigai said."

"What was the Lao Qigai's name?"

"Jia Daniu. He said his name was Jia Daniu, and he was Er Leng's grandfather from the same generation."

"In all these years, you never thought about sending Er Leng back?"

"I..."

The old man was speechless. Ever since his wife passed away, he had grown accustomed to working and living with Er Leng all these years. Plus, he didn't have many years left to live, so he thought he would tell Er Leng about his background after he died.

In both his past and present lives, Zhang Ping'an had no love for human traffickers or those who bought children. However, for this old man to have done this much was not easy, and given his advanced age and high blood pressure, even if he turned himself in now, it would likely be difficult to sentence him.

"Comrade Public Security, I've said everything I should. I'll accept whatever sentence I get; I just hope you can send Er Leng back to his hometown."

"I have already notified Er Leng's family. They will arrive by tomorrow at the latest. I will be staying here for these two days." After saying this, Zhang Ping'an ignored the old man, whose face was covered in tears.

"Good, good, good, that's good."

In the morning, Zhang Ping'an went to check on Jia Erleng again and found him focused on the book in his hands. If you didn't know better, you would really think he was a normal person.

In the afternoon, Zhang Ping'an replaced all the water in Jia Erleng's room with Space Water and wanted to try taking his pulse. He didn't resist.

As soon as Zhang Ping'an started, his brow furrowed. The symptoms were somewhat similar to the aftereffects of a cerebral hemorrhage—the brain's nerves and blood vessels were under pressure, leading to slow reactions, clumsy limbs, and certain cognitive impairments.

However, it wasn't difficult for him; it would just require a long period of treatment. While Zhang Ping'an pondered a treatment plan, the gatekeeper watched nervously.

"Can... can Er Leng be cured?"

"Perhaps."

Zhang Ping'an didn't want to engage with him. He hadn't decided how to handle him yet; he still had to see what San Jie Fu, Lao Jia, thought.

That night, Zhang Ping'an slept at the waste station where Er Leng worked during the day. He woke up at five in the morning as usual, only to find Er Leng already practicing Tai Chi on the side, and he looked quite proficient.

Zhang Ping'an didn't rush to exercise either, just watching Er Leng practice Tai Chi. The more he watched, the more shocked he became; such mastery couldn't have been achieved without over a decade of persistence.

Zhang Ping'an looked at Er Leng's face again and suddenly realized something. Before, he had only looked at his appearance and ignored his age.

Zhang Ping'an remembered San Jie saying that Er Leng was born around '27, so he should be about thirty-six years old now. Yet, Er Leng looked at most thirty, and people would believe it if you said he was twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

Given that people in this era generally looked older, his appearance should be normal for someone around forty. Now, it completely defied common sense. Zhang Ping'an finally understood the reason.

"Could it be a 'Heart of an Innocent'?" Zhang Ping'an thought carefully, but felt it was unlikely.

After finishing his Tai Chi, Er Leng ignored Zhang Ping'an and went about washing up and cooking, as if completely immersed in his own world. It left Zhang Ping'an stunned; he felt like he was the one who was the fool.

After nine o'clock, the three from the Lao Jia family arrived, travel-worn, following the address Zhang Ping'an had left.

When the gatekeeper saw the faces of Lao Jia and Jia Dongxu, he was stunned. There was no need to guess; they were definitely Er Leng's family. There was no other reason—they looked too much alike.

"Are you... here to find Er Leng?"

"Erleng?"

"Oh, I mean Jia Youwei."

"Yes, yes, that's right. Uncle, do you know where Youwei is?" Lao Jia hurriedly stepped forward to ask.

After finishing breakfast, Zhang Ping'an had been observing Er Leng and found that he really seemed to be able to understand the content of the books, even though he still appeared dull.

Hearing the commotion from inside the room, Zhang Ping'an hurried out.

"San Jie, San Jie Fu, over here. Er Leng, er, Second Brother is here."

Lao Jia stumbled over, and seeing Jia Youwei in the room, completely absorbed in reading a book, he could not help but shed tears; he was certain that this was his younger brother who had been missing for over thirty years.

"Youwei..."