Chapter 344: Human Trafficking

Xinming Township.

Its defining feature is its location on the provincial border; whether for better or worse, this essentially predetermined its development trajectory to revolve around life along the two-province boundary.

Li Huaqiang's maternal grandmother's family were from Xinming Township, so after his last release from prison, he rented a courtyard there, bought several beds, and opened a youth hostel specifically to host backpackers arriving via the highway.

He had traveled outside and knew some young people deliberately avoided big cities, preferring to head to the countryside; as long as the name sounded trendy and the price dropped to twenty or thirty yuan per bed, there would always be takers.

At first, Li Huaqiang wanted to imitate the black inns from Water Margin, selling lone guests who checked in for a good price.

He did end up selling a few, and after making money, he began to cherish this hideout.

Directly kidnapping people carried too much risk; if he only served as a transit point for fellow traffickers, the risk dropped significantly and his income became more stable.

This transformation was a huge success.

Nowadays, trafficking rings have become labor-intensive industries; staying in regular hotels is expensive and requires inconvenient documents like ID cards, and bringing abducted victims along is also impractical. So everyone seeks out special places to stay.

Li Huaqiang's Xinming Township Youth Hostel thus became one link in a long chain of trafficking women and children; he made money, his "colleagues" gained convenience, and local commerce increased—pure win.

With money in hand, Li Huaqiang opened a small bar on the side.

He usually sat at the bar's entrance, sipping a bottle of beer, occasionally using his phone to bypass the firewall and check Telegram messages; if a foolish guest approached, he'd chat a bit and assess the cost and method of luring them.

When a small team came to stay, Li Huaqiang would get busy. He treated the team members to drinks from his bar, earning some lodging fees while also selecting the best ones to buy one or two outright—later, he could resell them or traffic them elsewhere.

Today was a busy day; the newly arrived team was resting in the courtyard. Though it wasn't time to celebrate, some had already started drinking, restrained only by their leader's strict rules from having sex.

In Li Huaqiang's view, a team this size managing itself this well was quite impressive, explaining why they could escape so easily. Those just out of prison, lone wolves taking trains to flee, often got caught by train police.

For a while, train police specifically hunted fugitives; someone even earned a first-class merit for it—absurd.

"Boss, your phone's ringing," shouted the bartender and temporary guard inside.

Li Huaqiang grunted, downed the remaining quarter of his beer, and staggered over to answer. "Hello?"

On the other end, only heavy breathing.

Li Huaqiang frowned: "Hello?"

"Boss, there's a police car," came the quiet voice on the line.

Li Huaqiang froze, then looked at the caller ID and realized it was his lookout at the village entrance.

He'd picked up this habit in prison; after returning, he'd hired a local thug, given him a few women, and told him to watch for passing vehicles and report anything suspicious.

He hadn't expected this setup to actually be used.

But now, what worried him more was what to do next?

Flee?

Abandon his base in Xinming Village? Maybe just rob a few wealthy families in the village?

But he'd just been drinking—driving out now would be drunk driving…

"How many cars?" Li Huaqiang asked quietly. Maybe they weren't here for him.

The voice on the other end whispered back: "At least ten."

Li Huaqiang's tension spiked, sweat breaking out instantly.

This was no joke. He grunted, hung up, and headed home.

He had a portable suitcase he could grab and run—but he didn't know if it was still possible.

Woooo~ Woooo~

The siren blared suddenly.

A police car pulled up directly in front of Li Huaqiang.

"Stop! Police operation! Don't move!" The officer sprinted forward, shoved Li Huaqiang aside, and ordered him to stand against the wall.

Li Huaqiang's mind flashed back to prison memories; tense but obedient, he stood against the wall.

These two years had made him feel changed, but at this moment, memories he thought long gone seemed to return.

One, two, three.

Several police cars pulled over one after another; the officers who got out barely glanced at Li Huaqiang before heading straight for his courtyard.

Li Huaqiang knew he was exposed; head down, he trudged painfully toward the village's edge.

At this point, there was no need to think about the suitcase—even leaving everything behind was better than returning to prison.

"Comrade, wait a moment," an older officer blocked Li Huaqiang's path, speaking slowly: "Are you a local?"

"Sort of," Li Huaqiang whispered.

"Sort of? What does that mean?"

"My maternal grandmother was from here."

"Oh. Do you have your ID? Let me see."

"Didn't bring it," Li Huaqiang's heart raced—he was ready to bolt. He could already guess the officer's next words: they'd want to scan his face.

Police phones now had software that, once a face was scanned, instantly displayed ID and basic info. Li Huaqiang, as a released prisoner, would definitely trigger an alert.

He planned to shift his position slightly during the photo, then turn and run.

He glanced left and right, mentally plotting his escape route.

Pssst.

Another police car pulled up.

The road was already full of parked police cars; officers from the newer arrivals could only stare helplessly ahead before hurrying past.

"Wait," the senior detective grabbed a passing officer. The latter looked confused.

"You young guys use the police app—help me check this man's face," the senior detective said, putting away his phone, stepping two paces aside, and crossing his arms.

Only then did Li Huaqiang notice the senior detective was armed.

The man had clearly feared he'd try to seize the gun—that's why he stepped back.

Li Huaqiang thought: I'd be insane to try grabbing a gun.

He turned and resignedly faced the new officer.

The officer pulled out his phone, opened the police app, tapped a few times, took a photo of Li Huaqiang, then suddenly widened his eyes in realization.

"What's your name?" the officer demanded sharply.

"Li Huaqiang."

"When did you get out of prison?"

"Three years ago." Li Huaqiang saw the script unfolding exactly as he'd imagined—but then he glanced at the armed senior detective beside him, and the officer beside him, and had no choice.

"What were you convicted for?"

"Trafficking women and children." Li Huaqiang didn't hide it.

The officer's expression turned grim; everyone now knew this man was definitely involved.

"Raise your hands. Don't move." The officer immediately began searching him.

"This guy isn't even on the wanted list," another officer came over from the car with photos, comparing them one by one with Li Huaqiang.

Li Huaqiang noticed the photos were all of the guests he'd taken in over the past two days.

Sure enough, if you walk by the river often, you'll get your feet wet.

But these people were truly incompetent—they'd all left their faces clearly visible.

Li Huaqiang silently shook his head, realizing he couldn't escape, and thought of his thug at the village entrance and his bartender.

"Report—"

"Sir," Li Huaqiang suddenly shouted.

"Speak," the officer said sternly.

"I'm reporting. I want to earn merit," Li Huaqiang immediately betrayed his two subordinates—now, they had no value left but this.

Youth Hostel.

Armed police stormed in en masse; the feeble resistance was like fresh, free-range chickens facing a cleaver—barely a splash of blood on the ground.

Two actual guests, however, woke from sleep, clutching their backpacks, shouting at the intruding officers: "How can you just barge in like this?"

Few paid attention—especially the case team officers, whose entire focus was on finding children.

Four children had been missing for over a week; if they'd been resold, finding them would be extremely difficult.

Officers searched room by room, calling softly for the children.

Soon, children from several rooms were gathered together.

One, two, three…

Four, five, six…

"Nine children total."

After the case team convened, they confirmed the final count.

Five additional abducted children were found.