Chapter 157 (Part 1): The Culinary Tycoon

Crisis

In the woods outside the North City Gate, on a rugged mountain path, a young man and a baby-carrying man hurried westward.

“Mother, faster, we need to go faster,” the young man urged, one hand supporting the man’s back and the other holding his arm as they rushed forward.

“Ah Liang, I… I can’t walk anymore. How is Xiao Ming? Is he okay?” Uncle Lin, who was carrying the baby, gasped for breath, his forehead covered in sweat, as he asked.

The young man, Lin Liang, who was Uncle Lin’s second son, frowned and replied, “I don’t know either. I have no idea what that person will do. Anyway, let’s just quickly take the child he wants and give it to him.”

Speaking of the baby, Uncle Lin looked down at the little one in his arms.

Baby Yu, who was only three months old, stared at him with his dark eyes, continuously watching him. When he saw Uncle Lin lower his head to look at him, he thought that he wanted to play with him. Immediately, he extended his tiny hand and waved it in front of his own eyes, excitedly uttering a sound. Then, he opened his mouth, revealing only his pink gums and tongue, and smiled at him.

Uncle Lin suddenly stopped.

“Mother, what’s wrong? Are you tired from carrying him? Let me hold him,” Lin Liang looked at him with confusion and reached out to take the child.

“No, I’ll hold him.” Uncle Lin tightened his grip on the baby, looking at the innocent and pure face. His heart clenched, and he couldn’t bring himself to meet the baby’s clear eyes anymore.

He lifted his head, hesitated for a moment, and tearfully said, “Ah Liang, the baby… Do you think anything will happen to him? What does that person want with him? He’s so young. If we do this, if something happens to the baby, we’ll be struck by lightning… Shouldn’t we find another solution? Ah?”

Uncle Lin freed one hand and grabbed Lin Liang’s arm excitedly, his face filled with worry and inner struggle.

Lin Liang also glanced at the baby, then impatiently and anxiously said, “Mother, why are you like this again? Didn’t we agree? If we don’t give this child to that person, what about Xiao Ming? Xiao Ming is your grandson, he’s waiting for us and crying for help!”

“But, but…” Uncle Lin’s eyes were red and teary. He continued, “But if something happens to this child, we’ll never have peace in our lives. We’ll be sinners for the rest of our lives!”

“Then what do you suggest? What can we do now?!” Lin Liang shouted, irritated, and shook off Uncle Lin’s hand. He sat down on the ground, held his head in his hands, and pulled at his own hair while exclaiming in frustration. He vented his anger by punching a nearby tree trunk.

Lin Liang’s outburst frightened the baby, who pouted and burst into tears, quickly turning his eyes red.

Hearing the baby cry, Uncle Lin quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve and held the baby, gently patting his swaddling clothes, rocking him back and forth, and comforting him, “Oh, oh, oh, baby, be good, don’t cry, baby, don’t cry…”

It took a while for Uncle Lin to calm the baby down.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

The baby cried and cried until he grew tired and fell asleep, his face red from crying.

Uncle Lin turned to look at his son’s expression, then glanced at the baby and began crying as well. There was nothing they could do. They had reached a dead end.

Yesterday afternoon, their three-year-old grandson Xiao Ming was playing in the courtyard while both Uncle Lin and his son were busy inside the house. After a while, they realized that they hadn’t heard the sound of the child playing for quite some time. When they went to the courtyard to look for him, they couldn’t find him.

They thought maybe the child had gone to play at the neighbor’s house, so they went there to search, but he wasn’t there. They searched inside and outside their home, as well as the entire street, asking around, but they couldn’t find him.

They were desperate. A three-year-old child couldn’t have gone far, and it had only been about fifteen minutes since they last heard him. It was certain that he hadn’t walked out on his own but had been taken away by someone.

The entire family continued searching, but as darkness fell, they still hadn’t found him. However, they discovered a letter stuffed through the crack of their door.

Since none of them could read, they hurriedly found someone who could read to help them. They learned that the letter said: If they wanted to find their child, they had to bring the newborn baby whom Uncle Lin had taken care of two months ago as an exchange. They were forbidden from reporting it to the authorities, or else the child’s life would be in danger.

The letter didn’t mention the address, only stating that they would be informed of the address the next morning. It also explicitly mentioned that the child’s grandmother would bring the child to Bu Village tomorrow morning.

Upon hearing this, they realized that the only newborn baby whom Uncle Lin had taken care of two months ago was the baby of Yu Qingze and Chang Le.

The entire family spent a sleepless night discussing and ultimately decided to have Uncle Lin bring Yu Qingze’s child over.

Early the next morning, they indeed received another letter with the location for the exchange. The whole family immediately rushed there and saw a disheveled person holding Xiao Ming, with a sharp pair of scissors pressed against his neck.

Xiao Ming, only three years old, was already terrified and crying loudly. When he saw his father and grandmother, he cried even harder, reaching out his hands, seeking his father.

Seeing the child in such a state, they didn’t care about anything else. They approached the person with the child and offered to exchange the child for silver, no matter how much they had to borrow.

The person refused and, upon seeing that they hadn’t brought Yu Qingze’s child, extended the scissors forward, causing blood to bead up on the child’s neck.

They were petrified and dared not move.

The person demanded that they bring Yu Qingze’s child; otherwise, the child would be immediately killed.

Uncle Lin and Lin Liang were terrified. They quickly returned to the city, with Uncle Lin going to fetch the child while Lin Liang provided support outside the city. Lin Liang’s wife stayed there, keeping an eye on the person and the child.

As Uncle Lin looked at his restless son on the ground, he also felt fear and helplessness. He had no idea what to do. He asked his son, “Ah Liang, what should we do now? It has been a while, and Brother Le and the others must be searching for the child. They might find us soon.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Liang’s hands froze. After a moment, he slowly raised his head, his eyes already red. He said to Uncle Lin, “Mother, I have no other choice. Even if I carry the burden of guilt for the rest of my life, I cannot watch Xiao Ming die before my eyes! He is my son, your own grandson.”

Thinking about the bloodstain on his grandson’s neck, Uncle Lin’s heart trembled. He glanced at the peaceful sleeping face of the baby in his arms, made up his mind, and nodded with determination.

The two of them continued walking forward. The rundown grass house was only two li away. After about fifteen minutes, they arrived.

Madam Lin saw them bringing the child and immediately grabbed onto Lin Liang’s arm. Lin Liang patted his hand, comforting him.

“We’ve brought the child you wanted. Release my son!” Lin Liang said at the doorway of the rundown grass house.

“Yes, release my son!” Madam Lin shouted.

The person, with their head lowered all the while, suddenly lifted their head when they saw that Uncle Lin was indeed holding a bundle in his arms. The person’s eyes, hidden by their long hair, gleamed with madness. Through the strands of hair, a red birthmark on their forehead faintly revealed itself.

“You’re not allowed to come in. Step back, step back!” the person yelled.

Uncle Lin and the others obediently stepped back.

Then, amidst Xiao Ming’s crying, the person dragged him out of the grass house. They held the scissors against Xiao Ming’s neck and shouted, “Bring the child over. Let me have a look.”

Lin Liang reached out to take the baby and bring him over.

The person suddenly shouted again, “Not you! You, yes, you, bring the child over!”

They lifted their chin, indicating for Uncle Lin to bring the baby over for them to see.

Uncle Lin’s body trembled slightly as he slowly walked over, holding the baby.

“Father! Grandma…” Xiao Ming had been crying for a long time. His throat was hoarse, tears covered his face, crying and drying up, only to cry again and become wet. When he saw his grandmother approaching, he kept looking at them and cried out, “Grandma, wuwu, Grandma…”

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Thandar: I thought Uncle Lin was doing it for doing, but still 🙁