In a grand-looking mansion.
Mo Rushan, the head of the Mo family, was frowning, at a loss.
Madam Mo, Liu Qing, who sat in the main seat, also had a worried expression.
Soon, a servant hurried in.
Father Mo immediately stood up and took a few steps forward: "Quick! Quickly tell me, have you found Xingchen?"
The servant shook his head: "Master, no. We've searched many places nearby but haven't found the young master. Recently, human traffickers have been rampant, and many people have lost their children. The young master might also have been taken by human traffickers..."
"Nonsense! How could Xingchen be abducted by human traffickers!" Father Mo paced back and forth, as if making a decision, but he still hesitated.
Mother Mo stood up softly, and a maid beside her immediately stepped forward to support her.
Mother Mo said gently, "Husband, this is not the time to hesitate. If Chen'er was taken by human traffickers, the first few days are the most critical. Chen'er is more important than anything else."
After speaking, Mother Mo instructed the servant: "Go and post notices. Post them in the city and all the neighboring towns. As for the reward for finding him... just write it as high as you can."
"Okay... okay, Madam, I'll go now."
The servant then hurried away.
As the servant went to post the notices, he turned a corner outside the gate and bumped into someone dressed as a servant.
The man had a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks. He peeked over and asked, "What did the master say?"
"Get lost, you blind fool, I'm in a hurry to post notices!" The servant said and walked away.
The person left behind sneered proudly: "Heh! It's no use posting notices. Who knows if this young master has already been sold to some remote corner. It was worth it for me to deliberately point everyone in the wrong direction back then."
In the main house of the Mo residence.
"Husband, you still have to report to the office tomorrow. You should rest first. I'll handle these matters. As long as the other party is after money, Chen'er can surely be found."
Father Mo sighed: "You've been working hard these days, Madam."
Mother Mo shook her head, while Father Mo was full of worries.
Actually, if he was abducted by human traffickers, there was still a glimmer of hope, a chance to find him.
But if it wasn't human traffickers, the matter would be much more complicated.
Recently, he had been assigned a task from above. It was an unrewarding and thankless job that offended people.
Everyone was unwilling to take it, but Mo Rushan was inherently upright and honest.
Although he had been an official in the bureaucracy for many years, his nature remained unchanged. He had never learned to curry favor by disregarding his conscience, nor was he sufficiently shrewd.
That difficult task offered no financial gain and could even make enemies of his colleagues.
They all shirked their responsibilities, and it eventually fell upon him. He feared that Xingchen's disappearance might be related to these matters, which was why he had been hesitant to post the notices.
Thinking of this, the matter also involved a friend. Father Mo immediately went to the study.
His friend also had a wife and children, so he had to write a letter immediately to remind his friend to protect his wife and children.
As for Mother Mo, after Father Mo entered the study, she frowned and instructed her maid: "You will return to the Liu family tonight. Ask my father to send people to search. Even if they have to dig three feet into the ground, I want to see who has the nerve to take Chen'er away."
The maid acknowledged and immediately rode away on her horse.
-
Meanwhile, the Wen family was much livelier.
Father Wen, Wen Zhong, was a merchant with extensive connections both domestically and internationally. Mother Wen, Mu Wanqing, was also the daughter of a merchant.
Mother Wen and Father Wen were a perfect match and fell in love at first sight.
Merchants value profit, and Father and Mother Wen's thinking was highly consistent, believing that everything would be much easier.
As they traveled and conducted business, they made friends and never made enemies.
Now that their only son was missing, there was only one possibility: the person who took their child had no idea of their child's value.
As long as the other party wanted money, they would pay.
In their opinion, if there were no past grudges, it must be for money. As long as enough money was offered, nothing was impossible.
Father Wen had generously declared to the outside world: "As long as my son can be found, I, Wen, will ensure he lives a life of ease and comfort!"
Mother Wen calmly took a sip of tea and casually put down the exquisite tea cup, which was worth a thousand pieces of gold: "It's Wen Bai and Wen Jue."
"Yes, as long as my two sons are found, I, Wen, will ensure he lives a life of ease and comfort!"
At this moment, several other people were sitting in the room.
Among them, a woman's hairstyle and clothing were slightly different from the others. She wore a black narrow-sleeved outfit, and her hair was styled into many small braids that hung carefully on her shoulders.
She spoke in a nonchalant manner: "I didn't expect to encounter such a situation when I came to see an old friend. Brother Wen, if you need any help, please don't hesitate to ask."
Mother Wen glanced at the other person indifferently and said, "If you are sincere, you can help search now."
The woman ignored Mother Wen and looked at Father Wen: "Brother Wen, if..."
Father Wen immediately interrupted her: "Yun'er..."
Mother Wen glanced over, and Father Wen quickly changed his words: "Little Sister Qu... as you can see, elder brother's family is indeed mired in troubles recently, and it's inconvenient to entertain guests. I think you should go back today. When you have time later, I'll have your sister-in-law take you sightseeing around the area. You can buy whatever you like then..."
-
Meanwhile, the three children who were missing and being talked about slept in the carriage for a night before waking up.
The stomachs of the children rumbled in unison.
Children growing up have irregular hunger patterns and often eat snacks to fill the gaps.
But now, these three little ones had only drunk a bowl of clear thin porridge and eaten a small steamed bun since last night, and were still hungry until the morning of the next day.
Wen Bai wished he could ask System 001 to conjure some food.
But there were two other people in the carriage. Would it be too strange if he conjured roasted chicken out of thin air in the carriage, a roasted chicken without chicken flavor?
At this moment, the carriage, driven slowly by System 001, arrived at another town.
The sky was already bright. Stall owners on the street began to set up their stalls, and shopkeepers opened their doors to do business.
The lively cries of vendors rose and fell.
Mo Xingchen, who had cried himself to sleep and forgotten his fear, poked his head out to look. His nose twitched, and his eyes scanned stall after stall.
Steaming buns, freshly made glutinous rice balls, and wasn't there meat pies sold in the morning?
They looked delicious.
As he watched, his mouth began to water, and it was about to drip.
"So hungry... but no money," Mo Xingchen mumbled.
Wen Bai's heart stirred. Just as he was about to ask System 001 to conjure some money from this world, claiming he found it.