"You're Comrade Freya, right? Thank you so much today!"
Freya had just seen off the enthusiastic Officer Hanni and was about to return to the lounge to keep snacking on sunflower seeds.
A petite woman, about 25 or 26 years old, wearing a white shirt and army green trousers, walked over excitedly and grabbed her hand.
"And you are?" Freya quickly searched her memory but didn't recognize the woman at all.
"Freya, this is Comrade Madam Zhou, Jerome's mom... oh right, people in the city usually say 'mother.' She wanted to come thank you. I just finished giving my statement, so I brought her over." Sunyue had also just finished her statement. She had recovered by now and no longer looked like a wilted eggplant. She stepped forward warmly to introduce them.
"Comrade Zhou, no need to be so polite. It was just something I should do." Freya smiled. She helped only because she hated traffickers and also wanted to gain favor with Police Yang.
"No, Comrade Freya, Police Yang already told me everything. If you hadn't noticed something odd with the donkey cart, I might never have seen my child again. You didn't just save him — you saved our whole family. We'll never forget this kindness." Madam Zhou's eyes filled with tears again.
She and her husband Mr. Zhao lived in Beijing. Mr. Zhao was a brigade commander and usually very busy with work. He had taken time off to accompany her and their child back to Qing City to visit their parents.
His superior, knowing he would be in Qing City, had asked him to secretly check in on a demoted old leader living in Huaishu Village under the Red Ox Brigade.
But they had just checked into the inn and hadn't even begun gathering information when their child was kidnapped. They searched for three days with no news. Both of them were close to breaking down. Then today, they got the call that their child had been found.
"It's really nothing. I guess I was just fated to meet that child. Just make sure to keep a close eye from now on. Go be with him. Make sure he doesn't end up with any trauma."
Freya said a few words of comfort and quickly changed the subject. All the gratitude was starting to make her feel uncomfortable.
"Comrade Freya, my husband already took our child to the hospital for a check-up. I'm truly worried, so I won't stay long. Another day, my husband and I will come personally to thank you."
Madam Zhou bowed deeply before leaving.
"Freya, I'll have my mom thank you too. Tell me what you want. I'll have my dad make it for you — free of charge!" Sunyue said proudly.
"Alright, I actually want a bath barrel."
"Got it! I'll tell my dad as soon as I get home. He'll make one for you. But seriously, how are you so amazing? You took down two men just like that! They're not weak at all!" Sunyue looked at Freya with admiration.
"It was just two weaklings. Nothing amazing about that. But hey, did you let your mom know you're safe?"
Freya looked at her, carefree and silly like a little goofball. She reminded her of the chubby sidekick from her past life, and for once, Freya nagged a little.
"Oh no, Mom! I forgot! I'm gonna go call her! Be right back!" Before she even finished speaking, she had already taken off.
"Hah, what a quick little chub!" Freya muttered as she watched her run off.
Freya turned to find Police Yang and say goodbye.
"Alright, then go buy it. Don't delay. When you go buy the bicycle, mention my name and say you're a relative. They'll take care of you. Also, for stepping up bravely to fight off those criminals, I'm putting in a commendation request for you." Police Yang said with a smile.
He originally thought this murder case would be troublesome, but unexpectedly, Grandma Zhang didn't make a fuss or report it.
So even though the case ended rather sloppily, it was closed.
And he could be considered to have earned merit this time. After interrogation, they found out that the two human traffickers they caught were working for someone else. If they followed the trail, they could save more people.
His position would probably be promoted a bit. This little girl really was his lucky star.
"Well then, thank you Police Yang. I'll be going now," Freya said with a smile.
Freya began her shopping spree, to the shock of Sunyue.
She bought a brand-new Phoenix bicycle.
Then she went to the supply store and bought two Dacron shirts and pants for Brian, along with two pairs of shoes;
She also bought two sets of clothes and two pairs of shoes each for her father-in-law and mother-in-law;
And for the child, she bought hair accessories and clips.
Then she asked Sunyue to help watch over the items.
She herself took her meat coupons and bought 10 jin (about 5 kg) of pork belly, 10 jin of ribs, and three big bones. She used up all her meat coupons at once.
Freya found a small alley and put all the meat into her storage space. Then she took out 20 jin of rice and 20 jin of white flour from her space—she really didn't want to eat coarse grains.
Then, empty-handed, she ran to the state-owned restaurant and bought 20 meat buns and 10 vegetable buns.
She also went to the pastry shop and bought over ten jin of various pastries.
"Hey, little girl, you sure bought a lot. Us brothers are too poor to even eat. How about sharing some with us?" A sly, streetwise voice spoke up behind Freya.
The three of them had been following her since she entered the state-owned restaurant. She spent so freely—they figured they'd make some money off her today.
Freya's lips curved slightly. She turned around and looked at the three men in front of her.
They followed her? She was worried they might lose her!
Looks like she could make a small profit now!
She didn't know that her thoughts were surprisingly in sync with those of the robbers!
"Tsk tsk tsk... Want to share my stuff?
You three don't look too good, but I'll admit you look kind of pretty!"
Freya, with nothing better to do, took a meat bun from her newly bought basket and started eating it with great enjoyment.
"Cut the crap. Money or life, choose one!" One of them, a tall, ragged middle-aged man named Robber Zhong stepped forward, pulled out a rusty kitchen knife, and threatened in a cold voice.
"Money, I guess. I already have a life, so I don't need another one!" Freya replied lazily.
"You damn girl... looking for trouble, huh? Believe me, I'll sell you off to the deep mountains where you'll never eat meat buns again."
A boy around thirteen or fourteen named Robber Jun, whose stomach was growling, realized he was being messed with.
Holding a wooden stick, his expression turned fierce, like a young wolf ready to pounce.
The other boy, Robber Xian, didn't speak, but couldn't help looking at the meat bun in her hand and the big bundles next to her.