Chapter 28: I think she looks like a human trafficker

Seeing him staring at the apple in her hand, swallowing his saliva constantly, Qiao Mai sighed softly, turned around, moved all the seeds in the back basket into the space, and then took an apple from the back basket and handed it to the little boy.

"Eat."

The little boy walked up to her and reached out to take the apple. "Thank you, Aunt."

He was ten, and she was only sixteen, a difference of six years. Being called Aunt, what was the feeling in her heart?

Watching him take a bite of the apple, Qiao Mai shook her head and turned to leave. An old woman ran over hurriedly from behind.

Seeing the apple in the little boy's hand, she wanted to snatch it. Qiao Mai frowned and looked at the old woman.

"I gave it to him, what are you doing snatching his?"

The old woman stopped and looked at Qiao Mai. "We don't know each other, would you be so kind?"

This sentence almost made Qiao Mai laugh. "I'm eating an apple, he followed me all the way, I don't lack this apple, giving him one and not letting him follow me, what's wrong with that? Could it be that I poisoned the apple for him?"

"Who knows, hmph!"

As she spoke, the little boy had already eaten half of the apple. Qiao Mai didn't want to cause trouble either.

"He has almost finished eating, I'll wait for a quarter of an hour. If nothing happens, you pay me for that apple."

"Why?"

"Because you framed me!"

"Who told you to give it to my young master?"

Qiao Mai took a deep breath. "It seems that I can't be a good person. Or should we go to the government office?"

"You, you little lady, actually so heartless, giving an apple and wanting people to go to the government office with you?"

"Otherwise? Wait for you, this vicious old woman, to frame me?"

As she spoke, more and more onlookers gathered. Qiao Mai bowed to everyone.

"Everyone, please testify for me. I was eating an apple, this child followed me all the way, I kindly gave him one, this old woman came up and said I poisoned her young master,

and kidnapped her young master. It's really hard to be a good person. Watch carefully, this child has already finished eating. If nothing happens in a quarter of an hour, I'll leave. If this vicious old woman looks for trouble with me later, please testify for me, little lady."

At this time, the little boy finished eating the apple and still stared at her fixedly.

"Aunt, want to eat fruit."

Qiao Mai rolled her eyes. "Little one, I don't dare to give it to you anymore. Wait a while and follow your old woman back."

The little boy looked at the old woman. "She is not my old woman, I don't know her."

Qiao Mai narrowed her eyes. "So, this old woman is a human trafficker?"

The old woman was startled and hurriedly explained to everyone.

"I am not a human trafficker, I am the old woman of this young master's family. Today the master ordered me to follow the young master out to play."

"Pfft, who believes it? If she is the old woman of his family, why does he say he doesn't know her?"

The common people heard the little boy's words and questioned the old woman one after another.

The old woman was awkward and said embarrassedly:

"The young master had a high fever when he was young, his brain is different from normal people, you can't believe what he says."

"Pfft, who believes this?"

"Exactly, hurry and report to the official. If she is a human trafficker, then this little boy is in danger."

The old woman was anxious, regretting it in her heart. If she hadn't been nosy just now and spoken so harshly, she wouldn't have annoyed the young master and made people misunderstand that she was a human trafficker.

Qiao Mai hugged her chest, looking like she was watching the excitement. This old woman was not authentic, framed herself, and now let her taste the taste of being misunderstood by others.

Just at this time, the patrolling official, wearing a large knife at his waist, walked over.

"What are you all surrounding here for?"

Seeing the official coming, the common people gave way one after another. The official saw inside, a little lady, an old woman, and a little boy.

"Old Woman Xiao, what are you doing here?"

"I am accompanying my young master out to play."

The official saw the little boy's appearance, and a smile immediately appeared on his face.

"So it's the young master of the Wang family."

The old woman became arrogant at this time. "This official, please judge. They all say I am a human trafficker. I think she looks like a human trafficker, giving my young master a fruit for no reason, letting my young master follow her."

The official looked at Qiao Mai, who was pointed at by Old Woman Xiao. "Tell me what happened?"

Qiao Mai told the story of what happened just now one by one. The official glared at the old woman.

"Alright, it's all a misunderstanding, disperse. Old Woman Xiao, hurry and take your young master home. It's your dereliction of duty that he went missing, be careful of being punished when you get home."

"Yes, yes."

The old woman knew that no matter what she said, the little lady wouldn't have anything to do, so she pulled the young master's hand and was about to leave. Unfortunately, she pulled several times, but the young master just wouldn't move.

Qiao Mai turned to leave,

Qiao Mai turned back helplessly, "Officer, you've seen it now, he has been following me like this the whole time."

"Auntie, fruit, I want to eat fruit."

Qiao Mai put down her basket and opened it to show the little boy that it was empty inside.

"It's gone. This is what I picked on the mountain; I ate one, and I gave you one. There really isn't any left."

The little boy was incredibly disappointed, his eyes welling up with tears, and he was about to cry out loud.

Just then, a pleasant female voice rang out, "Zihan, Zihan?"

Upon hearing this voice, the little boy immediately turned around and lunged at a girl of about fifteen.

"Sister, I want to eat fruit, I want to eat big red fruit."

The young girl wiped his tears, then nodded at the two officers. The little maid beside her hurriedly and secretly slipped each officer a small piece of silver.

"Don't cry anymore. Come, shall sister take you to buy some?"

"I want hers, she has some."

Qiao Mai shrugged at the girl, "There were two in total; I ate one, and I gave him one. They're gone."

The young girl gave her an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, my younger brother is mischievous and has caused you trouble."

"It's no matter."

Qiao Mai turned and walked away, and behind her came the sound of the little boy wailing in pain.

She couldn't help with something like this; it wasn't something that could be solved with an apple. What he needed most was a physician.

Since arriving at the prefecture city, she hadn't stopped moving, spending all her time exploring the entire city, and she had basically visited every place worth seeing.

What was most surprising was that in a flower and bird pet shop, someone was actually selling quail as birds, keeping them in cages.

No one bought these kinds of birds; their calls weren't pleasant, their appearance wasn't beautiful, but they had one thing going for them: they were relatively rare.

No matter how rare they are, if no one buys them, they aren't worth anything. So when she asked the shopkeeper, the shopkeeper immediately sold them to her at a very cheap price.

One tael of silver for seven listless quail, cage included, all given to her as if the shopkeeper were afraid she would change her mind.

Qiao Mai thought, what a bunch of fools. If these things were bred well, they wouldn't produce eggs any slower than chickens, and their nutritional value was better than chicken eggs.

Perfect. You don't want them, but I do. My daughter will soon be old enough to eat solid food; when the quail lay eggs, I'll boil them for my daughter or use them in noodle soup—they'll be delicious.

So, as soon as she left the shop, she released the quail into her space to let them run around as they pleased.

Anyway, the space handled their droppings automatically, so it wouldn't be dirty. She sprinkled some millet on the ground and put out a box of water; seeing them scramble for food, she finally felt at ease.

They say good things come in pairs, and that really is true.

The seeds were one joy, the quail were another. Touching her empty stomach, she arrived at the largest restaurant in the prefecture city.

Although her attire was plain, she could still afford a meal. If she couldn't afford a private room, the main hall would do just fine.

She found an inconspicuous corner and sat down at a table, and a waiter automatically brought her water.

"Young lady, what would you like to eat?"

"Bring me two of your restaurant's signature dishes, and a bowl of rice will do."

"Very well, please wait a moment."

A portion of garlic-flavored cured meat, a portion of fish fillets, and a bowl of rice were soon on the table.

She was so hungry her stomach was sticking to her ribs, so she shoveled the rice into her mouth, drinking plain water whenever she felt choked.

She swallowed it down and continued eating. Halfway through the meal, someone stood before her table again.

(End of chapter)