Chapter 35: I don't want to kill

"Eggs laid by a type of poultry called a quail. They are eaten the same way as chicken eggs."

"Let's skip that for now; the doctor said he can't eat 'triggering' foods."

"Do you want sweet corn? Just boiled."

"Then I'll take two."

"Mm, I'll go in and get them. Wait a moment."

Qiao Mai opened the lock and entered the courtyard, closed the door behind her, and entered the space.

She took a basket, placed a watermelon at the very bottom, put a box of strawberries and three sweet melons on top, and after coming out, added two ears of boiled corn.

Carrying it to the courtyard gate, she opened the door. The man hadn't left and had been waiting at the door.

"This is all I can take out for now."

She had even put away the smaller items to prevent her from putting them in her mouth and choking.

Yuan Jiaqi counted out one tael and four qian of silver from the money bag at his waist and handed it to Qiao Mai with both hands.

"How much silver in total?"

"Hurry home and look after the child."

Looking out the window, she hoped those two shadows weren't aimed at her.

"Auntie, I'm listening to Daddy. I don't need Daddy to coax me, and I'm not afraid of bitter medicine."

Kill, or catch them and report to the authorities?

No, she couldn't let these two die. If they died, the person behind the scenes causing trouble would be pleased. Better to catch them and report to the authorities?

Even if these two didn't reveal the person behind them, it would still make that person nervous and afraid for a while.

"Someone help! Catch the thief! Damn them, actually coming to steal from a poor person like me."

"Sorry for the disturbance, no need to give change."

Seeing her mother arrive, she patted the wooden ball and smiled at her.

Qiao Mai sized up the child in his arms; he was at most four years old and looked like Yuan Jiaqi.

Watching the father and son walk toward the west, she turned and walked into the courtyard.

These two thieves were really careful; to deal with a woman, they even had to use sleeping smoke.

In the dead of night, if this shout were let out, it could scare a person's soul out.

She didn't have a hint of sleepiness. Closing her eyes, she listened to every sound in the courtyard.

"Doesn't look good, I don't want to go up."

When she entered the space, the little one had already woken up and was playing with this wooden ball.

Yuan Jiaqi hurriedly turned and walked over, holding him in his arms, and felt his forehead.

"Then I'll do it; you go search for money?"

She had originally wanted to make herself a meal in the kitchen, but thinking of those two shadows, her appetite vanished.

If they were aimed at her, Qiao Mai's eyes narrowed, and a hint of killing intent flashed by.

She locked the kitchen door as well. Those two shadows should have just come to scout the location; if they wanted to enter the residence, it should be in the second half of the night.

She opened her eyes, leaped up with a "tseng," and arrived at the door silently.

She held her in her arms, placed a sheet over her stomach, and prepared the things she needed to take to the stall tomorrow.

After they entered the courtyard, they didn't rummage around everywhere but approached cautiously, heading straight for her bedroom.

"Baby, Mommy will cook for you. Play obediently, okay?"

Qiao Mai changed her diaper, wiped her bottom clean, put on a clean one, and then washed her hands.

"Sorry for the intrusion!"

"Open the door, open the door, hurry and open the door! What's the use of just shouting without opening the door?"

Based on her experience, this wasn't a real bird call; someone was imitating a bird call.

Qiao Mai smiled at the little boy. "Greetings to you too. If you have a fever, you must take your medicine well so you can get better quickly."

She sneered and stared at the door. After a long while, a head poked in, and he whispered to the person behind him.

Thinking of this, she wasn't in a hurry anymore. She entered the bedroom, bolted the door, and entered the space.

Ling'er was already nearly six months old and could crawl around on the ground. Qiao Mai moved everything that was in the way in the room.

"Don't worry about the basket; just use it next time you come to buy things."

"No, I don't take advantage of customers. You wait."

She controlled her strength when hitting people, so she wouldn't let them die or bleed; they would only faint.

The man was just about to pick up the basket when a childish child's voice sounded.

With a flash, she exited the space. She sat cross-legged on the kang, put the pistol in her bosom, and picked up the thick, smooth wooden stick from the kang cabinet.

When she wasn't there, if Ling'er woke up, she would crawl around on the floor by herself to play.

"Watermelon eight hundred wen, strawberries five hundred wen, three sweet melons thirty wen, two ears of corn twenty wen—total one thousand three hundred and fifty wen."

The door bolt opened, but the person outside didn't come in. Qiao Mai suddenly thought of something and hurriedly took an anti-poison mask from the space, covering her nose and mouth tightly.

"What a good child!"

Just by how good he was to the child and how humble and polite he was in dealing with people, she knew this man's character should be passable.

The moon moved toward the west; it was almost the second half of the night.

The two people's voices weren't familiar, and there was no need to light a lamp to see who they were; she definitely didn't know them.

If someone forced her to kill, she wouldn't mind. Not wanting to was one thing, but it wasn't impossible.

"I'll search for silver in the room; you go up on that woman?"

If thieves came into her courtyard just for simple theft, as long as they didn't destroy her things, she was willing to spare their lives.

Arriving in front of the cabinet, she took a deep breath, opened the cabinet door, took out a silent pistol, removed the chamber to take a look—it was full of bullets—then pushed the chamber back and put on the safety.

Qiao Mai kept her eyes closed, using her ears to distinguish. A total of two people had come, both men who knew a bit of martial arts.

"Daddy!"

"Still have a fever. Daddy bought the watermelon you wanted to eat, and other fruits too. Drink the medicine and then eat, okay?"

She walked to a corner of the courtyard to look at the Date, then locked all the doors of the east and west side chambers.

The stick in her hand struck the heads of the two people one after another with lightning speed.

The neighbors on the left and right, and the families in front and behind, climbed off their kangs one after another, put on their shoes, and carried lamps as they ran toward here. The gate to Qiao Mai's courtyard was still bolted.

After feeding the child, she drank a bowl of red ginseng water, then took Ling'er to the edge of the field, let her play with the ball, and she planted peanuts in the field.

Sure enough, a wisp of white smoke drifted from outside to inside.

Qiao Mai threw the stick, messed up her hair, then rushed into the courtyard and shouted with the loudest voice.

Now she didn't even need to carry Ling'er back and forth. Seeing she wasn't clinging to her, she got up to make her some milk powder.

The man held the child in one hand and carried the basket in the other, smiling at her.

By the time she finished planting the peanuts, the child was asleep holding the ball.

The thieves hadn't even reacted before they fell to the ground.

"It was my lack of consideration."

Was this giving a tip? This man was capable; he really knew how to handle things.

Her years of agent life immediately made her alert.

"Took down that woman!"

"Mm."

In the crack of the door, a bright dagger was sliding the door bolt. She raised the wooden stick with both hands, ready to meet the enemy.

"Hurry and call her Auntie!"

Hearing this, Qiao Mai understood immediately.

Suddenly, the sound of a bird call entered her ears.

She didn't want to kill; she didn't want to stain her hands with anyone else's blood. Coming here, she just wanted to live a plain life to the end.

Just as she entered the door, the corner of her eye saw two shadows sneaking past on the east side.

She clenched her fists; sure enough, they were aimed at her.

If only there were a baby bottle, she could make the milk and give it to her, and Ling'er could drink it herself.

She returned to the room to get a few more ears of corn and placed them in the basket.

These two thieves should have been entrusted by someone, deliberately coming to humiliate her and incidentally loot some money. After all, she had been doing business for so long; how could she not have some private savings?

The first one had just poked more than half his body in. Qiao Mai hid behind the door, and when she saw the second head...

After the sound stopped, after a while, the sound of two people landing lightly came.

Mentioning the child, her voice became much gentler. Everyone was a parent; naturally, she knew that love parents had for their children.

Qiao Mai ordered a wooden ball for her at the carpenter's shop, letting her roll it to play when she woke up. She didn't consider ones with edges and corners for the time being.

"Hello, Auntie."

Qiao Mai opened the door in a panic, and many people surged in, men and women.

"Where are the thieves?"

Qiao Mai pointed into the room with trembling hands. "Bad, bad people, in, in the room."

"Don't be afraid, let's all go in together!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 36 =====