Chapter 71: I think you're the one who abducted her

It started snowing heavily at night and hadn't stopped by the next morning. To be able to buy things, she gave the children the day off today; they didn't need to attend class.

After breakfast, she let the children watch Ling'er, and she got busy in the kitchen.

Steamed buns and meat buns didn't need to be steamed; the ones Shopkeeper Lu gave could be eaten for a long time.

She checked, and melon seeds, dried fruits, sugar, and the like needed to be replenished. The small town had been snowing for days, some shops closed early, and some vendors stopped setting up stalls, making it impossible to buy these things.

She took out some chestnuts from the space, cut each one, and started the fire in the stove.

She put vegetable oil and a big spoonful of sugar in the pot, poured the chestnuts in, and kept stirring. After about two quarters of an hour, a pot of sugar-roasted chestnuts was ready.

Just as she was about to roast the second pot, the courtyard gate rang.

Qiao Mai frowned, wiped her hands, and went to open the door. Seeing it was the Town Chief, she understood when she looked behind him.

"Town Chief, is something the matter?"

The Town Chief's face didn't look very good. "The eldest granddaughter of the Yuan family in Lihua Village is missing. They said she came to look for you a few days ago?"

Women fighting, there aren't many moves; grabbing hair is victory. Her servant girl wanted to come over to help, but Qiao Mai kicked her to the side, and she lay on the ground for a long time without being able to get up.

Coming into view was a chubby girl, with a servant girl standing beside her. The girl was wearing silk-faced clothes and a cloak with a fur collar.

But that cheap mouth didn't lose out at all. "Do you dare to let go of my hair? I'll beat you until you're looking for your teeth all over the floor."

"How is that possible? I wouldn't keep anyone from the Qiao family. That child said that if she couldn't get anything, her family wouldn't let her go back. Maybe after she left me, she went to find a place to stay?"

"I don't believe it. She must have hidden my daughter."

She let out a howl and pointed at Qiao Mai, cursing loudly.

"Mmm, bolt the door; we've bought almost everything."

"The person is missing and hasn't gone back yet. They thought you kept her."

"Alright then, this Town Chief will send guards to ask first."

"She must have been asking where that family was, and then couldn't wait to hire an ox cart to go to the county town?"

Qiao Mai pointed to the sky and swore, "If I detained your daughter, let me be struck by lightning and die a horrible death."

"Bah, your conscience has been eaten by dogs. You still have the face to talk to me about conscience. Get out!"

Qiao Mai, who had been suppressing her anger in the kitchen for a long time, held a stick in her hand, gripped it and gripped it again, and tried her best not to let her anger out.

Town Chief Qian felt a headache. "Did she really leave?"

"Qiao Jiang, if you dare to frame me, do you believe I'll go to the government office to accuse you?"

"If it's good, eat more."

"Inherent bad roots, no need to figure it out. As long as there is a little conscience, one wouldn't do such a thing as sucking the blood of one's own child."

The guard gave him a hit on the stomach. "You dare to block the order given by the Town Chief? Do you want to bear the crime of framing? If we search and find no one, you'll have to go to jail."

The Town Chief left with the guards, and Qiao Jiang looked up at Qiao Mai.

"Where did this shameless thing come from, running to my house to make a scene? No wonder you haven't married at your age. You want to use money to buy a good husband, but unfortunately, your calculations were wrong."

"Just tell me, did she come to look for you or not?"

"Hmph, anyway, she came to look for you."

"The chestnuts you roasted are really delicious, both floury and sweet."

When she saw Yuan Jiaqi, her eyes were obsessed, and she opened her mouth to say:

"Yuan Lang, I've finally seen you."

Originally, she was pretending to be a lady, but after being pushed by Qiao Mai, she immediately revealed her true colors.

"Yuan Lang, I'm from Tiannan Town, the girl who is going to marry you."

"The families of both of us are like this. Sometimes I really can't figure it out."

Yuan Jiaqi saw her bad complexion and immediately got up to open the door.

"One must have a conscience, little sister."

"You're here? She said she was hungry, so I gave her a big steamed bun and she left. What's wrong?"

Smelling the sweet chestnuts, he couldn't help but pick one up and eat it.

"Old woman, I'll fight you to the death. You stole my man and still dare to insult me."

"She left while eating the bun. Why don't you send guards to ask around in town? In broad daylight, someone must have seen her."

Qiao Jiang pursed her lips and didn't speak. The guard held an umbrella for the Town Chief, and Town Chief Qian glared at her.

The two took the things straight to the warehouse. After putting the things inside, Yuan Jiaqi went to the kitchen to burn the fire for her.

Strands of green silk fell off just like that, and the chubby girl couldn't help but beg for mercy because of the pain.

Qiao Mai looked at Qiao Jiang. "I don't even want to talk about these people. They are truly shameless. After severing ties and turning against each other, they still keep sending people to add trouble to my eyes. The adults don't come anymore, so they send the children. I ask you, can your faces be any thicker?"

"You must be that cheap woman, right? You're the one who stole my Yuan Lang, right?"

"You!"

"Back?"

Yuan Jiaqi smiled and praised her. "You are truly too smart."

"It's not that I'm smart; it's just that their family has that kind of character. There's no humanity at all. They only have money in their eyes. If that little girl is smart, she will definitely keep the silver for herself. If she's not smart, she will hand it over to him."

Qiao Jiang clutched her stomach and glared at Qiao Mai. "You are truly heartless. But just letting the child come to you to beg for something, you actually detained her and wouldn't let her go home?"

"And then?"

Qiao Mai rolled her eyes at him and immediately smiled at the Town Chief. "That girl is not young, the possibility of being abducted is not high. You should just ask around the shops on both sides of the official road."

"The guard found out about the Qiao family girl. They said the employment agency sold her to a big family in the county town. Her father was quite happy when he found out. He didn't ask how the child was, but first asked where the silver from the sale was, which made the Town Chief so angry he had the guard beat him up."

This commotion attracted the surrounding neighbors. No matter how cold it was or how heavy the snow was, they had to come out and take a look.

After roasting two pots, someone came to knock on the door again. She frowned and wanted to get angry.

"Sorry, this young lady, please respect yourself. Yuan does not know you."

Town Chief Qian turned back and looked at Qiao Jiang. "Heard that? She came, was given a bun, and left."

The two only talked for a few sentences when the courtyard gate rang again. Qiao Mai took a deep breath to comfort herself.

Qiao Mai threw away the stick in her hand and grabbed the chubby girl's hair with both hands.

Qiao Jiang was anxious now. "Town Chief, my daughter must be in her house. You should have the guards search directly."

Qiao Mai turned around and bolted the courtyard gate, returned to the kitchen, and continued her sugar-roasted chestnuts.

She came out angrily to open the door and saw Yuan Jiaqi had returned. She hurriedly squeezed out a smile and took the New Year goods from his hands.

"Yuan has already married into the Qiao family. Young lady, please go back."

"I say, you Qiao family are really something. On such a cold day, you let a little girl come out to beg for food. Is there no food at home? And no one followed her. Maybe she was abducted by some human trafficker."

Taking advantage of this time, she grabbed her hair and started to make trouble.

This chubby girl smiled and wanted to enter the courtyard, but Qiao Mai rushed to the courtyard gate and pushed the girl out, almost making her fall to the ground.

"I think you're the one who abducted her."

"Why should she look for me? I don't owe her anything. It's you all who are cheap, letting her come to look for me. You are the ones who should be responsible."

"The agency said the little girl sold herself, and the silver is in her own hands. Guess what Qiao Jiang did?"

"You rotten thing that no one wants on the street, relying on having a few stinking coins, you want to buy my man? Don't look at how much you weigh. Let me tell you, I'm also someone who isn't short of money. He would rather marry into a family than want you, which shows how rotten you are."

"You're the rotten one, your whole family is rotten."

"Then let me see today who is rotten."

Qiao Mai, who was grabbing her hair, freed a hand and slapped her face hard, slap, slap, slap, slap.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 72 =====