"What's so special about her? Why do the barbarians insist on capturing her? It's not that I don't want to do it, it's just that I feel uneasy. The Qin family set up a porridge distribution point outside the city, and I've eaten her porridge. Now I have to capture her daughter..."
Zhao Long lowered his head, his heart filled with guilt.
Li Hu remained silent. Among the refugees who had fled here, there were only a handful of people doing good deeds outside the city. It was because of these people that they were able to survive and celebrate the New Year.
They benefited from Qin's good deeds.
They remembered her porridge shop, which had the name "Jin'an" written on it. They heard that this was her daughter's name, and that she was accumulating blessings for her daughter. Everyone thanked the little girl they had never met.
But now they're doing this: kidnapping a little girl named Jin'an to exchange money for their own home.
"If the barbarians take her away, will they kill her to vent their anger? Is this how they retaliate against Marquis Anping? Why should she bear the consequences of Marquis Anping's actions?"
Li Hu could not suppress the guilt in his heart.
Sun Wu sighed: "We are just small people, how would we know these things? My mother and son are sick, I need money. I committed this sin, so let God punish me whatever he wants. I have no complaints."
The barbarians couldn't enter the city, but they specifically requested to capture one person.
As refugees working in the city, they were the best executioners.
After Sun Tzu finished speaking, Li Hu and Zhao Long fell silent.
Sun Tzu had his difficulties, and so did they. It was precisely because they all had difficulties that they were chosen by the barbarians.
When do we make our move?
After a long silence, Zhao Long picked at the firewood and asked softly.
"After observing for so long, I've noticed that when Qin lives in the city, she doesn't bring the child with her in the morning. The child goes to the shop to find his mother after he gets up. We'll make our move during this time and do it quickly to succeed in one go."
Sun Tzu spoke in a deep voice.
The despicable methods adults use against a child fill them with immense guilt, yet their responsibilities as fathers, sons, and husbands force them to suppress their moral conscience.
Let them be punished for all their sins, even if it means paying with their lives.
"Then get some rest. You'll have a lot to do tomorrow."
After Zhao Long finished speaking, he closed his eyes, leaned against the wall behind him, and fell asleep.
Sun Wu and Li Hu both closed their eyes and quietly waited for dawn.
...
As dawn broke, Qin left some food for Qin Jin'an in the pot. When she returned to the room and saw that Qin Jin'an was still asleep, she smiled and quietly left.
I carefully packed the food container and then went out.
Qin Jin'an doesn't need her to worry about her. She can get dressed and eat when she wakes up. She doesn't know how to comb her hair, so she can just comb it for her when she comes to the shop after eating.
After Qin left, the three people who had been hiding in the shadows emerged from one side.
"She's already gone. The child should still be sleeping. Should we act now or wait until she wakes up and finishes eating?"
Li Hu looked at Sun Wu and asked.
"Let her wake up and eat on her own."
Sun Wu said calmly, and the three of them retreated back to their hiding place.
"It's still cold, and she's still young. She'll definitely be hungry when she wakes up in the morning, so it's good to make sure she's well-fed."
Zhao Long muttered something to himself, then rubbed his hands together.
The weather is nice today; it looks like the sun is about to come out.
Qin Jin'an woke up naturally and reached out to touch something soft and squishy. She squeezed it.
The gray mouse was startled awake and made a 'squeak squeak' sound.
Fish Baby, let me go!
Qin Jin'an smiled and poked the gray rat's soft belly: "Little Gray, you've gotten fat."
The gray squirrel's little paws were very pink, its shiny black eyes darted around, and it rubbed its two paws together in front of its chest, looking very shy.
Fish Baby, I'll lose weight by summer.
It's been being cared for by the Qin family and Qin Jin'an lately, so it's no wonder it's gotten so fat.
It's so cold this winter that even the mice don't want to come out of their burrows.
It stays at home every day, eating and sleeping comfortably.
"It's okay, if you get fat, we'll just dig a bigger hole."
Qin Jin'an really liked the soft, fluffy feel of the fabric. She thought about how Qi Yuanyou had lost weight and didn't have that plump look anymore, and she didn't want Gray Mouse to lose weight.
"I'm up, I'm ready to open for business."
Qin Jin'an started getting dressed.
The gray squirrel volunteered to climb onto Qin Jin'an's head and tidy her hair.
Anyone who saw this scene would be amazed.
After getting ready and washing up, Qin Jin'an went to the kitchen. Today's meal was large meat buns and sugar pancakes.
The sweet and savory sugar cake was delicious. Qin Jin'an shared a piece with Gray Mouse, and watching its cheeks move around, Qin Jin'an ate it even more heartily.
"Grey Grey, I'm going to the shop now."
As he left, Qin Jin'an said goodbye to the gray rat.
After locking the gate to the yard, Qin Jin'an was surrounded by three suspicious strangers before he had gone far.
"Little girl, your mother sent us to pick you up."
Sun Tzu smiled and spoke, trying his best to appear kind.
Qin Jin'an looked at him, then suddenly smiled and said, "Thank you, Uncle."
She seemed completely unsuspecting and believed it without any wariness.
Sun Wu paused for a moment, then walked up to Qin Jin'an and reached out his hand: "Come on, let Uncle carry you so you can walk faster."
Qin Jin'an smiled and nodded, obediently opening her arms for Sun Wu to pick her up.
Zhao Long and Li Hu were both incredulous; it had gone too smoothly.
Have a piece of candy.
Sun Wu took out the prepared medicinal candy, his hands trembling slightly.
Qin Jin'an took Sun Wu's hand, ate the candy, and then blew on his cracked palm: "Thank you."
Sun Wu's lips trembled slightly as he avoided Qin Jin'an's gaze.
Qin Jin'an fainted after eating the candy and quietly leaned on Sun Wu's shoulder.
Sun Wu's eyes reddened, and he choked out, "Let's go, we can't delay any longer."
It went incredibly smoothly; not a single accident happened.
They successfully kidnapped Qin Jin'an and left the city as they had hoped.
...
As the sun rose, Qin felt a vague unease.
She said to Qin Tianhai, "Dad, I'm going to see if my baby is awake yet."
Logically, they should have gotten up by now; they shouldn't still be here.
Qin Tianhai nodded: "Go ahead, I'll keep an eye on things here."
After leaving the shop, Qin went straight to the small courtyard.
She looked out at the locked gate and felt a little panicked. She opened the gate and went inside, only to find that Qin Jin'an was not at home.
She had already eaten what was left in the kitchen.
She wasn't at the shop or at home, so where could she have gone?
Qin returned to the shop anxiously and told Qin Tianhai.
Qin Tianhai frowned: "Yu Bao is missing? Where could she have gone? She wouldn't have gone without telling us."
That girl is independent, but she would never do things on her own without asking permission.
The door was locked, which proves that the accident happened when she locked the door and was about to come over.
Qin Tianhai saw that the Qin family was panicking.
The diners queuing to buy noodles, fish jerky, and dried meat overheard a few words and found out.
"Manager Qin, this little immortal might have been kidnapped by suspicious people. You should report it to the authorities immediately," someone reminded Qin.
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