Qiu's expression changed, and her attitude became much colder. "Oh! You are really kind-hearted, but you may not know that actors have to be slim. If you eat too much and get fat, you won't be able to go on stage!"
Xu retorted, "It's impossible for nine people to share three steamed buns. We prepared so much food, and I guess the pigs ate it all. Otherwise, they wouldn't starve!"
"Who are you scolding?" Qiu was so angry that her true colors were revealed.
Xu yelled back, "Did I curse anyone? I cursed at a dog that was worse than an animal. Don't take it personally!"
"Hey! What do you mean? If it weren't for the eldest young master of the Ma family coming forward, we wouldn't have come to this remote place to perform. We gave you some face but you are taking it for granted! No more performance! No more performance tonight! We'll pack up and go back right away!" Mrs. Qiu said arrogantly, not taking Mrs. Xu seriously at all.
The noise was so loud here that naturally everyone in the house heard it.
Chunxiang quickly ran to Qiu to comfort her, "Don't be angry, Auntie. We can solve any problem we have. We can't ruin the reputation of our Rong family troupe, right?"
Qiu slapped Chunxiang in the face and said, "Do you have the right to speak? It's already good enough to give you food, but you're still making a fuss. I've given you enough to eat. If you don't want to, go back to the brothel. There's no shortage of food for you there!"
Chunqin and the others were trembling with fear.
He was dissatisfied and stepped forward to question, "Why did you hit her? What did she do wrong? We sent so much food, but they only had three steamed buns and some vegetables left. What? We can't ask!
Besides, you say you are from a big place, but you don't even have the most basic credibility. Now the show is about to start, you say you don't want to sing? That's fine, you can not sing after you make up for our losses, otherwise you can't leave our village! Even if the king of heaven comes, we are still right!"
"You..." Qiu was so angry that her whole body was shaking. She just said that to bully the country people who were ignorant and didn't take them seriously at all. She didn't expect that the wife of a village chief would dare to challenge her and have such a stubborn temper, which left her speechless.
Qiu was furious and glared at Chunxiang and the others, "Hurry up and prepare! This is an unlucky thing!"
Seeing that Qiu had compromised, Xu smiled happily and brought the food into the house.
But after hearing what Mrs. Qiu said, they absolutely dared not eat. Only Little Twelve could not resist the temptation of the food. Relying on Mrs. Xu's presence, he thought that Mrs. Qiu would not do anything to him, so he wolfed down the food and ate until he was full for the first time.
Seeing him like that, Xu felt so distressed, "Didn't you eat enough before?"
Little Twelve nodded, "After those two bad guys ate, it was Chunqin and the others' turn to eat, and the remaining food was for Little Eleven and me. We were starving every day."
Xu almost cried when she heard this. "What a damn thing! It's nothing!"
In order to prevent Qiu from taking action, Xu did not leave the village compound until Chunxiang and others came on stage.
Qiu seemed to have given in and stayed in the room without coming out.
Everyone looked solemn, except Little Twelve, who was the happiest.
He didn't need to go on stage, he just needed to help out, then he came to Chunqin, gave her a steamed bun, and called her affectionately: "Sister Chunqin, go eat something, aren't you almost fainting from hunger?"
"Eat, eat, eat! Don't you see that old lady is going to send us to a brothel? Why are you still eating!" Chunqin threw the steamed bun away angrily, got up and walked out without even looking at Xiao Twelve.
Dongri said: "Why are you fighting with a kid? He didn't provoke you."
Chunqin said coldly: "He just accepted something from the villagers, which is a betrayal in my eyes. I am merciful for not beating him to death. He will not continue to follow us in the future. Why should I pretend?"
"You! After all, Xiao Twelve has lived with us for so long, and he is almost dying, why are you turning against him?" Dong Ri glanced at the pale Xiao Twelve, with a bit more sympathy in his eyes.
Xiao Twelve turned pale with fright. He didn’t think that much. He just didn’t want to starve. Why should he be killed?
At this moment, Qiu came out of the room, her face so gloomy that it seemed like water was about to drip out. "Come back after you step down and pack your things. We will leave early tomorrow morning."
After saying that, she squinted her eyes and looked deeply at Xiao Twelve, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.
Little Twelve was so frightened that his whole body froze.
After Qiu entered the room, Chunxiang stepped forward and sternly scolded, "Little Twelve, hurry up and pack your things, we are going to go on stage."
Xiao Twelve found that everyone was busy with their own things and no one was helping him.
His tears instantly blurred his vision and he helplessly went over to help.
When they were almost at the stage, they were stunned by the noisy voices in front of them. At that moment, everyone forgot about the shadow that Qiu had brought to them.
Chunxiang took the opportunity to sneak up to Xiao Twelve and whispered, "Run away in the middle of the opera. You can run anywhere. Don't let the Fourth Master and the Madam catch you."
Xiao Twelve was only eight years old and had never thought of running away. He was already hungry in the troupe, wouldn't he starve to death if he ran away? What if he was kidnapped again?
"Sister Chunxiang, I-I dare not." Little Twelve said in a crying voice.
Chunxiang was unsure of what to do when she saw his skinny appearance. She rolled her eyes around and fixed her gaze on the crowd. She pointed in that direction and said to Xiao Twelve, "Just keep an eye on them. They look rich and should be able to protect you. This is all I can do for you. It depends on your luck."
Little Twelve nodded wildly and looked at Chunxiang apologetically, "Sister Chunxiang, will they cause trouble for you if I run away?"
Chunxiang suddenly glared at him fiercely, "Run if I tell you to. It's not your turn to worry about my affairs."
The show begins as the gong sounds.
Su Tai, who was sitting in the front row of the audience, saw her son and daughter excited and started laughing too.
To be honest, she had no interest in watching the play, but the child found it interesting, so she had no choice but to accompany him.
Everyone's attention was on the stage, but she was looking around, examining everything.
This look made her discover an interesting child. Seeing the child staring at her, she gave him a friendly smile, and the child immediately hid like a frightened rabbit.
On the other side, Rong Laosi and Qiu also did not join the crowd.
"Boss, do you think any of these children stand out?"
Rong Lao Si looked around and said thoughtfully, "There are a few three or four-year-old babies who are good, but don't take the ones that are too old. Remember this."
Mrs. Qiu thought so too, and immediately wrote down the children that Rong Lao Si had pointed out.
Rong Lao Si said, "You go get the child later, and I'll take over. We'll meet at the entrance of the village. I'll get the child and hide him in the wasteland outside the village. You can set out at daybreak, and leave together after we meet up."
They had always done this before, and their cooperation was seamless. (End of this chapter)
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