"How did Qi Hu contact you?"
Thinking of Qi Hu, Qin San Niang felt a surge of murderous intent. This was scum. Since he had messed with her, he shouldn't blame her for being impolite!
“Every time, they would come with people the morning afterward, usually around 9 am.” As for why they would come the next day, presumably those people were too hungry to walk and would not easily resist.
The white-bearded old man closed his eyes and said that he had said everything he needed to say. Qi Hu was no good either. He always treated them like beggars and then said he was thinking of old friendships!
"Grandma, we were forced into this situation. How can we survive in this world? I've taken good care of all the people who were kidnapped from the mountain. Although the work is hard, we have to work to eat. Apart from a few who were carried off by wild animals while hunting, we haven't killed anyone! Our wives, children, and parents are all innocent! Please spare them! I'm willing to help you catch Qi Hu! Without my intervention, Qi Hu would never have followed us into the village!"
"Don't you ever think about those women and children you sold? It's a terrible tragedy! Who has it easy in this world?" Old Mrs. Chen couldn't stand it anymore and said from the side, hugging her grandsons tightly as she spoke. If anyone dared to take her grandsons, she would fight them to the death!
Qin San Niang finally understood. Qi Hu was probably in cahoots with bandits from several mountain strongholds, and he had his eyes on the female relatives of these exiled prisoners. If they were old, their fate was left to chance, while the young and beautiful ones, or even children, would be sold off at high prices. Even the constables couldn't do anything about it, since even if someone got lost on the road, they could be reported dead after a certain period of time.
The white-bearded old man and his group were tied up and thrown down the mountain. As for those who were seriously injured or died, it was only their own fault!
Looking at the pitch-black sky, everyone disregarded everything else and hurriedly made arrangements to run away. After all, this village was full of bandits, and who knew if the bandits on the mountain would come down?
Liu and the others shared the same idea. Now that they had dealt with these bandits and the road out of the village was clear, what were they waiting for?
Just as they left the village, they heard shouts from behind. Turning around, they saw Zhao Di'er! Upon further inquiry, they learned that her mother, Zhao Juhua, had disappeared. Zhao Di had been searching for her mother for a long time without success. When she went outside, she found that the villagers had already gone far away, so she hurriedly went back to pack her things before rushing over.
Upon further questioning, it was discovered that Zhao Juhua had absconded with the family's grain!
Zhao Di, a young girl, had been exhausted for the past few days and slept soundly last night. If she hadn't heard someone howling outside, she might still be fast asleep! So she had no idea when or why her mother left.
Old Mrs. Chen sighed, "Alright, Zhao Di, your mother really is unreliable. Let's not think about these things for now, getting on the road is the priority, we can make plans for other things later."
When Zhao Di arrived, Wu Shi leaned over to listen in, and now she was telling everyone what had happened.
Liu utterly loathed Zhao Juhua; she was a troublemaking, foul-mouthed woman. Despite this, she was also puzzled. After all, traveling with her clansmen during the famine would have given her a better understanding of the area. Traveling alone, not only would she risk getting lost, but if she encountered those with malicious intentions, the consequences would be unimaginable. This was why she had initially agreed to travel with the people of Lujia Village.
"Something's definitely up to no good! Mother, sister-in-law, Zhao Juhua is probably involved in this bandit incident in the village. Otherwise, why would she have run away in the middle of the night?"
Upon hearing her say this, both Liu and Wu Chunhua were stunned, and they both saw shock in each other's eyes!
Afraid of frightening them, Qin Sanniang quickly reassured them, "Don't be afraid, this is just my guess. But now that she's gone and we've left the village, I guess nothing will happen. Besides, I'm here!"
After saying that, she blinked, giving him a look that seemed to say, "You still don't trust me?" This interruption calmed Liu down considerably.
Affected by Zhao Juhua's affair, Liu and the others were all rather dejected and didn't sleep well that night, fearing that Zhao Juhua might launch a surprise attack. After all, what wouldn't someone who could team up with bandits to take their lives do!
Zhao Juhua, who had been cursed eight hundred times in her heart by Liu, was rubbing her legs as she stood outside the post station waiting for someone.
That's right, she barely slept last night, waiting for the neighbor, Qin San Niang's family, to be completely wiped out. Then all that silver and grain would be hers. As for Brother Hu? She didn't care! With grain and silver, she could eat and drink anywhere she wanted. She wasn't going to follow those poor bastards from the village to Jiangnan; her feet were already blistered from all the blisters!
As she dreamt in the corner, imagining herself carrying silver into the city, buying a carriage and new clothes, and traveling day and night, she was sure she would soon reach Jiangnan. She'd heard there were plenty of wealthy gentlemen in Jiangnan; with her looks and a powerful patron, she could live a life of luxury…
At midnight, hearing the commotion in the neighboring courtyard, Zhao Juhua's heart leaped into her throat. Believe it or not, she was excited; soon her wish would come true.
After finally waiting for the thieves to leave, she planned to steal the things from Qin San Niang's house. She would first hide in the mountains for the first day, and then sneak out when no one was paying attention to her.
It must be said that Zhao Juhua is a shrewd strategist; she's quite adept at playing the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
What she didn't expect was that Qin San Niang and Gu Qingshan had already discovered their plan. When the white-bearded old man was captured, Zhao Juhua saw it through the crack in the door. When she heard him mention Brother Hu, she became even more panicked!
If that tigress, Qin San Niang, found out that she had conspired with Tiger Brother to get their grain and silver, she would skin her alive!
Tiger originally wanted the women of the Sima family; those young ladies were quite beautiful and could definitely fetch a good price. Unexpectedly, the leader this time was changed to Xing, and there was also Zhang Wu among them. Both of them were difficult to deal with and not easily fooled; none of the routes he had previously chosen were used.
Along the way, Qi Hu became increasingly frustrated. They were almost at the agreed location, but the matter was still not settled!
Unexpectedly, a woman came along and told her that the family at the head of their village had a lot of silver, as well as a lot of grain and cloth. She also saw that the other party had given the old woman from the Sima family a bag of rice and flour. She also noticed that there were quite a few young women and children in the group. Although they were not particularly attractive, selling them to the slave trader would still be a source of income, so this trip wouldn't be a complete waste...
Besides, this woman is willing to serve me. It's just a matter of a few pancakes. They're all public grain. What's wrong with making me feel comfortable?
Qi Hu was very pleased with himself and fantasized about making a fortune again!
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