Upon closer inspection, the person was only similar in height and clothing color to Qin Zifeng, but it was not Qin Zifeng! Qin Qing quickly glanced at her side. The two little ones were still lying quietly on the ground sleeping. Zhang He and Shaoyao were sleeping soundly, and Qin Zifeng was also sleeping not far away.
Seeing this, I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness the children were alright. In other words, the man was a horse thief?
After thinking for a moment, she stood up gently. Walking on the half-dry grass made no sound, but the chirping of cicadas was extremely annoying!
When she walked up behind the boy, he was still focused on cutting the rope and had no idea. Seeing that the rope was already half-broken, a look of joy appeared on the boy's face.
The next second, a cool, disdainful voice came from beside my ear.
"Why not find a sharper stone? Cutting like this is too much trouble!"
The boy seemed not to have reacted yet, and responded subconsciously upon hearing the voice, his tone carrying a hint of complaint and displeasure.
"Do you think I didn't want to? This area is jungle, where would I find sharp stones? This family is really something, it's just a horse rein, why are they making it so tight! Making me waste so much time!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Qing was both amused and annoyed! This was the first time in her two lives she'd ever seen anything like this—stealing from someone and then complaining about their security measures? And he was even complaining and being unhappy?!
"So you're complaining because the reins they use are of better quality? That it makes it inconvenient for you to steal them?"
Hearing this, the boy was a little unhappy and was about to retort when he suddenly thought of something and his whole body stiffened instantly!
"Boom!"
At that very moment, the reins snapped!
Qin Qing looked at the boy with a smile, without making any rash moves!
After the boy came to his senses, his eyes darted around, quickly scanning his surroundings! Qin Qing noticed his intention to escape, and suddenly reached out, grabbing the boy by the back of his collar, a look of surprise flashing in her eyes!
The boy was caught the moment he made a move to run away!
But she was amazed that the boy, who seemed so tall, weighed so little.
Perhaps realizing he probably couldn't escape, the boy turned his head and looked at her with a pitiful and frightened expression, completely losing his previous arrogance and displeasure.
"Auntie...please spare me! I have elderly parents and young children to support, and I'm the only one who can feed them. What will they do if something happens to me? Waaah! Please, have mercy and give me another chance!"
Watching the boy's exaggerated performance, filled with tears, Qin Qing was somewhat moved, but reason wouldn't allow her to be so easily fooled. So she pursed her lips, a hint of mockery in her eyes.
"You? You have elderly parents and young children to support? How old are you?! You don't even bother to think before you lie! I can't find a reason to believe you!"
The boy seemed to realize the problem in his words, paused for a moment, and then murmured with a confused look in his eyes.
"But...that's what everyone says! That's what they said when that person was robbed last time..."
Then he recited what he had just said again, word for word! Qin Qing couldn't help but laugh. How could this boy be a little silly?
When the boy saw her smile, he immediately smiled too.
"Thank you, ma'am. Good deeds are rewarded! You will surely grow old and vigorous, with many wives and concubines, living in poverty, dominating the world, and utterly wicked..."
"Stop!! Don't say anymore!"
Before the boy could finish speaking, Qin Qing interrupted him with a dark face, saying, "What kind of nonsense is this!"
"How old are you this year? Why are you all alone? There shouldn't be any villages around here, right?"
After saying that, the boy lowered his head in frustration.
"I'm twelve years old. I came with my family, but we got separated halfway... I couldn't find them, so I saw your carriage and thought I'd steal some food. I'm so hungry!"
His face was full of grievance and desolation as he spoke, which made even Qin Qing feel sorry for him. Not to mention the boy's thin body and obvious sunken cheeks, which made him look pitiful.
Thinking it over, she looked around and saw that there was no one around. She then took out a naan bread from her pocket. She had bought it while looking for Zhang He. Although it was a bit hard, it was still edible.
"Here you go. There's no food in the carriage. The capital of Qi is in that direction. If you keep going, you should arrive before noon."
As she spoke, she took out a bamboo tube containing about 100 milliliters of water, which she had originally intended to use to deceive others. She thought it would be fine to give it to the boy to drink.
The boy's eyes lit up the moment he saw the bamboo tube. He looked at Qin Qing in surprise, and after taking the bamboo tube, he felt its weight and was still somewhat incredulous.
"This... is for me to drink?"
Qin Qing nodded; she had plenty in her spatial storage anyway.
Little did he know, this action made the boy even more excited. His hand holding the bamboo tube trembled slightly. He quickly opened the bamboo tube and saw the clear water inside. He couldn't wait to pour it into his mouth!
In just a few seconds, the water was gone! The boy felt the warmth in his throat, his eyes reddened slightly, and he cried with deep emotion.
"Waaah! No one has ever been so kind to me! Auntie, you...you're such a good person. I wish you a speedy journey to paradise and that you'll give birth to triplets..."
Seeing that the boy was about to utter that idiom again, Qin Qing quickly covered his mouth, looking at him speechlessly. Was this kid really not doing it on purpose? It was supposed to be a thank you, but she heard nothing but curses!
The boy blinked, looking at her with a puzzled expression.
"No...isn't it nice? But last time someone said they had three sons in one pregnancy, and that person was so happy...And that monk last time, he said his biggest wish was to go to the Pure Land! Really! I'm not mistaken this time!"
Qin Qing's face grew darker and darker as he listened, but he couldn't blame the young man in front of him. After holding back for a long time, he finally spoke.
"From now on... you'd better not praise people anymore! I'm afraid you'll get beaten to death!"
The boy was taken aback, but still nodded.
Qin Qing didn't say anything more and simply let go of her hand.
"Go now, and don't do this again. Go to the city and find some work, and from now on..."
Her voice abruptly stopped. As if she had suddenly thought of something, she glanced at the distant capital of Qi, then looked at the emaciated boy in front of her, her expression becoming very complicated and solemn.
"Child, if possible, I advise you not to go to the capital of Qi! The weather this year is very abnormal, and the capital is no longer safe!"
Not only is the capital unsafe, but the drought is probably far more severe than she imagined! Moreover, she suspects the drought originated in the capital! This is extremely rare; historically, every state carefully considered geographical location, feng shui, and other factors before deciding on its capital, yet the Qi capital has become the hardest-hit area this time…
It just doesn't seem right!
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