Meng Zhao took a deep breath and said angrily, "Finally, I've cornered you. Give me back what you stole."
The child was wearing an ill-fitting cotton coat and had messy hair. Hearing Meng Zhao's words, he stubbornly pursed his lips and said, "I didn't steal it. I found it."
Meng Zhao was so angry at his appearance that she couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Huh? The owner is sitting right next to you. You're saying you found it? Even if you did find it, I'm the owner. I'm asking you for it now. Give it back to me right now!"
The child stared, his eyes filled with an unyielding stubbornness. "I found it, so it's mine. Why should I give it back to you?"
If Meng Zhao had felt some sympathy for the child earlier because of his shabby clothes, it had all been exhausted by his unreasonable behavior. She coldly said, "If you don't give it back to me, I'll report you to the authorities and say you stole it."
The child didn't care at all. "Then go ahead and sue me. Let's see if those officials in the county government will care about your business. At worst, they'll lock me up. I can only eat jail food for a few days."
Meng Zhao sneered, "Heh, so you admit you were stealing."
The child immediately became enraged, "I told you, I didn't steal it. You threw it on the ground and I picked it up."
"You don't rob anyone else on the street, but you rob me. You think I'm an easy woman to bully? If you're so capable, go find a strong man and see if you dare to rob me."
The child was instantly disarmed by Meng Zhao's words, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes, but even so, he still held tightly to the stolen item without any sign of letting go.
Just as Meng Zhao was about to take the things back, the child shouted angrily, "You're not allowed to move!"
Meng Zhao ignored the child's warning and wanted to continue walking forward when she heard a faint voice, "Xiao Chuan, is that you?"
Upon hearing the voice, the child's stubborn face immediately turned anxious. He stopped resisting, threw the two packets of braised meat into Meng Zhao's arms, and ran into the depths of the alley.
After getting the braised meat back, Meng Zhao should have gone straight home, but seeing the child staggering inside, she couldn't help but follow.
Walking along the alley, I finally saw the house at the very end. It must have been a large house, with a doorway more than a meter deep and a vermilion wooden door two meters high. The lanterns hanging at the door were still lit with candles.
The dim candlelight illuminated the scene below, where a thin woman was curled up against the wall, her face as pale as paper and her expression sickly. She must have just woken up from a dream.
The little boy who had been snatching the braised meat saw her wake up and hurriedly called out, "Sister Wei, you're awake! How are you? Are you cold?" As he spoke, he covered her with a tattered quilt that had fallen to the ground.
The woman, addressed as Sister Wei, slightly raised her head. Her gaze inadvertently fell upon Meng Zhao, who was following behind the little boy. She immediately frowned and said to the little boy, "Xiao Chuan, did you steal someone else's things?"
Upon hearing this, the little boy buried his head in his chest and didn't say a word. Seeing this, the woman turned to Meng Zhao, her eyes full of apology and helplessness, and said, "Miss, I'm so sorry. It's all because of me that he did those things. I... I'll give you money for all the things he took from you."
As he spoke, he took out a few copper coins from his pocket, rubbed them vigorously with his clothes, and placed them on the quilt, asking Meng Zhao to take them.
Seeing this, Meng Zhao understood the general situation. At this moment, she regretted not chasing after him. If she hadn't chased, she would have only lost two packs of braised meat. But after chasing after him and seeing this scene, she couldn't bring herself to pretend she hadn't seen him and turn around and leave.
After hesitating for a moment, she said, "No, no, I just saw some commotion over here and came to check. He didn't take any of my things."
Upon hearing this, the little boy who had snatched the braised meat stared at Meng Zhao in shock, as if he had heard something unbelievable. His eyes were filled with doubt and confusion, and he couldn't understand why she was keeping it from him.
After realizing that she had misunderstood the little boy, the woman looked at him with guilt, her eyes filled with self-reproach and heartache. "Xiao Chuan, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you."
Meng Zhao saw the little boy shake his head vigorously and snuggle closer to the woman. The woman stiffened slightly, then gently pushed the little boy through the blanket, a complex emotion that was hard to detect flashing in her eyes.
After a long internal struggle, Meng Zhao finally spoke up: "Miss, are you sick? Should I take you to the clinic?"
Judging from their clothes, they didn't seem to be wealthy. The few copper coins on the quilt were probably their entire fortune. She would have let it go if she hadn't seen them, but seeing them and ignoring them made her feel really guilty.
When the woman heard Meng Zhao say this, she simply raised her head slightly, her eyes calm and indifferent, and said in an extremely flat tone, "Miss, you are a good person, but I am beyond help, so I won't trouble you any further."
Although the woman was pale and thin, she sounded no more than twenty years old. Her expression revealed a kind of resignation after experiencing many hardships, as if she had long since become indifferent to matters of life and death, and no longer had the fear and struggle that ordinary people should have when facing death.
Meng Zhao felt as if a heavy stone was pressing down on her heart, making her increasingly sad. However, she also understood that if the person was truly dying, there was really not much she could do to help her.
Although I have saved up some money, there are still many things to do. The orders for Chunfenglou's braising spice packets are huge, and I need to purchase a lot of various seasonings, which requires a considerable investment.
When the starch branch factory is to be opened in the future, there will be no ready-made ancestral hall for him to use. Buying land and building houses will cost a lot of money, and every expense must be carefully calculated.
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