After hearing this, A-Mian shook her head: "I didn't say I wanted to buy it."
The old woman silently gritted her teeth, "I've seen the porcelain vase. Three hundred coins is a good deal. I can resell it for five taels of silver. This kind of good thing doesn't happen every day. If you're not going to buy it, then you might as well give it to me."
“Okay.” A-Mian explained earnestly, “I have several ceramic vases at home, and I have a child. Even if I buy something expensive, I have to be careful that she doesn’t break it. I’ll give this good thing to you so that you don’t waste things.”
"..." The old woman was trying to make them feel a sense of urgency, and upon hearing this, the smile that had been on her face froze.
On the other side, Meng Chijian sensed something was amiss. He took out a homemade baby carrier from beside the donkey cart. It was thick and easy to use, allowing him to carry the baby securely on his chest, freeing up his hands. He carried little A-Yue on his back, and the wood-chopping knife was within easy reach.
The old woman's fighting ability is negligible; Ah Mian can handle her. The worst-case scenario is that he will face the two arguing men.
However, it's unclear whether they were carrying any metal weapons or sharp blades, and since they were with a baby, they probably wouldn't resort to violence unless absolutely necessary.
“Lujia Village is just ahead, and we have something to attend to. Ah Mian, your brothers must be getting impatient,” Meng Chijian urged.
Amian was taken aback for a moment, then said, "It's been more than a year since we last met. My second and third brothers must have already run to the village entrance to wait for us. Well, Auntie, we'll be going now. You two can continue your conversation."
She got back onto the donkey cart and drove off without saying a word. After running for a while, she dared to look back and saw that the "farmer" and the "pawnshop owner" were still chasing after her. She was even more frightened: "So they were in cahoots, trying to cheat us out of our money."
"Not only that, buying the porcelain vase for three hundred coins is definitely not a bad deal... they have other plans."
Amian recalled the old woman chatting idly about the baby on the donkey cart and made a bold guess: "...Could it be that she wanted to kidnap little Yue? But she's just a little girl."
"Our baby is so beautiful, we have to keep a close eye on her. What if she gets sold into slavery?!"
After Meng Chijian finished speaking, he didn't hear A Mian's voice for a long time. He turned his head and saw that A Mian had two water bags in her eyes and was shedding tears. She looked very sad and didn't even want to talk.
"I was just saying what if, but it hasn't happened yet..."
Amian said, "I don't want to rush the train, I'll carry her."
"Let's drive a little further and talk once we get to the village." Meng Chijian thought, what if it's a trap within a trap? It's better to get to a safe place first.
"oh."
Fortunately, there were no unexpected situations on the way, and we made it into the village.
Ah Mian finally got to hug her beloved little Ah Yue. Little Ah Yue bit her finger and looked at her tearful mother, completely puzzled.
In Ah Mian's mind, she could already picture Xiao A Yue being taken away, with nothing to eat or wear, becoming skin and bones in just a few months, and being sold to a wealthy family as a servant. They would beat and scold her at the slightest disagreement. Xiao A Yue would definitely think that she had been abandoned by her parents!
"That was terrifying! I knew I shouldn't have spoken to any of them. I really thought they were selling porcelain vases."
Meng Chijian got off and led the donkey to his mother's grave in the woods. "It's not necessarily true. They might be after money. Don't be sad. Isn't A-Yue perfectly fine in front of you?"
Little Yue snuggled closer to A Mian, wiping away the tears on A Mian's face with her little hands. She put them in her mouth and was so disgusted by the salt that her little face scrunched up, making a "pfft pfft pfft" sound.
Ah Mian burst into laughter through her tears, "It seems that little Ah Yue is very lucky! She escaped danger!"
Then they found a sheltered rock, wrapped a cloak around it, and told Meng Chijian to go out and let Xiao Ayue out to eat.
After the sun came out for a while in the afternoon, Meng Chijian took Xiao Ayue and patted her to help her burp.
Ah Mian's emotions were like a gust of wind, coming and going quickly. She began to concentrate on burning paper money for her mother.
“Mother, I brought little Yue to see you. Everyone says little Yue looks a lot like me, but she’s much naughtier than I used to be. A few days ago, she deliberately stomped her feet in mud and climbed onto our bed, making it all dirty. Then, when she went back to her own little wooden bed, she wiped her feet clean, not allowing her sleeping place to get dirty at all. I really don’t know who she’s taken after.”
Meng Chijian: "...Cough!"
“Little Yue, come here. This is Grandma’s grave. Be a good girl and bow here so that Grandma can watch over you from heaven.”
The group of elderly men and women in Lujia Village who usually sit at the village entrance are secretly meeting again, sharing the latest gossip: "Weiwei's little girl is being raised quite well. Did you see A-Mian's family just now...?"
After exchanging knowing glances, everyone said, "We see, we see! Lu Amian's kid is a simpleton, all he does is eat."
They didn't know much about A-Yue. Their first impression of her was that she looked like a white dumpling, which was rare for a country girl. Their second impression was that little A-Yue was constantly biting into a small pancake that she couldn't possibly eat.
Her father told her to speak, or she wouldn't get any water. But little Yue wouldn't speak and even tried to cover her father's mouth with her hands.
It made her father laugh in exasperation.
They had witnessed everything that happened to Lu Weiwei's youngest daughter:
Lu Weiwei's child is a prodigy, both intelligent and sensible.
She could talk at ten months old, walk at one year old, and now at a little over a year and a half old, she can help her mother get her shoes and basket.
When they grow a little older, they'll definitely be able to help with a lot of chores around the house.
Besides, this is Weiwei's family's first child. Even if it's a girl, it's not a bad thing. She can help raise her younger siblings, and they can receive a dowry when she gets married.
Amian and her family were completely unaware of these rumors. Not long after leaving Lujia Village, they suddenly heard a loud, clamoring voice behind them: "My little one is missing!"
"...Erniu! Erniu! Where did that brat run off to?"
"Wait a minute, didn't I just see Stone playing with those kids earlier...?"
Many people stopped A-Mian's family's donkey cart and searched the place thoroughly without explanation. Apart from A-Mian's own little A-Yue, they couldn't find any of the other children.
"Don't blame us! Children have gone missing in the village, five or six children have disappeared—!!"
Lu Weiwei limped over, one of her shoes missing, and grabbed A Mian's sleeve in a distressed state. "Have you seen my little Ling'er? She never runs far!"
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