Chapter 12 Robbery (2)
Li Xiaoxiao sighed and looked at the two of them seriously, saying, "Do you know? Even in the apocalypse, trafficking in women and children is a capital offense."
What does "end of the world" mean? Qiangzi and the man in the khaki didn't know, but they definitely understood the crimes of trafficking women and children and the death penalty.
The two men kowtowed repeatedly on the floor, pleading, "Heroine, spare us! Heroine, spare us! Please let us go, we'll never dare to do it again."
Li Xiaoxiao weighed the silver in her hand: "This little bit of money isn't enough to spare you..."
Qiangzi quickly said, "But this is all we have. If you can let us go, we'll go home and get more. We can make up double the money!"
The man in the short brown coat quickly added, "Yes, yes, I can also offer double the amount."
Li Xiaoxiao's eyes widened: "You're going to go home and raise money? What if you run away? Do I look stupid?"
She shook her head and sighed as she circled the two men twice. Suddenly, she pointed to the oxcart in the corner and said, "How about this, you give me that oxcart as compensation, and I'll spare your lives."
She had been walking with the refugee group for over a month, and she was really tired of it. In such a backward and primitive era, having an oxcart to get around was already quite a luxury.
She nodded in satisfaction.
A pang of heartache flashed in Qiangzi's eyes. A bullock cart, including the bull, would cost at least twenty-five taels of silver. The three of them had bought the cart together, and they relied on it to travel around "doing business." They never expected to encounter such a murderous god who would even confiscate their bullock cart.
But what could they do if they didn't agree? Qiangzi and the others had never seen anyone so strong. He was eight feet tall and weighed over 150 pounds. With one over-the-shoulder throw, she sent him flying into the air before slamming him down. Qiangzi's limbs were still weak, and all his joints ached. He couldn't muster any strength at all. Not to mention the man in the brown coat, whose wrist had been snapped in one grip and was still hanging limply. And the one who was hit on the back of the head was still unconscious, and they didn't know if he was still alive...
They were too busy begging for mercy from such a formidable killer to dare to bargain. They hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, yes, we'll give the oxcart to you too, please spare us."
Li Xiaoxiao nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, I'll spare your lives then!"
She took a few steps forward, picked up the piece of firewood from the ground, and tapped it in her hand: "You may be spared the death penalty, but you will not escape punishment. Leave one leg for each of you, and I will not kill you."
Break their legs, let's see how they'll still try to scam people!
Qiangzi and the man in brown were shocked: "You—how could you go back on your word?"
Li Xiaoxiao looked completely innocent: "No, didn't I spare your lives?" She pointed at them with the firewood: "If I had sent you to the county yamen and let the magistrate judge you, do you think you would have seen the sun rise tomorrow?"
If the county magistrate were to judge the crime of trafficking in women and children, even if he didn't get the death penalty, he would at least be beaten half to death and exiled thousands of miles away. How many people died on the way to exile due to lack of food and clothing?
Qiangzi and the man in the short brown robe trembled with fear, their faces streaked with tears and snot: "Heroine, please spare us! We'll never do it again! We only did this because our families were poor. Please spare us, we'll go back to our hometown and farm..."
Li Xiaoxiao said coldly, "But when the women and children you sold begged you like this, you probably ignored them."
A few moments later, several shrill screams echoed from the deep alley, but they quickly fell silent as if someone had been choked.
Li Xiaoxiao clapped her hands, sat leisurely on the oxcart, and cracked the whip at the ox's rump. The old ox moved its four hooves, the wheels creaked, and the cart, pulling a load of straw and carrying an unconscious Liu Zhi inside, slowly headed towards the county government office.
Reaching the side gate of the county government office, she knocked on the main gate. Uncle Chai, the gatekeeper, opened the door and was immediately stunned: "Xiaoxiao? You—where did you get this car?"
Li Xiaoxiao: "Someone gave it to me! Uncle Chai, may my oxcart enter the yard?"
Chai Bo was stunned and couldn't come to his senses. She had gone out with Liu Zhi earlier, and in just two or three hours, she had returned in an oxcart? And what was wrong with Liu Zhi lying in the haystack? Had she fallen asleep or fainted?
He patted his head: "Logically speaking, the place where we keep livestock is in the front yard, where there are stables, but this oxcart of yours—" The oxcart is too slow, so the masters certainly don't use it. However, the firewood that is often needed in the back kitchen is usually delivered by someone else in an oxcart.
Uncle Chai sighed, “Wait a moment, I’ll go ask Granny Qi what to do.”
Uncle Chai only opened the gate halfway before running to the inner courtyard to find Granny Qi.
Li Xiaoxiao had no choice but to wait where she was.
Before half a cup of tea could be brewed, hurried footsteps came from the inner courtyard. Li Xiaoxiao looked inside and saw Granny Qi followed by Granny Mao, the two of them rushing over as fast as they could.
When they saw Li Xiaoxiao sitting on the oxcart, Granny Qi and Granny Mao were stunned. When they saw Liu Zhi sleeping in the straw, Granny Qi exclaimed in surprise, "Why is Liu Zhi sleeping here?"
Li smiled and said, "She was knocked unconscious by kidnappers and put in an oxcart covered with straw, ready to be sold. I happened to see it and snatched her back!" She sat up straight, her face showing a smug expression, as if she wanted to praise me.
Mao's mother was shocked: "What? Knocked unconscious by a kidnapper? How could this happen? Kidnappers are actually kidnapping children in broad daylight?"
Granny Qi rushed forward and hugged Liu Zhi, anxiously checking the child for injuries. Finding no obvious external wounds, she anxiously called out to Liu Zhi. Liu Zhi's body was limp, her eyes barely open, and she let out a weak cry: "Grandma..."
Granny Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Liuzhi, how are you? Is anything bothering you?"
Liu Zhi was several beats behind, then suddenly remembered what had happened before she fainted. She burst into tears and hugged Granny Qi, crying, "Waaah, Grandma, I've encountered a beggar!"
While comforting her with her precious baby, Granny Qi asked Li Xiaoxiao what had happened. They had clearly gone out together today, so how could Liuzhi have been kidnapped?
Li Xiaoxiao sighed, "That's right, I was at Huichuntang at the time, and she was at Jinxiuge..." She recounted how Liuzhi was abducted.
Granny Qi immediately understood: "These three people must be repeat offenders. One of them randomly claims to be relatives. When Liu Zhi starts crying and the passersby have doubts, the other two jump out and sing in unison to confirm the matter. Others will just think it's a family matter and generally won't care. Then they will cover Liu Zhi's mouth, knock her unconscious, and take her away."
Mother Mao exclaimed in surprise, "How could you be so arrogant? What happened next? How did you manage to save Liuzhi?"
Li smiled and said, "I beat them up, and they paid me money and even gave me an oxcart."
Mama Mao and Granny Qi exchanged a glance, speechless: "You, you fought three grown men all by yourself?"
Li Xiaoxiao nodded and said happily, "Aunt Mao, can I put this oxcart next to the woodshed? Then I can ride the oxcart when I need to go out in the future..."
While Granny Qi and Granny Mao were still concerned about the kidnapper, she suddenly changed the subject to the oxcart. Granny Mao glared at her and said, "This isn't over yet! Since you beat him up, why didn't you take him to the county magistrate? Our master is the county magistrate. If his own servants encounter something like this on the street, you should tie them up and let the master deal with them."
Granny Qi comforted her while holding Liu Zhi, but upon hearing this, she glanced at Mama Mao. Seeing the deeper meaning in her eyes, Mama Mao immediately swallowed back the words she had spoken to Xun Li.
Granny Qi said, "Wait here for a moment, I'll go and ask Madam how to handle this."
Li Xiaoxiao sighed, "Alright." What a hassle, another wait. It's a pity this place isn't hers, otherwise she'd build a shed next to the woodshed…
"What are you doing blocking this place?" A clear male voice rang out, and a young man wearing a scholar's cap and a light green robe appeared at the side door, followed by a page carrying a book basket.
Upon seeing him, Granny Qi and Granny Mao immediately knelt down and bowed, saying, "Young Master."
Li Xiaoxiao glanced at him blankly, jumped off the oxcart, and followed the example of Mother Mao by bowing.
Meng Guanqi had just returned from the county school, which was not far away, so he always walked: "No need for formalities, Granny Qi, what's wrong?"
Granny Qi dared not hide the truth, so she had no choice but to tell the whole story.
Meng Guanqi's previously calm and composed expression immediately turned serious: "Where are those three? Since they are habitual criminals who traffic in women and children, why not just tie them up and send them to the county government to await their fate?"
His gaze was like lightning, fixed on Li Xiaoxiao as if she had committed an unforgivable crime.
If he weren't still so young, with a touch of baby fat still lingering on his beautiful face, Li Xiaoxiao would have found his words even more authoritative.
His appearance didn't frighten Li Xiaoxiao, but it did frighten Mama Mao. She quickly pleaded for Li Xiaoxiao: "Young Master, please forgive her. Xiaoxiao is new to our household and doesn't know some of the rules. Besides, it's already quite an achievement for a young girl to rescue Liuzhi from three grown men. She probably didn't think that much at the time..."
Meng Guanqi then asked Li Xiaoxiao, "Your name is Xiaoxiao, right? I'm asking you, besides this oxcart, did they compensate you with any money?"
Li smiled and said, "Yes, I gave it to you."
Granny Qi and Granny Mao were shocked. How could this brat be so clueless? Didn't she know that the young master was already angry?
Meng Guanqi smiled slightly, his face calm: "How much did you give?"
Li Xiaoxiao reached into her pocket and took out the silver: "Eighteen taels."
Although Meng Guanqi was very surprised, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes. Was this girl stupid? Knowing that he was already so angry, she still brazenly took out the money she had received as bribes?
He calmly said, "You took eighteen taels of silver and their carriage, and then let them go?"
Li smiled and said, "They shouldn't be able to escape."
Meng Guanqi asked, "Why can't you run away?"
Li laughed and said, "I broke their legs, how are they going to run?"
A note from the author:
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