Before Aqi and Xu Yuehuai could turn around, an old woman walked towards them.
"Times are tough, otherwise who would do this?" she murmured to herself. Xu Yuehuai pointed to himself, "Are you talking to me?"
The old woman was dressed in rags and looked pale and sickly.
His voice also fluctuated in pitch.
The old woman nodded hurriedly and pointed to a couple standing not far away.
The boy was about seven or eight years old, and the girl was slightly younger.
The two little ones stood blankly in the wind, which occasionally blew the straws they wore around their necks. Xu Yuehuai had never experienced this before, so she found it strange.
In fact, this is a common practice.
Farmers often have large families, and when they can no longer make a living, they may choose to sell two of their children, who are then called "two-legged sheep."
“Young lady,” the old woman cried, tears streaming down her face, “please buy my two children. They have such a hard life. Now that they are with you, they seem to have a glimmer of hope. If they stay at home, they will all perish.”
Xu Yuehuai was about to approach the young couple to take a closer look when he heard the sound of horses' hooves behind him.
Soon, the group of children selling people with signs scattered and ran away, while the adults also hid in the distance.
Although the old woman across from her turned around and left with the two little ones, her eyes, filled with worry, lingered in front of her.
Immediately afterwards, a group of men dressed as constables stepped forward.
One of them pointed menacingly at the crowd and said, "The imperial court has explicitly prohibited the buying and selling of people. Are you all going to break the law?"
The sound was very loud.
The group was terrified. The soldier was clearly satisfied and then said, "Everyone go home. If I ever see you all gathering here to do business again, I will arrest you all."
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
After the soldiers left, people gathered from all directions.
Xu Yuehuai thought they would stop there, but to her surprise, everyone returned to their previous positions and made the transaction in a daze. When the old woman returned, seemingly wanting to argue with her again, Xu Yuehuai hurriedly walked out of the alley.
Outside, the wind was gentle and the clouds were light, but heavy dark clouds hung in the blue sky.
The dark clouds looked just like anvils.
It looks like a downpour could happen at any moment.
Xu Yuehuai sighed, "So this is how pitiful everyone in the world is."
"It's nothing new, we're actually quite lucky amidst misfortune," Ah Qi remarked with an air of maturity.
Xu Yuehuai turned around, "How did you end up selling your child?"
"Grandma," Ah Qi leaned closer to Xu Yuehuai and said in a mysterious tone, "Didn't you notice anything unusual? There are no young or strong men here, only the elderly, women, and children."
Xu Yuehuai's heart skipped a beat.
Yes, the long street is often frequented by women.
Not to mention young and middle-aged men, even boys are few and far between.
This is a city permeated with an eerie atmosphere.
"Let's buy some food and then go."
The original plan was to stay here, but the atmosphere was strange and abnormal, so Xu Yuehuai changed the subject and led everyone to continue forward.
Before nightfall, the group finally left the town and reached the boundary marker for the next city.
A white marble stone is stuck in the ground, with the three characters "Wuming County" engraved on it. The calligraphy is strong and elegant, and quite beautiful.
Before entering, Xu Yuehuai and Aqi discussed strategies for making money.
Ah Qi still decided to take everyone to find herbs in the vicinity. In the afternoon, after selling the herbs, they saved up a few more taels of silver. When they arrived in the county town, where could they find a top-notch inn to stay in?
This group of people could only make do in a large communal room.
Fortunately, there were many of them, and they were coincidentally grouped together.
But too many people talking at once isn't necessarily a good thing.
Liu Cuiming and Zhou Qionghua have never had a good relationship.
The whole family was huddled together, squeezing her into a corner. Liu Cuiming was immediately furious and embarrassed. "What are you doing? This is outrageous! Don't you want me to get any sleep?"
"Auntie, what are you saying? It's the middle of the night. If you have any energy, you should go out and vent it. Why are you bullying the weak and fighting amongst yourselves here?"
"Internal strife?"
Liu Cuiming clenched her fists, wishing she could punch that chattering mouth.
"Who's responsible for the four of you every day, taking care of your food, drink, and basic needs? You're always fighting with us for food, clothes, and other necessities, and now what have I said?"
"Auntie, now that we've come this far, I'm not going to give you any face..."
Zhou Qionghua was no pushover either.
Seeing Liu Cuiming's sarcastic remarks, Zhou Qionghua also roared.
After a few rounds, Liu Cuiming was defeated.
Seeing the two arguing fiercely, the two children said in unison, "You two should stop fighting."
As a result, Zhou Qionghua slapped Jiang Qianqian across the face, her palm, the size of a palm fan, nearly killing her. "What did you say? You good-for-nothing, you're siding with outsiders!"
As for the other one who got scolded, it was Ah Qi.
In fact, ever since Ah Qi came here and devoted himself to helping everyone every day, everyone still felt that Ah Qi was out of place with them, and naturally assumed that Ah Qi was skilled in martial arts and had great abilities, so it was only right that he did all this.
Ah Qi was furious and jumped up and left.
After seeing Ah Qi leave, Xu Yuehuai stood up.
She didn't say anything, but her cold, piercing gaze, like that of an Asura, immediately silenced everyone.
The room was deathly silent.
"Anyone who says another word will be thrown out immediately."
After saying that, Xu Yuehuai stormed off like a bull charging into the sky.
Ah Qi stood on the rooftop, isolated from the world.
Xu Yuehuai looked closely and exclaimed, "You're really something! Standing on one leg like a rooster!"
"It's just practicing balance," Ah Qi leaped up and stood next to Xu Yuehuai. Xu Yuehuai smiled, "Don't take it to heart."
“They’re not going to amount to anything,” Ah Qi said firmly.
Xu Yuehua nodded, "They're just ordinary citizens. Do you expect them to be like Nezha causing havoc in the sea?"
Noticing that Ah Qi was holding a string of beads, Xu Yuehuai reached out.
"What is that?"
Ah Qi carefully gave the bracelet to her.
“This is a keepsake left by my mother. When I’m feeling down late at night, I like to hold this in my hand, as if my mother is right beside me.”
Xu Yuehuai turned the string of beads and smelled a strange fragrance.
It's a special kind of fragrance, different from spices. "What is this scent?"
"I don't know, but it's definitely the scent of these beads." Ah Qi smiled smugly.
Xu Yuehuai hurriedly returned the string of beads, saying, "This is the only keepsake your mother left you, so you must keep it safe."
"Yes." The boy nodded firmly.
Xu Yuehuai asked, "Do you still remember your mother?"
“My mother said that I was adopted. Before that, I had another mother, but I don’t know why she abandoned me. Oh, it’s a mystery.”
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