Although Qiao Qiqi was indeed a little scared, she showed no fear on her face.
His gaze swept over the three henchmen beside him, and he sneered again, "I admit, I have indeed made a few dozen yuan these past few days, but compared to a few dozen yuan, can't you guys broaden your horizons a bit?"
Seeing the four people looking at her blankly, still not understanding, Qiao Qiqi was speechless.
With an IQ like that, you still have the nerve to rob people? Feeling disgusted, she could only continue helplessly: "At five cents a pound of apples, one hundred pounds of apples would be five dollars. Can't you sell one hundred pounds a day? If you sell one hundred pounds, you can earn five or six dollars a day, and nearly two hundred dollars a month."
Seeing the light up in the eyes of the others, Qiao Qiqi felt exhausted.
"Such a simple calculation, yet you're all shouting and fighting for petty gains. I'd say you're all lacking in intelligence, to put it mildly."
“Boss, I think he’s right! Let’s buy his apples wholesale!” The stunning man was the first to speak, immediately saying to the bearded man.
A man standing next to him chimed in, "I also think he makes a good point."
Just as the third person was about to speak, the bearded man suddenly looked at the three of them with a look of utter disappointment and exasperation, "You idiots! He was clearly lying to us to get away, and you actually believed such a clumsy lie!"
The three men hesitated for a moment.
Finally, the man with the stunning looks said, "Boss, but I think what he said makes a lot of sense!"
A word of agreement instantly earned him a huge taunt from the bearded man.
"What makes sense? Apples are seasonal; they can only be sold for a month or two. After that, they're gone! Do I need to explain such a simple thing to you?" The bearded man said, exasperated.
The three men were reminded and then realized that the young man in front of them was lying.
Just before they changed their tune, Qiao Qiqi, seeing that her persuasion was ineffective, realized that she had to seize the initiative and suddenly picked up the apple basket and threw it at the four of them.
Then, as the four people reached out to take the apples, she quickly turned around and ran away.
"Stop!" The four men reacted, leaving one of them to pick up the apples while the other three chased after her.
Qiao Qiqi didn't dare to look back, and could only run forward with all her might.
Fortunately, she had been wandering around these alleys for the past few days and was quite familiar with the area.
But she was a girl after all, how could she outrun three tall men?
Hearing the shouts behind her getting closer, Qiao Qiqi quickly turned around, but the next second her face contorted in pain.
Oops!
I've got a stitch!
However, the main street is at least two streets away from here.
Realizing that she might have no hope of escaping, a look of despair flashed across Qiao Qiqi's eyes.
Just then, a hand suddenly reached out from the side.
Before Qiao Qiqi could react, she was pulled into a courtyard.
Then the courtyard gate closed quickly, followed by the sound of hurried, chaotic footsteps.
"Quick, after them!" The footsteps quickly faded into the distance.
Qiao Qiqi realized that the person who was chasing her had left, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Only then did he look at the courtyard he was in.
Upon closer inspection, he was taken aback.
Standing in front of her was none other than the little beggar who had stolen someone's cornbread a few days ago.
Upon seeing an acquaintance, Qiao Qiqi was immediately overjoyed, "Little beggar? What are you doing here?"
"This is my home." The little beggar's words had barely faded when a hoarse cough suddenly came from inside the house.
His expression changed, and he immediately turned around and went into the house.
Qiao Qiqi was puzzled, so she followed her inside and saw a little girl with two pigtails on the kang (a heated brick bed).
The little girl was about 5 years old. She had a small face and big eyes. Perhaps because she didn't eat well, she looked pale and thin.
"Little sister, get up and have some water." The little beggar helped the little girl up and brought her a bowl of water from the side.
The little girl took a sip and felt her throat feel a bit better. Then, she looked at Qiao Qiqi with a puzzled expression and asked, "Who is this lady?"
The little beggar glanced at Qiao Qiqi and said, "She's the sister who gave me 50 cents a few days ago."
The little girl clearly already knew about what happened that day, and her eyes lit up as she looked at Qiao Qiqi. "Pretty sister, thank you."
Hearing their conversation, Qiao Qiqi quickly said, "No need to be polite..." Suddenly, her expression changed drastically. She glanced down at her clothes, confirming that she was still disguised, and looked at the two of them with surprise: "How did you know I was a woman?"
Hearing this, the little girl smiled and said, "Sister, you're so pretty, with such fair skin, you're obviously a girl. The other day, my brother and I ran away from home..."
"Cough cough." The little beggar suddenly coughed.
The little girl was interrupted. She glanced at the little beggar, realized she had said the wrong thing, and dared not say anything more.
Qiao Qiqi noticed that the two seemed to be having a secret, but she didn't pry. After all, it's always good to be cautious, and this was only the second time she had met the little beggar.
Seeing that she had been inside for quite some time and that there seemed to be only the two of them at home, she asked curiously, "Aren't your parents home?"
“They’re dead,” the little girl said, then coughed again.
The little beggar quickly gave her water, but it didn't seem to have any effect.
When Qiao Qiqi came in, she noticed that the house was very dilapidated and the interior was extremely poor, with nothing visible inside.
Even on the kang (a heated brick bed) where the little girl was lying, there was only a dirty and broken cup; there wasn't even a mattress.
Seeing how simple the brother and sister's lives were, it's likely they couldn't afford medicine.
Thinking of this, Qiao Qiqi took out 10 yuan from her pocket and handed it to the little beggar. "Thank you for helping me just now. Consider this 10 yuan as my thank you. I see that your sister is coughing quite badly. You should take her to the hospital to get her checked out. Don't let it get worse and turn into pneumonia."
The little beggar's gaze shifted from shock to struggle as he looked at Qiao Qiqi.
Qiao Qiqi was afraid he would refuse, so she deliberately mentioned the little girl's illness. Sure enough, the little beggar didn't say anything to refuse, and gratefully accepted the money, even bowing to her solemnly.
"Sister, if we have the chance in the future, my brother and I will definitely repay you."
Qiao Qiqi quickly helped the person up. "I guess this is a case of good deeds being rewarded. I saved you before, and you saved me today. It's fate that we have this connection. Since that's the case, I can't just stand by and do nothing."
The brother and sister seemed to have suffered a lot, and upon hearing Qiao Qiqi's words, their eyes welled up with tears.
The little girl immediately wiped away her tears, suddenly missing her mother.
Qiao Qiqi couldn't bear to see the child cry, so she quickly comforted her and asked the little beggar to buy some eggs for her sister from the black market to supplement her nutrition. She stayed there until the people outside left before leaving herself.
Although she didn't know where the four people ended up, Qiao Qiqi dared not go to the black market again.
We had no choice but to take the bus back to the village.
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