Chapter 28
Chapter 28
He stared at the apple in her hand and could not help but swallow. Qiao Mai sighed softly, turned around, and moved all the seeds in the basket into her space. Then, she took an apple from the basket and handed it to the little boy.
“There!”
The little boy walked up to her and reached out to take the apple.” Thank you, Auntie.”
He was ten years old, and she was only sixteen. There was a difference of six years. How did she feel when she was called auntie?
Qiao Mai shook her head and was about to leave when she saw him bite into the apple. An old woman ran over from behind.
Qiao Mai frowned at the old woman when she saw that the old woman was about to snatch the apple from him.
“I gave this to him. Why did you snatch it from him?”
The old woman stopped and looked at Qiao Mai. “We don’t know each other. Why are you so generous?”
Qiao Mai was so angry that she almost laughed. “I ate an apple, and he followed me all the way. I don’t need an apple. What’s wrong with giving him one and stopping him from following me? Could it be that I drugged him in the apple?”
“Who knows? Hmph!”
As they spoke, the little boy had already eaten half of the apple. Qiao Mai was new here and did not want to cause trouble.
“He’s almost done eating. I’ll wait for fifteen minutes. If nothing happened, pay me for the apple.”
“Why?”
“You framed me!”
“Who told you to feed my young master?”
Qiao Mai took a deep breath. “Looks like I can’t be a good person. Why don’t we go to the government office?”
“You, you little lady, are you so heartless? You want someone to follow you to the government office just because you gave an apple?”
“Or what? I should let you, a vicious woman, frame me?”
As more and more passers-by came to watch the show, Qiao Mai cupped her hands at everyone.
“Everyone, be my witness. I ate an apple, and this child has been following me. I kindly gave him one, but this old woman came up and said I drugged her young master.”
“It’s hard to be a good person in this world. Look carefully. This child has already finished eating. If nothing happens in fifteen minutes, I’ll leave. If this vicious woman comes looking for me later, please be my witness.”
At this moment, the boy finished eating the apple and stared at her.
“Auntie, I still want to eat.”
Qiao Mai rolled her eyes. “Little one, I don’t dare to give it to you anymore. You should hurry back with your caretaker later.”
The boy glanced at the old woman. “She’s not my caretaker. I don’t know her.”
Qiao Mai narrowed her eyes. “So, you’re a human trafficker?”
The old woman was shocked and hurriedly explained to everyone.
“I’m not a human trafficker. I’m this young master’s nanny. Today, the old master instructed me to follow him to play.”
“Tsk, who would believe that? Since you’re his nanny, why did he say he doesn’t know you?”
The surrounding commoners heard the boy’s words and questioned the old woman.
The old woman was embarrassed.
“Young Master had a high fever when he was young. His brain is different from normal people. You can’t believe what he says.”
“Tsk, who would believe you?”
“That’s right. Hurry up and report it to the authorities. If she’s a human trafficker, this little boy will be in danger.”
The old woman was anxious. She was filled with regret. If she hadn’t been so nosy and said such unpleasant words just now, Young Master wouldn’t have been angry with her and misunderstood her as a human trafficker.
Qiao Mai crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking like she was watching a show. This old woman had been dishonest and framed her. Now, she would let her have a taste of her own medicine.
At this moment, the patrolling officer walked over with a sword at his waist.
“What are you all doing here?”
Seeing the official arrive, the commoners made way for him. The official saw a young woman, an old woman, and a little boy surrounded.
“Granny Xiao, what are you doing here?”
“I’m accompanying my young master out to play.”
Only then did the officer see the little boy’s appearance clearly, and a smile immediately appeared.
“So it’s the Wang family’s little prince.”
At this moment, the old woman became arrogant. “Officer, please be reasonable. They all say I’m a human trafficker. I think she’s the one who looks like a human trafficker! She gave my young master an apple and asked him to leave with her.”
The officer looked at Qiao Mai, who Granny Xiao was pointing at. “Tell me what happened.”
Qiao Mai recounted everything that had happened, and the officer glared at the old woman.
“Alright, it’s all a misunderstanding. Let’s go. Granny Xiao, hurry up and bring your young master home. It’s your fault for losing him. Be careful not to be punished when you return.”
“Yes, yes.”
The old woman knew that Qiao Mai would be fine no matter what she said, so she pulled the boy’s hand and wanted to leave. Unfortunately, the young master did not move.
Qiao Mai turned to leave, but the boy shook off the old woman’s hand and was about to follow her.
Qiao Mai turned around helplessly. “Officer, you see? He’s been following me like this.”
“Auntie, fruits. I want to eat fruits.”
Qiao Mai put down the basket and opened it to show the little boy the empty contents.
“There’s no more. I went to the mountains to pick these. I ate one and gave you one.”
The little boy was extremely disappointed. He held back his tears and was about to cry out loud.
At this moment, a pleasant female voice sounded. “Zihan, Zihan?”
The little boy turned around immediately when he heard the voice. He saw a girl around the age of fifteen and pounced on her.
“Sister, I want to eat fruits. I want to eat big red fruits.”
The girl wiped his tears and nodded at the two officers. The maid beside her quickly stuffed a dime of silver to each of the officers.
“Don’t cry. Let’s go. I’ll take you to buy it.”
“I want hers. She has it.”
Qiao Mai shrugged at the girl. “I only have two. I ate one and gave him one. That’s all.”
The girl smiled apologetically at her. “I’m sorry. My brother is naughty and has caused you trouble.”
“It’s fine.”
Qiao Mai turned around and left. Behind her, the little boy wailed.
She couldn’t help him. An apple couldn’t solve the problem. The doctor should help him the most.
Ever since she came to the prefecture, Qiao Mai had never stopped. She spent all her time exploring and basically visited all the places she could.
What surprised her the most was that in a flower and bird pet shop, someone treated quails as birds and sold them in cages.
No one would buy such a bird. Its chirping was not pleasant, and its appearance was not beautiful. It was merely a little rare.
No matter how rare, it was worthless if no one bought it. So when she asked the shopkeeper, he immediately sold it to her at a cheap price.
He gave her seven dispirited quails for a tael of silver, including the cage, as if he was afraid she would go back on her word.
Qiao Mai thought, “What a fool. If this thing breeds well, it’s not slower than a chicken laying eggs. Moreover, its nutritional value is better than eggs.”
She would take it if they didn’t want it. Her daughter is about to grow up. When the quail eggs are laid, she’ll cook them for Ling’er to eat and make noodle soup. It’s delicious.
As soon as she left the shop, she placed the quails in her space and let them run freely.
After all, the poop was taken care of by itself, so it wouldn’t be dirty. She sprinkled some millet on the ground and put water in a box. Seeing them fight for food, she felt relieved.
Good things come in two!
She got the seeds and the quails. Qiao Mai rubbed her shriveled belly and went to the largest restaurant in the prefecture.
Although her outfit was ordinary, it was still good enough for a meal. Since she was not worthy of a private room, she could go to the hall.
After finding an inconspicuous corner and sitting at the table, a waiter automatically brought water to her.
“Little miss, what do you want to eat?”
“Give me two of your shop’s signature dishes and a bowl of rice.”
“Alright, please wait a moment.”
A plate of garlic bacon, a plate of fish slices, and a bowl of rice were quickly served on the table.
Qiao Mai was so starving. She held the bowl of rice and started wolfing down the food. When she choked, she would drink a mouthful of water.
She continued eating. Halfway through the meal, another person stood at the table.