Xiangxi?
After learning that Gao Yuyuan and the Oil Rat were in Xiangxi, Huo Sining instinctively looked over at Qibao.
Huo Sining rembered very clearly that when she first t Qibao last year, the child was in a sorry and panicked state. It was said that his father and grandmother had both passed away, leaving him alone. To avoid being sold by Uncle Shanzhang to the kiln factory as a child laborer, the child had escaped from the Miao Village on his own.
"Qibao, do you want to go back to the Miao Village and have a look?"
Huo Sining asked tentatively.
As soon as Qibao heard Huo Sining’s words, his face imdiately turned pale. He shook his head vigorously like a rattle drum, his eyes filled with terror and fear. Clearly, that Shanzhang had caused significant harm to his young mind, making him change color at the ntion of the Miao Village.
"Sister doesn’t want Qibao anymore? Qibao will be very good, won’t cause trouble!"
Seeing Huo Sining suddenly ntion going back to the Miao Village, Qibao, who had already settled down, suddenly beca anxious and uneasy again. He tugged at Huo Sining’s trouser leg, asking anxiously.
Huo Sining had known from the beginning that the child lacked a sense of security. Now seeing Qibao like this, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of guilt.
"That’s not true. How could sister not want you? Sorry, sister didn’t consider your feelings. If you don’t want to go back, then we won’t. Qibao, wherever you want to be is fine."
Huo Sining reached out and held the little one in her arms, soothing him softly, her hand continuously stroking the back of Qibao’s head, calming his emotions.
With Huo Sining’s reassuring promise, Qibao finally relaxed, his voice carrying traces of timidity and fear:
"I’m not afraid to go back, it’s just, I’m afraid that if Shanzhang sees back, he’ll capture again."
Huo Sining couldn’t help but laugh at his words: "You’re my brother now, your household registration is under sister’s household book, that’s a legal identity. No one can take you away from sister’s side, sister is here to protect you!"
Qibao finally felt relieved. When talking about what happened last year in the Miao Village, his expression noticeably lightened.
Huo Sining had never delved deeply into Qibao’s past in the Miao Village. Now that the topic had co up, she couldn’t help but ask more questions.
"Qibao, I’ve only heard you talk about Aba and Amu, but what about your mother? Why haven’t you ntioned her?" This was sothing Huo Sining was curious about.
Qibao’s expression imdiately turned somber: "Qibao doesn’t have a mother. Aba said she died in childbirth with Qibao. Qibao has never seen her, so people in the Miao Village called Qibao a wild child."
Huo Sining was stunned to hear this, not expecting the child’s background to be even more tragic than hers. This is really...
"Why would the Shanzhang want to sell you to the kiln factory? A child like you wouldn’t fetch much money, right?"
The Shanzhang that Qibao ntioned was actually the Clan Leader in the Miao Village, similar to a village head, but the Shanzhang held more authority as the villagers usually followed the Clan Leader’s orders.
This was what puzzled Huo Sining. A child of Qibao’s age was clearly not old enough for hard labor.
A child of six or seven has no labor value; selling such a kid to a kiln factory wouldn’t make them money and they’d have to feed him as well. Such a deal doesn’t make sense.
If she were the Shanzhang, instead of selling the child to a kiln factory, she might as well sell him to the city where human traffickers would offer a higher price.
Huo Sining also speculated that maybe the Shanzhang had a grudge against Qibao’s family, but if that were the case, Qibao wouldn’t affectionately call the man Uncle Shanzhang. And from Qibao’s tone, it seed the relationship with the family wasn’t bad, at least when Qibao’s father was alive, the Shanzhang should have been on very good terms with the family, with no hostility at all.
Qibao also felt puzzled by Huo Sining’s question, and after shaking his head, he fell into thought. After a while, he seed to rember sothing and said:
"During the ti when Amu was seriously ill, the Shanzhang visited our house several tis. Each ti, Amu would send out to play. Once, being too tired to go out, I secretly hid next door, waiting for Shanzhang to leave before coming out."
"I overheard Shanzhang asking Amu for sothing and rummaging through the room. Amu seed very angry, got up and held a dagger to Shanzhang’s throat. Shanzhang looked scared and pushed Amu away before running off."
"After that, Amu’s condition worsened. She coughed nonstop, even coughing up blood, and didn’t last much longer before passing away."
Huo Sining beca curious upon hearing this. What was the Shanzhang after, and why would he go to Qibao’s ho, pressuring a gravely ill woman? Wasn’t that kicking soone when they were down?
"What was the Shanzhang looking for, was it your family’s savings book?"
This was all Huo Sining could think of. People die for wealth, birds for food; in such situations, people might abandon morals for money.
But Qibao couldn’t give her an answer to this question because he himself didn’t know: "I don’t know, Shanzhang didn’t say."
Huo Sining was puzzled: "You didn’t ask your Amu?"
Qibao shook his head: "I did, but Amu turned pale when I asked her and got angry, telling not to be curious. When Amu got sicker, I didn’t dare ask again."
This further perplexed Huo Sining: "Didn’t your Amu give you anything before she passed away?"
"No, Amu was seriously ill, and the family’s money was almost exhausted. When she passed, several elders from the village were present. She took out all the money, barely enough for a coffin, and asked the elders to hold a funeral for her. She didn’t have ti to say anything else or give anything."
Qibao seed to recall the scene of his Amu’s final monts, and his eyes turned red involuntarily.
Huo Sining, however, furrowed her brows unconsciously, unable to understand what the Shanzhang was trying to find at Qibao’s grandmother’s, and why he wanted to sell Qibao to the kiln factory.
Could it be that Qibao’s grandmother had so leverage over the Shanzhang, making the Shanzhang mistakenly think that what was given to Qibao’s Amu had been passed down to her grandson? To keep this from coming out, did the Shanzhang, in desperation, try to send Qibao to the kiln factory to ensure that his leverage wouldn’t be exposed?
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