Chapter 8: There is Room For the Poor Daughter
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Chapter 8: Do Not Underestimate
“What’s your name?” After feeding the boy who had been stabbed with rice soup, Daohua looked at the other boy.
The boy hesitated for a moment, seeming reluctant to answer, but eventually spoke: “Xiao Yeyang!”
As soon as the name came out, Daohua realized he was not an ordinary child.
Ordinary families wouldn't choose such a name.
Just like her; even though her father was a county magistrate of the seventh rank, having grown up in the countryside, she still had the plain and straightforward name “Daohua.”
Daohua gave Xiao Yeyang a once-over.
He looked about eleven or twelve, his face dirty, hair messy like a chicken’s nest, and his clothes were filthy and smelly. By these appearances, he seemed no different from the refugees outside.
However, from his straight posture and calm demeanor, it was clear that this child had received good upbringing.
While Daohua was sizing up Xiao Yeyang, he was also subtly observing her.
Delicate skin!
This was Xiao Yeyang’s first impression of Daohua.
Although Daohua was dressed as a boy, he automatically considered her as one, yet he found this boy not to his liking.
In his eyes, boys should be tall and strong, and looking delicate and fair like a girl was not acceptable.
Though her looks weren’t his type, her courage was commendable.
That act of throwing a stone to knock out the trafficker was undeniably brave and decisive!
Having made an initial judgment about Xiao Yeyang, Daohua pointed at the boy who had been stabbed and continued, “What about him? What’s his name?”
Xiao Yeyang shook his head. “I don’t know!” The children in the trafficker’s hands were abducted from various places, and they hadn’t been together long enough to get to know each other.
Daohua was surprised. “Aren’t you all in the same group?”
Xiao Yeyang replied, “No.”
Daohua asked, “Then how did you manage to escape together?”
Xiao Yeyang’s expression turned a bit gloomy. “Everyone else was too scared to resist the trafficker. Only he was unwilling and secretly came up with a plan to escape with me.”
Daohua nodded. “You both have quite a lot of guts.”
Xiao Yeyang glanced at Daohua and asked, “What about you? What’s your name?”
“I’m called Daohua.”
“Daohua?” Xiao Yeyang frowned as he looked Daohua up and down.
Why would someone choose a girl’s name?
Noticing Xiao Yeyang’s strange gaze, Daohua felt a bit puzzled but quickly understood. Since she was dressed as a boy, having a girl’s name would indeed seem odd.
“Ahem~”
The boy who had been stabbed woke up.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he was full of vigilance. After recognizing Daohua and Xiao Yeyang, he slowly relaxed.
“We… managed to escape?” He looked at Xiao Yeyang.
Xiao Yeyang nodded.
At this, the boy who had been stabbed finally felt relieved.
Daohua checked the boy’s wounds and applied more medicine. “I’ve just stopped the bleeding for now; you still need to go into the city to see a physician properly, understand?”
The boy who had been stabbed looked at Daohua with gratitude. “Thank you.” He knew that he was alive thanks to this little brother in front of him.
If it hadn’t been for Xiao Yeyang knocking out the trafficker with the stone, he might have been choked to death directly.
And this hemostatic medicine couldn’t be cheap; it was definitely better than what the old village physician used.
Xiao Yeyang silently sat aside, glancing at the small porcelain bottle in Daohua's hand several times.
What kind of medicine was that?
Its hemostatic effect was even better than the wound medicine used in the military.
Daohua turned to the boy who had been stabbed. “By the way, what’s your name?”
Zhao Ergou: “I’m Zhao Ergou; you can call me Ergouzi.”
Daohua nodded. This name was quite in line with the aesthetic of rural families at the time. “How did you two get captured by the traffickers?” They were both over ten years old, so it was surprising that they had been abducted!
As soon as she asked, both boys' expressions turned grim.
Zhao Ergou spoke first, his tone quite somber. “It was a drought back home. My parents secretly sold me to a family as a child husband. I didn’t believe it, so I ran away, but I encountered that group of traffickers on the way.”
Daohua sighed.
Life was tough for the common folk in ancient times. She believed Zhao Ergou’s parents didn’t want to sell him, but they had no choice to survive.
She had heard of many cases in Yanjia Village where families sold their children because they couldn’t make ends meet.
“What about you? How did you get abducted?” Daohua looked at Xiao Yeyang.
Xiao Yeyang’s face was sour, and he muttered, “I was caught along the way.”
“Hmm?” Both Daohua and Zhao Ergou turned to Xiao Yeyang.
Xiao Yeyang explained, “I was in a bad mood that day. Somehow, I wandered into an alley and happened to see a trafficker knock out a child, and then I got tied up too.”
Daohua was speechless, unsure of what expression to make. “You really are unlucky!” Wasn’t this the classic case of “sending someone’s head a thousand miles away”?
At that moment, Yan Wentao climbed into the cart.
As soon as he got on, he hurriedly said, “The traffickers are looking for us! They’re searching behind us. Grandmother told me to tell you not to make a sound.”
Upon hearing this, the hearts of Daohua, Xiao Yeyang, and Zhao Ergou all sank.
Daohua lifted a corner of the cart curtain, cautiously looking back.
They were currently positioned next to a roadside tavern.
Not only were they there, but there were also people from the escorts and quite a few others from various places.
At that moment, two burly men were aggressively checking everyone, even inspecting other people’s carts.
Seeing their determination to not leave until they found someone, Daohua let the curtain fall and frowned tightly.
Xiao Yeyang scanned the inside of the cart, realizing there was no place to hide anyone. After thinking for a moment, he said, “How about we get off? If the traffickers discover us, I’m afraid they’ll retaliate against you.”
The people helping them—both the old and the young—were no match for the traffickers.
Daohua immediately rejected the idea. “It’s too late to get off now. As soon as you do, they’ll find out.”
Yan Wentao was nervous, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “Grandmother said that as long as you don’t make a sound, you won’t be in trouble. After all, we’re with the escorts, and those two shouldn’t dare to confront them.”
Daohua shook her head. “The escorts might not care about us.” As she spoke, she took out her bundle again and rummaged through it, pulling out two small porcelain bottles.
Xiao Yeyang’s eyes flashed, and he then saw Daohua get off the cart and walk toward the people from the escorts.
When he saw the escorts members accept the porcelain bottles, Xiao Yeyang felt relieved.
Qin Wu looked at the porcelain bottle in his hand, then at Daohua, who was bouncing toward Old Madam Yan , and couldn’t help but feel impressed.
This child was clever enough to offer a bribe!
Casting a glance at his own cart, which had its doors tightly shut, Qin Wu instructed a young fellow beside him, “Xiao Liu, go watch over there. Don’t let those two burly men cause any trouble.”
Qin Xiaoliu immediately nodded and took two people to stand by Daohua’s cart.
After a while, when the traffickers came by, Qin Xiaoliu glared at them. “What are you doing? This is our escorts’s guest! Hurry up and leave!”
The traffickers looked at the cart, then at Qin Xiaoliu and the others, hesitating for a moment. However, after weighing their options, they turned and left, continuing their search elsewhere.
“Xiao Liu, you’re amazing!”
As soon as the traffickers left, Daohua looked at Qin Xiaoliu with admiration.
Among the entire escorts, he was the only one with a semblance of sympathy, probably because he had just started working with the agency.
Qin Xiaoliu felt a bit embarrassed, scratching the back of his head and quietly pointing to the cart. He whispered, “It’s best if the people in the cart don’t come out in the next few days. That group of traffickers might stick around for a while.”
Daohua’s eyes widened in surprise. “You… you knew there were people in the cart?”
Qin Xiaoliu proudly raised his head. “As soon as your cart joined the escort team, my fifth brother spotted it.”
Daohua’s cheeks stiffened. She thought they had been careful enough, yet they had still been discovered!
Were ancient people really that sharp?
Noticing her expression was off, Qin Xiaoliu hurriedly reassured her, “Don’t worry; we won’t say anything.”
Daohua gratefully said, “Thank you.”
Qin Xiaoliu waved his hand, indicating it was nothing to worry about.
Afterward, after receiving a pack of dried meat from Old Madam Yan , Qin Xiaoliu left with a big smile.
Watching his retreating figure and the people from the escorts in the distance, Daohua reminded herself to never underestimate any ancient person in the future!
(End of Chapter)
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