Chapter 37: Good and Evil
“Grin, grin~”
“Grin, grin~”
Noon.
There were no birds in the forest. Only the sound of cicadas.
The sound of the cicadas was as dense as a net, trapping people in the middle.
Several youths were roughhousing in the forest, baring their teeth and making faces.
One of the youths climbed up a tree, sat on a branch, and looked down from a high vantage point.
Sitting high up, it seemed there was a breeze.
A light breeze lifted the youth’s bangs, revealing a faint, dark red scar that looked like a flower from afar.
The youth sat on the branch, gazing into the distance.
There was a road; the sun baked the road until it seemed to smoke, and there was no one around.
He thought, if Mother knew he had come to rob people on the road, she might come running with an axe in hand.
However, he didn’t want to rob passersby; he was just here waiting for the “Big Brother” that Gouzi spoke of.
Gouzi said his Big Brother was the Fourth Leader of the stronghold, and he was very formidable.
After finishing this job, Big Brother would surely become the Third Leader, and then he would take him along to eat and drink well; this was their “pledge of allegiance.”
They didn’t know what a “pledge of allegiance” meant, they just felt it sounded very impressive.
“Whenever a hero joins a gang, they must offer a pledge of allegiance.”
If you don’t do bad things and don’t get blood on your hands, how could they dare to trust you?
Once you have blood on your hands, there is no turning back.
Father said that criminal acts should not be done, or at least not done openly; that was the stupidest thing to do.
If you must do it, find a good escape route.
The road before him was narrow, winding and twisting, with no end or escape in sight… it was the best path for robbery.
…
The sunlight slanted, shining on the face of the girl in the sedan, casting a soft glow.
Greed flashed in Little Peddler’s eyes.
Before he could put on a humble expression, he couldn’t help but cry out, “Ouch.”
Little Peddler’s wife was even less composed, because there was a girl in each of the baskets she carried.
She had just glanced inside and saw an old lady in the sedan, holding prayer beads, looking like a living Bodhisattva.
Usually, her husband did the kidnapping, and she just helped carry them.
She was very fierce toward her husband, but she didn’t say much when they were outside.
Usually, they would just pass by; such important people wouldn’t look at them.
But her husband had to go and shout, and she didn’t know what he was shouting about.
He was courting death!
At this moment, she suddenly noticed that the lid of one of her baskets wasn’t closed properly, pinning a piece of a sleeve, and sweat dripped down her forehead.
Little Peddler also noticed the sleeve, but he grabbed his wife’s trembling hand and pinched it hard.
Then he smiled humbly at the people in the sedan: “I am a local peddler, bringing good things from the county town to sell in the villages. If the Madam or Miss wants anything, I have it all.”
Aunt Yao looked at the tattered baskets with disgust and said, “What could you possibly have from the county town, let alone ‘have it all.'”
Old Madam also frowned slightly; it was too hot, and stopping in the middle of the road was improper.
She still had to go worship Buddha.
Suddenly, there was a “click” sound.
The lid of Little Peddler’s basket rolled out.
Everyone’s gaze couldn’t help but look over.
They saw a fair and tender infant lying on the dark, tattered cotton cloth.
The little infant was waving her arms, looking very cute.
Sweat dripped from the woman’s forehead onto the ground; she felt deep regret, wishing she had strangled this little thing earlier.
Jiang Mianmian dared not cry.
Because she was worried that if a child cried, she would be strangled, and also worried that crying would annoy the passersby.
She could only try her best to kick off the lid and then put on what she thought was her cutest expression.
At home, when she looked like this, Sister would kiss her, Brother would pat her head, Mother would ask if she was hungry, and Father would hold her.
She kicked off the lid, and with her good eyesight, she saw the people in the sedan.
She recognized them. She recognized them all.
Jiang Mianmian was a bit excited.
People she knew were better than human traffickers.
Sister was still in the basket; now that the little girl had been kidnapped, her fate would surely be tragic.
At this moment, she felt that the little girl in the sedan was even prettier than the last time she saw her.
She was more than just delicate and pretty; she was like a fairy descending from heaven, a fairy sister.
She waved her arms, shouting “Iya yayaya.”
Sure enough, the little girl spoke.
“Is this your child? She is quite pretty.”
Little Peddler endured the pain in his body, picked up the child, and pulled his wife to kneel by the roadside, saying: “We are poor and have no one to take care of the baby, so we have to carry her while selling goods. If the noble thinks my baby is good, it is a blessing she has cultivated for eight lifetimes. If you are willing, I will give her to you. Just give her something to eat; it is better than her suffering with us.”
Little Peddler said this with tears rolling down.
The woman followed along and kowtowed on the side.
Meanwhile, she used her body to block the basket.
Jiang Wan was a bit startled by this scene and turned to look at her grandmother.
Old Madam frowned: “How can we let someone of unknown origin into our home? Give them some money and send them away.”
Jiang Wan took out a handful of broken silver and threw it out, saying: “I was just complimenting your child; I did not mean to take her away. A child is best off living with her parents. Take this money and buy her something good to eat; let this be our only encounter.”
Saying this, the sedan curtain fell.
The group left swaggering away.
Little Peddler and his wife knelt and watched the sedan leave.
The sedan continued forward.
Old Madam recited an “Amitabha.”
The old servant A-Yao kept her eyes on her nose and her heart on her heart, not saying a word. She was experienced and saw at a glance that the two peddlers were suspicious, and she also noticed the coarse cloth peeking out from the basket.
A peddler who wanders the streets and crosses mountains and rivers, if they can survive, who knows what they have done?
Although The Peddler and the woman, one tall and one short, hid it well, they couldn’t conceal their fierce aura. Such people were desperate and vicious, and getting involved with them would only bring trouble.
A-Yao didn’t want to cause trouble or ruin the Madam’s mood; it was rare for the Madam to be willing to go out for a change of pace.
She didn’t want to expose them either; it was fine to let Miss Jiang Wan do a good deed.
Jiang Wan sat in the sedan, recalling the scene just now, feeling a bit strange. It seemed she had seen that child somewhere before. Her memory was very good; although she couldn’t say she had a photographic memory, she could remember things after reading them two or three times.
She just couldn’t recall it.
However, she had given money, and if the other party could eat something good, it could be considered a good deed.
Jiang Wan fingered the Buddhist scriptures she had copied, full of anticipation for the trip to Qingyuan Temple.
The scenery in the back courtyard of Qingyuan Temple was excellent.
It was located high up, allowing for a distant view, with the mountains and rivers in full view, suitable for painting.
…
Watching the sedan disappear, Little Peddler and his wife excitedly picked up the broken silver on the ground.
The wife didn’t care that the silver was covered in dirt; she put it in her mouth and bit it. Seeing the tooth marks left on the silver, she said excitedly: “Husband, it’s really silver. I wanted to strangle this little thing just now, but I didn’t expect her to be lucky.”
Little Peddler was also covered in sweat. He put the infant back into the basket, covered it, and shouted: “Juaner, quickly check my back. Did something bite me? It hurts like hell.”
The wife lifted The Peddler’s back, and sure enough, there were two large, red, swollen lumps. But after taking off his clothes and even unbuttoning his pants, turning him around, she couldn’t find what insect it was.
“We must leave the city as soon as possible, husband, otherwise it will be troublesome if the villagers come looking for us.” The woman moved some of the things from her husband’s shoulder pole to her own basket.
“Let’s go.”
Little Peddler’s load was a bit lighter; he gritted his teeth and stood up, swaying.
His face was pale, but he still tried his best to move forward.
“Hurry up, let’s sell these girls and buy medicine for Kuanger. Kuanger is at home waiting for us.”
The sun was scorching. The disheveled couple carried large baskets, rushing for their livelihood, fighting desperately for their sick child.
Inside the baskets were three children belonging to other families.
