"Caw~ Caw~"
"Caw~ Caw~"
Outside the wooden carved window, the big tree was lush.
The old lady couldn't stand the cicadas' noise which she felt was interfering with her Buddhist ritual.
The servants had a daily task of catching cicadas.
Early this morning, however, there was a magpie with black head, neck and back but white belly and long tail standing on the branch cawing "Caw~ Caw~".
The old lady frowned slightly.
The weather was a bit hot. The manor in the countryside could only put some ice buckets, not too many, afraid of letting in the cold.
If it was in the capital city, there were cooling pavilions to escape the summer heat and avoid getting all sticky like this.
The old lady was advanced in age, afraid of both heat and cold.
"Grandmother, the magpie's cry is here to announce good news. Why don't Cui accompany you to the Qingyuan Temple outside the city to have some vegetarian food. You can stay overnight there before returning. Cui wants to offer the Buddhist scripture she copied for you to the Longevity Buddha, praying for grandmother's longevity of a hundred years and for the good health and safety of the whole family."
The old lady looked at her granddaughter, tall and graceful, wearing a half old and half new ruqun, with slender fair hands placed on the Buddhist scripture wrapped in an ink-blue cover, looking just like herself in her golden hairpin years.
"It's kind of you to have such filial piety, Ah Yao you go prepare."
Since they were staying overnight, there were a lot more things to prepare.
Food, utilities, beddings, incense, etc.
By the time everything was ready, it was almost noon when the grandmother and granddaughter finally set off in the palanquin.
......
"Croak~" "Croak~"
The mountain cats and eagles frightened Jiang Yu.
She looked back at her younger sister and saw her sister's face resting against her back obediently. She reached out and patted her younger sister's bottom.
Cui was also given a fright.
She pretended to stay calm and said: "Your younger sister is quite well-behaved, not crying or making any noise."
Little Mianmian was scared dumbfounded. My god, what kind of bird was that, how could it be so big, couldn't even fit in a pot for stewing.
She opened her mouth wide and drooled.
Seeing the little one's reaction, Cui found her quite amusing. She took another look at the little peddler ahead and shouted: "Hey, little peddler why are you walking so fast, wait for us!"
Jiang Mianmian looked up, he did seem to be walking very fast, carrying a huge load on his shoulder yet darting like an arrow, already quite a distance ahead of them.
Jiang Yu quickened her pace to catch up with Cui, while lifting her younger sister's bottom with one hand and complaining: "What a loss! What a loss! Cui, I want more meat buns to eat. I wore new embroidered shoes to accompany you on such a long walk, my shoes are almost worn out!"
With her bottom lifted by someone, Jiang Mianmian felt her legs had been kept apart for too long and needed a rest, otherwise keeping this position for too long would easily make her bow-legged and affect her looks when she grows up.
"Uh-oh, uh-oh." She called out while waving her arms.
The little peddler ahead put down his load and sat down to take a rest.
The peddler took out his water bag and asked Cui and Jiang Yu: "Young ladies, do you want to drink some water? It has sugar added, sweet for your mouth."
Both Cui and Jiang Yu shook their heads to decline.
But the little peddler still found two bamboo cups and poured water for them, drinking some himself too.
Seeing the little peddler drank it, Cui and Jiang Yu then picked up the bamboo cups and drank the water.
Jiang Yu smacked her lips, "A bit sweet but also some strange flavor, could it have gone bad?"
Still, she finished all the water in her cup earnestly.
Eager to be on their way, Cui also drank up her water.
They didn't have their guard up because there had been others following the little peddler to fetch goods, if anything went wrong, the little peddler with his small stature definitely couldn't overpower them.
And then Jiang Mianmian watched Cui and Jiang Yu sway and fall to the ground...
Her eyes widened.
Her mouth closed.
Was this a human trafficker? What human suffering was this?
Just then a brawny woman carrying a load on her shoulder ran out from the woods.
"You only promised to trick one back didn't you? Boss, but you've brought three!"
The woman nudged the two bodies on the ground and picked each one up to stuff them into her basket.
"This little one looks exquisite, not crying or making any noise, we can bring her back to bear offspring for us." The little peddler said.
The woman pried open the baby's legs to take a look and spat, "A bad deal, don't want her."
Jiang Mianmian: ......The humiliation was too much.
"Although she doesn't have value down there, we can raise her to marry into the Kuang family and have her work for us so Juan Er can enjoy prosperity in future." The little peddler carefully placed the baby into his basket.
"Why not give her some water?" The woman suggested.
The little peddler shook his head firmly: "No, too small, it would make her an idiot then she'd be useless. This child looks extraordinary, like she's born into a wealthy family. Even if Kuang Er doesn't like her, after raising her up she can be sold for good money. Maybe we'd even have enough to treat Kuang Er's illness and stop wandering destitute."
The little peddler and the woman carried their loads onwards and turned towards the outskirts of the city.
"After selling these two girls, we can't peddle goods on this side anymore." The little peddler sighed.
The woman sneered: "The money earned from peddling, was it enough for you to eat and drink or was it enough for Kuang Er's medication? This place has always been poor with nothing valuable after watching for so long."
Lying in the little peddler's basket, Jiang Mianmian had a bamboo lid covering her head and tattered cotton cloth cushioning her body. The smell was a bit strong but there was still light coming through the bamboo lid.
The swaying basket felt somewhat like a cradle, even more comfortable than being piggybacked by her elder sister.
Yet she felt very anxious.
Listening to the conversation between the two, their accent was a bit heavy and speech rather quick, she could only grasp the gist of it.
They seemed to be professional child traffickers.
Pondering what to do...what to do...
It's too difficult for a less than one year old baby to save herself.
Just then she saw Little Hei who had actually followed her here, perching obediently on top of the bamboo lid, looking like when she would lie inside the wooden basin at home, strangely giving her some sense of relief.
She reached out a finger to poke Little Hei's antenna on its head. Jiang Mianmian felt very anxious but still tried to concisely convey her request.
If you see people, go bite the little peddler, the short one, be careful of your safety.
Worried that Little Hei might not understand, she also gave it a drop of spiritual water.
It's time for you to show your true capabilities.
Seeing Little Hei finished the spiritual water and nimbly crawled away, even looking back at her once, she obediently lay there.
She felt as if she was a kidnapped ant queen...
Huge yet useless.
The little peddler and the eldest daughter-in-law hurried on carrying their loads.
Coming towards them face-to-face was a luxurious palanquin, with bearers, maidservants and two guards.
The little peddler and the eldest daughter-in-law did not appear flustered, they had done this many times, they would simply move on to another place after the deed.
As long as they didn't abduct children from wealthy families, it would be fine. Missing children from poor families could not afford to search for them.
The two carried on steadily with their loads, revealing humble smiles as they stood by the roadside to give way when they crossed path with the palanquin face-to-face.
Suddenly the little peddler cried out loudly twice: "Ouch! Ouch!"
As if bitten by some insect and in great pain that he couldn't help but yell at the top of his voice.
The palanquin stopped.
The palanquin curtain lifted to reveal an exquisite fair complexion.
On her head was a white jade hairpin and pearl earrings hung from her ears. With dark hair and big eyes.
"Grandmother, they look to be two peddlers." The young lady said as she turned towards the old lady.
