Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 567 - 0528: Who Are They? (1)

"One hundred taels, I want fifty." The woman snorted coldly.

The man with a tuft of hair immediately flared up, "Why don’t you just aim for the sky? I’m risking my neck here, and you do nothing but keep watch, yet you want fifty taels?"

The woman with the gaunt face sneered, "Do you think you’re good with kids? Every time, it’s me who soothes them down to avoid suspicion. If you’re so capable, why don’t you deal with the kids yourself, instead of coming to me!"

The middle-aged man with a tuft of hair was at a loss for words and fell silent.

He really wasn’t good with kids.

The little brats would be won over with candy and toys, but in less than an hour, they’d be crying out for their parents.

The first time he did this, it aroused a passerby’s suspicion, who threatened to report him to the authorities.

It scared him so much that he abandoned the child and fled.

Later, he thought of a method: after grabbing a child, he’d drug them to keep them asleep and quiet.

But who knew these kids couldn’t handle drugs. It was fine for a day or two, but one child, not sold in time, was drugged for ten days and ended up dying.

Leaving him with all his work wasted, and he lost dozens of coins on the drugs.

Then he met this woman, and to be honest, her skill at calming kids was top-notch. Except for a few especially fussy ones that she gave a small amount of drugs to keep quiet, most kids were utterly compliant with her.

The man with the tuft of hair took a deep breath, considering the pros and cons, and softened his tone, saying, "We don’t even have the child yet, and we’re fighting over shares. Isn’t that ridiculous?"

The woman with the gaunt face looked at him sideways, "So you’re saying once we have the child, you’ll give me half?"

The man with a tuft replied, "Even then, it won’t work. We should talk about it when the money’s in hand. When we have the child, how much we get is still up to the buyer. What if that woman suddenly decides to only give fifty taels?"

That reasoning made sense.

The woman with the gaunt face stopped arguing, "Alright, just remember that. Otherwise, hmm!"

"I know, I know, you’ll get your share." The man with a tuft laughed slyly.

.

After Aunt Hu and her daughter were driven away, the Liu Family gradually calmed down.

Some onlookers, rushing to their fields, also gradually dispersed.

Li Yuzhu watched the children for a while and then got up to leave with Mu Yuanxiu.

Liu Laoda arranged for Er Niu and San Niu to see them off together.

Li Yuzhu smiled, "We’re all so familiar, there’s no need to see us off. Go back. It’s rare to come home; spend more time with your family."

She waved to Er Niu and San Niu, then left holding Mu Yuanxiu’s hand.

As they walked home, they talked about the Liu Family along the way.

"Da Niu had a son, and Hu Shuangcheng’s mother didn’t get her hands on the baby; I doubt she’ll let it go." Li Yuzhu became worried, "Mu Yuanxiu, do you have any good ideas? Yuanxiu? What are you looking at?"

Mu Yuanxiu was looking at a middle-aged couple driving an ox cart ahead.

The man’s face had a tuft of hair, the woman’s cheekbones were high, her cheeks gaunt, and her eyes had a strange look when she glanced at others.

"What’s up? Yuanxiu, who are they?" Li Yuzhu tugged Mu Yuanxiu’s hand, curiously asking.

Mu Yuanxiu let go of her hand and walked over to the couple, "You’re not from this village? Which village are you from?"

The middle-aged man with a tuft of hair noticed a young man approaching and didn’t give Mu Yuanxiu much attention.

"Why, is this road built by your family?"

Mu Yuanxiu said coldly, "I’m the village patrol assigned by the village chief; am I not allowed to ask?"

To better manage county security, the county government required each village chief to assign patrol members to report suspicious individuals to the village chief, who then reports to the Pavilion Chief.

The patrol men were all sharp and capable young people from the village.

The middle-aged man with a tuft of hair, who frequented various villages, knew about this.

The patrol was not to be trifled with; if they got upset and refused entry to the village, how would he catch kids to do business?

"We’re from Huang Village in Da’an Village, just looking for work here to see if anyone needs day laborers. Can’t we come to this village?" The middle-aged man with a tuft watched Mu Yuanxiu and asked.

Mu Yuanxiu scrutinized him for a couple of seconds, nodded slightly, and left with Li Yuzhu.

After walking some distance, Li Yuzhu glanced back at the two and whispered, "Those two look sneaky; they don’t seem like good people."

"They’re indeed not good people," Mu Yuanxiu sneered.

Li Yuzhu quickly asked, "Do you know them? What bad things have they done?"

Mu Yuanxiu looked at Li Yuzhu, squeezing her hand, "Thieves."

Li Yuzhu snorted, "I thought so, their eyes are sleazy, either staring at my face or my clothes. They must be planning to steal my money."

"They can’t steal from you," Mu Yuanxiu squeezed her hand tightly.

Li Yuzhu chuckled, "That’s for sure." Thinking of something, Li Yuzhu stopped, "Since these two are thieves and have come here, is there a household they’re targeting? Should we go back and check?"

Mu Yuanxiu looked at her, "I just warned them. They probably don’t dare to make a move today. Let them be; without them making a move, we have no evidence to catch them, and they might even accuse us. However, now that they’ve shown up here, if anything happens, we’ll have evidence to catch them."

Li Yuzhu thought for a moment, "That’s true. Just because they’ve done bad things before, we can’t catch them without evidence. Let’s not worry about them for now."

The two returned to the Li Family.

Uncle Gui saw them return, smiling, "Second Miss and Second Boy are back. They’re resting in their respective rooms. Oh, right, they brought back a lot of gifts. Yours are with Madam."

Li Yuzhu smiled, "I’m going to see what Second Sister bought for me."

But she didn’t go to the North Courtyard Main House immediately; she first went to the South Courtyard House to check on Chai Eying, then headed to the North Courtyard Main House.

Chai Eying was due next month, and Li Yuzhu checked her health twice a day.

Mu Yuanxiu didn’t follow; he talked to Uncle Gui, "Was Guoguo well-behaved today? Did she run around?"

Guoguo was a peculiar child. Despite so many people in the house, Guoguo liked Li Yuzhu and Mu Yuanxiu the most.

She would inquire about them both if she didn’t see them for a day.

Li Yuzhu was her aunt and always kind to Guoguo, so Guoguo’s fondness for her was understandable.

But Guoguo’s attachment to Mu Yuanxiu puzzled many.

Mu Yuanxiu wasn’t talkative, apart from giving Guoguo toys, he didn’t play with her much.

Yet Guoguo cared about Mu Yuanxiu more than her several uncles.

Mu Yuanxiu also liked Guoguo tremendously.

He often inquired whether Guoguo had run off.

Since it was hard to hide things from the sharp-witted Mu Yuanxiu, Uncle Gui decided to be truthful.

"That child, she went into the bushes again today. I don’t even know what’s so fun there; she came back with her hair full of grass." Uncle Gui reminisced about Guoguo’s earlier state, both amused and exasperated, "She even tried to sweet talk me into keeping it a secret—just with that little trick, can she fool her father?"

Uncle Gui, talking about the clever Guoguo, couldn’t help but laugh.

Mu Yuanxiu slightly furrowed his brow, pondering, "Uncle Gui, when Guoguo ran out, was there any stranger lingering at our house entrance? Someone like a couple driving an ox cart?"

Uncle Gui blinked, "Oh, I wasn’t paying attention. Yuanxiu, is there anything happening?"

Uncle Gui also knew that at the end of last year, Yuanxiu was selected by the village chief as a patrol member, tasked with monitoring strangers entering the village.

Mu Yuanxiu smiled, "Oh, nothing, I’m just worried Guoguo might run into bad people. She’s clever and cute; what if a bad person took her away?"

Uncle Gui hurriedly said, "Don’t worry, Yuanxiu. I keep a close watch on the gate daily. She won’t run off indiscriminately."

Mu Yuanxiu smiled, "Thank you, Uncle Gui."

"Oh, it’s nothing. Guoguo calls me Grandpa; I treat her like my granddaughter. She’s our precious granddaughter. No bad guy would dare to kidnap her. If anyone did, I’d break their legs!" Uncle Gui patted his chest, vowing confidently.

While they were talking, Guoguo toddled over to them, her pigtails bobbing with every move, full of childlike charm.

"Grandpa Gui, Uncle Yuanxiu." Guoguo panted as she ran, calling out sweetly.

"Look at this child, such a sweet mouth." Uncle Gui laughed, squatted down, and opened his arms to embrace Guoguo.

But Guoguo rushed towards Mu Yuanxiu, clinging to his legs and looking up at him, "Hold me."

Mu Yuanxiu smiled and picked her up.

Uncle Gui stood up, feigning an angry face, "Hey, Uncle Yuanxiu’s here, and Grandpa Gui’s no longer favored?"

Guoguo turned to look at Uncle Gui, smiling brightly, "Grandpa Gui held me this morning. Now it’s Uncle Yuanxiu’s turn."

"Hahaha, this kid, she knows how to talk about fairness." Uncle Gui laughed heartily.

Mu Yuanxiu looked at Guoguo, eyebrows furrowing slightly, thinking how a child who talks about fairness didn’t receive fair treatment before.