Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 571 - 532: The Leopard is Coming (1)

"Brought them, they’re asleep in the ox cart." One Tuft of Hair gestured towards the ox cart’s top.

The middle-aged maid adjusted her sleeves and headed towards the ox cart.

One Tuft of Hair middle-aged man reached out to stop her, "Price is one hundred liang of silver."

The maid raised an eyebrow, "You won’t be shortchanged, but the child must be shown to our young mistress first. If he’s healthy, you will receive the full hundred liang. If he’s dead, sick, or disabled, you’ll have to take him back yourself."

"A chubby little boy, with bright voice, all parts intact, guaranteed to satisfy you." One Tuft of Hair middle-aged man chuckled.

He walked over, pulled up the cart curtain, and said inside, "Bring the child over."

A woman with a thin face, from a corner of the ox cart, handed a baby boy wrapped in a large red blanket to the One Tuft of Hair middle-aged man.

The middle-aged maid immediately poked her head to look over, and indeed it was a chubby baby.

The baby radiated the unique milky scent of infants.

The little baby wore a small dark melon skin cap, exposing a small tuft of black hair.

His eyes were tightly shut, sleeping soundly.

"He was nine jin and one liang at birth, now only a month old." One Tuft of Hair middle-aged man added with a smile.

The maid did not take the baby immediately, instead she first uncovered the blanket to check between the baby’s legs. After confirming he was a boy, the middle-aged maid then took him in her arms.

"Wait here, I’ll take him inside to show our young mistress. If she has no objections, I’ll bring the money out right away." The maid carried the baby into the wooden house.

One Tuft of Hair man quickly ran up but didn’t dare to enter the wooden house, standing anxiously at the door and rubbed his hands together.

The thin-faced woman, worried that the One Tuft of Hair man would pocket the silver, also followed him up front.

Inside the ox cart’s top, Li Jing peered out through the gaps in the wooden boards. He heard a young woman’s voice from inside the wooden house, "I’ll take the child, give them the money."

The voice carried a trace of arrogance from someone in authority.

"Yes, young mistress."

Guoguo suddenly widened her eyes.

Li Jing’s lips curved down in disappointment as he whimpered, "Mother..."

Guoguo pulled him, "That’s not mother."

"It’s mother." Li Jing began to cry, "I want mother."

Crying, he climbed out of the ox cart, rushing towards the wooden house, "Mother!"

Guoguo saw him get off the ox cart and also slipped down.

But just as they reached the door of the wooden house, they were caught by One Tuft of Hair man and the thin-faced woman together, "Where are you running? Stop!"

"I want mother, I want my mother, is my mother inside?" Li Jing wiped away tears and cried.

"She’s not here, quickly get back to the cart." One Tuft of Hair man impatiently pushed Li Jing and Guoguo.

"No, I heard her voice, she must be inside, let me see my mother." Li Jing yelled, tearing up.

"No crying, if you cry again, I’ll slap you to death!" One Tuft of Hair man raised his palm.

The thin-faced woman grimly eyed Li Jing, "Behave, if you cry again, you’ll lose your eyes."

But Li Jing insisted that the woman inside was the Xue Family. No matter their threats, he was firm in finding her.

"What’s happening?" The woman inside’s voice sternly called, "Niu Ma, make them quiet!"

"Yes, young mistress." The maid pushed open the wooden house door again and came out.

Li Jing seized the opportunity as the door opened and quickly squeezed inside, Guoguo swiftly followed.

Upon seeing the woman inside, Li Jing froze, not mother?

Guoguo wasn’t surprised to see the woman.

She widened her eyes, staring angrily at the seated woman, her small hand inside her sleeve tightly clenched into a fist.

"It’s you two little devils? Ha! Born by a mother, but with no upbringing!" The woman was Miss Chai.

She glanced disdainfully at Li Jing and Guoguo.

Outside, One Tuft of Hair man repeatedly apologized, "Young mistress, sorry, these children didn’t scare you, did they?"

The maid pushed past him, entering the wooden house.

"You... you are..." Li Jing couldn’t recall Miss Chai, forgot who she was, realizing she wasn’t his mother Xue Family, Li Jing’s expression instantly turned forlorn.

"Young mistress, the two little ones didn’t scare you, did they?" The maid quickly asked.

"No, I’m fine." Miss Chai glanced at the sleeping baby in her arms, "The baby is fine too."

"That’s good." The maid sighed in relief, "Young mistress, I will chase them away now."

"Yes, yes, chase them away, we’ll take them away." One Tuft of Hair man said with a smile.

The maid grabbed the two children from both sides and pushed them out, "Get lost! Stay away from here!"

"Wait a moment!" Miss Chai suddenly said again.

The maid paused, "Young mistress?"

Miss Chai pointed at Guoguo and Li Jing, "Sell these two children far away! Preferably, sell them to a brothel!"

She glared coldly at Guoguo and Li Jing, a cold smile curling at the corners of her lips.

Guoguo glanced back at her, also curling his lips in a cold smile.

Miss Chai met her gaze, a sudden leap of fear surging through her heart unbidden.

What an odd thing, why would she be afraid of a one-and-a-half-year-old girl? "I’ll add five more taels of silver. Sell them to the kiln immediately; hurry!"

The two people outside rubbed their hands with delight, "Yes, yes, yes, please rest assured, young mistress."

Guoguo looked at Miss Chai coldly, taking out the golden whistle from her collar and started blowing.

A one-and-a-half-year-old child’s toy, the tune was chaotic and disordered, drawing no attention.

The maid was worried she’d disturb Miss Chai and the children, forcefully pushing her out.

But just then, the thin-faced woman outside the wooden house said tremulously, "Dear... dear, what... what is that?"

"What? In broad daylight, have you seen a ghost?"

"No, it’s..."

"Ah!" One Tuft of Hair shouted in fear, pushing open the wooden house door and rushing inside.

The thin-faced woman also rushed into the house.

Guoguo pushed Li Jing aside as they rushed inside.

The two rolled over to the pile of firewood in the corner of the wooden house.

The maid hadn’t reacted, and the rebound of the door hit her on the forehead, making her yelp in pain.

"What’s wrong with you, causing trouble? Frightening our young mistress, you’ll face a lawsuit!" The maid mocked coldly.

"Leopard... leopard... there’s a leopard outside!" One Tuft of Hair pressed against the door, trembling in fear.

The thin-faced woman was so scared she wet her pants, sitting on the ground trembling, unable to utter a word.

Outside, the low growl of the leopard approached gradually.

This simple wooden house was merely a temporary refuge for summer workers, an escape from the scorching sun, constructed with ventilation in mind, making it breezy. The largest gaps were wide enough to stick an arm through.

At this moment, the people inside the wooden house could clearly see the leisurely approaching Big Flower Leopard outside.

Guoguo glanced at the dumbfounded crowd, pulling Li Jing to the corner where they crouched against the wooden wall, peering through the gaps to observe the leopard outside.

The leopard was Guoguo’s big kitty.

Guoguo brought back a Big Flower Leopard. Besides Li Xingmao, Li Yuzhu, and Mu Yuanxiu, Guoguo also informed Li Jing.

Li Jing was a child, bold like a newborn calf facing a tiger, fearing not the leopard.

Because Guoguo wasn’t afraid either, and because the leopard treated Guoguo very well.

Guoguo whispered in Li Jing’s ear, "Don’t tell anyone, the big kitty is ours. They’ll catch the big kitty and sell it."

Li Jing widened his eyes in fear, nodding earnestly, "I won’t say." He whispered.

On the other side, Miss Chai and the few others went pale with fright, barely breathing.

Fearful of alerting the leopard.

For the wooden walls of this small wooden house could not withstand much.

Even a woman’s kick could break through it.

One Tuft of Hair sat by the door, staring out through the crack without blinking, praying desperately for the leopard to leave soon.

Yet the leopard didn’t leave, instead, it lay down at the entrance of the small wooden house, squinting at the door.

The adults inside the house all turned pale with fright.

Niu Ma was startled by the leopard, mooing once and then galloped away with the cart frame.

One Tuft of Hair’s middle-aged man was anxious to stomp his feet, yet dared not make a sound.

His ox cart, purchased for thirty taels of silver, had only been in use for three months and couldn’t be lost.

However, the more he feared Niuniu running off, the more contrary Niuniu acted, speeding up and quickly disappearing into the forest, vanishing from sight.

Even the cart frame was pulled along and disappeared.

The thin-faced woman angrily pinched him.

One Tuft of Hair was also furious, but what could he do?

He couldn’t rush outside to chase the leopard away and retrieve Niuniu.

He was afraid of being bitten by the leopard.

"A hundred taels!" The thin-faced woman glanced at Miss Chai, quietly reminding One Tuft of Hair, "The children have been given to her, but haven’t received the payment yet, go get it quickly!"

With the ox cart gone, those hundred taels from selling the children couldn’t be missed.

One Tuft of Hair nodded, turning to Miss Chai and said, "Young mistress, as agreed, hand over the money when handing over the children, a hundred taels."

Miss Chai was trapped here, feeling irritated, she lowly laughed, "There’s a leopard outside, I can’t escape, why are you in such a rush?"

The maid also mocked, "Did you lure the leopard here? You’ll take the money and steal the children, and we can’t chase. We lose money and lose children, you sure have a smart plan!"

One Tuft of Hair waved his hands repeatedly in protest, "No, not, it’s a misunderstanding, I didn’t lure the leopard here, I don’t have that skill."