20: Chapter 20 The Little Girl We Picked Up

"This little girl was picked up by me on the road."

After hearing this, Mo Dahu looked at the little girl.

"Picked up?"

"Mn."

Mo Shoutian held the little girl and sat by the table, briefly recounting the matter of meeting that woman on the road.

After hearing this, Mo Dahu's face suddenly turned somewhat awkward.

"I told you so, Brother Shoutian is definitely not that kind of person."

Mo Xiaohu glanced at him without making a sound.

Mo Dahu shouted toward the inside of the stall:

"The child's mother, bring over some food first, and put more meat in it."

Not long after, Dahu's wife walked out carrying a bowl of meat soup and two white flour flatbreads.

She placed the items on the table, her gaze falling on the little girl's face.

"This little girl is quite endearing in her looks."

Seeing her approach, the little girl shrank further into Mo Shoutian's embrace, her right hand tightly grasping his lapel.

Seeing that she was afraid, Dahu's wife did not step closer, but simply pushed the meat soup in front of Mo Shoutian.

"Give some to the child to eat first."

Mo Shoutian picked up the spoon, scooped a spoonful of soup, blew on it near his mouth, and then brought it to the little girl's lips.

The little girl secretly glanced at him, opened her mouth, and drank the soup down.

Mo Shoutian fed her a few more mouthfuls, and seeing that she was eating anxiously, he tore the white flour flatbread into small pieces and soaked them in the meat soup.

Dahu's wife stood aside and watched for a moment, and couldn't help laughing:

"Brother Shoutian, I couldn't tell that you actually know how to take care of children."

Mo Shoutian said:

"These past few days have all been gotten through like this."

Dahu's wife reached out wanting to touch the little girl's head.

The little girl immediately buried her face into Mo Shoutian's embrace, gripping his lapel even tighter.

"Alright, alright, I won't touch you."

Dahu's wife withdrew her hand and glanced at the clothes on the child's body.

After the little girl was full, Mo Shoutian began to eat.

Mo Dahu sat opposite them and glanced at the carriage outside.

"Brother Shoutian, where did you go? You left for so many days without even telling your sister-in-law."

Mo Shoutian took a sip of the meat soup and said:

"I made a trip to Jiuzhou City."

"What? You went to Jiuzhou City?"

"Mn."

"Were this horse and carriage bought as well?"

"Mn."

Hearing him say this, Mo Dahu walked toward the carriage.

He originally wanted to take a look at the carriage and the horse, but after getting closer, he saw the heavy crossbow loaded on the carriage.

He turned around, looked at Mo Shoutian, and asked:

"Going to Jiuzhou City this time was just to buy this big fellow?"

"Mn."

"What is this thing used for?"

"It's used for hunting large beasts."

After hearing this, Mo Dahu walked closer and carefully inspected the heavy crossbow.

"Can this gadget shoot and kill the large beasts in the back mountain?"

"Whether it can shoot and kill them is hard to say, but I think it's about right."

Mo Shoutian took a bite of the flatbread and continued:

"This thing cannot be used by a single person; just pulling back the crossbow string requires four or five people working together."

Mo Xiaohu, listening from the side, spoke up and asked:

"Are you planning to find people from the village to do this together?"

Mo Shoutian nodded.

"Depending on me alone won't work."

Mo Xiaohu immediately said:

"Then count me in."

Mo Shoutian glanced at him.

"We'll talk after we get back."

Mo Xiaohu was somewhat displeased.

"What else is there to talk about? Besides you, who else in the village has more experience entering the mountains than me?"

"It's not just about knowing how to hunt."

Mo Shoutian said:

"This heavy crossbow cost over thirty taels of silver, and each crossbow bolt costs one tael. When using it, who pulls the string, who releases the arrow, and who lures the large beast all need to be arranged in advance."

"If we mess around blindly, not only will we fail to hit the large beast, but we might also hurt our own people."

After hearing this, Mo Xiaohu did not argue further.

"Fine, we'll talk when we get back."

After finishing his meal, Mo Shoutian left a few pieces of broken silver for Mo Dahu.

Mo Dahu refused to accept them no matter what.

"You've been gone for over twenty days, and you come back to eat a meal of mine, yet you're still giving me silver?"

Mo Shoutian did not say much more to him and directly placed the silver on the table.

"The stall isn't just yours alone, and things don't just blow in on a strong wind."

Having said that, he picked up the little girl and walked toward the carriage.

Mo Xiaohu also followed and got onto the carriage.

The carriage left Qingshi Town and hurried toward the direction of Mo Family Village.

"Brother Shoutian."

Mo Xiaohu couldn't help asking:

"What is this child's name?"

"I don't know."

"Where does her family live?"

"I don't know."

"What is her relationship with that dead woman?"

"I don't know either."

Mo Xiaohu opened his mouth.

"You didn't know anything at all, yet you brought her back?"

Mo Shoutian looked at the road ahead.

"What else could I do if I didn't bring her back? There's no way I could leave her alone by the roadside, right?"

After hearing this, Mo Xiaohu didn't say anything more.

At noon two days later, Mo Shoutian drove the carriage back to Mo Family Village.

People in the village rarely saw a carriage, and children from several households along the road heard the commotion, all running out to follow behind the carriage and watch the excitement.

Some children recognized Mo Shoutian driving the carriage and immediately shouted into the village:

"Brother Shoutian is back!"

"Uncle Shoutian is back!"

Liu Chunmei was burning a fire in the kitchen, and hearing the shouts outside, the firewood in her hand dropped to the ground.

She didn't care to pick it up, standing up and walking outward.

Mo Xiaochuan was a step faster than her, having already pushed open the courtyard door and come outside.

Just as the carriage stopped at the entrance, Liu Chunmei also walked out from the courtyard.

She first glanced at Mo Shoutian sitting on the carriage, and then carefully looked him up and down.

Confirming that he was not injured, she then said:

"You still know how to come back?"

Mo Shoutian jumped down from the carriage.

"I was delayed on the road for a few days."

"A few days?"

Liu Chunmei glared at him.

"You've been gone for over twenty days."

Mo Shoutian knew she was truly experiencing Life Qi, and did not talk back.

"This matter is my fault; next time I will definitely tell you in advance."

Just as Liu Chunmei was about to continue speaking, she saw a little girl sitting on the carriage.

"Whose child is this?"

Mo Xiaohu jumped down from the carriage and spoke first:

"Sister-in-law, don't be anxious first; this child was picked up by Brother Shoutian on the road."

Liu Chunmei looked at the little girl and then looked toward Mo Shoutian.

Mo Shoutian recounted the events on the road once more.

After hearing this, the anger on Liu Chunmei's face dissipated a lot.

She walked to the side of the carriage, reaching out wanting to lift the child down.

The little girl immediately hid behind Mo Shoutian.

Liu Chunmei didn't force it either, simply saying:

"Don't be afraid, I'm not a bad person."

She pointed toward the courtyard.

"There is hot water at home. In a moment, I will wash you up and change you into clean clothes."

The little girl didn't speak, only secretly looking at her.

In the end, it was still Mo Shoutian who lifted the child down from the carriage.

Mo Xiaochuan had been standing beside the courtyard door the whole time.

"Dad."

Mo Shoutian looked at his son, glanced toward his room, and then nodded.

Mo Xiaohu walked over at this moment, glanced at Mo Xiaochuan, and said:

"Ayo, Xiaochuan, I haven't seen you these past few days, why do you look like a completely different person?"

Mo Shoutian smiled.

"Is there? How come I didn't notice?"

"Look at that skin, it's white and tender, almost catching up to a young maiden."

"I think you're just longing for a wife. Later, I'll have your sister-in-law quickly arrange one for you."

After saying this, Mo Shoutian gave Mo Xiaochuan a look.

Mo Xiaochuan understood tacitly, turned around, and returned to his own room.

Seeing his son return to the room, Mo Shoutian then said to Mo Xiaohu:

"Xiaohu, have the people at the entrance disperse. I've been out for over twenty days and I'm tired. You should go back early too. In a couple of days, I'll have your sister-in-law make a few more dishes, and we'll have a good drink together."

"Alright, Brother."

After saying this, Mo Xiaohu glanced at the heavy crossbow again.

"Brother Shoutian, don't forget your brother when it comes to hunting large beasts. Those beasts in the back mountain have injured so many people in our village."

Mo Shoutian nodded and said:

"Rest assured, I'll call you first when the time comes."

Mo Xiaohu nodded happily.

"Brother Shoutian, you said this yourself, alright."

Having said that, he walked to the courtyard entrance and said to the children who were still looking at the carriage:

"Alright, alright, all go back. Another day, Uncle Xiaohu will drive the carriage and take you all to play in Qingshi Town. Now all go home."

The children made a commotion for a while before each returning home.

Mo Shoutian first drove the carriage into the courtyard, unhitched it, tied the horse to the wooden stake in the courtyard, and only then said to the little girl:

"Little girl, we're home."

Liu Chunmei looked at the little girl and said:

"Could this child be a little mute? I talked to her for half a day, yet she didn't say a single word, nor would she let me hold her."

Mo Shoutian smiled.

"She's not a mute."

After saying that, he picked up the little girl and entered the house.