“Even if I give you this bicycle, will you help my family? I’m afraid not, right? Your family is so used to snatching things from others, and now you want to snatch things from my house?”
There was a little harshness in the last sentence.
After all, he was once a soldier and had killed people on the battlefield. He retained an imposing manner and could still be very fierce.
He glared at them and none of the Qiao family members dared to speak.
Even Qiao Zhuang just opened his mouth but did not say anything.
“I’ll say this today. Don’t you dare have any ideas about my Mei Mei’s betrothal gifts. Those things all belong to her and she can do anything with them. You’re not allowed to take even a single needle and thread!”
Qiao Qiang’s voice was firm and powerful.
These words caused the Qiao family members to be speechless and they stood on the spot, looking at one another. For a moment, the courtyard fell into a strange silence and no one said a word.
After a while, Qiao Zhuang stood up and shouted, “Go back!”
He stomped his foot on the ground, which made a loud sound. Then he stood up first and walked towards the main door.
Behind him, the Qiao family members also filed out. Their greedy gazes swept across the bicycle in the courtyard and they left reluctantly.
After they left, the entire courtyard finally fell quiet.
Qiao Qiang sat on the stool and recalled the first time he saw Qiao Mei. At that time, he had just returned from the capital. Once he got home, he only managed to find out that his son had died of illness and his daughter-in-law had remarried.
His only granddaughter was being fostered by his second brother, Qiao Zhuang.
He hurriedly ran to Qiao Zhuang’s house, only to see a very skinny girl in the courtyard. The hair on her head was very sparse and her entire face was sallow and thin, and it looked as if a gust of wind could blow her away.
The little girl sat alone in the courtyard, washing clothes.
Her small body looked so small in front of a big basin and it was shocking to see her small hands covered in sores.
Upon asking, he was surprised to find out that this little girl was Qiao Mei!
Without another word, he brought Qiao Mei back to his house. In the blink of an eye, so many years had passed and that skinny little girl from back then had grown up so well.
“Grandfather!”
Just as Qiao Qiang was immersed in his memories, he did not realize that Qiao Mei was already behind him. He responded softly, looking a little down.
If only he had come back earlier, his granddaughter would not have suffered so much.
Qiao Mei quickly went in front of her grandfather with a handful of bean sprouts.
She beamed and showed it to Qiao Qiang. “Grandfather, look. Our bean sprouts are ready. We can sell them in the city tomorrow!”
She looked extremely happy.
“Good good good!” Looking at the fresh bean sprouts in her hand, Qiao Qiang could not help but cheer three times. “I’ll go with you tomorrow morning. I won’t be at ease if you go alone. You haven’t been to the city yet!”
“Okay! Grandfather, you go in to rest first. I’ll clean up the house,” Qiao Mei replied obediently.
After Qiao Mei finished cleaning up, she fell asleep quickly.
Early the next morning, the two of them woke up to crowing sounds coming from the backyard. At this time, it was just early dawn and the air was very fresh.
Qiao Mei prepared a simple breakfast and ate with Qiao Qiang before they set off for the city.
She carried a large basket of bean sprouts on her back. When she thought of how nice the bean sprouts looked, she felt happy and not tired at all. After all, she did have a lot of strength.
After transmigrating here, her strength was the thing she was most satisfied with. Not only could she punish evil people to protect herself, but she could also do farm work!
The village was more than ten miles away from the town and the two of them had to walk there.
The two of them started walking before dawn and it took them more than an hour to reach the town. They only took a break when they reached the train station in town.
Not long after, they got on a train that came through the town and arrived in the city.