bookcurios Chapter 168 One child, three treasures
Chapter 168 One child, three treasures
"Don't even think about it."
Jiang Mianmian pushed the food away from her, saying, "He already sent people to kill me, and you still want me to give him the food? Dream on! Go away, you don't need to eat either, just stand over there."
Such an impolite attitude frightened the surrounding maids and servants so much that they dared not breathe.
However, Master Yuan didn't dare to say a word in rebuttal. He not only stood slumped in the corner, but also apologized, "It's my fault. I failed to raise my son properly. I was talking nonsense. Please don't be angry, young lady."
Jiang Mianmian wasn't intentionally trying to embarrass him; she was just angry whenever she thought about what Yuan Pei had done.
Actually, judging from her several interactions with Master Yuan, although he was bad and stupid in the past, he was good at knowing when to stop, cooperated well with her, admitted his mistakes quickly, and was obedient.
As she ate, she asked, "Have you prepared the land deeds for all your mines? Have the people inside started to leave? I don't want something like what happened at the Gujing Iron Mine to happen again."
Yesterday, when the two of them started talking, Master Yuan brought up the matter of the ancient well iron mine. He said it wasn't his original intention, but rather that the people below him were disobedient. However, no matter what, it was troublesome for her.
What she needs most right now is time and talent!
"It's already been arranged!"
Master Yuan hurriedly said, "At most three days, I will definitely give you several clean mines! I will also investigate the people inside, so Miss Mianmian can rest assured."
"Row."
After Jiang Mianmian had eaten and drunk her fill, she put the rest of the food into the warehouse.
The two then went to get Yuan Pei-an a prosthetic leg. "You need to do more practice as I told you, and you'll be able to try standing up slowly."
Yuan Pei has no lower legs and has to stand and walk using prosthetics, which is indeed quite difficult, but not impossible. Moreover, these two prosthetics are completely lifelike, and there are four wheels under his feet. They can be unfolded to replace walking when needed, and can be folded up and completely invisible when not in use.
Two servants helped him up and first tried rolling him around a few times. He was overjoyed, exclaiming, "I can really stand up!"
His gaze towards Jiang Mianmian was complex. After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke, "Thank you."
"It's just a collaboration."
Jiang Mianmian looked at him with a complicated expression.
It really moves on wheels, just like a ghost! It would be terrifying to see it in the middle of the night!
She ignored him. "Alright, Mr. Yuan, don't forget our agreement. I'll come back in a few days to collect their ransom and your mines."
"Okay, you can rest assured."
Having witnessed the girl's prowess, Master Yuan had completely humbled himself.
After leaving the Yuan family, Jiang Mianmian headed straight for the horse farm that Liao Jian had mentioned.
Just as he had guessed, there were only three hundred horses left in the horse farm. The other horses were either dead, stolen, or sick or weak.
Jiang Mianmian did not show herself directly, but observed for a while and found that there were only about twenty people left in the horse farm. However, they were taking very good care of the horses, which showed that they really cherished these horses.
The horse farm owner, Liao Ping'an, ate and lived with these people, and was completely free of the messy affairs that Liao Jian had.
Jiang Mianmian originally wanted to release Liao Jian to talk to him, but when she saw that Liao Jian had been beaten so badly that she couldn't bear to look at him, she had no choice but to knock on the gate of the horse farm herself.
What they called a gate was actually just two rickety wooden planks.
There was a large gong next to it; if you struck it, the whole horse farm could hear it.
"When~~~"
The mallet was wrapped in cloth, so the sound was muffled and far-reaching, not only so as not to startle the horses, but also to be clearly heard inside.
Jiang Mianmian nodded secretly and took a basket of eggs and two pieces of meat from the warehouse.
The wooden planks were flanked by low fences, and you could see a child darting over to open the door. "Who are you?"
"I'm looking for Manager Liao, is he here?"
Jiang Mianmian held up what she was holding, "I came to visit him on behalf of his uncle."
"Who? His uncle?"
The child was a little confused. "Who is my dad's uncle?"
It turns out this child is Liao Ping'an's son. "Your father's eldest uncle is your great-grandfather. You might call him Grandfather?"
"Ah! It's Liao Jian!"
The child's face changed drastically, and he slammed the door shut and ran away.
"?"
Jiang Mianmian was almost hit on the nose and quickly took a step back.
Oh dear, what a blunder! It seems Liao Jian's reputation in the Liao family isn't all that great. Look how scared that kid is!
That day he even said that mentioning him could help him pick a good horse, what utter nonsense!
She pushed the door a few times but couldn't budge it. It seemed the child was quick and had even locked the door.
These were all law-abiding citizens, so she couldn't just barge in. She banged the gong a few more times and even brought out the megaphone. "Liao Ping'an, come out quickly! I need to talk to you! Do you want those horses to recover?"
With a series of gong sounds, there was finally some movement inside.
Liao Ping'an rushed out, "Miss, I'm sorry, the child is being unreasonable. I haven't had a free hand to help him. Please come quickly."
He was wearing a coarse linen garment, which was covered in blood.
"What are you doing?"
Jiang Mianmian followed him inside and closed the door behind her. "What happened?"
She thought Liao Ping'an didn't want to see her, but it seems he really was tied up with something.
"A mare was having a difficult birth. She had just given birth to one baby when another one came out, and she couldn't give birth to it!"
Liao Ping'an was so anxious that he didn't pay attention to where he was going and even tripped over a stone. "Miss, please go inside and sit for a while. I'll be right there."
"I'll go with you; maybe I can help."
There are so many things in the warehouse; maybe some of them will actually come in handy.
As soon as Jiang Mianmian finished speaking, a woman came out of the house carrying a large basin of hot water. "Miss, please come inside quickly, don't be frightened, I'll go."
This is Liao Ping'an's wife, Wei Xue, who also has a lot of blood on her body.
Jiang Mianmian didn't argue with them. She went inside, put her things down, and then followed the two women to the back of the house, where a separate birthing shed had been set up for the mare.
Under the shed, a horse was struggling desperately, its straw mat already soaked in blood.
The four men standing by were somewhat at a loss. Pressing down on it might hurt it, but if they let it continue to run wild like this, the foal inside its belly would definitely not survive!
Liao Ping'an's chin trembled. "What should we do? What should we do?"
"Let's do it, Ping An. If we delay any longer, everyone, big and small, will die!"
Mrs. Liao's voice trembled with tears, her hands gripping the shovel, veins bulging, "We might as well steel ourselves and try to save the baby."
This means killing the mare first, then cutting open her belly to take out the foal and save its life!