Female martial arts fanatics only love to fight, while men fight for their lives.

89

The little girl didn't answer at first. She glanced at Lou Xiao and saw that she was also curious. Then she said hesitantly, "Not often... sometimes she doesn't come back."

She vaguely felt that she shouldn't say it. Her sister seemed to have said not to talk to strangers, but she didn't know how to refuse.

So he lowered his head as if to express his embarrassment,

Lou Xiao patted her back gently to comfort her, "Don't be afraid, we are not bad people."

She had taken a quick look around the kitchen before and saw that the young family was really poor and had no food left.

Although she was also very curious about how A Mao's sister made a living, the family was so poor and A Mao was still young. They were just passing by, so why bother about it so much?

Lou Xiao dug into her bag and took out a paper-wrapped pancake, and handed it to the skinny little girl.

Ah Mao no longer knew what modesty was. Lou Xiao gave it to her and just as she was about to take a bite,

Li Huaiqing softened his tone and said, "I don't know how long she has been hiding. It's already cold. I'll heat it up for you before you eat it."

Lou Xiao realized it later and said, "That's right."

A Mao thought about it and kept half of it. He handed the other half to Li Huaiqing who held out his hand and smiled, "Thank you."

She wanted to save the candied fruit and half of the sesame seed cake for her elder sister. She touched Lou Xiao with her hand and said, "Wait a minute, elder sister. I have something good for you."

Then she skipped back to the inner room holding the delicious food that Lou Xiao had given her.

Next to the fire, Li Huaiqing skewered the half of the sesame cake on a wooden stick and roasted it. The firelight shone on his face, making his expression a little warmer than usual.

"If she doesn't want to talk, don't ask. She's still young."

Lou Xiao asked Er Liu to sit down and warm himself by the fire, not understanding why Li Huaiqing cared about other people's family affairs.

Li Huaiqing turned the pancake in his hand over and looked up and said, "If she was honest and upright, why would she work at night? It's hard to say what her sister does."

Be it thief or tomb robber, neither is a good job to be presented to others.

Lou Xiao lowered her eyebrows and added some firewood, "If that's true, how could we be so poor?"

Li Huaiqing opened his mouth slightly and said nothing more. He felt that Lou Xiao was soft-hearted towards Amao, and if he said anything more, he would be a bad person.

After spending these days together, he has a better understanding of Lou Xiao.

Sometimes she is extremely cold and heartless, but sometimes she is incredibly soft-hearted.

The pancake in his hand began to bake and emit some fragrance. A-Mao came over with something in his hand, hands behind his back, skipping.

He stood in front of Lou Xiao, raised his chin and smiled, "Little sister, spread your hands! I'll give you something good!"

Lou Xiao readily stretched out his right hand, palm facing up, and jokingly said, "A Mao, don't scare me with caterpillars. I'm not afraid."

Ah Mao twisted his body to deny it, "Oh, it's not a caterpillar! My sister gave it to me when she came back from work! It's so rare! Close your eyes!"

Li Huaiqing looked over from the side, but A Mao didn't dare to let him close his eyes. He just waited for Lou Xiao to do it obediently before putting the little thing in his hand in her palm.

Lou Xiao only felt something cool falling into her hand, and asked, "Can I open my eyes now?"

After Li Huaiqing saw clearly what it was, his eyes turned cold, and then he said calmly, "It is indeed strange."

Ah Mao said proudly with a grin, "Really? Look, little sister!"

Lou Xiao opened her eyes and saw a small piece of stone lying quietly in her palm. White crystals grew densely and covered the silver-gray crystals, reflecting the metallic light in the firelight.

She didn't react for a moment, and Li Huaiqing's voice interrupted at the right time, "Look, Miss Ah is stunned. She has never seen such a rare thing."

He took the half of the pancake in his hand and gave it to the little girl. He looked at Lou Xiao and said, "How is it, Xiao?"

It's rare indeed.

Lou Xiao knew from the look in Li Huaiqing's eyes that he already knew what it was.

Underground mining always unearths some associated minerals, which are gorgeous in color and peculiar in appearance. Some of them will be made into jewelry and other objects.

Miners sometimes hide some of the gold and take it home, maybe they can exchange it for some money.

It seems obvious what kind of job A Mao's sister does.

Lou Xiao felt a little depressed for some reason. She just hoped that she and Li Huaiqing were wrong. She asked A Mao, who was standing next to them and eating a sesame cake,

"Where did you pick this thing up? It looks so weird."

She hoped that it was just something she picked up on the road, or was given to her by someone else, and that it must not be associated with her sister's work.

But A Mao quickly shattered her fantasy, "My sister gave it to me. She said many people have never seen it! Sister, have you seen it?"

Lou Xiao slowly closed her fingers and squeezed the stone tightly, "No. If you just give it to me like this, won't my sister scold you?"

Ah Mao chewed the sesame seed cake and rolled his eyes, "But Miss Ah also gave me something delicious..."

Poverty made her feel that food was the most precious thing in life. Her sister never told her how much it was worth, so she just thought of it as a rare stone.

But after hearing what Lou Xiao said, I felt a little regretful. What if my sister keeps it for something useful?

But the things have already been given, how can she ask for them back?

Lou Xiao returned it to her without her saying anything, "Keep it. Your sister will be unhappy if she knows you gave it away."

Does she know what she is doing? Working in a private mine, if she is caught, no one can escape responsibility.

Li Huaiqing witnessed the change in Lou Xiao's expression.

He thought to himself, what a coincidence, he could find clues in this way.

If A Mao's sister comes back later, she can take them to investigate the private mining.

It’s not up to her whether the other party is willing or not.

Ah Mao held the stone in his hand and asked Lou Xiao carefully, "Is this... valuable?"

Before Lou Xiao could answer, Li Huaiqing took the initiative to say, "It's not of good quality, so it can't be made into good jewelry, but it's still worth some money."

In this case, A Mao was scared and fortunately Miss A returned it to her. Of course, things that can be sold for money cannot be given away!

But for the sake of face, she pretended to be relaxed and said, "Well, then I'll just take it. Sister, I'm not reluctant to give it up.

My sister said that once we get paid, we can build a nice house and have enough food to eat! Our family is not short of money!"

Her confused explanation made Lou Xiao feel more and more depressed.

Li Huaiqing smiled and said, "So, your sister will be back soon, right?"

Ah Mao nodded and sat down obediently, frowning, "She said she would be back tonight, but I've been waiting for a long time... maybe I have to wait a little longer."

She ran to the closed door and looked out through the crack. "It's still raining... Let's take shelter somewhere like you guys."

He covered his mouth and yawned, "I'm so sleepy, will my sister come back before dawn? When will the rain stop──"