Chapter 263: Xiaoxiao’s Background
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
It was not only these officials. The villagers of Fortune Village who came to inquire jumped up excitedly.
This rice was planted by their Fortune Village! They would have face when they went out to brag in the future!
A harvest of more than 400 kg per acre was something that he did not even dare to dream of in the past!
County Magistrate Shen said that the rice distributed by Fortune Village was also specially chosen by the county office to be planted. The first choice was Ning Fengnian. After all, he had planted it once and was experienced.
Thinking that she had to repay County Magistrate Shen for his protection, Xiaoxiao remembered something else. “By the way, have you been having a headache about the resettlement of those refugees recently?”
County Magistrate Shen nodded and squeezed his eyebrows together tightly. “Of course. I want to arrange jobs for them, but the county is so long-lived. If we give it to them, the locals will be affected and there might be conflicts.”
Xiaoxiao touched her chin. “Then if there’s suddenly an extra job that needs people, won’t this matter be resolved?”
County Magistrate Shen threw a look at Chen Kuan and Wang He, who were standing on the side cautiously. “You mean to hire them to look after the land? But we don’t need so many refugees in the future.”
Xiaoxiao shook her head. “That’s only part of it. It’s like this, Lord Shen. I’ve been preparing a business deal with that young master from the Li Family recently…”
As the two of them chatted, County Magistrate Shen’s eyes became brighter and brighter. He even wanted to pick up Xiaoxiao and weigh her in his arms. What bandit’s daughter? Which bandit could give birth to such a daughter? He would immediately recruit her at all costs!
The harvesting of the new rice seeds came to an end. The distribution was Lord Shen’s job. Xiaoxiao followed her family members home to eat and pack as usual. When everyone was about to get busy, she cleared her throat. “Um, there’s something I want to ask.”
In the past, she might have investigated alone, but now, she really treated herself as a part of this family.
Seeing her serious expression, her parents and brothers sat back down. “Did someone bully you?”
As Ning Anhui spoke, he rolled up his sleeves.
Xiaoxiao tugged at his clothes in amusement. “No, Little Aunt came to say something today.”
Hearing this, everyone’s reaction was considered normal. They thought to themselves that it was that she wanted either money or meat. It was boring.
However, Xiaoxiao said, “She said that I was adopted.”
Ning Anhui slammed the table and shouted, “Bullsh*t! What nonsense! Don’t think that I won’t beat her up just because she is my aunt!”
After saying that, he realized that his family, who should have shared a common enemy with him, did not react.
Turning around, he saw that his parents’ lips were trembling and his brother’s face was pale. His heart skipped a beat. “You… What kind of reaction is this?”
Ning Ansheng’s voice was a little hoarse. “What did she say?”
Xiaoxiao sighed.
“He said that I’m the daughter of a bandit and an important criminal that the Imperial Court wants to capture.”
At this point, everyone recounted what happened many years ago.
That day, Old Madam Ning shouted at Madam Song to wash her clothes while she was pregnant. In the end, she accidentally hurt the baby. Ning Fengnian was originally at the construction site. When he heard the news, he hurriedly rushed back. Unfortunately, when he reached home, he only saw his wife crying uncontrollably while carrying a motionless child.
Ning Ansheng was young that year, but he was already a very sensible child. He knew that his mother was sad and her health was damaged, but Grandma was determined not to care. He wanted to go to the river to try his luck and see if he could catch fish to nourish his mother.
However, when he went out, he was discovered by Little Uncle Ning, who was five years older than him. Little Uncle Ning thought that he was going to publicize that Madam Song’s child was because of her mother-in-law, so he followed him.
Before he could start catching fish, the two of them saw a small swaddling cloth among the reeds. In the swaddling cloth, a fair-skinned child did not cry or make a fuss. She was hugging her fingers and sucking them. Not far away, a strong man lay on the ground. His body was covered in blood. When he heard a sound, he immediately looked up, revealing a murderous face.
There were still people approaching from afar. The hunky man carried the swaddled child out and handed him to Ning Ansheng. He then took out a candy from his pocket.
“Child, give her the candy and she won’t cry. Hide here and don’t make a sound, okay?”
Before Ning Ansheng could say anything, Little Uncle Ning was unhappy. He didn’t want to be involved in any dangerous matters, but the man said, “If anyone finds out, those people will definitely kill you.”
Little Uncle Ning was frightened and could only cooperate passively. The two children hid in the dense reeds with the baby. Then, they watched as the man forced himself to stand up and carried the empty swaddling clothes into the mountains. The people following him decisively followed and did not return for a long time.
At that time, Ning Ansheng was still young and could not think of much else. He only felt that his mother had lost a child and he happened to pick up another one. Moreover, the one he picked up was very beautiful. He felt that his mother might be happy when he brought it back.
Moreover, this baby was so small. If he left it alone, it would starve to death very quickly.
However, Ning Anhui took a fancy to the jade pendant in the baby’s arms and even snatched it before running away.
After returning home, this matter could not be hidden. Old Sir Ning and Old Madam Ning were strongly against it at first, but the jade pendant the child was carrying looked really valuable. They thought that perhaps she was a child from a rich family. They might be able to repay them by raising her.
Unexpectedly, before the child’s family arrived, a group of soldiers in official uniforms came to the village that day. Those soldiers searched every house, saying that they were looking for a bandit with a child. That day, Old Sir Ning and Old Madam Ning planned to stand out and admit it, but Ning Ansheng looked at the obedient and cute baby in his arms and recalled what the man in front of him had said. Hence, he said, “The person protecting her said that he would kill us if anyone found out that we had seen him.”
Little Uncle Ning nodded to show that this was indeed the case.
The soldiers who came to search were really not friendly. They flipped the table and threw the basin. When they saw valuable things, they even took them away. It was obvious that they were not reasonable. They even shouted, “Search, find them and kill them without mercy!”
Old Sir Ning and his wife cherished their lives and did not dare to take the risk at all. They shivered and decided to grit their teeth.
When the soldiers found the Ning Family, their entire family unanimously said that the child was just born by Madam Song, and they had never seen anyone suspicious.
Madam Song had lost her beloved child. At first, she had some feelings for Xiaoxiao, but as she slowly grew up, her real family never appeared, so she really treated her as her biological daughter.
A few years later, Old Sir Ning and the others carefully found a pawnshop further away to exchange the jade pendant for silver and used it to send Little Uncle Ning to school.
All these years, whenever the eldest branch and the old residence had any objections, other than using their past relationship to suppress them, Old Madam Ning would use Xiaoxiao’s background to threaten them. If Ning Fengnian’s life was not in danger back then, Madam Song would not have insisted on splitting up.
Xiaoxiao sorted it out and felt that although Old Madam Ning always threatened Ning Xiaoxiao with her background, she actually didn’t have the guts to say anything at all. This was because if anything really happened, they wouldn’t be able to escape punishment. This might also be an important reason why Old Madam wanted Ning Xiaoxiao dead.
Looking at the silent Xiaoxiao, the Ning Family members were nervous. They were worried that she would not be able to accept this fact, and they were also worried that she would be separated from them from now on or that she would have to look for her biological parents soon. Just as they were worried, they felt a small soft body lean over and take the initiative to hug them..
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