Wang Qin herself was also in a dilemma. In the past, she was the one who caused trouble for Qiao Mei and did everything she could to torture Qiao Mei. When she married into the family, Qiao Mei was four years old and looked very cute and adorable. However, she was made to sleep in the pigsty and live with the pigs.
At first, she thought that Qiao Zhuang was inhumane. Later on, she gradually got used to living with such a family and subtly became a person like Qiao Zhuang.
Qiao Mei had experienced all kinds of things when she was young. She only had torn clothing and a pair of long pants all year round. Winter and summer were the two most difficult seasons for her.
When she was young, she had nothing to eat. When she was really hungry, she would snatch food from the pigs. Sometimes, she would even go out to eat raw vegetable leaves.
Those days were really unbearable. Wang Qin did not help Qiao Mei at all and turned a blind eye to it instead. Sometimes, she even bullied Qiao Mei together with Qiao Zhuang.
However, she had never thought of harming anyone’s life. Seeing Qiao Fu’s miserable state, she did not want Qiao Gui to meet the same fate.
“Be careful these few days,” Wang Qin said suddenly.
This confirmed Qiao Mei’s thoughts last night. It seemed that the person in the backyard recently was really a member of Qiao Zhuang’s family.
“Why are you telling me this? Your family members are the people in this village who want to harm me. Even if you don’t tell me, I’ll still be wary of you,” Qiao Mei said.
“That’s not what I mean. Recently, Qiao Zhuang has been whispering to Qiao Gui very often. He probably has made some new plans. You just be careful,” Wang Qin whispered.
“Don’t you want to see me dead? Why are you telling me this?” Qiao Mei asked Wang Qin.
Wang Qin sighed and looked at Qiao Mei’s stomach. If Qiao Mei was not pregnant, she might have pretended not to know anything. As long as she did not participate in this matter, she would not feel any guilt. After all, Qiao Mei had always been at odds with her and made her suffer a lot in silence.
However, Qiao Mei was currently pregnant and her babies were innocent. If anything happened, it was three lives at stake! This would attract retribution! Qiao Fu was the best example! She was afraid that one day, the heavens would punish her for her evil deeds.
“Anyway, be careful. I’m going back.” Wang Qin stood up and was about to leave when Qiao Mei stopped her and stuffed a small box into her hand.
This was the 10-year-old ginseng juice that Qiao Mei had extracted recently. She decided to give it to Wang Qin as a thank-you gift.
“Go back and use the water in the box to wipe your wounds,” Qiao Mei said.
Wang Qin stared at the box in her hand for a long time. In the end, she left Qiao Mei’s house without saying anything.
After Qiao Qiang returned, Qiao Mei told him in detail about Wang Qin’s visit earlier today, as well as about seeing the shadow in the backyard yesterday.
“Don’t let Zhang Wei come tonight. Tell him not to come over the next few days. It’s better not to let the child encounter such a thing,” Qiao Qiang said gruffly.
Qiao Mei nodded, but they did not know when Qiao Gui was going to make his move. They did not know the exact time and the method he would use.
“Grandfather, what do you think Qiao Zhuang will do?” Qiao Mei asked.
“He’s been wandering around the backyard, which means that there’s something he wants in the backyard. There’s only the firewood and the well. I can’t think of any other method,” Qiao Qiang said.
If these people poisoned the well, the entire village would be affected! The water in the upper and lower half of the village were from two tributaries. Qiao Mei’s family lived in the upper half of the village while Qiao Zhuang’s family lived in the lower half. The water in the well was connected to the water from other wells. If the well in Qiao Mei’s house was poisoned, all the villagers in the upper half of the village would be affected.
“He’s really vicious. He wants us dead,” Qiao Mei said with a dark expression.
“We’ll have to see what Qiao Gui does. Let’s take precautions first.” Qiao Qiang methodically led Qiao Mei around to set up defenses.
First, they moved the big water vat in the courtyard to a corner of the house and filled it with water. In this way, even if there was a fire, they would be able to run out of the house and buy themselves some time. Then, he put a wooden lid on the well so that there would be a sound when the perpetrator tried to take it off and they could catch the perpetrator.
The hoes and shovels in the storeroom were all brought into the house. If necessary, these could be used as weapons for self-defense!
Qiao Qiang quietly assembled a small package containing the ginseng slices and lingzhi that Qiao Mei had given him. He did not put his secret savings into the bag.
“Grandfather, why do you put these things inside and not money?” Qiao Mei asked curiously.