Chapter 200: Intentional Murder

Everyone was laughing and chatting while picking plums. Near the edge of the field, there was a plum tree whose soil had been washed away by heavy rain, causing it to tilt. Most of its branches drooped downwards, making it necessary to go down below to pick them.

But there was a narrow path below, because of few people walking, it was covered by overgrown grass. No one wanted to go down for fear of snakes in the grass. Luo Qiao thought to herself that she was agile enough to manage, so she decided to go down herself. After all, it was just for picking plums.

Zhang Qiaoyan, who was herding cattle on the slope below, watched the crowd above picking plums. She had initially wanted to call out to try some, but seeing the captain’s wife there, she hesitated.

Just as she was about to urge the cattle to leave, she saw Luo Qiao coming down from the slope and standing on the narrow path, picking plums from the crooked plum tree. Now she didn’t feel like leaving in a hurry.

Standing there, watching Luo Qiao, she didn’t know what she was thinking. Those picking plums in the field noticed Zhang Qiaoyan standing there looking in this direction. Someone even said, “Is Zhang Qiaoyan from the village secretary’s family looking at someone?”

Cai Feng from the accountant’s family said, “It seems like she’s staring at Luo Qiao. This girl has a small mind, she can’t stand seeing others do better than her.”

After Luo Qiao picked a large amount, she threw down a rope with a hook tied to it to pull up the basket. Then she changed to a back basket and continued picking on the side of the path.

Suddenly, a young girl asked, “What is Zhang Qiaoyan doing?”

The adults looked up and were all startled. The daughter from the village secretary’s family was holding a stone and aiming to hit the cow’s buttocks, but it was clear she had something else in her other hand.

The cow, feeling the pain, desperately ran towards Luo Qiao’s direction. However, where Luo Qiao stood was narrow with nowhere to hide. The only option to avoid being rammed by the cow was to jump down the earthen cliff, which was at least seven or eight meters high.

Seeing the cow approaching, everyone shouted in alarm, “Luo Qiao, grab the rope so we can pull you up!”

“Luo Qiao, it’s dangerous, run!”

“Luo Qiao, run fast!”

Amid their shouts, Luo Qiao also noticed the cow charging towards her. She quickly scanned around and saw an elm tree growing on the cliff about two meters away. With no other choice, amidst everyone’s alarmed cries, Luo Qiao decided to run forward and then jump off the cliff.

It was the best option at the moment. Even if the small elm tree couldn’t withstand her weight, it would provide some cushioning time. At least, if she fell, it wouldn’t be from a great height.

Luo Qiao’s action startled the cow even more. The cow, in panic, ran straight ahead for more than ten meters before falling off the dirt road.

Everyone was dumbfounded. This was the village’s collective property. Falling from such a height meant it might survive the fall but would likely be seriously injured.

Meanwhile, Luo Qiao was still swaying on the small elm tree. Suddenly, someone rushed down from the other side of the slope like the wind, heading straight for the swaying elm tree where Luo Qiao was.

Lu Yichen was filled with anger at this moment, but not towards Luo Qiao. He had just been on the slope behind Zhang Qiaoyan, cutting locust branches to make more baskets.

Accidentally, he saw Zhang Qiaoyan from the village secretary’s family take a large nail out of her pocket and throw it into the cow’s buttocks. When he saw the direction the cow ran off in, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Zhang Qiaoyan was too malicious. This was an attempt at intentional murder!

Lu Yichen exerted tremendous effort to pull Luo Qiao up. Seeing blood on her sleeve, he quickly asked, “Are you injured anywhere else?”

Luo Qiao replied, “I’m fine, just a few scratches. I’ll find some medicine to apply when we get back.”