If it was due to the dampness of the seaside climate, then the quilt would not be the only thing that was damp.
However, the cotton-padded clothes of the same material were dry.
Xu An pulled open the gaudy satin, revealing the lining. As expected, the cotton inside had already become moldy and black.
No wonder there was such a strong smell of wood rot.
Not only that, but Xu An also carefully felt around the quilt.
As expected, her fingertips were pricked by something unknown, and blood welled up.
Xu An followed the position of her finger to find the culprit and pulled it out forcefully.
It turned out to be a silver needle as thin as a hair, about half the size of her little finger.
Xu An remembered that she had stocked up on magnets at the hardware store before.
So, with a thought, the magnet appeared in Xu An's hand.
She searched the entire quilt.
After two quilts, there were as many as twenty to thirty needles.
Although they were all small, they were numerous.
If someone careless had covered themselves with these quilts, the needles would have directly pricked them.
Xu An knew that these could not be used to cover people, so she found three thick cotton quilts in her space.
These were cotton that Xu Yan had contacted the factory to have workers carded specifically, definitely using plenty of material, honest and trustworthy.
The only thing preventing unexpected situations was that Xu An had specifically asked them not to use high-end quilt covers.
She had used the most comfortable and durable cotton cloth.
Thinking back, using these things to substitute was not impossible, and it would not attract attention.
However, she still needed to ask Qin Chuan about this matter of needles hidden in cotton.
Xu An threw both quilts she had exchanged into her space.
She then took out three simple and plain quilts.
But one thing made her a bit troubled, and that was that these quilts were too new.
Upon returning to the wooden house, even Xu An couldn't help but shiver.
Zhou Haimei met her at the door, took the quilts from her, and the top layer was wrapped in oilcloth that Xu An had brought.
This prevented it from getting wet from the snow.
"Wow, An'an, you're amazing! You actually got three quilts. Now the three of us won't have to fight over them."
But Xu An's face showed no joy. She first sat by the fire to warm herself, then picked up a cup of hot water and drank it slowly.
As she drank, she looked at Qin Chuan, who was sitting beside her, silent.
Before long, even the usually unobservant Zhou Haimei noticed something was wrong with Xu An.
"An'an, did something happen when you went out?"
As Zhou Haimei asked, Qin Chuan's gaze was also involuntarily drawn to Xu An's words, and he looked up at her.
"I went to the house you talked to yesterday. The man of the house was there, and when I went, the man was hitting his wife."
"Holy shit!" Zhou Haimei couldn't help but swear after hearing about the wife being beaten. "What time is it now? When people can't even get enough to eat, is this man so full of himself that he's still hitting his wife?"
Xu An remained noncommittal.
While Zhou Haimei was indignant, Xu An was secretly observing Qin Chuan's expression.
She found that when Qin Chuan heard about the beaten woman, his face showed a momentary flicker of emotion.
Xu An: "Not only that, but the woman who was beaten is also very strange."
Zhou Haimei: "How is she strange?"
"She has a lot of hostility towards me. Putting aside whether that man instigated it, the quilt she gave me has a problem."
As soon as she heard that the quilt had a problem, Zhou Haimei's initial excitement vanished. She jumped up from the quilt.
"What... what problem! An'an, don't scare me. I was just lying on it."
Xu An did not deliberately tease her.
"Don't worry, I've cleaned the quilt. You are safe." She then took out the short needles she was holding to show them.
"Here, this is what I found in the quilt."
Zhou Haimei, being far away, didn't see it at first. After she got closer and saw it clearly, her hair stood on end.
"Damn, this woman is too vicious! She wanted to kill us with needles."
Xu An: "Just a few needles like this wouldn't kill us, but this woman is indeed not a good person."
The next second, Zhou Haimei's scream was heard.
"Ah!!! I was just rolling on the quilt, have I also been pricked by this kind of short needle? Are these needles poisonous? Ahhh, An'an, am I going to die like this?"
Xu An looked at Zhou Haimei, who was crying and wailing, with a black line on her face.
"Don't worry, I've removed all the needles from the quilt."
Zhou Haimei looked unconvinced.
"How could you remove all the needles? What if there are still residues? Wouldn't it hurt to be pricked by them?"
Xu An didn't know how to explain that the quilt had already been replaced by her, and that she had a magnet.
As she was struggling with how to concoct a lie to fool Zhou Haimei, Qin Chuan spoke up.
"You have a magnet on you, don't you?"
Zhou Haimei: "How can An'an have a magnet?" She didn't mean any harm, she was just curious.
As a result, she forgot that there was an outsider between the three of them. Even if she was curious, she should have clarified it in private.
Before Xu An could speak, Qin Chuan found an excuse for Xu An himself.
"Because Xu An has a compass, which contains a magnet. Although it's very small, the magnet inside should be able to attract the silver needles on the quilt, as these needles are very small."
Xu An: ".......Yes, that's right, it's exactly as Qin Chuan said."
Qin Chuan had given her a step down, allowing her to descend.
She wouldn't be so unappreciative, especially since nothing was more convincing than Qin Chuan making up a story himself.
After all, Xu An hadn't said anything.
Zhou Haimei believed it when she heard it. Without any doubt, she rushed to Xu An.
"Why didn't you carry them back? We could have picked out the silver needles together. You were alone outside, in such heavy snow, and you were picking out silver needles. Wouldn't it have been colder?"
A rare hint of embarrassment appeared on Xu An's face.
"No, it didn't take long. I have the magnet, so it was very quick, done in a few moments."
Xu An was telling the truth, partly because Ze Yuan had helped, and partly because it was done in her space. The truth was that it wasn't hard work or cold at all.
But in Zhou Haimei's ears, it was a different story.
"Don't push yourself. I know you don't want us to worry. Go to sleep quickly. Tonight, Qin Chuan and I will keep watch. You need to sleep well tonight and rest."
Saying that, she grabbed Xu An's slightly cool little hand, pulled her up, and pushed her onto the bed, covering her with a warm cotton quilt, wrapping her up tightly.
Only a fluffy head was left visible.
Xu An could only look at Zhou Haimei helplessly and say softly, "Okay, okay, I'll sleep now."
But her gaze inadvertently strayed to Qin Chuan.
She had originally planned to ask Qin Chuan if he knew that woman, but now...
So, she had to dismiss the idea.
"I'll ask tomorrow. Anyway, Qin Chuan isn't going anywhere."