Minghua Qiushi

There is a small village at the end of the hillside, with a few scattered houses, which look dilapidated.The elder sister carried the younger brother on her back and walked towards one of the houses with difficulty, Wang Qiu and Yuhua hurriedly followed after seeing this.

The dilapidated adobe house only has an adobe kang, a table, a few broken chairs with broken legs, and other daily necessities such as bottles and cans. The family is really poor, and the four walls of the house are not enough to describe the dilapidation here.It was cold in the room, and a woman was lying on the bed, covered with a torn quilt.Presumably this woman is the mother of the two siblings, and she should be in her 30s, but it may be because of her sick face and hard life that she looks more than ten years old.

The elder sister put the younger brother down, helped him to sit on a wooden pier, and then walked to the bed.The fire in the kang had already been extinguished, not even a spark left.My sister went out and brought a handful of firewood, and was busy lighting the kang.

The woman on the bed woke up and tried to get up, "You are back, I will cook for you."

The elder sister hurriedly held her down and said: "Mom, don't move, I'll do it. You are too serious, aunt, why don't you know how to add more firewood when the kang fire is about to go out, it's good to be frozen again in such a cold day. "

"Mother is confused." The woman looked at her brother again as she spoke, "Ah! What's wrong with Yan'er's feet?"

The elder sister glared at A Yan, pointed to the ball of hair on the ground and said, "It's not just trying to show off, I insisted on saving that half-dead dog."

Ah Yan limped to the side of the hairball while supporting his injured leg, found another rag and carefully wiped its wound, and said while wiping: "Mother, I want to raise it. You see it is stupid fell into the trap, shall I name it Dumb?"

The elder sister said: "Cut, it's not certain whether I can live or not."

The woman said: "Since Yan'er likes to keep him, let's keep him. If I die in the future, you can have another companion."

"Mom, what are you talking about! Your illness will be cured in the spring of next year, and when your father comes back, we will be reunited as a family," said the elder sister.

Pain appeared on the woman's face, she hesitated to speak for a while, and then said: "Xiaoxue, your father...can't come back. Today your third uncle and aunt came over, saying that your father...has... ... already died in battle! Huh, huh..." The woman broke down in tears as she spoke.

Both siblings were shocked, and they threw themselves on the bedside of the woman. The elder sister said, "Amother, is this true? Doesn't it mean that Daddy will come back next year? Doesn't it mean that the battle is almost over?"

"... woo woo woo, father!" Ah Yan couldn't help crying loudly.

"Don't cry! Daddy won't die, I don't believe it!" My sister gritted her teeth with tears in her eyes.

"Xiaoxue, your father is really dead. Your third uncle saw it on the list in the village. They all blame the god damn world. There are wars every year, leaving only us orphans and widows. How can we live?" !” The woman burst into tears at the end.

With tears streaming down her face, Xiaoxue gritted her teeth, "Mother, don't cry, daddy is dead and I'm still here, I'll take good care of you and brother!"

"Xue! My miserable Xue!" The woman cried bitterly while hugging Xiaoxue.

Wang Qiu watched from the sidelines and couldn't help but sigh, the lives of ordinary people suffering from wars and chaos are just like this, even worse than ants.If I hadn't been picked up by my master, I might not be as good as this pair of siblings.

After all, this miserable woman couldn't make it to the beginning of spring, and she couldn't get out of bed after a while.When she was dying, she called the two children to her, and said with tears: "Xueyun, Fengyan, mother is going to die, it's good to go to your father when she dies, but the only thing that worries you is the two of you. Listen, after your mother died, you took your younger brother to find your third uncle and three aunts. Although your third uncle and three aunts have a bad temper, our Gu family only has this kind of relatives left, so we can only go to them. Mother died Now, you have to take good care of your younger brother for your mother..."

"Mom, don't worry..."

The two children knelt in front of the bed and cried into a ball, but they could only watch helplessly as the blush on the mother's face receded little by little. They were only half-grown children. Crying helplessly, nothing can be done.The dog was also squatting beside the bed, its wounds had already healed, its gray and white fur was not shiny due to malnutrition, but it was clean.At this time, it seemed to understand what had happened, and made a "woo-woo" sound from its mouth, as if it was crying.

Looking at the situation in front of him, Wang Qiu couldn't care less about pity for the woman's death, because he was already so shocked by the words "Feng Yan" and "Gu Family" in the woman's mouth that he couldn't recover.No matter what words he used, he couldn't describe Wang Qiu's unbelievable feeling at this moment. He almost suspected that this was a false illusion created by the essence of Andrographis paniculata.He couldn't help but looked carefully at the little boy who was crying in front of him again. His eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar, but Master and Yun Feiling were old acquaintances, so how to explain what happened later?

As soon as the screen changed, Xiaoxue brought her younger brother to the house of the third uncle and three aunts. This family didn't seem rich, but it was much better than the family of two siblings.There are also two boys in the family, one looks to be in his early ten years old, and the other is only four or five years old.In the first few days of their arrival, the third aunt treated them pretty well, but it didn't take long for the couple's mean faces to be exposed without any scruples.

This woman is very aggressive, she is just a rude and mean village woman, and this husband is cowardly and timid, even if his wife treats his nephew and niece harshly, he dare not say a word at all.Xiaoxue and Ayan lived like servants in their uncle's house. Every day before dawn, they had to get up and go to work, carrying water and chopping firewood, going up the mountain to chop firewood, washing and cooking, and plowing the fields. All the dirty work has to be done.Their third aunt only let them sleep in a dilapidated earthen house with air leaks everywhere on the west side of the yard, which was even more dilapidated than the house the siblings lived in before.This used to be the house where they stacked firewood, and a straw mat was spread out casually, and it became the residence of the siblings.When eating, she served her two children with corn mush, but only gave Xiaoxue and the others some dry corn.Even if it is so hard, Ah Yan always hides a bite of food for Dumb.

The third aunt had long been displeased with this ugly, gray thing, and tried to beat it out with a stick several times, but was stopped by the siblings desperately.Afterwards, they could only feed it secretly for a period of time. Usually, when the third uncle and three aunts were around, they let Dumb hide. When they went up the mountain to cut firewood or went to work in the fields, the two of them and the dog happily chased and fought, and only at this time , they are like ordinary children who have never experienced pain, with innocent smiles on their faces that children should have.

One day, Ah Yan was chopping firewood behind the house. He had grown a little taller, but he still looked sallow and thin, and he seemed to be struggling with the rough axe.After a while, Ah Yan sat down to catch his breath, only to see his six-year-old cousin running past, and saw his nervous expression, looking sneaky.

"Shitou, where are you going?" Ah Yan called to stop him.

"Brother Yan, I didn't... I didn't go anywhere." The little boy looked nervous, and there was something wrong with it. Seeing his cousin shift his gaze to his hands, he hurriedly put his two little hands behind his back.

"What's that in your hand? Let me see."

"No... I didn't take anything."

After all, Ah Yan was three years older than him, and a lot taller. He couldn't help but go up and grab his arm and forcefully break his hand away. In his hand was a rough iron bell.

"Isn't this Dumb's bell? Where did you come from?" Ah Yan snapped.

"...Wow!" The little boy opened his mouth and burst into tears.

Ah Yan didn't have time to pay attention to him, feeling bad in his heart, he was busy looking for his dog everywhere.Turning to a cornfield at the head of the village, he saw several children hitting a hanging dog with stones. It was Ah-Dai, and Ah Yan's cousin was the one who took the lead in hitting the dog.They hung it on the tree, and they were laughing and smashing it vigorously, and Duan was already covered in blood at this moment.

"Don't smash it! You are not allowed to hit my dog!" Ah Yan rushed over and shouted.

The cousin came over and pushed A Yan to the ground, cursing: "I just want to smash it, what's the matter! My mother said, you and your sister are unwanted dogs! Dogs still keep dogs? This The animals should have been killed long ago to eat meat! I beat you today, what can you do to me?" While talking, he picked up another stone and threw it on Dumb's head, and Dumb was smashed with an "ahhhhh" The head is blood.

Ah Yan became anxious, and rushed forward and pressed his cousin to the ground for a while, beating wildly.Although this cousin was two sizes bigger than Ah Yan, he was not as flexible as Ah Yan. He was punched several times in the face, and cried while covering his nosebleed face, "Well, you bastard! How dare you hit me! Look!" I'll go back and let my mother beat you to death!" Then he yelled at the boys next to him: "What are you looking at? Don't beat him!"

A group of boys rushed forward and beat A Yan well. A Yan lay on the ground and covered his head, unable to resist.At this moment, Xiaoxue came back from the mountain to cut firewood, and when she saw this, she shouted, "What are you doing!"

"Oops, the crazy girl is back, run!" The boys ran wildly and disappeared in an instant.

Xiaoxue ran over to help A Yan and said, "Why don't you fight back when they beat you?"

"Sister, I paid it back, but I can't beat them." Ah Yan cried.

"It's really useless, why are you crying! Next time you get beaten, you will be beaten back, you know?"

"Sister, put Dumb down quickly, they are almost smashing him to death."

The two hurriedly put the dog down, looking at the pain on its body.

"Sister, can't we live at the third aunt's house? Can we go back to our own house?" Ah Yan cried.

"Where can I eat when I go back?"

"We haven't had enough to eat here."

"..."

The two of them had just entered the door with the dog in their arms, when they heard the third aunt's mad woman howl: "These two bastards are still fighting against each other, dare to beat you? Yuan Bao won't cry, don't cry, let mother see where he hit you? Does it still hurt?"

Turning around and seeing the siblings walking in, the third aunt picked up a stick and greeted them.The two of them were used to being chased and knocked down by this woman, so they didn't panic, at most it was just another beating.But this time the woman was probably very angry, and she was very serious. She beat and cursed: "You son of a bitch, see if I don't beat you to death! Eat my clothes and wear mine, and dare to beat my Yuanbao!".

Xiaoxue has been protecting A Yan, and has suffered the most sticks. There is not a good piece of flesh injured on her body, and A Yan is not much better.The two brothers and sisters were locked in a dilapidated house, and they didn't have to eat dinner. Both the two of them and the dog were covered in bruises. Only by hugging each other could they comfort each other.

Seeing this situation, Wangqiu saw it in his eyes and felt pain in his heart. Shizun actually suffered like this when he was a child. I really wish I could rush out to protect him, but I can't do anything in other people's memory, I can only feel sorry for myself .

As soon as the screen changed, the season had changed and it should be another period of time.At night, Ah Yan got up to go to the latrine, and when he passed by the window of his uncle and aunt, he heard them talking.He heard the third aunt say "that dead girl" or something, and knew it was his sister, so he secretly hid under the window and listened.

Only the third uncle said: "No way, Xueyun is too young, only fourteen this year!"

"Fourteen is still young? It will be fifteen next year. We have been eating and drinking for several years, and if we don't send it out quickly, we can collect some gift money."

"But the hundred households in that Zhang are all in their [-]s and [-]s. Xueyun married and still became a young girl. This is too bad."

"What's the loss? Just like that dead girl, she might not be able to be a poor servant girl for a rich family! It's his good fortune to be married to Zhang Baihu as a concubine. Hey, it's good to be a matchmaker, Zhang Bai Can you give us the number?"

"Ten taels?"

"Yeah! Hehe, quite a lot, right? When the dead girl gets married, I'll drive that brat and that little bastard out."

"That's not good, daughter-in-law, I heard that Zhang Baihu likes to beat his wife. My brother served in the army for me back then, so it's too much for us to do this."

"Look at your cowardly look! Hey, okay, at most, I won't chase that kid away and send him to the coal mine on the mountain. Is that okay?"

Ah Yan was trembling with anger, covered his mouth and sneaked back into the room quietly, he pushed his sister to wake him up and said: "Sister! Wake up!"

Xiaoxue rubbed her eyes and said confusedly: "What's wrong, Ah Yan? Why don't you sleep? You have to get up early to work tomorrow!"

"What else are you doing? I just heard that my aunt is going to sell you to Zhang Baihu as a concubine. That Zhang Baihu is a bad old man who likes to beat his wife. What should we do, sister? Why don't we stay at my aunt's house? Let's run together with Dumb?"

Duan, who was lying on the side, rushed over when he heard it. At this time, it had grown into a big dog, but it was still very thin.

Xiaoxue also had a look of disbelief when she heard the words. It was fine for her uncle and aunt to abuse them. She wanted to bear it until A Yan grew up and left here to make a living in the city. She didn't expect that they would kill her because of their hearts.She gritted her teeth and said to A Yan: "Let's clean up and leave in the middle of the night."