Chapter 184 So That's How It Is

Yao Shula and Yao Shuli were both stunned.

Yao Shula wondered if Xiao Tiantian was frightened when he ran away from home last year and subconsciously thought that if she hadn't taken him in, he would have been sold. That's probably why he had this dream!

Yao Shuli regretted it a little; she couldn't scare Xiao Tiantian anymore when she took him out to play in the future.

Before, whenever Yao Shuli took Xiaotian out to play, he would scare him for fear that Xiaotian would run away, saying that there are many child traffickers nowadays who like to kidnap and sell children.

Kidnappers love to kidnap good-looking and smart kids like Xiaotian, and they always end up selling them deep in the mountains...

Yao Shuli believes that Xiaotian had that dream because she was scared by herself.

Sigh, I'll never scare Xiaotian again...

"And then?" Yao Shula asked with a smile, looking at Xiao Tiantian, who had a serious expression on her face.

Little Tiantian exclaimed, "Huh?"

"And then? Then I really needed to pee and I looked everywhere for a toilet! I finally found one and finished peeing... and then I woke up."

Then they discovered she had wet the bed! Little Tiantian's voice trailed off as she spoke.

Yao Shula gently patted Xiao Tiantian's head.

"Okay, that's all a dream, don't take it seriously! Remember, dreams and reality are opposites."

Go to sleep!

Tomorrow, your older sister will cook you a sandworm and lean pork soup. We'll use that little clay pot you brought to make the soup!

Shuli, put the mosquito coil under the bed, and set the fan to oscillate so it doesn't blow directly onto the bed.

"Remember to set the timer! Go to sleep, it's almost midnight!" Yao Shula said as she helped the two of them tuck the mosquito net in.

Yao Shuli also pulled Xiao Tiantian down to lie down.

"Go to sleep! It's okay, I'm here. I won't let that old kidnapper kidnap you!"

My sister, my grandma, and my uncle are all here; they definitely won't let anyone kidnap you.

By the way, if you have this kind of dream next time, call me and let us have it together. I'll help you beat that old kidnapper away..."

...

After hearing that there was no more noise from the two children's room, Yao Shula quietly entered the room where she and Yao Shuxin slept.

Yao Shuxin was already asleep in bed.

There wasn't a single mosquito in the mosquito net, and Yao Shuxin had already lit the mosquito coils and placed them under the bed.

The fan was set to its lowest speed for one hour.

Yao Shula quietly climbed onto the bed, tucked the mosquito net under the mat, and then pulled the light cord at the head of the bed.

The room was soon plunged into darkness, and only the distant chirping of crickets could be heard from outside.

Yao Shula was still in a daze, her mind still filled with the dream that Xiao Tiantian had mentioned.

I need to buy some good quality lean meat tomorrow to make sandworm soup. I've been giving Xiaotian that soup for a long time, and he hasn't wet the bed in a long time.

It's been a bit hot lately, so I haven't let him drink it...

Yao Shula suddenly felt a wave of fatigue and drowsiness wash over her.

Soon, Yao Shula also fell into a deep sleep.

As she slept, Yao Shula's brows furrowed unconsciously.

...

Yao Shula was having a dream. She felt like she was in a dream, but it didn't feel like a dream.

This place... is unfamiliar! It's also very poor and backward, like a mountain village.

There wasn't a single good road; the so-called roads were all full of potholes, worn down by countless rains and worn down by countless people stepping on them...

Everyone here has a dull, grayish look on their faces, as if their faces can never be properly cleaned.

It was dirty and messy everywhere.

A few steps ahead is a small mountain village. Freshly harvested corn is spread out on the ground to dry, and one or two elderly people are dozing off against an old locust tree at the village entrance.

Whenever a stranger arrives, the villagers immediately become alert and watch that person closely...

In a low, dilapidated house at the end of the village, an elderly couple with limp were staring fiercely at a six- or seven-year-old boy.

The child huddled in the corner, covering his head with his hands and crying softly.

The elderly couple were still holding sticks...

“Stay here properly. We spent two hundred yuan to buy you. That was all the money our family had, and we even borrowed a lot from the villagers.”

"We bought you to take care of us in our old age, not to make you the young master of a landlord's family!" The old man waved the stick in his hand fiercely at the little boy.

The little boy was so frightened that he curled up into an even smaller ball.

The elderly couple were very satisfied with the little boy's performance. They hit the wall twice more with the stick, causing two pieces of mud plaster mixed with straw to fall off the wall before turning and leaving.

"A few beatings will teach him a lesson!"

"Yes! Beat him a few times, then starve him for a couple more meals! Don't feed him today either, let him go hungry for another day!"

"What can such a young child understand? Kids are just afraid of being hit and going hungry!"

Through the blur, Yao Shula saw the face of the little boy who had been locked in the corner...

Little Tiantian!

Yao Shula gasped.

The skinny, malnourished child in front of me was actually Xiao Tiantian.

Little Tiantian huddled in the corner in terror, wiping away her tears from time to time with her bruised and battered arms. Her clothes were already filthy.

Yao Shula tried to call out to Xiao Tiantian, but she couldn't make a sound.

Seeing Xiaotian like this, Yao Shula felt as if her heart was being stabbed.

Who the hell kidnapped Little Tiantian and brought her here...?

Just then, a very soft sound came from the top of the wall that Xiaotian was leaning against.

"day by day!"

The little boy then quickly looked up at the person on the wall.

"Sister Shula!" Xiao Tiantian quickly called out in a low voice.

Yao Shula was stunned.

The person who popped up on the wall looked exactly like me, except that his hair wasn't as black.

His skin was as dry as straw, and his complexion was somewhat sallow.

"Didn't they give you any food again?" Yao Shula asked in a low voice.

Little Tian nodded.

“They didn’t give me any food yesterday, and they’re saying they won’t give me any food today either. They said they’ll only give me food when I start kowtowing to them and calling them grandpa and grandma.”

Yao Shula sighed and then reached out her hand.

"Sister, I have a cornbread here. I just toasted it in the kitchen for a while. It's crispy. Here, have some!"

When Yao Shula saw the other Yao Shula's arm, which was also covered in scars, she suddenly understood something.

Xiao Tian hesitated and refused to accept it.

"Sister Shura, you only eat this little bit all day, I don't want it!"

"Take this. You're locked up, and you can't find any food. You'll just starve."

My sister can walk around the village and can just grab a corncob and throw it into the stove to cook. My sister can always find something to eat.

"Listen to me, eat something first!" Yao Shula insisted on giving Xiao Tiantian the cornbread in her hand.

Xiao Tiantian finally accepted it.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely find a way to save you!" Yao Shula whispered.