Xiao Shi, holding a broom, shouted, "Don't you dare catch my chickens!"

Wang Laizi shoved him to the ground, saying, "Get away from me, you little brat, I'll beat you to death."

Wang Laizi was a notorious thief in the village. He was over forty years old and still unmarried. He was lazy and loved to eat, and he made a living by stealing crops from other people's fields. Even when he was caught, he would deny it to the death.

A few days ago, I passed by and saw a lot of chickens in the Su family's yard. I had wanted to steal them for a long time, but I couldn't find an opportunity. I learned from elsewhere that Su's father and son had gone to sell firewood, so I came here quietly.

Seeing Xiao Shi fall, Liu Huan went over and helped him up. She picked up a broom from the ground and started hitting him, yelling, "You dare hit my brother? Put down my chickens!"

Fearing that someone would overhear them if they stayed too long, Wang Laizi grabbed two chicks and then Xiao Hong and ran away.

Xiao Shi ran after him, shouting, "Put down my chickens!"

Liu Huan was about to grab a broom and chase after them when the reason for Xiao Shi's weak constitution suddenly flashed into her mind.

It was because of Wang Laizi that he was kicked in the chest when they were fighting over something that he became weak and sickly.

Her mouth moved faster than her brain; she quickly stepped forward and called out to him, "Brother, don't chase him, we can't beat him."

Xiao Shi got up from the ground, his pants were torn at the knees, and tears streamed down his face as he hugged Liu Huan and cried loudly, "Huanhuan, Xiao Hong is gone, waaaaah!"

Liu Huan hugged him and comforted him, "I know. When Dad comes back, we'll tell him that we're too young and it will be very painful if we get hurt."

He wouldn't listen and kept crying.

Liu Huan was also moved, and she felt sad when she thought of Xiao Hong's passing. The two hugged each other and cried.

What happened?

At noon, when school let out, Da Shi rushed back to cook. He saw the two children hugging and crying in the yard. His heart sank, thinking that something had happened to them.

Hearing the voice, Liu Huan seemed to have found her pillar of support. She dropped Xiao Shi and crawled over to hug Shi Tou's leg, crying even more bitterly: "Shi Tou, waaaah."

Shi Tou squatted down and looked her over carefully: "What happened? Did you hurt your foot?"

Liu Huan shook her head, sobbing, "No, my legs are numb."

Shi Tou breathed a sigh of relief, took her foot in his hands and rubbed and kneaded it, "Is this really worth crying over?"

Before she could speak, Xiao Shi rattled off what had just happened, wiping away her tears with her little hand as she sobbed intermittently, "Big brother, second brother, Xiao Hong was taken away, and we couldn't beat him."

After learning the reason, Shi Tou repeated, "Are you injured anywhere?"

Liu Huan shook her head: "No, Xiao Shi's pants are torn."

Stone was glad they didn't chase after them. There were no adults at home; what if something happened? "If they got robbed, fine, but you weren't even up to their waists. How could you possibly beat them?"

Da Shi wasn't good at comforting people, so he went to the kitchen to cook noodles. Shi Tou led them in and taught them how to do it next time.

Getting excited, Liu Huan put her hands on her hips and stomped her feet: "Shi Tou, that person is really bad."

Xiao Shi imitated Liu Huan, saying, "That's right, Second Brother, you have no idea he also said he wanted to beat me to death."

Stone: "Yeah, bad guys will be dealt with by someone, don't be angry anymore."

After the two calmed down, I gave them water to wash their hands and said, "Go eat first, I'll stay home with you for a while."

Neither of the two brothers went to school in the afternoon. Da Shi went to ask for leave, saying that his house had been burgled and he needed to stay home and watch over the place.

Su Ming nodded in agreement, and after confirming that there were no major problems, he let him go back.

Stone is washing clothes; the two kids' clothes got dirty from rolling around in them.

Shi Tou sat in the yard, looking at the chicks who had lost their mother hen, and sighed, "Huanhuan, they're so pitiful. What will they do without their mother?"

Liu Huan didn't know what to do either. How could she raise such a small chicken without a mother hen? Poor Xiao Hong, she had probably already been killed and eaten by Wang Laizi.

When Su's father returned in the afternoon, Xiao Shi recounted what had just happened. Su's father picked up a knife and prepared to go out, but Su's mother stopped him, saying, "Come back. That family are all scoundrels. It's no use going there now."

Wang Laizi is notorious for openly stealing other people's things and refusing to return them. He not only claims they are his own but also says he was robbed. Even the village chief can't do anything about him, and villagers avoid him whenever they see him.

Su's father shouted, "Then let him take it?"

Su's mother cried and said, "What else can we do? You know what kind of person he is. He'll keep coming to our house to cause trouble after this. Luckily, the child is alright today, otherwise, how would I live?"

Su's father threw down the knife, lowered his head, and smoked his pipe, and the atmosphere became silent.

Liu Huan quickly changed the subject and asked Su Mu if the mushrooms had been sold.

Upon hearing this, Su's mother managed a smile on her depressed face: "We sold for two hundred coins. The people in that town found it very rare, and it wasn't enough to sell. If I had known, I should have picked up more yesterday."

"So many?" Liu Huan didn't expect it to sell for so much money, but thinking about it, it was even more expensive in her previous life.

Cao'er chimed in, "Yes, they asked us if we were going again tomorrow. Several of us wanted to go."

Liu Huan asked her at the opportune moment, "Has your embroidery been handed in, sister?"

When Cao'er heard that her name was being mentioned, her face lit up with joy: "I've delivered mine, and I've taken more than ten more. I'll deliver the rest next month."

She handed the fifteen coins she had received to Su's mother, but Su's mother refused to take a single penny, saying, "Take it yourself. You can buy whatever you want. A young lady should have some money to herself now that she's grown up."

She was told about this when she got back, and she had forgotten to buy anything for the two children: "Here, this is for you."

Liu Huan's eyes lit up, and she cupped her hands around her heart: "I love my sister the most."

Xiao Shi didn't know what it was, he only knew he had something delicious to eat. "Huanhuan, what is this?"

Liu Huan took one and handed it to him, saying, "Try licking it."

Xiao Shi took a lick, his eyes widened, and he stared at the candied hawthorn. His voice rose an octave: "Huanhuan, I like it so much!"

Liu Huan nodded with a giggle; she had wanted to eat it that day. "I like it so much!"

The two tacitly removed the ones they had licked, and Xiao Shi gave his to Da Shi, while Liu Huan gave hers to Cao'er, saying, "Sister, you can eat too."

Grass was reluctant to buy it earlier, but now she wanted to try it, so she took one and handed it to Stone.

The stones were then passed to Su's mother, who ate one for herself and saved the rest for the two children.

Xiao Shi couldn't bear to eat the last piece; the candy melted in his hand.

Looking at the candied hawthorns with a worried expression, she said, "Huanhuan, I really like them, but I can't bear to eat them, what should I do?"

This was the first time he had ever tasted sweets since he was four years old, and he was incredibly excited about it.

Liu Huan said, "It's okay, we can buy it next time, okay? If you don't eat it now, it will dissolve in a while."

Hearing her say that, Xiao Shi began to lick the food in small bites.

Everyone went to bed early tonight because the whole family was going to pick mushrooms the next day.

Shi Tou was behaving strangely today, refusing to let Liu Huan follow him: "You're going to sleep with your sister tonight."

Liu Huan swayed like a washing machine, "I don't want to, my sister's bed is too small, I can't sleep in it."

Stone patiently coaxed, "Go quickly, just for tonight."

Ignoring him, Liu Huan climbed onto the bed first, and from the innermost part of the bed, called out, "Come on!"

After Shi Tou got into bed, Liu Huan leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Are you thinking of going to find Wang Laizi? Let's go together..."