In the yard, the other people could hear clearly what the middle-aged woman said.

The remaining children that person mentioned refer to the Xiao family in the county. They were originally landlords, but later the family fell into poverty and moved to their hometown in Lanshan Village. However, the events over the years had dealt a heavy blow to the Xiao family, and coupled with poverty and lack of medical care, they gradually died, leaving only the youngest, the still ignorant Xiao He, and his biological mother Xu.

No one knew what Xu's name was. She was pretty and had become the object of desire for single men in the village after her husband died a few years ago. But for some unknown reason, she suddenly moved into the Sun family two years ago and became Sun Hong's wife. She never went out again unless something happened to her son.

Thinking of the scenes he had seen before, Zhang Zhi frowned uncomfortably and complained in a low voice, "Is Old Sun going to stop?"

Ever since he had Dabao, he became softer towards the child. Old Sun was a face-conscious person who loved to be noticed. He was usually rude with his words and had no mercy on the child. Whenever there was something wrong, he would bring the child up. Over time, the originally normal child became more and more abnormal. He never uttered a word and became so thin that people could not bear to look at him.

Occasionally, the villagers couldn't stand it anymore and gave him some advice, and he would refute them with a series of words, speaking righteously.

Zhang Rui also frowned. He liked children. Before Tianjiao came into being, he actually liked his eldest nephew very much. But now he has fallen behind. It’s just that the child has nothing to do with him, so he has no right to interfere.

He just pretended not to hear, patted his nephew's chubby butt, and pulled the naughty boy who kept hugging his daughter over to him, "Jiaojiao, I'll hold him, you go put away the notebook and pen, and take a shower and go to bed later."

But he didn't expect that Tianjiao was in a trance. When he touched her, she came back to her senses. Her expression changed slightly, and her pretty little face wrinkled.

She had just concentrated all her attention on the steamed bread in the middle-aged woman's mouth.

You know, before finishing her meal, she happened to give the steamed corn bread to a little boy. If that was the case, then the child who was wrongly accused of stealing was him.

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This steamed corn bread was given to her by the Zhang family. She didn't eat it now, but gave it to an outsider. It would definitely disappoint her grandmother and make her grandfather angry. They didn't like her very much in the first place.

At that time, Tianjiao left the steamed bread because he didn't want to leave anything. Li Mizhen nagged almost every day that the second aunt shouldn't leave anything. Did she really think that all the food came from the flood?

As they were talking, Tianjiao ended up not being able to eat anymore and subconsciously left the food for later. He did this for the past two days, leaving it for Zhang Rui to eat when he got home in a few bites.

You have to know that the family was poor and most people didn't have enough to eat. Old Zhang's family was also poor, so naturally a young man in his twenties like Zhang Rui couldn't eat enough.

Tianjiao hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether he should go or not.

The weight on her legs disappeared, but Dabao's babbling continued, and he even grabbed her clothes unwillingly, but it failed to distract her attention at all.

She stood up with the book in her hand and was about to go into the room when she heard the aunt say, "Oh, to be honest, that child is so pitiful, so thin. When I saw him just now, his hair was pulled out and bleeding. It fell out in clumps. His scalp was bald, revealing the blood-red skin."

Tianjiao couldn't listen any longer, his heart was trembling, he turned around and pulled Zhang Rui's arm, feeling a little flustered, he called out "Dad" weakly

Zhang Ruizheng handed the child to his second brother and turned around and wondered, "What happened?"

Tianjiao pursed his lips and forced a smile. Seeing that his hands were empty, he didn't say anything. He just pulled his hand and ran out, "Follow me."

Zhang Rui was still confused when he was pulled, but he subconsciously followed her.

Not to mention that the short legs were still quite fast at this time, he also needed to speed up to keep up.

He tilted his head to look at the little girl. Her fair face was pale, her lips were tightly pursed, and she looked flustered. Her big eyes were lifeless. Zhang Rui was puzzled, but she didn't say anything and didn't force him.

After running only two steps, Tianjiao suddenly stopped and said awkwardly and helplessly, "Dad, where is the boy?"

Zhang Rui naturally recalled that his daughter had left a steamed bun for him two days ago, but today she didn't. After a little thought, he asked, "Is that steamed bun yours?"

Tianjiao lowered his head, twisted his fingers, and whispered, "It was me. He looked so pitiful, so I gave it to him. I'm sorry."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Rui picked her up and carried her on his shoulders and rushed out. "There's nothing to be sorry about. These are your things. Come on, Dad will take you there."

Tianjiao lay on his shoulder, hooked her arms around his neck. The uneasiness in her heart disappeared because of these words. She subconsciously looked towards the horizon and saw a white cloud in the sunless sky that seemed to have turned into a smiling face. Her eyes also curved. It was great that the father in heaven indulged her as much as the father on earth.

There happened to be an open space at the entrance of the village. There was no shelter in front and the back was also empty, so this piece of land was left vacant.

Because it is close to the entrance of the village and relatively inner, everyone likes to sit here and chat after dinner. This part of the village is also quite cool at night, so it is comfortable to talk.

Zhang Daogen was here listening to others talking.

He was relatively silent, never saying a word. He squinted his eyes and held a cigarette in his mouth. The smoke surrounded him as he puffed out and exhaled, and he felt so comfortable.

Just then, there was a sudden commotion.

Zhang Dagen put away the cigarette and looked over, and saw that the conversation had stopped at some point. Everyone was looking at the man standing in the middle, Old Sun Sunhong, and Xu, who was crying heartbreakingly but couldn't stop him.

Although he looks tall and strong, he is actually a coward who only bullies the elderly, the weak, women and children. Everyone in the village laughs at him.

At this moment, the one curled up in pain at his feet was the child.

Zhang Dagen suddenly couldn't smoke anymore, turned around and whispered to his friend who was also sitting there, "What evil are you trying to do?"

Zhao Dali also nodded and said, "That's right, the child is so young."

It's a different era now, and people have gradually relaxed their minds about these things. No one deliberately does anything, and some even feel a little sorry for the only orphan and widow left in the Xiao family.

Their Lanshan Village is actually a village that was gathered together during the war in the early years. There are all kinds of surnames, but the surname Zhai is more common, so they can be considered locals. The Xiao family used to be a landlord in the county, but that was many years ago.

It was precisely because of what Sun Hong did that the people in their village were quite sympathetic towards Xu and Xiao He.

A few people sighed, and then they saw that Sun Hong had already started his speech.

He had a rather fierce look on his face, especially when he had a tiger-like expression. When he stood in the middle of the crowd and spoke loudly, he would occasionally kick the child who was in pain at his feet.

"This child is so dishonest. Who has extra steamed bread to give him these days? If it was one or two pieces of sweet potato, I would believe it, but these steamed bread are not enough for our family to eat." Sun Hong was excited and looked around with some enjoyment. Dozens of people from the village were looking at him. A sense of satisfaction arose spontaneously. He straightened his chest and pointed at the boy who was shrinking in silence, "Look at what he has become now."

"He didn't steal it. Someone really gave it to him." Xu knelt on the ground, choking with sobs, holding the child.

Sun Hong looked annoyed and kicked her twice. "You only know how to protect him. If it weren't for you, he would have grown up crooked. Get rid of her quickly."

After he finished speaking, a thin woman who was watching with others in the crowd came out and pulled Xu away, "Come on, the head of the family is doing things, why are you interfering? You didn't teach the child well, and now you're crying."

Xu was unwilling to let go, and hurriedly shook her head and struggled and cried, "No, Xiaohe is really not a bad boy."

Sun's mother's eyes became fierce, and she threatened in her ear, "Do you still want Sun Hong to support you?"

Xu's crying paused, as if someone was holding her lifeline. Sun's mother immediately pulled her hands away, and the child rolled out from between her relaxed arms.

There was a muffled "bang", and the child still didn't make any sound, as if he was muted.

Xu's eyes were flustered for a moment, but she did not resist and was dragged away. However, her gaze was still fixed on the ball.

It was like that again, no sound at all, like he was not a person but an object.

She slowly hugged herself with her arms and was dragged, stumbling away, her heart filled with sadness and helplessness.

"Okay, Sun Hong, how old is this child?" Someone couldn't stand it and spoke up.

Sun Hong glared fiercely and said, "No matter how old you are, you can't tolerate it. The great man said that you have to start from childhood. Look at this..."

He squatted down, pulled up the little hair left on the child's scalp and forced his face up, revealing his swollen mouth. "Look, this is the evidence. The steamed bread in his mouth is all food."

Xiao He's head was dizzy from the beating, but he remained silent. He was breathing heavily, but very rapidly, as if he could die at any time.

He couldn't swallow the steamed bread in his mouth, so he could only keep it in his mouth and refused to spit it out.

His big eyes were particularly prominent because of the pain, looking a little scary, but he looked at the people who bullied him without blinking. There was no anger or resentment in his eyes, only calmness.

Someone whispered, “It really is.”

"But you can't say he stole it from someone else. Who's family would have their steamed buns stolen these days?"

"The child is still so young, Lao Sun, forget it."

The villagers couldn't bear it, and some of them tried to force their way over and take the child away.

"If you don't teach him a lesson from this incident, do you hope that he will really become a thief in the future?" Sun Hong did not stop him, but looked righteous.

Most of the people here are in their 40s and 50s, and they are not as good at talking as him. They are a little anxious and don’t know how to refute. “You can’t say that. What if someone really gave it to him? I usually feel sorry for this child and give him a sweet potato.”

Sun Hong asked back, "Will you give us steamed bread?"

The villagers shut up. Steamed buns are a little more expensive than sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes can be found in the fields and they eat them on weekdays. They don’t waste them but they don’t feel particularly sorry about it. But it’s different with steamed buns.

Suddenly a clear child's voice rang out, "I gave it to you, don't bully him."

Sun Hong's face froze.

It's been so long, and no one has admitted it. After all, everyone is not doing well. If someone's family is a little better now, maybe relatives will come to borrow money or something. Good things have to be consumed by oneself. How dare someone admit it?

Sun Hong narrowed his eyes and looked over unhappily, and saw the child that Zhang Rui had brought over, looking at him angrily, "A little girl."

Zhang Rui took two steps forward, frowned and scolded, "What's wrong with the girl? Didn't she eat your food?"

Zhang Dagen was also stunned. He ate the melon but didn't expect to eat his own family.

He looked at the father and daughter unhappily. The old woman loved Zhang Rui and her so much that she gave her steamed corn bread. But she actually gave it to a stranger. Did she think it was too much?

Since they are not his biological daughter, Zhang Dagen could not think of her first at this moment. Although he felt a little bit reluctant about the scene in front of him, he was more numb. Hearing these words at this time, he would naturally be unhappy, and even Li Mizhen, who came over a step later, was a little unhappy.

Tianjiao didn't expect that such a situation would occur when she did a good deed. She was really panicked this time. Her eyes were fixed on the curled up, seemingly small ball. Even though she was more than ten meters away, she could still clearly sense that the breath of life was a little weak.

Tianjiao felt his heart ache and his eyes turned red. He spoke clearly in a crying voice, "It was really me. He didn't finish the steamed bread that grandma gave him at noon. I put it in my pocket and gave it to him before dinner."

Zhao Dali saw this and quickly said, "See, Sun Hong, stop messing with other people's children. If anything happens, your wife will fight you to death."

Aunt Xiaoling, a relative of the village chief, also said, "That's right. How old is the child? It's a boy. You should take good care of him. He will be able to take care of you in your old age and see you to the end of your life."

Sun Hong's face changed, and the momentum he had gathered before was gone. He snorted with some shame and annoyance, but forced himself to be calm, "I know. I'm just afraid that he will go astray in the future. Wasn't there someone who stole a neighbor's chicken and got that?"

As he said this, he kept complaining in his heart, damn, it was actually someone else who gave it to him and ruined his chance to show off today.

"Zhang Rui, you really treasure this girl you picked up," Sun Hong said sourly.

It seems that the Zhang family is still doing well, and they even have extra steamed bread to give to others.

Tianjiao clenched his hands tightly, and when he saw Sun Hong walking towards him, he shrank back in fear.

Zhang Rui noticed it and quickly hugged her tighter, saying calmly, "My daughter, of course she's precious. Even if I don't eat, I have to make sure she's full. And don't come over here, you're scaring my daughter."

"What do you mean?" Sun Hong was angry.

Zhang Zhi came over from behind and yelled in a rough voice, "What's the point? Don't you know you look scary?"

The two brothers came together. The Sun family had only one son. Seeing this, Sun Hong spat and turned away angrily.

Tianjiao stared at him the whole time, and only relaxed a little when the man turned around. This man did look fierce, but he didn't seem to be very courageous. She whispered, "Bad guy, I curse you to fall on your head."

"Puff." Zhang Rui was touched by the little girl's voice. He smiled and patted her on the back. "Don't be afraid. Daddy is here. He can't beat Daddy."

Tianjiao wiped away the tears that had just come out of his fright, pursed his lips and kissed him on the cheek, then struggled to get off Zhang Rui and said softly, "Thank you, Dad. Dad, I want to go see him."

Xiao He was lying on the ground. The village chief Zhao Jiangang, who had hurried over, squatted there to check on his condition. The people next to him were reporting to him what had just happened.

Tianjiao looked at her little hands, which were white, tender and small, without any attack power. Although she had no spiritual power, she still had her talents and abilities, and hoped that they could be of some use.

Zhang Rui touched the half of his face that was kissed, smiled, and took her over. He felt sweet in his heart. It felt really good to be a father.

They had only taken two steps when they heard a scream of "Ah!"

Everyone was talking about the follow-up and no one noticed. When they heard the voice and turned around, they saw Sun Hong, who had walked a little further away, fall to the ground.

A young man ran over to check and said, "My head hit a rock and it's bleeding."

The crowd was shocked.

Zhang Rui's eyelids jumped, and he glanced at his little girl who looked guilty. This crow's mouth,