Judging from the child's age, she's either the eighth or ninth child. If she really is my daughter, then...

Thinking of this, Tang Youtian quickened his pace. Not long after crossing the bridge, the two arrived in the town. Just as they turned a corner and were about to head towards the surrounding villages, he reached out and stopped Tao Tao: "Little girl, wait, wait a minute!"

Tao Tao had been waiting for this moment, and even felt that this person had spoken too late. She tightened her grip on the backpack strap and then looked up at him.

Looking closely at the little girl in front of him, Tang Youtian became even more certain that this was his own child, because she looked so much like Cao Amei, especially since she had inherited the best features from both of them. This little girl was not only energetic, but also looked fair and tender, which showed that her family was well-off.

Could it be that the brewery raised them? It seems that of all the children sent out, only that one family was relatively well-off.

"Sir, what can I do for you?"

When Xiao Jiu politely looked at Tang Youtian, Tang Youtian stared wide-eyed at the address: "Big, Grandpa?"

"What's wrong, sir? Is something the problem?"

Tang Youtian's smile faltered somewhat, but he knew that at his age, it was impossible for him to be someone's uncle, so he simply asked with a smile.

"Which village are you from? You look about the same age as my daughter. Maybe you're even classmates!"

"The old man's daughter is in junior high school now?"

Tang Youtian's smile froze. "Junior high? How old are you? Are you already in junior high?"

"Fourteen, I'm in the second year of junior high. I live in the county town, and I'm on my way to my maternal grandparents' house. What's up? Is there something you need?"

"Fourteen? You said you're fourteen? How is that possible? Judging from your appearance, you're no more than ten years old."

Wow, you're pretty accurate. But so what? It's none of your business how old I am.

Xiao Jiu looked at him and smiled: "Why would I lie to you? We don't even know each other. Besides, I am indeed in junior high school. You're just looking at me because I'm short, right? My family members are all short, so I probably won't grow tall either. By the way, sir, what do you need me for?"

If he's fourteen, he's definitely not the youngest. He remembers the youngest's age most clearly; he was born in 1950. The others...

Could it be the sixth or seventh son?

Just as Tang Youtian was watching Xiao Jiu frantically guess which of his daughters she was, Xiao Jiu, too lazy to waste words with him, turned around and left.

Tang Youtian was anxious; how could he not get anything out of her? He followed behind her with small, quick steps, trying to get more information out of her, but Xiao Jiu didn't give him a chance to ask any more questions.

“My parents and teachers taught us not to talk to strangers, and especially not to reveal our names or home addresses. Didn’t you know that a little girl was murdered at No. 1 Middle School a few days ago?”

Tang Youtian was taken aback. "Well, I have heard about this before, but I'm not a bad person. I just think you look a lot like my daughter."

"Grandpa, you're ridiculous. You just said I was classmates with your daughter, and now you're saying I look like her? Do you have a photo? Show it to me."

This time, Tang Youtian reacted quickly, "Was that you at the distillery just now? You know Tang Cuilian, right? That's my third son's daughter. Don't you think she looks a lot like you?"

Xiao Jiu pursed her lips, pretended to think, and then expressed her opinion.

"They do say we look alike, but that was when it was between me and her. What does that have to do with you? You're so mean! I know my sister Cuilian has a terrible past. Her father sold her mother because he didn't want her to have a son, and he married a stepmother. I even heard that the son her stepmother brought with her wasn't her father's biological son. Sir, if you were Cuilian's father, wouldn't you be that wicked father?"

"Which bastard is spreading rumors about me behind my back? What nonsense! This is just jealousy, okay? Who said I'm bad to Cuilian? She told you herself!"

Xiao Jiu looked him up and down with a look of disgust. "Alright, old man, stop pretending. Everyone knows what you're doing at the factory. It's one thing to not support your daughter, but you have the nerve to come to the factory and ask her for food. And why did you follow me all the way here? What do you want? To adopt me as your daughter? You'll have to ask my parents if they're willing!"

"Who, who said they wanted to adopt you as their daughter? I have nine daughters, why would I want an outsider like you?"

Tang Youtian's offhand remark made Xiao Jiu's smile appear somewhat cold.

"So what if you have nine daughters? Did you raise even one of them from childhood?"

Having said that, she felt somewhat uncomfortable and was too lazy to continue talking to such a person, so she simply turned to leave. Unexpectedly, he actually reached out and grabbed her arm. Xiao Jiu glanced at him sideways, lifted her eyelids, and looked indifferent.

"Get to the point, stop this charade and let go."

Tang Youtian was startled by the little girl's eyes. "You little girl, you're really something! Look, for your sister Cuilian's sake, could you lend me some money? Or, if all else fails, could you lend me those four steamed buns you bought? I have a little boy at home who hasn't eaten or drunk anything. He's four or five years old and so skinny he barely has any flesh on him. He's so pitiful. Please, little girl, could you give me those steamed buns?"

Xiao Jiu didn't expect him to ask for it so directly, and she really felt sorry for him when she saw how weak and listless he sounded.

But what does his pitifulness have to do with her?

His hunched body and dark, sunken face made him look older than a sixty-year-old even though he was only forty.

His fingers were deformed from years of hard work, but even so, he was still willing to raise someone else's son.

Does this mean that every pitiful person has something hateful about them?

Tang Youtian was the least like Tang Laotai among her four sons, which is why Tang Laotai disliked and disliked him.

Compared to his sharp-tongued and mean-spirited mother, he was honest and kind, like Old Man Tang, but his personality was unlike either of the scheming couple. If Tang Youtian had been more calculating and clever, he wouldn't have been fooled to this extent by that woman.

But she didn't pity such a person at all. Even if Cao Amei was sold by her family, she felt that he was also involved.

"If I don't give it to you, are you planning to forcibly take it from me?"

Xiao Jiu didn't directly refuse, but instead looked up at Tang Youtian with a half-smile.

Tang Youtian's face turned bright red instantly because of her words, and he looked so ashamed and indignant that he wished he could dig a hole and crawl into it.

Xiao Jiu snorted coldly, "I bought this for my family, why should I give it to you? Who are you to me?"

She gave him a disdainful look and strode away, leaving Tang Youtian standing in the cold wind with a red face, reflecting on his incompetence.

As a result, before she had taken more than ten steps, he suddenly jumped out from behind her and knelt down in front of her with a thud.

"Little girl, I beg you, please have mercy. We adults can manage, but my son really can't take it anymore. Please give me that bun. I've already sold my blood three times, but this time they wouldn't let me donate. I have no other choice, I really have no other choice. My child is waiting for this food. I've borrowed from everyone I can, but they're struggling too, they can't even scrape together a single grain. If you have any, please give me a bite. If I survive, I'll pay you back, okay?"

How pitiful!

They actually resorted to selling their blood.

But what does this have to do with her?

Why resort to moral blackmail in public?

He was afraid that if he didn't get the food, he wouldn't be able to explain it to his wife and son when he got home. What about her?

"Are you targeting me? I already told you, the buns I bought were for my relatives. Your child needs help, but aren't my relatives also relatives? Why should you beg me, a minor with no legal capacity, for help? Is it my fault that you can't get food? Is it my fault that you've been reduced to selling your blood?"

"No, no, little girl, that's not what I meant,"

Xiao Jiu was furious. "That's exactly what you mean! Your current behavior is using your so-called morality to blackmail me, making people who don't know the truth think that I bullied you and ate your family's food. Yes, I'm talking about you bystanders. Why are you pointing fingers at me? I don't even know him. He followed me all the way from the county town, and just because I bought four steamed buns, he started targeting me. So many people went to buy steamed buns, why didn't you follow them? Why did you have to target an easy-to-bully little girl like me? What kind of behavior is this?"

Saying this, too lazy to listen to Tang Youtian's explanation anymore, "Your son and daughter-in-law starved to death, what does that have to do with me? Do I even know you? What kind of world is this? Your family's food can save lives, but mine can't? Or do you think my family's life is less valuable than your son's? You selfish bastard, no wonder you gave away all nine of your daughters, and the son you painstakingly raised might even be someone else's child. Bah, trash, I feel disgusted just looking at you, get away from me!"

Xiao Jiu was furious. Thinking about the background of those nine daughters, he felt extremely aggrieved.

Although she was a time traveler, if these people hadn't been reborn and traveled back in time, could these girls have been saved by Tang Cuihua, who dreamt of the ending?

She didn't think Cuihua had the ability to save all her sisters, nor did she think she could change the fate of the nine of them.

So the man in front of you is the worst. If he hadn't been so irresponsible in taking one woman after another, how could so many girls have ended up with such tragic fates?

Even with these women trying to change the situation, it's a fact that the fourth brother can't hear, and the seventh and eighth brothers are blind and lame.

It's all his fault!

Now she's asking for her food rations for a son who isn't related to her by blood. Does she deserve that?

When Xiao Jiu saw that the hand was still grabbing her leg, she immediately kicked Tang Youtian in the chest with disgust, looking fierce and not to be trifled with. This scared the onlookers, including Tang Youtian who was kneeling on the ground, who was also stunned by Xiao Jiu's sudden outburst of anger.