Soon I was standing at the gate, and through the crack I could see the scene in the yard: a group of children were running around the fire, having a great time.
The only light in the room was from a dim lamp, indicating that someone was inside.
Erni dug potatoes out of the fire, counting them as she went. Once she made sure the number was right, she started tapping the ashes off them with a stick.
"Is it ripe yet, sister?" Wu Ya asked sweetly.
"It's ready. You can eat it once it's cooled down." Erni carefully sorted the potatoes by quality, giving the larger ones the less desirable ones and the smaller ones the better-roasted ones.
Lu Zhixia looked at the little girl's back through the firelight and felt that she looked familiar. Then she looked at the other little ones.
Suddenly I remembered that the children I rescued on the street that day were these same few.
However, it was a bit dark tonight, and we could only make out their faces by the firelight.
“I know them!” she said excitedly.
Gu Lingxiao pointed to the corner, "Isn't that the kid selling ice cream at the very back?"
Upon closer inspection, Lu Zhixia realized it was indeed true. "This—could it be—"
She thought of Erni, the child whose face she had never seen clearly, but whose stubborn little eyes she could never forget.
"Who's outside?" Erni heard someone speaking and immediately became alert, picking up a fire poker from the ground.
Grandpa is seriously ill now, and there are only a few children in the family. Maybe the neighbors have something on their minds.
This threw her into a panic, but she had no choice but to muster the courage to face everything!
Lu Zhixia called out softly, "It's me!"
The voice sounded familiar, and Erni, accompanied by Hu Zi, went to the door. When she saw the aunt who had helped them on the street that day standing there, she was shocked!
Tiger blurted out, "Auntie, what brings you here!"
Erni looked at the man beside her with a scrutinizing gaze. He was really tall, to the point that she had to look up at him.
"Uncle!" Sanwa stepped forward and called out enthusiastically.
"Good boy!" Gu Lingxiao said.
Erni tugged at Sanwa, "How come you know him?"
“This uncle also helped me,” Sanwa said.
Erni breathed a sigh of relief, realizing they were good people who had probably come here by accident, and then she opened the door.
"You may come in!"
Lu Zhixia stepped into the courtyard. Autumn was almost over, and the courtyard looked desolate. Several children sat around the fire.
"Is this what you usually eat?" Lu Zhixia asked, looking at the roasted potatoes on the ground.
Erni followed along the way, saying, "Potatoes can be stored for a long time and can be used as both a meal and a side dish."
Lu Zhixia looked at the little girl's face, which was still dirty.
"Could you go wash your face? I want to see what you look like!"
Erni was stunned. She hadn't washed her face in a long time. Her grandmother had told her how to protect herself before she passed away.
"Is that okay?" Lu Zhixia asked.
Erni nodded to indicate that she could, then went to the old water vat, filled a basin with water, and began to wash her face carefully.
The clear water quickly turned muddy, and then she changed the water in the basin.
Tiger gave her the old towel.
Erni felt incredibly comfortable and closed her eyes. It had been a long time since she had washed her face so comfortably.
At this moment, Lu Zhixia thought of the birthmark on her arm and froze on the spot the instant the little girl turned around.
Erni looks a lot like her when she was a child, especially with her short hair. You could say they look about 60 or 70% alike. If you look closely, her eyes resemble Song Weidong's.
“That should be it,” Gu Lingxiao said.
Lu Zhixia hurried over, kicked open her sleeve, and saw the birthmark that could prove the child's identity.
It sounded just like what Tao Lihua had described. Then she looked closely at the child's face, hugged the person tightly, and tears streamed down her face.
Her daughter has finally been found!
Gu Lingxiao saw all of this, and then looked around again. He was also very moved, and tears welled up in his eyes.
This was the first time Erni had been hugged so tightly. She was at a loss and didn't know how to resist.
Lu Zhixia released the child and looked at her carefully again. "Ni! I'm your mother!"
Erni stood frozen in place as if struck by lightning!
Mother!
These two words were too unfamiliar to her; she had called them "Grandma" and "Mom" when she was just learning to speak.
At that time, her grandmother corrected her and said that she was calling her by the wrong name, telling her that her grandmother was just her grandmother, and her mother was the one who gave birth to her and raised her.
At that time, she only vaguely understood. When she got a little older, she saw that children her age had mothers and fathers, and some even had brothers and sisters. She always saw them living happily together as a family.
Back then, she thought it was wonderful to have a mother, but now she doesn't need her, so she pushed her away forcefully.
"I don't have a mother!"
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