That evening, Comrade Duan Xiaoxi stayed in He Wan's room first. After the other comrades left, she boiled a pot of water for Duan Xiaoxi and heated up the iron stove so that she could take a bath.
I don't know how long it's been since this girl took a bath. She washed her hair three times and her body was covered in dust. I was worried that she might have lice, so I made a point of observing her.
She didn't have a wooden tub, so she simply washed herself twice. In this situation, she could only go to the bathhouse in the county town to wash.
We dealt with it for one night.
That night, having a stranger lying next to me made me feel a bit uneasy, especially since I couldn't chat with Lao Yun.
The next morning, Xiao Xi woke up quite early.
I cleaned the kitchen for her and boiled water for her.
They even went outside and shoveled the snow in front of the door.
When He Wan got up, she was amazed by her diligence.
"Comrade Duan, thank you."
"Of course, I boiled some water for you. I was going to cook for you, but I don't dare touch any food."
"Hey, my food is right here. Just start cooking. Wait a minute, I'll wash up and then I'll start cooking."
"You wash, you wash, what are you doing? I'll do it."
Seeing how thin she looked, He Wan realized she really needed to eat more.
He took out the millet and two steamed buns made of three kinds of flour.
Let's make some eggplant sauce this morning.
While she was washing her face, Zhang Deping came over carrying a bowl of rice, a few potatoes, and a small winter melon.
“He Zhiqing, I’ve brought some grain over.”
"Comrade Zhang, what are you doing?"
Zhang Deping said apologetically, "After all, I'm the one who rescued him. He's already caused you a lot of trouble by staying in your house. I can't let you provide any more food. Comrade Zhang Yao in the front yard is difficult to get along with. I was afraid that if I sent Comrade Duan to the front yard, she wouldn't agree. So, I brought some food over."
He Wan chuckled and, without being polite, let him put it inside.
Duan Xiaoxi added fuel to the fire in the kitchen while quickly cooking.
Seeing Zhang Deping approach, he quickly went up to greet him.
Zhang Deping was also surprised to see her like this. She was sickly yesterday, but today she's full of energy. Could a little bit of porridge really cure her like that? She's so easy to take care of!
When Zhang Deping saw that she was better, he asked her if she wanted to go back, and that they could take her home.
The moment the topic of going home came up, Duan Xiaoxi's expression changed immediately. She knelt down before Zhang Deping and pleaded, "Comrade Zhang, please, don't send me back. If I go back, they'll beat me to death. Even if they don't kill me, they'll beat me half to death and then sell me to an old man for food. Please, I...I can stay here for a few days. I know everyone has a hard time. I'll leave once I've recovered."
Zhang Deping's words elicited such a strong reaction from Duan Xiaoxi that she was momentarily at a loss for words.
He Wan came in, wiping her face with a towel, and helped Duan Xiaoxi up: "Don't do this. You can stay here for a few days, but you're not from here. Besides, your parents will definitely look for you if they can't find you, and they'll definitely call the police."
"When they come looking for us, everyone at the educated youth settlement will be accused of withholding information or being suspected of human trafficking."
These words terrified Duan Xiaoxi. All she wanted was to find a place to survive, so why was it so difficult?
Wang Xiaorong and the others from next door got up too, brushing their teeth as they leaned over and laughed at Duan Xiaoxi's pale face, saying, "Look how scared you guys made her. Comrade Duan, it's not that it's impossible for you to stay here with us for a short time. We'll each give you some grain so you can have enough to eat, but you can't stay away from home forever, can you? Besides, we all earn work points here. You're not from our village, so you can't earn work points. You can't eat our food every day, can you?"
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