Chapter 169 Li Nanke, you're really ruthless
Xie Xuanxiao turned his head in a daze.
Li Nanke was still sitting in the boxwood tree, which was about half a person's height, and she smiled at him with an exceptionally bright smile.
"Brother Xie, could you do me a favor? A branch behind me has gotten caught in my hair. Could you please help me untangle it?"
Xie Xuanxiao peeked over.
A strand of Li Nanke's left braid got caught on a tree branch, and the red ribbon tied to it also got tangled in the branch, causing her left braid to loosen slightly.
No wonder she was sitting on the ground; she couldn't get up.
Xie Xuanxiao stepped forward, but suddenly remembered the little girl's confident way of saying that one should not listen to what is improper if one does not understand. The lingering resentment in his heart surged up again.
The frustration, grievance, and annoyance of arguing with her crush for the first time were magnified at this moment, and unfortunately, all of this was witnessed by the little girl Li Nanke.
Xie Xuanxiao slowly withdrew the foot he had stepped out, and looked down at Li Nanke with his hands behind his back.
"Little girl, aren't you supposed to be full of tricks? What's wrong? This little thing has stumped you?"
Li Nanke...
Xie Xuanxiao stood with his hands behind his back, bending down to look him over.
"If you want me to help you, it's not difficult. First, apologize to me and promise that you will never eavesdrop on other people's conversations again."
I'll consider helping you.
Li Nanke puffed out his cheeks.
She didn't mean to eavesdrop.
What if I don't apologize?
Xie Xuanxiao shrugged.
"Then you'll have to figure it out yourself."
Li Nanke frowned, and said indignantly, "You're taking advantage of someone's misfortune."
"Then you can choose not to give in."
"Hmph, I'll figure it out myself."
Xie Xuanxiao was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting her to refuse to give in.
If I were to take back what I just said, I would lose face.
He could only hum softly, "Then you can unravel it yourself slowly. Don't be afraid if any snakes, rats, insects, or ants crawl out of this forest later."
Li Nanke made a face at him, his left hand already behind his head, struggling against the branch that was tangled in his hair.
Xie Xuanxiao hadn't expected this girl to be so stubborn. He snorted and turned to leave in a huff.
If Li Nanke hadn't had an injury on his palm wrapped in white cloth, he wouldn't have asked Xie Xuanxiao for help.
She tried several times but couldn't break the branch, so she changed her approach and untied the headband from her braid, then loosened the braid.
Once the braid was untied, the branch that was hooking the hair also came loose.
Perfectly solved!
The problem is that she can't braid her hair, so she can only leave one side of her hair down.
Li Nanke untied the hair ribbon from the tree branch, put it in her bosom, and made a face in the direction Xie Xuanxiao had left.
"You cheapskate! I could have solved it myself without you, hmph!"
He then pushed aside the bushes and turned to walk towards the soup kitchen.
They had only taken a few steps when a thud suddenly came from ahead.
A dark figure landed heavily, rolled forward a few times, and stopped in front of Li Nanke.
"ah!"
Li Nanke was startled and almost fell to the ground.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid."
She patted her chest in fear, whispering to herself to reassure herself, only to realize that the person rolling in front of her was a man.
The man lay on the ground, his gray long robe covered in mud and wrinkled like soaked pickled vegetables.
His gray hair was greasy and stuck to his forehead, covering half of his face, while the exposed half of his face was sallow.
His eyes were sunken, and his cloudy eyes stared straight at Li Nanke.
Whether it was her imagination or not, Li Nanke felt that those eyes seemed to light up when they saw her.
She hesitated for a moment, then slowly squatted down and looked at the man.
Grandpa, are you alright?
The man's palm-length beard was stuck together in a clump, and he trembled slightly before speaking.
The sounds squeezed out of his throat were like a cracked riverbed rubbing against rocks; each sound seemed to be forcibly pulled out, rustling and sharp.
"Little girl, can you do me a favor?"
"What kind of help do you need? You mean, do you want me to help you up?"
The man shakily stretched out his hand and pointed to a spot not far away.
"Could you help me hang it on that tree?"
Li Nanke followed his hand and saw a hemp rope.
The hemp rope was about the thickness of a thumb, and there was a broken branch next to it.
She picked up the rope. "Was it hanging on that tree?"
She pointed to a large locust tree on the left, about half a person's thickness.
The old locust tree was leaning very far, with most of its roots exposed, and only a few roots still in the soil.
If you want to climb a tree, you can simply follow the sloping trunk to get up.
The man nodded and pointed to one of the slightly taller branches, which was about the thickness of a calf.
"It's hanging on that branch."
Li Nanke glanced at the man lying on the ground, her eyes darting around.
"Grandpa, why are you hanging a rope? Are you going to hang yourself?"
The man's breath hitched, his sunken eyes darted around, and he shook his head with difficulty.
"No, no, I... I just wanted to stretch my arms and legs."
Hanging on a rope to move your arms and legs in the tree?
Li Nanke frowned, thinking to herself, "Does this grandpa think I'm a three-year-old child who's so easy to fool?"
The man struggled to sit up from the ground and bowed slightly to her.
"Please, little girl, help me, okay?"
Li Nanke tilted her head and stared at him for a long time before nodding.
"All right."
She took the rope and walked up the thick tree trunk. When she reached a slightly higher spot, she sat down and moved forward little by little.
Until it was moved to the branch the man had designated.
Is this the place?
A glint of light flashed in the man's eyes, and he nodded emphatically.
"Hang it up and tie a knot for me, please."
"OK."
Li Nanke obediently hung the rope up and laboriously tied a knot with his bare fingers.
Then I walked down the tree trunk.
"Grandpa, it's done."
The man knelt on the ground, clasped his hands together, raised them to his forehead, and then slowly bowed.
His voice became even hoarser, "Thank you, young lady."
Then, with both palms pressed on the ground, they began to move forward little by little.
Li Nanke then noticed that his right trouser leg was empty below the knee; he only had one leg and one foot!
No wonder...
The man moved to the tree and stood up unsteadily on his left foot.
Whether it was due to weakness or an inability to adapt to standing on one leg, he swayed from side to side, and after standing for a while, he fell back to the ground.
Li Nanke stood to the side and even kindly asked a question.
"Grandpa, do you need me to help you?"
The man glanced at her and shook his head.
"Girl, if you're alright, go home. Don't scare yourself."
Li Nanke smiled, but didn't move.
After several attempts, the man finally managed to stand shakily on one leg.
Looking up at the rope hanging in front of him, his eyes lit up once again.
If he can get on the rope, he can reunite with his wife, son, grandson, daughter, and the whole family.
They're all waiting underground; we can't keep them waiting too long!
The man gritted his teeth, hopped up on one foot, and reached out to pull the rope.
A lithe figure suddenly darted over and grabbed him in a hug.
The two staggered a few steps before regaining their balance.
Xie Xuanxiao supported the man with one hand, glaring angrily at Li Nanke.
"Li Nanke, do you know what he's planning to do?"
Li Nanke blinked. "I know, it's about hanging yourself."
Xie Xuanxiao's eyes widened in surprise.
"You knew and you still helped him tie the rope, just watching him hang up? Li Nanke, how can you be so cruel at such a young age?"
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