Chapter 121 Silly Girl
"Yingzi, don't be afraid."
Wang Ming turned to comfort the girl gently.
Seeing Ye Hua looking over, Wang Ming hurriedly explained, "This is my great-uncle's granddaughter named Yingzi. She should call me brother. Her parents both died in misfortune. If I hadn't come early, this girl would have starved herself to the point of selling herself."
Yingzi looked at Ye Wan and Ye Hua with a hint of hostility. "Ming-ge, who are they?"
“He’s from my village, he’s here to find someone.” Wang Ming told Yingzi to let go of him.
Ye Hua hurriedly asked, "Wang Ming, you said you had news of my second sister, where is she?"
"I heard it from Old Wang in Ping County. A slave trader bought a girl named Cao'er who tried to run away, but he got beaten up. Old Wang is in that alley behind. I'll take you there now."
Wang Ming originally only planned to take Ye Wan and Ye Hua with him, but Yingzi insisted on coming along, so he had no choice but to bring her along as well.
"That girl, she's really stubborn. I remember she's a bit like you. She was beaten until she vomited blood, and then she was dragged out. I heard she was going to be sold off cheaply."
"It's grass, it must be grass." Ye Hua burst into tears as soon as she heard Old Wang's words. Grass had suffered so much.
Ye Wan comforted her, "Don't cry, Second Sister will definitely be fine. Besides, how can we be sure it's her? There are plenty of people who have had affairs."
In the countryside, families name their daughters with flowers or grass; since she was born on a winding road, they named her Wan (弯).
On the way back, seeing Ye Hua wiping away tears, Wang Ming felt a little guilty and said, "Hua'er, I'm sorry. I couldn't find anyone and made you sad for no reason. I should have asked around. I made you come all this way for nothing."
"It's alright, thank you anyway. No news is good news, at least we know my second sister is still alive."
Ye Hua wiped away her tears and spoke gently to Wang Ming.
Wang Ming lowered his head, not daring to look at Ye Hua. "It's already dark. If you don't mind, why don't you stay here for the night? I'm taking Yingzi back early tomorrow morning, so you can keep each other company."
Ye Hua felt it was inconvenient and originally wanted to refuse, but Ye Wan agreed.
"Thank you, I appreciate your help."
There's still an empty room here, which she and Ye Hua live in. It's too late to look for another place.
Wang Ming scratched his head awkwardly, "It's no trouble at all. It's all my fault for not asking properly and making you come all this way for nothing."
Then he said to Yingzi, who was following him, "Yingzi, it's getting late, you should go to sleep. I'll take you to my house tomorrow."
"Ming-ge, I want to sleep with you."
Wang Ming looked at Ye Hua awkwardly, "This...you're not a child anymore, it's not appropriate for me..."
Yingzi is already fifteen. Even if she were her own brother, it wouldn't be appropriate for them to sleep on the same kang (heated brick bed) anymore, let alone someone who isn't related by blood, but only by kinship.
"Ming-ge, I'm scared. There are ghosts when it gets dark." Yingzi looked at Wang Ming pitifully.
"Why don't you live with your two older sisters and you won't be scared, Yingzi..."
Before Wang Ming could finish speaking, Yingzi burst into tears, "I don't want to!"
Seeing this, Ye Hua said, "She looks terrified. You, as her older brother, should put together a stool in the room and sleep there."
Wang Ming thought this would work, so he went to find some stools to put together.
Ye Wan noticed that Yingzi secretly glared at Ye Hua.
I pulled Ye Hua back into the house to rest.
The next day, Ye Wan got up as soon as it was light.
Wang Ming also woke up and stood awkwardly in the kitchen. "I'm sorry, there's really nothing to eat."
He and Yingzi had already finished the food he brought yesterday, so he had nothing else to take out now.
Ye Hua came out of the house with a bundle and said, "I brought some dry food with me. Have a bite and then we'll go."
It's a pancake made from a mixture of coarse and refined grains, sprinkled with chopped green onions, and it smells quite delicious.
Ye Wan was afraid of attracting envy, so she didn't take out her own rations.
He handed one of the dry biscuits to the driver at the door, saying, "Uncle, this is yours."
"Hey, scallion pancakes are still the best! So delicious and fragrant!"
The group of people boarded the donkey cart while munching on flatbread.
"Uncle, why are the people from Ping County looking at us like that?" Ye Hua couldn't help but ask on the way.
They sat on a donkey cart, and everyone who passed by stared at them as if they were some kind of alien.
"You don't know, when the bandits came before, all the pretty women were raped, and now no one goes out."
Hearing the driver speak, Yingzi shrank her neck and gripped Wang Ming's clothes tightly.
“Yingzi, don’t be afraid, it’s broad daylight, there are no ghosts.” Wang Ming patted her arm and then explained, “This girl was terrified when her parents died.”
Ye Hua softly asked Yingzi if she wanted to eat some more pancakes.
"stop!"
"Don't run, you brat! You dare steal my cornbread! I'll beat you to death!"
Just then, a burly figure rushed towards them.
"Hey! Hey! Watch where you're going! Why are you deliberately crashing into my donkey cart!"
The driver panicked and quickly stopped the donkey cart.
Instead, this person started circling the donkey cart.
Ye Wan then realized that the one who had run away was a sturdy girl, covered in black from head to toe, including her face. If you didn't look closely, you might mistake her for a man.
"You brat, if you run again, I'll beat you to death today."
The man who had been chasing the donkey cart stopped in front of it, panting heavily, his face contorted with rage.
"You can kill me, but I'll still steal it!" the chubby girl retorted, her neck stiff.
"What did she steal from you?" Ye Hua asked curiously.
"My two cornbread buns! She stole two!"
Yingzi hid behind Wang Ming, saying, "Why did you steal? Stealing is wrong, you should give it back right now!"
Ye Wan was speechless. "She's already eaten, why is she still eating?"
If someone steals food, they must be hungry. Why ask why?
"Then you should pay them compensation." Yingzi pointed at the chubby girl.
"Pay back? Where would she get the money? This silly girl steals when she's starving. It's not the first time. And she's incredibly strong. Last time, she was caught by four or five men, but she escaped while they were looking for a rope." The man was furious.
Upon hearing this, Ye Wan's eyes lit up as she looked at the silly girl.
Ye Hua said gently, "I still have half a pancake here to compensate you, so please don't hit her."
"Consider yourself lucky this time. If you dare to steal again, I'll beat you to death!"
The man walked away, grumbling and cursing, with the pancake in his hand.
The silly girl stared intently at the pancake, her mouth watering, and wiped it away with her hand.
"Your name is Silly Girl? How strong are you?" Ye Wan sized up Silly Girl.
The silly girl turned her head and stared at Ye Wan expectantly, "If I'm full, six men can't beat me."
"Then would you like to come with me? Big sister, give him the other half of your pancake." The second half of the sentence was said to Ye Hua.
"Can you give me something to eat? Anything is fine, even pig swill, as long as I can eat, I'll go with you."
The silly girl finished the pancake in two or three bites, and her eyes lit up when she looked at Ye Wan.
"I'll go with you!"
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