Song Ning rushed forward in one stride: "Who are you saying is missing?"
"It's...it's that little girl you brought who's gone missing."
Song Ning's face turned deathly pale. The proprietress snapped, "Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on things?"
"Please forgive me, Master. Miss Tao dropped her toy just now, so I went to pick it up. When I came back, I found that Miss Tao was gone."
The person had only run out a short while ago, so they probably couldn't have gone far.
Song Ning didn't have time to think about anything else and quickly ran out of the store to look for someone.
There were many people on the street, but Song Ning looked around and couldn't find any trace of Xiao Tao.
The proprietress also sent people to help search, but Song Ning walked and asked along the way, and still couldn't find anyone after walking quite a distance.
He wasn't afraid of anything else, but he was afraid of human traffickers. What if he got kidnapped...? Just thinking about that possibility sent a chill down Song Ning's spine.
On another street, Xie Linzhou, who was walking along the street, suddenly saw a little girl in a pink floral cotton-padded jacket standing not far away, drooling as she looked at the roast chicken on the street.
Xie Linzhou pointed over there and ordered, "Go and bring that little girl here."
Zhang Ping recognized the little girl; she used to follow Song Erya around all the time.
Just as Zhang Ping was about to go over, Xie Linzhou instructed, "Buy a roast chicken while you're at it." Then he turned around and went up to the teahouse behind him.
"yes."
Zhang Ping paid the bill and coaxed her gently, "Little girl, I bought you a roast chicken. Let's go to the teahouse over there to eat."
Xiao Tao shook her head, took two steps back, and looked timidly at Zhang Ping.
"This was bought for you by my young master at the teahouse over there."
Xiao Tao shook her head again: "My sister said we can't accept things from strangers."
Zhang Ping paused, then laughed. This little girl was quite wary.
"Don't worry, I'm not a bad person."
It would have been better if she hadn't said that, because as soon as she did, Xiao Tao glared at her and said, "Sister said that bad people never admit they are bad people."
Afraid that the young master would get impatient, Zhang Ping didn't waste any words and simply picked him up, carrying him upstairs along with the roast chicken.
Xiao Tao was so scared she was about to scream when she entered the room and saw Xie Linzhou sitting by the window drinking tea.
Xiao Tao recognized Xie Linzhou and immediately stopped struggling. She had heard her mother and sister say that her brother, the young general, was a good person.
Zhang Ping placed the roast chicken on the table, and Xiao Tao immediately ran over happily: "Little General Brother?"
Xie Linzhou remembered Xiao Tao. When she first arrived, she was very thin and dark-skinned, and she was a little one next to Song Ning. After not seeing her for many days, she had grown a lot taller, and he heard that she had even changed her name.
But what's the deal with this title?
General Brother is General Brother, why add the word "Little" to it?
Seeing that Xie Linzhou didn't reply, Xiao Tao asked in confusion, "Little General, don't you remember me?"
Xie Linzhou then smiled and said, "Of course I remember, that's why I had someone buy you roast chicken."
Xie Linzhou opened the parchment paper that wrapped the roast chicken, tore off a chicken leg, and handed it to her.
"Why did you come here all by yourself?"
Xiao Tao took a bite of the chicken leg, and her eyes narrowed involuntarily from the delicious aroma. This sight reminded Xie Linzhou of Song Ning.
That girl must look like this when she encounters something she likes, right?
"My sister, my uncle, and I came together." The little girl raised her chubby little face and swung her two short legs.
Xie Linzhou smiled and said, "Who taught you to call me Little General Brother?"
"My older sister taught me."
"Oh? Then tell me, what did your sister say?"
Xiao Tao thought for a moment and said, "My sister said that the young general is a general and he is young, so adding the word 'young' makes it sound more affectionate."
"Friendly?" Xie Linzhou smiled.
"My sister also said that my brother, the little general, often fights battles to protect our country and is a super hero."
He smiled slightly, his eyes softening with tenderness.
"Your sister...did she really say that?"
Xiao Tao nodded: "Mm."
Watching from the side, Zhang Ping felt that his young master's smile was utterly worthless.
He said he didn't like her, but it was written all over his face.
"My sister even taught me a poem praising my little general brother."
Xie Linzhou raised an eyebrow: "Tell me about it?"
Xiao Tao actually recited the poem with great seriousness: "Fine wine in a luminous cup, I long to drink, but the pipa urges me on. Do not laugh at me, drunk and lying on the battlefield; how many have returned from ancient battles?"
"...Having fought a hundred battles in the yellow sands, clad in golden armor, we will not return until we have conquered Loulan."
"Generals die in a hundred battles, brave soldiers return after ten years..."
"The country is broken, but the mountains and rivers remain; spring has come to the city, but the grass and trees grow deep. Flowers, moved by the times, seem to weep; birds, grieving separation, startle the heart. War has raged for three months; a letter from home is worth a fortune..."
"And...and...I can't remember." Xiaotao said, somewhat annoyed.
My sister said that the more poems she memorizes, the more delicious treats she will receive.
But she had forgotten the poem she had just recited.
Xie Linzhou asked, "Did your sister write all of these?"
"I don't know, anyway, my older sister taught me all of that, and she always praised the little general."
My sister said that these poems all praise the general, and since the little general is also a general, they must be praising the little general.
Xie Linzhou silently recited the verses he had just heard, remaining silent for a moment.
Do not laugh at me, drunk and lying on the battlefield; how many warriors have returned from ancient battles...?
How could a little girl like her know this?
Xiao Tao gnawed on the chicken leg in her hand again and again, and only when there was no meat left did she put the bone down.
Zhang Ping thought the little girl had never eaten roast chicken before, which is why she almost swallowed the bones as well.
There's still some on the table, why are you gnawing on a bone?
Xiao Tao shook her head, looking obedient: "My sister taught me a poem: 'Hoeing the fields at noon, sweat drips onto the soil; who knows that every grain in the bowl is the result of hard work?' My sister said that no matter what we eat, we should never waste anything."
"My sister also said that there are still many people in this world who don't have enough to eat. These are the fruits of the farmers' labor, and they should be respected."
Zhang Ping was speechless for a moment, not expecting the girl to say such a thing.
I was even a little shocked.
"Little General, is what Xiao Tao said right?"
Xie Linzhou patted the little girl's head: "Xiao Tao is right."
Xie Linzhou tore off another chicken leg and handed it to the little girl, but Xiao Tao shook her head and refused, saying, "Little General Brother, you should eat too."
"I won't eat it, these are all for you."
The little girl shook her head again: "My sister said that good things should be shared."
Xie Linzhou frowned: "Didn't your sister tell you that some things can't be shared?"
Unexpectedly, Xiaotao nodded, pouting, "My sister said that I can only share when I want to, and I won't give it to anyone when I don't want to."
Xie Linzhou burst out laughing.
As expected of Song Ning.
While the teahouse was serene and peaceful, Song Ning was alone in a chaotic and turbulent situation on the street.
She asked around the streets, but no one had seen Xiao Tao. Just as she was about to report it to the authorities, a child suddenly rushed out from behind and bumped into her.
Song Ning felt as if she were seeing her deceased grandfather.
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