He walked to the lamp, and Xu Jiang saw his face clearly. He was not handsome, but he had a gentle and elegant air, which made him approachable.
Xu Jiang thought for a moment, then pointed at the mask he had just destroyed and said, "Then I'll take that one."
The man was stunned for a moment, then said, "Girl, there's no need to do this. Pick another one."
Xu Jiang asked, "Sir, can you let me see that mask?"
The man seemed to want to persuade her, but seeing her determined expression, he had no choice but to give her the mask. "If you really want it, take it. I won't charge you any money."
The mask depicted a demon with a green face and fangs. The stroke left by the man's trembling hand pierced half of the demon's face, making it look like it had been chopped by a knife. While this destroyed the original beauty, it also added a touch of ruggedness. Xu Jiang compared the mask to her face. It was slightly too big, but it was wearable.
"That's it."
She put on the mask and took out twenty cents from her bag and handed it to him.
The man refused to accept it. "We don't sell inferior goods as good ones. This mask has a flaw and is worthless. If you like it, I'll give it to you as a Double Ninth Festival greeting."
"No merit, no reward. My dear, don't pass off inferior goods as superior, and I won't take advantage of others." Xu Jiang wore a demonic mask, but her words sounded like Buddhist verses. "Besides, no one is perfect, so how can we expect everything to be perfect? My dear, have you ever heard the saying that even a flaw can hide its merit?"
After saying that, he put down the money and turned around and left without waiting for the other party to answer.
The man looked at her back as she disappeared into the crowd. It took him a long time to come back to his senses. He said self-deprecatingly, "I'm just a low-class person wandering around the market. How dare I compare myself to a beautiful jade?"
Xu Jiang had no idea how much trouble her casual words had stirred in the painter's heart. She had filled her stomach and had enjoyed her stroll. She looked up at the sky, but there were no stars or moon, only thick clouds. It might rain that night, so it would be better to go back early.
As they left the night market, the voices gradually faded away. She wore a mask and walked alone with a lantern at night. She really looked like a wandering ghost in the world, scaring many passers-by along the way.
Back in Yonghefang, the candle in her lantern had burned out, and she stumbled back to Huailiu Alley, using the lanterns on the eaves of the shops along the street. She stood at the corner door next to the bookstore, reaching for her key, when she suddenly heard a faint moan coming from the tree behind her.
She suddenly felt terrified, goose bumps appeared all over her body, and pretended to be calm as she turned around and shouted, "Who's there?"
No one answered.
She hurriedly opened the door, entered the house, and quickly bolted it, then pressed her ear to the door panel to listen for any noise outside. In the dead of night, the quiet alleyway echoed with the chirping of autumn insects and the barking of dogs from nowhere. The intermittent moans mixed in with these sounds were eerie and strange, and quite frightening.
She silently said in her heart, A gentleman does not speak of strange things, a gentleman does not speak of strange things...
Do you want to go out and take a look?
Forget it. What if it turns out to be a drunk or a bad guy and it will cause unnecessary trouble.
She fastened the bolt firmly, and for peace of mind, she even moved a table to block the door before entering the courtyard to wash and rest. In the middle of the night, she lay on the couch, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep, and soon she heard the sound of raindrops hitting the tiles.
It really rained.
She got up, lit the lamp, and then put on a coat and went to the hall. Outside, even the insects and dogs had stopped barking, but the faint moaning continued. The rain was getting heavier, and there was a faint rumble of thunder in the sky. She stood by the door for a long time, finally moving the table and opening it.
She picked up a door bolt for protection, pushed open half of the door, looked around cautiously, then held up a lantern and stretched her neck to look under the big tree. In the faint firelight, through the rain and fog, she saw a figure curled up on the stone bed, like a child.
Her heart pounded like a drum. She slowly walked under the tree, shone her lantern, and finally saw that it was indeed a child. The boy, about seven or eight years old, was ragged and skinny, soaked by the rain. He was curled up in a ball, his eyes closed and whimpering unconsciously. Xu Jiang reached out to touch his forehead and face, and they were terribly hot. Without time to think, she grabbed the child's hand, turned him around, let him lie on her back, and carried him into the house.
The corner gate of the backyard closed again. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and the rumbling thunder, accompanied by the autumn chill, knocked down the leaves of the giant tree in front of the gate.
Xu Jiang carried the child to her bedroom and, after peeling off his soaked clothes, discovered a serious leg injury. The wound was on his left leg, from the knee down. His once thin calf was now swollen to the size of a grown man's arm. She had no idea how it had happened. She gently touched it, and the child flinched, then began to tremble all over, crying as he trembled. He called it crying, but no sound came out; his face was filled with tears.
Xu Jiang didn't dare to touch his wound anymore. She just carefully put him on the couch, found a clean towel to dry his body and hair, then wrapped him in soft bedding, and went to the kitchen to light a fire and boil water. She first boiled ginger soup for the child, and when the child started to sweat, she heated up some cakes, broke them into pieces and fed them to him little by little with water. After tossing and turning for half a night, the child's fever finally subsided and he fell asleep quietly in the quilt. Xu Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it was a good thing she went out to take a look, otherwise this kid would have died in front of her store. The wind and rain were raging outside, and Xu Jiang shuddered and found that her clothes were also wet. She quickly found a dry set of clothes to change, and went to the kitchen to drink a bowl of the remaining ginger soup.
Back in the bedroom, she took out a new quilt from the box, moved the child in, and got on the bed herself. She had no choice but to squeeze in because she only had this one bedroom and one bed.
She sat wrapped in blankets beside the child, staring at his face for a long time, pondering it. She felt a sense of familiarity, but she couldn't place it. Never mind. I'll go to the government office tomorrow to ask and report it. Who knows, it might be someone's lost child. Oh, and before we go, I need to get him seen by a doctor. If the injury on his foot isn't treated, he might become a cripple in the future... As she thought about it, Xu Jiang leaned against the couch and fell asleep.
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