Chapter 65 The Letter from the Host
Fubao disappeared, and everyone in the production team went out to look for him.
Shengyin stood in front of the window, looking at the dark night outside and the dark and deep silhouette of Dagunzi Mountain in the distance, and a trace of pleasure flashed through his heart.
She lowered her head and looked at her white jade stone.
This stone really works. When she prayed to the white jade stone to bring bad luck to the Gu family, the Gu family really did suffer bad luck.
Don’t you all think Fubao is well-behaved and sensible? But she got lost, and the Gu family has been worried so much about finding her.
Shengyin breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that her life was finally on the right track.
With this white jade stone, she could do whatever she wanted from then on.
She stared down at the stone, only to find that the color of the stone seemed to have become even lighter.
It was a rich white at first, but now it has become like morning mist, hazy and almost transparent.
She fiddled with the stone in confusion, wondering why it was getting lighter and lighter.
She tried hard to recall everything about the jade in her previous life, but apart from the fact that Fubao always wore the jade close to his body, there seemed to be nothing special about it?
After thinking about it for a while, she came to no avail. She decided to give up and held the jade in her hands, praying, "May the Gu family, preferably Gu Weidong, slip down the mountain and break his leg."
——
Xiao Dingkun strode up Big Roller Mountain with great speed, not even bringing a flashlight. He was already a very fast runner, and now, with Fubao on his mind, his steps were naturally as fast as a whirlwind. He didn't even bother to push aside the thorns and weeds before him, simply pushing them aside and moving forward.
Last time he brought Fubao with him, and he deliberately slowed down at the beginning. Later he had to carry Fubao on his back and walk slowly, which naturally took more time. But this time he didn't have Fubao by his side, and it didn't take long before he climbed over a hill and headed straight for the nunnery on another hill.
When we reached the middle of the mountain, the sky was getting overcast, thunder rumbled in the dark night, lightning flashed across the sky, the wind blew violently, and then the big raindrops fell again.
Xiao Dingkun's heart sank.
The wind at the foot of the mountain is so strong that when you reach the top, it can blow people away.
The houses in the nunnery were already in ruins and could not possibly withstand such a storm, not to mention that the houses were leaking.
In such a storm, where can Fubao hide?
She is so small. What if she is blown away by the wind or hit by bricks falling from the house?
Xiao Dingkun didn't dare to delay any longer, and ran up the mountain with all his might in the pouring rain.
The mountain was steep, the wind was strong, and the rain washed his eyes and nose, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.
He wiped the water off his face, looked cold, and lowered his head as he rushed up the mountain.
When he finally reached the top of the mountain, he saw the dilapidated nunnery not far away. His heart almost skipped a beat. He didn't care about anything else and rushed into the nunnery in the rain.
"Fubao—" he shouted in the midst of the storm, "Fubao, come out quickly! This nunnery is about to collapse!"
However, no one responded.
Xiao Dingkun broke into the yard behind the nunnery. The apricot tree was still there, but Fubao was gone.
The surrounding walls had collapsed, and the lonely apricot tree was torn and shaken by the violent wind in the pouring rain, as if it would rise from the ground at any moment.
Xiao Dingkun didn't dare to delay and pushed open the doors one by one to look, but at this moment, there was a loud bang. First the house in the front yard collapsed, and then the row of houses behind it also collapsed.
In just a moment, this once bustling nunnery became a ruin.
Heavy rain poured down on Xiao Dingkun's head and face. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the ruins in disbelief.
"Fubao, Fubao! Come out here!" Xiao Dingkun yelled, "Come back here!!"
He ran over to the ruins, knelt there, and began to dig out the bricks and mud: "Fubao, Fubao, where are you? Come out!"
He roared hoarsely, his voice cracking, and used his hands to dig through the rubble in vain, lifting the beam from the broken bricks and mud, trying to find the last glimmer of hope.
As a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, the bright white light shone on his face, clearly reflecting the despair and madness in his eyes.
From the first moment he saw Fubao, he knew that he must protect this little girl.
In the small mountain village, life was peaceful and there were no accidents. Everything was fine.
Should he be blamed? Why did he bring her up the mountain? Why did he let her think about the apricot tree?
This rainstorm didn’t last long, just the time it took to eat a meal.
When the rain stopped, Xiao Dingkun was squatting beside the ruins, his entire body turned into a mud figure.
He showed a pair of bloodshot eyes, knelt beside the rubble, and watched everything in despair.
Is he late?
Fubao... is it right under these ruins?
At this moment, a surprised voice sounded: "Brother Dingkun?"
The voice was tender and crisp, and it seemed particularly cool in the night after the heavy rain.
Xiao Dingkun stayed there.
After a while, he turned his head slowly and stiffly.
The air was filled with moisture. The little girl with two pigtails wore a white coarse cloth jacket and blue knee-length shorts. She looked at herself with surprise with a pair of big eyes as clear as the sky after rain.
It's all so beautiful, so beautiful that it seems like a dream.
Fubao tilted his head and looked at Xiao Dingkun in confusion: "Brother Dingkun, why are you so dirty? It's raining, why don't you find a place to shelter?"
As she said that, she ran over, took out her handkerchief, and gently wiped Xiao Dingkun's face: "Let me wipe your face."
Xiao Dingkun stared at Fubao in a daze, unable to react for a moment.
Fubao sensed a sense of disarray and uneasiness all over Xiao Dingkun, and felt even more puzzled. However, he still gently patted Xiao Dingkun's shoulder with his little hand: "Brother Dingkun, don't be afraid. It's not raining or windy anymore. Are you afraid of thunder and lightning? There's nothing to be afraid of..."
She comforted him softly.
Xiao Dingkun's wildly beating heart finally calmed down and his mind returned to normal.
He squatted there, his two powerful hands gripping Fubao's shoulders like iron pliers. He looked Fubao in the eye and asked sternly, "What are you doing up here on a rainy day? Where have you been?"
Fubao was shocked.
She widened her eyes and looked at Xiao Dingkun in surprise.
She, she had just been so kind in comforting him, why was he so mean to her?
She had never seen him like this before, like a vicious wolf, as if he wanted to eat someone.
Fubao looked at him timidly and aggrievedly, and whispered, "I, I'm here to pick apricots... Brother Dingkun, I've picked a lot of apricots, they're all ripe. Do you want to try some?"
The little girl looked so pitiful, and her voice was so soft and sweet, and she eagerly asked him to eat the apricots.
However, Xiao Dingkun's mood did not improve. His eyes still echoed with violent anger: "Where were you hiding just now? I called you, why didn't you come out?"
Fubao was terrified.
She shrank her neck: "I, I was hiding in the cave... I didn't hear you calling me..."
She was not stupid. It was windy and rainy outside, and the nunnery was about to collapse. Of course she had to find a cave to hide in, so that she would be safe.
Besides, it was raining so hard, thundering so loudly, and windy outside, how could she possibly hear it?
Brother Dingkun is usually very smart, why is he so stupid now?
Still... so fierce?
Fubao glanced at Xiao Dingkun again with aggrieved and moist eyes. She didn't understand what was wrong with him.
The look in Xiao Dingkun's eyes when he looked at the little girl was like that of a wronged deer, pitiful and helpless, and she was so scared that she shrank her neck.
He suddenly felt like a big bad wolf and she was the poor little thing.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and calmed himself down.
He didn't want to scare her, nor did he want to appear as baffling as he was now in her eyes.
She is still young and doesn't understand things. She is a stupid child, a greedy and stupid child.
After taking a few deep breaths, Xiao Dingkun finally calmed down.
He collected his thoughts and asked calmly, "Which cave are you hiding in?"
Brother Dingkun is finally back to normal!
Fubao breathed a sigh of relief. She smiled sweetly at Xiao Dingkun, reached out and held his big hand, and said softly, "Brother Dingkun, come with me!"
As she spoke, she ran forward happily, pulling Xiao Dingkun along with her.
Xiao Dingkun had no choice but to follow her.
After passing a narrow path, she brought him to a cave. There was a pot and a stove in the cave, as well as some household items. There was even a futon inside, covered with some soft dry grass.
Fubao pointed at the cushion and said, "Brother Dingkun, please sit down."
Xiao Dingkun said nothing, looked at the cushion, and sat down according to Fubao's instructions.
Fubao walked to the stove, picked up an old porcelain basin, and ran to Xiao Dingkun: "Brother Dingkun, eat some apricots. I picked them. They are ripe and I have already washed them."
Xiao Dingkun was silent for a moment, then took the old porcelain basin, took out an apricot and put it in his mouth. The apricot was indeed ripe and tasted soft and sweet.
Fubao ran to the stove again and looked inside. "There are flints and grass here. Brother Dingkun, you just got caught in the rain. Are you cold? I'll light the fire so you can warm yourself."
As she spoke, she took a flint in her little hand and rubbed it back and forth to light a fire. She also knew to use a handful of dry and soft grass to start the fire.
Xiao Dingkun didn't say anything.
He suddenly felt that maybe Fubao was not stupid or dumb.
You are the foolish one, and you are also the stupid one.
After running all the way to the mountain, the person who needs care is still yourself.
——
Fubao was like a hardworking little bee. He fed Xiao Dingkun apricots, helped Xiao Dingkun light a fire to keep warm, and finally helped Xiao Dingkun dry his clothes.
After finishing all this, she said, "Brother Dingkun, let's hurry down the mountain. When I came out, I only said I was going out to play, but I didn't tell my grandma that I was going up the mountain. If I delay and don't go out, my grandma will be worried."
Xiao Dingkun raised his head and looked at Xiao Fubao.
Listen to what this child says, he is so sensible, considerate and well-behaved.
But what did she do? She ran out to the mountain by herself, not knowing the danger, not knowing the depth of the situation, and not knowing whether others would worry.
Xiao Dingkun thought of his despair when he faced the ruins, and still wanted to spank Fubao hard.
Fubao looked over and saw that everything was fine, but suddenly Brother Dingkun looked at him with that fierce look again.
She looked at Xiao Dingkun in surprise and asked cautiously: "Brother Dingkun, what's wrong with you?"
Xiao Dingkun looked at her little appearance, a smile appeared on his lips, and he stretched out his hand: "Fubao, come here."
Fubao quickly shook his head and waved his hands, desperately saying, "No, no, no, I won't go over."
Brother Dingkun looks so scary, as if he wants to eat people.
Xiao Dingkun stood up and was about to catch Fubao.
If he didn't spank Fubao today, she would never know why she was wrong.
When Fubao saw this, he ran out of the cave: "Brother Dingkun, don't hit me, I was wrong, I was wrong!"
Xiao Dingkun sneered and chased after him: "You also know you are wrong?"
Fubao covered his head and said, "I was wrong, I was wrong."
Xiao Dingkun raised his eyebrows: "It's quite clear, why were you pretending to be confused just now?"
Fubao was even more frightened and ran as fast as he could: "Brother Dingkun, please don't hit me. I'm afraid of the pain!"
However, Fubao was only six and a half years old and still very childish. No matter how hard he ran with his short legs, it was in vain. He could not outrun Xiao Dingkun who was behind him.
Xiao Dingkun grabbed Fubao and said with a deliberately sullen face, "Tell me, what's your fault?"
Fubao felt wronged. She felt that he had eaten her apricots and that the fire had been roasted in vain. She said aggrievedly, "I shouldn't have run up the mountain by myself. I shouldn't have run up the mountain without telling the adults... I shouldn't have missed Brother Dingkun calling me... I shouldn't have hidden in the cave..."
It's her fault, it's all her fault.
Xiao Dingkun snorted coldly, suddenly grabbed Fubao's arm, and then raised his hand to slap him.
Fubao struggled hard, howling, "No, no! Ahhh, it hurts! It hurts so much, Brother Dingkun, please don't hit me."
Xiao Dingkun's hand was still raised: "I haven't hit you yet."
Fubao: “…”
Xiao Dingkun deliberately raised his hand again: "I'm really going to hit you this time."
Fubao cried, "No, no, no, brother Dingkun, don't hit me! I'm afraid of the pain!"
He danced, struggled, and kicked his legs desperately.
Xiao Dingkun only felt as if he had caught a fish, a fish that was struggling hard.
He finally let her go.
She is so young and so sensible, how could he bear to hit her? Just scaring her will be enough.
"Let's go down the mountain quickly. Your family is looking for you."
Fubao nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, let's go down the mountain now."
But just as they were about to get up, Fubao suddenly saw a piece of red cloth sticking out from the ruins where he had just been dancing and kicking.
Xiao Dingkun followed Fubao's gaze and saw it too.
He walked over, removed the bricks that were pressing on it, and picked up the piece of cloth from the mud.
It turned out to be a red bundle, which had faded due to being so old and had become a small ball when wrapped up.
The two looked at each other and both felt that there seemed to be something in the bag?
Xiao Dingkun opened the bundle and peeled off the layers one by one, only to find a small box inside.
The small box is obviously a box commonly used in nunneries to store scriptures.
Xiao Dingkun opened the box, and found that there was not a scripture inside, but a letter, placed face down.
Xiao Dingkun raised his eyebrows and looked at Fubao: "Do you want to open it and take a look?"
Judging from the bundle and box, this should be a letter collected in the nunnery. It might have been hidden in a secret compartment of the house, so it has never been discovered. Now that the nunnery has collapsed, the bundle has been revealed by some mysterious means.
Fubao looked at the box, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "This should be the box where our abbot keeps his scriptures. This letter was left by the abbot..."
"Let's open it and take a look."
The abbess is no longer alive, and the other nuns in the nunnery have all returned to secular life. This letter is no longer owned by anyone.
Xiao Dingkun nodded, took the letter out of the box and opened it.
The first line of words is: "Fubao personally wrote this."
Xiao Dingkun raised his eyes and looked at Fubao: "This letter was originally written for you."
Maybe it was all fate. The nunnery had gone through some things in the past. After several cleanings, the inside and outside of the nunnery had long been in ruins, with nothing left. However, this letter was hidden in a secret place and had never been discovered.
But when Fubao grew up, she came to the nunnery on such a windy and rainy day and got the letter that should have belonged to her.
Not too early, not too late, everything is just right.
When Fubao heard that the letter was addressed to him, he almost burst into tears: "It's a letter from the host. What does the letter say?"
She remembered that when the nunnery was about to be abolished, the abbess was already dying.
I didn't expect that the host left me a letter before his death.
Xiao Dingkun read the letter to Fubao word by word. In fact, the letter was not long and the content was very simple.
The letter mentioned how the host picked up Fubao in the mountains, saying that Fubao was carrying a piece of jade with him. It also mentioned that when she picked up Fubao, a group of soldiers stationed in the area for exploration had come to the mountains.
According to the host's guess, Fubao should be the lost child of those people.
The abbot once asked someone to go down the mountain to inquire, but the troops were only stationed there temporarily and had left long ago. In addition, with the changes of the times, the nunnery was also in a precarious situation, so the abbot had to put the matter aside for the time being.
Fubao was so shocked when he heard Xiao Dingkun reading the letter that he didn't say a word for a long time.
She always felt that she was an orphan adopted from a nunnery. She was the daughter of whichever family wanted her, and she would call that family "mother."
I didn't expect that she might have parents too?
Xiao Dingkun looked at Fubao: "Not necessarily, the host is just guessing."
If they were a military unit stationed there, they should be well-off. Why would they abandon their daughter in the mountains? Fubao is so adorable now, and she must have been adorable when she was a baby. How could anyone be willing to abandon her?
He said this because he didn't want Fubao to have any hope. After all, there were so many people in the world, and it was hard to find the troops that had been stationed there a few years ago.
Even if you find it, what does it matter? Since you were able to abandon it in the first place, even if you regret it later and find it, you have been abandoned.
He didn't want Fubao to experience such ups and downs in family relationships.
Fubao was full of hope in his heart, looking forward to his biological parents finding him, but he didn't expect to be hit hard by Xiao Dingkun.
She sighed softly: "Brother Dingkun, you are right. The host is just guessing, it may not be true."
Xiao Dingkun certainly saw the disappointment in her eyes, but he could only harden his heart and ignore it, changing the subject and asking, "By the way, the host also mentioned that you always wear a piece of jade. Have you seen this jade?"
Fu Bao shook his head: "No, I didn't know there was a piece of jade. I've never seen it before!"
Although she was just a baby when she was brought into the nunnery, she could already understand what people around her were saying, and she had never heard the abbess mention the jade.
Xiao Dingkun pondered for a moment, then rummaged through the wooden box again, but didn't see any jade. "Maybe we can ask the nun who returned to secular life."
Fubao nodded: "Yeah, maybe they know."
But that’s all in the past.
Xiao Dingkun helped Fubao put the letter away and held Fubao's hand again: "Let's go down the mountain first. Your family must be very worried."
Fubao nodded hurriedly, but then thought: "Bring my little bamboo basket, which is full of ripe apricots!"
Xiao Dingkun raised his eyebrows.
This is such a greedy little cat, he never forgets to eat.
——
Xiao Dingkun hurried down the mountain with Fubao. As it was too dark and the road was slippery, he certainly would not leave Fubao alone, so he simply carried her down the mountain on his back.
Although he was very tired when climbing the mountain, he walked fast and soon he climbed over the hill and arrived at Pingxi Production Brigade.
At this time, Chen Youfu and everyone searched for Fubao all night, but not only did they find nothing, Gu Weidong accidentally slipped down the mountain and broke his leg. Now he was carried home by everyone. A group of members who stayed behind were there, looking dejected.
The Gu family was extremely anxious. Even Shen Hongying couldn't help but mutter, "Where on earth did Fubao go?"
Gu Shengtian even cried and said, "I want my sister Fubao, I want my sister Fubao."
Liu Guizhi was so anxious that she wiped away her tears. Her husband Gu Weidong broke his leg this time and he might be delayed for a while. The business that had been discussed before might be gone, and it might even be difficult to earn work points. And Fubao was missing again.
Misfortunes never come singly, and she wanted to wipe away tears when she thought about it.
But at this moment, I suddenly heard a voice: "Mom, I'm back!"
A crisp little girl's voice.
Liu Guizhi thought she had misheard, and looked up suddenly, only to see Fubao running towards her with a small bamboo basket on his back.
She quickly stretched out her hand.
Fubao excitedly threw himself into her arms: "Mom, Mom, I'm fine, don't worry, I'm fine!"
Liu Guizhi hugged Fubao tightly and cried loudly: "Bao, Bao come back... Bao come back..."
She said "Bao Hui", but because she was crying so hard and the people around her were cheering because Fu Bao had returned, no one heard her. The mute Liu Guizhi actually started speaking.
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