Shen Qinghe didn't actually know where those homeless people usually lived, but he could guess that they definitely needed a place to shelter from the wind and snow or a warm place, so he took Meng Zhao around to look for one.
There was a hot spring nearby, and to ensure a constant supply of hot water, the stoves were always running. The two went to take a look, but found the door tightly closed, so they figured the siblings couldn't get in either.
Then they went to a nearby mortuary, where lights were kept on all night until dawn to ward off evil spirits and avoid taboos, but they still couldn't find anyone there.
Before heading back, the two went to a nearby earth god temple and found it pitch black inside. Shen Qinghe pushed the door open, and Meng Zhao first saw the tattered quilt they had seen earlier that day. Underneath the quilt was indeed the thin woman.
The little boy following her was also curled up tightly next to the altar, with two prayer mats under him and only some dry grass covering his body.
Inside, there was a burnt-out fire, but it was no longer warm, indicating that it had been extinguished for a long time. The door was old, and the loud creaking sound when the two opened it didn't wake them, suggesting that they were probably unconscious rather than asleep.
Meng Zhao hurriedly went to the child's side and shouted, "Little boy, wake up! Wake up! Don't sleep!"
After calling a few times, the little boy seemed to be pulled back from the abyss. He suddenly opened his eyes, his lips trembling slightly, and murmured, "I can't sleep, I can't sleep, if I sleep I won't wake up, if I sleep I won't wake up."
Today in the alley, after Meng Zhao left, the little boy carefully opened the lotus leaf wrapping the braised meat. He almost cried when he smelled the aroma of the meat inside. Touching the still warm braised meat, he quickly handed it to the woman.
"Sister Wei, look, it's braised meat! And it's still hot. Eat some quickly, maybe your illness will be cured after you finish eating!"
A gust of wind blew by, and Wei Jinglan's face paled even more. She gently shook her head, "Xiao Chuan, I'm afraid I can't send you to Lingchuan, cough cough."
A violent cough interrupted her. Xiao Chuan reached out to pat Wei Jinglan's back, but she avoided him. After catching her breath, she frowned and continued:
“Xiao Chuan, listen to me, don’t worry about me. Tomorrow morning, when you see a shop open, go and help sweep the snow in front of it. Cough, cough cough. After you’ve finished sweeping the snow, kneel down and kowtow. You’re getting old, you can do a lot of work. If you meet a kind boss, maybe he can keep you working. Even if there’s no pay, as long as he’s willing to give you a meal, just stay and work hard for him, understand, Xiao Chuan?”
She spoke haltingly, and Xiao Chuan shook his head vigorously after hearing it. "No, I don't want to. I want to stay with Sister Wei forever."
Wei Jinglan sighed heavily, "Xiao Chuan, listen to me, I'll only be a burden to you. Don't worry about me, that way you'll still have a way to survive."
Xiao Chuan pretended not to hear what Wei Jinglan said, reached out and grabbed a piece of braised meat that was still warm, and held it to Wei Jinglan's mouth, but Wei Jinglan blocked it with her arm. "Xiao Chuan, I told you, don't get too close to me, and don't touch me with your hands."
Xiao Chuan remained stubbornly silent, his eyes filled with determination. He picked up the braised meat that had fallen onto the quilt and continued to feed Wei Jinglan. Just as Wei Jinglan was about to speak, the door behind her was opened from the inside.
The man, who was about to come out and turn off the lights, was startled by the two dark figures at the door. He immediately shouted, "Get out! What kind of filthy thing is this? Don't come to my doorstep and bring bad luck to my family!"
Upon hearing the word "death," Xiao Chuan immediately panicked, his eyes widening in anger as he tried to retort. However, Wei Jinglan was faster, managing to stand up despite her weakened state and saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, we'll leave right away."
Amidst the man's insults, the two dragged their weary bodies out of the alley in the cold night, shivering from the cold, until they finally found the deserted local temple.
Having just found a place to sit down, Wei Jinglan, exhausted from walking all the way, slowly closed her eyes. Xiao Chuan gathered up several prayer cushions and used all his strength to move Wei Jinglan onto one. If Wei Jinglan were conscious at this moment, she would surely have scolded him to stop.
As for the two packets of braised meat, Wei Jinglan didn't eat them, and Xiao Chuan couldn't bear to eat them either, so they carefully put them away.
After Xiao Chuan lit a fire in the middle of the temple, it finally warmed up a bit. During this time, he kept reminding himself to stay by the fire and not to fall asleep. But the warmth of the firelight on his face, coupled with the occasional aroma of braised meat buns, made his eyelids grow heavier and his consciousness gradually blur. He then lay down and fell asleep.
The firewood burned out quickly, and the temperature inside the temple dropped rapidly. If Meng Zhao and Shen Qing hadn't come looking for them, there would probably have been two more corpses in the temple by tomorrow morning.
Seeing that the little boy had woken up, Meng Zhao wanted to call the woman again. In such cold weather, it was easy to lose heat, and being awake was much better than being asleep. Just as she was about to touch the woman, Xiao Chuan suddenly came to his senses and reached out to push Meng Zhao's hand away.
Meng Zhao's hands, already numb from the cold, were hit like that, and he couldn't help but hiss.
Seeing this, Shen Qinghe quickly stood in front of Meng Zhao and shouted angrily at the little boy, "What are you doing!"
Xiao Chuan was startled by Shen Qinghe's roar, his body trembled slightly, and he sniffed and said, "Don't touch her."
Meng Zhao wasn't angry, though she didn't know why the child was so agitated. "Fine, I won't touch her. You hurry up and wake her up. It's so cold. If she doesn't wake up soon, she might freeze to death without anyone knowing."
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