"Xiao Heng, I have no son. You saved my daughter, so from now on you will be my adopted son and you can stand in the same platoon as your sister Cuihua and the others! What do you say?"
"Your mother will make you some winter clothes later. Our family has ten rooms. The three rooms at the west end belong to your second uncle. The room closest to those three rooms used to be reserved for the sisters, Fu Bao and Bao Lan." "Since they were still young, no one lived there. Now it's your room!"
In the Niu family, Niu Xiaomei and her two daughters share a room, Niu Cuihua, Niu Baozhu, and Niu Meihua, the three sisters, share a room, and Xiao Fubao, Niu Baolan, and Niu Da and his wife share a room.
In this way, there are actually three empty rooms, and four prefabricated houses in the old houses that have not been demolished. Of these seven houses, two have been used as guest rooms.
A kitchen.
The four old houses behind were used to store firewood and charcoal, and the other three were used to make sauerkraut, pickled vegetables, and salted vegetables.
“From now on, you’ll call us Dad and Mom, just like your older sisters! We’ll call you Heng’er, okay?” Niu Da asked.
Xiao Heng's original adoptive parents treated him very well, but after both adoptive parents passed away, he suffered greatly in the past three years. In the first year, he managed to survive by stealing the ten strings of cash left by his adoptive father from the house that his uncle Zhao De had seized. Fortunately, his uncle did not know that his family still had money.
Even so, because he had lost both his parents, he was still considered an unlucky child and ostracized by the adults in the village. Later, he became a bullied child, treated like livestock, with a dozen or so children trampling on his stomach and calling him:
"An orphan"
Later, he made a living by stealing chickens and dogs, becoming a thief that everyone hated. He didn't want to be a thief, but he had to survive.
But in this year of his previous life, he suddenly felt he had lost all hope of living. It was probably because a few damned rats in the cave had chewed up his old quilt that he had prepared for the winter. His belief in living, which he had tried so hard to maintain, suddenly collapsed at that moment.
Xiao Heng held the steaming hot meat porridge in his hand, took a sip, and felt somewhat uncomfortable and awkward. Since his adoptive parents passed away, no one had ever treated him like a human being. He turned his head away, feigning arrogance.
He hummed in agreement.
Little Fu Bao peeked at Xiao Heng, her two clean and clear eyes gradually curving into smiles:
"Little brother! Osmanthus cake is so delicious, you should have some too!"
This sentence gradually overlapped with his memories, as if the house in his memory overlapped with this place. It's just that when he went to steal things in his previous life, it was dark, and he didn't see the whole house clearly.
He didn't like sweet osmanthus cake before he was ten years old in his previous life. Later, when there was no food, he didn't care whether he liked it or not. He ran to a house to steal things. The youngest daughter of that family found him and gave him a plate of osmanthus cake.
It tastes sweet but not cloying now, and it's really delicious.
"Heng'er, your mother and I are going to the county to find your fourth sister. You and your aunt should stay at home and warm yourselves by the fire!" Niu Dadao said.
Xiao Heng gave a faint "hmm".
Xiao Heng still felt somewhat proud and awkward towards his adoptive parents who had come out of nowhere, after all, he was a complete stranger to them.
Little Fu Bao snuggled against Xiao Heng's thin shoulders and fell asleep. Xiao Heng, slightly impatient, picked up Little Fu Bao and sat by the fire to warm himself.
Looking at the soft, cuddly little Fu Bao in his arms, Xiao Heng suddenly felt an even stronger sense of familiarity, not just from seeing her as a child, but also from the bright red mole on her forehead…
It's her!
It was her!
Because of the cold weather, Niu Da's family kept the courtyard gate tightly closed to prevent the wind from getting in. Xue Huaimin called for a while, but it was Niu Xiaomei who had the sharpest ears. Everyone else in the family went to the women's brothel to look for the children, leaving only Niu Xiaomei and Xiang Jinlan. Niu Er looked at the children all over the courtyard.
As soon as Niu Xiaomei opened the door, she saw Xue Huaimin and Niu Baolan, who was in his arms, covered in snow. They had come with Niu Da and Shen Yu, each carrying a cloth bag. Without a moment of surprise, she quickly pulled Xue Huaimin inside and said:
"Don't let him get too cold!"
Xue Huaimin smiled and said, "It's not that easy for it to freeze."
Xue Huaimin hurriedly carried the child into the house and sat by the fire. Niu Cuihua held Niu Baozhu, Xiang Jinlan held Niu Ke'er, Niu Xiaomei held Niu Qiao'er, and Xiao Heng held Xiao Fubao. The soft and cuddly little one nestled in Xiao Heng's arms and slept peacefully.
The sisters all rushed over to help Niu Baolan blow warm air on her:
"Uncle, where did you find my sister?"
In the brothels, there were also some four- or five-year-old girls who mainly learned music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and singing. They would start serving customers after they came of age.
Niu Baolan was quite lucky. The prostitute who found her was kind-hearted. At first, she thought it was just another abandoned girl, so she didn't say anything. When the prostitute went to the street to buy cosmetics, she saw the missing person notice and realized that the little girl might be the child her parents were anxiously looking for. So she handed the child over to the authorities.
The government officials then sought out Xue Huaimin to identify the person.
“They were taken to the government office!” Xue Huaimin said.
Xiang Jinlan clasped her hands together and said, "Amitabha, thankfully Baolan didn't suffer too much! When Xiao Fubao was found yesterday, her body was covered in purple bruises from the cold."
Niu Baolan in his arms was eating a small plate of pastries with great enthusiasm. The little girl was fair and chubby, with a naive look in her innocent eyes, and her mouth was covered in pastries.
"Fortunately, they've all been found!" Xue Huaimin said.
Niu Xiaomei said, "That's right! There are many girls in our family. In the past, they could run all over the mountains and fields without any problems, but after this, they're probably all terrified!"
“I will take good care of Xiao Fubao,” Xiao Heng said.
Xiang Jinlan was responsible for taking care of Niu Baozhu and Niu Baolan.
Niu Xiaomei is responsible for taking care of her children.
After handing the child over to Niu Xiaomei, Xue Huaimin drove the carriage with Niu Er to town to look for Niu Da and Shen Yu, saying that Niu Baolan had been found.
Chen Yu's anxious heart finally settled down. Niu Baolan looked at Xiao Heng with a blank expression, then at the adults, and finally her eyes were drawn to a plate of chestnut cakes.
Xiao Heng also took a piece of pastry that Xue Huaimin had brought and fed it to the little one. Little Fu Bao, still half asleep, took a bite, and Xiao Heng noticed it was alarmingly hot.
"Little Fu Bao seems to be a little sick!"
Shen Yu quickly reached out and touched Xiao Fu Bao's forehead. "Brother-in-law, look, is Xiao Fu Bao sick?"
After all, it is just a mortal body.
Xue Huaimin quickly put down Niu Qiao'er, whom he was holding, walked to Xiao Heng's side, and bent down to touch Xiao Fubao's forehead:
"She has a fever!"
"I heard you found her in the mountains. Fearing the dew would be heavy and the cold might seep into her body, I took the liberty of bringing some herbs to dispel the cold and reduce fever. It seems they'll come in handy."
"Daddy, Mommy, Sister, Little Fu Bao is so cold, so cold!" Little Fu Bao trembled slightly in Xiao Heng's arms, her little face flushed red.
"Mommy's here, Xiao Heng, let me hold you!" After handing Niu Baolan over to Xiang Shi, Chen Yu got up and held Xiao Fubao, coaxing her.
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