It was such a small ball, with its eyes closed, blood on its scalp, its hair thinning a bit, its limbs so thin that only bones and skin were left, but its mouth was still moving firmly.
He knew the crisis was over and he could start eating.
When Tianjiao went over, the village chief Zhao Jiangang was listening to two people around him gesticulating and helping to convey a message with a worried look on his face.
Sun Hong had been sent back by several men. His head hit against a stone. For a grown man, the sudden impact of the stone was quite strong and he fainted on the spot. Tianjiao did not expect that his casual curse would be so effective. He looked up at the sky with lingering fear, but found nothing. Then he naturally went towards Xiao He.
She didn't notice the confused look on her new father's face at all.
Fortunately, Zhang Rui was a carefree person. After a moment's thought, he felt that it was impossible and put it out of his mind.
Tianjiao had already walked up to him, looked at the dazzling scene, and said softly, "I'm sorry."
She shouldn't have given things to him casually, and as a result he suffered the consequences.
Tianjiao slowly stretched out his little hand and placed it on the dirty and bloody head.
It was as if he heard her voice, soft, crisp and sweet. All other sounds around him seemed to be inaudible. Xiao He's tightly closed eyelids moved.
Every time he was beaten, he was in this state, curled up with his eyes closed, not making a sound, not even crying out in pain. He was numb and dull, which made him feel a lot less pain.
This time is no exception.
His body was still aching and his head was burning, but he slowly opened his eyes.
It was the familiar dazzling whiteness again, and his head seemed to be touched by something soft and warm. He felt a sense of security, and his eyelashes trembled, and he closed his eyes again.
He stood motionless, hugging his arms with both arms.
No movement, no pain, no feeling.
It seemed as if this could convince myself, and slowly, the pain seemed to have really decreased a lot, and my chaotic mind seemed to be clearer.
Tianjiao sniffed, his eyes were still red, and his lips were tightly pursed. He hoped that this talent could be useful to mortals.
Zhang Rui squatted quietly beside his daughter, protecting her with his hands, and in his heart he condemned Sun Hong who had fainted countless times. Damn, if it weren't for him, why would Jiaojiao cry?
This is really sick, to torture a child like this.
…
Zhao Dali muttered, "Village chief, this child is too pitiful. Although the Xiao family was a landlord before, they never exploited us. Besides, it happened many years ago. The Xiao family only has this one child left. If something really happens to him, it will be bad for the reputation of our village."
The two were relatives, so they spoke casually. Zhao Jiangang nodded, but looking at the mass, he didn't know how to start. He sighed, "What use are we to you? This child will live in the Sun family in the future. Who knows what happened inside when the door is closed? He can't even cry."
Tianjiao squatted there and listened. Seeing that they were still discussing, he whispered, "Then we can stop living in the Sun family for a while."
A tiny voice sounded, and Zhao Jiangang's heart moved. He looked up and saw this pretty little girl in front of him. He smiled and subconsciously softened his tone: "Little girl, you don't understand. If he doesn't live there, how can he live alone?"
Tianjiao pouted unwillingly, but looking at himself, it seemed to be the case.
She lowered her head in frustration, her soft hair hanging down and covering her little face, but the aura she exuded was indeed weak.
Zhang Rui saw this and said immediately, "Why not? He eats at many houses. Don't think I don't know what Sun Hong feeds him. He usually just adds some boiled water to any leftovers. I've seen it many times. Sometimes there's nothing at all, and he just squats at the door holding his stomach. The villagers feel sorry for him and give him some sweet potatoes from their homes. Otherwise, he would have starved to death long ago."
Zhao Jiangang glared: "Then I will follow him too. Damn it."
Zhang Rui curled his lips: "Fuck? I dare not say a word when Old Sun glares at me!"
Tianjiao listened, feeling distressed, and looked at Zhao Jiangang with sparkling eyes. She knew that this man was the village chief. When he was fully adopted by the Zhang family a few days ago, Zhang Rui took him to register with him. So she said in a particularly sweet voice: "Uncle, in this case, it's okay for him to live alone?"
Being looked at by such a pair of eyes, Zhao Jiangang felt that if this was his own daughter, he would definitely give her whatever she wanted. It was no wonder that Zhang Rui had restrained his past behavior and suddenly became honest, but he was still the village chief, not Xiao He's family, so he could only say: "He can't speak, and he will starve to death if he lives alone. We'll see later."
He picked him up and said, "I'll take him to Doctor Li to get some medicine applied. His condition is so serious, I don't know if he can survive."
Tianjiao naturally couldn't stop it, so he quickly took two steps back and saw the little ball being picked up.
Looking at Zhao Jiangang's relaxed look, it was obvious that the weight was very light, which made people sad.
With red eyes, she turned around and threw herself into Zhang Rui's arms, saying in a muffled voice, "Dad, that man is a bad guy, why can't he be punished?"
Zhang Rui picked her up and walked back, patting her back gently with one hand, and said softly, "Because he is Xiao He's father now. There is no father in the world who was arrested for beating his son. Besides, he didn't beat anyone to death, so there's really nothing we can say."
When he said this, Zhang Rui was also feeling sad. Beating children is actually very common in rural areas.
Tianjiao pursed his lips, feeling depressed in his chest and not knowing what to say.
The father and daughter walked back slowly, and from their backs, they looked like real father and daughter.
Just now, Li Mizhen was standing in the crowd, and someone came up to her and said, "Are you really not the daughter of your third son?"
Li Mizhen looked unhappy and shook her head: "How can it be possible? He is only 22 years old this twelfth month. How can he have the ability to give birth to such a big girl?"
Nowadays, if you have an affair with someone else, you will be in trouble if you are reported, so she quickly clarified.
Chengzi's mother clicked her tongue twice, but didn't dwell on the issue. Instead, she said, "Actually, your third child seems to be doing pretty well. He's only been around for a few days, but he's already like an adult. Look at the way he walks now. He's really different from before. He's really more stable. No, I have to urge my Chengzi to get married soon. With a baby, he'll definitely feel at ease. But you really shouldn't marry a lazy woman..."
At this point, Chengzi's mother suddenly stopped talking, remembering that Zhen's daughter-in-law was a notorious lazy girl with only a pretty face. She was from the neighboring brigade. It was said that she never worked when she was at her parents' home. Isn't this a thorn in her heart?
Chengzi's mother laughed dryly and said, "I haven't washed my clothes yet, so I'll go home first."
Li Mizhen found Zhang Dagen in the crowd with a gloomy face and went back as well.
She had a dark face not because of Chengzi's mother, but because she was thinking about her lazy daughter-in-law and Tianjiao.
…
There was an oil lamp lit in the house, and the light was still a little dim. Occasionally a gust of wind blew, and the light flickered.
Zhang Rui sat there with Tianjiao, who was drinking a glass of water slowly.
She became nervous and thirsty, so she licked her lips. Zhang Rui saw her and immediately poured her some water.
The water was a little hot, Tianjiao held it carefully and drank it until her forehead was covered with sweat. She caught a glimpse of the person next to her calmly crossing his legs. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This father was so calm.
After drinking just a few sips, Zhang Dagen and Li Mizhen came in from outside. Tianjiao quickly stood up, and Zhang Rui also quickly came over to try to please them: "Mom and Dad, are you thirsty? Let me pour you some water."
Tianjiao looked at the lackey in surprise, and was embarrassed to find that he was waiting here.
Li Mizhen pushed her son away in disgust. She caught a glimpse of the little girl who followed her son almost every step of the way and wanted to say something.
As if he sensed her gaze, Tianjiao clenched his fists nervously, his mouth corners a little stiff, but his voice was still sweet: "Grandpa and grandma, I'm sorry, I..."
Zhang Dagen walked in with his hands behind his back and his waist hunched. Hearing the tiny voice that sounded like she was about to cry at any moment, he paused but continued walking inside.
This girl looks a little timid. If he says a few words to her, she will probably cry for a long time, and then he will have to comfort his son. So forget it.
He went in. Li Mizhen was still outside, looking at the cautious father and daughter. To be honest, she didn't have much temper left. Her original depression turned into a faint questioning voice, interrupting her hesitant words: "If you can't eat in the future, just say it directly, no one will tell."
Tianjiao tried hard to force out a sweet smile: "Okay, thank you grandma."
Li Mizhen was not used to such a well-behaved and obedient child. None of her four children was really obedient. No matter what she said, they could always find a reason to refute her, or they would agree casually at the time and continue to do what she was supposed to do later. Even now, the obedient second child was a naughty child who would climb up the roof and tear down the tiles if he was not beaten before he was ten years old.
She shivered a little unnaturally.
Zhang Rui helped and said, "You're the one who keeps saying that food is not easy to come by, and she used to leave it for me to eat at night because she couldn't eat it. Have you noticed that your son has gained weight in the past few days?"
Tianjiao looked at his father lying with a wooden face. How could he be fat? Besides, that steamed corn bread doesn’t grow much meat.
But these words made Li Mizhen look much better. She smiled, pushed away her son who came closer again, and said angrily: "I know, I know, how can you gain weight in just a few days? Okay, I know you have a little money on hand, but you should find a proper job as soon as possible, otherwise how are you going to support your daughter in the future?"
Zhang Rui nodded with a smile. Li Mizhen was in charge of all the household affairs, so he told her about his plan: "I plan to go to the county to see if there is any job available. The village doesn't need me anyway..."
Li Mizhen nodded: "Hmm..."
As the two were talking, Tianjiao held Zhang Rui's clothes and stood beside him. The new father did not forget to rub her head to comfort her, which made Tianjiao, who was still a little nervous, completely relieved of her worries.
She raised her head and looked at the two of them with her big eyes. Her face was slightly tense and she was a little puzzled. How could they just brush it aside so nonchalantly?
Isn’t food important?
Her eyeballs were very black, and her whites were also very white. Her eyes were big enough and looked sparkling. She was staring at them intently.
Li Mizhen subconsciously lowered her voice when speaking to her son. He looked down at her and felt that her son's eyes seemed to be able to speak, asking her why she didn't blame her.
She wanted to complain about his little appearance, but she couldn't bear to blame him, so she could only say, "Okay, it's getting late, go to bed early." After thinking for a while, she turned to her son and said, "Jiaojiao is a girl after all, it's not convenient for her to live in the same room with you. Clean up your brother's room tomorrow."
Tianjiao was stunned again after listening, and there was more confusion in his big eyes. He was not scolded, but he still got a room?
Zhang Rui grinned happily: "Thank you, Mom!"
Tianjiao also tilted his head and said crisply, "Thank you, grandma!"
Suddenly feeling a little hot on her face, Li Mizhen turned around uncomfortably: "Why thank you? Your dad and I are both busy tomorrow. Let me make it clear first. You should clean it yourself. It's your daughter's bed anyway. If she gets bit by rats, it's your fault."
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