"Yes, he is my brother." She nodded, "So, if you bully him, you are bullying me, understand?"
"Humph," he stood up, "I'm too lazy to bully that poor boy."
She didn't like his choice of words, so she kicked him and said, "Why do you say that to him?"
"That's the truth," he said, moving away from her. "They're the only ones who have to go up the mountain to chop vegetables. They can't even afford coal."
"coal?"
"You don't even know what coal is?"
"We use gas at home, not coal."
"That, that's it," he pointed to the coal briquettes on the side of the kitchen, "that's it."
She knew how hard it was to chop wood in the mountains every day. If she had these things, her grandmother wouldn't have to work so hard to cook. But where did these coal briquettes come from? "What's your name?"
"Everyone calls me Daniu," he said with a smile, "because I'm so strong."
"Daniu? That's a powerful name," she said. "Teach me how to make briquettes."
"Well," he scratched his head, "I don't know either. We buy all the coal briquettes in town."
Then it’s a matter of money again. Ouyang Zishan sighed. If she had money, she wouldn’t need to go to the town to sell things.
Seeing her sitting on the ground thinking about something, the other party asked, "Your family has no money?"
She rolled her eyes at him, “This isn’t nonsense, “We don’t have money right now.”
"Then I'll give you some," he said. "We have plenty of coal at home, and we can't use it all in a year."
"We don't have a coal stove at home," she thought for a moment, "never mind, I'd better go to the mountains and the bamboo forest to chop more firewood so that grandma can burn it."
"I can help you!" he said.
She looked at him and saw that he was indeed very strong: "Okay, go to the mountain tomorrow and we will wait for you there."
"It's a deal."
His attitude changed so quickly that Ouyang Zishan was a little suspicious. Could it be that it would be so easy for them to resolve their differences? She always felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't find any problems with him.
Yesterday, Da Niu didn’t see what she looked like clearly, but today he found that she was more beautiful than the stars on TV, so he forgot about her bullying just now.
As he watched her cross the mountain, his parents, who had been away, returned to cook. He asked his father, "Dad, why does Xiaowei's family across the street have a new little sister?"
"Sister?" His father didn't understand what his son was talking about. "They don't have a sister."
"No, isn't there a girl named Ouyang Zishan in their house?"
"Oh, that's a child from Beijing. Her mother sent her here," his father explained. "They said she was going to the countryside to train. Initially, the village said she would be placed with us, but when her mother heard about Xiaowei's family situation, she insisted on having her stay with them."
"Why not at our house?"
“Who knows what these city people are thinking?”
Mom interrupted, "They sent him here to suffer. City kids are all so spoiled these days. Look, in less than six months, that kid can do everything. Chopping wood in the mountains, selling things in town. What can't he do?"
"Yeah, if he were in our family, he'd be just like you, a young master, getting into trouble all the time," Dad tapped his forehead. "What did you do again? You even have a bruise on your face."
"No." He dodged his father's hand and continued eating.
The next day, Da Niu found them at the agreed location and chopped a lot of firewood with them, enough for them to use for a few days. It was almost noon when Ouyang Zishan asked him to go back with him for lunch. He hesitated for a moment, but eventually agreed. Xiao Wei had always had a bad impression of Da Niu, especially his domineering demeanor, which always made him feel uncomfortable.
Grandma's friendliness eased Daniu's worries. That afternoon, the three of them sat on a tree branch, gazing at the distant scenery. They didn't talk much. Daniu told them which garden had the best fruit, and they told him which mountain had the largest and most mushrooms.
In this way, the three of them gradually became friends, and Da Niu and Xiao Wei also liked to stick together to discuss things between boys.
One afternoon, the three of them were roasting sweet potatoes in the yard when a group of people approached from a distance. The first person to notice them was Da Niu, who nudged Ouyang Zishan and said, "Are these people here to see you?"
She raised her head and looked in the distance. It was her godmother and godfather's family. Jin Lu and Xia Yue saw her and were running towards her in a hurry.
"Ouyang, aren't those your family members?" Xiao Wei said.
"Why are they here?" Ouyang Zishan went over to greet them.
Da Niu and Xiao Wei went back and called grandma, and helped her walk to the middle of the yard.
Jin Lu and Xia Yue were hugging Ouyang Zishan on the road. She excitedly asked, "Why are you here?"
"We all miss you." Xia Yue said.
She cried when they met this time. It was a longing from the bottom of her heart. But it was different from the last time they met in Beijing. This time, the longing had been buried in her heart for a long time, and it burst out the moment she saw them.
Jin Lu helped her wipe away her tears: "Look at you crying, mom will have to scold us later."
She wiped her tears with the corner of Jinlu's shirt, took them to the yard, introduced them to Da Niu and Xiao Wei, and most importantly, grandma.
"Grandma, they are my brothers." Ouyang Zishan introduced them anyway.
The godmother and godfather came up from behind and greeted the grandmother. Then, seeing the two boys next to them, they gave them some gifts. Daniu stood aside. This scene did not suit him, so he secretly returned home from the back mountain.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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