9 First Encounter with the Male Lead
◎It's a perfect match!◎
Song Jinyi observed for a while and found that the people in the alley only stared at her when she first came in. Later, when they saw that she did not move, they stopped staring at her.
Seeing that there was no danger here, her body was not as stiff as before, her shoulders naturally sank, and she was ready to turn around and leave.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a row of cages in the corner of the wall next to the man. The cages were about the height of a man's waist and the length of a table. There were seven or eight people crammed inside, both men and women.
The child in the corner, with golden hair as dazzling as the sun, attracted Song Jinyi's attention.
The man seemed to feel her gaze, and his curled up body stretched out, and his head buried in his arms slowly raised up. Although the environment was remote and shabby, it did not conceal his beauty at all, and his facial features were as handsome as those of a god.
The most unforgettable thing is his eyes - emerald eyes, which are brighter than the jade in all jewelry stores, and the green is as pure as the primeval forest.
There was a breathtaking beauty in her eyes and brows, like a fox demon that enchanted everyone, which made Song Jinyi walk towards the cage involuntarily.
She seemed to be bewitched and acted without self-awareness. She slowly squatted in front of the cage, her eyes meeting the blond man's.
Most of his face was covered in shadows, but his deep green eyes seemed even deeper and purer.
The man looked at Song Jinyi warily, like a beast trapped in a cage.
When she got closer, he found that she had no ill intentions, and saw that she looked innocent and harmless. The man quickly concealed the hostility in his eyes, and when he raised his eyes, he changed into a pitiful look.
His face was already extremely beautiful, and now his eyes were filled with tears, and a few strands of golden hair hung down in front of his forehead, adding a sense of fragility, which was truly pitiful.
Song Jinyi paused for a moment, then impulsively asked, "How much is this child?"
Seeing that she was interested in the slave, the human trafficker next to her opened the cage and roughly dragged the blond man out of the cage.
"This is top-quality stuff. He's young, in good health, can do heavy work, and can serve the master well." As he said this, he roughly pried open his mouth, wanting to show Song Jinyi the man's teeth.
When buying and selling people, teeth are used to judge age and physical condition, and as a standard for measuring goods.
The man stared at the human toothbrush with his eyes fixed, and like a lion whose territory had been invaded, he opened his mouth wide and bit the human toothbrush hard.
"Ah--" the human trafficker cried out in pain, stared at the blond man in anger and slapped him hard.
The man turned his head and saw a clear slap mark on his face. The trafficker still felt unsatisfied and raised his hand.
"-How much does this child cost?" Song Jinyi asked again hurriedly.
The trafficker then remembered that there was a "buyer" here, so he had to put down his hand and turned around and said, "Fifty taels!"
Fifty taels!
Her monthly allowance was only two taels of silver, and she would have to go without food and drink for twenty-five months, or two years, to save up enough.
She felt that her confused mind, which had been tempted by beauty, suddenly became clear.
She first asked tentatively: "Can we bargain?"
"One price." The human trafficker rubbed his bitten hand and replied impatiently. Perhaps he could see that Song Jinyi was a poor person who couldn't afford the price, so he didn't want to bother with her.
He stared at the blond man with a terrifying expression, fearing that once Song Jinyi left, he would severely punish this disobedient "thing".
The blond man naturally felt the woman's embarrassment and the hatred of the human trafficker. He lowered his head and remained silent, his long eyelashes casting a shadow. No one knew what he was thinking at the moment.
Suddenly, the blond man struggled to break free from the human teeth and pounced on Song Jinyi. He was only at the height of Song Jinyi's chest, and his hands were even thinner than Song Jinyi's arms.
He hugged Song Jinyi, his shoulders shaking violently, his eyes filled with tears, as if they would fall out of his eyes in the next second. He said in a trembling voice: "Aqia, please, save me."
The boy was from a foreign tribe and was not familiar with the language of Daxia, so he spoke haltingly.
She lowered her head and saw the young man raised his tall neck. He was too thin, and the blue veins were wrapped around his throat like ropes.
He reminded her of an orange cat she had raised in the orphanage, with orange fur and light green eyes, not as pretty as the boy's emerald green.
The young man may have sensed Song Jinyi's struggle, and he continued pitifully: "Aqia, if you don't save me, they will sell me as a toy to bad guys."
"Pervert!" Song Jinyi cursed in her heart.
The trafficker urged, "Madam, are you going to buy it or not? If not, please don't delay my business."
Song Jinyi thought for a long time. She really didn't have the ability. She pursed her lower lip tightly and said, "I'm sorry, I really..." She paused, lowered her head suddenly, and stared at the boy in disbelief.
She felt a sudden pain in her waist, as if she had been stabbed by something sharp. Then the boy stood on tiptoe and his voice drifted softly into her ears: "This is poison. You have to save me."
Song Jinyi stared at him with her eyes downcast. Seeing the young man blink, she said threateningly, "No, tell him there's no antidote. I'll die, and you too."
The boy's eyes flashed with danger, which reminded Song Jinyi of the tree viper, a beautiful and highly poisonous snake that uses its beautiful appearance to confuse its prey and then bites it hard when it is off guard.
She pursed her lips and remained silent for a long time. Then she spoke to the trafficker, "I left in a hurry and didn't bring enough money. I hope you can forgive me for a few days. When I have enough money, I will come back to redeem him."
The trafficker held up three fingers and said, "Three days, just three days. If it's this time in three days, this child will be someone else's pet."
******
Song Jinyi returned to her residence and immediately turned on the light. With her back to the mirror, she took off her coat, letting it fall to her waist, twisted her body, and lowered her head to look for the eye of the needle.
"Squeaky—" Xu Ruolan pushed the door open. Her long hair was wet, with water droplets dripping down. She must have just finished showering. Seeing Song Jinyi's posture, she was stunned for a moment and asked with amusement, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing." Song Jinyi pulled up her coat and straightened her collar.
"What happened to you then? I heard you yelling about thieves, and when I went to look for you, you were nowhere to be found.
Did you finally catch up with her?" She saw that Song Jinyi looked depressed, as if she was shrouded in a cloud of sorrow.
She thought Song Jinyi was so distraught because she hadn't found the purse, so she suggested, "If the loss is heavy, report it to the police tomorrow. I'll go with you."
Song Jinyi shook her head and said, "There's only money for one meal in that purse, about a dozen coins. Those government offices won't pay any attention to us."
Xu Ruolan was a thoughtful person. Seeing that Song Jinyi didn't show any emotion when she talked about the lost purse, she guessed that she was not distressed by it. She asked again, "Have you encountered any difficulties?"
Song Jinyi still replied: "Nothing."
Xu Ruolan tapped her forehead lightly with her index finger, "How can you look like you're okay? Your eyebrows are almost twisted into a ball.
If you said it, at least there would be one more person to discuss things with, and I might even be able to give you some advice. If you didn't say it, I would know that you didn't consider me a true sister."
Song Jinyi hurriedly said: "That's not the case, I just... I just don't know how to say it."
"You can speak frankly."
"I... need money."
"How many?"
Song Jinyi: "Fifty taels."
Xu Ruolan exclaimed, and asked, "Did you borrow money at high interest?"
Song Jinyi shook her head and told everyone everything that had happened tonight.
Xu Ruolan stood up first, lifted up Song Jinyi's clothes, and checked the needle hole. There was indeed a black spot, but she couldn't guess what caused it based on this alone.
"What if that kid is trying to trick you?"
"Sister Ruolan, you didn't see the look in that child's eyes. It was an almost crazy determination that gave me the illusion that if I didn't save him, he would really die with me.
Besides, he comes from a wild place, has no education, and is untamed... I dare not gamble."
"You're right. It doesn't matter if it's not true. If it is true, you can still earn money, but you only have one life." After saying this, Xu Ruolan took out a purse embroidered with orchids from under her pillow.
She handed the purse to him and said, "Here are some of my savings. Although there are only five taels of silver, it can at least make up some of the money."
Song Jinyi didn't take it and said embarrassedly: "Sister Ruolan..."
Xu Ruolan smiled bitterly and said, "I don't have any family. My mother is long gone, and my father... I don't have a father.
Don't worry, I am now well fed and the whole family is not hungry. Now you have a sister, if you are in trouble, how can I not help you? "
Song Jinyi hugged Xu Ruolan with emotion, "I am also alone. It is my luck to meet Sister Ruolan now. From now on, neither of us is alone. You will be my relative..."
Before Song Jinyi could finish these sentimental words, her hungry stomach rumbled at an inopportune time.
Song Jinyi held her stomach and said, "I'll go make something to eat first. I haven't eaten anything this afternoon."
Song Jinyi ate what was available: some glutinous rice left over from making rice dumplings, as well as some leftover bacon, green beans, dried mushrooms, and four salted duck eggs.
"Today is the Dragon Boat Festival. We've been busy all day and haven't had any rice dumplings yet. I'm going to make some glutinous rice eggs to make up for it."
Xu Ruolan helped her soak the glutinous rice, while Song Jinyi soaked the dried mushrooms and diced the bacon, then mixed the ingredients with the glutinous rice, added light soy sauce, salt, chicken essence, and oyster sauce, and stirred well.
Xu Ruolan gave her the duck eggs she had prepared long ago - she washed the salted duck eggs in advance, cracked a small hole in them, poured in the egg liquid, and left the egg yolk.
Song Jinyi filled the eggshells slowly, shook them slightly, and put them into the steamer.
Xu Ruolan brought out a small wooden table, and the two of them dined outside under simple conditions.
When the time is up and the hot steam dissipates, the glutinous rice egg is out of the pot.
The milky white eggshell is wrapped with golden rice grains, each grain is distinct, and there are green beans in the middle to make the color not appear monotonous.
Xu Ruolan gently peeled off the egg skin on top. The glutinous rice was sticky and soft. She locked the ingredients tightly in her arms. She took a light bite. The aroma of glutinous rice, the tenderness of mushrooms, and the salty fragrance of bacon, different textures and flavors instantly came to her taste buds one after another.
When you get to the bottom of the eggshell, the orange-yellow salted egg yolk is steamed out with red oil, dyeing the glutinous rice orange-red. The clumping egg yolk has a crunchy texture and is full of salty flavor.
Xu Ruolan finished eating a glutinous rice egg and said, "It would be a perfect match if I had a bowl of white porridge with it!"
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