"Perhaps they have something to do. Let's hurry up the mountain, or it will get hot soon."
Er Ya didn't dwell on why they left. Judging from their guilty looks just now, they definitely weren't saying anything nice. Now that they saw her coming, wouldn't they run away as fast as they could? Humph.
Er Ya was mentally complaining about those women when she heard a few barks. Turning around, she saw that Da Hei, unwilling to leave her at home, had pried open the door and chased after her.
"Big Black, what are you doing following me here? Why aren't you staying home and guarding the house?"
Big Black followed Er Ya like a shadow, and no matter how hard they tried to get rid of him, they couldn't. In desperation, they had no choice but to let Big Black follow them.
Lin Xiao found a tree suitable for cutting down for firewood. The tree had been struck by lightning and was rotting on the ground, making it perfect for someone as weak as Lin Xiao to cut down. He told Er Ya to stay in the vicinity and call him if anything happened, and then he began to work hard cutting down the tree.
Er Ya led Da Hei around the area. After walking for a while, they saw Da Hei start digging hard in one spot. Just as it was about to crawl in, a plump rabbit darted out of another hole. When Da Hei saw the duck in its beak about to fly away, it was furious and immediately took off chasing after it.
Er Ya was overjoyed to see a rabbit. She thought Da Hei was digging for something, but it turns out that this dog can not only dig for medicinal herbs, but also find wild rabbits!
She quickly called Lin Xiao over loudly. Rabbits are born in burrows, so if one rabbit is there, another is bound to follow. When Lin Xiao heard Er Ya calling her, he thought something was wrong and quickly ran over. When he got there, he realized that Er Ya had found the rabbit burrow.
It is said that a cunning rabbit has three burrows. Rabbits are incredibly cunning. They dig more than one or two burrows. The two searched the area and soon found another rabbit burrow. They sealed the entrance, and then Lin Xiao lit a fire and quickly stuffed it into the burrow.
Then they quickly ran with Er Ya to another cave entrance and waited for the rabbit to come to them.
Before long, several rabbits scrambled out of the hole. Er Ya and Lin Xiao worked together seamlessly, one catching them and the other tying them up, capturing all the rabbits one by one.
There are quite a few rabbits in this litter. They're all quite plump from eating. Including the one that ran away, there are seven rabbits in total. I just don't know if Big Black caught up with the runaway rabbit.
Lin Xiao was overjoyed to see so many rabbits. These creatures were incredibly cunning, and it was rare to catch so many at once. He quickly tied their legs tightly and put them in the basket.
Just then, Dahei came wobbling over, carrying a rabbit in its mouth. It threw the rabbit at Er Ya's feet and looked at Er Ya's "praise me" expression. Er Ya wanted to laugh but didn't dare. She symbolically stroked Dahei's fur and praised it a few times. Dahei then ran off happily into the woods.
Having achieved her goal of entering the mountain, Er Ya prepared to head back home. Lin Xiao quickly bundled up the firewood he had just chopped and carried it on his back, so heavy that he could hardly straighten his back. He slowly followed behind Er Ya, walking down the mountain step by step.
After seeing Er Ya to the gate of the courtyard, Lin Xiao picked up the firewood and prepared to go home first, but Er Ya quickly stopped him:
"Brother Lin Xiao, we caught this rabbit together. Just like last time, we'll split it in half. If you take the rabbit back, your mother won't scold or beat you for not cutting enough firewood." After saying that, she put down the basket and was about to hand him the rabbit.
"No, no, no, you're the one who found this rabbit. I only helped out a little. How could I take your things?"
Er Ya shoved the rabbit into his hand: "Hey, just take it. Why are you always so polite? Here, I'll give you three. Keep one for Da Hei. It did a good job today, so this is a reward for it."
Lin Xiao always finds it hard to refuse in this situation, but he also feels it's inappropriate to take so many, so he tosses the two rabbits back to Er Ya:
"I'll just take this one to get rid of it. I won't eat any more than that. You should go back now. I'm leaving first."
After saying that, he picked up the rabbit and left quickly, afraid that if he stayed any longer, Er Ya would make him take more.
When he got home, his stepmother, Wang Cuihua, saw that Lin Xiao had been gone for a long time and had only brought back a bundle of firewood. She picked up a broom, ready to beat it, but when she looked down and saw the wild rabbit in Lin Xiao's hand, her expression changed instantly.
"You brat, instead of chopping wood, you went to catch wild rabbits! These are much more valuable than firewood. Go see your brother; you'll get a piece of meat today." With that, he happily went to skin the rabbit.
Lin Xiao was already used to her attitude. After putting away the firewood, he went to his room to see his grandfather. His grandfather was in poor health and had been coughing for many years. He was thin and bluish-white.
Seeing her grandson return, she smiled and said, "Xiao Xiao's back? Why are you home so early today?"
After saying that, she seemed to remember something and asked nervously, "Did you sneak back? Don't let your mother see you. If she finds out you're slacking off, she'll beat you again."
Lin Xiao quickly stepped forward to help his grandfather, patted him on the back, and whispered, "No, I caught a rabbit today and brought it home to her. Mom was in a good mood and didn't make me do any more work."
Grandpa Lin patted his eldest grandson's head. What a good child he was. It's a pity he wasn't born into a good family.
After Lin Xiao's biological mother died, his father remarried Wang Cuihua. At first, she treated Lin Xiao well. Although she made him work, she still made sure he was fed. After all, what child from a farming family doesn't have to work?
However, not long after entering the house, Wang Cuihua became pregnant and had her own child. Her attitude towards Lin Xiao changed, especially after she gave birth to her son. She disliked Lin Xiao even more, sometimes beating and scolding him, and sometimes punishing him by not allowing him to eat.
On another occasion, just because Lin Xiao was hungry and secretly ate a piece of cornbread, Wang Cuihua picked up an embroidery needle to sew Lin Xiao's mouth shut, to see if he would dare to steal food again. After sewing a few stitches, Lin Xiao's crying attracted Grandpa Lin.
That time, Grandpa Lin was so angry that he beat Wang Cuihua and threatened that if it happened again, he would go to her parents' house and let everyone in the village see how the Wang family raised their daughter. After that, Wang Cuihua restrained herself a little. However, in the past two years, Grandpa Lin's health has deteriorated, and he is no longer able to do some things. As a result, Wang Cuihua has become even more outrageous.
"Grandpa, you lie here for a while, I'm going to check on my little brother."
To be continued!
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