Chapter 14 This is your sister
Xiaoxi looked in the direction of the voice and saw a girl dressed like a princess in a pink dress and a red bow walking in from the yard. She seemed to be the same age as herself and was looking at her with a frown.
This must be Li Wenting, her brother's biological sister.
As soon as Li Wenting saw Xiaoxi, she felt an inexplicable uneasiness in her heart. She walked up to Qin Lan, pulled Qin Lan's arm and said coquettishly: "Mom, why didn't you tell me before you gave my clothes to others to wear? You know I don't like others wearing my clothes."
Qin Lan couldn't stand Li Wenting's coquetry, and hurriedly said: "You don't like this dress, so she borrowed it to wear." Li
Hongbin looked at Xiaoxi who had lowered her head, and hurriedly interrupted Qin Lan's words: "Tingting, you can't be so rude."
Li Wenting was a little afraid of Li Hongbin. She knew that coquetry would not work with her father, so she just hummed a little and dared not say anything else.
"Tingting, come upstairs, mom and I have something to talk to you." After Li Hongbin finished speaking, he gave Xiaoxi a dry towel and said softly: "Xiaoxi, wipe your hair quickly, don't catch a cold."
Li Wenting had never seen Li Hongbin so gentle, and she glared at Xiaoxi. Xiaoxi saw it with her peripheral vision, but ignored it, and wiped her hair carefully with the dry towel given by Li Hongbin.
"Hongbin, can we talk about it in a few days?" Qin Lan pleaded with Li Hongbin who was about to go upstairs.
"I will tell you sooner or later." Li Hongbin was firm, "Tingting, you go upstairs first."
Li Wenting realized that what her father was going to say might be a big deal. She looked at this strange girl who looked very much like her mother, and suddenly she felt an unprecedented panic in her heart. She went upstairs with doubts and panic.
Then Li Hongbin pulled Qin Lan upstairs again.
Xiaoxi stopped wiping her hair and stared at the empty stairs in a daze. She quickly came to her senses and went to the bathroom to change the clothes she brought with her. She only had one set of clothes, a pale light blue shirt with gray patches and black trousers. It was
very hot to wear these clothes in this weather, but Xiaoxi was used to it. She folded the clothes she took off and placed them on the sofa in the living room. She took her dirty clothes in a basin to the yard and washed them in the well.
While washing clothes, several boys about eleven or twelve years old ran in. They were about to rush into the house when they suddenly found Xiaoxi washing clothes by the well.
One of the boys, whose eyebrows and eyes looked very similar to Li Hongbin, was stunned for a moment when he saw Xiaoxi, but soon asked, "Who are you and why are you in my house?"
"Haha, Huazi, is this your babysitter?" said one of the boys.
Another boy said with contempt: "Have you ever seen such a young babysitter? She must be a poor relative from Huazi's family."
When he said this, several boys showed an understanding look. They seemed to agree with this point of view. Every summer vacation, many relatives from nowhere would appear in their family, so they were used to it.
Xiaoxi looked at these boys indifferently. Their badness was almost the same as the naughty kids in her previous village. She ignored them and continued to wash her clothes.
These boys walked over and squatted by the well to watch Xiaoxi wash clothes.
"What kind of relative are you in our family? From my father's side or my mother's side?" The boy called Huazi asked curiously.
Xiaoxi said expressionlessly: "From your father's side." She knew this should be Li Wenhua.
Li Wenhua watched Xiaoxi wash clothes very skillfully, and suddenly said: "Since we are relatives, can you help me?"
The other boys seemed to understand Li Wenhua's intention and said hurriedly: "Yes, yes, can you help me?"
Xiaoxi stopped washing clothes and quietly looked at Li Wenhua and the boys' dirty clothes covered with mud. "Help you wash clothes?"
Li Wenhua was stunned, "How did you know?"
Xiaoxi chuckled, "Isn't it obvious?" This must be because the clothes were dirty and he was afraid of being scolded when he got home. "I can help you, but you have to help me press the water."
"That's easy, I'll do it." Several boys rushed to press the water without saying anything. For a while, the yard was very lively.
As they were talking, a figure suddenly ran out of the house and quickly ran out of the yard. Xiaoxi recognized it as Li Wenting, and then Qin Lan ran out after her, calling Tingting as she ran.
The boys who were pumping water in the yard were stunned, and they all forgot to hide their muddy clothes in front of the adults. Li Wenhua even stood up with his mouth open, staring blankly at the gate of the yard.
Li Hongbin walked out with a complicated expression on his face. He saw Xiaoxi who was washing clothes in the yard and the clothes on her body, and he felt even more confused for a moment.
"Dad, what happened to my mom and my sister?" Li Wenhua turned around and asked his dad.
"What are you doing?" Li Hongbin did not answer his question directly, but turned to ask him.
"Uncle Li, we are helping your relatives to pump water." A boy said hurriedly.
What relative? Li Hongbin was wondering.
Several boys had already run away. "Uncle Li, we'll leave first."
Li Wenhua cursed these ungrateful guys in his heart.
However, Li Hongbin didn't seem to care that Li Wenhua had taken off his shirt. He called the two into the house. "Li Wenhua, this is your sister." He said to Xiaoxi, "This is your brother, Li Wenhua."
Li Wenhua didn't care about Li Hongbin's serious introduction. He thought it was a relative's sister.
Li Hongbin said to Li Wenhua seriously, "This is your sister from the same mother. It was a coincidence that she was taken away by Tingting. You have to treat your sister well in the future. Do you hear me?"
Li Wenhua opened his mouth in surprise again, stunned by this sudden change.
Li Hongbin ignored Li Wenhua and only said to Xiaoxi carefully: "Tingting will still live in our house in the future. You should get along well with each other. We are a family."
Xiaoxi had expected this a long time ago, and she nodded without any ups and downs.
Li Hongbin had prepared a lot of things to say, but seeing Xiaoxi like this, he didn't need to say them. "You stay at home and don't wash the clothes. I'll go see Tingting."
After saying that, he also went out.
In the end, Li Wenhua and Xiaoxi were left staring at each other. Xiaoxi finally went to wash clothes silently.
Li Wenhua looked at Xiaoxi squatting there washing clothes, and pouted his head, as if he didn't know how to face her, and ran away after a while.
Suddenly, a red sunset glow like fire appeared on the horizon, dazzling and dazzling, reflecting Xiaoxi's face red as she was hanging clothes.
Xiaoxi stared at the sunset in a daze for a while, then stood up and went to the living room to take out the medicine in her package, and wiped the wound in front of the mirror.
When Li Hongbin came back, it was almost dark. He pushed open the gate and saw that the house was pitch black. He thought of Xiaoxi, and his heart tightened. He walked quickly, crossed the yard, and stepped into the door of the main room.
He turned around and saw Xiaoxi sitting on a small bench at the end of the corridor, reading a book with her head down.
"Xiaoxi." Li Hongbin felt that his voice was a little hoarse.
Xiaoxi raised her head and stood up. "Dad."
Li Hongbin smiled gently, "You can't even read clearly here. Why don't you go back and turn on the light?"
He walked into the house again and pulled the light cord at the door. The light from the house instantly illuminated Xiaoxi in the corridor through the window.
She was holding a junior high school English textbook.
Looking at her pale face, thinking that she had not eaten anything for a day like himself, he said, "Are you hungry? Dad will cook you a bowl of noodles?"
As he was talking, Xiaoxi's stomach started to growl, and she was embarrassed for a moment.
Li Hongbin rarely saw Xiaoxi like this, and felt that this was the way she should be at this age. Smiling, he rolled up his sleeves and went to the kitchen.
Xiaoxi's face quickly regained its composure and followed him into the house. She looked at the bulb on the roof, which was indeed much brighter than the kerosene lamp.
Xiajia Village had not yet installed electric lights, and all used kerosene lamps. Shiqiao Middle School did install them, but they were only turned on a few times a year. During evening self-study, everyone still used kerosene lamps to read.
Li Wenhua appeared from nowhere again. He glanced at Xiaoxi, smiled at her embarrassedly, and ran to the kitchen. Looking at Li Hongbin who was clumsily lighting the fire, he whispered, "Dad, that sister is not my biological sister. Whose family is she? Where did my sister go?" Li Wenhua had a lot of questions to ask.
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