Chapter 123 Guaguagua Two-in-One
After entering the house and turning on the light, Xiang Yao could see clearly that the color on He Guoqiang's face was even more mottled.
The eye sockets were red and swollen, the left cheekbone was bruised, and the corners of the mouth were swollen...
It is hard to imagine that a child who is not even ten years old has so many wounds on his small face.
Just by looking at it, Xiang Yao felt so painful that he couldn't help but feel frightened.
But the child seemed to feel no pain at all. When asked, he just said lightly, "I'm used to it."
Who can get used to the pain caused by punches and kicks?
Xiang Yao thought to himself that it was just a comfort mechanism for children to protect themselves.
When she was a left-behind child, she often pretended to be indifferent when adults joked that "your parents don't want you", and stubbornly said "it makes no difference whether they are there or not".
Xiang Yao frowned and said to Nie Baichuan, "Brother Chuan, can you help him check the wound inside his clothes? I'll get some safflower oil, and you can apply it later, okay?"
Nie Baichuan nodded: "Safflower oil is in the drawer under the table."
Xiang Yao smiled and said, "I know."
Old Nie heard the noise in the main room and hurried out to check. He saw a new child in his family and said, "Isn't this Guoqiang from He Liuzhi's family?"
The next moment, he also saw the wounds on He Guoqiang's face and under his lifted clothes. He couldn't help but click his tongue and didn't know what to say for a moment, for fear of scaring the child.
Facing the gaze of someone a generation older than him, He Guoqiang couldn't help but stiffen up, his lips pressed into a tight line, and he didn't even notice the pain from biting his cheek.
"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. Yaoyao went to get the medicine, right? Let this brother apply the medicine on you well. You will be fine in two days."
Seeing how serious his face was, Old Nie quickly smiled and tried to comfort him in the kindest tone.
He didn't ask the reason, but just said a few words of comfort. When Xiang Yao came back with the safflower oil, he said hello and went in.
Let two young people handle it here. If he, an adult, stands here, the children won't be able to relax.
Nie Baichuan took the safflower oil, glanced at the dirty child in front of him, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Just wipe it briefly first. I'll go get some water."
He Guoqiang was used to being independent and self-reliant. When the hot water came, he took the towel and started wiping his face and body.
Seeing that he had wiped it clean, Nie Baichuan said in his usual cold voice, "Stretch out your hand."
He Guoqiang quickly stretched out his arms and let him apply medicine on his hands.
Xiang Yao took advantage of this time to pour the water and went to the kitchen to boil two eggs.
There was no shortage of eggs at home, and the people nearby were looking forward to Xiang Yao exchanging money for eggs. They would always save up a few and ask her if she wanted some.
Of course Xiang Yao wants it. Since she can’t eat meat every day, she has to eat more eggs.
The eggs were cooked and safflower oil was applied to the wounds on He Guoqiang's body.
The places that were originally green and purple have now all turned red, which looks a bit funny.
Xiang Yao asked him to sit on the chair and handed him the egg: "You must be hungry. Eat the egg."
He Guoqiang shook his head: "I'm not hungry."
Eggs are such a precious thing, he can only eat a few of them throughout the year, so naturally he thinks they are a scarce resource in Xiang Yao's family.
People are willing to take him back and apply medicine to him, but he can't eat their food.
Just as he was thinking this, his stomach seemed to be singing a different tune and made two appropriate "gurgling" sounds...
The child instantly lowered his head in embarrassment, secretly annoyed at himself for being so embarrassing.
Xiang Yao coughed and said in a relaxed tone, "Don't be polite with your sister. Come on, continue."
He Guoqiang didn't answer, but kept his head down and stared at the ground.
Xiang Yao added, "If you don't answer, your brother next to you will be angry. He's scary when he gets angry."
Nie Baichuan glanced at her: ...
Xiang Yao quickly squinted his eyes and smiled brightly.
He Guoqiang paused, glanced at Nie Baichuan cautiously, and asked slowly, "Does he also hit people?"
Nie Baichuan glanced at Xiang Yao sideways, as if waiting to see how she would explain.
Xiang Yao certainly couldn't portray Nie Baichuan as a vicious, violent villain just to appease a child. With a dry laugh, he quickly explained, "I was the one who scared you just now. He doesn't hit anyone. He has never hit anyone."
After thinking for a moment, she added, "Not all men in every family beat people. You should never think that beating people is normal."
He Guoqiang nodded seriously and said hoarsely, "I know. Niaodan's father doesn't hit people. He Liangang's father doesn't hit people either."
Xiang Yao didn't know anything about making steel from bird eggs, but that didn't stop her from saying, "Yeah, so, it's normal not to hit children violently. If you feel that a certain behavior is very painful to you, then you must never inflict that pain on your children in the future."
He Guoqiang asked curiously, "Will I have children in the future?"
Xiang Yao was slightly stunned. To be honest, such questions are usually asked by children when they are very young.
Although the answers vary, children will have a clear understanding of this in their minds.
As for He Guoqiang, his family seemed to have never had similar interactions with him. He may have asked some questions that made him curious, or he may have never asked them. His parents did not become his enlightenment on the road to growth.
As for going to school, it seems that this child has never been to school. Xiang Yao has met him outside many times when other children were in school.
Xiang Yao thought about it and answered seriously without any perfunctory response: "If you reach the right age in the future, find someone you like, marry her, and start a new family, then you will have your own children."
He Guoqiang lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then hesitated and said, "If I have my own child in the future, I will definitely not beat him."
Xiang Yao did not think it was ridiculous for a child under ten to think about such a question. On the contrary, she was very happy that He Guoqiang had such an understanding.
Not all pain will be passed on to the next generation. Perhaps, because the child has experienced it before, he understands better where the pain comes from and can better avoid it.
She smiled and touched the child's head: "Well, I believe you."
Her eyes sparkled under the kerosene lamp, more beautiful than the stars in the sky.
"You will definitely become a very good adult."
He Guoqiang raised the corners of his lips slightly and smiled shyly.
It was the first time he heard someone say such words to him, when he thought he had no future.
He thought to himself that he had to stay alive because only by staying alive would he have the chance to become an outstanding adult.
Xiang Yao clapped her hands: "Alright, hurry up and eat the eggs. Eating more protein will help you grow well and become taller and stronger."
He Guoqiang didn't know what protein was, but he knew that growing taller and stronger meant greater strength.
So this time he no longer refused, but took the initiative to peel the egg and put the egg into his mouth.
While gnawing on the egg, he secretly looked at Nie Baichuan and made up his mind that he must grow as tall as his brother.
In this way, no one will dare to hit him again.
Old Nie opened the door again and walked out. He glanced at He Guoqiang and said, "The child can sleep in my room tonight. I just put on a quilt. He's so small, it won't be a problem for him to sleep next to me."
Xiang Yao smiled and said, "Dad helped me solve a big problem!"
Old Nie was delighted and quickly waved his hands: "It's nothing, it's a small matter."
To be honest, ever since his son got married, he, as a father, has not gone a single day without being praised.
Old Nie sometimes really feels that giving birth to a son who doesn't talk much is worse than giving birth to a piece of barbecued pork. Giving birth to a girl would be completely different. She would be like a sunflower, and it would make people happy just by looking at her.
Nie Baichuan was looked down upon by his father. He felt puzzled but did not say anything.
Seeing that He Guoqiang had finished eating the eggs and drinking water, Xiang Yao said slowly: "You should sleep well tonight. We will come back to solve your problem tomorrow."
Seeing a hint of hesitation and fear in the child's eyes, she comforted him, "Don't be afraid."
He Guoqiang nodded, and as the two of them watched, he followed Old Nie back to the room.
Xiang Yao stretched and was about to go wash up when he suddenly thought of the fruits and vegetables. He quickly asked Nie Baichuan, "Aren't you going to deliver the goods? Did I delay you?"
Nie Baichuan said, "No, it's not time yet. I'll go take a look later tonight, and then they can go on their own."
Xiang Yao nodded: "Yeah, then I'll go wash up first!"
Nie Baichuan stood up: "I'll go get you some water."
The house was not big, and before the bathroom was built, when the couple took a bath, Xiang Yao would take a bath in the room, while Nie Baichuan would take a bath with cold water in the yard.
He and Old Nie took cold showers all year round. Before Xiang Yao came into the family, the father and son didn't even need to boil water for a bath.
After Xiang Yao came, Nie Baichuan boiled hot water every day and brought it to her room.
After pouring out the water for Xiang Yao, Nie Baichuan said, "You go to sleep first. I'm going out and will be back soon."
He just wanted to take a look, and after confirming that everything was going according to plan, there was no need to keep watching.
Xiang Yao lay on the bed, pulled the quilt up to her chin, blinked her dark eyes, and nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: "Yeah, go ahead."
Seeing her well-behaved appearance, Nie Baichuan walked to the bed, leaned over and pecked her forehead lightly, his brows full of smiles: "Be good."
This made Xiang Yao feel shy. Her face turned red and she said angrily, "Go quickly! Why are you so sticky?"
Nie Baichuan raised his eyebrows and kissed her eyes again before standing up: "Yeah, I just love sticking to you."
Xiang Yao covered his head with the quilt and stopped talking.
Nie Baichuan laughed again and pulled her blanket. "Alright, I won't say anything more. I'll leave right away. Come out quickly. Holding your breath like this is not good for your health."
Xiang Yao pulled the quilt tightly: "No, I'll come out after you go out."
Nie Baichuan had no choice but to pat her through the quilt and walked out of the house.
"call--"
After hearing the noise and going out, Xiang Yao crawled out from under the quilt, pushed the hair out of his eyes, and exhaled deeply.
Well, even though they had done everything they were supposed to do, sometimes she still couldn't help but feel shy...
No future!
Xiang Yao patted the quilt and criticized himself.
…
When Nie Baichuan returned from the deserted house, Xiang Yao had already slept for quite a while.
Hearing the noise coming from the well outside the house, she rolled over twice, struggling to open her hazy eyes, and happened to bump into someone's naked upper body.
"Are you still awake?" Nie Baichuan's voice was a little hoarse.
Xiang Yao shook his head: "I slept, but I had something to discuss with you, so I forced myself to wake up."
Nie Baichuan paused and said, "If you're still very sleepy, go to sleep first. We can talk about it tomorrow if there's anything else."
Xiang Yao: "No, tell me tonight."
Nie Baichuan lifted the quilt and lay down, holding the warm body in his arms.
He rested his chin on Xiang Yao's head and asked, "Well, what do you want to discuss with me?"
Xiang Yao moved, drew circles on his chest with one hand, and said, "It's about He Guoqiang."
Nie Baichuan's muscles tensed, and he grabbed her rebellious hand. "Don't be naughty. Tell me what's going on."
Xiang Yao thought about it and decided to start from the time when she ran into He Guoqiang's mother hanging out with a man in the mountains...
Nie Baichuan listened quietly, his expression indescribable.
Xiang Yao sighed. "So I think this matter is quite difficult to handle. Mainly because He Guoqiang is still too young. Many solutions are not applicable to him."
If he is a little older, he may be able to live independently from his parents. As long as the team helps him a little, a teenager can survive.
But the child is still too young. Even though he has to do all the chores at home and his ability to take care of himself is not a problem, in everyone's eyes, he is just a child who cannot survive alone without his parents.
One of the reasons why He Guoqiang despaired of life was probably that he was too precocious and had known about this situation for a long time.
"Tell me, is there any way we can help him?" Xiang Yao started poking Nie Baichuan again.
Nie Baichuan asked first: "What solutions have you thought of?"
Xiang Yao counted: "I plan to take the children to the brigade headquarters to find the women's director early tomorrow morning. This kind of thing should be handled by them."
"Then we'll see if there's any way to have the child live separately from his parents instead of with them."
Living under the same roof, the probability of fistfights is definitely high.
But if they do not live together and the parents only provide food and daily necessities regularly, the child can survive on his own.
"He knows how to do everything. He does all the laundry, cooking, and cleaning at home. Even if there's anything else he needs help with, the neighbors are always willing to lend a hand."
Anyway, for He Guoqiang, there could be nothing more painful than living with his parents and being beaten every day.
"Besides, he's old enough and still needs to go to school. If he can't even read, how can he have any other development opportunities in the future?"
Xiang Yao knew how much changes would happen in the future. When He Guoqiang grew up, the country would happen to be developing rapidly. Wouldn't he be able to go wherever he wanted by then?
So you must study and have the most basic cultural level.
Nie Baichuan said, "The method you mentioned is not unfeasible, but I don't think his parents would be happy with it."
Xiang Yao nodded, feeling worried: "Yes, this is definitely a free babysitter. People like them will certainly not let it go easily."
What's more, why did He Liuzhi want to borrow seeds?
It’s because he wants to have a son to take care of him in his old age.
He was venting his resentment because this son was not his own, but he was unwilling to lose his only descendant, so how could he be willing to let He Guoqiang live alone?
She rolled out of Nie Baichuan's arms, tossed back and forth on the bed, and swung her hands at the air a few times: "So annoying!"
Nie Baichuan accurately grasped her hand and comforted her, "Don't worry, the solution you came up with is still feasible."
Xiang Yao shook their hands and said, "But didn't you also say that his parents wouldn't agree?"
Nie Baichuan rubbed her knuckles and said meaningfully, "I have a way."
…
The next day.
When Xiang Yao woke up, the other three people in the family had already finished breakfast.
She often got up late, and breakfast was sometimes made by Lao Nie and sometimes by Nie Baichuan. After they finished eating, they would leave a portion for her.
Today, He Guoqiang was at home for dinner, so Old Nie specially cooked an extra bowl of scallion and egg soup for the child.
Of course, Xiang Yao also had a part in it.
He Guoqiang was helping Old Nie stack firewood in the yard. When he saw Xiang Yao coming out, he ran two steps towards her, then quickly stopped and continued to carry the firewood even harder.
Xiang Yao slowly drank the egg soup from the bowl and gave him a thumbs up: "Amazing!"
He Guoqiang gave a small, smug smile, then immediately turned his head away embarrassedly, and handed the firewood to Old Nie with thumps.
Old Nie also smiled and praised him: "This really helped me a lot!"
He Guoqiang blushed and whispered, "I can do all these. I can also go to the mountains to collect firewood. I collect all the firewood for my family."
His family didn't have the big firewood like the Nie family's, because he couldn't chop or split it, so he could only pick up some small firewood sticks or fir branches.
He Liuzhi and Zhang Xiaoxi don't care what kind of firewood their son uses to cook.
If the food was not served on time, He Liuzhi would beat people up. If the food was not tasty, He Liuzhi would also beat people up.
Of course, even if nothing happened, as long as He Liuzhi wanted to take action, he would not care about anything and would punch and kick the child.
As for Zhang Xiaoxi, she didn't work either. At first, when He Liuzhi beat people, she tried to persuade and stop him. Later, she couldn't persuade or stop him, and instead had to bear some punches and kicks.
She also knew how to protect herself, so she simply hid in the room or went out.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Listening to He Guoqiang's "boasting", everyone present felt a little sad.
It is normal for children from poor families to grow up early in the countryside, but there is probably no one else like He Guoqiang in the entire Shitang Brigade who has to do dirty and tiring work at such a young age.
Xiang Yao finished breakfast, wiped his mouth, and asked He Guoqiang: "Do you know where Brother Baichuan went?"
He Guoqiang shook his head and nodded again: "I don't know where he went, but he asked me to tell you that you should act alone first."
He Guoqiang didn't know what this "action" was, but Xiang Yao knew it very well and immediately waved his hand: "Follow me."
The child thought Xiang Yao was going to send him home, and his whole body stiffened. The slight curve at the corner of his lips straightened immediately.
Xiang Yao walked to the entrance of the yard and found that the child had not followed her. She looked over in confusion and immediately laughed.
She waved: "I'm not sending you home."
He Guoqiang felt relieved, and the heavy stone fell a little. He walked over with his head down and asked in a low voice: "Then where are we going..."
From last night till now, it has been a beautiful dream and he doesn't want to wake up at all.
Even if he still has to go back eventually, even if he still has to be beaten eventually, he hopes it will be later, much later.
Xiang Yao hadn't explained it clearly just now, and the child instantly had a bitter face. This time, of course, she told him directly.
She explained, "Let's go to the brigade headquarters first and find Aunt Zhang Xiaoxia, the women's director, and ask her to understand your current situation."
He Guoqiang pursed his lips and asked worriedly, "What if it doesn't work? Do I have to go home?"
Xiang Yao patted his head and said, "Don't be so pessimistic at such a young age. Don't worry, I've discussed this with your brother Baichuan, and we'll definitely be able to resolve it."
The child was worried, but facing Xiang Yao's confidence, he nodded and said he was relieved.
On the way, the two walked side by side, and Xiang Yao asked, "What do your parents usually do at home?"
He Guoqiang walked with his head down, saying sullenly, "I'm not doing anything."
Xiang Yao: "So you do all the work in your house?"
He Guoqiang nodded.
Xiang Yao blinked: "Then, if I let you live alone, would you be afraid?"
He Guoqiang kicked a small stone and shook his head: "I'm not afraid."
"My father had dragged me out in the middle of the night before and thrown me into the mountains more than once. He said he didn't want me anymore and wanted me to be eaten by wolves or fall off a cliff and die."
Xiang Yao had never heard of such a thing before. His eyes widened and he felt very uncomfortable.
She suppressed her anger, tried to remain calm, and asked, "What happened next?"
He Guoqiang didn't react as strongly as she did, as if this was a very normal thing.
He said calmly, "I was a little scared at first, but I got better as soon as daybreak came. After daybreak, I could see the road clearly and went home by myself."
"After that, I wasn't afraid at all."
Xiang Yao knew that when the child said "a little scared", he must have been very, very scared at that time.
The mountains here are not ordinary ridges. They are very scary at night.
What's more, there are really wild beasts in the mountains. If a young child like He Guoqiang encounters one, there will be no way for him to survive.
She forced herself to suppress the panic and anger in her heart and asked carefully, "What other similar things have your parents done to you? Tell me everything. The more you tell me, the better solutions I will have later."
When He Guoqiang heard this, he immediately became excited. He thought seriously and asked, "Does it count if my father threw me into the river?"
Xiang Yao gritted his teeth and nodded: "Forget it!"
He Guoqiang: "He started by teaching me how to swim, but later he pushed my head under the water to prevent me from coming out. I was nearly dead that time, but Aunt Cui, who was washing clothes by the river, saw me and called out to me, and only then did he let me go."
Xiang Yao thought to herself, no wonder Aunt Cui was so nice to He Guoqiang, maybe she felt sorry for him.
Xiang Yao asked: "Anything else?"
She didn't want to hear such things. She always felt as if her whole body was wrapped in some dark substance, and she also had difficulty breathing.
He Guoqiang nodded: "There is more."
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