Chapter 22: Guagua So, He Guoqiang, you have to work hard too...
As Old Man Hu walked through the main hall to the back door, he explained, "My wife likes cleanliness and doesn't like chicken droppings all over the front yard. It stinks! So we built a chicken coop behind the house."
Xiang Yao followed behind, praising with a smile: "Auntie is such a good-natured person. No wonder your house is so clean and bright! Just looking at it is so pleasing~"
Old man Hu was indeed happy to be praised. He was still a little modest and said "No, no" and "No, no", but in fact his mouth was almost grinning from ear to ear.
With Xiang Yao's clear voice saying soothing words, the atmosphere soon became less tense than before.
Even He Guoqiang, who was following quietly beside him, was able to free his tightly clenched lips from his teeth and they were no longer so tight.
While chatting and laughing, the group had already passed through the kitchen and walked out the back door one by one.
At the door, Xiang Yao glanced at He Guoqiang, who was still keeping his head down and silent. She gently patted his shoulder and saw him raise his head following the movement. She mouthed a silent, comforting, "Don't be afraid."
He Guoqiang opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but after stepping out of the back door from the dim kitchen and feeling the bright light coming towards him, his eyes immediately dimmed and he closed his mouth tightly.
Xiang Yao pretended not to notice his change and walked to the flat ground at the foot of the hillside behind, where he saw a small and cute chicken coop.
Old Man Hu said with regret, "My wife built this chicken coop with great care. She usually takes good care of these two chickens. Now there's only one left. She sighs when she goes to sleep at night. How can I not be angry?"
As he said that, he glared at He Guoqiang again, thinking that these guys needed to be taught a lesson!
These days, raising a few chickens is a precious commodity. Why would someone want to take advantage of this? How heartless!
Xiang Yao walked over to observe and said, "This chicken coop is well built and neatly arranged."
Old man Hu miraculously eliminated the anger that had just risen up in his heart, but for the sake of face, he did not smile this time.
An aunt looked around and said, "What's so nice about this chicken coop? It's not like a thief would hide in a chicken coop."
As she spoke, she glanced at He Guoqiang beside her, as if measuring the child's small body.
Xiang Yao didn't answer. He looked around the chicken coop carefully, then suddenly fixed his eyes on a certain spot and asked Old Man Hu, "Uncle Hu, look, is this blood?"
When Old Man Hu heard this, he immediately came over and got close to the edge of the chicken coop made of bamboo strips. Sure enough, he saw a red mark on the tip of a stretched bamboo strip. He nodded and said, "It really is!"
Xiang Yao said, "It's quite possible that the chicken thief was trying to take the chicken out of the coop and didn't notice that the edge of the bamboo strips was lifted up, so he scratched his skin."
Aunt Cui listened on the side and immediately nodded in agreement. She glanced at He Guoqiang and said, "Then let's see if Guoqiang has this wound on his hand, and then we can know if it's him."
He Guoqiang lowered his eyes and said nothing, nor did he extend his hand.
Xiang Yao knew that for those who had really done this, they would not want to show their evidence of stealing the chicken now;
But for those who have never done it, some people may be eager to open their hands to show others, but of course there are also people who are not willing to show their hands to others.
Today he is showing his wounds. If one day he is suspected of eating meat, will he be asked to cut open his stomach to show everyone whether he has eaten meat or not?
She understood the various mentalities mentioned above, but people in the countryside would not care so much at this time. If the child was kept covered up and not allowed to be seen by others, it would be inevitable that this matter would become unacceptable.
After thinking for a moment, Xiang Yao turned his head to look at Old Man Hu, smiled playfully, and said half-jokingly in a lively tone, "Uncle, if it really isn't this child, you have to apologize to him."
Old Man Hu snorted coldly, "Of course. I've lived for so many years, and I've always been aboveboard. If he's wronged, not only will I apologize, I'll also give him three, no, five eggs!"
Eggs are very precious these days, and it is quite generous of Old Man Hu to say such words.
Especially the aunt who came to watch the fun, her eyes lit up, and she wished that she was the one being wronged!
Old Man Hu thought for a moment and said, "That little thief must have stolen the chickens from my chicken coop. Even if he didn't, he must have done something! My chickens lay eggs in the afternoon, and the two eggs they laid that day are gone!"
With his evidence, everyone felt more confident.
Xiang Yao had received the promise and believed that Old Man Hu was a man of his word and not the type to cheat. So he walked up to the child and said softly, "Guoqiang, if you believe what I say, don't be afraid. Let me take a look, okay?"
He Guoqiang blinked his dark eyes, glanced quickly at the girl in front of him, moved his lips slightly, and finally stretched out his hand covered with black and yellow spots.
He thought that as long as he could prove that his hand was not cut by the bamboo strips, this person would no longer claim to be a thief.
He didn't want to be considered a thief, but he felt that even if he said, "I'm not, I didn't steal the chicken," no one would believe him.
They will still send him to his father and ask his father to give him justice.
Xiang Yao felt a little sad when she saw him cooperating silently. This kid is actually not that stubborn.
She cast her eyes on the child's hand, and her pupils shrank slightly.
There were no fresh cuts, but there was a long scar on the palm of his right hand that stretched across the entire length of his hand. The proliferating tissue was slightly raised around the edge of the scar, making it look particularly hideous and terrifying.
Looking at the back of the hand, there are also old scars on it, which are paler than the skin on the side. I don’t know if they were scratched or if a layer of skin had been peeled off in the past.
Children in the countryside play around everywhere and have wounds all the time, but He Guoqiang has quite a few old scars on his hands alone, which is not within the range of the frequency of injuries of ordinary children.
Suppressing the bitterness in his eyes, Xiang Yao smiled and said to Old Man Hu, "Uncle, there really is no fresh wound on the child's hand. The blood on the chicken coop is not his!"
Old Man Hu didn't say anything, but an aunt next to him said, "Pull up his sleeve and take a look. Maybe it's a scratched arm!"
Xiang Yao glanced at the aunt without saying anything. He caught a glimpse of the same expression on Old Man Hu's face, so he silently pulled up the child's sleeve.
"My guy has been beating Guoqiang even harder lately. Guoqiang's body is covered in bruises, and there's no healthy area..."
The woman's frightened voice in the woods echoed in Xiang Yao's mind.
She finally understood what it meant to be "bruised and blue."
The child's arms were covered with bruises. It seemed that he had suffered a one-sided beating not long ago, perhaps yesterday, or perhaps the day before yesterday.
Those were the marks left by fists on the body. They were the marks left by an incompetent tyrant-like man who turned all his resentment, frustration, and hatred into violence, and poured them all out on the body and mind of a child who had no ability to resist.
Xiang Yao silently lowered his sleeves, his voice a little hoarse: "No, it's not him."
Old Man Hu hunched his back and rubbed the mud on the soles of his shoes onto the weeds beside him. When the mud didn't come off, he got a little angry and kicked the pile of grass.
"Well, maybe this blood was scraped by Old Man Hu's family when they were picking eggs!" The aunt named Xiang Yao rolled up her sleeves and said casually.
Old Man Hu was silent for a moment, then said frankly, "No one in my family was scratched. If there was, how could I not know about it?"
Just by looking at the bloodstains, we cannot tell who entered the Hu family's backyard and took the chickens from the chicken coop.
But at least, everyone now knows that it is very likely that the thief who stole the chicken is not the silent He Guoqiang.
Old Man Hu looked at He Guoqiang, his eyes lightly passing over his arm, paused, and said, "Boy, it was your uncle who recognized the wrong person. Your uncle apologizes to you. I'm sorry."
He Guoqiang finally looked up and looked at Old Man Hu straight in the eye, shook his head, and still said nothing.
Old Man Hu didn't care about his attitude at this moment. After all, it was his fault and he had wronged the child.
He clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment, and whatever attitude others have towards him is what he deserves.
"Come on, uncle will get you some eggs!" He said, and was about to go back to his room to open the cabinet to get the eggs.
Those eggs were carefully kept by his wife as food for their soon-to-be-born daughter during her confinement period.
Now that one of the chickens is gone, it will lay even fewer eggs in the future. I have to say, he still feels a little sad.
But no matter how sad he was, Old Hu was a man of his word and never backed down in his life. Once he promised something, he would definitely do it!
He Guoqiang swallowed his saliva, but when Old Man Hu was about to leave, he finally whispered something incoherent:
"I don't want, I don't want your eggs."
Old Man Hu raised his eyebrows: "What's the matter?"
He Guoqiang looked at Old Man Hu and said in a slightly louder voice, "I don't want your eggs."
This time, not only Old Man Hu heard it, but everyone else heard it as well.
The childish voice is full of determination.
Aunt Cui was surprised and said helplessly: "You kid, your parents definitely don't give you eggs at home. Your uncle Hu promised to give you five, why don't you want them?"
Another aunt also said: "That's right, I just want one chicken, and I want to save the eggs for my grandson to supplement his nutrition. I'm really greedy, I haven't eaten eggs in a long time. If you don't want them, just give them to me."
She was just joking and thought the child was just angry.
He Guoqiang still shook his head, unmoved.
Aunt Cui was really nice to He Guoqiang and thought that he had just listened to Xiang Yao all the way. She had no choice but to look at Xiang Yao, hoping that she could persuade the child.
After all, these are five eggs, which are needed for the child's growth. How can we not give them up!
Xiang Yao did not promise anything. The adults were more interested in tangible things, but she understood He Guoqiang's thoughts a little.
It’s not that he isn’t greedy, but compared to his dignity, he feels that not having the egg would make him most comfortable.
In the end, no one could persuade the child and had to give up.
But Old Man Hu also said that he felt sorry for the child, and if he ever needed help with anything, he would definitely be the first to help.
Now that it has been confirmed that it is not He Guoqiang, everyone plans to go back.
But after taking only two steps, everyone noticed that Xiang Yao seemed to have not taken a step yet, so they all looked over.
Old Man Hu asked, "What's wrong, Yao girl?"
Xiang Yao stared at the bamboo fence not far away and said, "Uncle, I found another clue."
Old Man Hu got excited again: "Where, where?"
Although he knew that the chicken thief was not He Guoqiang, he still didn't know who it was. Old man Hu was very worried!
He has a hen at home. What if that thief comes and steals it again?
Xiang Yao pointed at the bamboo fence, walked over, and took a small piece of cloth from one of the bamboo strips on the fence.
Looking more closely at the bamboo strips on the edge of the cloth, there are obvious signs of looseness, which shows that someone has recently crawled in and out of here.
Old Man Hu was also a sharp-eyed man. He immediately walked over and touched the fence twice, and immediately understood what was going on.
"What a wicked man! This little thief must have taken advantage of the fact that our whole family was out working to get into our yard from the back hill and take the chickens!"
Old man Hu was very sure that this small piece of cloth was not from his family's clothes.
Moreover, even if the Hu family wanted to go to the back mountain, they would go up from the side of the front yard. The fences on this side were sealed and there was no door, so they would definitely not think of going through the fence.
Xiang Yao nodded. "And judging from the height of the cloth, the thief must be quite tall. If he were a little shorter, the cloth wouldn't be hung so high."
A kid like He Guoqiang, even if he raised his hands, wouldn't be able to reach this height!
Old Man Hu took the piece of cloth and gnashed his teeth in hatred: "Okay, now that I have this piece of cloth, I will go and check every one of them. I don't believe that we can't catch this thief!"
Now that the matter is clear, all we have to do next is follow the clues to find the chicken thief, so we won't stay here any longer.
Before leaving, Old Man Hu reminded everyone not to spread the news of the chicken thief's discovery until the chicken thief was caught, so as not to alert the thief and cause him to hide his clothes.
Everyone agreed, even He Guoqiang nodded.
But putting aside the fact that they had found clues, the fact that He Guoqiang was not a chicken thief but was wrongly accused was something that everyone spared no effort to publicize when they returned to the fields.
"Well, I told you that, even though He Guoqiang is a little weird, he's still a little kid who knows nothing. How could he possibly do something like stealing a chicken?"
"Yes, yes, he's just too stubborn. Tell me, if it wasn't him, he would have kept quiet. Old Man Hu pressed him so hard, but he just remained silent. This kid is really stubborn!"
"I'm glad it wasn't him. I don't know which heartless person could have done such a thing. Everyone should keep a close eye on their belongings at home these days, or they might be stolen without anyone noticing."
"Exactly. I don't know if the chicken thief is from Xiangjiawan or from another team. I worry every day until he's caught. I have three chickens at home!"
Everyone was talking excitedly while working, and they immediately proved that He Guoqiang was not a chicken thief.
Xiang Yao had played a role in this matter with a smile on her face. Now that she saw that the child's grievances had been almost cleared, she felt a little relieved.
She just didn't know how much impact this kind of thing would have on He Guoqiang's psychology, and she had no way of dealing with it.
However, the child's stubbornness has its advantages. He probably has a stronger mind.
Xiang Yao looked up at the children who were still sliding down the slope not far away, one after another, and felt a little sad for He Guoqiang.
One's birth cannot be determined by oneself, just like how she didn't have much parental love before she came here, and how He Guoqiang grew up in such a painful family...
But so what?
She lived a good life later on. She went to school well, worked part-time and got scholarships to support herself, and she supported herself quite well.
Xiang Yao said to himself: So, little He Guoqiang, you have to work hard too!
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