6. Chapter 6 Heartache
Half an hour had passed when Pei Xiuhan found Xiaoxiao. The little girl was sitting in a daze under a crooked tree.
She hugged her knees and stared blankly at the ground. The heavy rain not only soaked her clothes, but also made her hair, which was tied into two small buns, completely messy.
Her eyes were red. Her eyes, which were usually bright and lively, had completely lost their luster. They were empty, as if she had lost her soul.
"Xiaoxiao."
Pei Xiuhan pushed the wheelchair closer to her. He called her name for the first time, but the little girl did not respond.
This crooked jujube tree was discovered by my brother. There is also a small cave not far away. Because it is a little far from the village and located in a remote area, no one else knows about such a place.
This is Xiaoxiao and her brother’s secret treasure place. When they were young, the children in the village refused to play with them, so her brother would bring her here to play. This place carries many happy memories for the two of them.
Her brother would pick dates for her, take her to the nearby stream to catch fish, and even made a swing for her here.
Scenes from the past flashed before my eyes.
When she had a high fever, her brother, with red eyes, told her that when he earned money, he would take her and grandma away from here to live a good life in town.
He clearly agreed. She was looking forward to her brother's return every day. Now that her grandmother is gone, is her brother going to abandon her too?
Xiaoxiao didn't want to believe it, nor did she dare to believe it.
She stubbornly sat under the crooked tree, waiting for her brother to come back. When Pei Xiuhan called her, she didn't respond. When the man pulled her up from the ground, she still didn't respond.
The rain wet her long eyelashes, her tears had almost dried up, and she looked dazed, like the porcelain dolls sold in the shops in Beijing: delicate, fragile, and soulless.
It was raining heavily, and the little girl was soaked all over, as if she had been soaked in water. Pei Xiuhan didn't have time to waste with her, and was afraid that she would get sick, so he just picked her up sideways and put the little girl on his lap.
Xiaoxiao's wet eyelashes trembled and she began to struggle violently, like a captured animal, stubbornly trying to escape to the crooked tree.
Pei Xiuhan endured it again and again and finally didn't chop her unconscious.
"Calm down."
Because the two were very close, his cold voice rang directly beside her ears. Xiaoxiao was shocked and looked at him in a daze. Only then did she realize that it was Pei Xiuhan who came out in the rain.
Seeing him, Xiaoxiao's tears flowed down without warning. She tightly grasped Pei Xiuhan's clothes, crying almost out of breath, "Brother, my brother, he, he..."
She was choking with sobs and unable to speak. Her heartbroken look moved Pei Xiuhan a little. He had lost both his parents and his brother, so he could understand the little girl's feelings. He clumsily touched her wet head and whispered, "Cry if you want to."
This sentence made Xiaoxiao's emotions, which she had tried hard to suppress, burst out completely. She threw herself into Pei Xiuhan's arms, crying uncontrollably.
The crackling sound of rain falling down covered her embarrassment. She cried until her voice became hoarse, and from time to time a sound came from the depths of her throat, which sounded like the roar of a small animal.
Pei Xiuhan took the little girl's thin body into his arms and covered her head with a hat. Shi Yu walked out of the darkness. Without saying a word, he pushed the wheelchair and walked towards Xiaoxiao's house.
Pei Xiu Han clumsily held her small body in his arms. Xiao Xiao fainted from crying and developed a fever in the second half of the night. Fortunately, Shi Yu had prepared various pills, and Pei Xiu Han fed her one.
Despite this, she remained ill for two days, remaining in a coma and shedding tears even though she was unconscious.
The little girl seemed to have endless tears. Sometimes she would call for her brother, and sometimes for her grandma. Her thin body curled up into a ball, and she looked extremely pitiful.
It was not until the third day that Xiaoxiao regained consciousness. After waking up, she did not speak, and tears kept streaming down her fair cheeks. Soon the pillow was wet again. Pei Xiuhan asked her to get up and eat, but she refused to listen, as if she refused to communicate with the outside world.
Pei Xiuhan picked up a wet cloth, squeezed out the water, and then spoke: "Out of a force of 10,000 soldiers, 8,139 were killed in battle, leaving over 1,800 men. Your brother might have a chance of survival."
Xiaoxiao's wet eyelashes trembled, and she looked at Pei Xiuhan, and finally there was a hint of spirit in her eyes.
Pei Xiuhan handed her the towel and said, "When soldiers die in battle, a list of the dead will be published. Now that the list hasn't arrived, how can you be sure that your brother is among those who have been killed? Don't fall down before your brother comes back. Get up and eat something."
After hearing what those two people said, Xiaoxiao thought that everyone in the village was dead. After hearing Pei Xiuhan's words, a glimmer of hope rose in her heart. She didn't believe that her brother would get into trouble easily, so she finally got up from the bed.
Xiaoxiao didn't dare ask how he knew all this information, fearing that if she did, he would lie to her. She was so heartbroken that she hadn't noticed Shi Yu in black before. She only remembered crying for a long time in Brother Pei's arms and had no memory of how she came back.
The food on the table was made by Shi Yu. He was not good at cooking. One of the two dishes was a little mushy, and the other was very salty. Xiaoxiao had no appetite and only ate a few bites reluctantly. Seeing that Pei Xiuhan also had difficulty swallowing, she felt a little guilty.
She thought that the meals were cooked by Pei Xiuhan. It was raining so heavily that he could not move around easily, but he still went to find her. Now he was cooking again. Xiaoxiao felt a little guilty and forced herself to cheer up. She went to the kitchen to wash the pots before going to the headman's house.
She wanted to find out whether the village head had received any news about the war.
The headman's house is located at the east end of the village. When coming from Xiaoxiao's house, you have to pass through more than a dozen houses.
At this time, everyone had just finished lunch. When the villagers ate, they liked to bring their bowls and chopsticks out to eat. Those who lived nearby liked to sit together and chat. When everyone was gossiping, they saw Xiaoxiao.
Everyone suddenly quieted down and subconsciously looked at Xiaoxiao. The little girl's eyes were red and a little swollen. It was obvious that she had been crying. No one knew what had happened.
After Xiaoxiao's grandmother died, many people felt sympathy for her.
Xiaoxiao has been well-behaved since she was a child. When she was seven or eight years old, she helped her grandmother cut grass for pigs and collect firewood. She was very sensible. She was also beautiful and looked quiet, completely different from the mud monkey at home.
Many of the elderly people in the village liked her very much, and some even secretly regretted that they hadn't found her themselves. She ate little and helped with farm work, so being raised as a child bride wasn't a disadvantage at all.
After Xiaoxiao's grandmother got into trouble, Zhang Xiaoshan's grandmother had the idea of asking her eldest daughter-in-law to adopt Xiaoxiao, and asked her to find Xiaoxiao. Of course, the adoption was conditional. Xiaoxiao must draw a clear line with Zhang Li, and when he returns from the war, Xiaoxiao is not allowed to recognize him again. When she is fifteen years old, she must marry Zhang Xiaoshan.
Xiaoxiao refused.
When Zhang Xiaoshan's grandmother saw Xiaoxiao, she snorted meaningfully, thinking that this girl was ungrateful.
Xiaoxiao lowered her eyelashes and walked quickly on her way, ignoring Zhang Xiaoshan's grandmother and pretending not to notice everyone's curious gazes. When she saw Grandma Li out of the corner of her eye, she greeted her.
Grandma Li is kind-hearted and has helped Xiaoxiao more than once. Xiaoxiao is very grateful to her, and Grandma Li responded with a smile.
After her back disappeared, Grandma Zhang's eldest daughter-in-law said, "This little girl was really pretty. What a pity."
She didn't elaborate on what she said next, but everyone understood. They had always thought that Grandma Zhang had raised Xiaoxiao for so many years so that she could be Zhang Li's child bride. Little did they know that Grandma Zhang never had that intention from the beginning.
In Qiyuan Town, there was a person who was also talking about Xiaoxiao, saying that the little girl looked nothing like a villager, and if she was sold to a brothel, she would definitely win the first prize when she grew up.
This man was Zhao Wu. Ever since he met Xiaoxiao in Zhangjia Village, he had been thinking about this little girl. Whenever he thought of her delicate little face, he felt itchy in his heart. He wondered how charming this little girl would be when she grew up.
He had been in town these days and had no time to go to Zhangjia Village, so he asked someone to inquire about Xiaoxiao. When he learned that she was the only one in her family, he had bad intentions.
At this time, Xiaoxiao had already arrived at the headman's house. There was a lake in front of his house, and the geographical location was very good. Xiaoxiao remembered that in the summer, many people liked to come here to catch fish. She had only seen it from afar and was very envious of many children who could play together.
The village head was not at home, so Xiaoxiao did not ask about the war. However, she vaguely guessed that the village head did not know about it. If he knew something, the atmosphere in the village would definitely not be so peaceful.
I guess those two people didn't say anything before.
Zhang Ying saw that it was Xiaoxiao who came to see her grandfather, and she ran out of the room, saying angrily, "How can you come to my house? Get out of here right now!"
She didn't like Xiaoxiao, which was actually related to Zhang Li. Although she was also afraid of Zhang Li's six fingers, she still had a good impression of Zhang Li. Zhang Li was tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and he could hunt. If he didn't have six fingers on his left hand, I'm afraid many girls would like him.
Zhang Ying was interested in him. She was only one year younger than Zhang Li and had shown her affection to Zhang Li before, but Zhang Li ignored her and only warned her to stop bullying Xiaoxiao.
Zhang Ying was naturally unhappy. She loved bullying Xiaoxiao. In fact, she believed the rumors in the village and thought Xiaoxiao was Zhang Li's child bride.
She didn't dare tell others about her little thoughts, she only dared to say that Xiaoxiao was unlucky and she was always unhappy when she saw Xiaoxiao.
Xiaoxiao pursed her lips and left silently. As soon as she walked out of the headman's house, she saw more than twenty men in black on the opposite side of the lake.
There were only five families on the opposite side, and there were men in black at the door. They were all holding scimitars, and the blades were very scary under the sunlight.
After they entered these people's homes, they searched them as if they were looking for someone.
Thinking of Brother Pei not wanting to reveal his whereabouts, Xiaoxiao's heart beat faster.
She ran back home quickly. The men in black had not yet reached the lake. Xiaoxiao was young and no one paid any special attention to her. After searching the five households, they went around the lake and came to the village head.
Zhang Ying also noticed them and her face turned pale with fright.
Xiaoxiao had never run so fast before. In fact, she was still a little weak. When she ran, she felt very sore. She didn't care about that and ran back quickly.
As soon as she ran to the door of her house, she saw Pei Xiuhan. Seeing him coming out pushing a wheelchair, Xiaoxiao's heart almost stopped beating.
Pei Xiuhan had already heard the news from Shi Yu. He came out only after learning that the men in black had arrived. Although he had sent people to protect Xiaoxiao, he was still a little worried, fearing that those people would accidentally hurt the little girl.
Xiaoxiao pushed Pei Xiuhan and ran out. After running two steps, she stopped and ran back into the room like the wind.
Pei Xiu Han frowned, and the next moment he saw the little girl running out again. Xiao Xiao took all the silver that Pei Xiu Han had placed on the bedside. After putting the silver in her pocket, she pushed Pei Xiu Han again. Without even having time to explain, she pushed him to the west again.
Pei Xiuhan vaguely guessed something, "Kid, stop."
Xiaoxiao's heart was pounding and her head was buzzing with nervousness. There was only one thought in her mind: she must not let Brother Pei be caught by the bad guys.
The wound on his abdomen has not healed yet. If he is caught by those men in black, Xiaoxiao doesn't dare to think about it.
She ran very fast, and after hearing Pei Xiuhan's words, she explained breathlessly, "Brother, we must leave first."
Hiding in the shadows, Shi Yu watched helplessly as the little girl pushed her master out of the village...
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