Su Ruanruan walked towards the other end of the village and saw a little boy squatting at the door looking around. His thin little face was scrunched up and his eyes were full of tears.
The six-year-old child was pitifully small, even shorter than his peers.
His thin body, huddled in a large, patched coarse cloth garment, made him appear even more pitiful.
Su Ruanruan couldn't help but sigh. This child was a pitiful person. After his parents passed away, he and the original owner's older sister depended on each other for survival.
The old lady and the second wife's family disliked it and tried every day to torment the two siblings.
The older sister went to the city to sell tofu, while the younger brother had to go up the mountain every day to cut grass, gather firewood, and feed chickens and ducks. He was busy every single day.
It was because of that day that the original owner injured her hand, and the employer took pity on her and gave her a half-day off.
When she returned, she did not see her younger brother, so she went into the mountains to look for him. However, she was spotted by Zhou the Butcher, who was hiding in the shadows, and he followed her into the forest.
This time, the original owner and her younger brother were completely separated, forever parted by death.
Every time I think about it, my heart aches.
If there's anything in this world that the original owner couldn't let go of, it's probably only this younger brother.
Su Ruanruan's heart softened, and she quickened her pace, carrying the basket.
Su Xiaoxi's gaze followed the sound in the distance. Golden light shone on the delicate figure, obscuring the person's face.
But when the man walked to a locust tree, its branches blocking the scorching sun overhead, her face was once again clearly reflected in his dark pupils.
Her tightly clenched hands suddenly loosened, she wiped away her tears, and quickly sat up.
With a limp, he ran quickly toward the figure he had been longing for.
"Sister~"
The trembling sound startled the people in the courtyard. Duan Sanzhu grabbed a stick and ran out. Only when he saw who was embracing Su Xiaoxi did the wariness on his face fade.
She called out into the house, "Mom, Mom, my cousin is here."
Aunt Liu was busy inside when she heard her third son calling her. She quickly put down her needlework and came out of the house.
When she saw the two people, one big and one small, walking in hand in hand, she could no longer hold back her emotions, and tears streamed down her face like beads from a broken string.
She vividly remembers the scene when her mother-in-law collapsed after learning of the successive deaths of her daughter and son-in-law. Even as she lay dying in her hospital bed, she kept calling out the names of the two siblings.
But when they went to Maoshan Village to find the two siblings to see their grandmother one last time, the Su family locked them in the house and wouldn't let them out no matter how much the two children cried and screamed.
Her husband got into a fight with them, but they falsely accused her of wrongdoing. The village head of Maoshan Village, along with several young men, dragged her husband and two children to the county government.
Not only was he locked up for several days, but he also lost the money he had painstakingly saved for Da Tie's wedding.
What's even more heartbreaking is that not only did her mother-in-law not get to see her two grandsons, but she also didn't get to see her son and two grandsons one last time.
He passed away with deep reluctance and worry, filled with resentment.
Now, seeing Ruan Ruan return safely, she could no longer hold back her tears. In the end, she had failed the old lady's trust and had not been able to take good care of them.
She was barely making ends meet, with only a roof over her head, but even so, she still thought about bringing her two children back.
But the old lady of the Su family pointed her finger at them and cursed them, and in the end, she even prevented them from seeing their two children!
In just these two months, Ruan Ruan seemed to have grown up, and she even dared to disobey the old lady, which gave them the opportunity to spend quality time with the siblings.
Liu hesitated, her lips trembling, but she couldn't utter a word for a long time.
"Aunt, I'm perfectly fine, so please don't cry."
Liu looked her up and down, noticing the red mark on her neck, the wound on her lips, the way she was supporting her waist, and her unnatural gait...
These scenes were like scalding hot oil frying in her heart, causing her unbearable pain.
She knew what had happened, but she didn't want to mention it again, much less rub salt into her still-healing wounds.
She forced a smile. "Are you hungry? Your aunt will go cook right away. You wait here."
Su Ruanruan didn't make a fuss; she was indeed hungry.
After Liu went into the kitchen, only Su Ruanruan, Su Xiaoxi, and her third cousin Duan Sanzhu remained in the courtyard.
Su Ruanruan found a low stool and sat down. Xiao Xi clung tightly to her clothes, her wet eyes looking at her as if she was afraid that her older sister would disappear again in the next second and be kidnapped by bad guys.
Su Ruanruan pulled him onto her lap and ruffled his hair. "Have you missed your older sister these past few days?"
Xiao Xi leaned against her chest and nodded vigorously.
Duan Sanzhu stood to the side and blinked. His cousin was so gentle. He wanted a sister like that too.
His two older brothers would never talk to him like that; they would only bully him.
"Where are my eldest cousin and second cousin?"
Su Ruanruan looked up at Duan Sanzhu, who was playing with a stick to the side.
"They went out to work and won't be back for the next few days."
Su Ruanruan smacked her lips. Duan Sanzhu was only a year or two older than Xiao Xi, but he had a mischievous streak.
They are the age when they should be in school, but now they can only play in the mud at home.
Compared to the lively Sanzhu, she had a bigger headache with Xiaoxi.
Living with the inferiority complex of his limp all day long, he was sullen and increasingly reluctant to talk.
She placed Xiao Xi on the stool, rolled up his trouser leg, and his thin calf was revealed.
As usual, she carefully massaged him for a while to help promote blood circulation.
When the time is right, she can perform the surgery on him.
She then called Sanzhu over to demonstrate, "Sanzhu, when your cousin isn't around, can you massage and rub Xiaoxi like this every day? Can you do that?"
Sanzhu patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, cousin, leave this to me!"
"Good boy, you're starting to act like a big brother," Su Ruanruan said with a smile.
Looking at Xiao Xi, who was a head shorter than him, Sanzhu smiled smugly. He was finally no longer the youngest child in the family.
From now on, Xiao Xi will be his little brother.
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