Guo Xiaochuan couldn't bear it any longer, so he picked up the chopsticks, picked up a dumpling and stuffed it into his mouth. Before he finished the one in his mouth, he picked up another dumpling with the chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth.
He had never eaten such delicious food before and he couldn't control his hands at all.
Xiaocao was wearing ill-fitting clothes, which made it difficult for her to stretch her arms. She was afraid that the dumplings would fall, so she didn't pick them up quickly.
It was Guo Xiaochuan's turn. He was a few years older and his hands were longer and more flexible. He picked up the dumpling very quickly and soon choked.
"Eat slowly! No one is going to snatch it from you." Yi Xiaoqiu quickly poured a glass of water and handed it to Xiaochuan.
Guo Xiaochuan drank a few sips of water and suddenly burst into tears.
"Wow... the last time I ate dumplings was when my mother was still alive..."
The older one started crying, and the younger one started crying too.
"Wow... I miss my mom..."
Yi Xiaoqiu felt bad, "Doesn't your father care about you?"
"He only takes care of the children brought by his stepmother..." Guo Xiaochuan choked up.
this……
Yi Xiaoqiu didn't know what to say.
She actually met such a man.
"Captain, do you know what's going on?"
Guo Xiaochuan shook his head again and again, "I don't know whether the captain knows or not. My father and stepmother won't let us go to find the captain."
His father said that if he embarrassed himself in public, he would break his legs and sell his sister.
What kind of person is this! He doesn't care about his children himself, and he doesn't allow others to take care of them. How cruel is that!
Yi Xiaoqiu looked at the two skinny children stuffing dumplings into their mouths desperately, and a nameless anger surged in his heart.
"Eat slowly, don't choke."
Fortunately, the dumplings she ate in the morning were not made of pure meat. They were filled with vegetables, mushrooms and pork. If they were made of pure meat, she couldn't eat them like this.
Yi Xiaoqiu was relieved when she saw that the two children had finally slowed down in eating their dumplings.
Guo Xiaochuan was afraid that his sister didn’t have enough to eat, so he put a few dumplings into her bowl.
"Don't give it to her. She's so small. If she eats too much and vomits, it will be a waste."
Yi Xiaoqiu knew that they hadn't eaten for a long time, so she didn't dare give them too much at once. The dumplings in Xiaocao's bowl looked obviously less than those in Guo Xiaochuan's.
Unexpectedly, Guo Xiaochuan put down his chopsticks, blushing and hesitant, "Yi Zhiqing, can I save these for my sister to eat this afternoon?"
"Brother... I'm full." Xiaocao drank all the soup in the bowl, and finally patted her stomach with a satisfied smile on her face.
"Okay, then I'll leave them for you to eat in the afternoon. If you don't come in the afternoon, I'll throw the dumplings away." Yi Xiaoqiu did not force them to finish all the dumplings.
Yi Xiaoqiu knew that everyone present could eat it, no matter if they were children or the elderly.
She made nearly thirty dumplings, which was nothing for a normal person, but for someone who had been hungry for a long time, if they suddenly ate too much, their stomach would not be able to bear it. If something went wrong after eating, even though his family didn't care at the moment, they would definitely pop up when they could get some benefits.
Yi Xiaoqiu didn't want to do good deeds and then be blackmailed.
It’s better to take it slow.
Yi Xiaoqiu took off his shoes and went to the kang to get the medicine box to see if there was any plaster for frostbite.
After Guo Xiaochuan and his sister finished eating the dumplings, they diligently took the bowls out to wash them. Yi Xiaoqiu didn't even react.
While she was looking for some plaster in the medicine box, Guo Xiaochuan and his sister were getting ready to leave.
"Thank you, Sister Yi. We won't bother you anymore. I will remember your kindness to us sisters for the rest of my life." Seeing that Yi Xiaoqiu was busy, Guo Xiaochuan was about to pull his sister away.
"Brother, I don't want to leave. It's too cold outside and it's warm here." Xiaocao, contrary to her usual behavior, did not listen to her brother.
Guo Xiaochuan took a deep breath and said, "Be good, be obedient. This is not our home. It will be warmer if we go home."
"You lied to me! My stepmother didn't let us into the house. It's too cold in the woodshed and I don't want to go back!" Xiaocao rubbed his eyes.
Yi Xiaoqiu didn't expect that the two siblings would start quarreling while he was looking for the plaster.
"It's so cold outside, your sister's feet are frozen. Where are you taking her?" Yi Xiaoqiu got down from the kang with the plaster.
"I..." Guo Xiaochuan lowered his head to look at his toes again.
Yi Xiaoqiu filled a wooden basin with hot water and let Xiaocao soak her feet.
"You look older than your sister, but why aren't you as smart as her? It's so cold outside, why are you running outside?"
Guo Xiaochuan lowered his head and wiped his eyes with his sleeve.
"Sister, don't blame my brother. We ran away secretly. If our stepmother found out, we would be beaten, and my father would even sell me to the old cripple."
Yi Xiaoqiu was so startled that she forgot to put the hair in her hand into the basin. "Your father must have been trying to scare you."
Guo Xiaochuan shook his head. "You're not trying to scare us. My stepmother's family has a cripple who can't find a wife. I've seen that man come to my house..."
After hearing this, Yi Xiaoqiu was furious. Xiaocao was only a few years old! How could he even set his sights on her? Was he still human?
"If a child has difficulties, should he seek help from an adult?"
Guo Xiaochuan nodded randomly, "My father is the only adult in my family..."
The Guo family moved here during the two years of famine. Relatives died or were scattered along the way. Guo Dazui's father held on for a breath, went to the Great Northern Wilderness to find a wife for his son, and then passed away.
So Guo Xiaochuan has no grandparents.
"My stepmother said that if we talk nonsense outside, she will sell me." Xiaocao shook her head.
No wonder her Seventh Company had never heard of the two siblings being abused by their stepmother. It turned out that they were threatened by their stepmother.
Yi Xiaoqiu looked at Guo Xiaochuan and asked, "Is this why you didn't seek help from outsiders?"
Guo Xiaochuan nodded.
His stepmother kept an eye on them and wouldn't let him tell anyone about the abuse. If he found out, she would sell his sister immediately.
His father also agreed.
Oh! This silly child!
"Have you ever thought that even if you compromise, your sister will still be sold by your stepmother when she grows up?" Yi Xiaoqiu taught him to face the bloody reality.
"In two years, when I grow up, I will protect my sister and will not let her marry the old cripple." Guo Xiaochuan said with determination.
Yi Xiaoqiu laughed, "How old are you? In two years you'll be around ten. Aren't you afraid that your sister will freeze to death if she continues to be cold like this?"
"No... no... I'm already thirteen years old."
Yi Xiaoqiu looked at the thin little boy and couldn't tell that he was actually twelve years old.
Yi Xiaoqiu took out Xiaocao's leg and showed it to him. "Look, this foot is almost frozen. If it gets any more frozen, the flesh will rot, and then the bones, and then the whole leg... Even if he doesn't die, he might become disabled."
Yi Xiaoqiu was not exaggerating. The entire instep of the little foot was black and purple. If Xiaocao hadn't scratched it from time to time, Yi Xiaoqiu would have really thought that the foot was frozen.
Xiao Cao climbed onto the kang, and when her feet touched the warm surface, she began to feel itchy.
Guo Xiaochuan looked at his sister's feet and subconsciously retracted his purple toes.
"You are still young. If you encounter any problems, it is best to seek help from adults. If you remain silent, others will have no reason to help you. Don't you agree?"
Throwing the question to him, Yi Xiaoqiu said nothing more. He soaked Xiaocao's hands and feet with warm water and then carefully applied ointment.
When she turned around, Guo Xiaochuan was still standing under the kang wiping his tears.
Yi Xiaoqiu had already seen Guo Xiaochuan's toes sticking out from under his shoes, and she felt a little depressed.
"You should wash yourself too. I'll apply medicine on you later."
"No, I don't have any money..." Guo Xiaochuan thought about how he and his sister had been tortured by their stepmother in the past two years, and no one else had ever spoken up for them.
He thought it was human indifference, but he didn't think about the problem Yi Xiaoqiu mentioned.
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