Two incense sticks of time passed.
As everyone waited, Aunt Liu finally brought the bowl of medicine that countless people hoped for.
Aunt Liu picked up the unconscious Li Xiaoer and carefully poured the medicine into his mouth.
It took him two cups of tea to finish it.
She gently placed Li Xiaoer back on the clean pile of straw, covered his forehead with a wrung-out handkerchief, and then left.
Aunt Liu let out a long sigh, wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, and walked out of the house with the bowl in her hand.
Everyone was still gathered in the yard. When they saw Aunt Liu coming out, they wanted to go up to her and ask about Li Xiaoer's situation, but they knew they couldn't get anything out of her. Now, the only thing they could do was wait.
Finally, it was Uncle Li who spoke up, "You guys go do what you need to do, Xiao Er, good things will come to you."
But no one moved for a long time.
Uncle Li was so angry that he banged the wooden stick in his hand hard.
"Daniu, how many sacks did you move to the dock today?"
"Zhaodi, how many wild vegetables have you and the kids dug?"
"Ah Fu, how many copper coins did you get from begging on the street today?"
…
When everyone heard this, their eyes turned serious. No matter what, life must go on.
In an instant, everyone in the yard disappeared without a trace.
Only Tiedan was left.
"Tiedan, why don't you go quickly?"
Tiedan didn't move at all.
Uncle Li pretended to pick up a wooden stick and hit him.
Tiedan remained motionless, his face full of stubbornness as he stared into the room, "I'm going to wait for Xiaoer to wake up."
"You, hey..." Uncle Li put down the wooden stick and sat down on the doorstep tremblingly.
After a while, Tiedan also sat on the doorstep.
"Grandpa Li, when do you think Xiao Er will wake up?"
"Maybe, in a while!"
"How long is a while?"
"A moment is a moment."
"Then I'll count to a hundred."
…
Li Xiao'e was trapped in darkness, disoriented and unable to see. She had only been swimming when her leg cramped, and before she lost consciousness, she had been rescued.
Why am I still trapped in the darkness? No, I must wake up, I must wake up, I must wake up...
In the beggar gang's house, the little boy on the straw pile suddenly began breathing harder and his body shook violently a few times... His eyes, which had been tightly closed, suddenly opened and he stared straight at the leaky roof.
Where is this?
When Li Xiao'e woke up, the first thing she saw was not the hospital's pristine white ceiling, but a ceiling through which she could see the sky. Furthermore, there were a few spider webs entwined in the corners of the roof.
I must be dreaming. Li Xiao'e closed her eyes again.
I opened my eyes again and saw the roof was still leaking.
Close it, open it again, and still...
…
Li Xiao'e stretched out his hand and rubbed his eyes hard, trying to open them wide, but all he saw was the damn leaky roof.
Damn, what’s going on?
etc.
hand?
Li Xiao'e stretched out his hands and examined it carefully.
These are a pair of children's hands, small and yellow.
This is not my hand.
My hands are white and tender.
Li Xiao'e felt relieved.
No, that's not right.
Open your left hand and close your right hand. Open both hands together, then close both hands together.
Why do these children's hands obey me so well?
A very bad thought suddenly emerged in Li Xiao'e's mind.
No, it won't.
Li Xiao'e got up in a panic and rushed outside.
However, he was tripped by Uncle Li and Tiedan who were squatting on the doorstep and fell.
With a "bang", he fainted.
Uncle Li and Tiedan were hit by the impact and almost stumbled and fell out.
After finally steadying myself, I turned around and saw that it was the waiter.
Tiedan quickly got up, helped Xiao Er up, and carried him to the pile of straw.
"Grandpa Li, Xiao Er is awake? Am I dreaming?" Tiedan was incredulous and stretched out his arm, wanting Grandpa Li to pinch him.
"Silly boy." Uncle Li wanted to pinch himself to see if it was true. But he was too old to do such a thing, so he decided to pinch Tiedan. It was all the same, all the same.
So, Uncle Li pinched Tiedan's arm hard.
In the house, Tiedan's screams, like a pig being slaughtered, were heard.
…
Li Xiao'e woke up again, opened her eyes, and found that there were two more people around her.
One old and one young, both stared at her with shining eyes.
Li Xiao'e quickly turned over and stood up, looking at the old man and the child with a vigilant look.
"Waiter, you finally woke up. You scared me to death." The little one was dark-skinned and his face was covered with tears and snot. He looked disgusting.
Li Xiao'e silently moved back another inch.
"Waiter, I'm glad you woke up, I'm glad you woke up." The old man, his face wrinkled, tears welling in his eyes, his hair white, was wearing clothes so sticky and greasy you couldn't tell the color anymore. It hadn't been washed in who knows how long.
Li Xiao'e silently moved back another inch.
…
A long time passed.
Tiedan tugged at Uncle Li's sleeve and asked, "Waiter, are you crazy?"
"Hey, little brat, be gentle. This is the only piece of clothing I have." Uncle Li carefully rescued his clothes from Tiedan's hands. "It's okay. He must have fainted from hunger. Go get him something to eat."
"Okay!" Tiedan rushed out excitedly.
Only Li Xiao'e and Uncle Li were left staring at each other.
A moment.
"Cough... cough..." Li Xiao'e cleared her throat. "Um, who are you?"
When Uncle Li heard this, his eyebrows stood up in fright.
"No way, it's really burned? Even grandpa doesn't remember it?" Grandpa's eyes suddenly filled with tears, and he looked at Li Xiao'e pitifully, as if Li Xiao'e had committed something unforgivable.
Then, with tears in his eyes, Uncle Li recounted how he had raised Li Xiaoer over the years and founded the Beggars' Sect for him, and how much hardship he had endured and how much blood and sweat he had shed in the process...
Uncle Li’s words were like a thunderclap, which struck Li Xiao’e so hard that he was burnt on the outside and tender on the inside.
Li Xiao'e touched her face, then touched her chest...
My God, this joke is a bit too much, isn't it?
Li Xiao'e wanted to cry but had no tears, and was completely immersed in a deep sorrow.
Suddenly, Grandpa Li hugged Li Xiao'e fiercely and said, "My poor Xiaoer, what should I do? You've become a fool. What will I do in the future?"
Li Xiao'e, who had just recovered from an illness, was no match for the healthy Grandpa Li. He could only struggle and was covered in snot and tears by Grandpa Li.
This made Li Xiao'e, who had a slight obsession with mysophobia, faint again.
"Waiter." Another shrill, full-throated cry erupted from the room... startling countless birds in the forest...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
