Chapter 2
The little blind man clung to the branch for a moment, then, upon hearing the sound of someone driving him away, he took a tentative step forward. He was now even more bewildered, having clearly held onto his cane both last night and this morning.
So this year he didn't throw away his cane, but broke it. The thick snow on the ground covered any obstacles on the street. This winter was still too cold. Where would he find another cane?
But he did not want to lie down, even if that would save him from falling, so he could only walk forward more slowly than usual, at least in a human way, and soon he fell.
The little blind man got up and sat in the snow, hugging his knees. His fingertips groped upwards from his ankle, inch by inch, thinking he must have hit something when he fell.
He searched slowly in the usual darkness, trying to distinguish the snow water on his palm from the blood. Fortunately, the blood that had just flowed out of his body was still warm. It could be a small piece or a large piece.
It took him a long time to find his wound, which would cause sharp pain if touched. But he finally found it and slowly rolled up his trouser legs, and the pain helped his frozen legs regain more feeling.
He slowly scooped up the snow beside him, melted it with his body heat, and used the snow water to wash away the blood that was still flowing on it. Perhaps it didn't wash it away completely, but he had tried his best. After all, he couldn't see it.
It was his grandfather who taught him to wipe it clean. He said it would be more respectable and would not attract hungry dogs. The little blind man thought of his grandfather's voice and felt that the pain in his body was not as severe.
He then used his palm to support himself on the ground beside him, and subconsciously tried to grab something with his other hand, but he no longer had a cane. He could only grasp at the air, and with continued panic and confusion, he finally managed to stand up.
The little blind man finally stood up, but he still paused. The few steps he had just taken made him lose his direction. At first, he used his hands to feel his way forward, but of course the heavy snow had just stopped and there were so few people on the street that he couldn't grab the corner of his clothes or touch anyone.
Thinking positively, he was probably in a relatively empty area, and hadn't yet reached the wall or the threshold. The little blind man breathed a sigh of relief. Since the streets weren't crowded, he could go slower, not worrying about grabbing anything he shouldn't, and gradually move towards a place where he could reach something.
His ears were still quiet, with the occasional sound of children's voices, which were all laughter and shouts of children playing and fighting. For the time being, they had not noticed him, or if they saw him, they pretended not to see him.
Just this was enough for him. He moved slowly for a long time, fell a few times and finally touched the real thing.
The blind boy didn't bother to check the wound he had just fallen on. He stretched out his hands and fumbled around, but couldn't find anything. He sat down against the wall, which must have been a wall.
He leaned his head against the wall, curled up like he had last night, and stuffed snow into his mouth whenever he felt hungry. Even if it was just ice-cold snow water, it was better than nothing.
He didn't know when he would get food again. If he couldn't get it, he might soon become like his grandfather. The little blind man felt that he was not afraid of these things, nor was he afraid of the emptiness brought by extreme hunger, nor was he afraid of the pain and loss of consciousness brought by the cold.
He was just a little scared. There was no difference between being alive and being dead. He would still be blind, with darkness in front of him. So he would have no way of finding his grandfather, no way of seeing him again, no way of recognizing him.
Unconsciously, the little blind man fell asleep again. He could not see the thick snow next to him, nor could he see that he was leaning against a closed door. So he slept peacefully, even more peacefully than the night before, and felt that he was safe.
He didn't know if something was pitying him, or if it was just a coincidence. He nearly fell over, and quickly used his hands to support himself on the ground. The little blind man was still a little confused. He didn't understand why the wall he was leaning against suddenly moved. He tried to grab the ground to stand up, but he became more and more panicked.
The more panicked he became, the more flustered he became, and he began to be afraid again, afraid of hearing strange noises, whether they came from people, dogs, or perhaps from things he could not see or recognize.
However, this fear soon turned into a state of shock and surprise. Someone grabbed his hand and helped him up from the ground.
The little blind man subconsciously reached out with his other hand to grab the only thing he could lean on. He seemed to have grabbed a thick piece of cotton with different patterns woven into it with thread, but it seemed like empty air to him.
So he grabbed up a few more times and finally grabbed the other person's arm. He followed the other person's movements to prop himself up, then he realized that he seemed to have grabbed it a little too tightly.
The little blind man was a little scared. He hadn't met someone who was willing to help him up for a long time. He was still a little dazed after just waking up from his sleep, so he didn't think about how the wall behind him moved.
He opened his mouth, trying to squeeze out a few words, but he couldn't think of the right words no matter how hard he racked his brains. He could only timidly try to pull his other hand out and say, "Don't blame me, sir, don't blame me, sir," as his grandfather had taught him.
Fortunately, he said it out loud. When he said it out loud, he realized that his voice was a little weak, but fortunately he said it out loud, "Don't blame me, sir..."
The man didn't let go of his hand, but instead supported his arm. The blind man, not knowing what was happening, pointed at himself with his free hand. Of course, he couldn't see himself, so he didn't realize his fingertips weren't pointing directly at his eyes. He quickly waved his hand, trying to tell the other person he was blind.
He didn't want to say it out loud, so he could only use this method. Later he realized that he was a little ridiculous, and continued, "I... I'll leave right away, right away."
The other party spoke after hearing this, "It's not your fault. The wind and snow have been so strong these days. I scared you when I opened the door just now." The little blind man nodded in response to the voice, only to realize that what he had been leaning against was actually the door of someone else's house. He was a little at a loss for a moment.
Fortunately, the other party continued to speak, "If you have nothing to do, come in and sit down and have some hot food." The little blind man had not heard such a peaceful voice for a long time. The other party spoke very slowly, and it sounded very comfortable when it sounded in his ears, so he subconsciously nodded again.
The other person let out a soft laugh, but still couldn't let go of his hand, helping him walk in. The little blind boy hadn't been led like this in a long time. The first thing he felt was the warm touch. His other hand seemed to have nowhere to put, so he paused for a moment before gently grasping the corner of the man's sleeve and letting him lead him in.
He was helped to sit down. The room was warm, completely different from the outside. He could hear a faint sound and warm air was blowing towards him.
When he grabbed nothing, he found that the other party had let go of his hand. He had nothing to hold on to, and he didn't want to grab it randomly like before. Although he couldn't see it, he vaguely felt that if he did that, it would definitely be very ugly.
Fortunately, the other party came back soon and put something warm in his hand. Actually, it was a little hot because he hadn't fully recovered from the cold, but he didn't care.
He just followed his instinct and quickly stuffed the thing in his hand into his mouth, took a light bite, and when he found that he could bite it, he chewed it quickly and swallowed it down his throat soon.
The little blind man hadn't eaten for a long time. Even though he was choking, he kept stuffing the cake into his mouth. He tasted that it was a cake with sugar in it, warm and with a hint of sweetness.
However, the other party seemed to be unable to bear it any longer, so he put the teacup in his hand, held his hand and passed it to his lips, "Eat slowly."
The little blind man accepted his kindness, drank a large cup of water, and listened to the other party as much as possible. However, he still couldn't break the habit of wolfing down his food, and finished the cake very quickly.
He realized belatedly that his stomach was a little uncomfortable, but at least he was full. He grabbed the side of the stool and tried to stand up to say goodbye to the other person. He should be grateful for his kindness.
Just now, he had never thought that he would be able to eat hot food and sit in a warm house in the next few days. He didn't even think that there would be such a warm house even though it was snowing heavily outside.
The little blind man hesitated for a moment, but when he was completely on his feet, he finally made up his mind and spoke, "Sir... do you have any useless wood at home? I want to... find a branch that's good enough and leave right away. I can leave now."
He spoke haltingly, and the other person, who turned out to be a good man, said "good" and seemed to leave. The little blind man stood in the room and waited quietly, without touching anything or moving around, waiting for his new crutch to return.
If there was something, anything would do; he wasn't picky. The other person returned quickly, handing him a stick. The blind man felt the warmth on his fingertips, then picked up the object, grasped it in his hand, and, after testing it and finding it could touch the ground, prepared to strike it and leave.
The stick was actually quite tall, but it felt sturdy, so it shouldn't break anytime soon. He leaned on his new cane and imitated the way his grandfather had taught him to salute, performing awkward, twisted movements. He kept saying thanks, barely managing to utter a few words of blessing.
The little blind man hadn't spoken in a long time, and after his grandfather left, no one was willing to continue teaching him. Thinking this way, he squeezed out the only sentence he heard clearly that morning. Although he didn't recognize the words after it, he knew that "gentleman" was a compliment, and the following sentence should be correct.
"A gentleman...will never give up," the little blind man pronounced the words, "Whatever the gentleman does, he will succeed no matter what." He still couldn't say anything particularly nice and continued to live a worldly life.
The other person laughed again, and carved something on the palm of his hand that was not holding the crutch. The little blind man felt a little itchy in his palm, and it seemed to be... four words.
He was about to say he didn't recognize it when the other party started to explain, speaking in a gentle but coherent voice, "Yes, it's 'a gentleman is not an instrument', which means a gentleman should see more things and do more things."
He felt the other person rub his head lightly, so he was still a little unsure. "When you grow taller, the crutches should be more convenient to use."
Finally, he said goodbye to the other party and let the gentleman see him off. The little blind man did not dare to ask for anything more. What he had now was enough.
It was still snowing heavily... and he unexpectedly got his new crutch, a crutch that felt very sturdy.
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