Hong Xiaoduo was about to bring up the travel permit when the projection on the wall suddenly went blank, then just a white wall. The old man's voice could be heard intermittently: "Don't worry, I'll handle it... I'll handle it... I'll handle it..."
The sound lingered intermittently. Hong Xiaoduo covered her forehead speechlessly, knowing that this old man was unreliable!
Having been away from the space for quite some time, the water in the bathtub had grown cold, but Hong Xiaoduo was in no hurry to get out, afraid that if she stood up, she would return to the space and be seen by the old curator.
Later, the water became too cold, so I had no choice but to quickly get up, wipe myself off haphazardly, and start putting on my robe.
There was no hairdryer, so I wrung out some cotton cloth until my hair was half dry. Then I remembered that I didn't know how to do a bun, so I simply used the comb from the guest room to make a big ponytail.
I wrapped the clothes I had changed out of in a cloth meant for new clothes, planning to wash them with hot water after dinner. There was no need to throw them away. Although I still had more than ninety taels of silver, who knew if it would be easy to earn money in the future? I should be more frugal for now.
Although she had reconnected with the old curator today, they hadn't been able to discuss anything serious. But at least it showed that the old man was even more eager than she was to re-establish contact. So, Hong Xiaoduo's mood improved considerably.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw two bald little girls standing there. One was wearing a light pink dress, and the other was wearing a light yellow dress. They were looking at her with fair skin.
"Mom?" the two bald girls called out somewhat shyly.
"Hey, are you Xiao Yaoguang? Are you Yuheng?" If it weren't for their big eyes and familiar voices, I really wouldn't have recognized them.
Because of long-term malnutrition, the two girls looked even thinner after being washed and cleaned, and their lips were not very rosy.
"Are you hungry? Come on, let's go wait for Tian Shu and the others at the door." Hong Xiaoduo, carrying the clothes she had changed out of, led one boy in each hand and walked out. There were too many boys like that, they wouldn't be done washing up so quickly.
At the entrance, four little bald boys dressed in new clothes were already waiting.
Seeing that Hong Xiaoduo was embarrassed and somewhat awkward, she stepped forward.
Seeing their current state, it's no wonder that Ah Kuan accused her of kidnapping Xiao Huazi, cleaning her up, and selling her for a good price.
After the children were cleaned up and dressed in new clothes, they really did look handsome. They were definitely little heartthrobs. Hong Xiaoduo didn't know what words to use to describe how good-looking they were.
After waiting a while, Tian Shu was the last to come over. He stood beside her with a shy smile, still a little unaccustomed to the clean and brand-new clothes he had just taken a bath in.
The landlady, who followed closely behind, wiped away tears with her sleeve as she walked.
"What's wrong, Mother-in-law? Did they misbehave and upset you?" Hong Xiaoduo knew that wasn't the case, but she still asked.
"Young lady, how can there be such a vicious person in the world? The children are already pitiful, and they are not treated well. Look at them, they are covered in injuries." The old woman said, tears streaming down her face, as she reached out and pulled up the sleeve of the child closest to her.
It's no wonder she cried; after washing her arms, the new and old purplish-red and yellowish-red marks were even clearer.
The marks were all in inconspicuous places on his body, except for the fresh wound on Tian Shu's forehead.
"Uncle Tong, an old man, is heartbroken," the old woman said, tears streaming down her face again.
"Don't cry, Grandma, it doesn't hurt anymore." Yuheng used her sleeve to wipe away her mother-in-law's tears.
"Good child, good child." The old woman took out her handkerchief and wiped away her tears. "Originally, based on what you said, young lady, we only cut their hair short, but they were all infested with lice and nits. So I simply took it upon myself to call the barber on the street and shaved them all off. Otherwise, even if we put on new clothes, it wouldn't help; they'd be covered in lice again in a few days."
"Young lady, you won't blame me, will you?"
Hong Xiaoduo was not one to be ungrateful. She quickly said it was no fault of hers and even asked how much the haircut would cost, offering to pay for it herself.
The mother-in-law said no need, the barber only charged one penny per bald head, it wasn't much money.
Hong Xiaoduo said thank you, but she remembered this favor in her heart.
Uncle Tong, who was helping Tian Shu and the others take a bath, also came out, dragging a large cloth bag in his hand. When he saw Hong Xiaoduo and the others about to leave, he quickly called out to them.
"Is there something you need, sir?" Hong Xiaoduo asked.
“There is something I need to do. The bag contains their old clothes that they changed out of. I will drag it to a secluded place and burn it. But should I throw these things away too? The children didn’t say they wanted them, but I don’t dare to make the decision to throw them away. I was thinking of asking you if they are still useful.” Uncle Tong said, holding up a handful of things in his hand.
It was a tag strung on a cord. The tag was made of bamboo and it seemed to have something engraved on it, but I couldn't see it clearly.
Hong Xiaoduo then asked Tian Shu, "What is this?"
Tian Shu said he didn't know, but he had it around his neck when he was old enough to understand. Later, whenever a new companion appeared, the villain would make one and hang it on him as well.
So that's how it is. No wonder none of the children wanted to keep it.
"Then don't need it," Hong Xiaoduo was about to say, but for some reason, she hesitated for a moment, took the things from the old man's hands, and then asked the children if they could remember which one they were wearing.
They all looked similar to her, but the children quickly identified the one they had worn.
Hong Xiaoduo thought for a moment, then cut off the dirty, unrecognizable thin rope and kept the bamboo strips, giving them to each of them to keep for themselves.
I don't know if she's overthinking it, but she always feels that these things shouldn't be thrown away, that keeping them might be useful.
Think about it, that wicked person didn't treat them well, so naturally they wouldn't be kind enough to make them pendants to wear. So what's the point of making these for them to wear?
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