"Yes, my brother said that mothers are all soft-hearted and would never abandon their children. As long as we all call you 'Mom,' you won't abandon us anymore," the little girl told him, her eyes sparkling.
Hearing the child's tone of admiration for the older brother, Hong Xiaoduo could understand. A group of children who were being abused by that villain had an older brother who could take care of them; he was their pillar of support.
They believed everything their elder brother said without question.
However, Hong Xiaoduo did not expect that the answer she wanted would be so simple.
The reason for calling her "Mom" sounds quite reasonable. Many fathers in this world can be irresponsible and heartless in abandoning their children, but mothers cannot. The child is someone she carried for ten months with high expectations and gave birth to with great difficulty; the child is flesh of her own body.
Of course, this statement is somewhat one-sided. Not all fathers are selfish, nor are there no mothers who are heartless enough to abandon their children; they are only a minority.
Hong Xiaoduo vaguely remembered a famous person saying that a mother is not someone to rely on, but someone who makes reliance unnecessary.
But all of this is predicated on the fact that they are biological children, right?
When faced with a child who is not one's own and is a complete stranger with no kinship ties, a woman in such a situation will only offer some help within her means out of maternal compassion.
These children, for them, see her as the only lifeline they can grasp.
They pinned their hopes on a name, which was the only one they could think of, a method that would make anyone laugh, but which they thought was feasible.
But from their perspective, they had no other choice.
Although Hong Xiaoduo's time here was very short, she sensed that this dynasty was not very peaceful and people's lives were not easy.
The tall boy standing nearby noticed that Hong Xiaoduo's expression was a little off. He pulled the little girl aside and whispered, "Have you been naughty? Did you upset your mother?"
The little girl shook her head repeatedly, then turned to look at her mother. Was her mother unhappy? It seemed so!
Thinking that it might be because of what she had said to her mother, and fearing that her older brother would scold her, she pursed her lips and didn't dare to tell him.
Hong Xiaoduo had already noticed their little actions, but she pretended not to see them and clapped her hands, saying, "Is everyone here? If so, let's set off and try to get to that village before dark."
The children immediately looked at each other, counted the number of people, and found that all seven were present.
Just as the older boy squatted down to carry the little girl on his back, Hong Xiaoduo stepped forward, quickly carried the child on her back, and even pulled away the baby carrier the older boy was using.
“Mom, I can do it.” The older boy was still anxiously wondering why his mother was unhappy, but now that he saw her taking the initiative to carry the youngest child, he suddenly felt more at ease.
Regardless of why this "mother" was in a bad mood just now, it's good that she didn't intend to abandon them.
"You take care of the others, hurry up and stop nagging." Hong Xiaoduo said as she tried to tie the little girl behind her with a cloth strip, but she couldn't tie it properly, so the big boy quickly stepped forward to help.
The group of one adult and seven children continued their journey. Although they were still afraid of being chased by villains, they didn't seem as scared as they had been at the beginning.
Hong Xiaoduo was secretly relieved that the weather was a bit cool but not very cold at this time of year, and it wasn't raining.
Otherwise, things would be terrible.
Bored on the way, Hong Xiaoduo chatted with the children.
The seven children didn't know where they came from or who their families were; they had been with that wicked man since they could remember. He took them around begging, and he used the money he collected to buy alcohol and food.
The children ate scraps of food that they had to beg for. Because of the constant fighting, life was hard for ordinary people, and they couldn't even get scraps of food every day. If they didn't get any, they would go hungry. For them, going hungry was already a good thing; they had gotten used to it and just endured it.
What they fear most is not being able to beg for money. When the villains have no money to buy alcohol and food, they will beat them to vent their anger. They hit them hard but not cripplingly. They make the villains very scared and in pain, but it doesn't stop them from continuing to beg.
Hearing the children say these things, Hong Xiaoduo suddenly stopped worrying about whether she had accidentally killed that person. Such a bad person deserved to die, and his death was not a pity.
Hearing the children's names made Hong Xiaoduo want to curse even more, because none of the seven children's names were normal.
Even if he were called Little Stone or Dog Egg, it would be acceptable.
But no, the oldest boy is called Piglet, and then in order are Horse, Cowboy, Sheep, Dog, Donkey, and Chicken.
He started with livestock; he never treated these seven poor children as human beings.
At first, they didn't think anything of it, until other beggars laughed and cursed them, calling them little beasts. Only then did they realize that the way they were addressed was unpleasant, so they never called each other that.
Hong Xiaoduo had started chatting with them because she was bored while walking, but the more she listened, the heavier her mood became.
That villain must be a psychopath, enslaving them and supporting them while giving them such names?
"Mom, how about you give us new names?" the boy asked tentatively.
"Hmm, let me think about it." Hong Xiaoduo agreed without hesitation.
The children were all very happy when they heard that she had agreed to name them.
As Hong Xiaoduo walked and thought, she realized that naming a child was a very simple thing. For boys, you could name them Shan (Mountain) or Feng (Peak); for girls, you could name them Yun (Cloud), Xiu (Beauty), or Hua (Flower). There was so much inspiration in the air; it was just a matter of picking it up!
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