The little fat man came back with wet clothes. Naturally, he didn't escape a good beating. He didn't even dare to go out to play in the afternoon.
After lunch, Aunt Chun saw that the sun was getting brighter, so she took her needle and thread and went to her sisters to do embroidery work together. As for Tong Yan, she carried a small basket on her back and headed for the mountains. She wanted to see what game there was in the woods, or come back.
Bring some dry branches with you.
It was extremely cool in the woods, so Tong Yan found a stone to sit on, planning to take a nap first, which was perfect in the hot summer weather.
However, as soon as I closed my eyes, a strange sound came from my ears.
I don't know if it was due to the time-travel benefits, but Tong Yan's current vision, hearing, and even physical strength are far better than ordinary people. Her body seems to have endless strength, which made her think that her body had practiced some peerless martial arts.
But there were also things that made her uncomfortable. Occasionally, she felt like her body was being restrained and she couldn't move freely.
Tong Yan heard the sound of something rolling downhill in the woods, and in the end there was only a muffled groan.
She walked through the grass and saw a black ball huddled up at the bottom of the slope?
His stained clothes were stained with mud, and his exposed skin was so dirty that the original skin color could not be seen. When the summer wind blew, you could faintly smell the sour smell on this man's body.
How long has it been since this child took a bath or changed clothes? Tong Yan frowned slightly in disgust when he smelled the smell. It was a good thing that he had such a good nose that he didn't even see it.
Tong Yan walked over a few steps away from him and looked at the slope, "Did you roll down? What were you doing just now, and why did you roll down?"
The child looked up at her, moved her lips and said nothing. When she saw Tong Yan staring at him, as if waiting for his answer, he took off the hand covering his head and handed the thing tightly held in his hand to her.
.
"This." There were a few crushed raspberries lying in the small palm.
After the child took his hands away, the bruises on his forehead were exposed, and there were bloodstains on his face and hands scraped by raspberry thorns.
It seems that it slipped while picking raspberries.
The words "Where are your parents" stuck in Tong Yan's tongue and could not be uttered.
She remembered the words that the little fat man Guizhu used to scold the children.
Seeing that Tong Yan was silent, the child thought that he had not explained clearly, so he said anxiously, "I'm hungry, I'm hungry."
Tong Yan understood how a child with no one to take care of him would have food to eat. He was so hungry that he could only go into the mountains to find some wild fruits to fill his stomach.
"Get up and follow me."
The child hesitated: "...Where to go?"
He hasn't filled his stomach yet, and there are so many things to eat here that he really doesn't want to leave.
"I'm looking for something to eat for you, come with me." After saying this, Tongyan took two steps in the direction he had just come from. When he realized that no one was following him, he turned around again.
The child sat there for a while. He didn't quite believe Tong Yan's words about finding food for him. Someone had told him this before, but that was a lie. When he followed him, there were several people there.
There they laughed at him and beat him.
However, he felt that Tong Yan was different from them. He didn't beat him or laugh at him. The look in his eyes made him feel that he was no different from ordinary children and was not a disgusting existence.
What should he do if he wants to fill his stomach here but also wants to continue to stay with Tong Yan?
Tong Yan didn't know what he was thinking, she just assumed that he had just fallen in pain and couldn't get up.
Without thinking, he fell back, controlled his strength to pull the person up, and pulled him back.
The child looked at Tong Yan's back in a daze. He didn't understand why Tong Yan, who clearly disliked his dirty looks, was grabbing his arm and walking away carelessly.
However, for the sake of Tong Yan really not hating him, let's just go hungry today. Even if... he was beaten or scolded after being dragged away, as long as he can still walk back here, it doesn't matter.
After all, except for the memories of his childhood, no one held his hand like this.
Tong Yan returned to the original place, put the basket on his back, and led the people towards the river at the foot of the mountain.
She found a shallow river beach, pointed to the river water basking in the sun and said, "Go over there, wash yourself, and wash your clothes as well. After washing, spread them on the stones to dry."
The temperature was high in summer, so he washed while standing in an area where the river didn't flow very much. The water had already been warmed by the sun, so he wouldn't catch a cold after washing. The wet clothes would dry quickly under the noon sun.
The child looked at the river water, then at her, lowered his head and wrapped his two little hands.
Seeing that he didn't move, Tong Yan didn't know whether he didn't understand what he said or whether he didn't know how to wash.
I had to slow down my speech and say again: "You are too dirty. You must wash it off first. Do you know how to take a shower? The sun is strong over there, so it won't be cold when washing. You can wash the clothes first and put them aside, and then slowly wash them."
Take a shower, and your clothes are dry after you take a shower. I will go back later to see if there is anything to eat and bring you some."
After Tong Yan finished speaking, he saw him stunned and stared, "How rare is it that you want me to help you wash?"
It seemed possible. The child was only six years old and only as tall as her shoulders. It was normal for her not to know how to bathe and wash clothes by herself. Moreover, it was not like she had never bathed a child before, so it was not a problem for her.
The child looked at her in surprise as she tilted her head to think, took two steps back in panic, and stammered: "I...I can wash it myself, I know how."
Tong Yan responded with a suspicious look. The child blushed, turned around and ran to the river. He poured the river water and washed it randomly. He said with certainty: "I can wash it myself."
Tong Yan nodded, "Okay, then you wash it yourself. I'll go back to find food first. When you wash it, be careful not to go into deep water. Do you hear me?"
When he didn't hear an answer, Tong Yan glanced at him, and the child responded hurriedly.
"Um!"
Tong Yan was satisfied, put the basket in the shade, and walked to Aunt Chun's house. She remembered that there were still two straw cakes left at noon.
When he took the straw cake and went out, Tong Yan also mixed in some soap locust. According to how dirty the child was, it would definitely be easier to clean with soap locust.
Aunt Chun's house is not too far from the river, it only takes about ten minutes. When she arrived at the river, she immediately looked into the water and wondered where the people were going.
After looking around for a few times, I saw a white figure drying clothes on the edge of a stone not far away.
The child's back was turned to her, and her white and tender bare buttocks were reflected in her eyes.
...This is such a little kid.
"Little brat, come over and eat after you've finished washing."
The child didn't notice that Tong Yan had come back and suddenly made a noise. He was so frightened that he fell off the stone and fell into the water with a splash. He didn't care about hitting his head and hurriedly hid behind the stone to hide himself.
.
Tong Yan was startled by his actions. What was this little kid doing? He wasn't afraid of falling.
"Why are you hiding behind this? I asked you to come over and eat." Tong Yan walked to the riverside, where the stone was in the middle of the water. She didn't want her shoes to get wet, so she didn't go over to grab him.
A little head popped out from behind the stone, "I...have no clothes on."
Um...that's what happened.
She was in her twenties in modern times, and it wasn't like she had never seen children with bare buttocks, so it didn't matter if she didn't think so.
I didn't expect this kid to have such a big reaction.
"Girls can't look at a boy's body, and boys can't look at a girl's body." The little head pressed against the red face and said very seriously.
This serious person could not be more serious. Tong Yan nodded in agreement.
She took off her coat and said, "Put this on first and change back after your clothes are dry."
She put her clothes on the ground, went to the shade and sat sideways, showing that she wasn't looking at him.
Listening to the movement by the river, I knew that the child had come out from behind the stone and was slowly getting dressed. He then said, "Come over as soon as you put it on. Are you hungry? I have brought straw cakes here."
Tong Yan waited for a while before she saw the child coming over. Her coat was too thin, so the child did not wear it directly on her body, but wrapped it around her waist, blocking her key parts.
Seeing him blushing and shyly trying to cover himself with his hands, Tong Yan wanted to laugh for no reason.
She rolled her eyes and handed him the food with a smile.
"Now, let's eat."
The child grabbed the straw cake and ate it with his head buried in it. He was so anxious that he choked a few times. Tong Yan reached out to pat him and touched his thin body with only bones left. She couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
She also grew up in a rural area when she was a child. Although her family was very poor and the food was poor, she was not so hungry.
After the child finished eating the cake, he looked up at Tong Yan and saw that she was slightly frowning and no longer smiling like she was at the beginning. He said nervously: "Did I eat too much? I... am so hungry. I will only eat half of it next time."
Not even a small piece...don't be upset, okay?"
Tong Yan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's okay, I have another piece. You haven't eaten much, are you still hungry? I have another piece here." The child shook his head.
"Are you full? Then..." She swept her eyes over his body and pointed at the dark areas on his body, "Here, here, and here, they are not washed properly. Go over with the soap locust and wash them again."
"Oh..." The child returned to the water very obediently.
Tong Yan pointed to the stone and said, "The clothes also need to be washed again."
"……oh."
Why does this aggrieved answer sound like she is bullying someone?
The child was washing clothes seriously in the river. Tong Yan took off his shoes and sat on a stone to paddle in the water.
"Where do you live?"
"Home, the one in front of the woods."
"Are you the only one at home?"
The child didn't answer.
"Your name?"
"They said I was an orphan and I had no name."
"Can you take me to your house to see you?"
The children in the river were silent for a while.
"Um."
…
The child's home is indeed a bit remote, surrounded by tall trees, with only a piece of wasteland at the door. The nearest home can only be reached by zigzagging for a while.
The house is dilapidated and dangerous, as if it could collapse at any time. There are some tattered furniture in the house, probably because there is only one child who doesn't know anything. Many places in the house are dusty and not very popular.
There was nothing to eat in the house, so no wonder the child went to the woods to find wild fruits to eat.
Tong Yan looked at the broken air leakage, where there was nothing, and his brows were knotted with worry.
I picked up a cheap brother, whether to raise him or not, that is the question.
What's more, she is also a little girl who is living under someone else's roof. Her current body is only twelve or thirteen years old. To raise another child by herself is tantamount to asking for trouble.
But she couldn't bear to let it go.
Not her Holy Mother, any ordinary person would not be able to help but want to help a child in such a miserable state.
Tong Yan waved to the child standing aside, "Come here!"
The child felt that the child's words were a little different now, but he still obeyed.
She grabbed the child's face and squeezed it hard to vent her anger, but found that he didn't even have the baby fat that a normal child should have. She couldn't help but feel a little sad, and her determination became a little firmer.
It's just a matter of raising a child. She's not really a twelve-year-old child, so there are always ways. Besides, she can't stay at Aunt Chun's house all the time.
"How about if I become your sister from now on? If you have something to eat with me, why don't you do it?"
The child didn't understand very well, but he knew there was something to eat and nodded eagerly.
"Call sister to come and listen."
"Sister." The child's voice was tender and crisp.
"Be good." He thought for a while and then said, "You don't have a name, how about I give you a name? You can't call it a little brat every time."
Tong Yan thought for a long time, "How about calling me Su Mu? It's too difficult to come up with a name. Do you have any objection? If not, I'll just call it this."
How could a child have any opinions? He didn't even know what Tong Yan wanted to do, and his name was decided by Tong Yan.
…
Tong Yan went to the woods again. Before leaving, he assigned Su Mu a task, asking him to clean the small stools and tables in the house. She would come back tomorrow.
She hasn't figured out how to do anything else yet. The house is too dilapidated and needs to be repaired, the house is too dirty and needs to be cleaned, and she hasn't prepared anything to eat.
There were too many things to do that couldn't be done in a short while, and it was getting late today. She had to go back to the mountains to collect some firewood.
Tong Yan, who was walking in a hurry, suddenly stopped.
So she traveled through time and read a story about farming? Did she get a script about a landlady who gets rich?
ennn…
Tong Yan shook his head violently and stopped thinking about this problem.
In the evening, Tong Yan helped Aunt Chun chop vegetables while asking about what she wanted to know.
"Aunt Chun, how far is the town from here?"
"It's about ten miles away and it takes half an hour to get there. What, girl, do you want to go to the city?"
She wanted to see the city, and then follow the step-by-step route of becoming a farming heroine and making her first pot of gold.
"I've never been there, so I'm curious what it's like." Tong Yan said with a smile.
"Girl, what do you want to buy? If you are in a hurry, I will go to the city to bring it to you in two days."
"No, no, Aunt Chun, I don't want to buy anything, I just want to go to the city and ask around to see if I can find my family members."
The place where Aunt Chun picked her up was by the river outside the village. She was lying on the ground and there was no one around, so she had to bring her back.
Tong Yan had been to that place several times, and she searched all over the area, but found neither special traces nor anything that could prove her identity.
If I had to say something different, it would be that the grass and trees within 20 meters around were dry, with a faint black color, as if they were burnt, or covered with a layer of black gauze.
After Aunt Chun woke up, she asked her where she was from and how she ended up lying by the river. Tong Yan thought that there should be memories of this in her body, but after searching her mind, she couldn't find any information.
arrive.
Could it be that he also suffered from bloody amnesia?
Tong Yan couldn't figure out whether it was.
After all, the memories from the present time to the last time he traveled are still there, and there is even a strange and lengthy memory, but this one is the only one that does not have this body.
He said he had amnesia and there was no reasonable explanation. No one believed him and wanted to cause trouble.
Tong Yan said that it was the first time he and his family went on a long trip, and they accidentally got lost. They wandered in the forest and walked to the river. After not eating for too long, they fainted from hunger.
Aunt Chun didn't have too many doubts. After all, the reason was quite reasonable. She also said that she could not find parents who would be willing to take her in for a long time.
Tong Yan thought that people in ancient times were really simple and kind-hearted. After living here, Aunt Chun treated her like her own daughter, which really made her feel that this attitude was a little too enthusiastic.
"Aunt Chun, who is that dark and thin child in the village? Why don't you see his adults?"