The small cloth shoes were all covered in dirt, the grey pants were covered in dust, the hem of the patched flowered dress almost reached the knees, the cuffs were rolled up many times to reveal the delicate arms, and her face was covered with traces of tears. At the loud urging of the puppet army sentries on the roadside, she looked back every few steps, but she could no longer see the village. She could only see smoke floating in the distance and the sound of gunfire in the distance. Everything was becoming increasingly faint.
Before I knew it, I had slowly reached a three-way intersection.
I once waited for Dr. Zhou here, Sun Cui once set up a stall here to sell mountain products, and Class 9 once hid from the sun here comfortably. Everything seems like it happened yesterday.
The petite girl stood stiffly in the middle of the intersection, lowering her head silently. There was only a tiny shadow at her feet, which was smaller and shorter than her. Because the sunlight was already overhead, only two small braids could be made out. There was not a breath of wind, and the girl did not move or sway.
After a long time, he raised his dazed eyes and looked north. It was too far, no one could help Class 9, it was too far, he was not afraid of the thousands of mountains and rivers, not afraid of running his legs off, not afraid of his own lack of strength, it was just too far. Then, his eyes began to sparkle.
Now he is a deserter, forced to become one by the fox.
Suddenly I understood a little bit, in fact, deserters are very sad, very lonely, very helpless, and have nothing. Except for a life and a big-eyed gun hidden under his clothes.
Then the tears fell silently again, hitting the dry road surface and disappeared in an instant.
There was nothing left, everything, as if even my little heart was gone. All that was left was silent crying, tears falling silently. I tried hard not to cry out loud, but I could still hear myself choking despite my stubborn efforts.
The lonely sun shines alone, and at the lonely three-way intersection stands a lonely petite figure, looking north alone, crying silently alone. After standing for a long time and crying for a long time, she finally turns around resolutely and walks south with small steps.
A pair of small shoes kept walking, along the path, across the plains, across the fields, until the sun set in the west, across the creaking suspension bridge, past the bayonets of the Japanese guards, and into the north gate of the county town.
Streets, alleys, attics, archways, a pair of big eyes looked around busy, like a little beggar walking on the street, walking and looking non-stop, with a pair of pigtails swinging around in confusion.
Just when I was at a loss, a group of Japanese soldiers were marching by in a neat line. So I followed the patrolling Japanese soldiers and followed them through the streets and alleys. After an unknown amount of time, the group of Japanese soldiers marched into a gate on the street.
I stopped at the gate and looked at it with my braid tilted. There was a barricade in the middle of the gate, and Japanese guards stood on both sides. There was a plaster flag hanging high in the yard, and a conspicuous sign with words hung vertically beside the gate. Unfortunately, Su Yushi taught me every day, and I didn't learn a single word. I basically couldn't understand it, but I could barely recognize two of the words next to each other, "Commander."
I stared with my eyes wide open and stretched my neck, trying to look inside carefully. Suddenly, I heard a Japanese soldier on guard shouting, "Get out of the way!"
She secretly gave the Japanese guard a cold look and reluctantly moved to the side of the gate to create some distance. When she turned around and saw that the Japanese guard was no longer paying attention to her, she stopped again, staring at the gate with her braid tilted.
At this moment, Xiao Hongying had only two words in her mind: revenge.
I want revenge. I want revenge for the fox, revenge for Class 9, revenge for a big devil. I don't plan to live.
The ill-fitting flowery dress leans tiredly against the wall on the street, watching quietly, waiting quietly, letting time flow quietly, but it cannot take away the quiet determination.
I heard my stomach rumbling unconsciously and licked my cracked lips unconsciously. I hadn't eaten anything since last night. I was thirsty and hungry.
I could smell the aroma of food coming from the street, and I couldn't help sniffing. It smelled really good. Anyway, I was free, so I couldn't help but continue sniffing. Was it a meat bun? I told myself secretly that this was waiting for revenge, and it was a serious matter, and I absolutely couldn't talk nonsense. Then I couldn't help but turn around to look.
Not far away on the street, a pile of steamed buns were placed on the stove and steaming. That was the bun shop.
I don't know how it happened, but I moved to the side of the steamer without realizing it. I raised my dirty little face with traces of dry tears, licked my cracked little mouth, and stared at the hot steamer in a daze.
The waiter was busy working beside the steamer. The boss nearby looked up and found a dirty girl standing behind the steamer. His face immediately turned bad. He was harassed by beggars all day long. They would steal the buns with their dirty hands if he wasn't paying attention. He couldn't bear to eat them himself because he was counting on the meat buns to sell. He felt so distressed that he immediately shouted at the girl, "Get out of here, get out of here. If you dare to touch the buns, I'll break your hands. Get out of the way."
The little girl pursed her lips tightly, looked at the boss, turned around, and walked quietly along the wall with her head down, secretly cursing herself for being so useless. How could she forget the important things in the blink of an eye? She wanted revenge, even if she died.
I was trying to pump up my stomach, and when I passed a door, I suddenly heard a female voice saying, "Hey, little girl."
Xiao Hongying stopped and turned her head blankly. She saw a wealthy middle-aged woman leaning against the door beside her. She was dressed in bright and beautiful clothes, with a charming and graceful posture. The rouge on her face was so thick that it was almost falling off. She was holding a handful of melon seeds in her hand. While eating them, she asked with a smile: "Are you hungry?"
A pair of big eyes blinked indifferently at the middle-aged woman: "Not hungry"
"I see you've been standing there for quite a while, who are you waiting for?"
"It's none of your business"
"Haha, this little temper is like what I used to be like." The middle-aged woman walked down the doorway and shouted towards the bun shop, "Hey, bring two buns over here, you inhuman one."
When the boss of the bun shop heard the news, he quickly sent his waiter to deliver it.
She took out some money from her chest and gave it to the guy delivering the buns. Then the middle-aged woman stuffed two meat buns into the little girl's arms and said, "Eat it."
The little girl held the two buns without moving: "Why should I give them to you?"
The middle-aged woman gradually stopped smiling, stared at the stubborn little face, and then said, "Because we are both women."
Xiao Hongying didn't understand why she said that, but she could sense the sincerity in her tone. She also stared at the woman, then turned her head and looked at the gate across the street where the Japanese soldiers were standing guard. She didn't hesitate and started to eat voraciously on the spot. At least she wasn't starving.
"Can you eat slower?" The woman was so worried that the little cheek would burst, so she turned around and shouted towards the door, "Xiao Liu, bring out a glass of water."
After the little girl wiped the water stains from her mouth, the woman asked again: "Why have you been standing there for so long? What are you waiting for?"
"I want to see what the Japanese officer looks like."
"Shut up and stop talking nonsense. They are the imperial army." The woman deliberately glared at the little girl.
"Do you know when he'll come out?"
"Who would know? He rarely comes out for several days. Hey, you little brat, why do you care about that?"
"Curious." Xiao Hongying said casually, feeling a little worried. What if he didn't come out? How long could he hold on? This cowardly bastard looked up at the two-story building behind the woman, the row of windows with carved beams and painted buildings, and then looked at the Japanese compound not far away on the street. He suddenly hesitated and said, "Auntie... Can I... stay here with you? Don't worry, I can do anything and do any job."
The woman was surprised for a moment, then she looked the little girl over carefully from head to toe, and said earnestly: "Girl, let me be frank. You can't just walk through this threshold casually. Once you step through this door, you have to accept your fate. I'm not forcing you to do this, so don't regret it."
With years of experience, the woman could see that this little girl had a hot temper, so she made it clear in advance to avoid any trouble later.
Xiao Hongying was very stubborn now and didn't listen to these words carefully. She was only thinking about revenge and didn't care about the dangers. She nodded without hesitation.
The setting sun illuminated the plaque on the small building on the street, the three big characters "Chunxiu Building" shone brightly.
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