"Please, uncles and aunties... masters and ladies..."
"Please give me some money..."
"Please help my brother..."
"Please help my brother..."
Gu Shiba Niang closed her eyes, and she couldn't tell whether it was tears or snow on her face.
"Eighteenth Mother?" Gu Hai jumped out of the car after her and looked at her worriedly.
Pedestrians were rushing on the road, and no one stayed for a moment in the little girl's cry. At most, they cast a sympathetic glance.
The boy was injured, obviously he had caused some trouble. In this world, the war in the north appeared and disappeared, the emperor in the capital fell ill from time to time, the court was unstable, and people were uneasy. Who dared to meddle in other people's business.
"Little girl, what's wrong with you?" Gu Hai gritted his teeth and stepped forward to ask.
When the little girl heard this, she kowtowed to Gu Hai as if grasping a straw for survival.
"Master, Master, you are so kind and compassionate to save my brother..." she cried.
Gu Hai was a little flustered by her kowtow. He turned around and looked at Gu Shiba Niang with some embarrassment. He took out a few coins from his sleeve and handed them to the little girl.
"Here...give...you" he stuttered.
This was the first money the little girl had ever asked for. With tears streaming down her face, she stretched out her little hands, which were red from the cold, to take the money.
"Thank you, master, thank you, master..." she cried.
Gu Hai breathed a sigh of relief. Does this make his sister feel better? He looked back and saw Gu Shiba Niang walking over.
Seeing these two young girls in mourning clothes stopping for a beggar, passers-by looked over curiously, some curled their lips in mockery, and some nodded in appreciation.
"What happened to your brother?"
The little girl's eyes were blurred by tears. Suddenly she heard a soft female voice above her head asking. She shook her hands and wanted to wipe away her tears and look at the face of the kindhearted person.
A pair of hands had already reached over and gently opened the half-piece of her gown that was covering her brother's face to prevent frostbite from the rain, snow, and snow.
The palm prints and fist prints were red, swollen and purple, and the original appearance could no longer be seen. The tentacles were cold, and I didn't know if they were still alive.
"He was beaten too..." Gu Shiba Niang murmured.
Tears fell on the young man's face, and soon mixed with the snow. No one noticed that the young man's eyes, which had been swollen to a slit, moved.
"Here's some money, go find the doctor quickly." Gu Shiba Niang stood up, took out all the money she had and handed it to the little girl.
Broken silver was piled up together, at least five taels by rough calculation.
The little girl could hardly believe her eyes. She just stood there with her eyes wide open and her mouth wide open. She even forgot to kowtow and say thank you.
Gu Hai was also stunned, looking at his sister with surprise in his eyes, so... so generous.
Nowadays, buying a little girl only costs three or four taels of silver.
Gu Shiba Niang had already turned around and got into the car. Seeing that Gu Hai was still standing still, she raised her hand to greet him.
"Sister...is very rich..." Gu Hai said meaningfully as he sat in the car. He stretched out his hand and pretended to be pitiful, "My pity, brother, I don't have a penny on me. My sister will give me some..."
Thinking of Gu Shiba Niang, who was once in the same situation, she burst into laughter after hearing this, leaving only slightly red eye circles.
"We will be richer in the future." She said with a bit of coquettishness and a bit of determination, "Sister, brother, you must have enough food and clothing, and never again..."
"It won't be like that?" Gu Hai smiled and stretched out his hand to point out, "It won't be like that..."
"No," Gu Shiba Niang said in a loud voice.
Gu Hai was just joking, trying to dispel his sister's sadness, but he didn't expect her reaction to be so big. He was startled, and nodded along with her words, saying yes, no, no.
She would never do this again, kneeling on the roadside begging for help, watching her brother die and she would never care about it. She bit her lower lip tightly.
"Thank you, thank you benefactor..." The little girl's cry came from outside the carriage that was getting further away.
Gu Shiba Niang glanced slightly through the car window. Among the flying snow flakes, the figure of the little girl kneeling and kowtowing quickly disappeared.
If someone had reached out to help him at this time in that life, his endangered brother wouldn't have died so quickly, right? Her fate should be different, right
If no one helps you, help yourself.
In the evening, Mr. Cao came back.
"Mom, what does auntie want to do with you? Have you eaten yet?" Gu Hai walked out of the room and asked hurriedly without putting down the book in his hand.
A bit of embarrassment appeared on Ms. Cao's face, and she forced a smile and said, "I've eaten."
But he didn't answer Gu Hai's questions. He asked a few more questions about whether they had eaten or not, and then entered the house in a daze.
Gu Hai looked at Cao's house with some doubts, then turned around to see Gu Shiba Niang standing opposite the door, still holding a book in her hand.
"Mom is back?" she asked, stepping over.
"Eighteenth Mother..." Gu Hai made a gesture to silence her, "Mother is tired, let her rest early..."
Are you afraid that she will ask what happened today? It looks like the answer is written on my mother's face. . . .
Gu Shiba Niang smiled and stopped.
Gu Hai breathed a sigh of relief. Somehow, he felt that although his sister was still not very talkative, she sometimes spoke very aggressive words.
He also guessed that when his aunt called his mother away today, she must have talked about their house and shop, and it seemed that the result was not satisfactory.
No one wants to live under someone else's roof, and my mother is no exception. This result must have made my mother feel very uncomfortable. If my sister asks again at this time, and my sister is so looking forward to having her own house, what if she is disappointed. . . . .
Gu Hai sighed and at the same time clenched his fists, determined to stand out. . . . . .
"Brother, you should go to bed early. You will go to school in a few days..." Gu Shiba Niang said, standing in the shadow of the lamp and smiling quietly.
"Yes, I understand. You should go to bed early and don't read for so long..." Gu Hai smiled, waved his hand and went into the room.
The night was dark, and the three lights in the small courtyard remained on for a long time.
The mist in the early winter morning had not yet dissipated, and the housekeeper in a hat led the Cao family and their daughter into the patriarch's house.
Mrs. Cao once again looked back at her daughter who was following her closely, and sighed helplessly.
"Eighteen Mother, please go back, follow me, what will it look like..." She persuaded her again.
"No." Gu Shiba Niang shook her head firmly, looked at Mr. Cao and smiled lightly, "Mom, there are many people today, don't be afraid, I will keep you company."
Ms. Cao sighed, "It's you who keeps me company that makes me scared..."
She felt uneasy early this morning, and coupled with the hint she heard yesterday, her heart became even heavier.
Although the location of the house assigned to them by the clan leader is a bit remote, it is definitely a good place with an elegant layout and not too big or too small. Some people would be reluctant to let such a place fall into their hands for nothing.
Mrs. Cao is not a stupid woman. She understands the thoughts of the Gu Leshan family.
Mrs. Guo told her repeatedly in the car that there were many children at home, and the second child was about to have another baby, so she was not idle to grind her teeth.
She knew that even though the matter about the house hadn't been officially announced yet, she was afraid that she would no longer have a chance with them.
The children were eagerly looking forward to it, but the result was. . . . . .
What should she tell the children? Cao's eyes couldn't help but turn red, and she lowered her head to cover them up.
The daughter is so smart, she must have guessed something, otherwise she wouldn't have met the housekeeper and asked her to go and follow the clan leader.
Thinking of this, she felt that it was necessary to give instructions to her daughter. Now she could not see through this daughter more and more.
"Eighteenth Mother, don't talk nonsense when the time comes... Listen to mother, listen to the clan leader..." She took a few deep breaths and bit her lower lip, "Eighteenth Mother, when you are under the eaves, you have to Lower your head...take a step back and the sky will be brighter...don't be too obsessed with some things."
It is impossible and impossible to break up with the uncle's family.
Without the support of her family, her son's future would be very difficult. The reason why she endured the hardships and made concessions step by step was not to anger the people in the clan, but also to gain a place of protection under her wings.
Gu Shiba Niang knows this truth and has always believed in it, but what if she knew that taking a step back would lead to an abyss