A light cloud covers the crescent moon, casting a shadow. Just like Pei Jiufeng's heart, a thick haze was cast over him at this moment.
He couldn't even die.
What can he do
What can he do to get out of this predicament? The cramping stomach made him unable to think, and a wave of despair gradually came to his heart.
Even during the most difficult period of his youth, he never suffered so much.
At that time, there was food to eat every day, although it was leftovers, but at least it could fill the belly. But now, it's not that he refuses to eat leftovers in humiliation, but that there is no leftovers for him to eat.
At that time, he was cold because he didn't have a well-fitting cotton coat to wear, but he could put on one piece of unlined clothing to keep out the cold. But in the cold now, there is no clothes to wear, not even single clothes.
He understood what the monster meant, and he was accusing him of being blessed but not blessed, and that there were many poorer people than him in the world.
But Pei Jiufeng couldn't agree!
Was the grievance he suffered only for food, drink and clothing? He is also often bullied! Even the humble nanny and eunuch dare to beat and scold him!
At that time, who protected him? !
Although Wang Dagen is poor, he still protects his sister! After a hard day, even if you stutter, you still think about him!
When he was being bullied, who protected him? !
The hatred was like fire, burning in his heart, the tongue of fire licked his heart little by little, and there was an unbearable pain.
He angrily threw the rusty knife on the ground, and sat on the ground carelessly.
The air is cold, the ground is cold and hard, and a sense of grievance wells up in my heart. He pursed his lips tightly and his face was expressionless, unwilling to admit that his eye sockets became hot.
Can't cry. You must not cry when you are bullied, otherwise the bully will only be more proud and bully him even more!
However, the vision was finally blurred, and tears fell down, hitting the ground between his legs, making a faint sound.
He was bullied when he was a child, and he still had time to catch his breath. He could hide for a few days with a little thought. But now, he has nowhere to hide, no one can take a breath at all!
He raised the back of his hand and wiped away his tears.
Not a single sound came out.
"Big root?" At this moment, the door of the east room opened, and just at that moment, light clouds drifted away, and the crescent moon appeared again. Showing some cleverness, "Why are you sitting on the ground?"
Pei Jiufeng remained silent.
Tight lips, holding back tears, not to let her see the fragility.
"Are you hungry?" Who knows, she said, "Then do you know your mistake?"
Pei Jiufeng wanted to sneer, what could be wrong with him? However, he was really hungry, so he didn't bother to expend such effort.
He lowered his head and said nothing, as silent as a stubborn stone.
Seeing that he was silent, Shaoyin turned and entered the room.
Pei Jiufeng didn't look up, but she could hear her footsteps going into the house. My heart is cold and hard.
His expression gradually turned indifferent.
No one will ever care about him, he already knew it.
A desperate ruthlessness flashed across his eyes, that monster was dreaming to tame him!
Even if he dies, he will not be happy!
"The wind is light, the moon is round, my elder brother doesn't eat..."
A cappella sounded, and the sound of footsteps came again, gradually approaching.
Pei Jiufeng's ears trembled. What is she going to do
When the girl's figure brushed past him, he raised his head silently, and saw that she was carrying a pot, walked to the stove, lifted the lid of the pot, and poured half a pot of white porridge into it.
Then squat down and light a fire.
He was taken aback.
The slumped back straightened involuntarily.
Is this going to feed him, or...she will eat again in the middle of the night viciously, in front of him? !
There was a faint fragrance of porridge in the air, and he caught it keenly, salivating involuntarily, swallowing again and again.
"Rice, fragrant and sweet, no one doesn't love rice..."
Shaoyin hummed while filling the stove with firewood.
As the temperature of the porridge gradually rises, the aroma of rice becomes stronger. For people who can't eat enough all day long, it is tantamount to the temptation of poison.
Shaoyin warmed up the rice, then filled half of it.
Holding it in his hand, he walked up to Pei Jiufeng and said, "Do you want to eat?"
Pei Jiufeng didn't move.
Didn't say anything.
It's just that the wings of the nose are fluttering, greedily absorbing the aroma in the bowl.
Under the moonlight, the simple white porridge seems to be the supreme delicacy in the world.
He wants to say that he doesn't eat, that he is not rare, so don't think that he will bow his head. However, the secretion of saliva became more severe. In the silent night, I could hear the sound of swallowing saliva again and again.
"Do you want to eat?" Shaoyin handed the bowl forward and asked again.
Pei Jiufeng's brain hadn't compromised yet, but his body seemed to have its own consciousness, and his hands stretched out like lightning, holding towards the porridge bowl.
"Do you want to eat?" Unexpectedly, the porridge bowl was taken away again, and he emptied it.
She played him? !
The hands that were frozen in mid-air slowly retracted, the thin chest heaved violently due to anger, the lips gradually tightened, and he looked up at her angrily.
"Then do you know it's wrong?" She asked condescendingly.
Pei Jiufeng pursed her lips, turned her head abruptly, and said in a hoarse voice, "Get lost!"
Want to let him know his mistake? dream!
He was right!
"I don't know why you became like this, but you weren't like this before." A calm voice came from above.
"Father and mother are gone. There are only two of us in the world who are connected by blood. We are close relatives. We should support each other and live together. But now you have a big temper and don't help me with anything. You don't wash your clothes and let you Go out with me to collect firewood, you just fell asleep. I collected the firewood, but you refused to carry it."
"You are my younger brother. I should tolerate you, and I am willing to tolerate you. It doesn't matter if you do less things at ordinary times. I am willing to let you. But if you do nothing, let me serve you and raise you like a young master." With you, that's impossible."
Pei Jiufeng was a little surprised.
He thought she said "Do you know I was wrong" because the demon was asking him through her mouth, do you know how unqualified this emperor is
Didn't expect her to say this.
He raised his head slowly, his eyes first fell on the porridge bowl, then moved up and landed on her face.
She was standing while he was sitting, which made her look a bit condescending.
And her back was facing the moonlight, all the blemishes on her face were hidden in the darkness, only the blurred outline and facial features, unexpectedly beautiful and delicate.
Pei Jiufeng had never thought that women were good-looking, no matter how good-looking a woman was, in his eyes, she was a dead bone with a red skin.
But just now, he didn't know whether it was a delusion or a dazzle, but he actually felt that this poor and shabby girl was a bit attractive.
"Do you know what's wrong?" He didn't speak, and she asked again, "Are you willing to live a good life?"
The smell of porridge lingered on the tip of his nose, making Pei Jiufeng swallow continuously. He didn't want to admit his mistake, but he wanted to fill his stomach.
"Okay!" he said bluntly.
It was she who owed him in the first place, and she and the demon gang set him up to make him end up in such a miserable state, so what if he ate a bowl of porridge from her
When he wakes up from the dream, he immediately finds an expert to catch the demon, and he will never fall into a dream again, so it is not a broken promise!
"Do you keep your word?" Instead of giving him the porridge immediately, she said, "Stand up! Look into my eyes! Tell me, do you keep your word?"
The desire for food made Pei Jiufeng's body seem to have its own consciousness. He stood up with his hands on the ground and looked into her eyes.
He was half a head shorter than her, looking up at her slightly at this moment.
I saw that her eyes were bright, shining and moist, a little harsh, a little persistent.
What else, he couldn't say clearly, but he knew it in his heart - it was the responsibility of the eldest sister in the family to discipline and raise the younger brother.
A faint sadness spread in my heart.
He couldn't tell what it was like, and he refused to admit that he was an emperor, so he actually envied Wang Dagen who was poor and poor, who didn't even have a single piece of clothing to cover his body.
Wang Dagen is poor and humble, he is the most pitiful person in the world, but he has a sister who takes care of him.
"That's right!" he said hoarsely.
He thought he was not a good person, cruelty, viciousness, and despicableness did not wrong him, but he would not go back on his word.
He has always hated those hypocritical people who promised well on the surface, but then turned around and broke the promise.
"Okay." Shaoyin nodded, and handed him the porridge bowl, "Let's eat."
Pei Jiufeng thought he still had the pride of an emperor, but the truth was that he quickly grabbed the bowl, raised his head and poured it into his mouth, purring, it was delicious!
After eating the warm porridge, it ironed out the hungry stomachs and then filled them up.
Pei Jiufeng ate so fast that he didn't even get a taste of it, and he downed the whole bowl of porridge.
He couldn't help but smacked his lips.
The indescribable feeling of fullness made him feel like weeping for a while.
He never seemed so content. It was as if something had been filled in his empty body, and he was a complete and rich man ever since.
"Wash the dishes." Shaoyin raised his chin at him, "Cover the pot, the rest is our food for tomorrow."
After a pause, "If you don't find anything to eat tomorrow."
Pei Jiufeng didn't say anything, and walked over to wash the dishes.
After eating, he felt an unprecedented mental exhaustion, as if he had fought against hunger for too long, which made him a little lazy for a while. He didn't want to care about whether it was the demon's scheme or the girl's envoy.
While washing the dishes, I could only hear a girl's voice from behind: "Tomorrow I'll go find something to do, and you go outside the city to collect firewood. Pick up more and bring it back and sell it for money. Okay?"
"Okay." Pei Jiufeng nodded.
If he wakes up tomorrow and he is still in the dream, then he can only go to collect firewood.
He didn't want to taste the taste of being hungry again, whether he hated or was angry with that monster, he had to fill his stomach first.
"Okay, go to sleep." Shaoyin said, and took the lead into the east room.
Pei Jiufeng shook off the drops of water on his hands, and walked into the main room as well.
The warmth in his stomach made him feel a little lazy. He walked into the house slowly, kicked off his shoes and lay down under the blanket.
Not only was he no longer hungry, but he was also warmer now. He sighed and closed his eyes contentedly.
This sleep was better than ever.
It's a pity that before I got enough sleep, I was shaken awake: "Dagen! Dagen! Wake up! It's time to get up!"
Pei Jiufeng, who was shaken awake, opened her eyes in displeasure, and saw a girl with dark yellow skin, withered hair, and obviously malnourished standing in front of the bed.
Last night's beautiful appearance was indeed an illusion.
"Understood." He didn't lose his temper, he lifted the quilt and got up, "Where are my clothes?"
Shaoyin tossed a coat to him: "It was scratched in two places, and I sewed them on."
As soon as I heard it, it was not washed.
Pei Jiufeng took the clothes and checked them, and sure enough, he saw a few pieces of dead branches.
He didn't say anything, he pulled it off by himself, and put it on indiscriminately.
"The burden is also mended, you take the hemp rope and go out now." After Shaoyin gave the order, she went out first.
On this day, she first went to the market to try her luck and picked up some fruits and vegetables discarded by others.
Then I went to knock on the doors of several big families in the city and asked them if they wanted to wash their clothes.
I also went to the back door of the restaurant, huddled with a group of beggars, stared at the guys who came in and out, and checked to see if there was any unnecessary food thrown away.
Pei Jiufeng was collecting firewood outside the city.
He ate half a bowl of rice last night. In fact, he digested it when he went to sleep. There are not many rice grains, but he is full of water.
But after gaining some strength, he picked up firewood twice and carried it home in a tall pile.
He didn't want to work so hard. But he was worried that he would live in the dream for a long time, he didn't want to taste the taste of being hungry again, and he would do something if he could.
In the evening, Shaoyin came back.
The two brothers and sisters counted today's harvest.
Shaoyin picked up some vegetable leaves thrown away by others, and then did rough work for someone to exchange for two cornbreads, and fought with others at the back door of the restaurant to grab a chicken leg that was not cleaned.
The chicken legs are very fragrant.
But Pei Jiufeng was silent.
"You can eat." He turned his head away, not looking at the half-eaten chicken leg with only a little shredded meat.
Even if he dies, he won't eat other people's leftovers!
This is his final bottom line!
Shaoyin didn't force him.
After heating up the porridge, the siblings divided.
Shaoyin tore off the little meat left on the chicken leg and put it into her bowl. So, white porridge became chicken porridge.
Of course, it's not leftovers from others.
That was just a cover-up for Pei Jiufeng.
She was eating shredded chicken porridge, and it was so delicious that Pei Jiufeng swallowed, and felt contempt in her heart.
It's not that he despises Shaoyin, as he thinks about it, life is too hard, and she hasn't studied, so she doesn't know how to eat well.
What he despised was himself, and he swallowed so greedily.
The next day, Shaoyin and Pei Jiufeng went to sell firewood on their backs.
It was sold for thirty Wen.
"Shall we buy rice?" Pei Jiufeng said expectantly with bright eyes.
Shaoyin took out five Wen and said to him, "If you want to buy something, go and buy it."
Put the other twenty-five papers away, turned around and said, "I'll go to Aunt Li's house to pay back the money."
Pei Jiufeng was taken aback.
He followed closely and asked, "What?!"
"Five years ago, our parents went away and borrowed ten taels of silver for the burial, and we still have eight taels of silver left over, so we have to pay back the money!" Shaoyin said.
Pei Jiufeng's eyes were wide open: "We're all starving to death, what's the money?!"
"Could it be that other people's money was blown by the strong wind?!" Shaoyin asked back, "It's not easy for everyone, and no one's family has any extra food. At that time, people lent us money to bury their parents. We have to remember their feelings. !"
She pushed him away and walked forward: "Even if we are starved to death one day, we must pay back the money we owe to others before we starve to death!"
Pei Jiufeng's eyes were red with anger!