The group finally drove to the original address of the shop, and sure enough, they saw a small figure at the door, lying on the dusty door and looking inside.
"Shi Tou!" Si Le got out of the car and ran over without waiting for it to stop, and picked up Shi Tou.
I checked my whole body and breathed a sigh of relief when I didn't find anything wrong.
I sat down on the ground exhausted, wanting to hit or scold him, but in the end I was speechless, and only said, "You're going to scare me to death..."
Little Shitou also sat down, rubbing his tanned face against Si Le and calling softly, "Brother... Auntie won't open the door."
Si Le didn't move or speak, just looked at the stone.
Shitou said again, "Auntie won't open the door."
He felt a little aggrieved, "Auntie didn't open the door... I knocked on it with a stone for a long time..."
He even showed Si Le his red little hands.
Si Le looked at it and felt distressed again, "Are you stupid? Don't you know not to knock if the door is not opened?"
"I miss my aunt..." Little Shitou blinked his eyes and looked at Si Le stroking his hand, then smiled again.
The breath from his palms was so itchy that Little Stone couldn't help but shrink his neck.
When Aunt Zhuang got out of the car, she saw Little Stone, who was squinting his eyes and laughing foolishly, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Stone!"
Aunt Zhuang's unique way of calling people made Shitou look over there immediately. When he saw the person he was looking for, he patted Si Le happily, "Aunt! Aunt!"
Si Le smiled and picked him up, "Yes, auntie, but you may have to call me mom from now on."
"Mom?" Little Stone repeated doubtfully, reaching out to touch the black veil on Si Le's arm, "Mom is asleep..."
He said that the last time he saw his mother, she was lying in the cold morgue and would not wake up no matter how he called her.
"You don't understand again..." Si Le smiled again, "Forget it, you will know it later."
He handed the small stone to Aunt Zhuang who was walking over. Aunt Zhuang took it and said, "Hey, let me see, why are you so thin? Where is Aunt Zhuang's piglet? Where did it go?"
Little Shitou briefly forgot everything he had experienced in the past few months and twisted around happily in Aunt Zhuang's arms.
When Ding Sha and Xiao Jun came over, he looked at Ding Sha and said, "Dudu..."
"There's no baby in my belly, only a little brother. Do you want to go and see him?" Ding Sha scratched his little face.
"Brother! Brother!" Little Stone was very happy.
So the group drove back to the shop with the two children.
Du Rourou had been standing by the door, looking around absentmindedly. She was happy when she saw the familiar car, "You're back, you're back!"
Then he waited for the car to stop and ran over, "How is it? Did you find the stone?"
Aunt Zhuang got out of the car holding the stone, "Look, this is it, little rascal."
Du Rourou teased him for a few words, and only when she saw that he looked listless and a little sleepy did she open the door and let him in.
After Aunt Zhuang coaxed Little Shitou to sleep and he came out, Ding Sha asked Si Le, "What happened to Little Shitou?"
I just discovered that the stones are different from before the epidemic.
"He..." Si Le was a little depressed. "I was in evening self-study at school and didn't know about it. When I got home, I found that he had a fever all day and no one cared for him. I didn't know where my mother had gone. The door was locked and I couldn't get out even if I ran."
"When I got to the hospital, the stone was like this."
"The doctor said he might be a little dull in the future, meaning his reactions would be a little slow, but he's not stupid."
Si Le felt a little guilty. If he hadn't come back late, the stone wouldn't have become like this.
"It's because Shitou is a little bit stupid, and I'm afraid he'll be bullied, so I don't want him to go to an orphanage. That place is really scary."
"It's okay. We will teach and treat him slowly in the future. He will get better." Ding Sha touched Si Le's head. "It's just that his reaction is a little slow. We will practice with him slowly."
Ding Sha looked at the back of Si Le's head and sighed silently.
You are still a child, why do you have to carry so many things
Xiao Jun patted Ding Sha on the shoulder. Ding Sha looked at him, smiled, and turned into the kitchen.
The two children must be hungry after all that running around, so she wanted to make something delicious for them.
Cut fresh chicken breast into pieces and puree it. Blanch the broccoli, carrots and corn kernels, then chop the carrots and broccoli into smaller pieces.
After mixing all the ingredients together, add pepper, starch, cooking wine, light soy sauce, oyster sauce and salt for seasoning. Stir in one direction until firm and then roll into palm-sized pancakes.
Fry in a pan until golden brown on both sides.
He also asked Wang Wenhao to cook a pot of seaweed egg drop soup.
When it was done, little Shitou woke up in a daze. After waking up, he sat on the bed blankly, not crying or making a fuss, just staring at his little feet in a daze.
Aunt Zhuang came in and touched his little face, "Are you hungry?"
Shi Tou was stunned for a moment and then nodded.
"Let's go and have dinner!" Aunt Zhuang picked him up.
The pancakes were fragrant, soft, and meaty. The two brothers ate them without even raising their heads.
In the end, even the whole pot of soup was finished. Of course, it was mainly Si Le who drank it. After Shi Tou was full, he started playing with his fingers as if no one was around.
"Aunt, I want to sell our house and let Shitou live with you, is that okay?" Si Le said.
"Ah? What? What about you? Where will you live after the house is sold?" Aunt Zhuang was shocked.
"I can live on campus. The high school entrance exam is coming soon. Once I enter high school, I can apply to live on campus. Shitou is very attached to you, and I feel at ease following you." Si Le said.
"After two days, when my mother's funeral is over, I will go find an agent to sell the house."
"No, I think you should keep the house," Aunt Zhuang refused. "Why sell it? Listen to me. Don't think I'm being harsh. With the house there, you'll have a home and peace of mind."
"If this house is gone, then we will really be homeless."
Si Le still shook his head, "This house doesn't mean much to me. Selling it for money will be good for both me and Shitou."
"Don't worry, I will buy you a big house when I grow up."
"I'm not adopting you just because I want your house," Aunt Zhuang glared at him, "I have food and shelter, and Shasha pays me a salary every month, which is more than enough to support the two of you."
"I know," Si Le smiled, "but I want to buy it for you."
After arguing for a long time and no one was willing to give in, Si Le finally agreed to wait until he was eighteen years old and discuss the matter again if he still wanted to sell the house after being persuaded by Ding Sha.
Si Le stayed in the inn that night.
Ding Sha also joked with Xiao Jun, saying that it was a good thing they moved to a bigger house, otherwise there would be no room for them.
The next day, Si Le reported to school early.
It was not until he finished the high school entrance examination that he took Aunt Zhuang and Shitou to handle the household registration and adoption procedures.
When they came back, except for Shi Tou who was still confused, both of them had mixed emotions on their faces.
Ding Sha prepared a table of dishes and closed the shop early, waiting to celebrate with Aunt Zhuang and Si Le.
Si Le's eyes were red, "Thank you everyone, thank you so much!"
He finished the drink in his glass and bowed deeply.