She was not unhappy, even though when she set the fire, she was mentally prepared to be arrested and wanted by the government, and she also thought about being killed with a stick or beheaded.
But if you can avoid death, who would want to die?
She has been on tenterhooks for more than a year. In the first few months, she fled aimlessly and made herself look like a little beggar. She didn't have to dress up deliberately. Her unkempt appearance and patches on her face With shabby clothes, he is just a little beggar.
Because she was afraid of being wanted, she only dared to beg for food in remote villages far away from crowds and cities, or go up the mountains to find wild fruits to satisfy her hunger. Don't even dare to ask for news.
Thanks to many kind-hearted people, even though the family was poor and shabby, they were still willing to give her a bowl of rice soup. Most of the time when she was at home she couldn't eat a bowl of rice soup a day.
Later, she met a kind-hearted Taoist priest and took her back to his Taoist temple to settle down. She stayed there for more than half a year until the flood occurred.
The more than half a year of living in the Taoist Temple was the happiest of her eleven years. Although the work she had to do was similar to that at home, which included collecting firewood, cooking, and sweeping the floor, she could still have enough food and clothing, and she could not learn how to do it. Being scolded and beaten.
But when she is free, she can't help but worry: If she is wanted, will she be found out and implicate the Taoist priest? If the Taoist priest knew what she had committed and that she was wanted, would he have expelled her or handed her over to the authorities?
Now that I heard Li Ping'an's words, especially the "strange to say" sentence at the beginning, I realized after thinking about it for a moment that although the villagers suspected that the fire was caused by man-made arson, they unanimously said that it was an accidental fire.
Although she didn't know why they said this, it was undoubtedly a great thing for her. She was not wanted and could live openly and openly in the future, without having to hide around like a shady mouse. hide.
"Brother Ping'an, are you telling the truth?" Xu couldn't believe it, Xu was too excited, Cao Ya's voice was trembling.
"Of course it's true. I don't need to lie to you. If you don't believe me, ask Brother Dashan and Zhang Xiaoshan. They can testify that nothing happened to you, and you were not even reported missing." Li Pingan's tone was sincere, but what he didn't say was, Cao Ya's A few uncles came to make trouble, but it didn't cause much trouble.
Cao Ya quickly looked at Zhang Dashan and Zhang Xiaoshan. The two brothers nodded and said it was what Li Ping'an said.
Cao Ya smiled, smiled and cried, tears twinkling in her eyes, her cries did not hide, getting louder and more unbridled.
No one tried to persuade her, and no one spoke to comfort her. They could not imagine how panicked, frightened, and stressed a little girl who was only eleven years old after being on the run for more than a year must have been.
Just let her cry and be released.
However, Cao Ya didn't cry for too long. After a while, she was a little embarrassed and hurriedly wiped away her tears. "It's getting dark. Brother Ping An, please go down the mountain quickly. I'm going back too."
"No, won't you come with us?" Zhang Xiaoshan said anxiously, "Isn't it okay if you tell me?"
"No, I'm relieved that the eldest sister and the little sister are taken care of by the people, but I picked them up and I won't be worried if I abandon them." After saying that, Caoya walked away like a rabbit.
Everyone was in need of food on the way to escape the famine. Food was expensive and hard to buy. Even if Li Ping'an and the others could agree to her taking their six children to escape the famine, she couldn't agree. Those six children couldn't do much, no matter what. If they eat, it's just rice for free. If they eat, it's hard for them to find anything else to eat on the road.
Although it is dangerous to live in a cave here and easily attacked by wild animals, at least you can dig some wild vegetables and pick some wild fruits to fill your stomach.
Zhang Xiaoshan wanted to catch up, but was stopped by Li Ping'an, "Okay, let's do this for today. Go back and talk to your father and I to see what their plans are."
"Li Ping'an, you have no heart! How old is Caoya, and how old are those children? Can you live in this barren mountain? Every night is full of danger! Fortunately, Caoya still calls you Brother Ping'an, so you don't worry about her. Are you in danger?"
Li Ping'an's face darkened all of a sudden, "Yes, I don't have intentions but you do. I'm not worried about Caoya, you are worried about her. I won't stop you. You go find her and protect her for the night. Your father and mother can't see it. When you go back, let them worry about you all night, or let them go up the mountain to find you at night!"
"What are you yelling about!" Zhang Dashan slapped Zhang Xiaoshan on the back of the head, "Go back!"
Zhang Xiaoshan immediately jumped like a quail and followed down the mountain with his head hanging down in despair. His mind was full of wondering whether he should tell Taohua about meeting Caoya, and if so, how should he tell her.
Zhu Erlang couldn't help his curiosity and asked Zhang Dashan and Li Pingan about Caoya. They didn't avoid him when they were talking just now. He could guess the general idea after hearing a few words, so Zhang Dashan and Li Pingan didn't hide anything. , said everything that could be said.
When we almost reached the foot of the mountain, it was already dark. From a distance, we saw someone holding a torch waiting at the foot of the mountain. When we got closer, we saw that it was Zhang Yu.
"Why did you come back so late?" Zhang Yu asked.
"I walked a little further and found a place that wasn't visited much. I picked a lot of good things." Li Pingan turned around and put the backpack in front of Zhang Yu in a showy manner.
Zhang Yu glanced at it by the firelight, with a smile on his face, slapped Li Ping'an on the shoulder, squeezed, "Good luck!"
"It's more than good, I should say very good. There's another great thing. I won't tell you about it now. I'll tell you later when we are full."
Zhang Yu didn't ask further questions, but pinched Li Pingan's shoulders a few more times with greater force. Li Pingan grimaced in pain.
They came back late, and dinner had been prepared long ago. The wild vegetables they brought back could only be eaten tomorrow. After eating in a hurry, Li Ping'an and the others found Li Erlin, Zhang Yu, Chen Song and other people who could make the decision. Sir, I first told you that you can find food and herbs on the mountain, and suggested that you stay an extra day tomorrow to collect more herbs.
Herbs can save lives at critical moments. Of course Li Erlin and the others had no objection. Moreover, they had been traveling for almost half a month, so they deserved a day's rest. Anyway, it was not less than a day or two, so they readily agreed.
Next, Li Pingan talked about meeting Cao Ya on the mountain. Several adults were shocked. Li Erlin, who had always been emotionally stable, directly interrupted Li Pingan.
"Is it really a straw?"
"It's true. I'm not mistaken. She took the initiative to say hello to us first."
"Is she okay?" This is what Chen Song asked.
"It's okay. It looks fine. It's almost the same as before in the village."
Chen Song asked eagerly: "Then why don't you take her down the mountain?"
"I said she didn't want to..."
