On the way out of the Jiangbei shack, Haizi thought repeatedly about how to save Aunt Xiao. He wanted to go back to Halashe Hotel for dinner, so he quickened his pace and wanted to get there before dark.
But when he got halfway, he felt something was wrong. Haizi felt that Xiaohua shouldn't know about this matter, so he was still a little unsure about going back like this.
If Xiao Hua is sent back to report the news and I watch here, in such a small village, it is easy to arouse suspicion, and it may not be possible to rescue Xiao Sanyi.
Not only would Aunt Xiao be in danger, she might also get caught in it, not to mention that Xiaohua wouldn't dare to walk at night alone.
Since Third Aunt Xiao asked me to rescue her, it means that Third Aunt knows that I can do it alone and there is no danger. There are only two people in San Gouzi's family, so Aunt Xiao San and I can handle them perfectly.
The most important thing is that Aunt Xiao San may not want Master to know about this matter, and the clerk at Deyang Hotel did not make it clear that it is better for her to do this matter by herself.
So Haizi decided to secretly go to the Jiangbei shack tonight to find out the truth. He would rescue Xiao Sanyi if he had the chance, and there would be no chance to think of other ways.
The sun was about to set, and Haizi was wandering near a village. He estimated that this place was at most two miles away from the village, because he could clearly hear the barking of dogs in the village.
Haizi wanted to go into the village to find some food, but he didn't think it was appropriate. When he was hesitating, he saw a middle-aged woman walking out of the field carrying a load of pig food and vegetables.
She struggled to walk, and she wiped the sweat on her face with her hands from time to time. She looked anxious but unable to move, so she stopped to wipe the sweat from time to time.
Haizi made up his mind at this time and went to the village. So he hurried forward to greet him and said politely: "Auntie, this pig food is too heavy. Let me help you pick it."
This woman was in her thirties. She looked at Haizi with confusion on her face, and after a long time she said, "You go on your way, I can pick the one home."
"Auntie is out of town, so you should help me if you meet me on the way. I also want to go to the village, by the way. Come, let me help you choose."
Haizi didn't wait for the middle-aged woman's consent, then handed her the fish he was carrying, picked up two baskets of wild vegetables and walked towards the village.
"Are you here for a visit in this village? Whose house are you going to?"
The burden on the middle-aged woman was taken away by Haizi, and she had no choice but to follow behind. However, she had a good impression of Haizi and thought the child was quite sensible, so she chatted with him.
"To be honest, aunt said, I was passing by. I was hungry and wanted to go into the village to find something to eat. But I didn't want to eat for free. Didn't you notice that I was carrying fish? It was fresh and just bought.
I still had a few cakes with me, and I just wanted to find someone to heat them up for me. The food I ate at noon was cold, and my stomach felt bad, so I wanted to eat it warm. After I finished eating, I left and was on my way in a hurry. "
Haizi said as he walked, turning back to secretly watch the middle-aged woman's reaction with his eyes. Haizi felt that this woman was very kind and his words should gain her sympathy.
"It's better to take a rest. It's too heavy and it's almost reaching my house."
Haizi walked forward very hard, making it difficult for the middle-aged woman following him to catch up. So the middle-aged woman persuaded Haizi to put down his burden and take a rest.
Haizi just slowed down, changed his shoulders, and walked for a while. He felt a little heavy, so he put down his burden.
"Auntie, please go first. I can catch up with you after I take a breather."
The middle-aged woman looked at Haizi who was sweating profusely, and said to him with some distress: "This kid is so honest. Come on, let me pick for a while."
"It's okay, come on, auntie, I am a young man who can provoke you."
After Haizi finished speaking, he saw that the middle-aged woman refused to leave and wanted to pick the food himself, so Haizi didn't stop and picked up the pigs and vegetables again. He walked into the village with the middle-aged woman and came to her house.
There were three children in the yard. The eldest was a boy, about ten years old. He was busy feeding chickens and ducks, and was looking very gray.
A seven- or eight-year-old girl was playing with a four- or five-year-old boy. When they saw the middle-aged woman entering the hospital, they all ran over together.
"Mom, you are back. We are all hungry. The big rice porridge cooked by my eldest brother is ready, waiting for you to come back to eat. Mom, you also bought fish? Stew the fish, stew the fish!"
"Don't grab it randomly. This fish belongs to this uncle. He helped my mother pick out the vegetables. Otherwise, my mother would have to wait a while before she can come back."
The middle-aged woman handed the fish to Haizi. She couldn't ask for other people's fish for no reason. But Haizi didn't reach out to take it. He pushed the middle-aged woman's hand away generously.
"My brothers and sisters all want to eat, so let's stew it for them. I don't have anywhere to put it. It will be spoiled tomorrow." Haizi looked around and said to the middle-aged woman: "Auntie really knows how to live. It’s so tiring to be a chicken and a pig.”
"Oh, there's nothing we can do about it. How can we not raise it? If you don't mind it, big brother, you can eat it at my house and I'll stew the fish for you."
The middle-aged woman finally spat out and agreed to let Haizi eat at her house. This made Haizi very happy. He wanted to rest in this village before going to Jiangbei shack.
"Thank you so much! I have a few pancakes here, let's heat them up together. I'll leave after I finish eating. I'll see if Auntie has any other work to do, and I'll help you with some more. I'm free as well."
Haizi was filled with joy and without waiting for anyone to say anything, he carried the pig food to a big pot in the yard. When he saw that there was pig food in the pig food tank, he knew that the pigs had not been fed yet and he wanted to help feed the pigs.
"You should take a rest and let the child go to feed. It's quite boring."
The middle-aged woman did not want to trouble Haizi anymore and asked him to go inside and rest. But Haizi didn't want to enter the house. Since he was here to trouble others, he should put in some work.
"It's okay, auntie. I don't have anything to do at home. Besides, it's still early for dinner."
Haizi picked up the pig food bowl and went to feed the pigs. After feeding the pigs, he returned to the yard and saw the middle-aged woman cleaning up the fish and preparing to go into the house. He picked up the broom again and prepared to sweep the yard.
"Stop cleaning now. I'm embarrassed that I haven't even entered the house for a long time! Come in quickly. You'll be ready for dinner in a while."
The middle-aged woman refused to let Haizi do any more work. She felt that he had already helped him so much, so it was inappropriate for him to do any more work.
"It's okay. I can finish the cleaning in a moment. Let's eat together when uncle comes back."
Haizi insisted on helping to clean the yard, because in this way he could further gain her favor and he could stay at her house for a while. Haizi did not want to go to the Jiangbei shack too early.
"Uncle? You're talking about my man, right? Oh, you short-lived guy, you've been dead for three or four years! Otherwise, why wouldn't I dare to let you eat here, for fear of being gossiped about?
There are a lot of disputes in front of the widow's door, so there are some gentlemen who are willing to smell the fishy and always want to take advantage of me. There is no other way, so I have to carry someone behind my back and live secretly.
Seeing that you are a very honest kid, know how to get into trouble, and don't look like a bad person, I kept you here. Stop scanning now, go inside and have a cigarette and have a rest. "
"Okay, I'll go into the house after the cleaning is done. Auntie, you go ahead and do your work first."
Haizi called several children over and coaxed them to play while sweeping the yard. By the time he finished sweeping the yard, the three children had become familiar with him. He picked up the youngest child and led the other two into the house.
This is a small house with only two rooms. The outer room is the kitchen, and the inner room has kangs in the north and south. The middle-aged woman lit the lamp, put Haizi on the kang, and brought a cigarette for Haizi to smoke.
Haizi said he didn't know how to smoke, so he turned around and entertained some children. The aroma of fish stew floated into the outhouse, several children were talking and laughing, and the small house was filled with a happy atmosphere.
After the food was put on the table, Haizi was asked to sit on the kang, and the family ate with him. The fish was so fragrant that the middle-aged woman kept putting fish into Haizi's bowl.
"Auntie, you and your brothers and sisters should all eat. I can't eat much, but this much is enough for us."
Haizi also put fish into the bowls of children and middle-aged women, really like close relatives, which made the dining atmosphere more harmonious.
"Call me aunt? Do you think I'm that old? To tell you the truth, I'm just thirty-one years old. If you don't mind, brother, just call me sister."
After the middle-aged woman finished speaking, her face was still a little blushing. The reason why Haizi calls her aunt is simply because she wants respect from others, not because she is too old.
"Not old, not old, not old at all, quite young. That's how I get used to being called. My mother is an elder sister. When I see someone older than me, I call her aunt. I feel so close to her."
"I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm full, and I don't have a man to talk to. How can I not grow old? You can scream whatever you want."
As the middle-aged woman let out a long sigh, the conversation between the two stopped. Haizi was afraid of exposing her pain point again, so he lowered his head and only focused on eating. .
After eating, Haizi drank some water and pretended to leave. Several children surrounded him and refused to let him leave, saying it was dark and he should leave tomorrow.
The middle-aged woman also made excuses to stay, saying that since the children wouldn't let her go, she would rest for a while and wait until she was tired before leaving. It was already dark anyway, and it was really dangerous to walk alone at night.
Of course, Haizi didn't want to leave immediately. He felt that it was still early and if he left now, he would have to wander in the wild for a while and suffer from mosquito bites.
But she is a widow and it is not convenient to stay there for a long time. But Haizi, who was hesitating, faced the middle-aged woman's family's sincere request to stay, so he obeyed and agreed.
"Auntie, I've been walking all day, and I'm really tired. You see, I'll take a short nap first, and then I'll leave when I'm tired. It's really urgent.
But your house is not very convenient. If uncle is alive, I can stay overnight. I can only rest for a while today. Do you think this is okay, aunt? "
Haizi looked at the middle-aged woman with pleading eyes. He felt that his request was not excessive. After all, there was a big age difference between the two, so it was not inconvenient.
"Okay, why can't this work? I'm an old woman, so what should I be afraid of? Just go to the north kang and go to sleep first. When you wake up, you can leave. Our mothers are in the south kang."
The middle-aged woman quickly laid out the bed and let Haizi go to sleep. Haizi stopped being polite, took off his shoes, lay down on the kang with his clothes on, and started to sleep with his own baggage on his pillow.
