The child put his hands on his hips and became more and more proud as he watched the little sparrows surrounding him eating happily.
"Remember to call me boss, you know?" He glanced around and pouted.
"'Know!"
"I know, boss." The children shouted after eating the peanuts they were given, not caring about many of them.
The children nodded with satisfaction. There were not many peanuts. Each person had two and it was gone. After eating them in two or three bites, the children raised their faces and looked at the newly recognized boss eagerly.
The child took out the shuttlecock and said with a smile: "If you are full and satisfied, let's play."
As he spoke, he covered his trouser pocket with one hand and kicked the shuttlecock twice. Soon, he kicked the shuttlecock to a child about the same age as him. The child immediately caught the shuttlecock, and the group of people quickly started to have fun. Very happy.
But the child who handed out peanuts quietly grabbed a little girl and whispered into her ear:
"follow me."
The little girl's clothes are extremely shabby, she is thin and small, her face is sallow, but her eyes are big and bright, with long eyelashes like cattail fans.
When they reached a corner, the little girl clasped her hands and looked at the "boss" in front of her who was picking out her pockets and said:
"Boss, what's wrong?"
"Hey! Just call me Brother Ermao in private. What's the relationship between us?"
"Yeah, brother Ermao."
Ermao, whose name was changed again, took out the peanuts from his pocket and handed them over with a smile.
"Look, what is this?" He looked proud.
"Wow, there's more, Brother Ermao, are you going to give it to me? I...I..." The little girl was a little cautious. Looking at the handful of peanuts, she didn't dare to take them for a moment.
Ever since her mother was taken to the south of the city and her father died in Huichang, she has never eaten so many peanuts.
"Hey, take it, why are you so polite?"
"My dad has plenty, feel free to eat it!" Er Mao waved his hand proudly.
After hearing this, the little girl accepted it with a smile. This smile made Er Mao's face turn red and he even forgot to suck his nose.
The two sat down on the steps of a house. The little girl was peeling peanuts, and Er Mao looked at her and said:
"Wen'er, after this winter, the coming year will be much better."
The girl tilted her head, still biting the peanut shell in her mouth, and asked vaguely: "Isn't it like this every year?"
"No, it was better than it is now when my father didn't go to Huichang a few years ago."
Seeing that her frostbitten hands couldn't peel them off, and her teeth were full of peanut shells, Ermao took the peanuts back from her hand, lowered his head and peeled them off and said:
"It's different. You know the prince, right?"
Upon hearing this, the girl's face changed, her eyes were full of fear, and her body trembled.
"I know... I know, my mother was arrested by the prince's son..."
Er Mao originally lowered his head, but when he heard the change in the girl's voice, he immediately raised his head and looked at her. At this glance, Er Mao immediately became panicked.
The girl's eyes were already red, and her little body was still trembling.
He hurriedly explained: "No, no, no, I'm not talking about Prince Qing."
"I'm talking about the King of Zhenbei, the son of General Huwei. He is the one who left Jinling before. I took you to see him off at that time."
"At that time, you even gave him boiled eggs."
Just when he said this, he scratched his head and said, "No, it's not the boiled eggs you sent. You don't even have eggs to eat. Is it Cuihong or Xiulian, I can't remember clearly."
The girl looked relieved, but still a little gloomy. She lowered her head and continued to peel the peanuts with great effort, "Well, it's not me. I can't squeeze in outside."
"Brother Ermao, please continue talking. What's wrong with the prince?"
Er Mao scratched his head, feeling a little regretful that he didn't understand what he said at first. This originally happy thing made Wen'er sad.
It’s all the fault of Prince Qing, the son of an old bastard. A good man shouldn’t be treated like a bastard.
Wen'er's father died in Huichang protecting the family and the country, but her mother was taken away by that beast-like person, which made Wen'er become so miserable now.
Damn it!
Er Mao thought angrily, and exerted strength on his hands. With a "pop" sound, the peanut kernel was almost crushed.
"Brother Ermao?" The girl raised her face and blinked at him, as if to say she was fine.
Er Mao handed her the peanut kernels and continued: "Let me tell you, didn't the prince rebel, and then the court sent people to suppress it. Not long ago, they suffered a huge defeat."
"I'm talking about the court, not the prince."
"Haha, these guys, if they don't overestimate their own capabilities, they will definitely lose."
"I heard that the prince will soon invade the capital. Didn't you see that the curfew has been extended now? You are scared."
The girl nodded in understanding, but there was some fear on her face: "In war, people will die."
"My father died fighting in Huichang."
Er Mao looked at her, his young face was surprisingly solemn, and he said in a deep voice:
"That's different."
"No, that's not right. Your father and the prince are the same, but the current court is different."
The girl looked at Er Mao, who looked like a little adult, bit her lip and said, "Brother Er Mao, aren't you afraid? What if..."
Er Mao pinched open another peanut with a "pop" sound, and his tone became serious without realizing it.
"I'm not afraid, and you don't need to be afraid either. We don't need to be afraid. It's not us who have to be afraid. Only bad people are afraid."
"Especially the people who harmed your mother. These cowards would definitely be so scared that they wet their pants, huh."
As if he realized that his harsh words were a bit inappropriate, Er Mao rushed to say:
"In short, everyone is saying that the prince may be able to invade Jinling this year. By then, hum."
The girl lowered her eyes and asked softly: "Will bad guys be punished?"
"That's for sure!" Er Mao stood up suddenly, and the peanut shells on his body fell all over the floor.
"We're all waiting!"
"We're all waiting!"
He repeated it twice and seemed to be saying something very inspiring.
In fact, he heard this sentence from others. People said it, so he kept it on his lips and in his heart.
"Here, brother Ermao, you can eat too." Looking at Ermao standing upright with an adult-like expression, the girl smiled and gave away the peanuts in her hand.
Ermao glanced at the peanut, waved his hand and said, "What's so delicious about this? My dad peeled it for me and I didn't even want to open my mouth."
"But I heard your stomach growling. Brother Ermao, let's eat together. Peanuts are still delicious."
The girl looked at him, raising her slender arms high, twisting a peanut in her frostbitten fingers.
Under the dim sunlight, the peanut kernels wrapped in red coat seemed to be coated with a layer of iris, shining brightly.
"It tastes a little bit, but it's only a little bit delicious. Maybe I ate too much, so I can't feel it." Ermao chewed the peanut kernels and then licked the corners of his mouth and said.
The girl just smiled with her eyes narrowed, and Er Mao blushed and urged: "Quick, that's it. After eating, I'll take you to play."
The girl finished the meal in three or two bites, shaking her head and refusing, "Brother Ermao, you can go home. I'm going back too."
With that said, the girl stood up, wrapped her clothes tightly and waved to Er Mao.
"Then, okay, I'll see you again tomorrow."
"My dad has too many peanuts and can't finish them. I'll get some more for you." Er Mao said with a smile.
"No need, Brother Ermao, didn't you say that it would be fine after this winter?"
"After winter is over, next year, I think I will eat peanuts that will make me tired, just like Brother Ermao."
"Let's go"
The girl blinked, smiled and turned away.
The wind blew and kicked up the dust on the ground. Under the setting sun, Er Mao looked at the girl's walking back. The crimson sunlight stretched her shadow very long.
He shouted from behind: "But my dad can't finish eating!"
The wind howled, bringing the girl's laughter.
Er Mao also laughed, and he skipped home, chasing and kicking a rotten vegetable on the ground while humming a nursery rhyme he had just learned recently.
"If you want a puppy, be good. My dog is big but crazy. He doesn't bite thieves, he only bites chickens.
The air is out of control, and when touched, the stomach becomes bloated.
The long whale sucks up all the water in the East Ocean, and there are millions of shrimps and toads in it. "
The cheerful laughter stopped abruptly when he reached the door, where his father was standing with his hands folded.
"Dad, are you...waiting for me?" Er Mao said with a smile.
"Who's waiting for you? You little bastard is hanging out all day long. Your Uncle Zhao is here. Come and see him soon."
Er Mao breathed a sigh of relief, with an expression of joy on his face. His favorite Uncle Zhao, the former lieutenant general of the Red Flame Army, Zhao Zhennan, was here.
