It's time.
Even in early spring, the Gobi Desert is already showing a hint of heat.
The golden sun, the pale mud walls, the earthy gravel roads, yellow has almost become the only color in this small village.
Yi Ning walked slowly in Tongjia Village. Although his muscles had not atrophied due to his long sleep, the feeling of powerlessness was still there.
For the treatment of the sequelae caused by long-term bed rest, exercising on the ground is the simplest and most effective way of treatment.
There is a saying that doctors cannot heal themselves.
Yi Ning has already experimented. His own blood can enhance the potency of the medicine. The enhanced potency has a very obvious effect on other people, but it has only a mediocre effect on himself.
Therefore, if the body and the small world are to be restored to their original state, they may have to rest for a period of time.
This is the busiest time in the morning. Most of the villagers go to the oasis outside, leaving only the elderly and children in the village.
The soil and water support the people, and Yi Ning is very willing to experience the atmosphere of life in various places.
So he walked not in a hurry, looking at the corn hanging by this family and the expression on the door of that family, taking his time.
Just walking through the streets and alleys, after a quarter of an hour, the whole village was occupied by him, and Yi Ning heard the sound of people talking for the first time.
Just hearing these conversations made him raise his eyebrows.
"You little blind man, how dare you steal porridge and drink it!"
"Such a big bowl of rice porridge, please tell me honestly, where did it come from?"
"Brother Zhuang, you have forgotten, she is deaf and cannot hear."
You can get a rough idea from the conversation.
Yi Ning endured the soreness in her muscles and quickened her pace. When she turned a corner, she saw five children surrounding a little girl, punching and kicking her.
This little girl was Tong Qian. She curled up on the ground and held her head in her hands with skillful movements. There was also a bowl of rice porridge knocked down on the ground.
"Stop!" Yi Ning shouted, then patted Ting Wu.
Ting Wu made a "moo" sound and rushed towards the dolls. Every step made a loud noise, which frightened the little dolls so much that they crawled and ran away.
At this time, hearing the noise, an old woman ran out of the house. When she saw Ting Wu, she yelled, "Whose stupid cow?"
Then she saw Tong Qian lying on the ground and the dolls hiding in the distance, stretching their heads, and her voice became louder.
"You two little kids are backing each other, and you're bullying others. Let me see if I don't beat you dead kids to death today."
The old woman held a wooden stick from the corner and chased after the children. She only focused on teaching her grandson a lesson. As for the blind girl who fell on the ground, she was ignored.
The old woman chased her, and the baby ran away. After a while, she disappeared.
Yi Ning frowned slightly, glanced at the leaving children, let out a sigh, and then walked towards Tong Qian.
The little girl held the empty bowl, squatted on the ground, buried her head between her legs, and sobbing slightly.
Suddenly, she raised her head and looked towards Yi Ning, looking a little confused.
Yi Ning's frown slowly relaxed and her voice was gentle: "It's me."
He knew that the girl could hear him.
Tong Qian's gray eyes blinked and he stood up excitedly: "Brother, you're awake!"
Then she remembered something again, turned around, and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her dirty sleeves.
Yi Ning came to Tong Qian. The girl was not only thin but also short. The height of the eleven or twelve-year-old baby was only around her waist. It was obviously caused by long-term malnutrition.
He stretched out his hand to gently pull up the girl's hair. During the fight just now, the dead grass holding the child's hair had broken.
When Yi Ning's hand touched Tong Qian, she clearly felt her body stiffen.
Yi Ning asked softly: "Does it hurt? Cry if it hurts. We are already good friends, aren't we?"
Tong Qian wiped his face carefully a few more times, and after confirming that there were no more tears, he turned around and said, "I'm not crying because of pain."
After speaking, she pointed to the rice porridge on the ground: "So much rice porridge, just wasted!"
As she spoke, Tong Qian felt like crying again. The corners of her mouth were pursed, but she clenched her teeth tightly, not wanting to cry again.
Yi Ning pulled out a dry herb from Tingwu's bamboo pocket and tied the little girl's headband carefully.
Tong Qian hesitated for a long time and finally said: "The scalp is a bit... tight."
"Sorry." Yi Ning was about to remove the rope when his hand was held down by a small dark hand.
"But the one from Big Brother, I like it very much."
The little girl looked up. Although she couldn't see it, her eyes were extremely serious, as if she wanted to remember this moment in her heart forever.
This was the first time anyone had dressed her up since she could remember.
In the alley filled with yellow mud.
She looked at him with a bright smile, and two dimples appeared on her dirty little face.
He also smiled, took the girl's hand, and the two figures, one large and one small, gradually moved away.
...
The sun sets over the western mountains, and the afterglow dyes the sky red.
There is a small dilapidated courtyard in the south of the village, with smoke curling up from the kitchen.
In the courtyard, Yi Ning and Tong Qian were squatting on the ground. There was a bonfire between them, and a stone pot was placed on the fire. What was being cooked was not food, but the medicinal materials that Ting Wu carried on his back.
Tong Qian pointed to Fu Li in the corner of the courtyard and asked, "What's wrong with this uncle?"
"Don't worry about him."
Yi Ning glanced at the tiger demon whose mind fell into silence, and then asked the little girl, "How do you perceive the outside world?"
Tong Qian organized her words, then raised her hand, spread her fingers, and was about to speak, but the bruises on her shoulders made her gasp in pain.
"Wind?" Yi Ning guessed.
Tong Qian nodded vigorously: "Yeah, after Uncle Feng blew over, I felt that it was not complete. That was it telling me that there was someone in front of me."
Suddenly, she changed the topic, pointed at the stone pot in front of her and shouted: "Brother, the food you are cooking is ready."
As soon as she finished speaking, the medicinal residue in the stone pot began to condense into a paste.
Yi Ning's eyes lit up and she asked with a smile, "Is this what Uncle Feng told you?"
"No, didn't you say it would take three hours to cook? I've been counting down in my mind." Tong Qian smiled happily, feeling a little proud.
"Awesome." Yi Ning praised without hesitation.
He originally thought that the little girl was the kind of innate Taoist who could communicate with all things.
Now it seems that what kind of Taoism is it? It is just an experience learned by children who have been unwilling to admit defeat since they were young and have self-esteem.
However, compared to the Taoist body, Yi Ning admires the girl now more.
"What is this? Is it food?"
Tong Qian came closer and smelled it, his brows furrowed slightly, "It doesn't smell good, do we really want to eat it?"
Yi Ning explained patiently: "This is Qianshan blood-activating ointment, which is made from the essence of herbal medicine. It is for external use and is a treatment method of traditional Chinese medicine."
"Oh, I thought it was food." Tong Qian rubbed her shriveled belly. In fact, she was ready to eat it.
"Expose your shoulders and I'll apply them for you."
Yi Ning smiled and said, "I'll take you to eat after I apply it."
Tong Qian was very obedient and pulled her arm out of her sleeve. Her arm was dark and dry, and the bruises were not so obvious. Around the bruises, there were other old scars that had turned into scars.
Looking at the old and new scars, Yi Ning narrowed his eyes: "Doesn't it really hurt?"
Tong Qian explained: "Hey, it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt. They didn't mean it. Most of the time, it's me who is stupid and doesn't help."
Yi Ning didn't say anything more. How could it not hurt? It's just that compared to physical pain, the little girl was more afraid of mental pain.
The sky was getting dark, and Yi Ning applied ointment to her very seriously.
"What do you wish for?"
"Me? I...well, my name is Tong Qian, but I haven't saved a single copper coin. I want to save a copper coin every day...no, every month!"
This dirty girl sat in front of the fire and talked happily as if her dream had come true.
The wind also became gentle at this moment.
"It's so refreshing. This is really useful. Big brother is so awesome."
"I'll have a lot more."
"Then...can I learn?"
"What are you studying for?"
"With this, if my friends accidentally hit me hard, I won't be unable to do my job the next day."
"Okay, I'll teach you."
