12dz Chapter 186 Time flies
Chapter 186 Time flies
Xie Zhuo originally didn't want to pay attention to Liu Mancang's words, but after standing at the school gate until nearly eleven o'clock and seeing no one coming, he began to feel like frowning.
"Even if we have to crawl, we should have reached the destination by now," Liu Mancang's voice was shaking from the cold. He threw another piece of dry bark into the fire in front of him.
Xie Zhuo took out his watch from his inner pocket, took a look at it, and then put it back into his pocket.
"Let's go, go back."
Xu Yan didn't sleep all the time. She told Dabao and the others two stories. She went back to her room only after they fell asleep.
Although I was a little sleepy, I felt uneasy because Xie Zhuo hadn't come back, so I just sat by the stove and read a book.
It was not until the gate of the courtyard opened and she heard Xie Zhuo flicking snow off his body with a feather duster that she quickly stood up and went out to greet him.
Xie Zhuo was still thinking about what was happening at Lin Dong's home. When the door curtain was suddenly opened from the inside and a ray of light leaked out, a smile instantly appeared on his face.
"Are you still awake?" he asked.
"How can I sleep if you're not back?" Xu Yan replied as he expected.
The smile on Xie Zhuo's face became even more intense.
He went into the house, took off his coat, and quickly took a hot bath. Then he dried his hair and got on the kang.
Xu Yan had already spread the quilt on the kang to warm it up. When he got into the bed, his skin suddenly touched the hot kang and felt a little uncomfortable. But after a few minutes, he felt that he should sleep on a heated kang on snowy days.
Comfortable.
"Why did it take so long? Did Lin Dong's family know about it?" Xu Yan asked when Xie Zhuo reached out to hug her.
"I don't know," Xie Zhuo retracted his arms and hugged the person in his arms.
"Mancang and I were standing at the school gate and we were almost frozen into snowmen. We didn't even see a single person."
Xu Yan frowned.
"Looking at Lin Dong's expression," Xie Zhuo said after thinking for a while, "it doesn't look like there's anyone at home taking care of him. Otherwise, if he was bullied like that at school, his family would have been worried a long time ago."
Xu Yan frowned even more tightly. When Xie Zhuo saw this, he reached out and gently rubbed her brows.
"Before you came back, I inquired about Lin Dong's family situation," Xu Yan said, "His parents died a long time ago, and he was raised by his grandparents. Later, his grandparents also passed away. Now only his second uncle and his family are left at home."
Xie Zhuo had already taken his hand off Xu Yan's forehead and remained silent.
At first glance, Lin Dong's life story is somewhat similar to that of Dabao and Xiaobao.
"Our two kids are so lucky," Xu Yan seemed to have guessed what Xie Zhuo was thinking. He grabbed his hand and squeezed it, "They met such a good uncle like you, and..."
Xu Yan paused.
"What?" Xie Zhuo asked.
"And I have such a good third aunt," Xu Yan said.
Xie Zhuo was stunned for a moment, then he laughed at her words.
"Isn't it?" Xu Yan stared at him.
"No," Xie Zhuo smiled and shook his head. Seeing Xu Yan's expression as if she would bite him if he smiled again, she said seriously, "The three of us are so lucky to have met you."
Time passed quickly. Lin Dong only stayed at Xie Zhuo's house for one night and never came again.
It snowed for two days in a row. The school had no coal stove, only a few braziers burning wood. The teachers were so cold that they started their winter vacation early.
Dabao and Xiaobao clamored to go to Lin Dong's house to see Lin Dong, but they went there twice and didn't see Lin Dong.
Lin Dong's second aunt was very domineering at home. When she met outsiders, she kept her tail between her legs and dared not raise her head. Because of her identity as a former landlord's wife, she was afraid that the other party would beat or scold her.
"Lin Dong went to my mother's house and won't be back until early spring next year," said Lin Dong's second aunt.
Dabao and Xiaobao were about to ask her where her parents' home was, but they were interrupted by the crying of her youngest son, and then she sent them out of the house.
"We'll see them when school starts next year," Xie Zhuo comforted the two boys.
"Yeah," Dabao and Xiaobao nodded dejectedly.
The two of them also prepared delicious food for Lin Dong.
We can only wait until school starts.
But who would have thought that the new semester had already started for two weeks and there was still no sign of Lin Dong. Dabao and Xiaobao went to Lin Dong's house again, but this time his second aunt simply didn't open the door.
Xie Zhuo went to ask a few neighbors, but they only knew a general idea and were not clear about the specific situation.
"He was sold by his conscienceless uncle and aunt. I heard he sold him to an old widower. The widower's wife couldn't give birth to a son, so he beat her to death. Oh, what a damned thing..."
It was not known whether the neighbor’s words were true or not, but Dabao and Xiaobao did not hear from Lin Dong until the end of spring and the beginning of summer.
The school was also very quiet.
It was so peaceful that the absence of one person wouldn't have any impact at all.
Teacher Feng teaches fourth grade mathematics after teaching first grade arithmetic as usual, and finally gives more difficult knowledge to Dabao and Xiaobao separately.
As usual, Zhao Wenhu brought a group of younger brothers to do bad things.
He either skipped school to hang out in town, or pulled little girls' braids.
until……
A busy but fulfilling semester ends, and a new school year begins as the summer heat fades away.
Dabao and Xiaobao walked into the classroom carrying the beautiful little schoolbags that Xu Yan had just made for them, and found that Lin Dong's desk was occupied by another new student.
On the first day, the new student scraped off the "Lin" that Lin Dong had carved on the table with the tip of a nail with a knife, and carved his own name in a messy way.
Xiaobao leaned over to take a look, but couldn't tell what he had carved.
But Lin Dong's traces were completely wiped out.
After returning home, Xiaobao told Xu Yan about this incident and was still a little depressed.
Dabao was also a little sad, and squatted at Xu Yan's feet holding Kai Xin.
Xu Yan stroked his hair and said, "It's been such a long time, and you're still thinking about him."
"Well," Dabao put Kai Xin back on the ground, reached out to hug Xu Yan's calves, and rested his head on her knees, "I had a dream one night."
"What dream?" Xu Yan touched his head.
In just two years, Dabao and Xiaobao have grown a lot taller, and their hair is not as soft as before. They used to look a bit alike, but now they look very different.
The only thing they have in common is that they are all obviously handsome.
Although they are still two little kids, there are already little girls clinging to them and wanting to play with them.
I heard that a few days ago, when they were playing house, a little girl got into a fight with another girl because she wanted to be Dabao's bride.
"I dreamed," Dabao's words brought Xu Yan back to his senses, "Xiaobao and I were also sold. I was sold to a family. They didn't give me food or clothes. I was very hungry, so I secretly ate some dried sweet potatoes, and then I was almost beaten to death."
Xu Yan was stunned.