The two mothers-in-law, one fat and one thin, walked to the grove outside the house against the cold wind, the Mai woman looked excited, she giggled and said to the fat woman: "Sister Hua'er, go this way, Lan girl is collecting firewood in the grove over there, that girl is very thin, you can pick her up with one hand, if she wants to make a force, add a rope to her, and lead her away." ”

The fat on Sister Hua'er's face trembled, and she muttered: "It's a strong wind, you shout twice, call that girl back, the old lady doesn't have time to look around with you"

When the Mai woman heard this, she immediately nodded like garlic: "That's it, today's wind thief is big, you can't stand the fat, and my meatless skeleton is about to freeze and fall apart." ”

Sister Hua'er took a sip and said, "What are you talking about, call someone back to me!"

The Mai woman really put her hand on the horn and shouted in the direction of the north wind: "Lan girl, Lan girl, come back quickly...... Your dad passed out..... Come back soon!"

After she yelled loudly a few times, she reached out and rubbed her aching throat, swallowed her saliva, and said in a dumb voice: "Okay, this girl is a filial baby, she will appear in half an hour, let's find a sheltered place to stand first, Sister Hua'er, my stomach is empty, and I don't have the strength to stand with you in the cold wind." ”

Sister Hua'er gathered the thick cotton jacket on her body and followed the Mai woman to the back of a dirt slope.

"Do you still have such children in your village? Jiudao Villa needs a lot of slaves every year, you have also heard that there is a big gold mine hidden in the mountain behind their Zhuangzi, which requires a lot of hands to dig, you follow this leprosy ghost, you can't eat enough, why don't you find a child of this size for me in the future, both men and women, I will give you a 100% rebate, enough for your family of three to eat and drink, how?"

The Mai woman's sparse eyebrows were raised, she shrunk her thin shoulders, and said with an embarrassed expression: "It's okay for me to find you, but you have to be willing to sell them! You can't forcibly tie people up with ropes, can you? ”

Sister Hua'er snorted, and was about to speak, when the Mai woman already shouted, "Here, that girl has come running." ”

On the white snow, a thin girl appeared, carrying a bundle of branches about her size, staggering against the wind, and behind her was a boy older than her, carrying a bundle of larger branches in pursuit.

"Xiaolan, the wind is too strong, you run slower, otherwise you will fall. ”

"Brother Xiong Chen...... Daddy, my dad passed out, I'm going back to see him!"

The snow was so thick that the girl could only run forward with one foot deep and one foot shallow, and the boy behind caught up and put a rabbit in her hand.

"Xiaolan, you take this hare back and make some soup for your father, uncle may be hungry and faint, just eat something." ”

The little girl looked at the rabbit in her hand, the rabbit was not big, it was estimated to be just over a catty, she looked at the boy with the same sallow face, and hesitated: "You also want to eat...... I don't want to. ”

The boy couldn't help but tie the rabbit to the tree behind her, and by the way, he unloaded the bundle of firewood from her back and held it to his chest with both hands.

"I'll help you bring the firewood back, and you run slowly, or you'll fall and get hurt again." ”

The little girl glanced at him and said in a low voice, "Thank you, Brother Xiong Chen." ”

Thinking about her father, she turned around and ran home.

The Mai woman's eyes lit up, she pulled Sister Hua'er's sleeve, got out from behind the dirt slope, and shouted: "Lan girl, come here, the firewood rabbit will bring me home to make soup first." ”

Xiao Lan's eyes followed the sound to Tupo, her little face was red from the cold, her eyebrows were beautiful, her eyes were clear, and her nose and mouth were perfectly matched, Sister Hua'er couldn't help but praise: "This little girl looks really good, but it's a pity that she was born in the wrong place, and she fell into such a poor family like you, and she was such a mean second mother like you." ”

The Mai woman's face turned red for no reason, and she sneered: "Sister Hua'er, where are you, it was her own father who said that she couldn't afford to raise it, so it was better to sell it so that she could find a way to live, you see, such a peugeot little girl, with us, wouldn't it bury her? You sent her to that Jiudao Villa, maybe it gave her a bright road, this is a great good thing!"

Sister Hua'er stepped forward with a smile, stopped Xiao Lan, looked at it carefully for a while, and nodded: "It really looks like a Peugeot!"

The Mai woman smiled and said: "It's good, it's just that she's lost a little weight, as long as she gets a little fat and puts on a satin dress, she is a little beauty who is loved by everyone, I said Sister Hua'er, you sent her to Jiudao Villa as a slave, is it a waste?"

Sister Hua'er snorted and said, "Xiucai lady, your heart is really unusually black! Such a little girl, if you are sent to the Qinglou, it is a crime! Although my sister Hua'er is a personal trafficker, she is also a human trafficker with a conscience, how about selling you to the Qinglou?"

The boy behind had already arrived, he put down the bundle of firewood in his hand, and unloaded the bundle he was carrying on his shoulder, and pushed it to the Mai woman together, and said loudly: "You can also take my bundle of firewood, the north wind is blowing strongly these days, you don't let Xiaolan go to the woods alone to collect firewood, the snow is very deep inside, and if you are not careful, you will fall into the cave, which is very dangerous." ”

The Mai woman took down the thin rabbit tied to the branch, weighed it, and said with a disdainful face: "Such a small rabbit is not enough to stuff her teeth, hehe, Brother Chen, with you accompanying Lan Yatou to collect firewood, she can't fall into the cave, right?"

Xiao Lan was worried about her father, and when she saw them muttering, she wanted to bypass the two and go home.

The Mai woman shook her body and blocked Xiao Lan's way, Xiao Lan seemed to be afraid of her, and took a step back before timidly asking, "Erniang, what's wrong with my father?"

The Mai woman patted her forehead and grinned, "It's okay, didn't Brother Chen say it---- she fainted from hunger." ”

Xiao Lan's mouth flattened, and she forcibly held back the tears rolling in her eyes, and ran home, Sister Hua'er grabbed her with one hand, and giggled: "Little girl, where are you going? Your father has sold you to me, go with me." ”

The Mai woman picked up a bundle of firewood in one hand, turned around and ran home: "Sister Hua'er, I called to you, how to take it away is your business, I still have to go home to boil water and kill rabbits, I will not accompany you." ”

Xiao Lan's arm was pulled by Sister Hua'er's spicy pain, she used her other hand to break Sister Hua'er's fat fingers, and shouted, "Who are you? Why are you pulling me? I want to go home to see Daddy!"

Sister Hua'er giggled and said: "Your name is Xiaolan, I am Sister Hua'er of Yuanzhou, from this moment on, you are my person, your father and Erniang are not good goods, you will only suffer with him, Xiaolan, you will obediently go with Sister Hua'er, are you hungry, I will take you to the market in front of you to eat a bowl of shredded meat noodles." ”

Xiao Lan glared at Sister Hua'er, she didn't know this fat woman, she only knew that her arm was clutched by her, and it hurt badly.

Listening to her rattling voice non-stop, Xiao Lan was shocked and frightened, and shouted, "You lie to people, let me go." After speaking, he lowered his head and took a strong bite on the back of Sister Hua'er's fat hand.