The sky has completely darkened, and the silence around the corner of the courtyard is panicking, and from time to time there are the footsteps of pedestrians behind them from far to near, from near to far.

I looked at the helpless little girl in front of me, sighed softly, took out my mobile phone, and wanted to call the scumbag brother, but found that the phone was out of battery, I shook my head helplessly, and said softly: "Little girl, have you eaten?" ”

She looked at me in a daze, her hands on her knees, her whole body cowering at the base of the wall, her chapped lips were extremely dry, her clear eyes sparkling in the dark, her lips were pursed, and her immature cheeks were full of sad past.

I saw that she did not speak, so I could only get up slowly and walk towards the yard, and after walking a few steps, she choked up and said, "I, I'm hungry." ”

A faint smile rose at the corner of my mouth, turned around, and stretched out my hand to her: "Let's go, uncle will take you to dinner." ”

She raised her head, rubbed her red eyes, hesitated for a moment, got up and grabbed my hand, and walked slowly in the direction of the courtyard.

In the courtyard, Qin Yan and Brother Scumbag were very busy, and the fragrance of the vegetables was overflowing, and I couldn't help but swallow my saliva.

"Hey, whose child is this?"

Qin Yan held a plate in his hand, walked up to me, and looked at the little girl standing beside me, her face full of doubt.

Brother Scum, humming a little song, with an apron hanging on his chest, standing by the stove, is making a stir-fried squid that everyone likes to eat, he squinted his eyes, and his expression was unusually pleasant.

"Qin Li, is there any ready-made food, let's serve it first."

I pulled the little girl and asked her to sit on the bench.

But the little girl hid behind me, looking at the stranger in front of her, looking panicked and trembling.

"Wang Tao, whose child is this?"

Brother Scumbag took the plate in Qin Li's hand, glanced at the little girl, and then poured the fried squid in the wok into the plate.

"You were squatting in the corner of the courtyard, and you didn't see it when you came back?"

"The black light is blinding, who looks at the corner of the courtyard, let her eat something first, this child must be hungry."

Brother Scumbag gave Qin Yan a look and motioned for him to serve food to the little girl.

Qin Yi comprehended, hurriedly walked to the cupboard, took a bowl, opened the rice cooker, and filled a bowl of fragrant white rice.

I brought the fried squid to the little girl's table, hurried into the basement, and found two salted duck eggs on the bedside table.

"Yo, this kid is really hungry, tsk."

Brother Slag washed his hands by the pool, walked to the side of the board again, and shredded the shallots that Qin Tong had washed, preparing to make a spicy clam.

The little girl sat on a bench, holding chopsticks in her hand, gobbling it up like a hungry tiger, gulping it down.

I charged my phone, just turned it on, and saw two WeChat messages, I clicked on it to check, it was sent by Zhang Xueyao, she said that she couldn't come to dinner today, the workload was too great, so she could only make an appointment another day.

I was a little frustrated, but after thinking about it, Zhang Xueyao helped me make so much money, it would be more reliable to go out and invite her to a big meal another day, I replied: Okay, you are busy first, there are no good dishes at home, and when you have time another day, I will invite you out for a big meal.

Putting down the phone, I walked to the yard, the little girl was eating the second bowl of rice, she just lowered her head and ate violently, the rice stuck to her face but didn't know it, I boiled a pot of water with a quick boiling kettle, poured it in a cup and served it to her.

"Eat slowly, no one will rob you."

I pinched the rice off her cheek and sat down next to her, thinking about what to do tomorrow.

Brother Slag made a total of four dishes, the first dish is stir-fried squid, but it has been eaten up by the little girl, the second dish is spicy clams, the third dish is steamed conch, and the fourth dish is the next meal, fried okra with eggs.

"What are you going to do?"

Brother Scumbag sat down, picked up a cigarette from the table, lit it, and took a deep breath.

I looked at the little girl, she was eating with relish, and from time to time she would burp, and sighed lightly and said, "It's so late, let her stay here for a night, tomorrow I will lead her to the police station to see if there are any missing persons, she is dressed now, she must have been away from home for a long time." ”

"I'm not going to the police."

The little girl put down her chopsticks and looked up at me, a hint of sadness flashing in her eyes.

Brother Scumbag glanced at her, stood up and walked in front of her, and the little girl hurriedly drilled behind me.

Brother Scumbag squatted down, lowered his voice and said, "Little girl, it's okay not to go to the police station, but you have to tell us where your home is and what your parents' names are, so that we can help you find your family." ”

The little girl was holding the corner of my dress behind me, and I turned to look at her, her eyes were already overflowing with tears, and I felt a little sad to see it.

"Brother scumbag, she may be too tired, let's ask these words tomorrow."

I turned around, put my hands on the little girl's shoulders, and whispered, "Little girl, let's finish the meal first, and there will be no leftovers." ”

I wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, let her sit on the bench, and then turned back to Qin Li and said, "Qin Li, I went to buy beer just now, but I didn't buy it when my phone was turned off, you go to the opposite store to buy two dozen beers." ”

Qin Yan kept standing there and looking at us, his expression was a little sluggish, and he came back to his senses when he heard me call him.

"Oh, good."

Qin Li picked up his mobile phone from the table and hurriedly walked out of the courtyard.

The little girl was finally full, and she sat down on the bench in a proper manner, her head bowed, and her hands were clenched tightly, and her joints were already white, and her expression was depressed, and my heart hurt as if it had been cut by a knife.

Qin Yi came back with two dozen beers, and when he saw that we had no intention of eating, he asked timidly, "Well, let's eat too." ”

"Okay, Xiaotao, you go to the basement and bring the liquor, there is still a bottle left, under my bed."

Brother Slag placed the dishes and chopsticks on the table.

As soon as I got up, the little girl grabbed the corner of my dress, raised her little head, and looked at me with blank eyes.

I smiled bitterly, crouched down and whispered, "Uncle go to the basement to get a bottle of wine, and I'll be back soon." ”

After hearing this, her hands were still clenched very tightly, and she did not relax at all, she bit her lower lip tightly, and her expression was extremely sad.

I had no choice but to take her hand and go back to the basement together, turn on the light, and I got down and found a bottle of wine under the bed of the scumbag.

I pulled out a tissue from the bed, wiped the bottle, looked at the little girl, and chuckled, "Have you eaten enough?" ”

She nodded, and looked around again.

"This is where my uncle lives, so you can sleep here tonight."

I threw the tissues in the trash and prepared to walk out of the basement.

She followed me and suddenly asked, "What about tomorrow?" ”

I stopped and thought to myself, yes, after tonight, where should I go tomorrow, should I send her to the police station, or put up a missing person notice, or leave her behind?

I shook my head, turned around and said, "There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, and God has its own virtue of good life." ”

"What do you mean?"

She pursed her lips, a hint of confusion running across her face.

I pinched her smooth face and said with a smile: "Just take it one step at a time, if you refuse to tell me where your home is, even if I help you, I can't do it." ”

After hearing this, her expression was extremely aggrieved, and she slowly lowered her head, as if she wanted to talk about a thousand words, but when the words came to her mouth, she swallowed them back raw.

I squatted down and asked in an extremely gentle tone, "Do you have any troubles, tell your uncle that it must be your duty to help you, okay?" ”

She still kept her head bowed, silent, her body trembling slightly, and tears were like beads of broken thread, dripping across her cheeks and onto the hem of her tattered garment.

My heart ached, I sighed, slowly got up, and walked out.

"I'm an orphan."

She choked up, as if she didn't want to bring up the sad past.

I stopped again, the wine bottle in my hand was a little trembling, as soon as I mentioned orphans, I remembered Xue Xinyan, the girl who was homeless on the street many years ago, the girl who guarded me at the bedside for eight years without hesitation, every time in my dreams, her smile would dilute those unbearable pasts.

"I was abandoned by my parents when I was born, it was an old grandfather who took me home, he had no children and no daughters, and his health was not good, I followed him to pick up garbage to eat, just last year, he had esophageal cancer, he didn't eat or drink, thin like a straw, I went out to beg, begged all over the neighbors, they just looked, no one will really help him, this year's May Day, he died, I went to the police uncle, they helped him handle the afterlife, and arranged me in a neighbor's house, everyone donated some money to the neighbors, The neighbors treated me badly, often beat me and scolded me, saying that I was a little Hanako, and I ran out in a fit of anger, and they didn't look for me, and I didn't want to go back. ”

I listened more and more worried, walked to the bed, pulled out two tissues, helped her dry her tears, and with tear stains on her dark cheeks, I asked softly, "What's your name and how old are you this year?" ”

I sobbed and said, "Grandpa called me Xiao Ran, I'm nine years old this year." ”

"Did Grandpa teach you to read and write?"

"Grandpa himself is illiterate, and he doesn't have the money to send me to study, so I usually like to draw comics."

She sniffed, and her mood calmed down a lot.

"Wang Tao, why did you kid go? Why is it so slow? ”

Brother Scum's big voice sounded outside, with extreme displeasure in his tone.

I smiled bitterly, looked at her and said, "Uncle is going to eat, do you want to eat?" ”

She pursed her lips and nodded slightly.

On the long table, Qin Yan sat near the corner of the table, Brother Scumbag was next to him, followed by me, and Xiao Ran sat next to me.

"Young man, you just moved here, and you have to practice hard in the future."

Brother Scumbag picked up the liquor, bumped the glass with Qin Li, raised his head and drank half a cup, Qin Li was frightened, but it was not easy to refuse, so he could only frown and take a small sip.

"Brother scumbag, how long have you been living here?"

Qin Yan took a piece of okra and put it in his mouth and chewed it.

"It's been many years, when I first moved here, this yard has not hardened, and when it rains, the yard is muddy, and then the landlord's conscience found out, so he paved it with square bricks."

Xiao Ran put her hands on the table, as if she was a little afraid of Brother Scum, whenever Brother Slag looked over, she subconsciously shrank behind me.

I sandwiched a piece of scrambled eggs for Xiao Ran, leaned into her ear and said, "Don't be afraid of him, he is a good friend of his uncle, you can call him Uncle Scum in the future, come, shout." ”

Her face was full of embarrassment, and I gave her another look, signaling her not to be afraid.

She sat upright, as if she had mustered up enough courage, and after hesitating for a moment, she shouted: "Good uncle scum." ”

Brother Zag and Qin Yi were stunned, looking at each other, and after a while, they erupted in a piercing laugh.

Xiao Ran's face was red, he hid behind me, he didn't dare to come out, the scumbag brother shouted quickly, Qin Yan drank five confusions, the root of his tongue was straight, only I was not drunk, because I seemed to have another responsibility on my body.