As the days passed, Satine took care of Serene carefully. She found that as long as she talked less, did more, and minimized her presence, Serenin would not deliberately trouble her. Her greatest advantage as a stepmother is that she doesn't like to get pleasure from torturing others, which is also Sha Ting's greatest luck. She is just a woman who covets comfort and pleasure, and this weakness of hers can sometimes bring about a turning point in Sha Ting's life. Although it was much later that Sha Ting discovered that Serenin's weakness was a double-edged sword, and using it would definitely cut herself.

Sha Ting remembers that it was the night of the turn of the year she was seven years old. Ya Xun climbed up to the attic and stuffed a broken bag made of oilcloth into Sha Ting's hand.

"Open it and take a look!" The elder brother knelt on the wooden floor and bowed his head to his sister. His face was filled with excitement, and his eyes were dark and shining in the dim attic, "Quick, quick, open it, Sha Ting!" ”

Sha Ting didn't know what her brother was happy about, but she thought it must be a good thing. She smiled and nodded at her brother and untied the strip of cloth that bound the bag.

Inside are ten silver rings, and dozens of copper rings, large and small.

"Look, Shaty! This is what I earned! After I got off work, I helped the boss rub the cables, sew the sails, and went to the port in the morning to peddle them. One hundred days, so much earned! The elder brother proudly told his sister: "I have calculated, this money, plus the small bag of copper rings that my mother gave you, is enough to pay for your tuition for the next semester!" It's three days before school starts after the rotation day, isn't it? We're still in time to pay our fees! ”

Sha Ting's smile froze on her face.

Holding the heavy broken bag, she understood why her brother always left early and returned late, and sometimes even didn't return all night. She understood why her brother's hands were also tied with strips of linen in the summer, and blood was oozing from time to time. She knew that her brother had done everything he could to fulfill his sister's greatest wish, and that he wanted to give her a feeling of safety and security, which they had all felt before her mother died. She didn't dare to look up. She didn't know what expression to put on her brother, and she didn't know how to say those words.

"Shatyne? Hey, Sha Ting, what's wrong with you? The brother put his hands on her shoulders, "Are you too happy?" I didn't say it, I just planned to surprise you! Ha ha! He smirked, the first laugh Sha Ting had seen in a long time.

"Brother, I don't want to go to school now. I think that's good......"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Yaxun interrupted his sister, "That's not good at all! Have you forgotten what the teacher said about you? Have you forgotten what your mom said about you? I've never seen such a smart kid as you! ”

"Brother, my father won't agree!"

"I'll go tell him!" Yaxun puffed out his chest. He had broad shoulders and strong arms, he was tall and strong by the standards of a thirteen-year-old, although he was still a head shorter than Wota, "I can earn money, I will afford your tuition!" I told him! ”

"Brother!" Sha Ting raised her head, tears rolling down, "I don't have any money!" My bag of money is long gone! The money is gone, and I can't afford to pay for my tuition! ”

"What?" Ya Xun showed a puzzled expression. "What does it mean that the money is gone? I've never seen you add anything, Satin? It can't be lost, right? So much money, you've been saving carefully! How could it be lost? ”

Downstairs there was the sound of a door opening door, the "click" of boots and heels stepping on the stone slab, and the loud laughter of his father and the "whoosh" laughter of Serenne covering his mouth.

They went to the Wanyi Temple in Port City today to observe the ceremony, because Serun Yin was about to give birth, so they hired a two-wheeled light carriage.

"It's just lost. Money is lost. Sha Ting tried to stop her tears, but the tears became more rushing, and she sobbed and whispered, "Mom... The morning of Mom's death, I saw that she had recovered a little and was able to... I was able to open my eyes, and I wanted water to drink. I thought she was getting better, so I ran to Cedar Mountain to find Granny Dai and wanted to see... Let's see if my mother-in-law has any special medicine. I'm running back and forth... I... I've been as soon as possible and I'm really... But when I came back, my mother was dead, and my body was cold... I... I tried to cover her with a blanket, but I noticed that the bed had been moved, and the money bag that had been under the pillow was gone! ”

Sha Ting rubbed her eyes and looked up, and through her tears, she read the complicated expressions on her brother's face—confusion, disbelief, and, something heavier than disappointment.

"Bang~啷" The sound of a wine bottle smashing on the ground came from downstairs, "Heaven, earth, man and god are the same, the majestic things are one, the gods bless my ex-wife, and there is no breath in the ground!" Wota chanted aloud, and Serenne applauded exaggeratedly!

Ah Xun roared angrily, turned around and rushed down the attic!

Sha Ting didn't hold him for a moment. She was afraid that the money in her brother's money bag would be discovered by Wota or Serenin, so she hurriedly tied the money bag and hid it behind a loose plank on the roof of the attic before rushing to the plank door!

It's too late. The wooden door was locked by her brother, and she couldn't open it even if she shook it desperately.

A few brief arguments came from downstairs.

There was unconcealed surprise in Wotta's vicious curses, and Yaxun yelled hoarsely!

Sha Ting cried loudly: "Brother, don't say it! My brother let me out! Brother, don't say it again! Ah~~ Who's going to let me out! Dad, it's my fault! Dad, listen to Sha Ting~! ”

But her voice was drowned out by the sound of tables and chairs, benches falling to the ground, and wine bottles shattering! She trembled, and the sound from downstairs made her heart tremble! It was the sound of the body falling on the cupboard, the sound of the head being slammed into the fireplace or windowsill, the uncontrollable muffled moaning of the person being hit by a fist or kick in the abdomen!

Sha Ting screamed, pounding on the wooden door, the protruding joints of her fingers broken, but the thought that her brother was suffering a hundred times the damage made her frenzied thump harder, and the sting from the wound seemed to relieve the pain that was tearing in her heart.

After some time, she finally heard Serenne step forward to dissuade her, and her father stopped, and the door slammed shut.

Sha Ting stumbled down on the small attic window and looked down, and her father strode away. Looking at the direction, he may have gone to the tavern in town or the grocery store at the port for the night.

Then, when Satine heard the deadbolt of the wooden door being pulled open, she ran over in a panic and lifted the door, and saw Serenne standing downstairs, holding a pole carrying water. With a bored look on her face, she said coldly to Sha Ting, "Hurry up and clean up!" Whether your brother is dead or not, you have to move him somewhere! ”