The cold winds of early August do not have the power to defeat the leaves of ginger. They are also on the gentle slopes of Cedar Mountain, with large palm-like leaves stretched on top of each other. Sha Ting picked out those plump and juicy leaves and picked them, and the small rattan basket on her waist was full in about half an hour.

As she descended the mountain, she walked along the winding mountain road, and at the foot of the mountain, the road gradually widened, and through the sparse trees, she could see the light of the lights in the windows of her hut.

Sha Ting ran anxiously.

She first walked around to the messy backyard. The apple tree stood there with its head down, it used to have a flourishing canopy, and it produced beautiful red apples every year, but now it was dead. What used to be a sheepfold and a chicken coop under the tree has become a rotten plank in the grass and a stinking mud pile. From there, Sharten picked up a bundle of firewood and carried it on her shoulder, which she had secretly hidden here yesterday. She hurried back to the well at the head of the house, where the barrel was still where she had put it down the day. She fetched a bucket full of water and headed home.

Pushing open the door, my father's heavy snoring came from the bedroom, he was as drunk yesterday as ever, and it would be a while before he got up. The fire in the fireplace has long been extinguished, and only ashes remain. An oil lamp was lit on the wooden table, and the flickering light illuminated the face of a woman beside it.

Threyn sat there. One hand supports the cheeks, and the other hand taps on the wooden table in turns, long nails scraping against the tabletop, making a clattering sound. She was squinting at Sha Ting, who had just entered the house.

"I went to the mountains to collect some firewood and fetch water along the way. It's windy outside, and it's cold inside, right? Sha Ting spoke before she could speak, "Please wait a moment, I'll raise the fire right away." ”

Sha Ting put the bucket in the kitchen and walked back to the fireplace to crouch. She skillfully threw the igniter into the hearth, plucked tiny branches from the pyre and gradually added them, and soon the orange flames were blazing.

Sørenin walked over to the fireplace, and Satine found her standing on the cold stone floor with no shoes on, only thin cotton socks. Sha Ting stood up and silently walked into her father's bedroom, where she was still asleep, and picked out a pair of soft-soled pink wool slippers from a large pile of various shoes under the bed. She had also taken a small blanket from the bed as she left, and she had just noticed that Serene was wearing her newly purchased pink linen woven slip dress, which was beautiful but not suitable for today's cold weather.

"Put it on, Mother." Sha Ting put her shoes at her feet and tucked the shawl into her arms, "I'll make breakfast." ”

The cupboard for food was more than half empty, but the cupboard for wine was still full. Sha Ting scooped a bowl of flour into the basin, scooped another bowl of water from the bucket and poured it in, and began to stir the noodles.

She heard the sound of her shoes dragging behind her, and Seren followed. Sha Ting didn't look back. She could imagine the way she was leaning against the kitchen door looking at her.

Compared to when Sathine first met Serene eleven years ago, the woman had aged a lot. Silver strands appeared in the naturally curly black hair, and deep folds appeared under the big black eyes that always threw amorous autumn waves. The only daughter of a ruined merchant captain, the widow of an ordinary salt merchant, she was once a petite black-haired beauty, but now she is no longer beautiful, but she still likes to have fun and taunt Satine.

"I didn't see you in the morning, I thought you were gone!" There was a hint of defiance in her languid voice.

"How could I not say goodbye, Mother." Satine replied.

"The people who are going to Jinwuin today are still standing here cooking for us." She pressed her tongue against her teeth, and her mouth made a "tsk" sound, "Who would believe it?!" ”

"Haven't I always been like this, Mother. I should take care of you. Sha Ting replied.

"I know, you're just piggybacking on me." She let out a long sigh with a little pompousness, "How can I have such a good life, isn't it because of your father's blessing?" You should honor your father! Sell your property, just to let your ignorant little daughter go to God of War Island to see the world and see those high-ranking witches. If he hadn't raised you so well, would you have been able to go to the Golden Crow? Gods have mercy, why don't I have such good luck, I'm at this age, and I've only been to Whale Wave City at the farthest, but you went to God of War Island at the age of five! She made another "tsk" sound.

Sha Ting gritted her teeth and kept silent, and used chopsticks to break the gnocchi in the batter one by one.

"Your father is willing to sell his property just so that you can go to the Isle of War to see the world."

This is a topic that is often on the lips of Serenin. This shows that she has experienced a lot of grievances in this family and has not received enough attention.

In fact, the family property sold at that time was earned by my mother's hard work in running a pharmacy, in order to raise money for what my father called "a big business that can make the whole family live a good life". After that, it was also her mother who proposed to take Sha Ting and her brother to God of War Island. The father firmly disagreed with the disabled son who would make him embarrassed, and only agreed to take Sha Ting with him. And they set off long in advance of that journey, took the slowest boat, saved money along the way, and stayed in the most shabby inn on the Isle of War, spending only a fraction of that money.

Despite that, being in the ceremony in the Champ de Mars was indeed the happiest and most shining moment in Sha Ting's gloomy life.

On that day, my mother grabbed a position against the railing in the stands by the Champ de Mars Square, far away from the statue of the God of War in the center of the square. But at the ceremony where the crowds were crowded and the five islands were celebrated together, it was already a good position. Mom asked Xiao Shating to stand on the railing, she hugged her tightly from behind, and pointed to her: "Look at my daughter, the one wearing a big red dress in the middle is our hot spring hall, and her daughter is standing next to her, um~ Why do I think she doesn't seem to be as tall as my daughter." The white-clad man was Lord Alder, and standing with her was her husband, the leader of the Burning Legion. Ah, the one waving the battle flag seems to be their child! Is it a son or a daughter? I can't see it clearly. Look at Sha Ting, look! That tall old woman, that's Lord Morimori! Even she's here! Wow, it was so well worth it! The boy she was taking with her seemed to be her grandson. Why are you so skinny?! He's not as strong as your brother, is he? ”

Mom kept pointing and explaining to Sha Ting.

Reliving the memories of that time, Sha Ting had no envy of the glittering witches, the generals, or their perfectly lucky children. She only envied herself at that time. Because she was hugged tightly by her mother, the two of them laughed and felt each other's warm familiar body temperature, and the same long gray hair was tangled in the wind.

After the ceremony, things have not been smooth.

The father was very upset. Because Mom can tell the big names under the statue of the god of war by their clothes and where they stand. This is what Granny Dai once taught her. She has also been telling Sha Ting various legends about the god of war, the god of the moon, and the god of death. That's what she read in a book at Granny Cindy's house. His father listened sullenly from the side, angry that he didn't understand anything but to look at it blindly, and was jealous of his wife's knowledge and talents.

He muttered in the crowd and cursed the only big man he recognized, the commander of the God of War Island, Hades King Long Ran. Before becoming the commander of the army, Long Ran devoted himself to exterminating the pirates active in the Endless Sea. It is said that Sha Ting's grandfather was one of the most prestigious of them. The wealth and surname gained through the robbery were lost along with their lives in an encounter with the Burning Legion under Long Ran. As a result, his father was reduced from a young master of the Bahu chief's family to an ordinary young man wandering around Poseidon Island with no surname and no property. Recalling the once glorious family, lamenting that his ill-fated fate made his mood even more depressed, he kept complaining that his mother shouldn't spend money and effort to come to this kind of place to join in the fun.

When her parents were in awkwardness, Sha Ting was attracted by the fruits in the Ares Island market.

It is a persimmon made in a special way, and when the wine is pickled, the sour flavor of the persimmon is completely removed, and it becomes sweet and soft. The persimmon seller gave Sha Ting a small bite, and she was immediately conquered by the special sweetness with a slight aroma of wine. She thought that her brother Ah Xun liked to eat all kinds of sweet things, and she thought that when she was tasting new and delicious food on God of War Island, her brother was still endlessly weaving cables in the small shop in Smoky Town, so she clamored to buy a few.

The father turned away in annoyance. After asking the price of persimmons, my mother also frowned and shook her head at Sha Ting.

Sha Ting stubbornly stood still and did not leave, she must buy it.

The mother was also a little angry: "Daughter, if you can, your mother wants to buy you anything you want." But we can't afford the price of this fruit. ”

Sha Ting cried and said that her brother would definitely like to eat such things.

Mom's face showed a look of regret and guilt. She took off her pearl earrings and consulted with the vendor, who handed them a bag of persimmons. Sha Ting was a little overwhelmed, because she knew that the pair of earrings, as well as the thin gold ring on her mother's hand and the silk dress on her body, were gifts from her father who spent all his savings when she got married.

In order to participate in the celebration of the inauguration of the statue of the god of war, Mom ceremoniously dressed her best.

On the boat back to Poseidon Island, my father discovers that my mother's pearl earrings are missing. When he learned that his mother had exchanged the earrings for a bag of fruit, the two of them had the most heated argument ever. Sha Ting clung to the pouch of persimmons and wept silently in the musty corner of the cabin. That was the first time she realized that getting what she wanted doesn't have to be happy.