Counting nine cold days, goose feathers and heavy snow swept all over the sky. In the dilapidated courtyard of the farmhouse, a man in a patched jacket squatted under the eaves and smoked a dry cigarette. The weather was too cold, and the man's exposed face was a little purple from the cold. Another cold wind blew, and the man took a puff of dry smoke, as if he was warming himself in this way. Nuan Nuan exhaled a puff of smoke, and he squinted his eyes towards the thatched hut.

Through the crack in the door, Ying Ying could see several people surrounding the kang, and from time to time there was a woman's muffled snort in pain. It seemed that he was a little impatient to wait, and the man opened his mouth and scolded: "Stinky mother-in-law! If you can give birth, you can give birth to the fuck! If you can't give birth, you can hold it back for Lao Tzu! Crooked, what are you calling! ”

The muffled humming in the room stopped instantly, and the man still seemed dissatisfied, standing at the door and cursing to himself. A moment later, a baby's cry came from the room, the sound of a faint mosquito and a fly, apparently not a healthy child. The man knocked the dry tobacco pouch on the earthen wall, turned his head and spit out a mouthful of thick phlegm, and pushed the door open.

The strong smell of blood in the room made him frown: "Bad luck! Dead mother-in-law! After giving birth, hurry up and roll down Lao Tzu and clean up! Do you have a hand? ”

This sentence was apparently addressed to an eight- or nine-year-old girl who was washing her baby next to her. The girl's hand holding the baby trembled visibly, and she said abruptly, "No...... I didn't ...... It's a younger sister. ”

"Fuck it!" As soon as the man heard this, he immediately exploded, rushed forward in a few steps and grabbed the woman's hair on the kang, dragged her to the ground, and kicked her in the stomach several times: "You stinky bitch!" Lao Tzu married you into the door with a bag of rice, you are so fucking angry! It's been a few years! Lao Tzu's fucking dog has given birth to a handle! You rotten bitch! Get lost! Get out of here! ”

After that, the man kicked the woman out of the house like a dead pig, regardless of the cold and snow outside. The woman curled up at the man's feet, not daring to make a sound. He curled up in the doorway, staring at the room with dead gray eyes.

Solving the woman, the man turned his head to stare at the girl in the corner and the kitten-like child in her arms.

"Phew! Two money-losing goods! The man shouted angrily, "Lao Tzu will kill you two today!" Eat Lao Tzu, drink Lao Tzu! You can't fucking earn it back! What's the use of keeping you guys! ”

The girl's big eyes were full of horror, and she hugged the baby in her arms tightly and shrank back: "Daddy, daddy, don't kill us!" Please, Dad! You let your sister and mother go! I...... I'm going to make money tomorrow! Please, don't kill us! ”

Hearing the word "making money", the man stopped and looked at the girl carefully. Then, he spat out a mouthful of thick phlegm: "Take the money-losing goods and roll to the firewood room." Pack up early tomorrow morning and go to town with Lao Tzu. ”

The girl exhaled softly, and subconsciously clenched her sister's arms. She didn't think about what tomorrow would bring, at least now that they were alive and could see the sun tomorrow.

This year's winter night was extremely cold, not to mention a goose feather snowfall that had been falling all day, and now it has not stopped. In such weather, they couldn't pick up dry firewood, so the mother and daughter hid in the corner of the firewood room, but they didn't dare to burn a single piece of wood to keep warm. The girl's clothes were thin, and her lips were purple from the cold, but she still protected her mother and newborn sister behind her, and used her thin body to shield them from the cold wind.

"Tomorrow...... Your dad took you to town? The woman spoke, her voice hoarse and weak.

"Hmmm......"

“…… Eldest sister, don't go tomorrow, take your sister and run for your life at dawn! The woman struggled to grasp the girl's hand, as if pleading.

The child of the poor family has no name, her father's surname is Hua, and the eldest sister of the Hua family is her name. “…… Don't go ...... will die...... "The eldest sister of the Hua family was silent for a while, "My sister is so young, if she escapes, she can only die." I'll go to town tomorrow, and if I can make some money, you and my sister will be able to live." ”

The woman was silent, she knew that the eldest sister was right. She was a useless woman, and the man had exchanged her from her father with a small bag of rice. To her, getting married is nothing more than jumping from one fire pit to another. She didn't want her two daughters to suffer like this again, but she couldn't think of a way to do it. Maybe sacrificing one daughter can be exchanged for the peace of another daughter!

The three of them didn't say anything all night, and they survived in the cold wind for a night. Early the next morning, the eldest sister of the Hua family went to the town with her father. There was no one in the house, and the woman carefully carried the baby into the house. Last night's hot kang was still dissipating residual warmth, she gently put the child down on the kang, covered the quilt for her, and looked at it in a daze, and did not speak.

After a long time, the baby seemed to warm up and let out a slight cry. The woman hurriedly picked up the child and unbuttoned her shirt to breastfeed. But she herself is skinny, how can she have any milk to feed her children. The baby couldn't smack it after a few bites. The child's cat-like cry pierced the woman's heart like a pinprick. If a child is still so young, he will have to suffer like this, how will he live in the future?

Thinking of this, she reached out and covered the baby's mouth and nose, thinking that it would be better to be a hundred now, rather than suffering in the future. But looking at the baby's red and purple face, she suddenly let go of her hand and hugged the child tightly. Either way, it's her child!

She gently patted the baby's back, and her voice choked: "My sister is going to make money, and when my sister comes back, I will have something to eat...... This is for the child, but it is also for herself.

No one knows how the eldest sister of the Hua family survived this day, and when the woman saw her at night, she was already about to collapse. A small face was miserable and pale, and the neck that was not covered by the placket was covered with bruises and purple bruises.

The man didn't bomb them tonight, because the man wasn't at home tonight. The eldest sister of the Hua family walked back by herself. Looking at the woman and the baby, she held back her tears, smiled and took out a few steamed buns from her arms: "Mother, eat!" ”

……

The eldest sister of the Hua family repeats the same life every day, and she gets more and more money. By the time the family moved to the town, the second child of the Hua family was already thirteen years old. Because the second child of the Hua family is always accompanied by a yellow-haired dog, everyone calls her Hua Ergou.

"You little hoof! Hurry up and get out of the house! The man saw Hua Ergou eavesdropping outside the town school from a distance, and couldn't help but scold, "You lose money!" Let Lao Tzu see you come here again, Lao Tzu will break your dog's legs! ”

Hua Ergou glanced at the man viciously, and ran away with the yellow-haired dog's head without looking back. She never regarded this man as her father, never!

Ever since she could remember, this man hadn't given their mothers a good look, and they beat and scolded at every turn. However, he has never done anything to the eldest sister, and the family's money now depends on the eldest sister, and he can't beat the eldest sister.

In the future, I will be like my eldest sister and earn a lot of money! No more looking at people's faces! You can also sit in the school and study! Although Hua Ergou is small, she has already set a goal in life, which is to make money. In her eyes, men are always unreliable. She shouldn't be like her mother, who has been bullied for the rest of her life.

"Flower two...... The second sister of the flower family. A voice sounded behind Hua Ergou.

Hua Ergou stopped and was stunned for a moment. The second sister of the Hua family? It seems that no one has ever called her that, everyone else calls her Hua Ergou. Turning around, a young man stood outside the school, in a green cloth robe, holding a paper fan in his hand, who else could it be if it wasn't Ning Xiucai in the school?

"Call me?" Hua Ergou pointed to himself uncertainly.

Ning Xiucai nodded and beckoned to her: "It's you, you come here." ”

Hua Ergou scratched his head, although he couldn't figure out what Ning Xiucai was going to do, he still walked over according to his words. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your lectures." Hua Ergou kicked the stone under his feet, "It's a big deal, I won't come in the future." ”

Ning Xiucai didn't answer, and paused for a while before asking, "Yesterday I talked about the rhyme, do you understand?" ”

Hua Ergou was stunned for a moment: "How do you know that I was here yesterday?" ”

Ning Xiucai snorted and didn't answer: "You said that you understand." ”

"Got it, got it!" Hua Ergou nodded, "I have memorized all the songs you said yesterday." The sky is against the earth, the rain is against the wind, the continent is against the sky, the mountain flowers are against the sea trees, and the red sun is against the sky......"

Hua Ergou crackled and carried a bunch of them, and Ning Xiucai didn't interrupt, but the expression on his face became more and more complicated. It wasn't until Hua Ergou had finished reciting them all that he sighed lightly: "Listen at the door later, don't squat out the window." Also, although you are an observer, you can't fall behind in your daily homework, and if you are lazy once, you don't have to come again. ”

Hua Ergou was stunned as if he had been struck by lightning, did pie fall from the sky? Is he talking to me?

"Did you hear me?" Ning Xiucai barked a few times in a row, but Hua Ergou didn't respond, so he had to shout.

Hua Ergou came back to his senses at this time, and nodded hurriedly, for fear that Ning Xiucai would regret it: "Words count!" I'll be here early tomorrow morning! You can't change your mind! ”

After getting Ning Xiucai's quasi-letter, Hua Ergou ran out happily like a bird, and after running for less than two steps, he fell into the grass and made trouble with the yellow-haired dog. Ning Xiucai looked at her, sighed slightly, and shook her head. was about to turn around and go back, but saw Mr. Xia from the school come out of it.

"Do you really want her to come and listen?" Mr. Xia frowned, "The girl of the Hua family has a bad reputation. Not a serious person. ”

"She is her, and the eldest sister of the Hua family is the eldest sister of the Hua family." Ning Xiucai said, "They have an eldest sister in their family, so there is no need to take another one." This kid is gifted. ”

Mr. Xia shook his head: "Okay, Zuo is just an observer, whatever you want." It's just that...... It's hard! A family like the Hua family, what else can a golden phoenix not come out of? ”

Ning Xiucai didn't speak, just watched Hua Ergou leave while fighting, with a complicated expression.

In the evening, there was no one in the school, but Ning Xiucai still sat on the chair and did not leave. After a while, a woman with a slender figure and picturesque eyebrows knocked on the door: "Mr. Ning, the slave family has come to thank you." ”