The heartstrings that had been tense for several days suddenly relaxed, and Shen Jiumei and Shen Qiubao slept in the east ear room of the main house. In the afternoon of the next day, Shen Qiubao was the first to wake up. He was awakened by hunger.

Rubbing his hazy sleepy eyes, he was a little dazed - where is this!

"Thank goodness I'm finally awake!" Grandma's joyful voice rang in my ears.

At this time, he suddenly remembered that he followed his eldest sister to his aunt.

When he opened his eyes, he saw his aunt sitting on the edge of the bed with a smile on her face. The latter still had a white cloth towel wrapped around his head and a sickly face.

In the blink of an eye, he saw the eldest sister leaning sideways inward, facing him, sleeping on the outside. It should have been woken up by the movement on the bed, and the eldest sister snorted, turned over and lay flat, blinking her eyes.

All along, Qiu Bao slept with the eldest sister, yes, he knew that the eldest sister had woken up, so he simply turned over and got up, sat in the quilt and shouted: "Grandma." ”

"Qiu Bao is good!" Grandma picked up the long coat and trousers that were placed on the bedside and asked, "Will Qiu Bao dress herself?"

"Yes. Qiu Bao honestly took the clothes, put on the coat first, bowed his head and skillfully tied the cloth buttons.

At this time, Shen Jiumei also woke up completely. She slept in only a small coat and underwear, and in front of her aunt and grandmother, she was a little shy, her face was red, and she greeted softly in the bed: "Auntie." ”

"You've slept for about two days and one night. Are you hungry?" said my aunt and grandmother, standing up on her knees, and laughing, "I don't know how long you'll sleep, but the food is always hot in the kitchen." I'll go and get them to bring it. ”

"Thank you, Grandma. The two children thanked each other in unison.

The smile on my aunt's face was a little stiff. She sighed, waved her hand and said, "Good boy...... What is polite to my aunt and grandmother. With that, he picked up the wooden staff leaning on the side of the bed and staggered out.

Not long after, a servant woman with a raw eye brought them food with a large three-tiered food box.

Two large bowls of white rice, a sea bowl of steaming meatball soup, a bowl of stir-fried greens, and a bowl of fragrant chicken thighs.

Wow, this is a good meal that you can't eat during the Chinese New Year!

Qiu Bao is like thunder again, and his tongue is full of relish. For a moment, he couldn't hold back, cheered and threw himself on the table, picked up a chicken leg, and munched on it happily.

Shen Jiumei smiled and thanked the servant, and gave Qiu Bao a small bowl of soup: "Eat slowly, don't choke." "In Bai Shengsheng's porcelain bowl, there are a total of four big chicken thighs that are burnt brown, which is absolutely enough!

In the end, they were hungry, and the sisters and brothers worked together, and it didn't take long for the bowl to bottom.

After eating, the servant woman cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks and took them to the main house to see their aunt and grandmother.

Still in the bedroom. My aunt and grandmother were crooked at the head of the bed. Uncle Cousin is also there. He sat in front of the bed, took a small blue and white bowl, and was feeding his aunt and grandmother with a spoon.

Seeing the two of them coming in, my aunt motioned to my cousin to take the bowl and beckoned, "Come here, come and sit on the bed." ”

The room was filled with the smell of medicinal soup.

Shen Qiubao didn't like it very much. He frowned, and ran over with a worried "Boom", looking up at his aunt: "Auntie, you are eating bitter medicine soup, right? Where are you uncomfortable? Qiu Bao will give you a whee, and it will be fine immediately." "When grandma has a headache and doesn't want to eat bitter medicine soup, she always makes him snort. And every time he called it, grandma was fine.

"Good boy...... aunt's tears fell, choked and leaned over to hug the little person, "Grandma just caught a cold at night, so she wasn't sick." It's good to see Qiu Bao. ”

Shen Jiumei stepped forward and said "Grandma" with concern. She is a big girl, embarrassed to throw herself on the bed like Qiu Bao, standing on the edge of the bed in a proper manner.

My aunt and grandmother cried again. After holding back her tears, she hugged Qiu Bao, instructed Ninth Sister to sit down on the edge of the bed, and asked, "Ninth Sister, do you have any plans in the future?"

Shen Jiumei lowered her head and said weakly: "When we grow up, we want to avenge our grandmother and father." "Grandma and Daddy must not die in vain!

Qiu Bao snuggled in her aunt's arms and nodded vigorously: "Well, Qiu Bao wants revenge!"

My aunt didn't answer and closed her eyes in pain.

At noon, the son came back from Niutou Pass. The two children did not exaggerate. There were no people or animals left in Niutouao Village, and it was really burned to the ground.

However, this is not the end of the disaster.

Having lived in the town for more than 30 years, she knows very well how the Immortal Rune Soldiers behave—Lian Sit! If she lets the Immortal Rune Soldiers know that her family has taken in the two orphans of Niu Tou Ao, they will definitely come as soon as possible. Not only will they destroy their house, but they will also slaughter all the neighbors on this street. Therefore, as long as the slightest bit of news is leaked, all of them will not even be able to save their lives, and what kind of revenge will they talk about!

Uncle Cousin gritted his teeth and said, "Ninth sister, Qiu Bao, it was the immortal rune soldiers who killed your father and mother. Do you know how powerful the Immortal Rune Soldiers are?"

Shen Jiumei saw the immortal rune soldiers slaughtering the villagers with her own eyes, so she naturally knew about it. She hung her head unwillingly and did not say a word. Tears were like beads with broken threads, snapping and clicking on the dress. In the blink of an eye, the moon-white cloth skirt wet the boss.

Dad said that killing people pays for life, and it is justified. No matter how powerful the immortal rune soldiers are, this sea of blood and revenge must be avenged!

Qiu Bao didn't cry. He clenched a pair of small fists and replied firmly: "When Qiu Bao learns the skill, he will be able to kill the immortal rune soldiers, avenge his father and mother, and his grandmother!"

Uncle Cousin sighed: "Qiu Bao, do you know where to learn skills?"

Qiu Bao was asked, with a blank face. He didn't have time to think about this question yet......

Shen Jiumei raised her head suddenly, didn't care about wiping away the tears on her face, knelt down under the bed, and begged: "Auntie, cousin, please send Qiu Bao to learn skills." I will repay you as a cow and a horse. I do laundry, cook on fires, dig for goods, hunt rabbits, and ...... I'll do whatever I want! I'll learn anything!"

Uncle Cousin "Oops" shouted softly, got up to help her: "You kid ......" but his eyes stole a glance at the old mother on the bed.

At the head of the bed, my aunt and grandmother shivered, and two huge tears leaked out of the corners of her closed eyes and quietly slipped down her pale cheeks. She wanted to shout out her son's next words, but she pursed her lips tightly and didn't say a word.

I'm sorry, brother, it's hard for a girl...... She wept silently in her heart.

Seeing that she didn't stop her, Uncle Cousin relented, helped Shen Jiumei up, and said the words that had been discussed in advance: "Now there is a good opportunity to send Qiu Bao to learn skills." ”

The eyes of the siblings lit up instantly. They stared at him.

Uncle Cousin was a little uncomfortable, clenched his fists and coughed lightly, and continued: "A few days ago, I received news that the largest martial arts hall in the county was going to accept a hundred apprentices. The target of the apprenticeship is a boy the size of Qiu Bao. ”

"Great!" Shen Jiumei clasped her hands together, "Thank God!" She knew that there was a martial arts hall in the county seat. She had heard her father and mother talk quietly that many years ago, the patriarch's grandfather spent a sum of money to send his eldest son, Uncle Changgui, to a small martial arts hall in the county seat as an apprentice. It's just that the latter only studied for a year, and was judged to be "low in roots and bones and not suitable for learning martial arts", and had to drop out of school and go home. Despite this, Uncle Changgui is also a rare powerful person in the village, who can break a finger-thick piece of miscellaneous wood with one punch.

It's just a small martial arts hall!

Now, the largest martial arts hall in the county is going to recruit apprentices!

If Qiu Bao can be recruited, he will definitely be able to learn a skill!

"Uncle Cousin, Qiu Bao wants to go!" Shen Qiu Bao asked.

I don't want to, but my cousin is a little difficult: "Qiu Bao is too young...... The county seat is fifty or sixty miles away from here. It's so far away, and there's no one around him to take care of him...... How can I rest assured?"

Qiu Bao shouted: "Uncle Cousin, don't worry, Qiu Bao can take care of himself!"

Shen Jiumei also said: "I can follow to take care of Qiu Bao." When Qiu Bao finishes his apprenticeship, I will come back to repay my aunt and cousin for their great kindness. ”

"Silly boy, what do you say to repay!" A gloom flashed in Uncle Cousin's eyes, and he sighed, "The martial arts hall recruits apprentices to take exams." As long as Qiu Bao is not afraid of hardship, Uncle Cousin will send you two there. After saying that, he glanced at his aunt again.

The latter purses his lips throughout.

So, in the cheers of the sisters and brothers, the trip to the county seat was quickly finalized - go to bed early tonight, and early tomorrow morning, my cousin will send them to the largest martial arts hall in the county to test for apprenticeship.

Shen Qiubao was very excited. At night, he tossed and turned on the bed, took Ninth Sister's hand, and asked again and again: "Ninth Sister, I'm going to learn martial arts at the largest martial arts hall in the county tomorrow, right?"

The ninth sister was troubled by him, and finally scolded him with a straight face: "If you don't sleep honestly, you won't be able to get up tomorrow, and you miss the departure time, even if you go to the county seat, you won't be able to catch the apprenticeship exam!"

"Oh. Shen Qiubao stuck out his tongue in fright, quickly retracted into the quilt, closed his eyes, and slept honestly. After thinking about it, he opened his eyes again: "Ninth sister, remember to wake me up early tomorrow morning!" Uncle Cousin has repeatedly explained that it is a long way to go to the county seat, and tomorrow morning, they will go out early.

"Got it!" Shen Jiumei responded angrily.

The next day, before dawn, she woke up Qiu Bao early: "Qiu Bao, wake up quickly." My cousin called us here. ”

Qiu Bao opened her eyes, and she picked Qiu Bao up from the bed.

"I'll do it myself. "Once Qiu Bao wakes up, he tends to wake up quickly. He yawned and took the garment, and put it on expertly.

After washing, my cousin took them to breakfast, and the sky was just bright. The three of them quietly left through the back door - the cousin said that they could take a carriage from the official road to the county seat. In that case, however, they would have to travel a hundred miles, and if they had abandoned the carriage and taken them both out of the mountains, they would have saved more than half of the road. With their footsteps, they should be able to reach the county seat in the afternoon. It's just that the latter is obviously much harder. Both sisters and brothers wanted to rush to the county seat as soon as possible, and both strongly asked to take a shortcut and not take a carriage.

My aunt didn't come to see them off. However, my cousin handed each of them a small blue cloth package, saying that my aunt had packed a bag for them overnight, which contained some silver taels, dry food, and a change of clothes.

When Shen Jiumei heard that there were silver taels, she resolutely refused.

Uncle Cousin bluffed and scolded: "The poor family is rich." How can anyone go out without a penny on him? but a few taels of silver, so that you can take it. When Qiu Bao learned great skills, he became a martial artist, and he was beautiful. When the time comes, it is also your filial piety to let your aunt and cousin follow suit. ”

"Hey. Shen Jiumei took it with tears in her eyes.