Hardcore crisis

If Uncle Hong's home was just dilapidated, then Lu Ze's home was the kind of shaky old house that could collapse at any time.

With the development of China's economy, few people still live in this kind of house even in the countryside. As soon as Lu Yuan saw this house, he recalled the unpleasant memories of his childhood. If it were not for the company of this old man, Uncle Hong, he would definitely be Turn around and leave immediately.

"Xiao Yi, are you in there?"

The old man stepped forward tremblingly and patted the wooden door with his hand, making a creaking sound.

It was already winter, and the sky had become a little dark early on. Lu Yuan stood in the yard and took a random look around. He found that in this old house in his memory, the windows were covered with cloth, which seemed to prevent the soil from falling. Come down. There were some collected firewood piled around the yard. It could be seen that the owner still spent some effort to pile the firewood neatly together without letting it scatter on the ground.

The old man knocked on the door a few times. The crack in the door was dark, and he didn't know if anyone was there.

It wasn't until a while later that a timid and weak voice came out: "Grandpa Hong, is it you?"

"Yes, it's me. Xiaoyi, please open the door."

After confirming the identity of the visitor, the wooden door was finally opened.

It turned out that a wooden stick was used to block the door. A small and thin figure was hidden in the darkness. After opening the door, he slowly walked out.

Seeing this, Lu Yuan was slightly surprised.

To be honest, even though he heard what the old man said, he never thought that his so-called niece would live such a miserable life.

Her long hair was disheveled and her hair had not been washed for an unknown amount of time. It was just hanging down around her waist. She was much thinner than her peers and was wearing a thin, threadbare school uniform. It seems to have no ability to withstand the cold. What's more, in such a cold weather, the girl was still wearing a pair of old-fashioned adult sandals on her feet, and her feet were red and purple from the cold.

As soon as the person came out, he didn't dare to raise his head, he just huddled on the side, his voice was as soft as a mosquito.

Is this the daughter of the person I hated so much before?

Lu Yuan didn't feel the pleasure of revenge. With Lu Ze's scumbag character, even if he saw his daughter living in such misery, he wouldn't feel the slightest guilt.

"Xiaoyi, did you go to bed so early? Have you had dinner?"

The old man asked a few words, and when he saw the girl lowered her head and said nothing, he knew something: "Hey, grandpa has told you several times. Don't eat without having to eat. What should you do if you are starving? Come to grandpa after you finish eating. Just take it.”

"Yeah." The girl still didn't raise her head, clasping her hands together, not knowing what she was thinking.

"Come, Xiaoyi. Let me introduce to you, this is your... uncle."

When it came time to introduce him, the old man hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to explain.

The word "uncle" came out of his mouth. The girl couldn't help but raise her head, like a frightened deer. He just glanced at Lu Yuan and immediately lowered his head, as if he was frightened by Lu Yuan's cold eyes.

"Xiaoyi, go and pour a cup of hot water for your uncle."

The old man really couldn't stand the girl's slowness. He asked her to get a glass of hot water.

"Yes." The girl turned and walked towards the room. The old man turned back and said, "Xiaoyuan, come in, it's a little dark in here, be careful."

Lu Yuan originally didn't want to go in, but when he saw the old man walking in tremblingly, he was afraid that something might happen to him here, so he had to follow him.

The old house had been used for decades, and the windows were covered. It was dark everywhere in the house. Lu Yuan let his eyes adapt for a while before he could gradually see the surrounding situation clearly. It would be inaccurate to describe the house as having only four walls. After all, there are still beds and cabinets, but the rest of the large items are gone.

There was a worn-out porcelain bowl on the cabinet. It contained overnight rice that had been stored for an unknown period of time. It was all cold and turned into a ball. Just looking at it was enough to turn off one's appetite.

"Why……"

The old man seemed to have seen the porcelain bowl on the cabinet clearly, and sighed without saying anything. His health is getting worse and worse, and he can't even take care of himself. How can he take care of others?

The girl who used to pour water finally poured the hot water over. The cup used to hold the hot water was rusty on the outside. She felt older than Lu Yuan himself. Even if it was in a random trash can in the East China Sea, I can find a cup that looks a thousand times better than this cup. Who dares to take a real sip from such a broken cup?

So the girl put the cup on the cabinet, and Lu Yuan had no intention of doing anything.

"Xiaoyi, I came here today to tell you something."

The old man considered it and said: "You also know that grandpa will leave after the New Year, and he may not be able to take care of you in the future, so..."

He looked at Lu Yuan and said, "This is your uncle and the only relative you have now. If you are willing, go with your uncle. He will take good care of you."

The girl was silent, but her whole body trembled slightly. After a while, she softly said: "Grandpa, I, I don't want to leave here."

"Xiaoyi, how can you live here alone? Are you going to spend your whole life picking up garbage?"

The old man's tone became stern for a moment, then calmed down: "I know that you have always wanted to continue going to school. If you follow your uncle, you can continue to go to school in the future. Isn't this what you have always wanted?"

Going to school?

These four words made the girl raise her head suddenly, her dark eyes flickered for a moment and disappeared again, making Lu Yuan think he had seen it wrong.

He did not participate in the conversation to persuade the girl. As for Lu Yuan, he did not want to bear the responsibility of his niece. So what if they were related by blood? Without daily contact and the hatred between his fathers, Lu Yuan did not leave directly because of the old man's face.

Yes, if he had not owed so much to this old man and could not make up for it, Lu Yuan would never have agreed to the old man's request.

Lu Yuan raised his head and focused his gaze on the wall. On the bare wall, there were only a few certificates for outstanding student cadres and three good students posted on them. It could be seen that the owner paid attention to cleaning, and there was no trace of any certificates. Dust, like new. But the latest time was already four years ago.

Just when Lu Yuan was looking at the niece's living environment, the old man's persuasion finally had an effect. No, maybe the four words "going to school and studying" played a greater role. Under the stimulation of these few words, the girl finally relaxed. He nodded lightly and agreed.

Seeing that the girl agreed, the old man was very happy and kept saying: "That's good, that's good..." as if he had let go of a big stone in his heart.

Seeing the old man's appearance, Lu Yuan didn't say much out of his debt to the old man. Anyway, a fourteen-year-old girl was not much of a burden to him now. He could give her some money. You can go to a private boarding school and forget about it until you finish college. In fact, it doesn't cost much.

Now that the matter was finalized, Lu Yuan had no intention of staying for dinner. The old man had no choice but to hand over the girl's ID card, household register and other documents to Lu Yuan, hoping that he would keep them properly. With Lu Yuan's strength, he could handle the girl's household registration issue without any trouble at all. Putting away these documents, Lu Yuan said, "If you have anything to pack, just pack it first. Let's go to the county town to have a rest tonight." .”

He thought that the niece's things would have to be packed away for a while, but Lu Yuan, who was waiting nearby, saw the girl walking out within a few minutes with a tattered schoolbag, which didn't look like it could hold much. Forget it, just wear sandals when going out? The temperature at night is now only 11 or 12 degrees Celsius!

"Go change a pair of shoes." Lu Yuan frowned.

"...I, I only have this pair."

The girl was wearing a tattered but clean blue and white school uniform, her lips were blue from the cold, her head was lowered and she did not dare to look directly at Lu Yuan.

Only one pair of sandals? Are you too poor?

Lu Yuan didn't say anything. He opened the back door of the car and said, "Get in."

The niece had probably never been in a car in her life. She stood outside the car door and hesitated for a while, but never got in. It wasn't until Lu Yuan impatiently urged her that she climbed into the car with a trembling body. (To be continued ~^~)