I became a poor little sophora japonica in the courtyard

Yesterday afternoon, after the deaf old lady finished her chat and left, Lou Xiaoe locked the door and took the bus back to her parents' home in Lou Mansion, Dongdan.

Sitting on the bus, the image of a little girl shivering in tattered clothes with slap marks on her face kept appearing in her mind.

"Aunt Lou, can I come to your house to warm up? I'm cold!"

The little girl's tender voice kept lingering in her mind. She couldn't get rid of it! She had been living a life of luxury since she was a child, how could she have seen such things?

Little Huaihua was so pitiful! She was only four years old, and she had to endure hunger and cold. She was slapped by her brother and was not allowed to enter the house. She was wearing tattered clothes and had nowhere else to go, so she asked for help from her neighbor.

She decided to help the poor little guy.

As soon as she returned to Lou Mansion, the first thing she went to find was her mother, Tan Yali.

"Mom, are all the clothes I wore when I was a kid still here?"

"What do you want this for? It's all stuffed in the storage room downstairs." Tan Yali asked in confusion.

The Lou family has only one daughter, Lou Xiao'e, and the Lou family is a wealthy family. This daughter should not have too many clothes when she was a child.

"No one wears it anyway, so I'll give it away." Lou Xiao'e explained to her mother.

"Take them all away! It's a waste to leave them there. Giving clothes to people to keep them warm is a good deed." Tan Yali also agreed with her daughter's approach.

Lou Xiao'e called the housemaids and asked them to bring out all her childhood clothes. They filled the living room with a huge pile of all kinds of clothes.

She looked around inside and found that the smallest clothes were the ones she wore when she was seven or eight years old. They were obviously not suitable for four-year-old Xiao Huaihua.

"Too big? Why not find a tailor to alter it? You've only worn these clothes a few times, they should look like new." Her mother, Tan Yali, gave her advice.

"Okay! I'll go find Tailor Chen to get it altered."

Lou Xiao'e picked out two sets of clothes, the cotton-padded jacket and trousers she wore when she was seven or eight years old. She also picked out some fleece coats and trousers, for inner and outer wear, fleece hats, gloves, cotton socks, etc., and packed them into a big bundle.

The rest were put back into the storage room. She couldn't give all of them to Xiao Huaihua at once, so she gave her two sets every year when the season changed.

After having dinner at her parents' home, Lou Xiao'e asked the family driver to drive her back home. The driver opened the back door of the Studebaker sedan and put a large bag inside.

The car drove to Beixinqiao, and Lou Xiaoe asked the driver to drive to the door of Chen Tailor's house. In the past, all the clothes of the Lou family were taken care of by Chen Tailor, who ran a tailor shop. Since the tailor shop was merged into a public-private partnership, Chen Tailor has been idle at home.

"Miss, would you like to have your clothes altered to be smaller? Do you have any sizes?" Tailor Chen asked Lou Xiao'e while looking at the two small cotton-padded jackets.

"I forgot to measure her size! She's just a four-year-old girl. Her height is only as high as mine."

Lou Xiao'e gestured with her hands at the part above her thigh that was not even below her waist. Old Chen, who had been a tailor all his life, immediately had an idea in his mind.

Two sets of cotton jackets and trousers needed to be altered, as well as fleece jackets and trousers, and all the underwear needed to be altered. Old Man Chen asked her to come and get them tomorrow afternoon, and it would be best if she brought the little girl along. If they didn't fit, they could be altered on the spot.

Lou Xiao'e simply left all the bags here and came together to pick them up tomorrow.

Qin Huairu, her mother and her two daughters had lunch in the first canteen of the steel rolling mill, and returned to the compound of No. 95 Nanluoguxiang with their toiletries and two lunch boxes.

While the grandparents were eating, Qin Huairu helped Huaihua take off Xiaodang's old cotton clothes and pants and altered them according to Huaihua's size.

When she took off her cotton-padded jacket and trousers, the heat that she had finally gathered was gone in an instant. Huaihua shivered.

Qin Huairu originally wanted to carry her to bed and keep her warm under the quilt, but then she thought of Huaihua's sleepiness, so she asked her to sit on a small stool next to the stove so that she could feel warmer.

How could Huaihua stay still? Seeing Banggeng run out with Xiaodang after dinner, she followed him out of the west wing. But she did not follow him into the hall, but went to the moon gate leading to the backyard.

Aunt Lou asked me to go and talk to her often, and I must maintain a good relationship with her. To be honest, Lou Xiao'e was born into a wealthy family, with a round face and fair skin. Her demeanor was out of place in this courtyard.

If I have the chance, I must not let her get stuck in this quagmire of Siheyuan. All her belongings will be given away to irrelevant people in vain.

As soon as she stepped into the backyard, she saw Lou Xiao'e feeding the chickens again, this time feeding them chopped cabbage stalks.

"Auntie Lou, I'll help you feed the chickens." Huaihua felt that if she was a diligent and capable child, she would definitely be loved by others.

"Little Sophora japonica is here! You are still too young, be careful of being pecked by chickens. Go into the house!"

Lou Xiao'e closed the door of the chicken coop, took Huaihua's hand and went into the house.

"Are you hungry? I'll get you some snacks."

"I'm not hungry today! I'll go to the factory to take a shower, and then eat in the cafeteria." Huaihua imitated the tone of a four-year-old child, trying to use brief words and showing a lack of expressiveness.

"Did Xiao Huaihua take a bath today? No wonder she smells so good. Let me smell it."

Lou Xiao'e lifted her up and tickled her with her breath, which made Xiao Huaihua giggle.

"Yesterday, Auntie went to alter two pieces of clothing for Xiao Huaihua. You can go with Auntie to the tailor to try them on. If they don't fit, you can alter them again."

Lou Xiao'e looked at her watch. It was almost afternoon. She saw that Xiao Huaihua was still wearing only a single layer of clothes and pants. She was afraid that she would get cold if she went out, so she rummaged through the closet and took out her cotton-padded clothes to wrap Huaihua up. Then she found a red scarf and wrapped her head and neck around it.

She went out holding Sophora japonica. She originally wanted to tell Qin Huairu in the middle courtyard, but then she thought that she would be back soon.

After leaving Nanluoguxiang, Lou Xiaoe called a three-wheeled rickshaw on the roadside and asked the driver to take them to Beixinqiao. Nanluoguxiang is not far from Beixinqiao and it only takes ten minutes to get there.

After paying the fare, Lou Xiao'e asked the driver to wait for them for a while. Seeing that he could earn double the money, the driver said he would definitely wait for them to come out.

Lou Xiao'e took Huaihua to the old tailor's house. The clothes and trousers had been altered, and Lou Xiao'e asked her to try them on. The old tailor had good taste and craftsmanship. Huaihua put on the fleece clothes and trousers, and then put on the cotton jacket and trousers, and they fit her perfectly.

The two cotton-padded jackets were one red and one yellow. Although the colors looked a bit earthy in her previous life, they looked cute on a little girl.

The styles are all Chinese style oblique collars with buttons and stand-up collars. The fabric is silk satin embroidery, and the collar and cuffs are inlaid with lambskin. The clothes are very new, and the old tailor's craftsmanship is also very good, and there is no sign of modification.

Lou Xiao'e's father was a big capitalist. He was known as Lou Bancheng! The clothes worn by the only daughter of his family were not comparable to those of ordinary families.

Huaihua also liked this style very much, which had a retro feel. Lou Xiaoe put on a bright red woolen hat and gloves for her, but when she looked at the shoes on her feet, she slapped her forehead. She was so busy looking for clothes yesterday that she forgot all about the shoes.

After paying Chen the tailor for the work, they came to the entrance of the alley carrying a bag, got on a three-wheeled rickshaw and asked the driver to take them to the Beixinqiao Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

Lou Xiao'e promised the deaf old lady yesterday that she would buy her a pair of size 44 men's cotton shoes. She also bought two pairs for Xiao Huaihua so that she could wear them alternately.

Huaihua moved her mouth but did not speak to stop her. She could not find a suitable reason to ask Lou Xiao'e not to buy shoes for the deaf old lady.

When Huaihua put on her new cotton shoes, she looked brand new from head to toe. She sincerely thanked Aunt Lou, saying that she was the only good person in the courtyard and she deserved it.