Mortal Mirror

The little girl beside her second uncle also looked cautious and murmured, "Big brother, please don't hit my dad. We apologize to you."

Actually, Li Ergou's initial thought was that no matter what, he had to give this guy a good beating to eliminate the hatred in his heart for many years.

However, the boy's heart was still too soft and too kind.

When he saw the scene before him, he gave up his initial thought, but still endured his anger and said, "Li Erwa, do you really not recognize me?"

Although Li Ergou had grown a lot recently, he was still very thin, vaguely resembling his childhood appearance.

Li Erwa pondered for a long time, as if he recognized him, but he didn't dare to believe it, didn't dare to admit it, afraid of being punished if he recognized the wrong person. In the end, he could only shake his head and say, "I don't recognize you. Who are you anyway?"

Li Ergou smiled contemptuously and said, "Who am I? I am the child your elder brother entrusted to you, Li Ergou."

"What!" Upon hearing this name, Li Erwa actually took a few steps back, his face full of disbelief. Although Li Ergou's clothes weren't new, they were much better than those of ordinary poor children. At least there wasn't a single patch, and his temperament had undergone earth-shattering changes compared to before.

Li Erwa's eyes were full of disbelief, and his voice trembled a little as he said, "Ergou, really, is it really you?"

"Of course it's me. If it weren't for me, how would I recognize you? Back then, you sold me to the landlord's house. Do you know what kind of life I've lived all these years? Also, I vaguely remember that I had a younger sister. Where did she go?"

Li Erwa woke up from his shock. After a moment, he said, "Alas, this is a long story. Let's not talk about it here. Look, many people around are watching us."

Li Ergou snorted, not giving him a good look. Although he was a little moved when he saw his miserable state, he still hadn't forgiven him in his heart.

But what he said was right. There were too many people here, and many people were watching them. It was noisy and not a place to talk. With a thought, he said, "Follow me."

The group of three walked out of the market. There was no place to sit, so he took them to a steamed bun stall and sat down.

The smell of the meat-filled steamed buns was so fragrant that the little girl's mouth watered, but she didn't dare to speak. She could only stare at others from time to time.

Li Ergou couldn't bear it. No matter what, their affairs had nothing to do with the child, and this girl should be his second uncle's child, his cousin. With this in mind, he called out to the steamed bun stall owner, "First, ten meat-filled steamed buns, and a bowl of goat milk."

"Okay, sir, please wait a moment. It'll be right here," the steamed bun stall owner said nimbly.

In a moment, he brought over a steamer of buns and a large bowl of goat milk. It could be seen that each bun was evenly sized, with nine pleats on top, white and plump, and fragrant.

The goat milk had some sugar added, emitting a sweet smell, milky white in color, extremely tempting.

The little girl kept swallowing her saliva, looking at Li Ergou with anticipation.

Li Ergou nodded and said, "Eat, it's hot, eat slowly."

The little girl was happy and looked at her dad again.

Li Erwa also kept swallowing his saliva, but he nodded to the little girl and said, "Eat."

The little girl no longer hesitated, grabbed a bun, not minding the heat, and ate it in big mouthfuls, choking as she ate. She immediately picked up the goat milk and took a big gulp, which smoothed it down.

Then she devoured it again. Li Ergou was really afraid that she would burst, and quickly said, "Don't eat too much, just eat five first."

The little girl immediately nodded obediently, eating as hard as she could, as if she was afraid that if she ate slowly, she wouldn't be allowed to eat these five.

Li Ergou then looked at his second uncle and said, "Li Erwa, tell me, where is my sister? And why did you sell me after my dad entrusted me to you back then?"

Before Li Erwa could speak, he started crying loudly, "I'm sorry to your elder brother, but what could I do? Our family already had five children, plus you two, that's seven children. It takes a lot of food to feed them every day, even if we save money.

Your auntie argued with me about this every day. I was so worried that my hair turned white. You didn't know back then, your sister was weak. Less than half a year after coming to our house, she developed lung disease. Seeing that the child was dying, we didn't have money to treat her.

To save her, I sold everything that could be sold in the house. Because of this, your auntie hated me and even hanged herself. Fortunately, I discovered it in time, and she didn't die. But we still couldn't raise enough money for medicine.

I really had no choice but to sell you. That way, not only could we raise enough money for medicine, but you would also have a place to eat, and I would be a lot easier.

So your second uncle cruelly sold you. With the money for medicine, your sister's illness was cured. But our family was too poor, so we had to go to your second aunt's village and rely on her parents' relief to survive.

Once, I took Ya to the market and met a fair-faced, beardless man. That man was extraordinary. When he saw Ya, he liked her very much and asked me if I could sell her.

I asked him where he was from. The man told me that he was from a wealthy family in the capital. If Ya went with him, she would definitely have a lifetime of wealth and glory, without having to go hungry or suffer.

I was tempted. You must know that at that time, we were so poor that we couldn't even open the pot. It was difficult to survive, and your auntie argued with me all day long. And this person was from the capital, that's the capital of the Great Xia Kingdom. I heard that the people there are either rich or noble.

I thought that if that was the case, Ya wouldn't have to suffer with us. Maybe your sister would live more comfortably than our family.

That man assured me that he would definitely treat your sister well, so I made up my mind and sold her.

This person was also very generous and gave me five taels of silver.

Although Ya might live better, I felt guilty in my heart. I was sorry for your elder brother's dying entrustment.

So I've been saving that five taels of silver for you, thinking that when you grow up, I'll give the silver to you. After all, this is your sister's selling price.

Although your second uncle is poor, he would rather die than spend that five taels of silver. I hid it secretly, and your second aunt fought with me for many years because of this, but your second uncle never compromised."

Speaking of this, Li Erwa, this young man, was already in tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

Li Ergou looked at his second uncle in surprise. He didn't expect things to be so tortuous. He sighed in his heart. Although there was still some hatred, most of it had gone with the wind. After all, in this situation, how could he hate him?

He couldn't help but sigh in his heart. In the final analysis, it was just poverty. He didn't know how many families were broken up because of this word.

He sighed and pushed the bun to his second uncle and said, "You... you eat two too."

His second uncle licked his dry lips and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Ergou, can I take the buns back? The children at home are all hungry."

Li Ergou was slightly startled, and sighed again, "Forget it, you eat. We'll ask for more after you eat."

Looking at Li Ergou's eyes, Li Erwa didn't dare to argue. He could only pick up a white and big bun. He took a light bite. The oil and juice inside the bun filled his entire mouth. The aroma seemed to explode in his mouth. It felt like he had become an immortal. For many years, it was the first time he had eaten something so delicious.

Tears couldn't help but fall excitedly, "Delicious, really too delicious."

He sighed while taking small bites of the bun, as if it were a piece of immortality pill.

Li Ergou felt a pang of sadness in his heart when he saw his appearance. Although he was stupid, he was not foolish. He didn't know if all of what his second uncle said was true.

But now, he hoped even more that his second uncle wouldn't deceive him.

People, there are always worries in their hearts. In the end, his second uncle only ate one bun. He wouldn't eat the rest no matter what. Seeing this, Li Ergou had no choice, but he could see that he could remember his relatives, at least he wasn't too bad a person.

Li Ergou still couldn't bear it, and asked the owner to take thirty more buns. His second uncle quickly stopped him and said, "No, no, this is too much money. It's good to taste it, but don't dare to spend your money anymore."

Li Ergou ignored him and asked the owner to wrap them in oil paper and tie them with straw rope.

Seeing this, Li Erwa sighed and said very distressedly, "You, with so much money, you might as well buy some meat and noodles. If you make it yourself at home, you can save a lot of money."

Li Ergou didn't know what to say. If it were him before, he wouldn't buy this thing even if he was beaten to death, but now, he had the Daozang money, and everything felt like a floating cloud.

Wealth and influence, but that's it.

At this moment, his second uncle grabbed Li Ergou's sleeve and said, "Ergou, now that you're grown up, come home with me and give you the money from selling your sister. It's also to fulfill the concerns in my heart."

Li Ergou didn't refuse, because he wanted to know if his second uncle had deceived him. If he hadn't deceived him, then all the previous hatred could be written off, after all, he understood in his heart that, as his second uncle said, it was a last resort to do so back then.

Daliugou is a tributary of the Jinshui River, and also the name of the village where his second uncle is now located.

The village name was taken by borrowing that small river.

Daliugou has about seventy or eighty households. It is a small village. The first house in the village is Li Erwa's house. From a distance, Li Erwa's house is a low thatched house with a low fence outside. It may have been too long, the wood is a bit rotten, crooked, and feels like it's about to fall down at any time.

Li Erwa took Ergou directly to the door. He checked seven steps along the fence, and then he dug hard under this fence, digging a small pit more than a foot deep before he saw a piece of cloth wrapped.

Opening the package, there was actually a wooden box inside. It had been too long, and the box was a bit rotten due to moisture. It must have been buried for many years.

Li Erwa carefully opened the box and saw some broken silver lying inside the box.

He excitedly picked up the broken silver and handed it to Li Ergou, and said: "Ergou, uncle is sorry for you, but that's all I can do, I hope you don't blame your second uncle too much, take the money and live a good life in the future."

Li Ergou took the broken silver, and his nose was sore, and he believed his second uncle's words, after all, this silver can completely make their family live better.

With this in mind, the hatred in his heart disappeared.

He held the silver in his hand and said, "Take me inside your house to see."

Li Erwa nodded and said: "Okay, okay, but the house is too poor, don't laugh at it."

Several people stepped forward to the house, and he could see that the house was full of cracks due to the repairs all year round. Some grass sticks and mud were filled in the cracks, but it was useless. He couldn't help but said: "Why, don't repair it well."

Before the second uncle could speak, the little girl rushed to say: "Dad, you have to get up early and work hard every day, where is there time, and all the things belong to the landlord's family, not just a grass and a tree, even the soil belongs to the landlord's family, don't want to use it for nothing without spending money.

These things to fill in, my sisters and I went to the river ditch to get them."

Ergou didn't know what to say, the second uncle had already pushed the door open.

Squeak! The door opened.

The house is very simple, divided into two rooms, one is the firewood room and the kitchen, you can see a woman in front of the stove, wearing a piece of rag on her head, is burning a fire to cook, the pot is clear soup and water, there are some broken corn kernels, but not much, she is throwing some wild vegetables into the pot.

At this moment, hearing the door ring, perhaps knowing that the second uncle is back, he said without raising his head: "His dad, did you buy broken corn, the rice tank is bottoming out, let you go to my dad to borrow some money, how much did you borrow.

The eldest girl is going out in the afternoon, you don't have to leave in the afternoon, throw the clothes to her."

After saying this, she looked up.

Still the same as I remember, the second aunt's name is Jinhua, she is thin, her face is sallow, her eyes are big, maybe it is malnutrition, her eyes are a little sunken, although when she first came to the second uncle's house, this woman quarreled with the second uncle every day, but she never yelled at herself, maybe this is her last affection.

Jinhua was stunned in place, looked at Ergou for a while, and then said with a guilty look: "His dad, this is...who, did the eldest cause trouble outside?"

Jinhua's first thought was, did the eldest son in the family cause trouble outside, and people came to the door.

The little girl rushed to say: "Mother, this is...this is Brother Ergou, he came to see us, and brought us a lot of big meat buns."

Jinhua then saw that Li Erwa was carrying a large package of things in his hand.

But the name Ergou instantly made her stay in place, and after a long time, she said with a guilty expression: "Ergou, don't hate us, everything is too poor, we can't afford to support you either."

Ergou still had some hatred in his heart, he didn't speak, but went directly into the house.

He heard a clear female voice from inside the house: "Who are you, I'm not wearing clothes?"

The house is very dilapidated, a broken table, covered with traces of years, a leg is padded with stones, it should be broken.

Besides that, there is nothing, there are two girls on the kang covered with old mats, lying in the quilt, a half-sized boy is about ten years old, bare-chested on the kang with his back to him, not knowing what he is fiddling with.

Two tattered quilts, the thatch inside is exposed, this family is extremely poor.

At this moment, he realized what the second aunt had just said, why throw the clothes to the eldest girl, it turned out that the two girls on the kang, about fifteen years old, were all naked.

Seeing this scene, his nose tingled with a sudden wave of emotion, and he didn't know what to say. Perhaps what his second uncle did back then wasn't entirely wrong. These children weren't living much better lives than he was.