Nan Chan

Chapter 20 Winter Forest

Cang Ji watched Chen Caoyu, and couldn't help but be speechless: "It's so small, it's not even enough to fit between the teeth."

Jing Lin walked around the table and approached the bed.He saw the little girl who fell asleep under the quilt, her face was no bigger than a palm, and she was so thin that she couldn't see her shape.He brushed the little girl's eyebrows with his fingers, and when he saw her black braid, the sound of copper bells echoed in his ears.

"I have seen her." Jing Lin said, "in a dream."

The dense smoke was gradually pushed away, revealing the back of Chen Caoyu playing with the bell.She jumped forward happily, often turning her head and smiling at Jing Lin.Everything around him reversed suddenly, and Jing Lin heard the "jingle" of the copper bell, and then he clearly heard Dong Lin talking to Chen Caoyu.

"Watch your step."

"Uncle Dong." Chen Caoyu beckoned, and the copper bell rang, she called, "Are you going somewhere else? I want to go too, Uncle Dong, can you take me with you?"

Dong Lin's hand landed on her head, Jing Lin felt the thick and solid emotions, they seemed to have been entrenched in the depths of Dong Lin's heart, because of past mistakes, so at this moment, they were all given to Chen Caoyu.This feeling was too heavy, and Jing Lin unconsciously took a step back.

It seems that he has suffered too.

The copper bell rang noisily, causing Jinglin to have a splitting headache.He saw that Chen Caoyu's face gradually faded into another familiar face.The little girl no longer called "Uncle Dong", but called "Brother Nine" with a bell.

"Jing Lin?" With a heavy weight coming from behind, Cang Ji wrapped his arms around him and swayed in front of him, "What are you doing here?

Jing Lin wakes up like a dream, sweating profusely.He didn't even care about Cangji's head, and said in a daze, "I understand...it wasn't Donglin who stole the copper bell, but Tongling found Donglin."

Cang Ji was startled: "I didn't realize that it also has legs?"

Cang Ji wanted to continue, but he felt the person in his arms turn around, and then his waist tightened, and Jing Lin hugged him first.Cang Ji almost bit his tongue, even though he spoke presumptuously, he was never hugged by anyone.Under his conceit, there is still a clean blank space.

"I saw the story of Donglin."

As soon as Jing Lin finished speaking, Cang Ji heard the copper bell.The scene in front of him shattered into fluorescent lights, and then reassembled into phases in an instant.

He saw it too.

In the late autumn frosty night, the cold rain continued.

Donglin slid and planted on the edge of the bridge hole, dragging his legs like grout.He was unkempt and dying.The rain dripped into a curtain and covered his back, making him gasp intermittently.Donglin's eyes gradually became lax, and his consciousness drifted away.He leaned over like this, his hands and feet were soaked white.

Donglin bit his breath, and weeping came out of his throat one after another.His face was buried in the mud and ice water, as if he was going to hide his tears in it, making people mistakenly think it was the noise of rain.He cried so hard that his back, which was exposed to the rain, heaved and fell in the endless beating of the rain.

It rained all night, and he cried all night here.

In the early morning, when it was raining and the sun was clear, the bullock cart ran over him, and a few lumps of fresh wet stuff fell down, covering half of his face.Donglin's heart was ashamed, and he didn't move.As the ox cart passed by, the sound of the whistle and the morning light drove along, startling the whole town.Donglin never closed his red and swollen eyes, he was exhausted waiting to die, and he had no expectations for anyone who came and went.

A thin dog strode forward to sniff, from Donglin's back to his head, and licked the cow dung.The warmth swayed on the face, arousing a little business.The thin dog arched Donglin's head, dragging his shoulders to the bottom of the bridge hole.There was mud and dirt piled up on the ground, and several shiny bones squeezed Donglin's face.The dog wants to treat him as food, gnaw it clean and put it together with the bone.

Dong Lin closed his eyes in the wet salivation, feeling the skinny dog ​​tearing the cloth from his shoulders and scratching his flesh.The sharp teeth penetrated into the flesh, causing Donglin to muffle a laugh in pain.He coaxed hoarsely: "Bite off the neck and plan..."

The thin dog can't wait, but his teeth are weak.Even if he gnawed on the meat, he couldn't tear it off, so he hummed and flicked his tail in anxiety.Donglin slapped it, and staggered.

"Use a little force." Donglin grabbed the back of the thin dog's neck and pressed it towards himself, "Bite here and open your mouth."

The thin dog was pinched by the back of its neck, shivering, not daring to do it again, wagging its tail and licking Donglin's eyes and nose.

Donglin pushed it away: "Get lost..."

He dumped back into the dirt, mopping up the remaining cow dung.He was waiting to die, but he heard a person fall from the river with a "plop".Donglin didn't want to care about it, so that had nothing to do with him.He listened to the man fall into the water, and there was no reaction other than the initial splash.

"It's fallen." A passer-by on the bridge looked around, "Did you still jump?"

"I didn't see clearly." The peddler shrank his head back, "Seven or eight-year-old girl, it's so pitiful..."

Before they finished speaking, they heard the sound of water splashing under the bridge.The filthy and stinking beggar plunged into the water, plunged into the water, and within a short while, a little girl was dragged out.

Dong Lin carried the little girl ashore, he wiped his face and patted the little girl's cheek.This girl's face is not as big as his palm, and if he is a little heavier, he can pat her and hurt her.Donglin hesitated for a moment, then changed to patting with two fingers.

"Didn't anyone tell you not to play in the water?" Dong Lin gasped from the cold, and hugged his shoulders, "It's such a cold day, no one will talk to you next time."

Chen Caoyu shivered and got up, she was surprisingly thin, and when she hugged her body, she was not as heavy as a wild cat.Donglin stretched out his hand to grab her, but she immediately shivered with her head in her arms, sobbing in fear.

Donglin looked at her and withdrew his hand.The hatchback was speechless, and the girl never put down her arms from the beginning to the end.

Donglin said, "Do you get beaten often?"

Chen Caoyu peeped at him from the gap between her arms and shook her head vigorously.

Dong Lin's eyes swept over her wrists, and saw that the wrist bones were covered with stick marks, and the places where they were beaten so hard were rotten to frostbite. Even the thin dog just now looked more decent than her.Donglin looked away and fell silent.Chen Caoyu was so cold that she stumbled between her teeth, lost a shoe, and stepped on the mud with her bare foot.Donglin didn't make a sound, so she didn't dare to move.

Donglin fumbled in his pocket with his hands, and touched a few beads.He finally couldn't hold back, got up and picked up Chen Caoyu's collar, led the staggering little girl to the bridge, and bought hot buns for her.

Chen Caoyu wolfed down the steamed stuffed bun, stuffing her yellow and thin cheeks.While sobbing and swallowing, she looked at Donglin with sudden big eyes.Donglin looked like dust in this gaze, he couldn't bear it, he only felt pain.

"get out."

Donglin roughly stuffed the remaining buns into Chen Caoyu's arms, picked her up by the collar and turned her around, then pushed her lightly.

"go home."

Chen Caoyu raised her head and stared at him, covering her mouth to prevent the bun from leaking out.She swallowed hard, refusing to let go of even a little bit of meat.She walked a few steps under Donglin's push, as if she was terrified of him, and finally ran into the crowd.

Donglin looked at it for a while, then scolded: "White-eyed wolf."

He was unshaven, filthy and smelly, squeezed into the crowd, and returned to his bridge hole to die.The next morning, Dong Lin was wrapped in wet clothes and fell asleep facing the wall, and was pushed and shoved several times on his back.

"Get lost." Dong Lin felt exhausted and burned.He half-opened his eyes and said, "I don't have any money to buy buns with you."

Chen Caoyu knelt and crawled behind, stuffing hot sweet potatoes into his arms.The potatoes were no longer than the length of his fingers, and they were obviously fed to livestock by other families.

Dong Lin was so hot from the sweet potato that his chest was astringent. He stared at the bridge wall and murmured, "Why don't you let me go."

Chen Caoyu shrank her hands and leaned against a corner, blowing on her breath and peeling her potatoes.Dong Lin turned over and sat up, cross-legged, holding the potato to look at it, then raised his hand and threw it back into Chen Caoyu's arms.Chen Caoyu looked at him in surprise, and shrank again.

Donglin leaned against the bridge wall and said, "I won't eat."

Chen Caoyu peeled them off and stuffed them into his mouth. Donglin looked at her and saw that she was wearing brand new clothes today, but they didn't fit well.The shoes are also bigger and look like boys' shoes.

"You are in charge." Donglin said, "Isn't it?"

Chen Caoyu turned a deaf ear to it.She was quite attentive when eating, and her concentration made people feel a little dull.Dong Lin moved over, grabbed her arm, straightened and rolled up her sleeves, seeing that yesterday's wounds were all covered with medicine.He pulled her like this, but she was still eating.

"Since someone is in charge, don't come to me again." Donglin let go of his hand and said, "Stay with your family."

Chen Caoyu shook her head suddenly, pulled off her sleeves, looked at Donglin and shook her head desperately.

"Are you dumb?" Donglin said.

"No." Chen Caoyu's voice was like a mosquito, "No."

"Then listen." Donglin said, "I'm a villain, don't stay with me. Go home and don't come here again."

Chen Caoyu didn't move, Donglin picked her up and pushed her outside.She retreated desperately, and Donglin picked it up immediately, about to throw it out of the bridge hole.Chen Caoyu burst into tears, grabbed Dong Lin's hand, shook her head and shouted: "Don't go back, don't go back! Please!"

Donglin said nothing.

Chen Caoyu kicked off her one-size-larger shoes, leaned against her body almost as if she was cheating, held Dong Lin's hand tightly, and said with a sob: "Please, please...don't go back..."

Dong Lin's heart choked, and he suddenly withdrew his strength.Chen Caoyu slipped on the ground and quickly crawled back to the corner.She hugged her body and pressed against the bridge wall, choking with sobs.Donglin squatted down to pick up the shoes and put them on for her.

"You..." Donglin buried his head in his arms as if discouraged, "Why don't you go home."

Chen Caoyu wiped her tears: "It hurts..."

"What?" Donglin raised his eyes, "Did your parents beat you?"

How could parents be willing to beat their children?Donglin thought, I won't, if I find her back, I will hold her in the palm of my hand and tell her to get the wind and the rain.I can't wait to give her everything in this world, I don't even want to touch it with my fingers.

Chen Caoyu didn't want to say any more, she cried until her face turned into a cat.Donglin wanted to wipe it for her, but found that he was terribly dirty again.So he pulled her sleeves and blew her nose.Chen Caoyu's nose was rubbed red, and she endured the pain.

Donglin couldn't chase her away, so she came every day.Donglin lingers on, but he has a little more concern.He originally thought that Chen Caoyu was under the care of his parents, but it was just a moment of awkwardness.But he gradually realized something was wrong.This girl keeps getting new clothes and tidies them up all day long, but once she opens her sleeves, you can see all kinds of stick marks.New wounds covered old wounds, someone applied medicine to her, and someone beat her harder, as if relying on that layer of smooth skin, she could do whatever she wanted.

Donglin squatted under the bridge hole and waited for Chen Caoyu to finish eating the pastries. He said, "Where is home? You go back."

Chen Caoyu stared at him blankly.

He stood up, wrapped the smelly clothes over his head, and turned into a complete lunatic.

"You go." He said, "I'll watch."

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