In the afternoon at shen hour, the bun’s little maid, Painted Child, as usual, carried a basket of vegetables to the evening market, which was about a hundred metres near the front, to buy food. This was something she did every day, picking up fresh ingredients at the evening market and buying enough for a day’s portion.
Although Painter had opened up a small vegetable plot in the backyard of the county office, and had also raised a few baby chicks, but the vegetables had not yet grown, and with the flooding affecting the growth of the small vegetables, the small vegetables were not self-sufficient at the moment, and the baby chicks hadn’t grown up yet either.
Every time you go out, there will be an errand boy following not far away for protection, painting is now used to it.
About an incense stick or so, the painting child will be satisfied with the basket of vegetables from the evening market back, the vegetables in the basket are fresh and tender and watery. The servant following behind was carrying two large carp and a white chicken in his hand, keeping a distance of about three metres from Painter, not too far, not too close.
“Father, don’t ah, please, don’t ……Don t sell me to go to the Yichun building to sell a smile ah, that the king of the toothwoman never sends the bought girl to the Yichun building to go, father begged you ……Don’t ah ……”
Just when the painting child is almost to the small door of the backyard of the county government office, a young girl dressed in rough clothing, messy hair, hurriedly staggered from the side of the path ran over, while running while whimpering and crying back to plead, but did not run for a few steps on the foot slipped, and only let out a cry of surprise and fell to the ground.
Unbiased, fell in the distance from the painting three or five metres away, the girl cried pear blossom with rain, is the standard village girl appearance, cheeks slightly black, stained with dust, through the often in the field labour formation of a touch of flushed, vaguely have a few points of grace, the body of the clothes are not very clean, wrinkled, and do farm work to leave a trace.
The officer who followed behind the painting was at first wary, and took a quick step closer to the painting to facilitate protection, and after seeing that the visitor was a weak girl, he felt that there was no danger, and then took two more steps back.
After the young girl fell, a side path then ran to a male, the male long and thin, forty or fifty years old or so, wearing dirty and tattered clothes, a face of bitter hatred, suffered from the wind and frost.
“Cui’er ah, father this is really no way ah, this God does not give the way to live miles, we can not go on this day, the family can not open the pot, this mother is sick, do not give money, the doctor does not give medicine miles, and this brother, this is not the most pain in the eyes of his miles, this would like to see him starve to death ah.”
The middle-aged man came forward, a grabbed the girl’s hand, while dragging, while sighing heavily.
“Father, to sell also sold me to the ordinary family, only begged this year don’t sell me to Wang Yaowei, she is Yi Chun Lou’s toothwoman miles, I fell into her hands, that is being sold into Yi Chun Lou miles. Father, what kind of place is Yichunlou? How could you not know? If I am sold into Yichunlou, I will not be able to live. I can only give people a smile, and anyone can bully me, and I will be tortured to death.”
The young girl can’t stop retreating backward, resisting not to get up from the ground, as if the ground can give her a safe dry like, both hands grasping the man’s sleeve, lifting up a face full of tears, bitterly begging, the voice is like the autumn wind blowing through the bamboo forest like a mournful turn, the tears on the face as the dike like a flood.
“Cui’er ah, father also don’t want to sell you to Wang Yaowei Li, but there is no way ah. Other people dislike you as a widowed woman, and are only willing to pay 5 taels of silver at the most, but only Wang Yaowei is willing to pay 10 taels of silver because of your good looks. Our family is more than 5 taels of silver for your mother’s medical treatment alone, not to mention the fact that Nim Di and our family are still living, so if we only sell 5 taels, what can we do with it, we can only sell it to Wang Yaowei.”
The middle-aged man pulled the young girl up with force, and said to the young girl with a helpless and determined face.
“Father, I’m not begging you not to sell me, I’m just begging you to sell me to someone else, just don’t send me into the fire pit.”
The young girl cried with tears in her eyes and snot in her nose, her hands tightly grasped the middle-aged man’s sleeves, and begged bitterly.
“Cui’er ah, this is all life ah, there is no way, it is father who is sorry for you, in the next life, father will give you to be an ox as a horse ha.”
The middle-aged man’s tears were also on the verge of flowing down, but he still shook his head ruthlessly and insisted on pulling the young girl up.
This girl is so pitiful ah, seeing this scene in front of her, the bun little maid, Painter, couldn’t help but get red in the eyes.
Behind following the protection of the officer to see this scene, put down the guard, flood before he has seen a lot of selling children to sell their daughters, poor people encountered difficulties really can not survive, selling children to sell their daughters is not surprising. After the flood, the sale of children than the usual situation is also a lot more, the day before yesterday in their village Zhang old man sold his five-year-old son, one can sell some silver, the second is also to find a way to live for his young son.
As long as it is not forced to buy and sell or rob the people’s women and other crimes, the government also do not care.
When the time comes to hand over the money in one hand and sign a contract of sale, from then on their destiny will be mastered by the main family, no longer free.
“Cui’er ah, A father and mother treated you well, it is said that a girl who marries out splashes out water. But your husband died on the day you were married, and your in-laws scolded you for being a bad husband, or my parents took you back and kept you. Now there is a natural disaster, your mother is sick, our family really can’t go on, really can’t do anything. Now your mother’s life is hanging by a thread, waiting for money to buy medicine. Cui’er ah, father is really no way out, since childhood, father has not begged you, today, father will beg you this time, please Cui’er ……”.
The middle-aged man said, kneeling down, a bitter face of old tears like rain.
“Father ah ……Father ah, you get up, daughter should be, daughter should be ……Wooooooo ……”
Seeing the middle-aged man’s kneeling and old tears, the defence of the young girl’s heart seemed to be broken, kneeling down and crying.
“Cui’er, father is sorry for you ah ……If you want to blame or hate, hate me, it has nothing to do with your mother and your brother ……”
“Father ah, do not blame you, to blame are to blame this world, this is my life ah ……”
In a moment, the father and daughter were in front of the painting, hugging and crying, it is really sad to hear, and smell the tears.
“Which, which ……You guys don’t be sad ……”
Painter had long since fallen into tears, wiped her tears with a handkerchief, red eyes, walked up and softly called out.
The father and daughter raised their heads in pearly tears, both pairs of eyes looking at Painter with empty and lifeless eyes.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hear about your privacy. That, you’d better not sell your daughter, how can you send your own daughter into the fire pit, I have ten taels of silver here, you guys take it for emergency, quickly go home and live a good life ……”
Painter said with red eyes, fished out a ten taels denomination silver ticket from her sleeve, reaching out and handing it to the two.
“Huh?”
The father and daughter were more surprised than pleasantly surprised.
“Many thanks to the benefactor, many thanks to the benefactor, madam is truly a bodhisattva ……We kowtow to you ……”
The young girl reacted first, pulling the middle-aged man to kneel and kowtow, the middle-aged man also reacted, kowtowing in succession.
“You guys quickly get up, quickly take it and go home, your mother is still waiting to see the doctor to catch medicine, there is no delay ……”
Painter reached out to pull the young girl while handing the silver ticket to the young girl.
“Eun Gong, although I can’t read big words, but I also know shame and integrity, I am not a beggar, how can I take Eun Gong’s silver for nothing.”
The young girl cried and shook her head, resolutely not accepting it.
“Yes, we are poor but not short of ambition, how can I take the silver of the benefactor for nothing.”The middle-aged man also shook his head with a resolute face.
“You guys quickly go home, your mother is still waiting to see the doctor and catch medicine ……”Painter was so anxious that she was on the verge of tears.
“Father, this silver is for you, you take it home to your mother to see the doctor, and then buy some food to go home, the younger brother can’t carry the hunger. I’ll sell my body to the Benefactor, and I’ll work as a cow for the Benefactor in this life to repay him for his kindness. Father, this is the last time I call you father. From now on, I will be the slave girl of your family, at your disposal, I no longer have any relationship with you, and in the future, I and you will each have your own destiny.”
The young girl bit her lips to make up her mind, took the silver ticket from Painter’s hand, and shoved it to the middle-aged man, saying to him with a determined face.
“Ah? No need, really no need.”Painter waved her hand repeatedly.
“Then this silver ticket I also don’t want it, father, Nim or sell me to Wang Tooth Woman, a thousand people ride on a thousand people ride, this is all my life miles ……”
At these words, the young girl shook her head vigorously, cried and took the silver ticket back from the middle-aged man’s hand, and stuffed it back into the painting’s hand, with a face of resignation and grief, she cried to the middle-aged man.
“Ah? I buy, I buy ……”Hearing that the young girl was going to sell herself Yichun Lou, Painter couldn’t help but say anxiously.
So, Painter went out to go to the evening market to buy vegetables and chickens and fish, and on the way back, she bought a young girl who sold herself into slavery by the way.
“Father, you go, from now on I have nothing to do with you again miles, the future is to live or die each peace of God.”
The young girl occupies the doorway of the backyard of the county government office to cover her face with her sleeve, and the middle-aged man said goodbye, and then turned around and stepped into the backyard with determination.
Under the sleeve, the corner of the lips hooked up a touch of arc, lowered his head, no one saw a pair of fox eyes, extraordinarily god.
