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墨書 Inktalez
“Father, did you say these were things that others bought and didn’t want?”
Summer Forest was taken aback by Xia Muxin's strange question. He stared at her for a while before firmly replying, “Muxin, what’s wrong with you? Last year, I often picked up these things to bring home, but your mother said they weren’t clean and threw them all away.”
“Ah?!” Xia Muxin felt as if a flock of crows had flown over her head. It turned out that their family wasn’t poor; they were just poor enough to think that pig bones and offal were things that could be discarded. Looking down at her own scrawny frame, which had barely any meat on it, Xia Muxin could only sigh deeply.
“Father, wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back.” Seeing that she had bought most of what she needed, Xia Muxin didn’t have much time to dwell on the pig bones and offal. She glanced at the nearby Oil Shop and said to Summer Forest before heading over.
When she returned with two large jars of oil in hand, Summer Forest looked at her and began to feel distressed again. They had just bought lard, and now she had purchased two large jars of oil; today’s few dozen coins would soon run out.
Xia Muxin didn’t notice her father’s gloomy expression. After placing the oil on the cart, she clapped her hands and looked over the items on the cart. After calculating in her mind, she felt it was about enough and said, “Father, let’s go home.”
“Eh!” After a moment of silence, Summer Forest finally responded and began to tie the hemp rope over his shoulder, starting to walk ahead in silence.
Xia Muxin felt puzzled for a moment as she watched his frail figure. The corners of her mouth curled up; it seemed her father was once again struggling with money.
On the way home, they ran into Small and Grandfather and Grandson again. It seemed that the silver from last time had treated them well; at least Small wasn’t complaining about hunger anymore. However, their fava beans still hadn’t sold, and the old man’s wrinkles had deepened a bit more.
Just like last time, Xia Muxin gave him one or two silver coins to load the peas onto her cart and said, “Old man, wait for me here five days from now. If luck is on my side, I will buy a large quantity of fava beans from you. You won’t need to carry them all the way to Town to sell.”
After saying this, she smiled brightly as she gently patted Small’s head, who was looking up at her with innocent eyes.
"Miss..." The old man trembled, unable to speak. They had been living in a state of barely getting by for almost three years now. In these three years, not only had he not received a new piece of clothing, but even the clothes worn by the child were all hand-me-downs from her parents, altered and mended time and again. He took the child out every day, facing the harshness of life in Town, where they were often looked down upon. Those people not only haggled over prices but also weighed their goods unfairly. Even when luck was on their side and they managed to sell some Fava Beans, they barely saw a few coins.
Now, this girl had saved them from peril several times, and she was just a teenager. How could he not feel grateful?
"Old man, don't thank me just yet. If one day life gets better, let the child go to school and repay the kindness."
Country folk were straightforward by nature. Xia Muxin noticed the tears glistening in the old man's eyes, and her heart ached. She smiled at the child before continuing.
In this era, education was the most reliable path to a better life. The child's eyes sparkled for a moment, as if dreaming of something wonderful. The old man pondered Xia Muxin's words in disbelief. Just as he was about to say something, he saw that father and daughter had already started pulling their cart forward.
- End of Chapter -
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