Chapter 9 The Names of the Seven Babies
"Well, eldest brother said that mothers are soft-hearted and will not care about their children. As long as we all call you mother, you won't care about us." The little girl told with shining eyes.
Listening to the child's tone of admiration for the elder brother, Hong Xiaoduo could understand. A group of children who were abused by the evil man had an elder brother who could take care of them. He was their backbone.
They believe everything the eldest brother says.
However, Hong Xiaoduo didn't expect that the answer he wanted was so simple.
The reason for calling her mother sounds very reasonable. Many fathers in this world can abandon their children irresponsibly and cruelly, but mothers can't. That's because she has been pregnant for ten months and has worked hard with full expectations. What was born was the flesh that fell from her body.
Of course, this is a bit one-sided. Not all fathers are selfish, nor are mothers cruel enough not to want children. Those are a small minority.
Hong Xiaoduo vaguely remembered what a celebrity said, mother is not someone to rely on, but someone who makes reliance unnecessary.
But the premise of all this is that it is biological first, right?
For a woman who is a complete stranger to a child that is not her own, and has no kinship to tie her to, facing such a thing, she will only give her some help as she can out of maternal sympathy.
Like the children in front of them, they regard her as the only life-saving straw they can grasp.
They pinned their hopes on a title, which is the only way they can think of. Anyone who hears it will find it funny, but they think it is feasible.
But from their perspective, they have no other choice.
Although Hong Xiaoduo's time here was short, he felt that this dynasty did not seem to be very peaceful, and people's lives were not easy either.
The older boy who was approaching noticed something was wrong with Hong Xiaoduo's expression. He pulled the little girl's hand aside and asked in a low voice: "Are you being naughty? Are you unhappy?"
The little girl shook her head repeatedly and turned to look at her mother. Is her mother unhappy? It seems so!
I wondered if it was because of what I said to my mother, and I was afraid of being scolded by my elder brother, so I pursed my lips and did not dare to tell him.
The little actions of these two people have long been caught in Hong Xiaoduo's sight. She pretended not to notice and clapped her hands: "Are everyone here? Let's set off when they are all here. Try to get there before dark. Go to that village.”
The children immediately looked at each other and nodded, and there were seven of them.
As soon as the big boy knelt down to carry the little girl on his back, Hong Xiaoduo stepped forward, quickly put the child on his back, and also took away the cloth belt used by the big boy to carry the baby.
"Mom, I can do it." The older boy was still anxiously guessing why this 'mother' was unhappy. Now that he saw her taking the initiative to carry the youngest child on her back, he suddenly felt more at ease.
No matter why this 'mother' was in a bad mood just now, she didn't want to abandon them, so that's good.
"Take care of the rest. Hurry up and stop being nagging." Hong Xiaoduo said as he tied up the little girl behind him with a cloth belt, but he couldn't tie it up properly. The older boy hurried forward to help.
One kid and one kid continued on their way. Although they were still afraid of being chased by evildoers, they seemed not as afraid as they were at the beginning.
Hong Xiaoduo was secretly glad that the weather in this season was a bit cold but not very cold, and it didn't rain.
Otherwise, it would be tragic.
Being bored on the road, Hong Xiaoduo chatted with the children.
The seven children are all people who don’t know where they are. Whoever is in their family has been with the evil man since they can remember. He took them around begging and used the money he got to buy wine and food.
All the children eat are scraps from beggars. Because there are constant wars, life is not easy for the people. Even scraps are not available every day. If not, they will starve. This is not good for them. He said that starving was fine, and he was used to it, so he just endured it and got through it.
The most fearful thing is not being able to get money. If the villain runs out of money to buy wine or food, he will beat them to vent his anger. He will hit them hard but not cripple them. He can make them afraid and in pain without hurting them. Delay and continue to beg.
When he heard what the children said, Hong Xiaoduo suddenly no longer worried about whether he had accidentally killed that person. Such a bad person deserved death, and death was not a pity.
When Hong Xiaoduo heard the names of the children, he wanted to scold her even more, because none of the seven children had normal names.
Even if he is called Xiao Shitou, he is still justified.
But, no, the eldest boy is called Piggy, and then in order are Horse Boy, Cowboy, Sheep Boy, Paparazzi, Donkey Boy, and Chicken Boy.
They were all named after animals. He never considered these seven poor children as human beings.
They didn't think it was anything at first. It wasn't until they were laughed at and scolded by other beggars that they were all little beasts that they realized that the name was not nice. Therefore, they never called each other.
Originally, I chatted with them because walking was boring, but the more I listened, the heavier Hong Xiaoduo felt. Is that evil person a psychopath? He enslaved them to support himself and gave them such a name?
"Mom, how about you rename us?" the big boy asked tentatively.
"Well, let me think about it." Hong Xiaoduo agreed without even thinking.
The children were all very happy when they heard that she agreed to name everyone.
Hong Xiaoduo was walking and thinking, and felt that naming is a very simple matter. For boys, call them mountains or peaks. For girls, call them clouds, Xiu, or flowers. Looking at it, Everything you look at is inspiration, doesn’t it just come to you!
But when she looked back at those big eyes full of excitement and pure expectation, she suddenly felt very guilty for being so casual and perfunctory.
The children stopped asking her questions when they saw her, and did not dare to talk to her rashly, for fear of disturbing her from giving herself a nice name.
Finally, one and seven children saw a village when the sun was about to set.
But as soon as they entered the village, the people in the village stared at them with wary eyes.
Hong Xiaoduo was a little confused. He saw a middle-aged man standing at the door of a house and went up to her. Before she could speak, the other man said in a bad tone: "We don't have food at home. Yes, go farther.”
Hong Xiaoduo wanted to say that he was not asking for it, but buying it with money, but the other party quickly turned around and closed the courtyard door with a bang.
The same was true for several families in succession. Hong Xiaoduo felt a little depressed. He pointed at himself and asked the children following him: "Do I look like a gangster?"
The children shook their heads in unison, but they didn't seem surprised by this.
"Mom, why don't you forget it? I've eaten meat now and I'm not very hungry now." The big boy whispered.
"Well, Mom, we can go without food for a few days this time and it'll be fine." The other younger one quickly expressed his opinion, and the other children nodded.
Hong Xiaoduo wants to say that I don’t believe in this evil anymore. I can’t even spend money to buy it?
But looking at the uneasy expressions of the children, I couldn't bear it: "Okay, let's go further and find a sheltered place to spend the night, and I will hunt birds for you tomorrow morning."
In this way, Hong Xiaoduo led the children out of the village. When they reached the exit on the other side of the village, an old voice called her.
"Little lady, don't blame the people in the village for being cruel. You really don't dare to be a good person. A few beggars came half a month ago. The big cow family in the village kindly let them in and steamed a pot of dry food and stewed chowder. .
< br>But who would have thought that they would return in the middle of the night and jump over the wall into the yard, taking away his family's savings of several years, and even attempted to assault Daniu's wife and daughter. Daniu held a machete and fought to the death to protect him, shouting for help. nearby neighbors Rushing, this is considered a disaster.
In this way, Daniel was seriously injured and had to recover for a long time. Although his wife and daughter kept their innocence, they had nightmares every night.
< br>Hey, this is a military shortage In the days of horse chaos, everyone is here, and the village is just scared if it happens like this!
I have a few cornbreads here, give them to the children, and make do with them.
There is an empty house on the roadside not far ahead. Although half of the roof has collapsed, staying in it can at least block the wind tonight. "
So that's it, Hong Xiaoduo understood, and signaled the older boy to take the steamed buns given by the old man, and thanked the old man again.
After walking a few steps, he stopped and looked back: “Old man, please stay. "
The old man stopped and turned to look at her.
"Excuse me, old man, what happened to those evil beggars? Have you been arrested and sent to the Yamen? "Hong Xiaoduo asked.
The old man shook his head and sighed: "Although those few are all beggars, they are very strong and good at kung fu. If the villagers could catch them, they would have run away long ago. The Yamen reported to the officials, but... Don't expect to catch it."
"What do you mean?" Hong Xiaoduo was very puzzled.
“The little lady doesn’t know something. This means no one was killed. What’s more, the victim is a villager in this small mountain village. People from the government will not bother to investigate and arrest the case unless someone encounters it. If you recognize them, report them to the official." The old man finished speaking and sighed.
"What if they were beaten to death for begging? What will happen to the people in the Yamen?" Hong Xiaoduo asked blurtly...
(End of this chapter)