"Brother, it's time to get up. You should wash up and read in the morning. My sister will cook for you."
Xiao Jian opened his eyes and saw his sister placing an oil lamp on the side of the bed.
It was still dark, and the dim light dispelled the darkness in the room, revealing the thin figure of my sister Xiao Rong.
Xiao Jian, who was only thirteen years old, stood up with difficulty and folded up the old and thin bedding as he had done before.
After washing, he took out a roll of books with torn pages and yellowed pages, spread them on the bed, and started reading seriously in the shadow of the lamp.
My sister Xiao Rong had already turned around and walked out of the room, and soon there was a wisp of smoke rising from the kitchen.
It is the twelfth lunar month in the middle of winter, and the sky and the earth are extremely cold.
Xiao Jian was shivering from the cold. He kept rubbing his hands to breathe. He couldn't help it, so he warmed himself by the lamp. But even so, he still did not forget to recite an article he had just learned yesterday.
In the private school in Yunmeng Village, Xiao Jian is the child who studies hardest. This is something that everyone in Yunmeng Village knows.
Soon, daylight broke.
Xiao Jian immediately turned off the oil lamp and opened the window. A biting cold wind poured in, making Xiao Jian shiver all over.
But he still endured it, holding the book and standing in front of the window.
Lamp oil also costs money, and since he and his sister depend on each other, it is extremely difficult to make ends meet every day. How can they be willing to waste lamp oil?
Although it is cold to stand in front of the window and read, it is still bearable.
For Xiao Jian, this is enough.
Soon, my sister Xiao Rong prepared the meal.
It was said to be a meal, but it was actually a bowl of gruel with a few vegetable leaves floating on it, a dark steamed bun, and a plate of pickled vegetables.
Xiao Jian looked at the food and ate silently.
My sister looked on from one side, with a smile on her face.
After eating, Xiao Jian did not pack his bags and go to private school as usual. Instead, he lowered his head and said, "Sister, I don't want to study anymore!"
Xiao Rong was startled and asked with concern: "What's going on...have you been bullied by your classmates again? Don't be afraid, my sister will take you to the private school and tell 'Mr. Liu' that I will never let you..."
"Sister, no."
Xiao Jian interrupted, "I never care about the bullying. They are not as good at studying as me. They are jealous, so they exclude me and humiliate me. The more they do this, the more it proves that I am better at studying than them!"
What he said was full of confidence.
Xiao Rong asked doubtfully: "Then why? Are you worried that your sister won't be able to give it to Mr. Liu, a private school next year? Don't worry, my sister has almost collected enough money, and I will definitely not delay your schooling by then."
Xiao Jian was silent this time.
Xiao Rong's eyes were full of pity, and he said softly, "Don't worry about making money anymore, just study well. Go quickly, you will be late if you stay late."
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With that said, Xiao Rong picked up Xiao Jian and sent him outside the house.
"Take these eggs and pancakes and eat them when you're hungry."
The sister handed a cloth bag to Xiao Jian.
Xiao Jian saw that his sister's originally slender and fair hands had become red, swollen, chapped, and had frostbite from the cold.
Xiao Jian felt sad for a while, but he pursed his lips, took the bag, and said, "Sister, can studying... really help us live a good life?"
Xiao Rong gave a firm reply: "Yes!"
The sky was dark with thick clouds, the ground was covered with white snow, and the entire village was submerged in the ice and snow.
Xiao Jian walked dozens of steps out of the house and couldn't help but turn his head and look.
But he saw his sister standing outside the door, looking at him quietly.
Behind her is the home of two siblings.
It was an old and dilapidated small courtyard. The mud house had long been in disrepair and had collapsed and broken in many places. The heavy snow piled on the roof well concealed the dilapidated scene of the small courtyard.
My sister is still wearing a thin gray tattered cotton-padded jacket.
In Xiao Jian's memory, every winter since he could remember, his sister seemed to have been wearing such a shabby coat.
"go quickly!"
From a distance, my sister smiled and waved. Her smile was as bright as the sky and brighter than the snow.
Xiao Jian snorted, then turned around. His thin and frail figure walked hard through the thick snow and against the biting wind, towards the private school located at the east end of the village.
Mr. Liu from the private school was already standing outside the school.
He was wearing a Confucian robe, a willow beard, and a scholarly air. He saw Xiao Jian coming in the heavy snow from a distance, and couldn't help but twist his beard and smile: "Xiao Jian, you are the first again, not bad, not bad."
Over the past year, no matter whether it was cold or hot, whether it was windy or rainy, Xiao Jian was always the first to arrive at the private school.
This young man from a poor family also left a deep impression on Mr. Liu.
"Mr. Liu."
Xiao Jian stepped forward to greet him and said, "I don't plan to come to study next year."
Mr. Liu was confused, "Why is this?"
Xiao Jian pursed his lips and shook his head.
Mr. Liu pondered for a moment and said, "You go ahead and we will talk about this later."
At dusk.
After finishing his schoolwork for the day, Xiao Jian hurriedly left the private school alone. He was worried that if it got late, his sister would brave the wind and snow to pick him up. In that case, she would freeze to death.
On the road, a group of teenagers suddenly came out and stood in front of Xiao Jian.
Before Xiao Jian could figure out the situation, the leader, a strong and burly young man, had already kicked Xiao Jian to the ground.
A crater was made in the thick snow. Xiao Jian's waist was bent in pain and his vision turned black.
"old
I have to beat you to death today, you bastard!"
The burly young man sneered, sat directly on Xiao Jian, and punched Xiao Jian hard in the face.
Xiao Jian suddenly turned his head to one side to avoid it, and the burly young man hit the ground with his fist, causing him to gasp in pain.
Before he could react, Xiao Jian's thin figure suddenly burst out with force, wrapped his arms around the opponent's waist, and rolled to one side.
The burly young man roared and fought fiercely with Xiao Jian in the snow.
The two of them were rolling and fighting each other with fists and kicks. Xiao Jian was thin and weak, and his strength was far inferior to that of the burly young man. He was quickly beaten until his face was covered with blood.
But he was so fierce that he gritted his teeth and fought back desperately, which made the burly young man unable to do anything to him for a moment, and his nose was broken by Xiao Jian.
Blood splashed on the snow, stimulating the nearby teenagers to scream and get excited.
"Li Zheng, beat this motherless bitch to death!"
"This Xiao Jian is the most hateful. Mr. Liu, that bad old man, uses him to lecture us every day, which has made everyone very angry!"
"Li Zheng, if you don't beat him to death, you won't be considered a man!"
...The teenagers were all Xiao Jian's classmates, but the eyes they looked at Xiao Jian were full of contempt, hatred and excitement.
"Li Zheng, why did you hit me? Have I ever offended you?"
Xiao Jian screamed loudly, his face was covered with blood, his eyes, nose, and mouth were all bleeding, his vision was all red, his head was dizzy, and he could hardly hold on.
At this moment, he was like a lone wolf being bullied. He could only struggle with all his strength, but it was impossible to win.
"Why?"
Li Zheng shook his fist and shouted angrily, "My mother said that your sister's bitch hooked up with my father to exchange money and did some shameful and dirty things. My mother was so angry that she went crazy!"
"What?"
Xiao Jian was struck by lightning.
boom!
Li Zheng's fist hit Xiao Jian's head so hard that his eyes turned black and his whole body was twitching with pain.
But compared to this, his heart felt like being stabbed by a sharp knife, which was far more than the pain on his body.
Xiao Jian's eyes suddenly became bloodshot and his canthus was about to burst. He fought back like crazy and yelled: "You lied! You lied -! My sister is not that kind of person! Not -!"
His crazy look was only met with laughter.
"This bitch doesn't even know how disgusting his sister is. I think he's reading stupid books!"
"Who in our Yunmeng Village doesn't know that her sister is a stinky bitch, a rotten bitch?"
"Butcher Hong in the west of the village, Salesman Zhang in the south of the village, and Li Zheng's father, which one hasn't slept with that bitch?"
"Hey, I heard that the old monk from Nirvana Temple also had an affair with that bitch. My dad saw it with his own eyes the day before yesterday. The bitch walked out of Nirvana Temple late at night. She was sneaky all the way, as if she was afraid of being caught.
See!"
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"What is this? I also heard that that bitch has some unclear relationship with Mr. Liu. If not, how could a bitch like Xiao Jian be so valued by Mr. Liu?"
...Those teenagers laughed unscrupulously, and their words were like sharp knives, piercing deep into Xiao Jian's heart.
He seemed to be really crazy, yelling and struggling wildly, as if he was fighting for his life.
The burly young man Li Zheng was also frightened, and he called on the nearby teenagers to hold Xiao Jian down in the muddy and dirty snow.
Li Zheng stood up and punched Xiao Jian one after another as if to vent his anger.
Gradually, Xiao Jian stopped moving, and his thin figure collapsed on the ground. The blood flowing on his body melted the snow water and merged into the muddy and dirty mud water.
…
When Xiao Jian regained consciousness, he felt that his whole body was sometimes cold to the bone, sometimes as hot as a fever, and there was a stinging pain like needles all over his body.
But even so, Xiao Jian could only endure it.
When I raised my heavy eyelids with difficulty, I saw my sister's familiar face close at hand, with a deep look of worry between her brows.
Only then did he see clearly that he was lying on the bed, unconscious for who knows how long.
"Brother, you wake up!"
Xiao Rong said happily, his voice trembling, "Great, God bless, my brother Xiao Jian is finally back alive!"
The girl's eyes were red, tears welling up in her eyes and she couldn't stop the flow.
Immediately, she quickly wiped away her tears, picked up a medicine bowl, and handed it to Xiao Jian's lips, "Quick, drink it quickly, you will get better!"
Xiao Jian pursed his lips tightly and stared at his sister's face full of concern.
Suddenly, he didn't know where the strength came from, and he reached out and overturned the medicine bowl at his lips.
Snapped!
The medicine bowl fell to the ground and fell into pieces.
The medicinal soup was also spilled all over the floor.
Xiao Rong was stunned and quickly said: "It's okay, don't move, I'll make some medicine for you!"
She thought Xiao Jian was going to take the medicine bowl, but accidentally knocked it over after taking it.
Seeing Xiao Rong about to leave, Xiao Jian said fiercely: "Stop! You won't drink even if you beat me to death!"
As soon as the voice came out, it was extremely hoarse.
His eyes were fixed on his sister, and what Li Zheng and the others had said appeared in his mind, and his heart was about to explode with anger.
Xiao Rong stiffened, turned around, and said softly: "Brother, don't be ridiculous. You are injured and sick. How can you not take medicine? Just wait, sister will be here soon."
Xiao Jian struggled hard to get up, but the pain and weakness all over his body made him unable to get up at all.
Even so, he still gasped quickly, "Let me ask you, where did the money for the medicine come from?"
Xiao Rong was stunned, then realized something, opened his mouth, and was speechless for a moment.
It was late at night, and the atmosphere in the dark room was dull and depressing.