Jura took out a bunch of keys and opened the door.
Dean looked at the slowly opened house. He knew that this would be the place where he would live for the next few days.
"Dean, come in." Jura took out a pair of adult cotton shoes from a small cabinet next to the door. She deliberately shook them in front of Dean, as if to tease him. "These are uncle's shoes. You wear them first. I'll take you to buy a new pair before the curfew."
Dean was startled for a moment, but then he was relieved. One of the conditions for adopting a child was that the child must be married. In other words, he had a nominal father that he had never met.
He consciously took off the dirty shoes on his feet. The rough shoes carved a few painful red marks on his feet. When he stepped on the clean cotton shoes, a burst of comfortable feeling came.
"Come, I'll take you to wash first." Jura said enthusiastically.
Dean thought that he could have a comfortable bath, but he saw that she just soaked a towel with warm water, wrung it, and then helped him wipe his face and arms. This way of bathing was exactly the same as the way in the orphanage.
But the color of the water was much purer.
Dean did not know that in this world, including the nobles, they all used this "dry cleaning" method to bathe. People's general view was that water would weaken the human body's functions and reduce disease resistance. Even the most clean nobles would only take a big bath once or twice a year.
After the bath, Jura let Dean familiarize himself with the house. She took the coarse clothes that Dean had changed out of.
Dean walked around the room. As he expected, he didn't see any technological items. There wasn't even a simple clockwork alarm clock. Moreover, he saw an old textile machine that he had only seen in fairy tales. He remembered that the background of the fairy tale seemed to be the medieval period of Europe. At that time, the steam era had not yet entered.
Although a single textile machine could not determine anything, Dean thought of everything he had seen in the past few months. In his heart, he was convinced that the degree of civilization in this post-disaster world should have just developed to the Bronze Age before the Steam Age. They had just learned to use metal.
This discovery made some thoughts emerge in his heart …
In the evening, the sky gradually darkened and the air became colder. It seemed that it was going to rain again.
Jura was worried that Dean was afraid of the dark, so she lit the oil lamp early. The dim light swayed on Dean's face. Every time Jura saw it, she was amazed. It was too white, even whiter than her skin color.
"It's going to rain. Uncle hasn't come back yet?" Dean looked out of the window and said.
Jura smiled. She thought that this was really a good child: "Uncle will be making a batch of goods in the next few days. I won't be back tonight. Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I'll cook."
"Just eat whatever you have."
"You're such a good child. I'll let you taste my cooking. I'm sure you'll like it." Jura said confidently.
…
…
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
Dean had already met his nominal father. His name was Gray. He was a tall and thin middle-aged man. His appearance was ordinary, and his character was the same as Jura's. He was gentle, and his occupation was' tailor '. The textile machine at home was his workbench. During the' black snow season ', he would bring the goods to the house to work. After all, there was no charcoal and coal stove in the factory.
Obviously, they had discussed about Jura's adoption. When he came home for the first time and saw Dean, his expression was the same as the adults in the orphanage. His face was full of surprise. When he found out that Dean was a little autistic and had no other problems, he was so satisfied that he couldn't stop smiling for a few days.
Night.
The common rainstorm of the rainy season came again. The rain pattered on the ground.
Dean, who was sleeping in his small room, suddenly opened his eyes and sat up. He found out that it was just a nightmare. Then he felt his whole body was soaked with cold sweat. His clothes were stuck to his skin. It was a little uncomfortable. He shook his clothes and suddenly felt a rush of urine. He immediately got out of bed, put on his shoes, and gently opened the door. He found that there was a dim light under the door of Jura and her husband's room diagonally opposite. He couldn't help but be startled.
It was so late, but they still hadn't slept?
Dean's heart suddenly jumped twice. He didn't know what was going on in his mind, but he unconsciously approached the room.
The building materials of this world obviously didn't consider the sound insulation effect. At least, there was no such thing in Jura's house. A subtle sound came from the room.
"Do you really want to do this?" It was Jura's voice, with a bit of hesitation.
"I know that you like this child very much. I also like him very much. To be honest, I also hate to part with him. But this is a rare opportunity. If Miss Avril can take a fancy to him, we can move to the commercial district. There, we can find a better job. If you feel lonely, we can adopt another child. Anyway, we can afford it."
"It's not a matter of money. I'm worried that if Dean marries into Avril's family, he won't like to talk. He will be bullied. They are people from two different worlds. I have seen children who marry into big families. Their lives are almost the same as servants. Some are even worse than servants."
The room was silent for a moment. Gray's voice continued, "Jura, you should think of it this way. He is an orphan from the slums. If it wasn't for us, but if he was adopted by another serf family, his life would be worse than that of a servant. Moreover, he can live the life of a servant in Avril's family. I don't know how many people would envy him …"
"But …"
"Well, this matter is decided. Whether it will succeed or not is another matter."
The room was silent.
The little figure at the door also fell silent. His little hands clenched into fists, and then slowly loosened. He turned around, and as if dragging his body, he returned to his own room. It was as if he had even forgotten about the need to pee.
Sitting on the bed, Dean listened to the sound of rain outside the window. He suddenly felt very sad. Although he had always regarded Jura and her husband as his nominal parents, but this month he was very touched by their meticulous care. His heart had a little more warmth. But he didn't expect that the world would once again like a mockery, breaking some of the soft beauty in his heart.
In the dead of night, he suddenly felt very lonely.
His heart suddenly missed his knowledgeable father and mother, who were strict and gentle to him, and his sister who always liked to pinch his ears.
Why, why was he the incompetent one left behind?!
He clenched his fists, but his heart was very powerless. He didn't know how much time had passed. His heart slowly emerged an idea. Since … he could no longer see his parents and sister, then let this strange world return to its familiar appearance!
No one knew that in this rainy night, the gears of history, in the chest of this inconspicuous little figure in the dark, slowly moved forward.
…
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