The skinny little girl sat on a big rock at the entrance of the alley, looking at the pedestrians coming and going on the street. She took out a small cloth bag from her bosom, opened it layer by layer, and a faint sweet smell filled the air.
It was a small piece of candied plum. The girl carefully tore a small piece from the edge, wrapped the rest, and hid it in her bosom.
She placed a small piece of candied plum in her mouth and was reluctant to swallow it. Only when the taste that was sweeter than honey was completely gone did she carefully chew it. She took out the small cloth bag again and repeated the action just now.
She had been eating the half piece of candied plum that her mother gave her in the end like this for a whole day.
In his memory, this kind of fragrance could only be smelled at the entrance of a shop called "Ten Miles Fragrance". Furthermore, he couldn't be discovered by the shop's employees. They would chase him away while scolding him as "little beggar".
She was not a beggar.
Although she didn't have beautiful new clothes to wear, she always washed her clothes clean, cleaner than all the children she had seen. Customers didn't like a dirty girl in a noodle shop.
She didn't like the staff of "Ten Li Xiang", they always called her "little beggar". She liked the brother she saw yesterday.
Because he treated her to delicious food, the next time she saw him, she must treat him to noodles, free of charge.
Her grandmother was sick, and her mother didn't go out today, so she definitely wouldn't see that brother today.
The little girl was a little disappointed, no one had ever praised her name, except for her mother and uncle, everyone looked at her strangely, even her father was no exception — since the day her father sent her and her mother back to her grandmother's house, she hadn't seen him again.
"He Duanwu, little beggar, mother gave birth, no father to teach me …"
A group of children ran over from a distance, pointing at the girl sitting on the rock, laughing and talking.
The girl didn't look at them, sat up, patted the dust off her body, turned around, and walked into the alley.
The group of children obviously didn't want her to leave like this, so they sped up, ran over, and surrounded her. She was about to walk out, but was suddenly pushed by an older child on the shoulder, causing her to fall to the ground.
"Hehe, He Duanwu, why didn't you clean the table today?"
"Your family doesn't sell noodles?"
"Hehe, He Duanwu, I saw your father on the street today!"
…
The oldest of the children seemed to be ten years old, and the youngest was only five or six years old. They were talking one after another.
The girl got up from the ground and bit her lip. She wanted to get out of the crowd but was pushed back in.
…
…
"These years, the He family's life has not been too good." Elder Li sighed and said, "Back then, Young Master and Miss He left the capital city and embarrassed the House of High Dukes. Although the Li family has been declining, they still have a foundation in the capital city. They still have to be careful when they do things, but the He family is different."
"Miss He's father was already seriously ill, and he passed away after a few days. The He family's eldest son was already engaged, but due to the pressure from the House of High Dukes, he quickly came to cancel the engagement. Your other aunt was also delayed for a few years before she was married, but she was sent back by her husband's family in less than two years. I'm afraid it's also because of the House of High Dukes."
The old man sighed and continued, "Fortunately, the He family is just a commoner, and the House of High Dukes won't use more underhanded methods to protect their reputation. The Li family can't help them openly, but they have helped them resolve a lot of trouble in the dark. It's good that Young Master goes to meet them, and they should know about Miss He's situation."
There was an endless stream of people on the street, and Elder Li told Li Yi about these things in detail.
Li Yi could still remember the face of the man who carried him everywhere to seek medical help on a snowy night. There was another figure in his mind that he could not see clearly.
And that figure was the person closest to him in this world.
Whether it was the Li family or the He family, there wasn't much of a difference in his heart. Their bodies had the same bloodline as this body, and it brought him an irreplaceable sense of closeness. This was something he couldn't feel from Ruyi and the others.
"Hey, there used to be a noodle stall here, why isn't it here today?" The chubby boy had been anticipating something along the way, and when he reached the corner of the street, he suddenly said in surprise. There was a hint of disappointment in his voice.
He had planned to let his big brother see how delicious this noodle stall was, and also ask him to teach him martial arts. Now, it seemed that his wish had been temporarily dashed.
Since yesterday, the chubby boy had obviously been pestering him, and this time, he even wanted to follow him out.
Hearing his words, Li Yi raised his head and looked around. The place where he ate the noodles yesterday was empty. The woman and the little girl were gone. But thinking about what happened yesterday, it was normal that they didn't come out to set up a stall today.
The mother and daughter looked quite pitiful. If possible, Li Yi wanted to buy the recipe for the noodle stall. Under normal circumstances, a few hundred taels of silver would be enough for a family of five to live comfortably for the rest of their lives, even if they ran out of money.
One reason was because he really liked the taste of the noodle, and the reason why he was willing to spend several times the price of the noodle recipe was purely because he had an indescribable good impression of the little girl.
"Young master, the He family is in front."
After turning a corner and walking a few dozen steps, Elder Li pointed to a deep alley and said, "The He family is in there."
Even in the future, even in the most prosperous cities, there would still be old and run-down places, let alone in this era. In the capital, not only did the royal family and various officials and nobles live there, there were also poor families who could not eat their fill in the inner city of the capital.
This was clearly a place similar to the slums. When Li Yi and the other two followed a narrow alley, the road ahead was blocked by a group of children.
The alley was already narrow, and with seven or eight children surrounding it, there was no way to get through.
"Little beggar, your father doesn't want you anymore."
"What's that in your hand, let us see?"
"Let go, if you don't let go, I'll beat you!"
… …
… …
"What are you doing!" Seeing a young girl being pushed and shoved by them, Li Yi quickly walked over and yelled, "Come on, come on, come on!"
Seeing that someone had arrived, the naughty brats immediately scattered. The girl picked up a cloth bag from the ground. It had been accidentally dropped by them in the process of fighting over it. She patted the dust off it and carefully kept it in her bosom.
Then, she raised her head to look at the figure walking over, and her small face couldn't help but be slightly startled.
Li Yi walked over and gently patted the dust off her body, and asked, "Duan Wu, why are you here? Where's your mother?"
"My family lives here, and my mother is at home brewing medicine for my grandmother." Seeing that big brother again, the little girl raised her head and said with a smile.
With that, she suddenly tilted her head and watched as the little fatty stuffed a fragrant pastry into his mouth.
The little fatty blushed under her gaze and handed over the paper bag in his hand, and asked, "Do you want to eat?"
"Duan Wu?" As if remembering something, Li Yi suddenly looked at her and asked, "What's your surname?"
"My surname is He, He Duan Wu."
The little girl raised her head and looked at him with her large, bright eyes as she spoke in a small voice.
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