After the middle-aged woman left, Jiujiu finally had time to size herself up.
After sizing him up, Jiujiu instantly felt like cursing.
Although her hands were only the size of a five- or six-year-old child, the difference was that this pair of small hands was densely covered in scars. Her ten finger joints were all frostbitten, red and swollen like little carrots.
The back of his hand was covered with numerous cracks, and some places were bleeding profusely.
She was wearing a pair of single shoes. Because the shoes were too small, there was a hole where her thumb was, revealing her dirty toes. From the pain and itchiness, Jiujiu could tell that her feet were frostbitten, just like her hands.
Judging from the temperature, it was winter, but she was only wearing a single layer of clothing.
Even though there was no wind in the house, she was still shivering from the cold. If she went to the river to wash clothes now, she would definitely fall ill from the cold.
Although Jiujiu had seen how miserable Erya was in Erya's memories, Jiujiu couldn't help but feel sorry for Erya after seeing it for herself.
Jiujiu didn't listen to the middle-aged woman to wash the clothes. Instead, she put away all the clothes and walked to the window to see what the woman was doing.
It didn't matter if he took a look, but Jiujiu actually heard something inappropriate.
She heard the middle-aged woman's husband say to her, "It's so cold today, yet you still let Erya wash clothes by the river. What if she freezes?"
Compared to the worry in her husband's words, the middle-aged woman's voice slowly sounded unconcerned. "It's not like she hasn't been there before. Why is she so delicate this year?"
"I'm just worried that if she freezes, we won't be able to ask her parents for money in the future."
Jiujiu's ears pricked up when she heard this.
Erya's adoptive mother kept saying that if she hadn't been kind enough to bring Erya home, Erya would have died outside. She was using moral blackmail to make Erya work like a cow.
However, judging from the conversation between her and her husband, it seemed that the truth wasn't as she said.
First of all, if Erya was really abandoned, then it didn't make sense for them to ask Erya's parents for money.
After all, if Erya's parents could really abandon Erya, why would they give them money?
The only truth was that Erya wasn't adopted by them.
Erya's adoptive mother said, "As long as Erya is still alive, she's their child. Besides, when our son marries Erya, they will recognize us as their in-laws.. By then, they will treat us well for Erya's future....."
"What if Erya tells her what you did to her?"
"What's there to be afraid of? Erya always thinks that we adopted her and listens to everything I say. She won't know her true identity."
"You're so smart. If you hadn't stolen Erya home, our Goudan wouldn't have been so lucky."
"Of course. Who do you think I am …"
Jiujiu didn't continue listening to the rest of the conversation.
Jiujiu had pieced together Erya's background from Erya's adoptive parents' words.
Not only did they not adopt Erya, they were the ones who stole her.
Moreover, Erya's original identity was very noble.
It was reasonable to think about it. How could an ordinary mountain family give birth to a girl like Erya?
Thinking of this, Erya really had a tough life.
She was born noble, but she was stolen away by this evil couple when she was young. Not only did she leave her parents' side, but she was also treated like a slave by them. In the end, she was even schemed against by them.
Compared to Erya who didn't think of taking revenge on them for raising her, Erya could be said to be very kind.
Erya didn't want to take revenge on this couple, but Jiujiu, who felt sorry for Erya, didn't have the same kind heart as Erya.
Jiujiu looked at the pile of clothes that the maid had thrown on the ground. She picked up the wooden basin and carried the clothes to the river.
Compared to the cold inside the house, the snow outside was as cold as an ice cave, penetrating one's heart.
The cold wind blew in waves. Jiujiu gritted her teeth and couldn't help but shiver.
Jiujiu gasped and asked Little White to give her an elixir to warm her body.
He quickly swallowed the pill, and only then did he avoid the danger of freezing to death.
Jiujiu walked step by step to the river and threw Erya's foster mother's clothes into the river.
Jiujiu didn't leave until all the clothes were washed away by the river.
She had just thrown all the clothes into the river. She definitely couldn't go back to their house.
Now that the snow had sealed the mountain, she couldn't go out. Since she couldn't go out even if she went back to the house, she might as well go into the mountains and find a cave to live in. She would wait until spring came and the flowers bloomed before making other plans.
Jiujiu released Little White and rode on Little White's back, running into the mountains.
Little White was like a white lightning, shuttling back and forth in the mountains.
The human and beast searched for a long time before they found a suitable cave to live in.
Jiujiu had just walked into the cave when she heard the sound of rapid panting coming from inside.
Walking into the cave, Jiujiu saw an eight-year-old child lying in the cave.
The child's face was crimson red, obviously having a high fever.
It was not Jiujiu's style to leave someone in the lurch.
Looking at the child's appearance, Jiujiu bent down and picked up the child. As she walked in, she muttered, "There are so many caves in this mountain, but I just had to walk into this cave. You just had to be in this cave. Since that's the case, I'll save your life."
After Jiujiu finished speaking, she placed the child on the animal skin that she took out from her space and covered the child with a blanket. She took out the elixir that she kept in her space and stuffed it into the child's mouth. Then, she went to change her clothes.
By the time Jiujiu finished packing up, the child's fever had almost subsided. His cheeks, which had been flushed red due to his high fever, had regained their normal pink color. His rapid breathing had also become calm. Jiujiu could even hear the growling of the child's stomach due to hunger.
Jiujiu chuckled. She got on Little White's back and went out to look for food.
It was true that the snow had sealed the mountain and made it difficult to pass through, but it was also the time when animals were at their fattest.
Jiujiu and Little White went out for a trip. Not only did they bring back wild chickens and rabbits, they also brought back some dried fruits that the squirrels had hidden for the winter.
Jiujiu put the things on the ground and went outside to pick up some dry wood. She used a stone to make a simple stove. She took a knife and carved a stone pot out of a stone before starting to cook.
Little White was curled up like a big dog, leaning on the edge of the stove and yawning from time to time.
Jiujiu melted a pot of water with snow and threw the chopped meat into it. She cooked a pot of meat porridge for the child. As for herself, she directly used a branch to skewer the rabbit and prepared to roast it.
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