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. All ten of her finger joints were 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 should be, revealing her dirty toes. Jiujiu could tell from the pain and itchiness that her feet were frostbitten, just like her hands.
She could tell from the temperature that 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 memory, Jiujiu couldn't help but feel sorry for Erya after seeing it for herself.
Jiujiu didn't listen to the middle-aged woman's words to wash 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 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 perked up when she heard this.
Erya's adoptive mother kept saying that if she hadn't been kind enough to pick her up, she would have died outside. She was using this as a moral blackmail to make Erya work like a cow.
But from her conversation with her husband, it seemed that the truth was not as she had said.
Firstly, if Erya was really abandoned, then what they said about asking Erya's parents for money didn't make sense.
After all, if Erya's parents could really abandon Erya, why would they give them money?
The only truth was that Erya was not picked up by them.
Erya's adoptive mother said, "As long as she's still breathing, Erya will be their child. Besides, when our son marries Erya, they will recognize us as their in-laws. When that time comes, they will treat us well for the sake of Erya's future."
"What if Erya tells her about what you did to her?"
"What's there to be afraid of? Erya always thinks that we picked her up and listens to everything I say. She won't know her true identity."
"You're so smart. If you hadn't stolen Erya, our Goudan wouldn't have been so lucky."
"Of course, don't you know who 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 were Erya not picked up by them, but 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 hard 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, she was even treated like a slave by them. In the end, she was even schemed against by them.
Compared to Erya who was grateful for their upbringing and didn't think of taking revenge on them, 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 woman and the 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.
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 wasn't 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 she took out from her space and covered the child with a blanket. She took out the elixir she put 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 calmed down. Jiujiu could even hear the growling of the child's stomach due to hunger.
Jiujiu chuckled. She turned around and mounted Little White, going 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 little squirrels had hidden for the winter.
Jiujiu put the things on the ground, then went outside to pick up some dry wood. She used a stone to make a simple stove. Using a knife, she carved a stone pot out of a stone and began to cook.
Little White was curled up like a big dog, leaning on the edge of the fire 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 pierced the rabbit with a tree branch and prepared to roast it.
As for Little White, when Jiujiu began to roast the rabbit, he stared at the fire without blinking, waiting for the rabbit to be roasted.
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