Chapter 233
Chapter 233
That order of jianbing had been money well spent.
From this kid, we had already learned that Xiao Xuan’s older brother was Rat.
And no one knew Rat was dead. From the way the kid put it, they all thought Rat had left the city, because Rat had only come to this place a year ago. He had drifted here as a vagrant.
Vagrants usually had no fixed home and treated the whole world as their roof. Sometimes, though, they might stay in one place for a long time.
And Xiao Xuan didn’t know Rat was dead either. Every night, he could even meet Rat.
This kid thought Xiao Xuan was lying, because he couldn’t see Rat. Only Xiao Xuan could.
I asked the kid again, “Rat came to this urban village a year ago. Did Xiao Xuan come with him? Are the two of them real brothers?”
The kid nodded, then shook his head. “Xiao Xuan came with Rat, but they’re not real brothers.”
Song Xiaotian and I immediately found that a little hard to understand.
If Xiao Xuan and Rat weren’t real brothers, then how had he come here with Rat?
And if Xiao Xuan had drifted to this urban village together with Rat, then who was the Old Man who came to pick Xiao Xuan up last night?
Wasn’t that Xiao Xuan’s grandfather?
When we pressed him further, the kid just shook his head and said he didn’t know either.
In truth, he and Xiao Xuan weren’t that close. They only went around collecting bottles to sell together from time to time.
This kid was pitiful too. His parents had divorced and had been working away from home all this time, only coming back once every two or three years. He usually lived with his grandmother, and her health wasn’t good either.
I saw that after he finished the jianbing, he still seemed to want more, so I went and bought him another one.
But when I brought it back, he didn’t eat it. He wrapped it carefully in the bag and held on to it. I asked why he wasn’t eating, and he said he wanted to take it home for his grandmother. His grandmother had never had one before.
I went and bought another one for him, then asked him to take us to Xiao Xuan’s home.
Xiao Xuan’s home wasn’t far. It was nearby.
He led us there, but before we arrived, he pointed to a spot not far ahead and told us to go over ourselves. He had to go back and cook for his grandmother.
I nodded, then took two hundred yuan in cash from Song Xiaotian and gave it to him. My own cash had all been stolen by that Rat.
The kid didn’t dare take it, but I could tell he really wanted it.
I stuffed it straight into his pocket and said, “Go back and study hard. Only studying can change your fate.”
He thanked me, then took the money and left.
It was an alley, with shabby old houses on both sides.
Xiao Xuan’s home was on the first floor. The windows had all been pasted over with paper.
At the doorway, he was lying over a small stool, writing.
I honestly couldn’t imagine that in a big city, there were still places this poor.
From a few meters away, we waved at him.
When he saw us, he ran right over.
“It’s you! How did you know I live here?” He looked at Song Xiaotian and me with an innocent expression.
I smiled and handed him the bag of chips I had bought. “We were passing by and came to play with you. This is for you.”
He swallowed, but didn’t take it. “I can’t spend money again. This is really expensive. I know. It costs seven yuan.”
I asked him how he knew it cost seven yuan.
“Because my brother bought it for me before. This stuff is really good. My brother said it’s called chips.” He rubbed his hands together, but still didn’t take it.
I tore open the bag and handed it to him. “Go on, eat it. We’re not charging you. We’re even older than your brother, so you can call us big brother too.”
He took it and ate very cautiously, but soon a smile spread across his face.
This stuff really was tasty.
“Xiao Xuan, that elderly man last night-was he your grandfather?” I asked him.
He nodded.
“Is he your real grandfather?” I asked again.
He shook his head and said no.
“He’s not your real grandfather? Then how did you end up living together?” I was curious.
He wiped his mouth and said, “My brother and I walked a long, long way from our hometown before we got to the big city. But we had nowhere to live, and people bullied us all the time. Grandpa was really good to us.”
“He gave us a place to stay, so we had a home.”
Xiao Xuan was eight years old this year and not very good at expressing himself, but we could still understand him.
He and Rat had both been taken in by the Blind Old Man.
“Xiao Xuan, is your brother your real brother?” Song Xiaotian asked.
Xiao Xuan shook his head. “I didn’t know my brother before, but he’s really good to me.”
“If you didn’t know him, then how did you come here with him from your hometown? Does your family know?” I continued.
His emotions suddenly stirred. He looked up at us and said, “I don’t have any family. My dad went to prison, then my mom left too. My grandpa died, and my relatives weren’t good to me.”
Song Xiaotian and I both froze when we heard that.
This child… had suffered so much.
We sighed, and more or less understood his background.
Xiao Xuan’s father had gone to prison, and his mother had probably remarried without taking him along. He had lived with his biological grandfather after that, but then his grandfather passed away too, so he could only stay with his relatives.
But his relatives treated him badly. During that time, he met Rat, and Rat secretly took him away. They wandered all the way to the urban village in Lanjiang City, and in the end, they were taken in by the Blind Old Man.
“Do you miss your mom?” Song Xiaotian asked him.
Xiao Xuan nodded. He was already close to crying, but somehow he held it in and said, “When I see other people’s moms buying them tasty food, my heart hurts a lot, and I really want to cry.”
Hearing that, even my cheeks started aching from holding back my emotions.
“Then did you cry?” Song Xiaotian asked again.
Xiao Xuan was silent for a long time. His eyes carried a numb sort of helplessness as he looked at us. “No. I’m holding it in.”
I turned my head, sniffed, and took a breath. I almost failed to hold back my tears.
This kid was only eight or nine years old. If he could hold it in, why was I the one who nearly couldn’t?
Rat had been a homeless child too. I figured Rat had taken Xiao Xuan away because he thought Xiao Xuan was just like him, with no family of his own.
After Rat took Xiao Xuan with him, he treated him like his own child. This younger brother, who had no blood relation to him, might have been someone he treated even better than himself.
Only now did I understand why he was still stealing things after he died. He was stealing for Xiao Xuan.
Now that Rat was dead, if Xiao Xuan learned the truth, it would be far too cruel for someone so young.
“Xiao Xuan, does your brother… come looking for you every night?” I asked him.
He nodded and was about to speak when a voice interrupted him.
“Xiao Xuan!”
It was the Blind Old Man, walking out of the house.
When Xiao Xuan heard the call, he immediately answered.
“Xiao Xuan, dinner’s ready. Come back and eat.”
“I’m coming!”
Xiao Xuan looked at us and thanked us. “When I grow up and make money, I’ll buy things for you too. I have to save my money for school right now. My brother said I have to go to school before I can see my mom, so I can’t buy anything for you right now.”
“I’m going back to eat. Bye.”
He waved to us, then ran back home.
The Blind Old Man was still standing there, facing our direction.
It was as if he knew we had come.