Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 166 Seedling
The sky showed signs of clearing up, but a drizzle was still falling. In the yard, the craftsmen, wearing straw raincoats and hats, were busy. The clinking sounds of carving stone and the crackling sounds of chopping wood could be heard one after another, creating a scene of bustling activity.

Outside the yard, the thin girl looked inside hesitantly, her straw hat tilted, and she moved her shoulders from time to time to adjust her raincoat that was about to drag on the ground.

She must have just arrived. She was walking very slowly, lingering outside the yard, looking timid. No one paid any attention to her, yet she was reluctant to leave.

Chen Xuan was speechless. He looked at her and followed her gaze. He found that she was staring at the busy carpenters. For a moment, he couldn't understand what she was thinking.

Such a young girl, only seven or eight years old, should not want to hire a craftsman to make something, and she doesn't have the money to do so.

Holding an umbrella, Chen Xuan walked over, slowed down his pace, and asked in a gentle tone, "Little sister, what can I do for you?"

"Scared, I'm fine, just passing by to take a look." The little girl was startled by the sudden voice behind her, and quickly waved her hand, then said: "I'll leave now"

Although she said so, her eyes were still looking into the yard, and she took small steps, reluctant to move forward.

Glancing at the sky, Chen Xuan pointed to the yard and said, "It's still raining. Do you want to go in and take shelter?"

"No, no, I have shelter from the rain," the little girl shook her head and adjusted her worn-out hat that could barely keep out the rain.

In order not to scare her, Chen Xuan smiled and did not insist. He walked forward and pushed the door open.

At this time, the little girl timidly asked behind Chen Xuan: "Big...little brother, is this your home?"

"I guess so. I have the decision here. Little sister, is there anything you need? You can tell me," Chen Xuan nodded and said with a smile.

Seeing that he was easy to talk to and didn't seem like a bad person, the little girl mustered up the courage to point to the yard and said nervously, "Hey, little brother, are you guys renovating the house? I haven't seen you before, are you new here?"

"Yes, as you can see, little sister, just tell me what's wrong. Do you need any help?"

She immediately shook her head and nodded, and she couldn't do anything to Chen Xuan.

But under his gentle gaze, the little girl still hesitated and said, "Little brother, I just want to ask, do you need anyone to do odd jobs while your family renovates the house? I can endure hardships and have strength. I can do a lot of things. I won't lie to you."

Chen Xuan was stunned when he heard this, and felt inexplicably sad. She looked only seven or eight years old, but she was so sensible as to come out and find a job. She was too mature, which made people feel distressed.

She is at a carefree age. How could she be so sensible if she was not forced by life? Life forces her to grow up quickly.

Seeing Chen Xuan remained silent, the little girl looked a little disappointed, thinking that he disliked her. She seemed to have gotten used to it, but she didn't want to give up the possible opportunity. She lowered her head and said nervously, "Really, I'm very capable. If you don't believe me, let me try. I don't want money or food. I can help you clean up and tidy up the mess. Let me try. I will definitely not cause any trouble. Otherwise, you can beat me."

As she spoke, she looked up at Chen Xuan firmly, with expectation in her eyes.

Chen Xuan's heart softened, and he squatted slightly and asked, "I don't doubt that you can work, but I want to ask, work is very tiring. You don't want money or food, you can't work for nothing, right?"

Feeling that there might be hope, the little girl said expectantly, "Little brother, I won't lie to you. I don't want money or food. I just hope that, because of my diligence, can you allow me to take some unwanted wood shavings and bark away when I finish work?"

"It's only noon now. If we finish work, it will be dark. You've been busy for a long time, and now you want to take some unwanted shavings and bark?" Chen Xuan said in surprise.

She nodded confidently and said, "Yes, that's all I need. I can't take much, is that okay?"

"Can I ask why? We pay so much just for a little bit of unwanted waste," Chen Xuan asked anxiously.

She shook her head and corrected herself, saying, "It's not waste, but unwanted shavings and bark, because waste can also be useful." She paused and said, "I know I'm small and can't be of much help. The shavings and bark can be taken back and used as firewood. This is all I'm worth working for here."

Biting her lip, she continued, "There's not much firewood left at home. Grandpa is old, and my brother is young and naive. We don't have money to buy firewood, so we have to go very far to get it. So I want to work here to exchange for some unwanted wood shavings and bark."

The shavings are not real flowers, but just the scraps shaved off by the carpenter with a plane. But at this moment, Chen Xuan always felt that it was one of the most beautiful flowers in the world.

Under her expectant gaze, Chen Xuan stood up and waved, "Come in with me. I promised you that you can work here. Just clean the yard. Remember to avoid the masters, especially where they use tools, so as not to hurt yourself."

After saying that, he stepped into the yard. Chen Xuan found that the other party did not follow him and asked, "What's wrong?"

"You haven't promised me whether you can take away some shavings and bark after work," she said with a vigilant look on her face, as if she was worried that Chen Xuan would make her work for nothing.

Chen Xuan was immediately happy and said, "Okay, I promise you, you can take as much as you can when the time comes. Is that okay? Do you want me to write you a receipt?"

"I believe you. There's no need for written documents. Those unused pieces of wood shavings and bark paper and ink are valuable," the little girl said with a happy smile.

As she said this, she took a step forward and started rolling up her sleeves to get to work.

The craftsmen who were busy in the yard saw this scene and felt deeply moved. They thought the boss was kind-hearted. He clearly sympathized with the little girl but did not hurt her self-esteem. The boss will definitely be a blessed person in the future. God bless him, and such a boss will surely be rich and prosperous for a long time.

They worked harder and more seriously.

Seeing that the little girl was about to get down to work, Chen Xuan felt both sad and amused, and reminded her: "Remember to avoid dangerous places. By the way, will your family be worried if you don't go home while working here?" "No, grandpa knows that I go home very late every day, so I just need to go back," the little girl said with a smile.

Chen Xuan asked again, "Do you usually help people like this?"

"Yes, but most of the time I can't find any work to do the whole day. People look down on me because I'm too young and say I'll cause trouble. Sometimes people even let dogs chase me," she said a little disappointedly. It wasn't because she was chased by dogs, but because people looked down on her because she was too young to find any work to do.

The tip of her nose felt sore. She was so young, she probably didn't know what suffering was. She only blamed herself for not being able to do enough. She wanted to help others with work, but she often got taken advantage of and went hungry.

Chen Xuan smiled and pointed to the eaves and said, "Go get busy. There's a broom over there. By the way, what's your name, little sister?"

The little girl walked towards the broom, wearing a straw raincoat that was bigger than her. She turned around happily and said, "Master, my name is Xiao Miao, Zhou Xiaomiao, the name my grandfather gave me. Master, what should I call you?"

She immediately threw herself into her role as a helper and started calling him the boss.

"Chen Xuan, my name is Chen Xuan," Chen Xuan said, not knowing why he had to repeat his name.

"Okay, boss, I'll remember that," she nodded seriously, and then went to work. She took off her straw raincoat and hat, took a worried look at it, and then picked up the broom to start cleaning the waste and debris left by the craftsmen in the yard.

"The boss is back. Are you happy to go out?"

"Boss, we will prepare the materials in the next two days, and we can officially renovate the house in two days."

The craftsmen greeted Chen Xuan one after another, and he responded: "Hello, masters, thank you for your help, please be safe."

"Brother Xuan is back," Zhao Erhe and the others greeted him, but their eyes occasionally glanced at Zhou Xiaomiao who was busy like a diligent little bee.

Nodding, Chen Xuan signaled them to go inside and talk.

Later, in the house, looking at the busy Zhou Xiaomiao through the window, Chen Xuan said, "Prepare some more food later. If she refuses, tell her it's a reward for her hard work. Don't make it too oily, keep it light. If she wants to take some home, that's fine. Light some charcoal when she eats, so she can eat slowly and dry her clothes. She can take as much shavings as she wants. When she goes back, it should be almost dark. Follow her secretly to protect her and send her home. Bring some shavings, but not too much, so she doesn't find out."

"Okay, Xuan'er, we'll remember it," Zhao Erhe nodded.

Jiang Kai hesitated for a moment and asked in confusion, "Xuan Ge'er, if you feel sorry for her, why do you still let her work so hard..."

"I understand what Master Jiang means. She is a strong and sensible child. Suffering is not what she chooses, but she doesn't need charity either," Chen Xuan interrupted, shaking his head.

Jiang Kai was startled and quickly said, "Xuan Ge'er is very considerate. I was abrupt."

"Well, keep an eye on her and don't let her get into danger," Chen Xuan said with a smile, then went to the river behind, brought a chair, made a pot of tea and continued reading.

It’s just that my heart can’t calm down.

No matter what the world is like, some people are born with everything, while some people try their best just to live, to put it bluntly, they live worse than a dog.

Time passed slowly, the busyness in the yard continued, and occasionally the conversations of the craftsmen could be heard.

Chen Xuan caught an interesting thing from their conversation, that is, many blacksmiths in Mo City have been hired away recently, and no one knows where they went, so if they want to repair or forge tools, they have to go to find a blacksmith.

Blacksmith, a few hours ago, the two major gangs in Mo City also had a conflict because of the blacksmith shop. Could they be related?

"What does it have to do with me..."

As Chen Xuan expected, Zhou Xiaomiao refused to eat during the meal, saying that the work she did was not worth a meal.

Fortunately, she had made an excuse in advance, so she accepted it with red eyes, but she was reluctant to eat it. She would rather go hungry and pack up the food to take back. After that, she worked even harder and more diligently.

No one said anything about this, they just lamented why such a diligent and sensible child couldn't be born into a good family.

It was getting dark, and when it was time to finish work, Zhou Xiaomiao mustered up the courage to ask if she could come again tomorrow. Chen Xuan took the initiative and agreed to let her know that as long as the business was still open, she could come every day, work hard, and get meals.

So she kowtowed to express her gratitude, and there was no time to stop herself. Then she ran home excitedly with the news.

He was wearing a worn straw hat, a large raincoat, and in his arms he was trying hard to hold a large bundle of wood shavings and bark, but his steps were so brisk.

Jiang Kai secretly took some wood shavings and followed her, worried that a little girl like her would go home alone at night. Later, he came back and told Chen Xuan that her family lived in two dilapidated huts at the foot of the north wall of the city. She had an elderly grandfather and a five-year-old brother with a brain disease.

Chen Xuan simply nodded to indicate that he understood. Seeing the singing and dancing on the Wenxiang Pavilion flower boats sailing down the river, he secretly thought about the bittersweet joys of life...

(End of this chapter)