Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 7 What a horrible world
The black cake was only half the size of a moon cake. It was less than two feet away from Chen Xuan and emitted a faint sour smell. In fact, he couldn't tell whether it was the smell of the cake or the strange smell in the air.

I can’t think about mooncakes. The more I think about them, the hungrier I get. I haven’t eaten mooncakes in years, but why do they smell so good when I think about them now?

The arm holding the pancake was like a stick, covered with new and old scars and bruises.

The dirty little face was timid and had a runny nose. He was obviously reluctant and swallowed quietly, but still insisted on handing the deformed pancake to Chen Xuan.

The child looked older than Chen Xuan was now. He was obviously hungry and greedy, but he was willing to hand the pancake to Chen Xuan. This was incomprehensible to him. Even though he had suffered a loss once, it was difficult for Chen Xuan to speculate that the child's behavior was malicious.

Instead of taking it, Chen Xuan raised his hand and pushed the hand holding the pancake away, shook his head slightly, then pointed at his mouth, indicating that he should eat it himself.

The children around were probably hungry, so it was not appropriate to make this matter public, even though it wouldn't cause any trouble.

It wasn't that Chen Xuan wasn't hungry, nor was it that he disliked the small piece of cake, but he couldn't bear to take it. He couldn't bring himself to take food from a child, even though the child looked older than he was now.

Besides, it’s just a small amount. Even if you eat it cruelly, you won’t be full. Instead, you will feel hungrier.

But Chen Xuan secretly took note of this unreasonable kindness.

However, the child was still quite stubborn. He handed the pancake over again and looked at Chen Xuan expectantly. Seeing that Chen Xuan was still shaking his head slightly, he hesitated for a moment and quietly took out another smaller pancake of the same kind with his other hand, as if to say that he had more. He even took a bite of his own piece, as if to say it was delicious.

Chen Xuan was stunned and thought to himself, is this guy a hamster?
But Chen Xuan couldn't bear to refuse that expectant look. After hesitating for a moment, he took it and smiled silently at him.

The other party also smiled, and seemed quite happy. He was still looking at Chen Xuan, as if expecting him to eat in front of him.

Holding a small piece of black cake, Chen Xuan felt sad, but he was really hungry, so he slowly lay down on the weeds, with his back to the child, and put the cake in his mouth under the gaze of the child. It was hard, sour and sour, with a little salty taste.

This kind of thing had never been even looked at before, but at this moment, Chen Xuan suppressed his nausea and swallowed it bit by bit with his saliva moistening it. It was better than starving to death. There wasn't much to begin with, so he finished it quickly, but he also felt even hungrier.

Hunger is the cruelest thing in the world. No matter it is the other party's kindness or he is too hungry because he doesn't eat, Chen Xuan has no reason to waste it.

Only then did he deeply realize how precious some things that he had originally ignored were when lost.

This incident did not attract the attention of other children and happened almost silently. After seeing Chen Xuan finish eating, the little boy sniffed and smiled even more happily.

Then Chen Xuan heard him say in a voice as low as a mosquito: "You have been lying there since you came. I thought you starved to death. My brother died of starvation before. He died after lying there for a long time."

The child's language logic is surprisingly good. He is so young. Could it be that he understands these things because he has experienced hardships?
After hearing his words, Chen Xuan's heart trembled. It turned out that he had experienced his relatives starving to death, which was why he showed kindness to him. Perhaps he instinctively didn't want to see such a thing happen again.

At such a young age, the kindness expressed is the purest.

Chen Xuan, a man who originally thought he had a mind as tough as iron, now felt a lump in his throat. The word "starving to death" was too far away for him, almost non-existent in his past cognition.

After a moment, Chen Xuan asked in a low voice: "What's your name? Why are you here?"

"My parents call me Erdan," the child lowered his head and tears immediately rolled down his cheeks. He then sobbed, "Not long after the crops were planted, there was nothing to eat at home, so my parents sold me here. But those people took me out to sell me several times, but I couldn't sell. They said I was stupid and ugly, and that people didn't like me. If I couldn't sell, they would beat me."

Chen Xuan's head nearly buzzed when he heard this. What kind of world had he landed in? Selling children was actually happening?
In the final analysis, it’s all because of poverty. Even gods have a hard time in February and March.

While Chen Xuan was still confused, the child continued, "It would be better if I were sold. The family that can afford me would be able to have enough food to eat and maybe suffer less beatings."

Chen Xuan clenched his fists tightly. Gradually, a vague idea formed in his mind: the many children here had come through various channels. Some were probably abducted like himself, while others were sold by their relatives. He was acting as the middleman, selling these children to places in need.

As middlemen, the children here are the goods. How can they treat the goods well?

"Will you get beaten often if you don't have food to eat here?" Chen Xuan couldn't help but ask.

Erdan next door nodded fearfully and said, "We only have one meal a day. We're not starving, but we're not full either. They say that if we can't sell it, it's a loss, and it's a waste if we eat it. If you're beaten, you'll get less if you're obedient. I've been here for a while, and I've seen several children beaten to death."

Chen Xuan felt a little heartbroken. These were just children, how could they have ended up in such a miserable state?

No wonder a group of dogs despise a child this young who doesn't even dare to cry. It's obvious that he's been beaten so many times that he's scared and numb. Perhaps more often than not, he's just too hungry to have the strength...

"What about you? How did you get here?" the other party actually asked.

"I met a bad guy and found myself here when I woke up." Chen Xuan was furious when he said this, but he could only be angry for the time being. He then added, "My name is Chen Xuan."

This was the first time he introduced his name.

The child opened his mouth, obviously not knowing how to comfort others, and could only say with some envy: "Your name is so nice."

"There were robbers in our village, and my family was hacked to death. My second uncle took our land and sold me out."

At this time, a sound of gnashing teeth came from behind Chen Xuan. It was the fierce child from before. He heard the conversation between the two and perhaps recalled their experience, so he interrupted.

Chen Xuan thought to himself that it was no wonder that he tried to be more aggressive, it turned out that he had experienced something like this.

His interruption seemed to have triggered a chain reaction, and in the dim basement, the voices of children could be heard from the surrounding cages.

"I was playing outside my house and someone gave me a candy and asked me to follow him, so I came here."

"My grandfather took me to the market in town, and a few beggars rushed out, knocked my grandfather down, and then covered my head and took me away."

"I had too many brothers and sisters, and my parents couldn't support me, so they sold me. I... I don't hate them."

"My house was burned down and I was alone. I just wanted to find a place to eat."

"My family couldn't afford to eat, so my parents told me to find food on my own. That's why I was brought here. I'm so hungry. They beat me so hard. I miss my parents..."

Those who were talking in the dim light were all older children, chattering back and forth, making the basement quite noisy.

Talking about these sad things resonated with other children. The already fragile children were in chaos. Some cried loudly, some clamored to go home, and some cried and complained about pain in their bodies.

Just when everything was in chaos, a roar suddenly came from above the entrance in the middle of the basement: "What are you arguing about? You all want to die, it seems I haven't hurt you enough!"

With a roar of anger, the entire basement, which had been extremely noisy a moment ago, suddenly became silent. The children were terrified. Some of them even covered their mouths with their hands and trembled in fear, their eyes filled with terror, obviously thinking of the experience of being beaten.

……

(End of this chapter)