Chapter 8, The Weak Child

When the weak child stood up, his freshly cleaned little face was once again covered in dirt. He looked at Sun Le with a silly expression, his lips pressed into a line, and his little face flushed with anger, making him appear both stubborn and adorable.

The weak child pouted, his long eyelashes fluttering, while his little nose was scrunched up. However, a patch of mud was stuck to the corner of his small mouth. It was not just his mouth that was smeared with mud; his face was also marked with dirt in various places. The sight of his face covered in mud, combined with his bright, fluttering big eyes, was rather endearing.

As soon as her voice was heard, the little boy visibly let out a sigh of relief. He exhaled heavily, reached out, and twisted Sun Le's hands. His childish voice carried a hint of anger as he said, "You ugly monster, you scared me!"

He extended his index finger to wipe away the dirt on the tip of his nose, then leaned to one side, using his palm to touch his left cheek, and carefully wiped away the dirt near his earlobe.

As soon as the weak child saw Sun Le's expression, he knew she was laughing again. His little face turned even redder, and pulling at his neck, he shouted in a high-pitched voice: "What are you laughing at? You're not allowed to laugh!"

She originally intended to go to the woods on the mountain to dig up some yam for consumption, but upon a moment's reflection, she decided to first ascertain whether anyone would notice her. Thus, she gritted her teeth and endured her hunger, proceeding to pull up grass in the clearing.

She quietly approached the weak child from behind, peering at him from the side.

Sun Le turned around, picked up the stone hoe that had been placed here yesterday, and began to dig into the soil with renewed vigor

The weak child turned around and stared at Sun Le, his eyes wide open, his small face filled with anger. Sun Le was initially taken aback, but then almost burst into laughter. It turned out that the little fellow had a bit of dirt dripping from the tip of his nose, and the dirt was swaying as if it were about to fall off, in sync with his expression.

After a while, Sun Lesong released his hand, gazing at the weak child's face and smiling, "Alright, finally clean."

She practiced until the sun rose in the east, and everyone had gotten out of bed. Sun Lecai finally withdrew her fists. This time, she practiced for a full three hours. Just like last night, her body felt no fatigue at all, only an unbearable hunger.

Yet in this manner, she provoked the weak child even more than a smile would have. The weak child pouted, glared at her resentfully, and suddenly turned to dash up the hillside

His angry shout carried a certain authority, startling Sun Le. Unknowingly, she had already loosened her grip.

Sun Lexian cut off the vines of the yam, sweating profusely as she chopped away, while calling out to the weak child: "Weak child, we will go fishing later."

Sun Le chuckled and said, "You'll find out soon enough. Hey, why are you still standing there? Come help me dig in the mud; my stomach is really hurting from hunger."

Sun Leqiang suppressed a smile as she quickly turned her head, fearing that if she laughed out loud, it would further irritate this irritable little tiger

Sun Le carefully used her hand to wipe the dirt off his face. After a while, her hand had become dirty, so she pulled out her sleeve and helped the weak child wipe away all the remaining dirt from his face

Sun Le's heart softened; she slowed her pace and walked towards the child, eventually reaching behind the little boy. Suddenly, she stretched out her small hand and tightly covered the boy's eyes.

Unknowingly, the weak child has become infatuated

Still just a child

Although her small wooden cabin is remote, the women who lingered in the yard were already idle. During the two hours that Sun Le was pulling grass, women with bright red lipstick occasionally passed by. Whenever these women caught sight of Sun Le's unattractive face, they would burst into laughter.

Sun Le忍ed a smile, unable to resist reaching out to touch his small face. The weak child shrank his head back to avoid it. Sun Le's left hand followed suit, both hands pressing down on his shoulders to hold him in place. The weak child widened his eyes in effort and shouted, "What are you trying to do?"

It is a weak child

As soon as his cry was heard, the sound became hoarse, and Sun Le's right hand had already touched his little face

Just as she said this, her stomach let out a loud growl. The sound made Sun Le's face turn red, and she smiled at the weak boy who was rolling his eyes at her, saying: "I am hungry, are you hungry too? Let's go dig up some yam to eat"

By around 10 a.m., Sun Le felt so hungry that his stomach was touching his back, so he quietly slipped away to the backyard when no one was paying attention

Sun Le's actions were gentle and attentive, and her expression as she looked at the weak child carried a subtle smile. Such an expression, such actions, where in his life had the weak child ever encountered them? For a moment, he felt as if the ugly girl before him had suddenly transformed into the mother from his memories, the sister from his imagination, and it was so heartwarming.

A little boy is squatting among the yam vines, tugging at the tendrils intermittently. From behind, his frail figure indeed appears somewhat pitiable.

The boy with the big eyes sparkled with curiosity as he asked, "What is a net fish?"

Oh. Ruo'er responded and ran to the side of the yam, squatting down and grabbing a handful of vines to pull upwards. Little did he know that he exerted too much force, and with a "sizzle—" the vine snapped. Ruo'er lost his balance and fell backward, landing with a "thud" on the ground and rolling over twice.

Sun Le unconsciously slowed down his pace

Sun Le clutched her cramping stomach and made her way up the mountain with familiarity. As she approached the cluster of yam plants, she happened to see the solitary figure of a child.

Looking at his rabbit-like figure, Sun Le忍不住笑着摇了摇头. Turning back to the broken vine, she suddenly felt a bit puzzled: this weak child is also a poor man's offspring, so why does he look as if he has never done any farm work? Moreover, although his hands are small and thin, they are fair and free of calluses. Could it be that the elderly have never allowed him to work?

The weak child saw Sun Le still smiling, and his anger grew even stronger. He stared hard, trying to make his expression appear more terrifying. However, with that little bit of dirt on him, how could he still exude any semblance of authority?

Just as the little boy was frozen in fear, his whole body tense, Sun Le called out in a rough voice: "Guess who I am?"

Sun Le swallowed her smile, turned her head to look at Ruo Er, and replied seriously, "Alright, I won't smile!"