I traveled through time without patched pants, I was the richest man in the Republic of China

Wei Miao stood at the window on the second floor, and through the half-open window, he watched Xu Ayu begging Mr. Dong in an extremely humble manner.

In Wei Miao's memory, this mother was irritable.

Every morning at the Wei family's house must start with her sharp nagging and scolding.

When she got angry, she would argue with Wei A'da, but most of the time, Wei's father didn't care about her.

But after drinking, the two of them would start fighting with each other, making a lot of noise.

The next day, Wei Ada had a few more scratches on his face and went downstairs with a dull look on his face. Xu Ayu grinned when he walked and worked with a sullen look on his face all day.

Even the babies at home knew that she was in a bad mood and did not dare to offend her.

Wei Miao's eyes fell on Mr. Dong, and saw him sitting leisurely with his hands behind his back, looking around the two-story house.

The ancestors of the Wei family were once wealthy, and this house was one of the first batch of Shikumen houses built.

At that time, the Wei family, who had some wealth, bought this courtyard with a patio.

There are two floors, with houses on three sides, and there are seven or eight rooms inside and outside.

In the spacious yard, there were all kinds of tattered sundries. A rickshaw with a deformed frame was leaning against the corner of the courtyard wall, looking very dilapidated.

"Mrs. Wei, you know I'm just a small manager in the car dealership and I can't make the decision." Mr. Dong retracted his gaze and spoke in a helpless tone.

Xu Ayu sniffed, smiled and complimented:

"Everyone in the car dealership knows that you are Mr. Bai's brother-in-law. If you just say a word and show some kindness, my whole family will be grateful to you."

A gleam of light flashed through Mr. Dong's narrowed eyes. He looked extremely proud, but he pretended to be embarrassed:

"Oh my, that's not right. I can talk about trivial matters, but your Wei Ada not only broke the car, but he is also half dead. How can we afford the compensation for the car? There are tens of thousands of people working in the car dealership, and they all need to eat!"

Xu Ayu's skinny body shook, and the child in her arms seemed to sense her despair and cried out.

Mr. Dong took a few steps back in disdain, frowned and stated his purpose:

"I think your house is pretty good. It's the most spacious and brightest in the whole alley. After you sell it, the money to compensate the rickshaw driver will be enough..."

An autumn breeze blew, and the wide coat swayed on Xu Ayu's skinny body. She interrupted Mr. Dong and said in despair:

"Impossible, this house was passed down from the ancestors of the Wei family and cannot be sold."

Mr. Dong's eyes flashed with contempt, and he said patiently:

"Your man was shot, he won't live for many days. When you sell the house and have money, take the children to rent a big house, it will also make their life easier."

After saying that, he suddenly raised his head and looked towards the window on the second floor. Through the gap, he saw the incredibly beautiful boy, and a lewd look flashed across his eyes as he said:

"Wait another three to five years, and when Ah Miao grows up, your hard-earned days will finally come to an end."

After Mr. Dong left, Xu Ayu put the crying child in her arms on the ground and cried with her hands covering her mouth.

"Grandma, look what we found today?" (Note 1)

Just as he finished speaking, two children with big heads and small bodies rushed in from outside the yard, their little faces and tattered clothes were covered in black.

Xu Ayu looked at her second daughter and her uncle's eldest son. She was overwhelmed with grief and sat down on the ground, hugging her uncle's youngest son who was crying non-stop, and burst into tears:

"This world is a cannibalistic place! There is no chance for anyone to survive."

Wei Ling and Wei Ran were stunned by the scene before them. The baskets full of coal slag in their hands fell to the ground, rolled all over the yard, and left black marks on the ground after the rain.

It added a touch of mess to the already muddy and messy scene.

Wei Ling looked up at her elder brother who was rushing downstairs in a daze. She raised her hand to wipe the sweat off her face, which made her dark face even darker. She was always in a hurry and asked timidly:

"Brother, what happened to mom?"

Wei Miao waved to her and Wei Ran, and the two little guys ran up to her, tears in their dark eyes, leaving a water mark on their dark faces.

If it were in the past, Wei Miao would definitely laugh at them, but now is not the time.

"Pick up the coal slag and put it in the kitchen first, wash it yourself, then go to the room to check on Pingmei and Limei and ask them to wash it as well."

Limei is seven years old and is the second daughter of Uncle Wei.

Pingmei is five years old and is the youngest daughter of Wei Ada and Xu Ayu.

Just as the neighbors said, the whole family, with six hungry little kids, depended on Wei Ada alone to support them by pulling a rickshaw.

After working so hard for a month, after deducting the share of the money, the proceeds would only be 9-15 silver dollars.

This amount of money is barely enough for the family to live on, but if there is any minor illness or disaster, it will be like the current situation.

In order to save her, Wei A Da left his rickshaw in front of the door of the dance hall, and was used as a shield by the people fighting.

This shabby rickshaw was sent back by Wei Ada’s rickshaw buddy Liu Heitan.

Looking at the calm face of their eldest brother, the two younger ones, who had felt like the sky was falling just now, felt less frightened.

"Brother, we promise to supervise each other and wash it thoroughly." Wei Ling promised with a crisp grin showing her tiny teeth.

Wei Ran also nodded heavily with a gloomy face.

Although the eldest brother is a man of few words, he is extremely patient with them.

He taught them to read and write, and occasionally gave them candy and bread. He was the best big brother.

If Wei Miao knew that the two children thought of her like this, she would probably feel a little guilty.

Because she was hungry, she bought high-sugar and high-fat foods outside. Every time she ate, her conscience as a human being would take over and she would leave some and bring it back to feed her children.

After the two children left, Wei Miao walked over to Xu Ayu and took the crying kid out of the woman's frail arms. She said softly:

"Mom, you are the backbone of the family now, you can't fall down."

Xu Ayu vented his anger, and the stone that had been weighing on his heart for the past few days loosened a little. He touched his face with his sleeve, looked at Wei Miao's calm face, and sighed:

"My fault, Mom, I scared you."

Wei Miao shook his head and was about to say a few words to comfort her when he heard a voice from the master bedroom shouting:

"Dad is awake, Dad is awake!" It was the voice of Xu Ayu's youngest daughter Pingmei.

Xu Ayu rolled over and got up, then walked into the house.

When I was going up the stairs, I was so excited that my legs went weak and I almost fell down.

------------

Note 1: Are there any Shanghainese babies? I found this on the Internet: Da Ma Ma (pronounced in Shanghainese as du ma ma) is Da Ma Ma (pronounced in Shanghainese as du ma ma) and Er Ma Ma (pronounced as ni ma ma) is Da Ma Ma (pronounced in Shanghainese as du ma ma).