The casual life of the flat space

After entertaining the four girls, Aunt Yang went out to work. At this time, the oldest girl, Lingzi, suggested playing hide-and-seek at Aunt Yang's house.

At that time, she said let's go out and play, but Lingzi said that there are too many places to hide when going out to play, and it's not fun if you can't find anyone. Jiaojiao and the others all agreed. She didn't think there was anything wrong with it, but she couldn't bear to leave these new friends, so she started playing with them.

After a while, it was the turn of others to hide, and she counted and went to look for them. When she passed Aunt Yang's door, she unexpectedly ran into Lingzi who ran out from inside. Lingzi seemed to be frightened by her. She put her hands behind her back, which were originally on her chest, and scolded her, "Why are you looking so soon? Didn't you finish counting?"

Baoer immediately felt aggrieved. Her father had taught her many things. She could count to one hundred when she was three years old, and could even solve the questions her father gave her without using counting rods!

And Lingzi cursed at her. She felt that Lingzi had become a different person, which was very strange. She didn't understand why she doubted her and cursed her suddenly, so she wanted to curse back. Then she remembered that her mother said that people who cursed others were uneducated, so she cursed back: "You really have no manners!"

Because she was angry and because she felt Lingzi was acting strange, she shouted into the yard, "I don't want to play anymore. I'm going to find my mother!" Then she left.

Then this morning her mother suddenly rushed to her and asked her if she had stolen Aunt Yang's money. She said no, but her mother said, "Why didn't they say anything about all the other children, but only about you?"

She felt extremely wronged and started to cry. She had a lot of things in her heart but she didn't know how to tell her mother. The more she cried, the angrier her mother became. Finally, she simply dragged her across the stone bridge to find Aunt Yang.

After listening to Bao'er's story, Bai Tieying had a clue in her mind, but the problem now was how to find the real thief. So she turned to Bao'er's mother and said, "Bao'er's mother, how did you know this?"

"I, I went out to pick mushrooms on Laoniu Peak today, and then I heard someone talking in the woods, and they mentioned my baby, so I listened quietly for a while.

I heard from them that four children went to play at Yang's house. The other three were tenants and they often played together. Only my Bao'er went there that one time. As a result, the Yang's family lost money that time. Who else could have stolen it if not Bao'er?

As soon as I heard it, I went over and saw two sisters-in-law from the village. I went up to them and asked them if they had any evidence that it was my Baoer. When they saw me asking them, they said vaguely that I had heard it wrong and went down the mountain. I ran back home to ask Baoer.

My child knows it all. My Baoer has been smart and obedient since she was young, and she would never steal other people's things. But when I asked her about it, she just cried, so I took her to confront the Yang family's wife. "

After listening to this, Bai Tieying felt that he had found a breakthrough, so he asked Aunt Yang to narrate the story.

"Well, on the 22nd, when I came back from the garden, I saw my Jiaojiao bringing a group of children to my house to play. Three of the children are from our village. My child is younger than them. They didn't play together much before, but recently they have been playing together and have come to my house several times.

That day I saw a child I didn't recognize coming. She said she lived in the house across the river, so I knew she was the refugee's child. Jiaojiao said she wanted to give them sticky cakes, so I thought this child had fled all the way here, so I gave her an extra one!

Later I went to work in the garden. When I came back, I saw that my daughter Jiaojiao was the only one left in the yard. I casually asked, "Have the other children gone home?"

Jiaojiao said that they were playing hide-and-seek and waited for a long time but no one came to look for them. Later, they came out and saw that Baoer, who was supposed to look for them, was gone for some reason. So they stopped playing and went home.

When I heard that, I felt something was wrong, so I quickly went to my room to look at the money I had put there. At a glance, I saw that the place was in a mess. I went forward to check again, and found that there were originally twelve cents there. I promised Jiaojiao that I would buy her meat when she saved up twenty cents. In the end, there was not a penny left.

I thought again about the thing that seemed wrong just now. That child named Baoer just left without saying goodbye. She was a thief!

But as Baoer's mother said, I didn't hold her hand when I caught the thief, so how can I explain it clearly? Then I thought about the child who had been on the road for several months and was sleeping in the open air. Maybe he just had a wrong idea for a while.

If I tell it, it's okay for a boy, he might get beaten and scolded, but for a girl, her life will be ruined. Besides, this guy was brought home by my daughter Jiaojiao, so I have to suffer this loss in silence."

"Didn't you tell the villagers?" Bai Tieying asked.

"No, my family didn't know about it before today! Oh, only Jiaojiao knew because I told her not to bring anyone home in the future. Besides, she can only save up the money to buy meat again."

"Can I ask Jiaojiao a few words?"

Aunt Yang nodded and pulled Jiaojiao out from behind her. Bai Tieying stepped forward, squatted down, and asked softly, "Hello, Jiaojiao! You can call me Sister Bai. I have a few questions to test you. As long as you can answer them all, I will give you money to buy meat, okay?"

Jiaojiao looked back at her mother and saw her nod, so she answered yes.

Bai Tieying took out a handful of copper coins from his bosom and held them in his right hand. He then took out another coin with his left hand and asked Jiaojiao, "Jiaojiao, my first question is, how old are you?"

“I’m six years old!”

"Wow, Jiaojiao is so great! Okay, sister, I'll keep my word, and this penny is yours!"

Jiaojiao looked back at Aunt Yang again, and after getting her mother's consent, she reached out and took the copper coin.

"Then I'm going to ask my second question! Who else was there to play with you that day besides Baoer and Lingzi?"

"And Chunhua and Lai Di."

Bai Tieying handed her another penny and asked, "Your mother said you didn't play with them before, why are you playing with them again recently?"

"It was Sister Lingzi who asked me if I wanted to play with them. She also said that I could be Miss Yang and they would all be my maids."

"So how do you guys play?"

"Oh, it's just that I'm Miss Yang, and then they follow me, wherever I go they go, and after that they cook for me, dress me, and sometimes even give me a sedan chair to ride in!"