A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er had only seen stories of people selling things with straw signs in books before. She usually passed this road on her way to and from school in a car, so she had never paid much attention to it, regardless of Song Xichen. But today she discovered that this kind of situation actually happened on the road she passed every day, and she was extremely shocked.

Dali, perhaps seeing Gui'er's frightened look, smiled and said, "See how scared you are. I'd better not say anything."

Gui'er quickly said, "No, I really like to hear about your adults' stories. Please tell me more."

At this time, Dali had finished eating the candy ring. He wiped the oil off his hands and said, "Okay, I'll tell you while I drive." Then he started the car.

"My father originally wanted to sell me to a rich family as a child laborer, so he took me to the most prosperous place in the county. Not long after, a well-dressed master came over to ask the price. You have to know that I was much more pleasing to the eye than those kids just now. I was not so thin, and I could still work, such as cutting grass, feeding cows, and fetching water. I was much stronger than the average kids, so the master took a liking to me at first sight and sold me for three dollars." Dali smiled proudly when he said this.

"I followed the master back to his home and discovered it wasn't a wealthy family at all. It was just a shabby house on the outskirts of the city, with a large family living there. The roof had holes in it, and there was even grass growing in the living room. I started to suspect they weren't locals at all. Then I saw three or four children of varying ages in the house, all with missing limbs, or blind or deaf. The master said they were his children and that I would be responsible for taking care of them. He also gave me two steamed buns to eat."

"I was starving. To be honest, I could have finished the bun in two bites, but I thought, what if I ate it all at once and got hungry at night? So I ate one and secretly put the other in my arms. The master said that after I finished eating, he would let me rest for a while and work again tomorrow."

"I was so lucky to have found a good master, but not long after I closed my eyes, I heard someone ask the master: "Are you dead asleep?" The master replied: "Don't worry, I've given you a sufficient amount of medicine. This time, should we attack him first, or cut off his feet first? Or burn his face too, so that if he can't beg for money on the road, he can be brought into the store. If the shopkeepers don't pay, they will scare away the customers."

"The other guy said, 'Okay, let's do it.' Then I felt someone pulling my hand. When I opened my eyes, they were startled. Two big men, one rushed over and tried to hold me down, while the other chopped my hand with a knife. I couldn't dodge in time and my little finger was chopped off."

Dali raised his right palm to show Guier. Guier then discovered that his right little finger was missing a part. If you didn't look carefully, you would think that the little finger was just shorter.

"Although I was young at the time, I was still smart. I suddenly realized that the children in the house with broken hands and feet were probably caused by them. I couldn't let myself become like that. So when the knife was about to cut off my fingers, I grabbed the blade and snatched it away. After grabbing it, I slashed at them recklessly."

Dali chuckled as he spoke, "Those people are used to chopping others, so they didn't expect it to be so painful when it was their turn. I stabbed both of them several times. They screamed in pain. But it also alarmed the other adults in the room. So I quickly ran out the door."

"Those guys were chasing us so hard, my hands were bleeding, and it hurt so much. I was about to be caught up when I saw a large group of people on horseback coming up ahead. So I quickly ran up to them, knelt down in front of the leader, and begged him to save me. That was our boss."

"At that time, the group came up to me and said I was their son, and asked the boss to stop interfering. I told him that they wanted to cut off my child's hands and feet, and begged him to save me. Those people were so shameless that they actually said they beat me because I had caused trouble, and said that I was their own son and they loved me too much."

"The eldest boss had just picked up the young marshal from somewhere else and was preparing to return to Qingfeng Village. He didn't want to cause any more trouble, but the young marshal said to him: 'This child is dressed in rags, while his pursuers are well-dressed. How can you treat your own son like this? They are definitely not father and son. Look how wise the young marshal is.'"

"When they saw they couldn't hide it, they said they weren't father and son, but I was their bought servant. If the boss dared to meddle, they would report me to the authorities."

"At that time, everyone else tried to persuade the boss to let it go and hurry on. The young commander said, 'Since he's a servant you bought, what's his name? Do you have a contract to sell him?'"

"The kid's name wasn't important to them, so they never asked for it. How could they tell me? So they tried to act tough, waving their knives around. That pissed off the leader, who pulled out his gun and fired a few shots at their feet. They didn't expect they'd be tough, so they ran away in terror."

"So I followed the boss up the mountain." Dali said this with a proud smile.

Gui'er hadn't expected Dali's life story to be so complicated, but she still wanted to find out about Sha Yanxiao, so she continued, "No wonder the Young Marshal thought so highly of you. You and the Young Marshal have never been apart since then, right?"

Dali said, "That's not the case. The boss said that the young marshal was brave and resourceful despite his young age, and was a good candidate, so they sent him to school. He usually lives at the teacher's house and only comes back to the village during festivals. The teachers at the school don't even know he's our young marshal. Besides, the young marshal is very smart and even got admitted to a school in Shanghai. If the boss hadn't been murdered, he probably wouldn't have come back so soon."

Gui Er quickly took the opportunity to say, "One moment he's the Young Master, the next he's the Young Marshal. Is Brother Yan Xiao also the Marshal's adopted son?"

Dali said, "Of course not. Our Marshal wouldn't raise a child for someone else. The young marshal was born to a woman he loved when he was in trouble. But then the marshal had to go to war, so he had to entrust him to the headmaster. Now that the headmaster is gone, and Qingfeng Village is gone too, the marshal took the young marshal back."

Gui'er thought to herself, if Mrs. Song was Sha Yanxiao's biological mother, but Song Xichen was obviously older than Sha Yanxiao, it meant that Mrs. Song got involved with Marshal Sha after marrying Song Shichang and giving birth to Song Xichen. The Song family compound had strict rules and regulations, and even Marshal Sha couldn't get in. It was really unbelievable.

Gui'er decided to test the waters again and asked, "Before Brother Yanxiao returned to the Marshal's Mansion, did the Marshal go to see him?"

Dali said calmly, "Since ancient times, officials and bandits cannot coexist. How could the Marshal possibly go to the stronghold? I don't know whether they met outside. I only found out after I followed the young marshal into the marshal's mansion. But now that I think about it, the fact that Qingfeng Village has been able to remain safe and sound in this area for so long may be because the Marshal turned a blind eye and gave Qingfeng Village a chance to survive."