The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

With the child as a bond, Aiduo temporarily gave up the idea of ​​continuing to look for Shen Xiaobao.

She held onto hope every day, hoping that one day when she woke up, Shen Xiaobao would suddenly appear in front of her.

Guze Town is very small and has a small population. Before Ayiduo finished her confinement at home, she heard that rumors about her and Shen Xiaobao had already started to spread in the town.

The general meaning is that Shen Xiaobao deceived this silly girl, and even after giving birth to a child, Shen Xiaobao didn't come back to find her, so he must have abandoned her.

Ayiduo didn't want her daughter to hear these rumors when she grew up, so she took the initiative to apply to the mayor and moved to a yard outside the town with her one-month-old daughter, responsible for rescuing passers-by who accidentally entered the miasma forest and were poisoned.

The mother and daughter have lived in this remote courtyard for more than ten years.

After listening to Ayiduo's story, Zhao Xuan frowned and thought.

"Sister Ayiduo, did you go look for Shen Xiaobao later?"

"Yes, when Guo'er was three years old, I entrusted her to my parents' care and went to Rongcheng again. By then, Shen Xiaobao's father had passed away.

I found Shen Xiaobao's relatives, and those relatives always thought he was still in the army, and Shen Xiaobao had no contact with them.

After returning to Guze Town, I completely gave up the idea of ​​looking for him. I thought he had forgotten me long ago.

The people in the town were right; our relationship back then was just a fleeting affair for him."

Zhao Xuan continued to ask.

"Can I ask how you two met?"

Ayiduo couldn't help but smile gently when she thought of the time when she first met Shen Xiaobao.

"It should have been twelve years ago in the spring. One day I was helping out at the grocery store my parents opened..."

Twelve years ago, in the spring. Guze Town.

Aiduo remembers that spring came earlier that year, and the hillsides were full of rhododendrons, camellias and magnolias, pink, white, red and purple, covering the entire mountain.

Last night's spring rain washed the town's cobblestone roads clean and bright.

A grocery store on the street had its doors open, with a plaque reading: Tianfu Grain Store

Ayiduo was wiping the dust off the wooden board with a rag. The spring breeze blew on her face and her hair danced gently in the wind.

A young man in military uniform was walking towards us from a distance, holding a bouquet of white magnolia flowers in his hand.

Ayiduo loves white magnolia flowers the most, and she can't help but wonder if a man has the same hobby as her.

She saw that the man was tall and strong, with an upright posture, thick eyebrows and a high nose bridge. The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, and he seemed to be in a good mood.

The man walked to the grain shop and saw Ayiduo staring at the magnolia flowers in his hand.

"Do you like this flower? I picked it when I came here and I'm giving it to you."

The man gave Aido a smile that was as warm as the spring breeze and a little shy.

Ayiduo's heartstrings suddenly trembled, and she stared at the man's smile in a daze.

Ayiduo's father heard the man's voice, walked over and asked with a smile.

"Isn't this Shen Xiaobao? Is it your turn to be in charge of purchasing this month?"

Shen Xiaobao was at a loss when he saw that Ayiduo did not take the magnolia flower. He scratched his head awkwardly.

"Uncle Apeng, our captain has given me the entire year's procurement task. Next year, our garrison squad will be five years old, and it's time for a rotation!"

"Good, good! It means your captain trusts you! This is my girl, Ayiduo. If I'm not in the shop, you can ask her to help you."

Shen Xiaobao looked at Ayiduo.

"You don't like this flower, what do you like? I'll pick it for you. I'll have to trouble you a lot in the future!"

Aiduo took the magnolia flowers from Shen Xiaobao's hand with a red face and ran into the shop. She thought to herself that Shen Xiaobao was such a fool. When had she ever said she didn't like him?

Shen Xiaobao handed the purchase order to Apeng.

"Uncle Apeng, please prepare it for me according to this list. I'll go buy some candles and paper and come back to settle the bill for you later."

Ayiduo was rummaging through the shelves, trying to find a jar to temporarily hold flowers.

She felt Shen Xiaobao's gaze on her, turned around and smiled at Shen Xiaobao.

"Thank you for the magnolia flowers, I love them!"

Shen Xiaobao smiled innocently and said, "You're welcome."

Only then did he leave the grain shop and go to other shops to purchase goods.

Ayido found an empty jar for pickling pickles, temporarily put the magnolia flowers in it, and prepared supplies for Shen Xiaobao with her father.

"Father, how often does their garrison team usually go to the town to purchase goods?"

"They come less often when it's cold, and only once every two or three days when it's hot. Some food can't be kept in the heat."

"Are you familiar with this Shen Xiaobao? He looks pretty stupid!"

Apeng looked at his daughter's slightly red face and guessed what she was thinking. It seemed that his daughter had a good impression of Shen Xiaobao.

Apeng laughed out loud.

"He's not stupid, he's honest and simple, with a simple mind and no complicated ideas. Their captain likes him very much. I think he's a good guy."

After a while, Shen Xiaobao came back with a beautiful porcelain vase in his hand.

The background color is elegant sky blue, depicting quiet distant mountains with staggered peaks, lush green pines and cypresses nearby, and two colorful birds flying in the sky.

Ayiduo looked at the vase in surprise.

"You garrison troops are quite refined, even buying vases?"

Shen Xiaobao placed the vase on the counter and gently took the magnolia flowers out of the jar and placed them in the vase.

"I don't know how to arrange flowers. Do you think this looks good?"

Ayido looked at the magnolia flowers in the vase and then at Shen Xiaobao.

"Are you stupid? Giving flowers is easy, I just picked them on the way, but giving a vase doesn't cost money?"

Shen Xiaobao blushed.

"I just saw you looking for a vase. When I bought paper, I bought a vase at the shop next door. It was very cheap, only two taels of silver."

"You are such a fool! I brought the magnolia flowers home, and I have a vase at home! Two qian of silver is not silver? How are you going to get a wife in the future if you don't know how to live like this?"

After being scolded by Ayiduo, Shen Xiaobao lowered his head in shame.

"Is it too late for me to return it now?"

"If I give it to you, it's mine! You still want to return it? Do you know what the consequences will be if you make me angry?"

Shen Xiaobao looked at Ayiduo in surprise.

"Are you angry? What did I do wrong?"

Apeng couldn't help laughing.

"Okay, you two young people can chat. I'll go out for a walk. Xiaobao, you can pay the bill with Ayiduo later!"

From that day on, Aido came to the store to help from time to time, and she would always run into Shen Xiaobao. She liked to tease Shen Xiaobao, and Shen Xiaobao would always blush.

After a while, the two of them developed from friends to lovers, and everyone in the town was optimistic about them.

Ayiduo suddenly fell silent when she spoke here. She picked up the water on the table and took a sip. Endless sadness surged on her face, which was once filled with happiness.

"That was his last year stationed in Guze Town. He promised to take me back to his hometown to get married after my rotation. Not long after, I found out that I was pregnant. He was very happy when he knew it.

There is still one month until the rotation time, and then we can go back to Rongcheng together.

He made an appointment with me to meet him at dusk three days later on a hillside not far from the garrison camp. He said he had a gift for me.

Zhao Xuan hurriedly asked, "Did you see him later?"

Ayiduo shook her head.

"I waited until it was completely dark, but he didn't show up. I saw from afar that all the lights in the garrison camp were out, and I guessed that he might have a temporary mission and couldn't get away.

So I went home and went to the camp to look for him the next morning, but when I got there, no one was there.