hold you in my arms tonight

Another day passed.

At night, Jiang Min came again. Through the light in the yard, she saw clearly the two hungry and pale children in the room. She coughed lightly and asked, "Why, don't you still plan to go out to make money?"

Xie Yuan has been hungry longer than Jiang Xun, he has no energy to speak, just holding Jiang Xun's hand.

Jiang Xun didn't look up, his voice was very soft: "I won't go."

Jiang Min was really angry, her face was ugly, she thought these two children were challenging her authority.She fiddled with her hair and said, "I hope you'll say that again tomorrow morning."

Until the woman walked away, Jiang Xun didn't raise his head, Xie Yuan leaned on his shoulder, already a little unconscious from hunger.

Night came again.

The air in Liucheng is damp and cold at night, especially in this small room that does not see the sun all year round. Jiang Xun can even feel the water vapor on the ground.

After an unknown amount of time, there was a sound from the window.

Jiang Xun raised his head and saw a dirty little hand holding on to the window, and the other raised hand holding a steamed bun.

Jiang Xun almost instinctively stood up and took it, he quickly took a bite into his mouth, and after a few moments of consciousness, he shook Xie Yuan awake.

"Xie Yuan, there is something to eat."

Xie Yuan opened his eyes and saw the half steamed bun that Jiang Xun handed over, he took it and ate it hungrily.

"Thank you," Jiang Xun whispered, he was afraid that the loud voice would wake up Yang Neng and his wife.

A boy's hoarse voice came from the window, he said: "If you...don't steal things, they will break your hands and feet to beg for food. Being a thief is not good, but if you are disabled, then...really It's useless."

Jiang Xun didn't speak, and Ah Kuai asked them, "Do you want to live?"

Xie Yuan thought, because he still wanted to go home, grandpa said, when he got home, he would plant tulips with him.

Jiang Xun also thought that he wanted to live, just like when he was under the ruins of Chong'an, he never thought of giving up, he always wanted to live well.

"Only by living can there be hope. Only by living can we see hope."

Jiang Xun didn't know when Ah Guai left, the temperature at night was getting lower and lower.

After a long time, he held Xie Yuan's hand and said to him softly: "Xie Yuan, shall we go have dinner tomorrow?"

Xie Yuan said, "Okay."

At dawn the next day, before Jiang Min came over, Xie Yuan had already slapped on the window and shouted. After attracting both Jiang Min and Yang Neng, he said, "We want to eat!"

"Going to make money?" Yang Neng asked.

"Go," said the two children in unison.

Jiang Min prepared the food, which was rare and rich, not leftovers, but eggs and meat buns.The two children hurried over to get the meat buns and ate them in a hurry.

"Eat slowly until you are full," Yang Neng said, "When you are full, follow the third master to learn how to make money."

Ono and Aguai came out, holding their own money-making tool-broken bowl in their hands.Ah Guai lowered his head and didn't look at anyone, but Ono stared at the things on the table and drooled.

"I want them to eat together!" Jiang Xun proposed.

Jiang Min was a little surprised: "You two were raised in a good family, don't you think they are dirty and smelly?"

"Don't dislike it!" Jiang Xun said.

Yang Neng nodded in acquiesce, and Ah Guai and Xiao Ye hurried forward to get eggs and meat buns. The two of them had never eaten such good things, never before.

Yang Neng first went out to find Chen San at the entrance of the alley, leaving Jiang Min to guard the four children.

Jiang Min pulled up a chair and crossed her legs to watch the four children slurp up their food. She rarely thought of her own children who had no chance to see the world.

She sneered and said to Jiang Xun: "Actually, I see you and Xie Yuan need to be more comfortable. You are just like children. You are raising outsiders who don't know that you think I gave birth. You see, Aguai and Xiaoye are born beggars." ,dont you agree?"

Jiang Xun pretended not to hear, and secretly stuffed the egg into Ono's trouser pocket while she was not paying attention.Seeing this, Xie Yuan also understood that they would never have another chance after eating this good meal. Thinking of this, he also hid the eggs in his pocket in a similar manner.

After eating, Ono and Aguai went to the train station.And Yang Neng led Jiang Xun and Xie Yuan to Chen Sanfen.

Chen San is a bum, and a repeat pickpocket who has been in the police station several times, and Yang Neng's acquaintance with Yang Neng is nothing more than a sympathy between one kind of trash for another.Yang Neng asked him to take two apprentices, and he agreed because he thought it was interesting.

Looking at it now, the two children are cleaner and more delicate than the other.

Unlike a pickpocket, isn't it just a pickpocket?

Chen San was quite satisfied, and said, "Follow me to the bus station, where is the paradise for my profession."

There was a lot of traffic at Liucheng Bus Station, and it was the first time for Jiang Xun and Xie Yuan to come here.

Chen San taught them to judge the economic situation of pedestrians and tourists from their clothes, taught them what kind of backpack is best to open, what kind of people are the most defenseless, and taught them that if they are caught, they must learn to use other people's sympathy Pretend to be pitiful, and then run away while others are not paying attention.

Jiang Min bought them school uniforms and schoolbags from a nearby elementary school, and the two children looked very well behaved after changing into the clothes and wearing red scarves.

Jiang Min happily kissed him alone, and said to Chen San: "If only this were my son?"

Chen San smiled: "Isn't he your son now!"

The two laughed and made some jokes, Xie Yuan wiped his face vigorously with his sleeve where they couldn't see, and after wiping himself, he wiped Jiang Xun's face.

What can one learn from a bum thief?

Neither Xie Yuan nor Jiang Xun thought that a thin iron wire could hook out a wallet, and take out all the change in a trouser pocket in a few seconds.

After studying with Chen San for a month, Yang Neng let Jiang Xun and Xie Yuan go out to make money.

Jiang Xun and Xie Yuan were sitting on the bus, there were many people standing, and when they looked up, they saw the wallet of the person in front of them.But no one dared to reach out, and they didn't get any money for several days.

Yang Neng chose to use the old method after they didn't get a penny back for five consecutive days, which was to throw him in a small dark room and starve.

As if they were used to the feeling of darkness and hunger, neither Xie Yuan nor Jiang Xun cried anymore, but that night, Xie Yuan said to Jiang Xun: "Tomorrow, I'll go steal it."

Jiang Xun didn't speak, the child was already a little disappointed in the world.

Slowly, Xie Yuan and Jiang Xun began to bring their wallets back.

No one knows how frightened a child who was learning addition two months ago felt when he reached out to someone else's wallet for the first time.Sometimes Yang Neng would go out with them, and when there were a lot of people, he would push them forward to steal their wallets.What they eat every night depends on how much money they get that day.

The four children lived in one room, with a bed made of benches and planks, and three worn-out quilts. The latecomers Jiang Xun and Xie Yuan shared one.

Ono didn't seem to be able to speak, she only had a smirk in her mouth, and she didn't even cry.But she seems to like Xie Yuan very much, and always smiles silly at him.Ah Guai is a very silent boy, but Jiang Xun and Xie Yuan always remember his kindness, the kindness of a steamed bun.

The four children are all silent. In such an environment, no one can be lively and cheerful.But in the process of getting along, they subtly regard each other as brothers and sisters.Both of us are living very hard, sometimes just a cold egg is great kindness.

Liucheng is a very beautiful city with beautiful scenery and pleasant seasons. In winter, it will snow, and the heavy snow falls like catkins.

In November [-], the heavy snow in Liucheng began to fall.

Xie Yuan had never hated heavy snow so much, but when he and Jiang Xun were still wearing school uniforms and shuttling between various bus stops, the cold wind always made their faces hurt.

Winter is Jiang Min’s favorite season. She always wears cotton boots and sits in the lounge of the train station smoking a cigarette. Looking to the left through the smoke and glass is the entrance to the station. There is a monster kneeling in the heavy snow. Go to the right. Looking at the platform, there is Ono who is still only smirking on his knees.They are both her cash cows.

Yang Neng's side is not so good. People are reluctant to go out when the weather is cold, and the income of the bus side has decreased. He is very angry.He was angry, Xie Yuan and Jiang Xun were having a hard time.

The winter of [-] was really hard.

cold and long.

When Xie Yuan and Jiang Xun were locked in the small dark room, the icy floor was so cold that the whole tailbone hurt.

Xie Yuan was too afraid of the cold, he had chilblains on both his hands and feet, itching and painful, only when Jiang Xun held his hands and breathed out the heat, he could get better.

"It's spring, so it doesn't hurt anymore," Jiang Xun said.

On Chinese New Year's Day, after Ah Kuai secretly bought a candy for Ono, the two in Xiaoheiwu became three people.

When the door was closed, Yang Neng was still scolding: "Buy it for that idiot? I think you are an idiot? Can that damn girl Xiaoye eat sweet or not? Waste of money!"

Jiang Xun looked up, and saw Xiao Ye, who was biting a lollipop in the yard through the gap of the door that was about to close, smiling at them.

Ah Guai was a little embarrassed. He was rarely locked in a small dark room, so he messed with his hair and said, "You idiot, Xiao Ye, told her to eat secretly tonight, so why did she take it out. Sigh."

Xie Yuan wanted to laugh: "Well, Xiao Ye is an idiot."

"Don't call her stupid," Ah Kuai said anxiously, "Ono is still very smart sometimes!"

Xie Yuan was puzzled: "You said she was stupid."

Ah Kuai said: "I can say, you can't."

"Oh, I see," Xie Yuan said.

The three boys couldn't find anything to talk about in the dark night. After a long time, Ah Kuai said in a hoarse voice: "I actually envy you all."

"What are you envious of?" Jiang asked.

Aguai stared at the light in the window and said, "I envy you all have surnames. You Jiang Xun, his name is Xie Yuan, and my name is Aguai, Xiaoye's name is Xiaoye... She and I don't know what our surname is..."

Jiang Xun didn't know what to say, he looked at the side face of Ah Guai, the eyes hidden in the matted hair were very dark, and the light could not shine in.

"How long is spring?"

"It's coming soon, it's coming soon."