Chapter 116 Are all these for Xiao Zhi to eat?

He Yuzhu waved his hand and said, "Alright, take your time to look and try it out. I'm going outside for some fresh air, I won't bother you."

As he spoke, he quickly walked out of the side room, gently closing the thin door behind him, leaving the little girl plenty of space.

As soon as he returned to the bright main room, he heard faint sobs coming from the adjacent side room. The sound was weak but exceptionally clear.

Immediately afterwards, a loud "bang" was heard as the door to the side room was suddenly pushed open.

A small figure rushed to him, hugged his waist tightly, and burst into tears.

He Yuzhu felt a little helpless and heartbroken. He gently patted her back, knowing full well what was going on.

This girl has been wandering around all these years, living a nomadic life, and must have suffered countless hardships and injustices.

He asked softly, "Xiao Zhi, what's wrong? Is it that you don't like the pattern on the clothes, or is there something else you're not happy with? Tell Brother Zhu."

The little girl sobbed, "No...no, it's been so many years since Xiaozhi has worn new clothes."

He Yuzhu gently advised, "If you like it, just put it on quickly. Don't make yourself feel wronged. No one will laugh at you or say anything about you."

The little girl said somewhat shyly and uneasily, "But...but Xiaozhi's clothes are too dirty. I'm afraid I'll get these beautiful new clothes dirty, which would be such a waste."

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "Then let's fill our stomachs first. After we eat, you should boil a basin of hot water, take a bath, wash away all the bad luck and filth, and then change into new clothes, okay?"

The little girl reluctantly released her grip on He Yuzhu and whispered, "Oh!"

He Yuzhu looked at her red eyes and said with a smile, "Alright, look at you, you've cried your face all over again. Go wipe your tears, or you won't be able to eat anything later."

The little girl nodded vigorously, hastily wiped the snot and tears from her face with the back of her hand, lowered her head, and whispered, "Okay!"

When the little girl returned after wiping her face clean, she immediately saw a stack of golden and crispy donkey meat sandwiches on the octagonal table, as well as a bowl of fragrant donkey offal soup. Her eyes widened instantly, and her face was full of surprise.

That was real meat, the kind of meat she never dared to dream of, and even smelling it was a luxury.

She was so excited about having new bedding and clothes that she completely ignored the rich and enticing aroma of meat in the air.

The little girl swallowed hard and asked cautiously, "Is...is all of this for Xiaozhi to eat?"

"If you don't want to eat it, then I'll eat it all myself and won't leave you a single bite."

"I'll go buy you some cornmeal and sorghum flour later, and then you can drink that dark porridge by yourself."

"Are these really for Xiaozhi to eat?" the little girl asked cautiously once again, afraid that everything in front of her was just a dream.

"Then you can go back to your room and stay there hungry. Don't touch any of the food on the table."

"No way!"

The little girl immediately rushed to the table, grabbed a donkey meat sandwich, and took a big bite. Her cheeks bulged out instantly, like a little squirrel with a full bag of nuts.

But after just a couple of chews, the familiar and rich salty flavor slowly melted on the tip of my tongue, and tears uncontrollably rolled down my cheeks again.

He Yuzhu was a little puzzled. Could it be that this girl was born to cry? Her tears came so easily, and he couldn't stop them no matter what he did.

The little girl was crying as she wolfed down the food in her mouth. In the blink of an eye, she had finished a donkey meat sandwich.

But she didn't reach for the second one. Instead, she raised her tear-streaked eyes and looked at He Yuzhu expectantly, as if waiting for his permission.

"Watch what I'm doing. Eat as much as you want, as much as you want, don't be shy."

"But afterwards, just eat the outer skin of the flatbread. Don't eat too much of the donkey meat inside, or it will be too greasy and upset your stomach. Don't blame me later for not reminding you."

As He Yuzhu spoke, he picked up a donkey meat sandwich and skillfully removed the pieces of donkey meat from it, leaving only the hollow sandwich skin in front of her.

The little girl's eyes were fixed on the flatbread, watching helplessly as the donkey meat inside was picked off one by one. Her little mouth immediately pouted, and she looked like she was about to burst into tears again.

"You absolutely must hold it in, you absolutely mustn't cry out loud."

"Your stomach has been empty for so long. Eating so much meat all at once will definitely upset your stomach. You'll be going in and out of the toilet all night."

"If you don't want to spend the whole night running back and forth between the outhouse and the bed, then listen to me—I'll give you as many flatbreads as you want!" He Yuzhu was determined this time and didn't intend to indulge her spoiled nature.

"Well... then is this soup okay? Can I take a couple of sips?" Despite He Yuzhu's threats, the little girl's eyes remained glued to the plate of glistening donkey meat.

"You can drink the soup, but only a few sips. You are absolutely not allowed to be greedy and drink more." He Yuzhu glanced at her cheeks, which were bulging like they were stuffed with two steamed buns, and his tone softened unconsciously.

"Deal!" Before the words had even finished, she had already stuffed another whole donkey meat sandwich into her mouth.

The little girl licked her oily lips with lingering satisfaction, then stared longingly at the plate, clearly not having had enough to eat.

He Yuzhu had no choice but to make her another thin pancake and hand her half a bowl of donkey offal soup.

This time, the little girl was completely stuffed—she slumped lazily on the stool, one little hand covering her round belly, whimpering "ouch, ouch," but her eyes were still darting around, staring at the remaining flatbread and soup bowl on the table.

"Keep the rest of these for the next meal." He Yuzhu moved a small stool over and sat opposite her, tapping the table lightly with his finger. "Get up and walk around a bit to help with digestion. Do you really want to stuff yourself to death?"

"It's...it's so delicious..." The little girl sniffed, her voice light and airy, as if it might dissipate into the air at any moment. "If only I could eat a meal like this every day from now on."

"You little brat," He Yuzhu said, gently poking her forehead with his finger. "You're not exactly pretty, but you certainly have a bright mind—I wouldn't even dare to dream about eating meat every day, and you dare to say it so casually?"

"I...I'm not ugly!" The little girl's face instantly turned bright red, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"I was just thinking about it casually, it feels like a dream, and I don't want to wake up from it at all..." Before she could finish speaking, tears were already welling up in her eyes.

"Alright, alright, you're not ugly, and this isn't some kind of dream." He Yuzhu quickly put away his teasing smile, his tone becoming even gentler. "We can't finish all the meat in one day, there will definitely be other opportunities to eat it in the future."

"That's more like it." He frowned and shook his head slightly. "Why are you so quick to cry? Did you lose all that fierceness you had when you were haggling with people at the fish market?"

"No one has ever cared for me before..." The little girl's voice gradually choked up. "My mother told me before she passed away that I had to grit my teeth and be strong, otherwise I wouldn't be able to survive."

"What, now that you feel you have someone to rely on and are clinging to me, you don't need to pretend to be strong anymore?" He Yuzhu deliberately teased her, trying to help her shift her sad emotions.

"N-no, I wasn't clinging to you!" The little girl waved her hands frantically, her nose turning red with anxiety. "I just... couldn't help it."

"Alright, stop being so sentimental." He Yuzhu stood up and gently patted her shoulder. "Go for a walk in the yard, and boil some water later—you should take a good bath and change into some clean clothes."

"I...I really can't walk anymore." The little girl tried to get off the stool, but as soon as she straightened up, she frowned and groaned.

"Then hold onto the stool and slowly walk around in circles. It's better than just sitting there." He Yuzhu rubbed his forehead helplessly, looking at her clumsy appearance, feeling both angry and amused.

Perhaps because he had ridden his tricycle for dozens of miles during the day, He Yuzhu fell into a deep sleep as soon as he touched the bed.

When he groggily opened his eyes, the sky outside the window had already turned a deep blue, and the familiar smell of fireworks filled the air.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes and walked out of the main room. He immediately saw the little girl squatting in front of the stove in the kitchen, adding firewood to the fire. She had changed into a brand new cloth shirt, and her hair, which had just been washed, was wet and draped over her shoulders, with water droplets still dripping from the ends.

He Yuzhu turned his head and glanced at the corner of the yard, where there was still a clear water mark around the edge of the wooden bucket that held water.

So this girl was taking a bath with water freshly drawn from the yard, wasn't she afraid of catching a chill in the cool night breeze?

"Brother Zhu, you're awake!" The little girl heard the noise behind her and turned around abruptly. When she saw him, her eyes lit up instantly, as if a little sun was shining in them.

"Did you boil the water and take a bath yourself?" He Yuzhu looked at the little girl who had changed into new clothes and looked much more refreshed, and asked after a moment of surprise.

"Yeah!" The little girl wiped her hands, which were covered in charcoal ash, and scratched her head a little embarrassedly. "You were sleeping so soundly, how could I bear to wake you up?"

"The wooden tub was too heavy; I couldn't move it at all, so I had to fetch water from the yard and wash myself." She quickly added, her tone slightly ingratiating, "I... I even used your scented soap, Brother Zhu, you won't be mad at me, will you?"

"So what if I used it? How much is a bar of soap worth?" He Yuzhu waved his hand, appearing exceptionally generous—the soap was piled up like a small mountain in his space, and he didn't care at all.