Feeling a slight sourness in his heart, Li Yifei took a deep breath, looked at the little girl, and said, "Your school uniform looks really nice!"
"This... belongs to an older sister. She’s in high school now. Last year, she ca ho and found this uniform, then gave it to . It’s very clean and I love wearing it, though it’s not flattering on because I’m too short. That sister is tall, and it looks great on her." The little girl spoke with a smile on her face. She wasn’t particularly beautiful, but she was graceful and had a charm that grew on you the more you looked. Of course, Li Yifei didn’t have any inappropriate thoughts; he just found beauty in her pure heart, feeling he glimpsed the brilliance of humanity.
He nodded repeatedly, praising, "It’s very pretty and very clean."
"Yeah, I’m always careful when washing it, afraid of ruining it!" The little girl nodded.
Li Yifei perceived the girl’s intense longing in her eyes. Only students can attend school wearing clean uniforms, but she couldn’t. So the little girl shook her head, and this action caught Li Yifei’s attention. He said, "Do you really want to return to the classroom?"
"Just a bit. At my age, if I don’t attend school and learn about culture, what can I do in society? But I know it’s impossible now. Every day, I hope to grow up quickly so I can go out, earn money, and support myself!" The little girl spoke, slowly sitting down on the mat on the ground, knees together, hands holding her chin. After speaking, she smiled, her eyes seemingly sparkling, and said, "But I will grow up eventually, right, uncle!"
"Of course, with health, you will surely grow up every day!" Li Yifei said tenderly.
"That’s right. I’m already fourteen this year. In four years, I’ll be eighteen, and eighteen is an adult. By then, I can leave this little fishing village and step out into the world to earn a living. Although right now I can only earn a tiny bit of money every day, it’s too little."
"Oh? How do you earn money now?" Li Yifei asked with interest.
"Every day I go to the sea and collect so things found there. I sell them to a grandma at the village head. Of course, I only occasionally have a big harvest, so I can’t guarantee it."
"What’s the average amount you earn daily?"
"Five yuan? Or three yuan? I’ll secretly tell you, I’ve already saved a hundred yuan, planning that when I reach two hundred yuan, in three or four months on my birthday, I’ll buy clothes for uncle and aunt. If there’s any money left... if there is, I’ll buy myself a cake, even if it’s a small one!" The little girl smiled with a hopeful expression.
Li Yifei smiled too, imagining a small figure wearing shabby clothes, walking alone by the sea, holding a small basket or bucket, venturing out early every morning as soon as dawn breaks, collecting various leftover seafood on the receding shoreline. Perhaps there were monts without a single catch, but upon finding one, she would cheerfully run over and place her find in the small bucket, filled with joy... Bringing the morning’s catch to the grandma at the village gate to sell for three to five yuan, carefully saving it, maybe just one-yuan bills or coins, but if it were a hundred yuan, it would be quite a stack.
Perhaps the grandma also pitied her, which is why she buys those things. Li Yifei, imagining this, felt he witnessed the beauty of humanity.
"By the way, I don’t know your na yet!" Li Yifei asked.
The little girl heard this, her eyes widening, and said, "That’s right, I don’t know uncle’s na either. I’ll introduce myself first, I’m Chen Junxiao, Chen as in the common surna, Jun as in noble, Xiao as in valiant!"
"Great na, so bold! Did your parents hope you’d be courageous and strong like a boy?" Li Yifei asked.
The little girl covered her mouth with a laugh, understanding Li Yifei’s praise, but she replied, "According to local customs, perhaps they thought having a girl was embarrassing, so they gave a boy’s na!"
"Uh..." Li Yifei stumbled over his words, while the little girl giggled and said, "It’s okay, uncle. I’m quite happy with my na, although it’s a little hard to write with all those strokes!"
"Do you know how to write it?"
"Of course! When I was little, learning to write, the first thing Dad taught was my na."
"That’s great, that’s great." Li Yifei nodded continuously, and then asked Chen Junxiao to write her na. The little girl stood up, leaned against the window, and wrote her na stroke by stroke on the quilt with her finger.
"Uncle, what’s your na?"
"The uncle’s na is simple, Li Yifei, Li as in the common surna, Yi as in one, two, three, and Fei as in fly."
"This na is much easier to write than mine, but... it’s a bit ordinary!" The little girl said innocently.
Li Yifei laughed heartily upon hearing this and said, "Maybe they hoped I’d be an ordinary person!"
"Isn’t uncle ordinary now?" Chen Junxiao asked, looking up at Li Yifei.
"I was very ordinary before, but after my parents passed away, I started to be not so ordinary!" Li Yifei replied.
Chen Junxiao’s face changed imdiately. She quickly apologized, "I’m sorry, uncle, I didn’t an to... I’m sorry..."
"What does it matter, it’s good that they left, but those who stay must live well, live for them. Do you understand what I’m saying?" Li Yifei said softly.
Chen Junxiao pondered for a mont, nodded seriously, and said, "Uncle, I understand. I will live well. I just didn’t expect... that you and I have had the sa encounters. Those years must have been tough for you, right?"
"When you reach your uncle’s age, you’ll realize those experiences are also wealth. Now I want to return to the simple and easily satisfying life you have, but it’s impossible!"
"Really? I think this life is okay, just sotis feeling hungry is not good, but other tis it’s fine. At the place I live, I can see the sunrise and sunset every day, it’s very beautiful!" said Chen Junxiao.
Li Yifei chuckled and said, "Hearing you say that makes want to see it too."
"That might be a bit difficult. I... can’t pull you along. The day I pulled you ashore, I had to ask an uncle from the village for help. He’s the one who carried you back!" Chen Junxiao frowned and said.
Li Yifei said, "Then wait for to feel better, I definitely want to see the sunrise and sunset."
"Sure, I love watching it; you’ll like it too, uncle!" Chen Junxiao nodded energetically.
Li Yifei could clearly feel the little girl’s warmth and enthusiasm. While they were chatting, suddenly there was a loud rumbling sound. Chen Junxiao raised her eyebrows, quickly understanding what the sound was, she grinned and said, "Uncle is hungry. I’ll go serve the porridge."
"Alright, be careful not to burn yourself!"
"I won’t. I’m very familiar with this kind of work." Chen Junxiao turned and walked out, speaking to Li Yifei as she did, and he heard a series of noises from outside. Soon, the little girl ca in with a small iron basin filled with porridge. The porridge wasn’t thick; Li Yifei had already heard her aunt’s words, knowing that the little girl lived a hard life, one that most people couldn’t even imagine. It was extrely rare for her to use so much rice to cook porridge for him.
Chen Junxiao placed the small basin on a wooden stool and said, "It’s a bit hot. It’s best to let it cool down a bit. Uncle, don’t hurry."
"I’m not in a rush, but what about your portion?" Li Yifei asked.
Chen Junxiao’s expression changed slightly, then she said, "My portion is outside. I’ll feed you first, then eat mine later."
"Don’t lie to uncle. Be good and bring a bowl, let’s split it half and half and eat together!"
"No, no, I really have so in the pot. You eat yours; you just woke up and need nutrition." The little girl insisted.
Just as Li Yifei was about to speak, Chen Junxiao continued, "Uncle, you just eat, really, don’t worry about . Your body is more important. I picked up so seafood this morning and bought so sweet potatoes from others, which are already cooked."
"Really have sweet potatoes?" Li Yifei asked.
"Of course, there are quite a few, and they’re big ones!" Chen Junxiao said, gesturing with her hand.
Li Yifei said, "Okay, listen to uncle. Pour the porridge back, and put the stead sweet potatoes in, mash them with a spatula, so we both have porridge to drink, and we can eat sweet potatoes too!"
"Can you do it like that?"
"Of course, sweet potato porridge is delicious, a little sweet!" Li Yifei nodded and said.
Chen Junxiao seed to have never done it like this before. Of course, she had almost no one to teach her cooking, mostly figuring it out on her own. So she quickly went to try after hearing this. She mashed the stead sweet potatoes and put them in the pot. Being seafood porridge from the start, once the sweet potatoes were added, it beca much thicker and there was a lot more, almost filling up half the pot.
Seeing such a large pot of porridge, Chen Junxiao finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried there wouldn’t be enough, which is why she spent money on sweet potatoes and left their tiny morning haul to put into the porridge.
Now there’s enough to eat. Chen Junxiao carried the porridge back in, preparing a small basin of seafood sweet potato porridge for Li Yifei while blowing on it to cool it down.
Li Yifei ate with great relish, as if he’d never had sothing so delicious in his life, but upon seeing that Chen Junxiao hadn’t eaten, he encouraged her to have a bowl before feeding him more.
In a big pot of porridge, Chen Junxiao ate a bowl, and the rest was all eaten by Li Yifei, and he finished it quickly. Looking at Li Yifei’s slightly rounded belly, Chen Junxiao bit her lip, realizing she needed to prepare dinner soon, initially thinking that the porridge would last until the evening...
Li Yifei hadn’t noticed Chen Junxiao’s expression. He actually wasn’t full; as porridge offered little nutrition, at most just filling his stomach, but far from enough to be full. However, since it was all gone, Li Yifei couldn’t possibly ask for more.
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