Little bastard
Author: 橙子澄澄
Source: Instadoses
In an instant, her heart seemed to have submerged in a hot spring.
"Shengsheng likes it, and likes to eat with Brother Axiu." She added, "Eating together is happier."
"Alright."
The sun had begun to fall westward by the time the little pals got together.
Indeed, as Liu Yusheng has said, some kids were jubilant while some were wilting with their heads down.
With only twenty or so bird eggs, the group of seven or eight kids divided them into three or so each.
They searched for a clearing, gathered hay and twigs to build a fire, and buried the bird eggs underneath.
Axiu had never experienced this kind of thing before. A rare look of novelty and curiosity was across his face – a normal expression that an 8-year-old child should have.
The fire burned brightly, and on such a hot day, it made people feel tipsy and sweating incessantly.
None of the little ones, however, ran away for fear of the heat, and all gathered around the fire, waiting with glittering eyes.
As the air gradually filled with a fragrance of eggshells, someone made a sound of swallowing his spit.
Farmers usually eat meager food and only eat a sumptuous meal at the New Year's Festival.
A little bit of minced meat, a little bit of eggs, could already be considered plentiful.
So hunting bird eggs became one of the children's favorite pastimes, bird eggs – they were eggs too!
And best of all, they cost nothing!
"Done and cooked. Put out the fire and be careful not to break the bird eggs." Liu Zhixia was the oldest in the group and took the commanding role.
He took a twig to pry apart the ashes and showed the blackened eggs burned underneath, "Three per person. Don't take too many, or there won't be enough to share."
Once the bird eggs were distributed, the children couldn't care less about the hotness. They picked them up in the palm of their hands left and right, then quickly shelled them and stuffed them directly into their mouths.
"Fragrant, delicious! Hoo-hoo!"
"I wish I could conjure up a bunch of bird eggs, I could eat them all in one sitting!"
"Hahaha, in your dreams, so eat up, daydreams aren't as beautiful as you think!"
In this kind of atmosphere, even though Liu Yusheng wasn't greedy for food, she also wanted to join in the childish fun of shelling bird eggs.
But before her little hand could touch the egg, Axiu stopped her.
"Shengsheng, it's still hot. Let me help you shell it."
Liu Zhixia interjected from the side, "Eat by yourself, Nannan has brothers to take care of her."
While speaking, his hand already shelled an egg and pushed it to Liu Yusheng's mouth, "Nannan, eat."
"Nannan, I also shelled a good one. Here, you eat first." Liu Zhiqiu leaned over, almost knocking Liu Zhixia aside.
The eggs in both of their hands, however, failed to reach Liu Yusheng's mouth and were stopped again.
The two brothers glared at Axiu.
Axiu said faintly, "They have ashes and dirt, Shengsheng won't eat them."
"…" Roasted eggs already had ash on the shells, and it was inevitable that they would get some when shelling them.
They were used to it. How could country kids be so particular about it? Having something to eat was already good enough.
Liu Zhiqiu was quite unconvinced. "It's not a boiled egg, so how can you shell it so cleanly? Can't you just eat it? I mean, did you come here to cause trouble? I don't believe you can peel it so cleanly so Nannan could eat!"
Liu Yusheng did want to speak for her two brothers, that there was no need to be so fussy. But seeing the gray spots on the eggs and the black hands holding them, her germophobia immediately struck.
The little girl quietly hid herself behind Axiu.
She really couldn't, in good conscience, back up her brother.
On the other hand, Axiu grabbed a handful of hay from the side without arguing, wiped the ash off the bird eggs, and shelled them.
Showing an enchanting elegance in every move.
Half of the shell was peeled off, revealing the white, spotless flesh of the egg, and there really wasn't any ash on it at all!
This skill convinced Zhixia and Zhiqiu, who retreated silently.
"Shengsheng, eat." It was delivered to Liu Yusheng's mouth.
Liu Yusheng narrowed her eyes and bit down with a hum, "Thank you, Brother Axiu!"
All six bird eggs almost entered Liu Yusheng's small belly, but she only bit half of the last one, and then blinked and stared at Axiu. Axiu could only eat the other half.
Liu Zhixia and Liu Zhiqiu felt sour. They always felt that Nannan treated this kid better than them.
While going downhill, only a red half-circle was left of the sunset, like a half salted duck egg hanging in the horizon.
Large, gorgeous fiery clouds rendered the entire world a purple-red hue.
"Brother Axiu, see you tomorrow!" At the bend in the road, Liu Yusheng waved goodbye to Axiu.
"Hmm." He responded. He stared at the toddler as she walked further and further away with the group of people until he couldn't see her anymore, before walking back home.
At the corner of his mouth was a shallow smile that he didn't even know was there.
As he neared the cabin, his peaceful black eyes swiftly turned fierce as he leaped out incredibly fast.
Inside the cabin was a series of smashing and ferocious cursing.
"Bitch! I'm telling you, that little bastard dared to hurt our boy! If you don't pay up, I'll make you sorry!"
"30 taels of silver, not a copper less! That's one tough little bastard you got there, threatening people. If our baby wasn't so scared that he kept having nightmares in the middle of the night, we all would have been kept in the dark!"
"Geez, why are you talking to a woman so viciously? It's not easy for a widow to take care of her child. Besides, they live in this neighborhood so we are considered neighbors. Give them some face," another disgusting voice said. "Look, this young lady has been gathering herbs all day under the sun and wind, but still looks smooth-skinned. How about this? If you can't take out 30 taels, you can have some fun with us, and we'll give you a discount. Hahaha!"
The courtyard was in a mess. The wooden rack and the bamboo sieve were kicked to the ground, and the sun-dried herbs were scattered all over the ground.
Axiu's mother was forced under the eaves by several men, her face cold and her eyes filled with forbearance and anger. "Don't go too far in bullying others! If my son really injured your child, I'll pay what I should, but don't ever think of demanding an exorbitant price!"
30 taels? A simple family of three could eat for 10 years!
How dare they ask for this!
"Demand an exorbitant price? We really have to get this done today! You thought we were bullying people too much? I'll show you today what it means to bully someone too much!" One of the men took advantage and charged forward, embracing Wanrong and letting his rough hands wander on her breast, his eyes stained with lust and evil. "How dare a stranger with a shabby home deal with us? Believe it or not, as long as we shout, this wooden shack will be torn down in an instant! Behave yourself!"
There were a total of three men in the yard, all of which were burly farmers. Although the other two weren't involved, they didn't stop the other either, letting Wanrong cry and struggle fearfully.
Axiu rushed to the door and all he saw was his mother tightly held by a man. Her clothes had been torn off the shoulders, as she cried mournfully in shame and desperation.
His eyes turned red.
The man, who was facing the door, was the first to see Axiu. Not only did he not let go, he even laughed more savagely.
"Yo! This is the little bastard, isn't it? You came to the door yourself and saved myself the trouble of looking for you outside! Can't you stand it? Did you think you could beat us? Today, I'll show right in front of you what your mother is going to pay for you, hahaha!"
Note this is for Offline reading/purpose only credits to the authors, publishers, editors and translators.