小破烂 (xiǎo pò làn) is a colloquial term in Chinese that roughly translates to "little scrap" or "small piece of trash." It is often used to describe something that is of poor quality or in a shabby condition.
Sister Li took it without hesitation. Chu Xia breathed a sigh of relief and didn't stay too long. After saying a few polite words to Sister Li, she came back.
As soon as she entered the house, she saw Cen Huai'an eating a mouthful of pancakes and a mouthful of congee with his mouth full of oil. When he drank the congee, he 'hulu~', like a piglet, eating without lifting his head.
Chu Xia sat across from him, and, seeing his appearance, she directly placed a pancake in front of herself. Cen Huai'an looked over as expected, with a look of impatience and anger in his eyes.
"Give it back to me!"
"This food was bought by me, brought back by me, and the meal was cooked by me. How can it be yours?"
Cen Huai'an was annoyed and went up to snatch it. He's used to snatching when he can't eat, snatching with stray dogs, snatching with children.
Chu Xia grabbed his hand and looked at him very seriously. "I will share the pancakes with you, and you won't be short of food in the future. But you must promise me to slowly get rid of your bad habits."
Cen Huai'an ignored her, his eyes fixed on the pancake, and he looked dissatisfied.
He knew that buying him shoes and clothes today was a sham! His mother is still the same mother and won't give him food!
Chu Xia knew that Cen Huai'an was different from normal children, so she would not push him too hard.
However, she still needed to say what needed to be said: "I cooked the meal, right? But you started eating before me. Do you think that's right? When a family wants to eat, we eat together. Remember that? Also, wash your hands before eating."
Cen Huai'an stiffened, and the anger in his eyes stopped.
Chu Xia hmphed. "I knew you didn't wash your hands. There's still dirt under your fingernails."
Chu Xia pulls him up and holds his hand down in the basin, which is filled with warm water that she has prepared.
Then she washed Cen Huai'an's fingers one by one. There was only a large yellow soap for laundry at home. Chu Xia used a little bit for him and herself, lathering it up and then rinsing it off.
"Okay, from now on, wash your hands like this. Wash your hands before eating. Otherwise, if you eat dirty things in your stomach, worms will grow in your belly, and the worms will bite you and make your stomach hurt."
Cen Huai'an immediately covered his stomach, as if it really hurt. It hurt him before, and it made him roll on the ground. Did he have worms in his stomach? Is he going to die? Just like Grandpa Li, lying on the ground and never speaking again?
Chu Xia didn't know Cen Huai'an's thoughts. She suspected that he might have worms in his stomach. She remembered that there was a well-known deworming medicine for children called Pagoda Candy, which was very effective. She will buy some tomorrow.
But as soon as he started eating, Cen Huai'an forgot about it. He had been hungry for too long, and as long as he ate, all he could see was food.
Chu Xia placed the pancakes back in the middle of the table, and Cen Huai'an reached out to grab them, but Chu Xia grabbed his hand. "Use chopsticks."
Cen Huai'an gives her a look but still picks up the chopsticks to pick up the pancakes.
Chu Xia hadn't made many pancakes to begin with. She estimated that the two of them would finish all the food, enough to satisfy their hunger without overeating.
Whether you're hungry or too full, it's not good for your stomach.
When Chu Xia was clearing away the dishes, she had Cen Huai'an help her clean his own bowl and chopsticks.
Perhaps it was because Chu Xia had fed him well all day that Cen Huai'an didn't resist Chu Xia's words anymore. He followed her and clumsily washed his bowl and chopsticks.
After eating, the water in the aluminum pot on the coal stove was ready, and Chu Xia placed the kettle on the ground and used the pot she had used to cook porridge to start brewing the medicine.
It is not difficult to concoct the medicine. It just required boiling it first and then simmering it over low heat. The key was to pay attention to the ratio of water to medicinal ingredients and the timing.
While brewing the medicine, Chu Xia prepared a basin of warm water, called Cen Huai'an out from the inner room, and asked him to take a bath.
"Can you wash yourself?"
Cen Huai'an didn't say anything; his body was very stiff.
It seemed like he couldn't bathe himself, so Chu Xia directly helped him undress. After all, he was only five years old, so there was no need to be so concerned.
Although Cen Huai'an was young, he already understood the difference between boys and girls. Chu Xia undressed him in three strokes. He covered his lower body, lowered his head, and his ears turned red, as if they were bleeding. He sounded both embarrassed and angry. "I can wash myself!"
Chu Xia immediately let go of him, clapped her hands, and stood up, smiling and saying, "Okay, you can bathe yourself; just make sure to wash thoroughly, and then you can wear your new clothes."
Cen Huai'an actually doesn't know how to take a bath; the original owner had never paid much attention to such things. Nowadays, there are not many adults who care about whether the children are clean or not. It's very common for children and adults not to wash once a winter.
In the summer, they would just rinse with water, and Cen Huai'an did the same.
As soon as Chu Xia noticed that Cen Huai'an was about to come out of the basin after dipping in the water, she stopped him. "You called that a bath? Look at the dirt on your body. Just one touch, and it's all over. Don't move; I'll help you wash."
He wanted to resist, his little eyebrows furrowing tightly. Although it hurt a little when she rubbed it with a towel that's a little rough, he didn't move.
In his limited memory, his mother had never bathed him like this.
Although it hurt a little, he could bear it. He was the best at tolerating pain.
Chu Xia took a towel from the shelf over the washbasin. This towel was the roughest one; the fabric had turned transparent from washing. It was just right for scrubbing.
It took two basin of water and all the water in the kettle before Chu Xia finally cleaned Cen Huai'an. His skin was quite fair, and when he put on the new clothes she had bought for him, he looked clean and lively, except for being a little too skinny.
This was all her doing, and Chu Xia felt a sense of accomplishment. Even though washing him had left her out of breath with a sore and aching back, it was worth it.
Chu Xia went to check the medicine on the stove; it was almost ready. When she saw that Cen Huai'an wanted to run outside, she stopped him and asked him to take the medicine before going out to play.
There was no clock in the house, so she didn't know the time, but she could hear the adults downstairs chatting and the children playing. She estimated that it was around seven o'clock now.
Cen Huai'an was wearing his new clothes. Although his little face had the same expression as before, Chu Xia could see the excitement in his eyes.
As a child, who doesn't like new clothes?
Even as an adult, she liked buying new clothes. Wearing new clothes brought happiness.
The medicine was brewed into a bowl, and Chu Xia carefully poured it out, checking the temperature with a back-and-forth motion between two bowls. Seeing that Cen Huai'an wanted to drink it directly, Chu Xia pulled him back and directly reprimanded him, "What's the rush? You want to burn your mouth again?"
In addition to just eating, Chu Xia hasn't been this serious with him. Cen Huai'an was scolded, but he didn't get angry. There's a strange feeling in his chest.
Before, when his mom cried and scolded him, he couldn't help but want to hit people and curse.
The young Cen Huai'an couldn't understand why, even though both times he was scolded, it was different.
But Chu Xia also knew that Cen Huai'an wanted to go out and play, so she used two bowls to pour the medicine back and forth. Soon, the temperature dropped to a point where it could be consumed, and Chu Xia handed the medicine to him.
"It's a bit bitter, drink it all in one go and don't spit it out."
Chu Xia only said this, and even if Cen Huai'an really spat it out, she wouldn't blame him. Chinese medicine is indeed bitter.
Cen Huai'an picked up the bowl without even furrowing his brows; he drank it all in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and looked at Chu Xia.
Chu Xia was stunned. "It's not bitter?"
Cen Huai'an: "Bitter."
"Good medicine tastes bitter but is good for your health. You, as a little kid, must take your medicine. Go and play, but don't come back too late."
Just as Chu Xia finished speaking, Cen Huai'an ran out. He looked more energetic than her. Indeed, children have a lot of energy.
Chu Xia then went to boil water for herself and prepare to take a bath.
Cen Huai'an ran downstairs. Below the family residential complex, there was a large open space. Beyond the open space was a road, and there were tall trees planted along the roadside.
The children from the residential complex were all playing in that area, and the adults sat on the side, fanning themselves and chatting.
The boys were in one group, and the girls were in another. Each group was playing their own way.
Cen Huai'an walked over to the group of boys. They were crouched on the ground, playing marbles. He looked at his new clothes, then at the boys, all of whom were covered in dirt. He didn't crouch down with them but stood aside, watching them play.
"Who are you?"
One of the boys noticed him, stood up from the ground, dusted himself off, and looked at him with a curious and envious expression. He pointed at Cen Huai'an's clothes, saying, "You're wearing a naval uniform! I've never seen anyone from our complex wear that!"
He reached out to touch, but Cen Huai'an avoided his hand, frowning at the boy's dirty hand and speaking in a disgusting tone, "Don't touch me; your hands are all dirty. You'll get my uniform dirty!"
"Xiǎo Pò Làn! He's a little piece of trash!"
The boy shouted, and Cen Huai'an's face turned dark. "Hei Gouzi, I'm not a piece of trash. My mom bought me new clothes!"
"Hahaha!"
Hei Gouzi laughed, putting his hands on his hips. "You're lying. Who doesn't know that your mother has no money and your grandma took it away so she wouldn't buy you clothes! Oh! Where did you steal it from?"
The group of boys started laughing and surrounded Cen Huai'an, jumping and singing, "Little piece of trash, broken and rotten! Stole clothes to wear! Xiǎo Pò Làn, a liar..."
Cen Huai'an glared at Hei Gouzi, and his eyes were about to burst into flames. He tightly clenched his little fists. "I didn't lie, and I'm not a thief!"
Then he charged at Hei Gouzi and pinned him to the ground, hissing, biting, hammering, and scratching.
Hei Gouzi instantly cried out in pain, "Wahh!" Other children, seeing Cen Huai'an's fierce actions, were frightened and quickly called for their mothers.
They had made fun of Cen Huai'an many times before, but he had never suddenly started fighting like this. As long as they gave him something to eat, everything would be fine.
When they were alone, he had snatched food from them several times, running faster than the others could catch him. So the boys in the complex looked down on him and hated him. They enjoyed watching him pick up the steamed buns they threw on the ground like a dog, and then they would gather around to make fun of him.
But who would have expected him to suddenly start fighting like a mad dog, and Hei Gouzi couldn't even beat him.
The adults heard the children's cries and rushed over to separate the two children. Cen Huai'an clung tightly to Hei Gouzi's hand and neck. If an adult hadn't quickly covered Cen Huai'an's mouth, he wouldn't have let go.
Hei Gouzi's mother sees that her child's hand was bitten so hard that it was bleeding, she is no longer willing to let it go. She pulled Cen Huai'an and Hei Gouzi back to Chu Xia's house.
"Luo Chu Xia, look at the good thing your son has done! You don't give your son food, so he's so hungry that he bit my son. What's the meaning of this? I'm telling you, if anything happens to my son, I won't spare you!"