Chapter 8: Dabao Quits His Job

  The next morning, Huang called Lin He and San Ya early in the morning. They didn't dare to disturb Xiao Bao, otherwise there would be another commotion. San Ya and Lin He also quietly took the winter clothes of Da Bao and dozens of dollars from Huang without waking up Xiao Bao. The two people packed the several cloth dolls made yesterday into a bundle and went to the village entrance to catch the cattle cart.

  When they arrived at the village entrance, there were several people waiting for the ox cart. It seemed that they also wanted to take the ox cart to the neighboring town. Among them was a man with a little child. The child saw them coming and shouted, "Second sister, third sister, are you going to town too?"

  San Ya responded with "Er Gou Zi, you're up early too".

  Lin He looked at the original, this is Er Gou Zi, who bumped into her head. This Er Gou Zi looks very cute, probably about six years old, with a tiger-like face and body, already as tall as Lin He. His face was rosy, and his clothes were better than theirs, although they were also half-old, but at least there were no patches. The man beside him who was holding his hand also turned around to greet them, saying "Er Ya, San Ya, going to town so early?"

  San Ya called out "Uncle Li", Lin He also followed with a call saying "The weather is too cold, let's go to the neighboring town to send winter clothes to big brother". Uncle Li knew that their big brother was an apprentice in the neighboring town, nodded.

  San Ya and Er Gouzi were whispering to each other over there, "Er Gouzi, why haven't you come to our house to play for a while? I heard from your mom that you went to your grandma's house. Is your grandma's house fun? Why did you go for so long?"

  "Uh-huh, yeah! My grandma's place is so much fun! My mom came to pick me up several times, but my grandma kept me there and wouldn't let me go back. Mom also said I should stay at Grandma's house and learn more characters with my little uncle, and now I know a lot of characters!"

  Er Gouzi was saying this while showing off to San Ya, seeing the envy in San Ya's eyes, Er Gouzi's childish vanity was satisfied. Then he said "When you're free, I'll go to your house and teach you and Xiao Bao." San Ya nodded.

  Lin He knew that Er Gouzi's family was considered to be in a good financial situation in their village. Er Gouzi's family had several mu of thin fields, and they didn't need to rent land from the landlord to farm. Every year, they would harvest more grain than they could eat, with plenty left over. Li Shu was also skilled at carpentry, and during non-farming seasons, he could help others with carpentry work to earn money. Er Gouzi's maternal family was also in a good financial situation, as it seemed that Er Gouzi had an uncle who was a scholar. In this era, having a literate person in the family was impressive, and even their married-out daughters were looked up to by others. Moreover, Li Shu and Xu Auntie's family were all kind people, with good relationships with the villagers. Every year, Xu Auntie would provide significant assistance to Lin He's family.

  After waiting for almost half a watch, a cow cart came from the front. Li Shu took out four cents and gave it to the old man who was driving the cow cart, telling him that there were four people in total. Lin He took out money to return to Li Shu, but Li Shu refused to accept it, instead smiling and patting Lin He's head, saying "You haven't eaten breakfast yet, have you? When we get to town, let's buy some buns to eat. You're still a young kid, don't starve yourself."

  "Third sister, wait and use these two cents to buy some sugar to eat later, my dad has money now."

  Uncle Li tapped Er Gouzi's head and said, "This stinky little kid," although it was a scolding tone, but it was full of doting. Lin He couldn't bear to push anymore, so he had to put the copper coins away, maybe next time he would have a chance to repay him. There were eight people sitting in the ox cart, and the others Lin He didn't know.

  The ox cart rattled and swayed for almost an hour, Lin Meng was really uncomfortable sitting on the ox cart, his whole body was shaken to pieces, just when he couldn't bear it anymore, he heard the old man driving the cart say "we're here", Li Shu took the kids down from the cart, then sent them to the street where Dabao's blacksmith shop was located, and told them exactly where Dabao's blacksmith shop was, before taking Er Gouzi away.

  Lin He and San Ya continued to walk forward, and from a distance, they saw an ironwork shop. Inside the shop, a small child was wearing a large apron made of leather-like material, holding a huge iron hammer that was thicker than his own arm, striking it repeatedly on a red-hot iron knife. After just a few strikes, a man in his thirties from the side shouted, "You little brat, bring me a cup of water!"

  The little kid immediately put down the hammer, went to fetch water, and when he handed the water to the man, some water accidentally spilled out. The middle-aged man suddenly jumped up, pinched the child's ear and scolded "How are you so useless, can't even do anything right?" The little kid just stood there with his head down, not daring to say a word.

  In the iron shop, there were several teenagers around fifteen or sixteen years old eating at a table. Lin Meng took a closer look and found that the middle-aged man was pinching the ear of none other than her own ten-year-old brother, Da Bao. Lin Meng suddenly felt a sour nose and tears almost fell from her eyes. They all knew that Da Bao's life in the iron shop must be tough, but they didn't expect him to do such heavy work. The big iron hammer looked terrifying, if he wasn't careful and hit himself with it, he might not die but would definitely be seriously injured. Originally, working in an iron shop was not something a ten-year-old child should be doing.

  Sanwa called out "Big Brother".

  Dabao suddenly lifted his head, looked around, and finally saw his two sisters standing there with a bundle on their backs. He immediately forgot that he was being scolded by his master and ran over to them, grinning from ear to ear, saying "Ergou, Sangou, how did you guys get here?" Lin He held back her tears and didn't say anything, just nodding her head.

  Third sister pouted and said "Big brother, your master is so mean, he even hit you".

  Dabao smiled and said "No, I wasn't careful for a moment, Master taught me".

  After a while, Lin He finally made up her mind. Today, she must bring Da Bao back home and can't stay here to do things anymore. Even if they have to tighten their belts at home, they won't starve to death. Da Bao is still so young, and staying here would be detrimental to his physical and mental well-being. Thinking of this, Lin He said to Da Bao, "Big brother, we're not going to work here anymore. This winter at home will be much better than previous years. I can do embroidery to earn money, and Father has also found a job. It's just too hard here."

  Dabao smiled and said, "It's not bitter, as long as everyone at home can eat their fill, Dagei is fine."

  Lin He said, "Big brother, no way, you have to go back with me today." Da Bao saw the determination in Lin He's eyes and was slightly surprised. Before he could say anything, Lin He had already pulled him into the blacksmith shop and told the middle-aged man, "You're the boss of this blacksmith shop, right? My brother is quitting, calculate his wages, and we'll leave today."

  Dabao was about to speak, but Lin He's gaze stopped him, and Dabao pouted without making a sound. Dabao's master looked at the little girl in front of him who was not yet eight years old and said, "At first, Dabao begged me to take him as an apprentice and teach him ironwork. Now he says he doesn't want to do it anymore. I know your family situation. If I hadn't pitied Dabao back then, I wouldn't have taken him in. Don't come back a few days later saying you want to return."

  Lin He glared at him and said "I said I won't do it, so I won't. Don't waste words, calculate my salary, my brother will pack up and leave immediately."

  The middle-aged man stopped, the eyes of this little girl in front of him seemed to be devouring people, and didn't look like a child's eyes at all. Unexpectedly, the honest and reliable Dabao had such an intimidating younger sister, but no matter how intimidating she was, she was just a kid after all. He said, "Dabao hasn't finished paying for a month yet, there is no salary."