Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen

When night falls, Dani instinctively feels fear. There is a breath of grave in the darkness, which makes Dani think of death from time to time. Dani always felt that she would turn into a musty mist in the dark night and disappear from this world little by little.Since a summer night of thunder and lightning a year ago, as soon as it got dark, people would climb onto her plank, either the blacksmith uncle whose wife had died, or the rough man on the kiln.Sometimes there are both uncles and men in the kiln.They never lighted the lamps, they always came in in the dark, panting, and went out in the dark, panting.Dani couldn't see the faces of these men clearly, and some of them had crawled onto her bunk several times, and she still didn't know who this man was.The only one she could distinguish was her uncle.Uncle was with her day and night, and his voice was familiar.Besides, my uncle is different from other men, he doesn't press on her, but always puts her legs on the bed, playing with her while having fun...

At this time, Dani's whole body became tense, her hands, feet and lips were cold, and she didn't dare to move or hide, for fear of being beaten if she moved or dodged.Not only the men in the kiln would beat her, but her uncle would also beat her, especially in places where she couldn't be seen.Once, my uncle tore off a bloody piece of flesh from her place, which caused her pain for a long time. Because there are always people climbing her bunk, her belly is getting fatter day by day.The uncle couldn't hold back anymore, and pressed a bench on her stomach, causing her to die of pain.Later, Dani finally understood the relationship between the man who climbed her bunk at night and her fat belly, fear was closely linked with the night.Especially in the last few days, her stomach looks fat again, and Dani is even more afraid.She knew that her uncle would find out one day and would press the bench against her stomach again.In order to hide it from her uncle, she always wraps her stomach tightly, and wakes up from nightmares in the dark, with her eyes wide open thinking about her thoughts.

When I think about it, I think of Cao Ershun.This simple and honest man with a few white pockmarks on his face is different from other men.He didn't climb her bed in the dark, but helped her pull the bellows.That day in the tool room of the kiln, she was beaten for her.Dani was really touched, it was the first time I saw a man who helped her like this.In her impression, men are all flirtatious dogs, and they want to climb when they see her.Some climbed openly after paying her uncle's wage ticket, and some crawled secretly to bully her into being dumb, unable to tell what she suffered.

Just because she knew that men wanted to climb her, Dani voluntarily let Cao Er, who was beaten for her, climb on her for the first time in her life.Her only thought at the time was to make Cao Ershun happy, and as long as Cao Ershun was happy, she would be willing even if her belly got fatter a few times.Cao Ershun pushed her away.However, Baijiayao and Qiaotou Town were full of turmoil because of this.The scene terrified my uncle.Uncle didn't expect that Cao Ershun, who was honest and flattered, would have such a good brother-in-law, and so many brothers who would fight for him.What's more, as a result of the fight, the gangsters took over the kiln from Mr. Bai Er, and Cao Ershun's brother-in-law Xiao Taiping became the kiln manager of the Baijiayao—she and her uncle begged for food under the gang of gangsters. .

Uncle's attitude towards Cao Ershun changed drastically, and he was no longer indifferent to Cao Ershun.Whenever Cao Ershun came over, his uncle would always greet him with a smile and flattery, as if Cao Ershun was Xiao Taiping's incarnation.The titles have also changed, no longer "Cao Yuzi" and "Cao Mazi", but "Cao Erye" one by one. Cao Ershun didn't look like "Second Master Cao", he still went to drink water under the big mat shed, and still helped Daniel pull the bellows.Xiao Taiping became the kiln manager of the Baijia Kiln, and Cao Ershun no longer went down to the kiln to carry coal, but worked as a counting foreman at the entrance of the upper kiln, specializing in sending and receiving work permits. This way, he could always be with Dani.When he was free, Cao Ershun often came down to the shed, but he still didn't talk much, and he always stared at her with a satisfied expression, which made both her and her uncle uncomfortable.

Uncle knew Cao Ershun's thoughts a long time ago, but he didn't say anything.In the past, when Cao Ershun was "Cao Ershun's son", my uncle was afraid that Cao Ershun would take advantage of her, so he guarded Cao Ershun very tightly and never let her be alone with Cao Ershun.Now that Cao Ershun has become "Second Master Cao", my uncle let Cao Ershun go to her side, and he didn't dare to openly accept other people's work tickets, and let those men climb her bunk randomly.It's just that he himself is not honest, every three to five days, he still has to climb up on her bunk and cross her legs as usual, but the hey hey music is not so loud anymore.Dani was worried about Cao Ershun who had become the second master, and she didn't want her uncle to straddle her legs. At that desperate moment, his uncle was still ruthless, still twisting on her body.For some unknown reason, she became so courageous that she wanted to escape to Kazipo to find Cao Ershun more than once, but finally she didn't dare.

The fat belly was finally discovered by my uncle.Before another leg cross.Uncle climbed up to the bunk, got under her quilt, and stripped her naked. His hands as thick as iron sheet touched her stomach from her chest.At first, my uncle didn't pay attention to her fat belly, but she was afraid, and while dodging, she pushed his uncle's hand down from her belly.Uncle refused, and groped her stomach with his hand, and lit an oil lamp to look at her body.At that time, my uncle had already seen the trick, but without saying anything, he blew on the lamp, illuminated her legs, and muttered: "Once a day is one less time..."

Dani thought that her uncle hadn't discovered the secret of her stomach, so she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.Unexpectedly, after finishing the work, the uncle let go of her two thin legs, straddled her very suddenly, and sat on her stomach.The feeling at that moment was like heaven and earth shattered. She was in great pain, and felt that her stomach was like a balloon that had been crushed and exploded, and all her internal organs were splashed out.With a scream, she didn't know anything... After waking up, it was already daylight, and only then did I realize that the bed was covered in blood, soaking the bedding completely.Both legs were also covered with blood, so red that it was scary.Uncle hadn't gotten up yet, and the sound of snoring came from the outer room.Dani suddenly thought of killing. She thought it would be easy to kill the sleeping animal uncle, and cutting off his head was no more difficult than cutting a watermelon.

Struggling to sit up from the bunk, Dani staggered to the ground without even putting on her clothes.His body was very weak, and the scene in front of him was in a trance.In a daze, Dani leaned on the wall to find the outer room, picked up the kitchen knife from the table, and began to move towards her uncle's bed.He was dizzy to death, Venus was spinning in front of his eyes, his body was as limp as noodles, and he was still shaking endlessly, and he couldn't even lift his knife hand.Before she moved to her uncle's bed, Dani couldn't hold it anymore, and fell to the wet ground in front of the bed with a "plop", and the kitchen knife in her hand flew under the bed...

Uncle woke up, found the knife under the bed, and understood everything. Uncle picked up the knife from the ground, looked at her for a while, and looked at the knife for a while, the corners of his mouth twitching. Dani thought it was over for her this time, she failed to cut open her uncle's head, but she was about to turn into a cloud of moldy mist under the knife of the animal uncle.That's good, she turned into mist and drifted away from this world one day earlier, so she wouldn't have to worry about every long night.She didn't cry or make money, she just closed her eyes and waited for the knife in her uncle's hand to fall.

But the uncle threw down the knife and cried, crying, "Dani, you...you want to kill me? Kill your old uncle? It's not me, you...can you live to this day? I picked you up from the pile of dead people! I didn’t want you back then, who would want you, a little dumb girl?! I raised you up, and today you’re going to kill me!” These words brought back vague memories of Dani's childhood.The hometown in memory is far away and blurred, with a ray of warmth in imagination, but not much actual content.When her parents died in the Changmao Rebellion, she was only three years old, and all she could remember was the puddle of water in front of her house.Uncle used to say that she almost fell into the river and drowned once when she was a child. The uncle was still saying: "...Dani, remember clearly that a woman will always be raped by a man. If I don't fuck you, others will fuck you. Besides, I have raised you for eighteen years, so you have to repay me, right? Who still does money-losing business nowadays? Is it too much to ask you to earn a little money for me while you don’t have a man now? If I weren’t your uncle, I would have sold you to a flower boat. Last year The eighteenth sister on the flower boat entrusted someone to come to me and wanted to buy you for five taels of silver, but I didn't answer..." Dani thought, the animal uncle didn't do it not for her, but for the convenience of her own day.Furthermore, she was not sold on a flower boat, but in fact it was worse than being sold on a flower boat.During the day, he had to work for the animal uncle, and at night he had to earn money for him.Uncle had never treated her like a human being, and for a wage ticket, the two of them could tease her together. The uncle still felt aggrieved: "...I will always marry you off, and I will lose money in the end. You have to know something in your heart, and you have to honestly earn a little more money for me. When you earn more, the old uncle will ask for more money." When my aunt comes back, she won’t love you anymore, and let you get married in a decent way..." Dani thought of Cao Ershun in due course, and tears flowed from her eyes. Uncle also talked about Cao Ershun: "...But even if you marry, don't even think about marrying Cao Ershun. It's not that I won't let you, but they won't want you. If you don't think about it, no one in the Baijiayao knows Who are you? Would Cao Ershun want you? He just wanted to date you once or twice, how could he ask you to be his wife?! Even if he wanted to, his family would not agree." The tears in Dani's eyes flowed more urgently, sobbing loudly... After this incident, Dani fell seriously ill. She lay on the bunk for more than ten days without getting up, and her heart died.Uncle Animal let so many people from the kiln climb her bunk, ruining her reputation and killing her completely.She hated her animal uncle in her heart, but she had to admit that her uncle was right, Cao Ershun, who had become Second Master Cao, would never ask her to be his wife. Unexpectedly, Cao Ershun went to Qiaotou Town to see her.It was broad daylight, and my uncle was working at the mouth of the Baijia Kiln. I didn't know that Cao Ershun was coming.Cao Ershun took a bag of golden millet and ten eggs, and sat on her bunk for most of the day.She wanted to cry in Cao Ershun's arms several times, but she couldn't help it, she just turned her face away and wept silently... After recovering from illness, my uncle came to bed again at night.Dani no longer complied, and all the dresses on her body were tightly connected with threads.The uncle rushed forward to tear it hard, but Dani fought him with the scissors and bit his hand.The uncle didn't get what he wanted once, but he came again the second time. Dani couldn't fight, so she broke free from her uncle and jumped out of the window to escape. In this long dark night, there is only one place to go, and that is Kazipo.There is Cao Ershun on Kuzipo. When she left Qiaotou Town and ran wildly towards Kuazipo, five miles away, Dani thought again and again, whether it was for herself or for Cao Ershun, she would never go back to her uncle again.If Cao Ershun doesn't keep her, she will die in Zazipo.She thought that Cao Ershun would keep her. She would not be his wife, but only his servant, cooking for him, doing laundry, and doing everything else that could be done.After running up the slope, he realized that he didn't know where Cao Ershun lived.There are all the same adobe thatched houses on the slope, and the doors are all tightly closed.She had to sit on the road in front of the slope, waiting for dawn.She knew that after dawn, Cao Ershun would go to the Baijiayao to work, and he would definitely appear on this road leading to the Baijiayao. That night was really long, like a century.Dani sat on a big rock with her arms around her knees, staring at the stars with her eyes wide open.The stars are so many and bright, like teardrops sprinkled all over the night.It was the fifteenth day, and the moon was round, hanging in the faint clouds, like a smiling face.I don't know how long it took before Yue'er's smiling face gradually faded away, the tears on the night sky dried up, and the eastern sky brightened up in the April spring breeze. Dani finally saw Cao Ershun on the slope. Cao Ershun was walking with many boys, and he looked like he was still asleep. When Da Ni rushed in front of him, he was startled, woke up completely, and smiled at Da Ni. Brother Kuzi beside Cao Ershun also laughed, and joked with him, "Dani asked you to pull the bellows!" Dani cried, crying sadly. Cao Ershun couldn't stop laughing, and asked Dani what happened? Dani, hey, gesticulating with her hands. Cao Ershun understood, knowing that Dani had fallen out with his blacksmith uncle, and he didn't want to go back, so he took Dani back to his home with a look of joy on his face. As soon as he entered the door, he saw his brother-in-law Xiao Taiping who was about to go out. Xiao Taiping couldn't help being startled when he saw Dani, but he didn't say much, and he didn't expect that Da Ni would never leave and became his wife and sister-in-law . Cao Ershun didn't expect that Dani would never go back after she came here.He originally thought that Dani was just angry with his uncle for a while, and she would leave in a while.Never thought that Dani has lived for ten days and still has no intention of leaving.During the day, when he went to the kiln, Dani stayed in his room, tidying up his kennel-like hut.After tidying up, he helped Cao Yue'e to plant vegetables in the vegetable field.It was only then that Cao Ershun realized that Dani had been the main one to live with him all his life, and his great ambition of being a woman every day without spending money was about to come true. On the eleventh night, Cao Ershun climbed onto Dani's bed. However, after taking off Dani's dress and fiddling with it for a long time, nothing was achieved.Cao Ershun was very sad, and Dani was even more sad.Dani took the initiative to lean close to him and caress him, and it was done before dawn. When lying on Dani's body, Cao Ershun said solemnly: "Da Ni, I...I want to ask you to be my wife!" Dani cried, and when she finished crying, she hugged Cao Ershun tightly and smiled, shaking Cao Ershun's tears away. Cao Ershun wiped away the tears from his face, and said: "I'm stupid, but... But there is one advantage, I have strength and can work. I have already thought about it, and when I am young and able to do it, I will do more. Do some work, save some money, buy a few acres of land, and have a litter of children. When you get old and can’t do it anymore, let the children support us..." With tears in her eyes, Dani nodded straight to Cao Ershun. Unexpectedly, Cao Ershun's idea was opposed by his younger sister Cao Yue'e and brother-in-law Xiao Taiping, who disagreed with Cao Ershun asking Dani to be his wife. Xiao Taiping said to Cao Ershun: "...Second brother, don't tell me that all the women in this world are dead, and you insist on marrying this notorious dumb?! If you really ask Dani to be your wife, Yue'e and I won't recognize it. You're such a big brother! It's not like heaven now, I, Xiao Taiping, can't afford to lose this man!" Cao Yue'e also persuaded with kind words: "...Second brother, begging for a wife is not a flowery boat, it's a way of life. Not to mention Dani's bad reputation, think about it, with a dumb person, your whole life How did you live your life?" Cao Ershun couldn't listen to it, and repeated only one sentence: "I...I want to marry Dani!" Xiao Taiping was furious: "Don't forget, now I'm the kiln shopkeeper of Baijiayao, you're spitting on my face and embarrassing me!" Cao Ershun rolled his eyelids, and said stubbornly: "You are your kiln shopkeeper, none of my business!" Cao Yue'e couldn't take it anymore: "Second brother, you are too heartless, right? You don't want to be a kiln shopkeeper in Taiping, you eat snot and pus, can you go to the kiln as a foreman and get a work permit? Don't you still get a kiln? Go down and carry coal?!" Cao Ershun twisted his head: "What's wrong with carrying coal? I... I work hard to eat, and I feel uncomfortable if I... let me be idle! I... I don't want to be this foreman. I will do it tomorrow. ...I'm going to carry coal!" That said, that's it.From the second day on, Cao Ershun really carried the coal basket again and carried the coal, calmly, without any appearance of being angry with Xiao Taiping.After finishing the work and going to the kiln, he and Dani happily worked together with Dani on a piece of open land near the Damo River, preparing to build a new house. Xiao Taiping and Cao Yue'e saw that this stubborn second brother couldn't be stopped anymore, so they had to admit this embarrassing fact and went to talk about marriage with Dani's blacksmith uncle.Dani's uncle wanted to make some money from Dani in the end, and asked for a bride price of ten taels of silver. Xiao Taiping only gave five taels, and lost some words: "...Is this kind of dumb, worn-out and rotten stuff worth ten taels of silver? Go, get out of the kiln for me too!" Dani's uncle didn't dare to fart anymore, he just nodded and bowed to Xiao Taiping a series of times. The marriage between Cao Ershun and Dani was arranged on an auspicious day in May of the eighth year of Tongzhi. Xiao Taiping came forward to invite all the brothers from Kuangzipo to have a wedding banquet, which cost a lot of money.Cao Ershun asked Xiao Taiping how much he had spent in total, and said that he would pay them back in the future.Xiao Taiping didn't say how much money he spent, but only said in front of Cao Yue'e and Dani: "...how much you spend this time is in the mind of your sister and me. However, I also want to say here, Dani is You choose it yourself. It is your own business to live a good or bad life in the future. We will do our best and fulfill our responsibilities, and we will not be able to control anything else. If you are too rich, don’t thank me; if you are poor, don’t come looking for me. I." This was not a good thing to say, but Cao Ershun listened to it.Xiao Taiping never stubborn him, let him marry Dani, and spent so much money for his marriage, he has nothing to say.Besides, he never connected Xiao Taiping's being the manager of the kiln with the matter of carrying coal himself.Xiao Taiping was able to be the kiln shopkeeper if he had the skills, but he could only use his stupidity if he had no skills, so he should go to the kiln to carry the coal. This is a fair and proper thing.Xiao Taiping talked about the future, Cao Ershun didn't bother at all. After having Dani, he never thought that there would be a day when he couldn't live on.Even if he can't live on, he will never look for his sister and brother-in-law again. No matter how useless he is, he is still a big man! But Dani could hear the contempt from Xiao Taiping's words, she thought at the time that she had to win for Cao Ershun and live a prosperous life in the future.Cao Ershun went to the kiln to carry coal, and Dani opened up wasteland on the slope to grow vegetables, which she ate and sold in Qiaotou Town.Cao Ershun is young and strong, and she is also young and strong!All she has to do in this life is to be worthy of Cao Ershun, the best man in the world. In the spring of the ninth year of Tongzhi, Cao Ershun and Dani's first child was born, a boy.Cao Ershun wanted to find Xiao Taiping to name the child, but Dani refused.Cao Ershun found Cao Fuli, the master of Qianliang, and named the child Chunwang. Holding Chunwang in his arms, Cao Ershun grinned from ear to ear, and confidently said to Dani: "Mother Wang, we...we will be prosperous, and we have plenty of strength. There is no poverty in this world, nor...you can't starve to death." A person who is willing to work hard!"