Chapter 77 Being Like a Hoodlum (1/2)
Xiaolu stopped singing abruptly and sighed.
In fact, he hoped that Long Xi would understand his intention of singing this song, especially the lyrics behind the song, ”You have come into my heart, although just standing here, the stage rises for me, and I am only for you. Won't you be my lady?”
”Well, which young man is this? So handsome!” Outside the fence, came a coquettish voice.
Xiaolu looked up and saw a young woman with flowers on her head, dressed in a printed dress, and was quite pretty. She was eating sunflower seeds and looking at him. Her eyes were darting back and forth as if she was trying to tempt him.
Behind her was a little girl, about five or six years old, with untidy hair and dirty clothes, looking very bedraggled.
The girl kept her head down, as if she was playing with something in her hand.
The young woman pushed open the wooden door and came into the yard. She smiled and asked, ”Little brother, are you from the city?”
Her eyes roved over Xiaolu's body, making him feel like he was being molested, and he was at a loss for words, for a moment.
Instead of following the young woman in, the little girl continued to lower her head and play with the item in her hands.
Long Xi heard something from the kitchen. So she came out and looked the woman, and said with a smile, ”Is it Sister-in-law Ma? Long time no see.”
Sister-in-law Ma smiled and said, ”Is it Little Xi? You're getting older and more beautiful. Oh, you don't have any birthmarks now. Did you go for cosmetic surgery? Don't call me Sister-in-law Ma. My man has been dead for half a year already. They call me Widow Ma or Sister Yuzhen.”
Long Xi felt that something was not quite right, so she thought for a while and then said, ”I seem to remember you were known as Yu Xiaotu! Have you changed your name?”
Widow Ma said bitterly, ”That stupid name really gave me so much problems, so I don't want it! I've changed the name on my household register and I'm ready to start a happy, new life!”
Long Xi wondered what was wrong with her original name. ”Wasn't Yutu a cute name?”
She looked at the little girl and said, ”Dong'er has grown as well. Come in and sit down”
Widow Ma rolled her eyes at Xiaolu, making him feel uncomfortable.
Even Long Xi felt a little embarrassed and felt ashamed for Sister-in-law Ma. But Sister-in-law Ma herself didn't seem to feel anything, and even made it worse, by reaching out to touch Xiaolu.
Xiaolu was unhappy. ”Who was this person?”
Long Xi said to Xiaolu, ”The water should be boiling. Put the dumplings in the water and stir it up.”
Xiaolu took the opportunity to flee from Sister-in-law Ma.
Sister-in-law Ma's sight was fixed on the Xiaolu's back. If her eyes were electric drills, there would have been two large holes on Xiaolu's back by now.
Long Xi was a little impatient and asked, ”Sister Yuzhen, don't you have anything else to do?”
Widow Ma said, ”It's all right. I am just taking Dong'er to the latrine at the front of the village. Our village is so poor, each family doesn't even have a decent toilet. There is only one public latrine in our village, and there are only two rooms, one for men and another for women. After using it, we have to shovel the soil and bury it ourselves. It's better for you, city dwellers. My Dong'er is so old, but she still cannot not go to the latrine by herself, no wonder the children in the village call her an idiot!”
Long Xi didn't want to waste any more time with her, so she said, ”If there is nothing else, I won't keep you. I still have a lot of things to do!”
Widow Ma was embarrassed and said, ”Oh, please go ahead and do your stuff!”
She went to the wooden door and took her daughter away.
Dong'er never looked up and was still intently playing with something in her hand.
Dong'er was the only daughter of the widow and was autistic. The children in the village didn't know what autism was, and they all laughed at her, labeling her as an idiot child.
Long Xi felt somewhat sorry for Dong'er. This little girl was so beautiful, but unfortunately, she was autistic.
She remembered the description of autistic children from a magazine. They were a group of children who could not communicate with others, were not interested in external things, and always repeated certain actions.
They were autistic children, known as ”children from the stars”, because they were like stars in the sky, each person lived in their own world, shining in it alone.
The medical term for autism was autism spectrum disorder. It was a congenital nervous system disease, characterized by lack of communication with people, rigid behavior, language barriers, imbalanced intellectual development, lack of interest, and, in severe cases, a tendency to self-mutilate or become violent.
She watched Dong'er walk away. Waiting until she was out of her sight, she made her way to the kitchen, and heard Xiaolu saying ”Ouch”.
She went in and saw Xiaolu holding the lid of the pot. He smiled bitterly and said, ”I've made broth!”
She looked over and saw that it was really broth.
She asked, ”Did you not stick the dumpling wrappers tightly together? All of them broke!”
Xiaolu said, ”It seems to be the case!”
Long Xi tasted the broth and said with a smile, ”It does not taste too bad, though. We'll make do with it. It's soup with pork residue, minced pork, and wrappers. Ha-ha, it's quite unique!”
She ladled the soup into three big bowls and carried it out. When the broth cooled, she went to wake Mo Kun.