In March 1995, Ru City was still very cold, and the coldness in winter was still not fading. In the morning, people were so cold that they had to put their hands in their pockets.

When it was about to dawn, a woman carrying her luggage was about to leave. She heard a faint cry in the garbage dump on the side of the road. She approached and saw a dirty baby.

In 2001, late autumn and early winter.

Only a few yellow leaves hang on the trees. When the wind blows, another leaf falls down, falling on the ground quietly.

There is a rent written at the entrance of the audio-visual store on the street, and several CDs are placed in a conspicuous place.

People put on thick cotton jackets early and walked in the cold wind with their sleeves in their arms.

"mom."

A little girl followed the woman happily, opened her mouth and was filled with wind. She quickly pulled the scarf again.

"I'm not your mom."

"mom."

"Call Master."

"Shifu."

“By the way.”

The woman held her small hand and walked on the street, her pace unfast.

"Why don't you be my mother?"

"Because I'm not your mom."

Regarding the question of why she is not a mother, she has been asking all the way since she came out of school.

The little girl swung her two short legs very quickly, trying to keep up with the steps of the person in front. Although the person in front was not walking fast, the difference in length of her legs was here. She took two steps to get one step away.

"But others have moms."

"You don't, neither do I."

"Why don't I?"

"Because you don't want to, you forgot? I told you to be your daughter for others. If you don't go, you still cry. After crying for several days, people sent you back."

"You are my mother."

"Zhou Xiaotian! I'll send you to the orphanage if you do this."

"Oh...Master's miss."

The two of them walked along the way and said, turning a few streets and entering a small courtyard, the houses were still low and dilapidated, with blue-gray brick walls, and there were no sounds of horns on the road.

After entering the house, there were two pairs of bowls and chopsticks on the table in the middle. The dishes were not that hot anymore and were flipped over by a large pot.

"Have a meal!"

At the master's order, Zhou Xiaotian picked up his bowl and put it in some rice, while peeking at her.

"You are angry with the teacher?"

"I wouldn't have brought you back if I had known it!"

"I won't be able to call you mom..."

Zhou Xiaotian looked here and there, and there were a few clothes hanging in the room, including Taoist robes, coats, and her small pants.

This dilapidated place is not as good as the one that Zhou Muqing sent her to. The one lived in a small two-story building, the yard was clean and the room was covered with ceramic tiles.

Those two people are also very good, but she doesn't like them, so she likes to follow the master. No, it's her mother, but I don't know why I have to call myself a master.

The food was not very rich. She stir-fried some pork with shredded potatoes and a stir-fried bean. She picked up shredded potatoes and ate them. Zhou Muqing stared at her eyes and obediently grabbed two pieces of meat into her mouth.

Thick potatoes are worse than potato strips. They are wide and thick. They are filled with dark soy sauces. They are very dark in color and look bad, but they are delicious.

The farmer’s method is to cut, cut, throw it into the pot, put seasonings and water on the pot and stuff it. Even if it is done, it has been eaten like this since childhood.

"The meat you fried is not delicious."

"It's necessary to eat it if it's not delicious!"

“…”

Zhou Xiaotian continued to bow his head... Others said that it was not delicious, so they didn't eat it.

"Have you ever had a fight with someone?"

"No, they dare not mess with me, I was afraid when I glared." Zhou Xiaotian raised his eyebrows and saw Zhou Muqing's expression, he obediently said nothing.

“Study hard.”

There was a cold wind outside, and the plastic cloth-covered window whirred, as if there was a monster outside. After dinner, Zhou Xiaotian took a basin to wash his feet.

“No homework?”

"No."

Zhou Xiaotian was about to get the heater, but Zhou Muqing picked up the pot, poured hot water into the basin, scooped a scoop of cold water and added it to her. He tried the water temperature with his hand and added a little more.

Zhou Xiaotian waited for her to finish, sat on the bench and pulled up his trouser legs, dipped his feet in water, then lifted them up again, and hissed inhaled.

"mom……"

Zhou Muqing glared at her eyes.

"The teacher's mushy, it's very hot."

“It won’t be hot when put in.”

"It's hot, I can't put it in."

"I'll help you."

“…”

Zhou Xiaotian made up his mind and stepped on his feet into the basin, raised it up, and then put it in again.

"When will we go to the bathhouse to take a shower?"

"You want to go?"

"think."

"tomorrow."

"good!"

Zhou Xiaotian cheered, stepped on his feet again, gradually adapting to the water temperature, and he didn't want to come out when he stepped on it.

Zhou Muqing went out of the yard to get some dried vegetables, locked the door, and poured a large teapot of water, divided it into a cup next to him, and waited for Zhou Xiaotian to wash his feet before drinking water to sleep. He was reading with the newspaper, searching carefully for a moment, and found the missing person notice he had published in the crack.

"I've been sleeping with a teacher."

"Um."

Zhou Muqing responded, turned the newspaper over and continued to read under the dim light. Zhou Xiaotian went back to her room, took off her clothes, and left her autumn clothes and pants on her body into the quilt. After a while, she got up again, pulled the light rope, and the room fell into darkness.

Not long after, Zhou Muqing came in and pulled the light rope again. Looking at Zhou Xiaotian's sleeping look, she tucked the corners of her quilt, and pushed the hair on her mouth aside, and then a light sound was turned off again.

After returning to her room, she looked out the window and was stunned for a while. In the dark night, the window was sealed with a warm film and could not see anything.

It took her a long time to take off her coat and go to bed to rest.

In the dark night, the door sounded lightly, and a small figure came in from outside, lying on Zhou Muqing's bed with a cold body and squeezed into the quilt.

Zhou Muqing opened his eyes and looked at the dark roof, feeling the little people beside him arching around like maggots, and pulled the corners of the quilt back again, pressing the air leak tightly.

"Zhou Xiaotian!" Zhou Muqing lowered his voice.

"Master, my room is not warm." Zhou Xiaotian hugged her tightly and kept hiking into his arms.

"Go inside." Zhou Muqing said.

"good!"

Zhou Xiaotian crawled over her and lay in the bed, close to his master's warm body. This was because the master was afraid that she would fall off the bed.

Two people, one big and one small, stayed together, and no one spoke or went to bed.

After a long time, Zhou Muqing leaned against her, held Zhou Xiaotian in her arms, and gently stroked her back.

"Mom, tell me again why you picked me up in the garbage dump?"

"Call me mom again, I'll throw you out."

"oh."

"sleep!"

"I can't sleep."

Zhou Xiaotian whispered, "They said I don't have parents."

"There is no master, what's the matter? Do you ask them if they have a master?"

"They don't."
Chapter completed!