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nHope (1)

nAs his thoughts sped up, Lin Yan soon arrived in front of an ancient wooden bungalow. From afar, the sound of reading could be heard.

n“I’m respectful. How can I dare to hurt you? A woman admires chastity, and a man is talented…”

nThe plaque on the door had the words “Muqing Book House” written on it. It was a private school that was jointly founded by rich families in Liuying District and they had invited an old man surnamed Li to teach.

nLin Yan entered the courtyard with ease and placed the sweets in his arms. He rolled up his sleeves, picked up the bucket, and went two streets away to get two buckets of water.

nWhen the water was fetched, a group of ten-year-old children ran out of the courtyard. There was also a circle of people in luxurious clothes at the door.

nOld Mr. Li was wearing a white coat and holding a book called “The Collection of Knocking Lamps”. He was sitting in the courtyard drinking water.

n“Greetings, Elder Li.”

nThe old man looked up at him. “Have you found any new ancient books recently?”

n“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Elder Li. I didn’t manage to find any.”

nOld Mr. Li’s eyes were filled with disappointment. Without looking at him, he waved his hand to signal him to leave.

nElder Li’s name was Li Muqing, and he was from the Li Family, a well-known wealthy family in Liuying District.

nIt was said that he practiced martial arts in his early years and was quite famous. In his later years, he fell in love with literature and started a class here to teach. Most of the students he accepted were from rich families.

nLin Yan didn’t have money, so he copied and modified several famous works, such as “Qiang Jin Jiu”, “Shu Dao Nan”, and “Ascending High”, and compiled them into a book called “Collection of Knocking Lamps”, pretending that it was an ancient book bought at the market.

nThen, he offered it as a gift. Elder Li was exceptionally benevolent and agreed to let Xiaozhi stay in the school if he helped clean the study room.

nIt was the book in Old Li’s hand.

nUnfortunately, literature in this world was just secondary. Even Old Li, who loved literature, could only say, “Not bad.”

nOtherwise, he wouldn’t be in such a predicament just by copying poems and writing lyrics.

nLin Yan carried the water into the house.

n“Brother!”

nWith a childish cry, Lin Xiaozhi pinched the corner of her clothes. Her face was filled with surprise as she timidly walked over.

nShe was about three years old. The baby’s head only reached Lin Yan’s calf. Her clothes were washed clean and even a little white. Her hair was also combed neatly.

nHer face was smeared with black mud that looked like spider legs. Her original appearance could not be seen, making her look sloppy. However, her big eyes, which were as bright as the morning stars, blinked innocently.

n“Xiaozhi, it’s been hard on you.”

nLin Xiaozhi shook her head like a rattle drum. “Everyone is fine.”

nLin Yan rubbed Xiaozhi’s head.

nXiaozhi was very smart. Her intelligence was comparable to that of a seven or eight-year-old child. Her memory was very good, and she could even understand the lessons in the study room. She was also very obedient, so obedient that it made one’s heart ache.

nHe took out sweets from his arms. “Xiaozhi, you’re so obedient. I’ll reward you with sweets!”

nLin Xiaozhi’s eyes suddenly lit up as she stared straight at the candy.

nWhen Lin Yan handed it to her, she still didn’t believe it and didn’t dare to reach out to take it. “Is this for me?”

n“Eat it, but you can only eat one now. Leave two behind and eat them after dinner.”

nLin Xiaozhi carefully took the candy and did not eat it herself. Instead, she raised the candy above her head with both hands and said crisply, “Brother, you eat it too!”

nHer throat moved slightly. She was obviously swallowing.

nThis timid look made Lin Yan’s heart ache.

n“I’ve already eaten. You can sit on the side and eat. I’ll clean up first.”

nHe gently picked up Xiaozhi and let her sit on a tall stool at the side. Lin Yan bent down, dipped a cloth in water, and began to wipe the tables and chairs in the room.

nLin Xiaozhi reached out and took out a piece of candy. She carefully wrapped the other two pieces before gently putting the first one into her mouth. Her eyes immediately curved into crescent moons. Even with the mud blocking it, one could still see that her entire face had become cheerful.

nLin Yan’s hands did not stop moving. From the corner of his eye, he saw it and sighed again.

nThe sludge on her face was fishy and wet, but Xiaozhi did not complain at all.

nLin Yan had applied this mud himself.

nEvery day before she went out, Lin Yan would give Xiaozhi “stain makeup”.

nThis was because Xiaozhi was too beautiful. She was like a porcelain doll and was a natural beauty.

nHowever, in the strict and chaotic city of Ding’an, not only was it not a blessing for a person to look good, especially a girl, but it was also a disaster.

nCountless human traffickers were secretly active in the major districts. They targeted the children of poor families and abducted and sold them to brothels or rich families to be slaves.

nIt was also because of this that Lin Yan didn’t dare to leave Xiaozhi alone at home. Every day, he would bring her to the Muqing Book House. This place was run by the rich in Liuying District, and human traffickers generally didn’t dare to behave atrociously here.

nNot for studying, but for safety.

nHe wiped the table and chairs forcefully, then cleaned the floor. He wiped away the dense sweat on his forehead and bent down to wipe the floor.

nAfter working for more than half an hour, he finally cleaned up the inside and outside.

nWhen he went out to take a look, Elder Li had already left.

nLin Yan wiped the sweat off his face and picked up Lin Xiaozhi. “Xiaozhi must be hungry. Let’s go back and eat.”

nHis home was not in Liuying District, but in the west side of Liuying District, called Zhubai District, which was also considered a lower-class place.

nCompared to the Black Ink District, the Zhubai District was relatively cleaner. However, the smell of feces, urine, and sweat that was difficult to cover still assailed his nose. Yellow and white excrement that could be seen everywhere were still standard.

nAlong the way, in the messy and dilapidated alleys, some people had peed their pants and squatted in the corner to poop. Some people were lying on the ground and wailing and begging. Some people surrounded others and beat them up with sticks. It was extremely chaotic.

nLin Yan carried Xiaozhi and tried his best to avoid the others. He squeezed through the streets and finally arrived at a narrow alley.

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