The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

Chapter 589 Chatting with Tiger

She walked carefully, afraid that someone might be watching over the village, but fortunately nothing happened along the way until she saw Tiger.

Tiger's basket was placed to the side, while he himself squatted on the ground digging grass.

She carefully observed that no one was around before whispering, "Tiger."

Tiger turned around in fright. The moment he saw Du Mingxian, he was shocked. He looked around hurriedly but didn't see anyone else. After hesitating, he turned his head away and ignored Du Mingxian.

Du Mingxian stepped forward and stood in front of Hu Zi. "Don't you recognize me?"

"I know you." Tiger's hands didn't stop moving. "You're Xiao Du from that village."

"I have something to tell you."

Tiger didn't move, but what he said made Du Mingxian look at him with new respect: "Since you were able to get here, it proves that you are someone they have chosen. I am only here to survive, so don't talk to me, just go."

“Your mother misses you very much. She went to great lengths to get you out of there. If she knew you were living like this now, she would be heartbroken.”

Tiger looked up, tears glistening in his eyes. He hadn't wanted to talk to Du Mingxian before, but now he asked in a choked voice, "How are my...mother and sister?"

“Your mother is sick, and I’ve arranged for your sister to be in a very safe place.”

Tiger knew about his family's situation. "Then tell me, what did my mother say to you?"

“Your mother discovered that your father was having an affair, and at the same time, she saw other people who had died in that village in this village, so she began to understand something.”

"So she tried everything she could to keep you and your sister alive, but these people favored boys over girls. Your mother knew that if you came here, you would have a chance to live, but if your sister came here, it might really be a dead end."

"She's sick, very sick, so she told you to come over first. If possible, she'll try to sell your sister to a wealthy family or find her a good place. She'll find your sister and protect her when you grow up."

Upon hearing this, Tiger's tears fell one after another. Only he and his mother knew these things; his younger sister was too young to know anything about them. The fact that Xiao Du could say these things meant that her mother must have told her.

He reached up and wiped away his tears. "How did you get here? Did you also fake your death and get here?"

"No, I can't tell you who I am right now, but I need your help. If things go smoothly, I will arrange for your mother, your sister, and you to live together in a safe place."

"Really?" Tiger was very excited.

"Of course, I wouldn't lie to you."

Tiger hesitated for only a moment before believing him. "Tell me, what do you need my help with?"

“You are a smart child. After you come to these villages, you can tell me everything you see or learn about.”

Tiger pursed his chapped lips. "Okay."

Seeing how thin he was, Du Mingxian took out two meat buns from her bosom and handed them to him. "You weren't this thin before you came. After you arrived, they didn't give you anything to eat?"

"Eat, half a cornbread a day."

"Ah, the people in that village have such a good standard of living, how come it's worse here than there?"

“They eat white rice, white flour, and big white steamed buns every day, but they say I don’t deserve to eat so well.”

Du Mingxian felt sorry for him. "Eat your buns first, then we can talk."

The two found a spot, and Hu Zi finished his buns. Du Mingxian then handed him a bamboo tube of water. After drinking the water, Hu Zi said, "Since I came here, I haven't learned much. They make me come into the mountains every day to dig up these herbs. At first, I thought they were just herbs, but later I heard they were medicines, and very important ones at that."

Du Mingxian didn't recognize the herbs; she had just thought they were grass or wild vegetables.

However, she was also from a village, so she recognized wild vegetables.

"They won't give you anything to eat, and your father doesn't care?"

Tiger shook his head. "He's not my father. My father died a long time ago. That courtyard is full of heartless bastards."

“He married and had children here a long time ago. His eldest son is the same age as me. My grandparents, who died long ago, are here. The whole family is very happy.”

"My mother even burns paper money for them every year during festivals. They're a bunch of heartless bastards."

Du Mingxian asked again, "You've been here for quite a while, haven't you noticed anything amiss?"

Tiger took a deep breath. "I don't know if I'm right, but I always feel like they're not doing anything good. Sometimes, late at night, the men will go out and say they want to discuss something."

“Once I secretly followed them and saw a lot of people, some of them even had knives, but... I was discovered and they beat me up.”

"My grandfather beat me the hardest. He said it was shameful that I, a little kid, didn't study well and even secretly watched other people talk."

"I had only been in this village for a short time, and I hadn't been able to get out of bed for seven days. In the end, it was that woman who found me a doctor, prescribed some medicine, and that's when I was able to get out of bed."

Du Mingxian thought of the pregnant woman she saw yesterday, "Your stepmother?"

"Ah."

"She treats you well?"

Tiger shook his head. "She won't protect me no matter who hits me. She'll only step in to protect me after they've been beating me for a long time, as if she cares about me a lot. If she really wanted to protect me, why didn't she step in sooner? Why wait until they've beaten me to a pulp before she steps in?"

Du Mingxian thought of green tea.

"She just wanted me to remember her kindness. She even told me to be a good girl and call her 'Mom' from now on."

"Who does she think she is? Why should I call her mother?"

Du Mingxian sensed that Hu Zi harbored resentment towards this woman. "Did something happen between you two?"

Tiger's tears slid down his cheeks, and he suddenly buried his face in his hands and began to sob softly.

Du Mingxian sensed that Hu Zi's emotions had collapsed in that instant. She reached out and gently patted Hu Zi's back, saying, "There's always a solution. If you trust me, you can tell me."

Tiger cried for a while, then gradually calmed down, looked up with red eyes, and said, "She's the worst kind of person."

“The rest of my family would beat and scold me, but they wouldn’t take me out. They handed me over to a man. I had only been here a few days when he said my clothes were not good enough. He said he would take me to buy clothes. In the end… he took me to an inn and actually bought me new clothes and cleaned them up very well.”

"I thought she was a good person, but I didn't expect her to take me to a teahouse where there was a fat man with big ears. After I went in, she offered me some snacks. After I ate some, I felt something was wrong; I felt uncomfortable all over. Then I saw that man, he..."