A ragged cub at the beginning

There were little beggars walking around the streets every day shouting and advertising, and almost everyone in Yihe Town knew that there was a school called kindergarten.

After the kindergarten was advertised, Tang Xu started recruiting people. The first person she thought of was Xingzi, the woman who had lost her child and always brought her daughter to give her some fresh wild vegetables and mountain delicacies. She never took the money Tang Xu gave her, but only took her daughter to eat here and left after eating. Sometimes she would take some braised meat, but most of the time she would not take it.

Calculating the date, it should be here soon.

Tang Xu had just thought about this when Xingzi came with Qingqing the next day. She brought a basket of spring bamboo shoots as long as a palm and held Qingqing's hand. When she saw Tang Xu, she smiled flatteringly: "Miss Tang, these are fresh spring bamboo shoots."

Xingzi looked thinner, more haggard, and had an air of death about her.

Seeing her like this, Tang Xu was worried that something might happen to her, so he frowned and said, "Sister Xingzi, don't go back today."

"What?" Xingzi was stunned, "Is there anything you want me to do?"

"I opened a school, and I'm in need of some women who can take care of children. You can bring Qingqing with you, and Qingqing will stay with the children in the school. You will eat and live in the school, and I will pay you every month." Tang Xu glanced at Qingqing. Her expression was a little confused, as if she didn't understand.

Xingzi stared at Tang Xu blankly, "Really? Can I take Qingqing with me?"

"Yes, don't go back. I'll take you to the school later." Tang Xu couldn't bear to see the mother and daughter. "There's a house for you to live in. Help clean it up first. You can start working when the children come."

Xingzi stood there motionless and silent, tears streaming down her dark, yellow, dry cheeks. She moved her lips and murmured, "Really? Can I leave? Can I really leave?"

"You're not selling it to their family, so why not? Qingqing, help your mother go into the house and sit down and rest for a while. I have something else to do, so you guys stay here first." Tang Xu rubbed Qingqing's hair, turned around and left home.

She had to go to the shop to watch over the next few days, and had originally thought of arranging them after the kindergarten opened. Today, she found that Xingzi was almost unable to hold on, and when she went there, Ah Da brought a few children to collect flyers.

During this period of time, she has basically understood their personalities. One of them is very slick, telling lies all the time and likes to play the victim, but Tang Xu can understand that he is just trying to survive. Although he lies, he is not lazy, which is enough, and the others can be taught slowly. There are also a few who are very timid and inferior, and dare not speak. Ah Da is the one who doesn't stand up to any of them. She seems to be born cheerful and has the interest to raise a younger brother.

None of them had ever stolen anything, Ah Da had guaranteed it. But Gouzi had cheated people before, pretending to be lame to get food, but he only wanted to give it to a sick little beggar.

Ah Da said that in the past, several children stole things and were beaten. The injuries made them sick, and when they were sick, they had no strength to go out and find food, so they starved to death. Later, they dared not steal things anymore, even though they would still be beaten if they did not steal.

In fact, the place where the kindergarten was located was their safe haven before it was rebuilt. There was no one there, but there were still a few corners of the roof to shelter from the wind and rain. It was here that Ada raised his younger brother. After the kindergarten started construction, they had no fixed place to stay. Sometimes they lived in a small alley, and sometimes under someone else's roof.

"There's no life today." Tang Xu said, looking at their reactions.

The slick and clever one was called Gouzi, he showed an understanding expression, while the others were disappointed.

"Thank you for your care, sister. These days have been the most relaxing days of my life. If there is work next time, just call me." Gou Zi clasped his fist in a strange way and said with a smile.

"Thank you, sister." Ada bowed with his brother.

"However," Tang Xu paused, "I have another place here, let's see if you want to go."

Gouzi lowered his head and sneered, then showed a flattering smile, but looked at Tang Xu warily and asked, "I wonder what sister is talking about?"

Tang Xu pointed at the flyer behind him and said, "You've been shouting for a few days. You all know that my kindergarten only accepts children, right?"

The dog was stunned for a moment, "Yes, what I thought?"

"Yes, I think all of you are good. I am willing to adopt you. You will live and eat in the kindergarten, and other children will come later." Tang Xu did not keep the secret and explained directly.

"really?"

"Is there such a good thing?"

"No way? Did I hear it wrong?"

The children looked at each other in disbelief.

Gouzi took two steps forward and asked, "Are you really going to adopt us?"

"Yes, if you are willing." Tang Xu said.

"I do! Can I bring my brother?" Ah Da raised her hand first. She had eaten here for nearly two months and was given food every time she came. She didn't beat or scold him, nor did she do anything else. She trusted Tang Xu very much.

Tang Xu nodded, "Okay."

The other children looked at each other and expressed their willingness. Only Gouzi was still hesitant. He looked at the other children and suddenly said viciously: "But we are all bad kids! We were thrown away because we were too bad. If you go with her now, you will be thrown away again in a few days!"

The children looked at him in surprise, then turned back to look at Tang Xu, hoping that she would say something.

"You are not bad kids." Tang Xu looked at Gou Zi. She had never asked why these kids were abandoned. Now it seems that Gou Zi may have experienced the process of being abandoned, adopted, and abandoned again. "It's the adults' fault. It has nothing to do with you. You are all good kids. It's not Xiao Er's fault that he has eyes. He is just a little different from everyone else."

Unexpectedly, Gouzi became even more excited, "I'm so bad! I did a lot of wrong things, that's why I was thrown away! No one likes me! You are also fake! You lied! You must ask us to do bad things!"

Tang Xu looked at his flushed face and the tears that were about to fall, squatted down and looked at him straight in the face, "It's okay, it's okay for a child to do something wrong, it's not your fault. I won't force you, you can go back and think about it, you can come here to find me if you don't have food to eat. If you want to go to kindergarten, just tell me, okay? Don't blame yourself, you are not a bad kid."

The gouzi raised his arms, wiped his tears vigorously, then turned and ran away.

Two children followed for two steps and then stopped.

"You all want to go, right?" Tang Xu turned to the child who had just been born.

"Yes! I can eat very little! As long as I don't starve to death, that's enough." Ah Da Dao.

“I don’t eat much either!”

"I won't make trouble!"

"I'm obedient."

The children made their promises solemnly, with anticipation flickering in their eyes.

"Okay, follow sister, sister will have meat to eat." Tang Xu said playfully as a joke and took them to the kindergarten. Most of the wall had been built and the tiles were also being laid.

"Miss Tang, you are here. Can you take a look at the progress?" Foreman Tao came forward.

"Okay, could you please lay the tiles on those houses first? Some people are going to move in here." Tang Xu pointed to the teachers' rest area. She decided to turn this place into a dormitory so that the employees who couldn't go home and these orphans would have a place to live.

The potter looked at the children behind her. Could it be that he felt sorry for these little beggars? But what did it have to do with him? He patted his chest and said, "No problem. I will make sure it's done for you before sunset."

Tang Xu asked again: "Okay, thank you for your help. Is the stove in the kitchen ready? Can I cook now?"

"It can be used. It was built together when the house was repaired, except for the pot." said the chief potter.

"That's not a problem. Okay, these kids will live over there. Don't worry about them when you see them tomorrow." Tang Xu pointed at the children behind him, fearing that the workers would mistake them for beggars and drive them out.

"Okay, I understand." Foreman Tao felt inwardly that this was a really kind-hearted girl. They had worked together for so long and she had never made things difficult for them or looked down on them. No wonder they made so much money.

"Then you go and get busy." Tang Xu waited for him to leave, then turned to Ada and the others, "Do you see that house? You will live there. An old lady will come later, and you can have dinner with her then. Now, let's go to the cloth shop first. You should change your clothes and buy some bedding for sleeping at night."

"Are you buying new clothes?" Ada's eyes lit up.

"Yeah." Then Tang Xu took them to Zhou's Cloth Shop. These children looked like beggars. Auntie Wang was very surprised when she heard that she was going to make clothes for these people. She wondered how much money they made to dare to raise so many children. Could it be that, as Wang Yan said, they just like to pick up unwanted children? Thinking of this, Auntie Wang shook her head. What's wrong with picking up children? It's not a bad thing. Maybe she is just kind-hearted and can't see these children are pitiful.

Aunt Wang was grateful for the free pattern she had given her, so she gave her an idea, "You can't make new clothes in a short time, so why don't you go to the alley and buy old clothes that other people can't wear anymore."

"Well, that's fine. We need two sets of clothes to change into. Then make a new set for each of us and buy some old ones." Tang Xu thought it was a good idea. The oldest of these children was ten years old, and the youngest was Xiao Er. He could wear the old clothes before July. Ah Da was older than Yun Niang, but she was always hungry and short, so she could wear Yun Niang's old clothes.

Tang Xu planned to entrust this matter to Yu Xiaotao. Yu Xiaotao had lived here for many years and knew the situation of each family and where to buy.

After this round, it was time for lunch. Several children entered Tang's house awkwardly, and opened their mouths in surprise when they saw the toys by the wall. Especially when they saw July sliding down the slide, they couldn't help but let out a wow.

"Mom! You're back! Who are they? Are they here to play with toys?" Qiyue trotted over and looked at these strangers curiously. The children didn't care about clothes, they just saw that they were a group of children of similar age.

"She's going to live in the kindergarten and will be considered a member of our family from now on." Tang Xu pinched July's little face.

Tang Ling sighed. Why did she like picking up children so much? How many were enough?

Tang Yao has already set off for Yaowang Valley, but no one knows why he hasn't returned for so long.

Tang Qing looked at this group of dirty children. In his memory, he seemed to have experienced such a time. Although it was too long ago and a little vague, he felt sympathy.

"Oh, sure." Qiyue accepted this happily, and was no longer the child who was jealous of Jiarui. Tang Xu gave him enough love and security, and he would no longer worry about his mother liking someone else, because his mother loved him the most. "Come and play." Qiyue waved and held Ada's hand, because Ada was the most beautiful among them, and children were obsessed with looks.

"Miss Tang..." Xingzi came over hesitantly and confirmed again: "Do I really have a place to go?"

Tang Xu nodded, "Yes, I'll trouble you to take care of these children first and just provide them with meals every day."

"Thank you, thank you," Xingzi covered her mouth and sobbed. Qingqing hugged her mother's waist at a loss, and looked up at her mother with her dark and thin little face.

"Mom, it's okay, Qingqing, we have a good life ahead of us." Xingzi hugged her daughter, pressed her face against her shoulder and cried. Since her son died, her life has become more and more difficult, and Qingqing has also suffered. The mother-in-law was always finding fault with her. Whether the mother and daughter could eat or not depended on whether her husband and her parents-in-law had left.

It was impossible to cook more because her mother-in-law would watch her while she was cooking. Especially during this period, her mother-in-law had found out from somewhere a folk remedy for giving birth to a son. She asked her to wear realgar on her belly all day and encouraged the family to abuse Qingqing, saying that this would scare away the female fetus.

Her poor Qingqing had suffered so much these days that she dared not speak. Seeing that Tang Xu always invited her to dinner, she took Qingqing with her every time, hoping that she would eat more good food. Two days ago, Qingqing was kicked by her husband and vomited blood, just because she broke a bowl with a shaking hand. She began to think that it would be better to take Qingqing with her to die than to suffer in life.

Unexpectedly, Miss Tang saved her life again. She cried for a while and pulled Qingqing to kowtow to Tang Xu.

"Don't be like this! I asked you to come here to do the job! If you don't do a good job, I will kick you out." Tang Xu threatened.

"I can definitely do it! I can do anything!" Xingzi quickly assured.

"It's time to eat." After finishing her meal, Yu Xiaotao was dumbfounded when she saw the children in the yard. "Are they all eating here?"

"Um... I'll go out and buy something. It's my fault for not telling you in advance." Tang Xu was stunned for a moment before he remembered that he didn't mention that there were more people eating.

Yu Xiaotao held her back, "I'll go, I'll go. You've been running around all day. Sit down and eat first. What are you buying?"

"Bring a basin and buy a few bowls of shredded pork noodles. I haven't eaten it for a long time and I miss it." Tang Xu took out some silver and gave it to her.

"Okay, I'll be back." Yu Xiaotao took off her apron and went there with the basin.

"Come, wash your hands and eat." Tang Xu called the children, and Zhao Yunniang helped serve the rice.

Ada and the others shrank back and didn't dare to sit at the table. Tang Xu didn't force them, as she was afraid that Tang Ling would feel uncomfortable. She simply divided the food and asked Ada to take them to the kitchen to eat.

"Ada, are we really going to eat all of this? Is this meat?" A child pointed at the large piece of braised pork in the bowl and swallowed.

"Eat, eat. Let me make it clear first. Miss Tang is a very nice person. You are not allowed to make trouble and be annoying. I won't care if you get kicked out." Ah Da held back his saliva and picked up a piece of trembling meat for his brother. He took a small bite himself and his eyes immediately lit up. So this was meat. It smelled so good.

The other children hesitated for a while before trying to eat. Two of them even cried while eating.

After lunch, Tang Xu called the children over and asked their names.

"My name is Ada, I named it myself. My original name was Yaoyao, because my grandmother disliked me because I was a girl and hoped that I would die soon." Ada no longer shy away from admitting that she is a girl.

Tang Xu was silent for a while, then he smiled and said, "Yaoyao sounds nice, the peach tree is young and radiant."

"What does this mean?" A Da asked curiously.

"It means there are many beautiful peach blossoms." Tang Xu explained to her.

Ah Da shook his head and said, "But I don't like it. Can you give me another one?"

Naming them. Tang Xu scratched his head as he looked at the six children. "What about Lele? What surname do you want?"

"Is it okay if I want to have the last name Tang? Tang Lele sounds nice, I like it." Ah Da Dao.

"Okay, brother, do you want a name?"

"need."

Tang Xu named all six children, except Ada, now called Tang Lele, a girl. The others were basically boys, and the reasons for their abandonment were all kinds of strange. One child had an extra toe, and it was unknown, so he was thrown away. One was given away because his family was too poor to raise him. His adoptive parents treated him badly, so he ran away. Another was thrown away because he ate too much. The most bizarre one was a boy with delicate features. Because he didn't look like his parents, the Taoist priest said it was unlucky for him to have a girl's appearance, so he was thrown away.

Tang Xu was really amazed, and speechlessly and distressedly named each of them.