little cotton

The heavy rain overnight caused water to accumulate on the roads of the entire city.

The wind at night is chilly.

Yu Ling hugged her little torn baggage, and walked aimlessly on the sidewalk full of sycamores, her thin figure was walking in a directionless pace, stepping on the shadow that was shortened and elongated by the dim street lights, as if to End this long night.

A car passed by with its lights on, just like a small boat paddling water, a wave of water swept across the road covered by stagnant water, and after driving into the distance, only a piece of silence remained.

She was wearing the pair of rag shoes when she came here, and the accumulated water seeped into her feet, which was wet and cold, and there was a sticky feeling of mud and sand, which made her feel very uncomfortable.

The water in the mountains is not easy to accumulate so deep.

Yu Ling couldn't help thinking, luckily she is a cotton flower that has opened up her mind, if she was an ordinary cotton flower, she would definitely be soaked and rotted by the rain.

But where should I go now?

There is stagnant water on the side of the road, and it seems that it is difficult to find a place to rest.

The girl looked back blankly at the road behind her.

She walked for a long time, and the sky was slightly pale. At this moment, Zhong Chuyun's house was completely invisible from where she was standing.

Not only can't see it, but also can't remember the way back.

When the thought of "going back" flashed in her heart, Yu Ling couldn't help shaking her head vigorously.

How could she want to go back?

Go back and face that cold fox, face the inexplicable marriage between the two races?

Yu Ling stood under the lamp and looked at the main road in a daze for a while, then suddenly bit her lip lightly, squeezed her small fist with firm eyes, and continued to walk forward.

After walking, I felt tired, so I turned into an alley, found a quiet old building, and walked in lightly.

The old building has no elevator, only a corridor that is not spacious.

The sensor light in the corridor was broken, the guardrail was rusted, and there were broken spider webs floating in corners that no one cared about.

The good news is that as soon as Yu Ling entered the building, she saw a place where she could spend the night.

In the corner on the right side of the first floor, there is an old sofa. The sofa is covered with a thick layer of dust, and there are many broken wooden boards with nails piled on it. It is obvious that some family doesn’t want it, and they are too lazy to deal with it for a while. .

Yu Ling looked around and saw that no one was passing by, so she packed her small baggage into a plastic bag and hid it under a pile of broken wooden boards.

Before hiding the bag, she took out the cleaned potato chip bucket from inside, opened the plastic cover at this moment, and put it in an inconspicuous corner, it became her little bed for tonight.

After confirming that her little bed was placed in a very concealed manner, Yu Ling turned into cotton and got in with great peace of mind.

The little cotton swirled around in the potato chip bucket and adjusted its posture for a long time. When it was finally comfortable, it stretched out a small leaf and gently lifted the lid of the potato chip bucket, leaving only A small slit for breathing.

This time, Yu Ling did not sleep peacefully.

Half asleep and half awake, she heard the noise that belonged to the city.

There were constant footsteps passing by her side, either gently, or briskly, or hurriedly.

There is an aroma of eggs and steamed buns, coming from nowhere.

The cries of human cubs could be heard faintly in the alley, why hurry up, why are we going to be late...

When the building gradually quieted down, the horns of the cars on the road gradually became noisy.

The city woke up.

Yu Ling, who had just slept for a short time, opened her eyes.

It was pitch black in front of her eyes, and the potato chip bucket that shielded her from the wind and dust was good, but it was like a small coffin.

She huddled inside and listened patiently for a while. After confirming that there was no movement outside, she hurriedly got out of the potato chip bucket and turned into a human form.

Yu Ling opened her arms and stretched her waist.

In the end, she took out the bag and the potato chip bucket that had been pressed under the wooden boards last night, wiped off the ash that she accidentally got on with a wet paper towel, turned around and walked out of the building.

She thought that the location she had chosen was quite safe, where the little broken bag was when he fell asleep, and where he was when he woke up.

The city is very lively in the morning.

Pedestrians are in a hurry on the street, and cars are coming and going on the road.

On the empty sidewalk at night, there are many small stall owners pushing carts making breakfast.

Some sell pancakes filled with pancakes, and some make sweet and salty porridge or soy milk fritters.

Yu Ling walked all the way, looked all the way, her stomach was empty, she wanted to eat everything, but she couldn't afford anything.

Where should I make money?

She looked at the crowd around her and lost her way again.

A girl who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old walked along the crowd on the wet street.

There are so many pedestrians on the road, but no one can talk to anyone.

Yu Ling walked, unknowingly walked a long way.

Suddenly, she passed a dumpling shop near the junior high school campus.

A piece of paper was pasted at the door of the dumpling shop, which read: "Recruiting dumpling workers and waiters, 1500 January, three meals included."

In just two lines, Yu Ling's eyes lit up instantly.

After the meal time, the students started to study by themselves early, and the boss, who was out of business for the time being, sat in front of his store, holding his mobile phone and watching short videos.

Yu Ling walked forward cautiously, and stood in front of the boss somewhat awkwardly.

The boss looked up at Yu Ling, stood up and asked, "What stuffing do you want, boiled dumplings or steamed dumplings?"

Yu Ling pursed her lips, shook her head and said, "I didn't bring any money."

The boss listened, and tapped the QR code standing on the table with his finger: "You can scan the code."

"I do not have a phone."

"..."

After a short silence, the boss sat back down again, lowered his head and swiped his phone again.

Yu Ling pinched her fingers, and asked boldly: "I saw that there is a job offer here, may I ask if I can work here?"

The boss raised his eyebrows and glanced at Yu Ling, seeing the pleading eyes of the girl in front of him, he couldn't help but soften his tone: "How old are you?"

"Five... oh, I'm eighteen!"

"Can you make dumplings?"

"Yes! I can do everything! I can make dumplings, mix stuffing, wash dishes, and clean up. I can do it!"

The boss heard this, his eyes lit up, and he stood up again: "Let me see how many bags you have?"

"Yeah!" Yu Ling nodded quickly, and followed the boss into the kitchen.

***

"The little girl from a relative's house got lost? Why? Did you call the police? Don't be abducted by traffickers!"

"..."

"Hey, everyone is nervous about this kind of thing. Don't worry if it's okay. I've approved this leave for you. You and your relatives should go find it quickly. Don't delay!"

"Thank you, Miss Liu."

"Thank you, go find someone!"

"Ah."

After hanging up the phone, Zhong Chuyun couldn't help frowning beautifully.

That little cotton flower ran away, just in the night of heavy rain yesterday, without a sound, except for the two certificates just obtained, it took almost nothing away and left nothing behind.

To be precise, that cotton still took away some worthless rags that were worth nothing, and left a note that was pressed on the coffee table in the living room with a water glass.

There is a line of beautiful small characters written on it.

——Misidentified the fox, sorry.

That cotton flower obviously has nowhere to go.

That cotton is obviously always very sticky.

That cotton was obviously still guarding the door of the house last night. When she heard her footsteps, she hurriedly opened the door, poked her head out and blinked her beautiful almond eyes at her.

But the fact is that once Zhong Chuyun woke up, he couldn't find that little cotton.

On weekdays, a little demon with such a low cultivation level would not be able to steal the documents and leave without her noticing.

But this little demon chose to leave last night, a night of lightning and thunder, a time when she was most likely to be haunted by nightmares.

For a moment, Zhong Chuyun couldn't help thinking, let's just leave, it's just a transaction between the two races, if she didn't feel compassion at the beginning, she wouldn't have brought back such a little monster.There are so many women in the Yu family, who can't be replaced?

But by coincidence, at such a time, she received a call.

The bunk bed she bought arrived, and the seller asked when it would be convenient to come and install it.

Everyone has run away, so why install a double bed?

At that moment, Zhong Chuyun's first reaction was to return the product, but when the words came to his lips, he couldn't help but think of his small body curled up under the osmanthus tree that night when they first met.

The little cotton flower even got out of her wallet, but she didn't take half a dime away.

A penniless little demon who doesn't know anything, how will he survive in the future?

Zhong Chuyun walked to the window in a few steps, and looked through the window at the low clouds in the distance.

Today's sky is still dark.

That little cotton flower is probably suffering from cold and starvation somewhere.

……

After eleven o'clock at noon, there was another heavy rain, which fell as soon as it was said.

Yu Ling looked out through the window of the back kitchen, the rain was pattering on the window, and the nearby middle school rang the bell for the end of get out of class, and the outside gradually became lively.

Wearing plastic gloves, she wrapped plate after plate of dumplings deftly with her hands and feet, and her heart was full of joy.

She has a job, so she doesn't have to worry about running out of food for now!

When she first arrived in the morning, the boss praised her for making the dumplings quickly and beautifully, so he left her without thinking about it.

At that time, Yu Ling looked at the freshly made dumplings, and said with some embarrassment that she was a little hungry, and then she ate a hot meal of dumplings.

The owner's surname is Li, an older lady in her 40s. She is very kind. Seeing that she was not full from one bowl, she smiled and ordered another bowl for her.

He would chat with her while eating, and he also cared about why she was alone.

When she learned that she came from another place, she had no money and no place to go, and her own daughter was about the same age, her eyes were full of a loving mother.

She thought about it for a while, and couldn't help but said to Yu Ling: "If you can't find a place to live for a while, you can make do with it in the store for a few days, and I will pay you the salary first. There is a lounge with a small sofa, which can still accommodate one person."

Yu Ling couldn't help being overjoyed: "Really!"

"Yeah." Sister Li said, "I'll go back at night and hug the quilt for you."

"Thank you, Miss Li!"

Yu Ling couldn't help thinking, the humans in this city are too kind!

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The author has something to say:

The picture in Zhong Chuyun's imagination: Little Cotton must be suffering from cold and starvation somewhere.

Real scene: Little Mianmian, who is hardworking and can do everything, is happy.