Chapter 87

Xu Wen turned her head sideways, and saw Doudou looking at herself curiously

She asked Doudou once again, “Doudou, was there anything unusual when Dongsheng separated from you? That is, did he get upset?”

Doudou nodded

Xu asked a little eagerly, “Why was he upset? Did you guys have a fight?”

Doudou shook her head, “We didn’t quarrel, but Fuwa fought with Dongsheng”

“Then do you know why they fought?” Xu Man frowned, Dongsheng wasn’t a child who caused trouble

Although Fuwa was a new kid on the island, he had been with the army in the compound earlier and was familiar with Dongsheng

According to Lu Yuanzheng, before Doudou arrived, Dongsheng’s best friend was Fuwa Before Doudou came, Dongsheng’s best friend was Fuwa When he was away on a mission, Dongsheng often stayed at Fuwa’s house

Children are like the weather in June, their faces change at the drop of a hat, and fights are normal

But it’s not normal for them to fight until Dongsheng runs away from home

Doudou’s eyes fell on Xu Wen’s stomach, and he answered in a milky voice: “Fuwa said that if you have another baby, you won’t be good to Dongsheng Dongsheng got upset and said Fuwa was wrong Fuwa also said that you are Dongsheng’s stepmother and won’t care about him when you have your own baby”

Xu Man’s face instantly went white

Doudou was still too young to read adult faces, and looked at Xu Man with big blinking eyes, asking her curiously, “Auntie, what’s a stepmother?”

She asked her parents when she got home, “What is a stepmother? Her mom said that her stepmother was the queen who made Snow White eat the poisoned apple She said if she didn’t behave, she’d let her stepmother beat her up

Dad told Doudou not to follow Fuwa’s example and not to mention this in front of Dongsheng

Doudou was very puzzled, Auntie Xu Wen is beautiful and gentle so good how is a bad queen?

“What happened?”

“Dongsheng did not want Fuwa to say bad things about you, so he fought with Fuwa Fuwa also said that Dongsheng doesn’t have a father either, he’s an orphan without a father or a mother!”

Xu Man was shaking with anger

How could a child understand these heartbreaking words? He must have heard them from an adult

Xu Wen took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, the matter of settling scores is not urgent, the first priority is to get Dongsheng back

She tried to soften her voice as much as possible and continued to ask Doudou, “What about after the fight? Did Dongsheng say anything when you separated?”

“Just said that he was going to find his mom and dad Auntie Xu asked, Dongsheng fought with Dongsheng to protect you, so can you not be mean to him? You’re his favorite!”

Xu Man’s throat tightened and she forced a smile, “I love Dongsheng too I won’t treat him badly, and I won’t not want him!”

DouDou oh-so-relieved and visibly happy for his good friend, patting his chest and promising, “Then if FuWa says DongSheng is bad again in the future, I’ll help DongSheng beat him up!”

Milk fierce milk fierce, but also waved his fist

But Dongsheng didn’t go home!

Suddenly, Xu Man had a flash of insight

This “mom and dad” may be Dongsheng’s real parents

But his parents are gone!

Xu Man stood up from the sofa in a flash, “DouDou, you wait here, don’t run around, I have to go look for DongSheng, so dark, can’t find him, he’ll be scared and in danger”

DouDou also stood up, “Then Auntie can I go with you? I also want to find Dongsheng After the fight with Fuwa, he cried! Cried so sadly and heartbreakingly”

The little girl sighed like an adult, very puzzled, “Obviously he won the fight, why is he still crying?”

Why? Because he felt like no one wanted him

Xu Wen’s tears flowed down again, and he wasn’t in the mood to explain this to little DouDou, and after thinking about it, he held her and walked outside together, “Then let’s go look for DongSheng together”

If Doudou wanders off and has another accident, Xu Man can’t be held responsible

Everyone still hasn’t found Dongsheng yet, and Lu Yuanzheng personally drove the boat in the direction of the open sea to look for him

All the people gathered around the shore, waiting for the return of the soldiers who had gone out to sea

Xu Wen saw Doudou’s parents and returned Doudou to them

When he turned his head, he saw Fuwa’s mom, Huangyu Huang’s wife, not far away

Xu Man strides to the front of Huang Sister-in-law, raised his hand is a slap, not only hit confused Huang Sister-in-law, but also hit the onlookers blindfolded

The people in the neighborhood rushed forward to pull the fight

Huang’s wife was slapped in public, of course, anxious: “Xu asked you sick, right? I came to help you find your child, why are you so mad?”

Xu Man glared at her fiercely, “Then you’d better beg your grandparents to pray that Dongsheng is alright Otherwise, I will definitely tear your mouth off! You’re so old that you’re living in a dog’s stomach, chewing on your tongue in front of the child If anything happens to Dongsheng, I’ll make you pay for it!”

Sister-in-law Huang, ashamed and annoyed, jumped to her feet and retorted, “What am I chewing on? You were a stepmother yourself and didn’t take good care of your child, so if the child is lost, you’re going to put the blame on my head?”

Xu Man was so angry that he wanted to whip her again

Several of her sisters-in-law tried to pull her back, while the others pulled Huang Yu back

Xu Man’s arm was held up, but his leg was still free, and he kicked over, hitting Huang Yu squarely in the abdomen

Huang Yu also tried to kick back, but her legs were not as long as Xu Man’s and she was unable to hit him

“If you don’t say in front of Fuwa that I’m a stepmother, that I will not care about Dongsheng after I have my own child, will Dongsheng be able to run away from home?”

Originally some of the sisters-in-law who were not familiar with Xu Man, seeing Xu Man come up and give Huang Yu a slap and a kick, they all felt that Xu Man was a bit shrewish, and then when they heard this questioning from Xu Man, they immediately looked at Sister-in-law Huang’s gaze became unfriendly

Dongsheng is an orphan previously in the compound is a well-known secret, to the island, there are still many people know

But everyone on the island could see how Xu Wen treated Dongsheng, so no one ever gossiped

Even if there was, at the very least, it never reached Xu Man and Dongsheng

Huang Yu instantly felt weak when she heard Xu Man’s questioning, her vision shifted, and her tone of retort weakened considerably, “I didn’t say that, don’t you dare to make a mess of it”

“I don’t know what to say? You’re not small in your ability to make accusations! Does it have anything to do with you if I’m pregnant or not? What’s wrong with me being a stepmother? I have a clear conscience! What makes you think I’ll treat Dongsheng badly if I have another child? Dongsheng is my child too! You’ve been accusing me of all sorts of things, and you have the nerve to say that I’m making a mess of things?

I swear that I treat Dongsheng as my own son, do you swear that you haven’t said these heartbreaking words in front of the child? If you dare I’ll kowtow to you and apologize”

“I swear ” Huang Yu was willed here and could only swear through clenched teeth

In front of so many people, she didn’t dare to admit it no matter what

“Don’t say something that doesn’t hurt!” Xu Wen snorted coldly, interrupting her, “If you have the ability, take your family Fuwa’s oath If you lie, Fuwa won’t live past the age of twenty!”

Huang Yu became anxious, “Why are you so vicious? Cursing a six year old”

“Am I as vicious as you? You let a six year old child tell a child less than five years old that he is fatherless and that his stepmother will treat him badly in the future Aren’t you vicious? Besides, if you hadn’t said these putrid words and wouldn’t have answered the oath, what are you afraid of?”

Huang Yu hung her head

The sisters-in-law who were holding Xu Man up quietly loosened their strength

They all felt that Huang Yu was too mouthy and really deserved to be beaten

Xu Man didn’t hit Huang Yu again, too dirty

Her eyes passed over the onlookers one by one, focusing on the sister-in-law who said she was pregnant yesterday, her tone still not good: “You all don’t watch the fun either If something happens to Dongsheng, I won’t spare anyone who spreads gossip!”

Xu Man knew that the island lacked entertainment, and the slightest new thing would become the talk of the town The warriors were fine, they were so busy that rest was a luxury, and it was these idle sisters-in-law who liked to gossip

But they didn’t realize that her suspected pregnancy was yesterday’s matter, and today it had already been rumored to be like this

Yesterday’s sister-in-law who said Xu Man was pregnant was a pain in the ass, and when she saw Xu Man look over, she slapped herself and apologized: “Ask sister-in-law, I’m sorry I was so quick with my mouth! I was thinking that this is a good thing, and I mentioned it when we were chatting, but I really didn’t think that it would cause you so much trouble”

Xu Wen’s lips twitched, a sentence of “It’s okay” just couldn’t be said

Dongsheng had yet to be found!

It’s been so long, the more it drags on, the more dangerous it becomes

Xu Man didn’t speak, his eyes looking straight out to sea

The boats that went to search the sea, one after another, slowly docked

There was still no sign of Dongsheng

The only hope was Lu Yuanzheng, who had yet to return

Xu Man folded his hands, and as a staunch materialist, for the first time, he wanted to pin his hopes on a non-existent deity

“Please bless the Bodhisattva!” Xu Man murmured softly

At the darkest hour before dawn, Lu Yuanzheng finally returned

Xu Man greeted her at the front, she didn’t make a sound, all the eagerness and worry in her eyes

Lu Yuanzheng shook his head

Xu Man’s body swayed

A child less than five years old, missing on an isolated island for most of the night, that in itself was a frightening thing

Xu Man turned back to Huang Yu, full of anxious panic that needed to be vented

Huang Yu had just left since he realized that he had caused trouble

Xu Man gritted his teeth and gazed across the faces of all the people, and in front of a bunch of adults stood the only child Doudou

Not for nothing Dongsheng treats her as a good friend

As her eyes crossed, she remembered something and turned her eyes again, striding towards Doudou

Scared Doudou mom a shiver, she did not say bad things about Xu Wen, mainly she does not know about Dongsheng, her man is transferred to this battalion, also not clear

Just don’t know children play together, DouDou is not nonsense, she subconsciously hide DouDou behind

No one doubts that Xu Man at this moment will kill people

Xu Wen didn’t care about DouDou’s mom’s skepticism, squatted down to lock eyes with DouDou behind her, Xu Wen softly asked her: “DouDou, has DongSheng ever taken you to any secret base? It’s the kind of place that no one else knows about but you two”

Doudou didn’t shake her head for the first time, her little head raised, squinting her eyes and thinking seriously for a while, she asked Xu, “Does a place where hide-and-seek is never found by other children count?”

Xu Man’s eyes lit up and he nodded, “It counts Can you take me there?”

Doudou tilted her head to look at her mom

Her mother’s surname was Song and her name was Song Qin, Song Qin saw this and bent down to touch Doudou’s head, saying to her, “Doudou, if you know it can you take us there? Because it will be dangerous if Dongsheng hides there alone this late at night”

Doudou then nodded her head

Song Qin held Doudou and shone a flashlight at the road beneath her feet

Behind them followed several hundred people led by Lu Yuanzheng Xu Wen

That hide-and-seek treasure spot was the hope of everyone here

Dongsheng’s range of regular activities on weekdays was the seashore, the wooden huts and the camp on top of the mountain

The place that DouDou said was not far from the kiosk was indeed the place where they often played games over the house

She led the group to a stop in front of an old tree

This is a long time old tree, the trunk is so thick that two adults can not hold over, is half a person high place do not know has been damaged by wild animals or struck by lightning, there is a big black hole

Doudou pointed at the big black hole and said, “Right there”

Everyone’s flashlights shone in unison

All that could be seen was an empty about half a meter high, thirty to forty centimeter deep black hole

Dongsheng wasn’t here

Xu Wen frowned, this place that he saw at a glance would be a treasure trove of people who couldn’t be found if they were hide-and-seek?

Doudou pointed to the left side of the large black hole and said, “That piece of wood can be taken down”

Xu Wen just wanted to go forward being pulled back by Lu Yuanzheng, “I’ll do it”

He took the flashlight and walked to the tree, first reaching out and knocking on the inside of the bad wood, and sure enough, it came up empty

Lu Yuanzheng put the flashlight to the front to look carefully, only to find that this should be a long time ago, someone in order to hide the camouflage, there are indeed traces of the same color wood splicing, the planks also left a thin rope of the same color, he pulled, the planks should be sound and fell down to reveal a hole that can be barely drilled into a person

Inside curled up a sleeping Toshio, his face still streaked with tears

“Dongsheng!” Lu Yuanzheng shouted softly

As soon as Xu Wen heard this, he hurriedly grabbed forward

Dongsheng opened his eyes when he heard the commotion and called out to his father out of habit

Lu Yuanzheng sighed in relief, handed Xu Man the flashlight, poked his upper body into the tree hole, and carried Dongsheng out with both hands

The contrast between the internal and external light, as well as Xu Man’s shouts with the crowd, made Dongsheng open his eyes

As soon as he saw Xu Man, he cried out, “Ma Ma! You don’t want me! I won’t compete with my little brother for favor, okay?”

Xu Wen instantly broke down her defenses and opened her arms to carry him from Lu Yuanzheng’s arms, holding him tightly as she also burst into tears, “Silly child! How could I possibly not want you?”

Lu Yuanzheng’s cheekbones moved, just wanting to reach out and hug them both, he saw the crowd and withdrew his hand and said to everyone, “Thank you everyone! Dongsheng has been found, so everyone should go back first! Something will happen tomorrow”

Dismissing the crowd, he then forcibly hugged Dongsheng from Xu Man’s hands, leading Xu Man back, “Let’s talk about it at home!”

At home, Dongsheng calmed down, and the panic in Xu Man’s heart calmed down

If you don’t calm down, you can’t, Lu Yuanzheng got angry, separated Xu Man and Dongsheng, and ordered Dongsheng to stand in the living room

Xu Man did not want to protect, was Lu Yuanzheng sentence of a loving mother more than the defeat of the child sent back

Then Xu Man was even angry with him, sitting on the chair in front of the windowsill with a stern face and not saying anything

Lu Yuanzheng knew that he was in a hurry and said the wrong thing, but this is not the time to coax his daughter-in-law, he was interrogating Dongsheng

“Come on, you tell me, the whole battalion so many people together shouting you throat is mute why you do not come out?”

Later he fell asleep when people walked away, but he certainly didn’t fall asleep initially, and was hiding on purpose

Heartache to heartache, but this kind of behavior to leave home when unhappy can not have This is an isolated island, but any accident is a matter of life and death

If Dongsheng really had a long or short life, he couldn’t explain to his own father

“I want to wait for you guys to find me” Dongsheng hung his head and whispered

Both Lu Yuanzheng and Xu Wen understood

It was as if many children who wanted to get their parents’ attention would get into trouble

He thought about hiding, so if Lu Yuanzheng and Xu Wen realized he was missing and came looking for him they would be caring about him

Lu Yuanzheng’s eyes softened, then he questioned in an annoyed voice, ”Then you didn’t come out when we were looking! Your mom and I both passed by that tree more than once! Every time, we shouted to go there You didn’t even answer”

Dongsheng lowered his head and didn’t say anything

Lu Yuanzheng lifted his foot and kicked him lightly on the buttocks, “Speak! You are a man even if you are small, don’t be afraid to do something! If you have grievances in your heart, you can say so! If you don’t speak up, what kind of skill is it to hide and make people worry?”

Dongsheng muttered, “But you didn’t find me either!”

Lu Yuanzheng hissed, feeling that he couldn’t communicate, and was so angry that he wanted to kick him again

Xu Wen pulled Dongsheng into his arms to protect him, “Don’t just think about punching him! Do you know why he’s hiding? It’s because Fuwa said that he doesn’t like him anymore when I’m pregnant and will have another child!”

Lu Yuanzheng was stunned

He didn’t know about this yet, and only thought that Dongsheng was unhappy and playing with his temper, or else he wouldn’t have kicked him

Dongsheng cried loudly in Xu Man’s arms, sobbing so aggrieved and so desperate, his mouth kept chanting “Ma Ma, you don’t want a younger brother, okay?” “Ma Ma you do not dislike me!”

“Ma Ma I only have you a ma Ma, can you also only have me a child?”

Lu Yuanzheng opened the door and walked to the courtyard, took out a cigarette and lit it, tilting his head back to look at the slightly bright sky

Xu Wen looked at Lu Yuanzheng with her eyes, her hand patting Dongsheng’s back, “Dongsheng, I told you that I would never leave you behind again in this life, do you still remember?”

She made a promise to him a year ago

Dongsheng nodded, “Remember”

“Then do you believe Fuwa’s words or mine?”

“You” Dongsheng answered without hesitation as he straightened up and looked down at Xu Wen’s small belly, “But I wasn’t born from your belly, the little baby was born from you! Will you only be good to him and not to me?”

“There’s no little baby in my belly It’s just a misunderstanding” Xu Wen thumbed away the tears on Dongsheng’s eyes, “Even if there’s a little brother and sister in my belly one day, you’re still my eldest son Although it’s true that you didn’t come out of my belly, I’m still your mama! How could I not be good to you anymore?”

Dongsheng pulled at the hem of her shirt and started crying again, “Why don’t my mommy and daddy want me anymore? Then I won’t rob my little brother and sister of their mommy”

Crying, Xu Wen’s heart ached to the point where she knew he was talking about his own mommy and daddy, “The mommy and daddy who gave birth to you they are both great heroes! They didn’t mean to not want you, they just sacrificed themselves to protect everyone’s safety Do you remember you have another name besides Toshio?”

Dongsheng nodded, “My name is Li Zheng”

“Right! Your dad, Li Huainian, was a great hero, he died to defeat the bad guys who invaded our country and to protect his comrades Your mom too, she was a nurse who was wounded in order to protect the wounded soldiers and sacrificed her life to protect you again Dongsheng, they both love you very much, they just couldn’t continue to be there for you anymore, so they asked Papa Lu to be your dad, and I’m the mom you chose for yourself

You can hold your head up and tell people that I’m your stepmother, it doesn’t matter if they scold me or not, but you have to remember that even if I’m just a stepmother, I’ll still love you just as much as the mother who gave birth to you”

Xu Wen slowly explained to Dongsheng, she didn’t want to promise things she couldn’t do, like only having this one child of his

Nor did she want to lie to him, lies would always be broken down when least expected

Rather than hearing nonsense from someone else’s mouth, she was more willing to slowly let him accept the truth and convince him that both she and Lu Yuanzheng loved him very much

Xu Wen carried Dongsheng to sit on her lap and talked to him like an adult

Lu Yuanzheng sat in the doorway, smoking one cigarette after another

Although Dongsheng still seems to understand, but understand one thing, whether there is a little brother or sister, Xu Man will love him so much

Dongsheng huffed and apologized, “I’m sorry Ma Ma, I shouldn’t have hid and played with my temper”

“I forgive you But next time, don’t be like this, okay? Dad and I were so anxious when we couldn’t find you Not only us, but all the uncles and aunts on the island have been staying up this late looking for you Even DouDou has been looking for you all night From now on, if you are unhappy, you can tell us If mom and dad are wrong, we’ll change If it’s your fault, then you change Okay?”

Dongsheng nodded, “I’m sorry, I won’t be like this next time”

Xu Wen put him on the ground and pointed in the direction of Lu Yuanzheng, “You apologize to dad again Don’t look at him being mean to you, it’s because he’s scared He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to find you and that you would be in danger Dad ran away to the sea far, far away by himself in order to find you”

Dongsheng hesitated, but moved to the door and whispered, “Dad, I was wrong!”

Lu Yuanzheng stubbed out his cigarette and simply said, “It won’t happen again Come on, let’s go take a bath and go to bed!”

“I want Ma Ma to help me wash”

Lu Yuanzheng clasped his large palm on the back of his head, “Either I help you or you wash yourself There’s no such option as Ma Ma She’s a woman, we’re both men Men can’t bathe with women”

Dongsheng covered the back of his head and retorted, “You’re lying! Then you even bathed with Ma Ma!”

Xu Wenlian boomed and burned

She didn’t know when Dongsheng had seen or heard it

Lu Yuanzheng looked much more calm than Xu Wen, “Because she’s my daughter-in-law! When you grow up you can also wash with your daughter-in-law! But Ma Ma can’t, and neither can any other woman!”