A deep friendship like an ocean

  The boss's wife didn't respond to Zeng Shan's words, and walked straight up to the young man, using her hand to wipe a small black smudge off his face, asking: "Xì yāo, have I treated you well these past two years?"

  Zhou Xiǎo Niáng said: "Good."

  "The boss's wife always scolds you, will you hold a grudge?"

  "No. You've been very kind to me, boss's wife."

  "Good boy." The boss's wife wiped her eyes with her hand, and everyone saw that tears had flowed out of her eyes. "Boy, if you become rich in the future, will you still remember the boss's wife?"

  "Really." Zhou Xi also seemed to be moved, "Boss's wife, if it weren't for you and the boss, I would have starved to death long ago. Your great kindness, I will always remember."

  The boss's wife pulled out a heavy bag from her pocket and stuffed it into Zhou Xi's hand, tears streaming down her face. "Xi, I'm sorry, I don't have the money to send you to school. But I can see that this boss is a kind person. He said he'd send you to school, so he definitely will. You must study hard and make progress, bring honor to your ancestors, and your deceased parents in heaven will be delighted too. When you go to the boss's place, be obedient and do more chores. Don't eat things that aren't allowed at the boss's house; they have rules there, unlike here where you can eat whatever you want. If you really want to eat something, just buy a little bit yourself. This is 40 yuan. 30 yuan was given by the boss, and 10 yuan was given by me, so take it and be frugal."

  Luo Yi and the others were all stunned. Just now, when the boss's wife had insisted that they pay to redeem Zhou Xi'ao, they had thought she was a greedy and wicked woman. Who knew that not only did she not take the 30 yuan, but also added another 10 yuan of her own and gave it to Zhou Xi'ao?

  The landlady saw Luo Yi's confusion and apologized, saying: "Boss, sorry. Just now, I was really afraid that you were human traffickers, afraid that you wanted to abduct the child. You are willing to pay 30 yuan, and I will feel at ease. This child can't be sold for 30 yuan even if he is abducted. I know you are sincere. The child has been with me for a few years, just like my own child. If I didn't think that you could have a future together, how could I bear to let him go?"

  Luo Yi felt a mix of emotions and said, "Boss's wife, I was wrong to blame you. You can keep the money, I'll take care of Xiao Er's living expenses myself. I swear to you, as long as I have food to eat, I won't let him go hungry."

  The boss's wife pulled Zhou Xi'er's hand, stuffed the money into his hand, and then said to Luo Yi: "Yours is yours, this is what I gave to Xi'er. The young lady just now was right, Xi'er has worked for me for two years, and wages should be paid."

  Luo Yi patted Zhou Xi's shoulder and said, "Xi, the boss lady has treated you with great kindness. You should kowtow to bid her farewell, and don't forget about the boss lady in the future."

  Zhou Xi fell to his knees with a thud, knocked his head against the ground in front of the landlady and wailed in a sobbing voice: "Mother!"

  "My dear child!" The boss's wife burst into tears, squatting down to hug Zhou Xiǎo, the two of them crying together in a heap, causing Zeng Shan and Yuan Jing to also start crying.

  The shop owner also came out at this time, a middle-aged man with a kind face, who introduced himself to Luo Yi as Huang Hanming. The boss wrapped two salted ducks in oil paper and insisted on giving them to Luo Yi. Luo Yi let Tu Jiu take it, while also forcing 30 taels of silver to the shop owner. The shop owner then pulled Zhou Xi'er aside and exhorted him for a long time, everyone could see that this couple had deep feelings for Zhou Xi'er, and Zhou Xi'er's feelings for them were equally deep.

  As Luo Yi was about to leave, he hesitated and said to the shop owner: "Boss, there's something I want to remind you of."

  "Please go on, sir."

  "These years, the world is not very peaceful. The little devils may start fighting with the National Army in Shanghai at any time, and Nanjing may encounter war and fire. If the situation is bad, it's best for the boss to leave Nanjing early."

  The boss was somewhat taken aback by Luo Yi's suggestion, and just as he didn't know how to respond, Luo Yi emphasized: "I'm serious, please remember this, boss. By the autumn of 1937 at the latest, you and your wife must leave Nanjing and go somewhere else to avoid trouble."

  "Alright, alright, thank you sir." The boss replied. Although he didn't know what Luo Yi was referring to, he could sense his sincerity. Luo Yi knew in his heart that this was all he could do for now, and if he were to tell others that the Nanjing Massacre would occur three years later, probably no one would believe him.

  "The ordinary people in Nanjing are really good." On the way back to Pukou, Zeng Shan said with emotion, "The boss's wife is really kind, I even made her cry."

  Yuan Jing asked Luo Yi: "Luo Zige, what did you mean by letting the boss leave Nanjing to avoid the storm?"

  Luo Yi said: "I have always believed that Japan's ambition to destroy China will not disappear. In a few years, they will definitely launch a comprehensive invasion of China. At that time, Nanjing may be their main target, and it is very likely that a disaster will occur. Do you remember the Jinan Massacre? A similar massacre may also occur in Nanjing. So I let them escape in advance."

  "What's the Jinan Incident?" Zeng Shan asked in surprise, unfamiliar with this piece of history.

  Yuan Jing said: "I know about this. I heard my father mention it before. It was in the 17th year of the Republic, when Japanese troops occupied Jinan City and massacred people and set fires in the city, resulting in more than 6,000 Chinese civilians being killed and countless injured."

  "Really? How could they do this?" Zeng Shan asked disbelievingly.

  "They are a group of beasts, and it's impossible to understand them with human thought," Luo Yi said. "If one day Nanjing falls into the hands of the Japanese, the people of Nanjing will also suffer their slaughter. Shan'er, what would you do if you encountered such a situation?"

  "Fight them! We have guns, we should fight them. Bring the whole assault battalion over and fight them."

  "But they have many people and are well-trained, we can't beat them, what should we do?"

  Zeng Shan said: "If they kill Chinese civilians, even if we can't win, we must fight. We'd rather die than not protect the safety of the people. Didn't you say that?"

  "Aren't you afraid of death?"

  "As long as it's worth it, I'm not afraid." Zeng Shan said proudly.

  Luo Yi smiled and patted her head, taking the opportunity to wipe off some oil: "Little girl is not bad, worthy of being a soldier in our assault regiment."

  Zeng Shan hummed in discontent, expressing her dissatisfaction with Luo Yi's condescending tone.

  Zhou Xi cried in the store, and after following Luo Yi and others out, he didn't cry again. He just walked with everyone with his head down. Yuan Jing walked with him, seeing that he wasn't very happy, so she thought of ways to tease him into talking.

  "Little brother, are you willing to go to Jiangxi with us?"

  "Wherever you ask me to go, I'll go."

  "Are you willing?"

  Zhou Xi thought for a moment and asked: "Going to Jiangxi, will I really be able to read books?"

  Yuan Jing said: "Of course, what did you think we let you go for?"

  "I don't know."

  "If you didn't know, then why did you follow us?"

  The landlady asked me to leave, so I had no choice but to leave. The landlady took me in, and I couldn't always eat her food for free. Actually, I couldn't do much there, and every meal was a big deal. I had thought it through long ago - as long as someone was willing to take me in, even if it meant doing hard labor, I would leave.

  Yuan Jing burst out laughing: "You're just a kid, but you've got quite a lot of ideas."

  Zhou Xi gave Yuan Jing a sideways glance and said discontentedly: "You're not much older than me, yet you call me a kid."

  Yuan Jing laughed even more: "You little kid, you're so cheeky. You're 13 and I'm 17, who's older? Hurry up and call me 'Sister Yuan', sister will buy you candy."

  Zhou Xiǎo'ěr said: "You're only 4 years older than me, what's there to be proud of? In two years I'll have grown taller than you, and by then I'll make you call me 'ge' (older brother)."

  Yuan Jing looked at Zhou Xi's stubborn expression and laughed so hard she could barely walk, saying to Luo Yi: "Luo Zige, did you hear what Xi said? He said from now on he wants me to call him 'ge'."

  Luo Yi said to Zhou Xi'ao: "Xi'ao, don't be impolite."

  Zhou Xi nodded in agreement that Luo Yi was her employer and didn't dare to talk back, answering softly: "Yes, boss."

  Luo Yi said: "Xī Xiǎo, from now on don't call me boss again. My name is Luo Yi, you can call me Big Brother Luo from now on. Let me introduce you to everyone: this is Shan Er Jie, this is Xiao Jing Jie, and this is Tu Jiu Shu." He introduced each person one by one to Zhou Xi Xiao.

  Zhou Xi carefully called out one by one according to Luo Yi's introduction, and when it was Yuan Jing's turn, her voice dropped eight degrees, and the phrase "Little Jing Jie" was almost inaudible.

  After introducing everyone, Luo Yi said to Zhou Xi'ao: "Xi'ao, don't be afraid, we are not bad people. We all come from poor families, and this time we brought you out of the boss's house because we appreciate your young age and mathematical talent. It would be a waste for you to stay there washing dishes. I plan to take you back to Jiangxi with us, where we have opened a school, and I will invite two experts who returned from studying in the United States to teach you. You will definitely become a math talent. However, for now, we need to go to Shanghai first. The boss said that you escaped from Shanghai, are you familiar with it?"

  When it comes to Shanghai, Zhou Xianglin looks a bit sad, everyone knows that he is thinking of his family members who died in the bombing in Japan.

  "I only know that my home is in Zhabei, I escaped from Shanghai when I was only 10 years old, and many things are not clear to me now. However, if I go there, some things may come back to me." Zhou Xi said seriously.

  Luo Yi said: "It doesn't matter, in some cases, after we arrive in Shanghai, we'll ask around. Do you have any relatives in Shanghai that you need to visit? Even just to let them know you're safe? Alright, when the time comes, tell me where your family lives and I'll take you there. First, to let the neighbors know, second, to burn some incense for your parents. Then you can follow me, study hard, and become successful soon, okay?"

  "Ah, thank you, Brother Luo." Zhou Xiying replied.

  Luo Yi sighed and gently patted Zhou Xi's shoulder. A 13-year-old boy, if he lived in a later era, should be a child who spends every day playing at McDonald's or KFC with his parents, but this chaotic world had made him so obedient.