Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 14 Small moves

After washing herself, the girl no longer looked as disheveled as before. She changed into green clothes and tied her damp hair into two braids. However, her eyes were still a little red and swollen.

She has a good foundation, but her skin is bad and she is thin. She is timid and looks like a country girl, not very pretty.

After coming up, she noticed Chen Xuan's presence, but she didn't look at him much. She squatted in another corner, hugged her knees, lowered her head in a daze, her eyes blank, as if she was about to cry at any time.

Although the carriage was not big, it seemed empty because there were only the two of them and they were small.

Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere was a little depressing. After all, they both had to face an unknown fate.

From time to time, there were noises outside, including the suppressed crying of a child. I guess they were making preparations before departure.

After all, they were not really children. Chen Xuan thought that as long as they did not make too much noise, the people outside would probably not be too harsh.

He was feeling a bit uncomfortable as he stared blankly. He noticed the girl clutching a small purse in her hand. It was clearly made of scraps of fabric, washed to a pale hue. So he took the initiative to bring up the topic and asked curiously, "What are you holding?"

The girl glanced at him and immediately looked flustered. She immediately hid the hand holding the purse on her chest and quickly shook her head and said cautiously, "Nothing."

She must have been scared because she was afraid that I would snatch the things from her hands.

Understanding it in his heart, Chen Xuan said softly in a gentle tone: "Don't get me wrong, I'm just asking. If you don't want to say it, forget it."

The girl lowered her head and said nothing.

Chen Xuan suddenly felt bored, but you know what, after being depressed for a few days, just saying a few words made him feel much better.

As expected, after just a few whispered words, the people outside did not get angry. Of course, maybe the sound did not get out.

After a while, the girl saw that Chen Xuan didn't say anything and didn't make any extra moves. She glanced at him cautiously, then lowered her head again and hesitated before saying in a whisper, "These are just some needles and thread. My mother left them for me. She taught me some needlework, saying that girls should be more diligent. When there's really no other way, sewing and mending can earn you a living."

The way of survival for the lower class is that they always think that as long as they have hands and feet and can endure hardships, they will not starve to death.

She actually spoke. Chen Xuan was speechless. At the same time, he understood that it should be her last thing. No wonder she thought it was so precious.

It wasn't something valuable or dangerous, so the human traffickers wouldn't steal it. It was like the peach pit on her neck. When she was washing it, the fat woman didn't even bother to look at it, as she felt it was a bit of a nuisance.

However, Chen Xuan's heart moved when he heard this. He hesitated and asked, "Do you have any extra needles? Can you lend me one and return it to you later?"

The girl immediately hugged the purse in her arms tighter and looked at him warily and timidly.

Chen Xuan met her gaze with a calm expression.

After looking at each other for a moment, she said cautiously: "Do you want to mend it? I can help you."

In short, they were reluctant to let even a needle fall into Chen Xuan's hands.

Shaking his head, Chen Xuan moved away and said, "There's nothing to mend. Since you don't want to part with it, forget it."

Seeing that he didn't force her, the girl lowered her head again, and after a struggle, she carefully opened her purse, took out a needle, handed it to him, held it tightly, and said, "We agreed that you have to return it to me."

"Don't worry, I mean what I say," Chen Xuan nodded seriously. He took the needle under her reluctant gaze, but he felt a strange sense of guilt in his heart. He thought to himself that he really deserved to die. He actually played hard to get with such a young girl...

After getting the needle, Chen Xuan didn't do anything. He lowered his head to look at it and played with it, and said casually: "My name is Chen Xuan, and yours, what's your name? How did you get here?" Seeing that he was easy to talk to, the girl relaxed, but when she heard his words, it was as if sad things were brought up. Her eyes turned red and she lowered her head and bit her lip and said: "My name is Zhang Lanlan. My brother couldn't afford the betrothal gift to marry his sister-in-law, so after some discussion, they sold me out."

It’s all because of poverty again, Chen Xuan sighed in his heart, but he diverted the girl’s attention.

While Zhang Lanlan's attention was diverted, Chen Xuan recalled the direction of the sun in the morning before getting on the train. He scratched an unclear, shallow cross on the floor of the carriage with his left hand, and marked the four directions of the cross with symbols that others should not recognize.

While doing this, he also whispered, "Do you blame them?"

"Why should I blame you? My brother marrying my sister-in-law is a big event to carry on the family line. I'm very happy to be able to help my family, but I'm a little reluctant to leave my parents. I haven't repaid them yet, and I don't know if I can go back in the future," Zhang Lanlan said as a matter of course, but she was in a low mood.

Chen Xuan didn't know what to feel, and felt a little sad. This is already the best repayment you can give him.

Perhaps girls from poor families in the old days all thought this way, as they were born humble.

While talking, Chen Xuan kept making small movements. He borrowed a needle and rubbed it back and forth on an iron nail on the floor of the carriage without leaving any trace...

Instead of exposing other people's scars, he asked, "Can you lend me another thread?"

"Are you really not going to mend something?" Zhang Lanlan, who had relaxed her guard after a few words, asked doubtfully. She seemed not to know how to refuse. After hesitating for a moment, she took out a roll of thin thread from her purse, pulled out a section, bit it off with her teeth and handed it over.

It’s more than one meter long, which is enough. No matter whether it works or not, let’s just give it a try.

Muttering in his heart, Chen Xuan took the thin thread in her reluctant eyes, slowly stood up, gestured, and used a needle to gently insert one end of the thin thread into the wooden roof above the "cross". It fell roughly in the center, and it was really impossible to be precise.

When he was done, he gently pulled it off again, leaving almost no trace. He nodded secretly, then tied the rubbed needle to one end of the thin wire, let it hang down to make it level, and then tied the other end of the wire to the roof of the car.

Such a simple compass is made. As I said before, no matter whether it is useful or not, just give it a try.

Seeing his actions, Zhang Lanlan was full of confusion, but she didn't ask anything. Her eyes were inexplicably nervous. She always felt that this little brother named Chen Xuan was doing something dangerous, but she couldn't figure it out. She was timid by nature and was afraid of being implicated, and she even considered whether to report it.

Chen Xuan didn't know what she was thinking, and it wouldn't matter even if he knew. It was only human nature to protect oneself in such a situation. Besides, what if others saw what he was doing? Those who didn't understand would just think he was just a child messing around.

Perhaps the previous whispered conversation was noticed by someone outside, and someone knocked on the carriage and warned: "Don't talk, be quiet."

Chen Xuan did not make any other move and sat in the corner again, but his eyes were subtly watching the 'compass'. One end of the needle was always pointing in one direction. He breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this thing would be universal in another world.

After a while, a sound of departure was heard outside, and then Chen Xuan felt a slight dent outside the carriage. It should be someone getting on and driving the carriage. The carriage started slowly, and no one knew where it would go next.

He kept an eye on the compass. The carriage swayed and jolted a bit when it started, but although the hanging needle swayed, one end was always adjusted to point in a fixed direction. By comparing it with the cross in a fixed position below, he could roughly determine the next direction of travel.

Chen Xuan's memory is not that exaggerated, he still has this self-awareness, but it is enough for him to roughly determine the direction, route and distance by counting in his mind. Even if it fails, it doesn't matter, it's just a try.

When he has the ability in the future, he will find a way to come back. Human traffickers who are worse than pigs and dogs should not be at large. He does this not for justice, but only to get his ideas across.

The prerequisite is to have the ability. If you are unable to take care of yourself, it will only add to the joke.

It's also possible that this departure is just a formality, and he'll be back soon. Who can say for sure...

(End of this chapter)