Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn

Chapter 12

I put her down, fetched some clean water, and helped him wipe his hands and face clean before I wiped mine.

I fetched water again and cleaned my aunt's wounds once more. I also fed her some water to drink. I don't know when she will wake up.

I told Zinuo to stay put and went outside. The alley was desolate, with only a few people scattered about, some sitting, some lying down. Someone spotted me and exclaimed in surprise, "There's still someone alive in this house!"

Then several people ran over, including Uncle Qin, whom I knew, and his son.

“My aunt and younger brother are still inside.” I pointed to the courtyard and led them in. They were visibly surprised to see my aunt and Zinuo.

"You're all still alive!" Uncle Qin said happily.

I nodded and said, "It's a pity that my aunt is injured and hasn't woken up yet. Could you please help me carry her out? I need to find a doctor."

They lifted up the aunt, and Zinuo stood up as well.

"Did you rescue her?" Uncle Qin's son, Abao, asked.

I said, "Yes."

His eyes were filled with disbelief: "The fire started on your side, and no one from Uncle Zhang's family came out alive."

"Because I didn't sleep last night." I answered his question briefly. Was that considered lucky?

Walking outside, I watched as they helped settle my aunt. I saw that my aunt had woken up, but her face was contorted with pain. Zi Nuo wiped away her tears.

"You're still alive, aren't you?" Auntie forced a smile to comfort Zinuo. Yes, all three of us are alive. The fire burned down almost the entire alley; only about a third of the people escaped.

Faced with this unexpected disaster, some people felt utterly hopeless and lost everything, while others were filled with the joy of escaping death.

An old man chuckled and said, "Those of you who can still see the sun today, you've survived a great calamity, you're sure to have good fortune in the future." He was clearly trying to encourage everyone. Good fortune? I don't expect it anymore. Yesterday I was at home selecting cotton, saying, "Just being safe is enough," and then a fire broke out. But I still strongly desire peace; compared to before, my expectations are getting lower and lower.

Many people were burned, and the doctor examined them one by one. When the doctor saw Auntie, he said pessimistically, "The burns will heal slowly, but they will leave scars. The most serious injury is to her leg; her knee is shattered, and she probably won't be able to put any weight on that leg in the future."

I felt as if I were in a cold cave, even though I was already shivering in the morning breeze. Zinuo cried again.

I forced myself to calm down. There are so many problems now that I have to solve, and I have to take them one by one.

I told Zinuo to stay close to her aunt and asked Aunt Wu, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, to take me to the pawnshop. Although I knew how to do these things myself, I was afraid that people would take advantage of a child and not give me the fair price. I pawned the gold-inlaid jade pendant that I had been wearing around my neck since leaving the Marquis's mansion; I never expected it to come in handy so soon. With the money, I bought three sets of clothes. The weather was so cold; we needed to solve the problem of food and clothing first. After getting dressed, I followed Aunt Wu back to Wuliu Lane and gave the newly bought clothes to Zinuo and her aunt.

"Where did you get the money?" my aunt asked me.

"Have you forgotten the jade pendant? We divided it before coming to the Holy City," I said. "I've always carried it with me." I never thought this day would come. I also carried Mu Shaoting's dagger with me, but unfortunately, I couldn't carry my mother's portrait with me.

The aunt's face changed, and she said regretfully, "It's a pity that the copy I kept was left in the house. I thought that once we had a home, nothing else would happen."

I comforted my aunt, saying, "Nobody could have imagined it, nobody wanted it."

“Sister, I still have mine on me.” Zi Nuo took out his jade pendant from around his neck.

I laughed and put it back for him, saying, "Just leave it hanging for now, you won't be able to hang it for much longer anyway."

The affected people were gradually taken to stay with their neighbors who they had a good relationship with. We went to Aunt Wu's house.

Aunt Wu's husband works as a cook at a restaurant and often stays there, leaving only her, her son Chunming, and her daughter Chunxiu at home. Chunming is ten years old, and Chunxiu is six, the same age as me. Since we had played together before, we all got to know each other quite well after we moved in. Chunxiu seemed especially happy because her older brother was much older than her and didn't pay much attention to her. Now she suddenly had two playmates, so she was naturally delighted.

The doctor came to examine my aunt's injuries every day. The burns were slowly healing and the scabs were falling off, but her leg was a constant worry. The bone was broken, and due to infection, it had become purulent and swollen.

"Can you cut open my knee and take out the pus?" I asked the doctor.

The doctor considered it for a moment and said it was possible, but it had to be done at a clinic, as the conditions here were not suitable.

So we hired a car and took my aunt to the clinic, where she stayed for a month. Although Zinuo and I were young, we took turns caring for her. I admired Zinuo from the bottom of my heart, a child of just over four years old. Seeing how sensible we were, the doctor's daughter, Qing'er, took a special liking to us and also took good care of my aunt. She was a warm-hearted and pretty young girl.

Supporting her aunt, who was leaning on a cane, Qing'er helped us onto the carriage.

"What will you do in the future?" Qing'er asked worriedly.

The fire made the whole city aware of it, but no one cared about how those who lost their homes would survive. Perhaps others had husbands to support them and wives to help out, but what about us? My aunt had always lived in a wealthy family, taking care of her master and herself. How could she, with nothing left, raise us young children? Besides, now that one of her legs is useless, how can she take care of herself and us?

The question of how to find a way out, which I had discussed with my aunt many times before, was now presented to us with such urgency.

Fortunately, my aunt's injuries have healed, and apart from some difficulty in moving around, there shouldn't be any major problems.

To treat my aunt's injuries, we don't have much silver left from the money we got from selling the jade pendant. I can't wait until we're completely broke before I start thinking about solutions; things will be even more difficult then. While we still have some resources, I must get things sorted out.

That night, after my aunt and Zinuo had gone to bed, I quietly went to find Aunt Wu, who was working on embroidering a plum blossom.

"Aunt Wu, my aunt has difficulty walking now. Can you take care of her? We will pay her a monthly allowance," I asked Aunt Wu.

“Your aunt can stay here with me indefinitely. She’s good at embroidery and can be a great help to me. You don’t need to pay her; consider it her wages,” Aunt Wu said.

I thought about it and realized it wasn't enough. With such a meager income, we simply couldn't withstand any more setbacks, and even getting sick would be a luxury. So I said, "Thank you for your kindness, Aunt Wu, but this isn't enough to support the three of us. Zinuo is growing up every day and needs to go to school."

Aunt Wu sighed and said, "Children from poor families don't have the good fortune to go to school. They're just happy to have enough to eat and not get cold."

I made up my mind and said to Aunt Wu, "Please take good care of my aunt and brother from now on. I will come to see them whenever I have time."

Aunt Wu was startled and asked, "Where are you going?"

"I sold myself," I said with a smile, but Aunt Wu was so shocked that she couldn't speak.

"So please ask Aunt Wu to take good care of Huai En's family. Huai En will find a way to come back and see them."

I got up before dawn the next day, put on the men's clothes I had prepared beforehand, and quietly walked towards the door.

"Sister, where are you going dressed like that?" A soft voice from behind made me pull back my hand that was already on the door latch, and I turned around helplessly.

"I'm going out to take care of something. You go back to sleep and remember to take good care of your mother," I said to Zinuo as he sat up.