ALL NOVEL Chapter 4 Circus
The night in the forest is harder to deal with than the day.
Mosquito bites are only superficially difficult.
The noises of small animals in the trees can keep people awake in the middle of the night, and even if they barely fall asleep, they will have constant nightmares.
Xia Zuo dreamed that he was still in the cell.
He slapped the iron fence angrily until his hands stung, and he realized that he was shaking his fist at a sapling.
The golden morning light casts through the gaps in the canopy of the trees, and it is another new day.
[HP] 15/20 (hungry, mild dehydration)
After eating the brown bread, the fresh water in the water bag was almost bottoming out. I had a really bad sleep at night, and the blood recovery rate dropped again and again.
The tangled stomach became numb, but it was not as painful as dehydration.
Xia Zuo touched the small bulge of the water bag, it was the last sip...
The sun sets again.
[HP] 12/20 (moderate hunger and thirst, 2 HP points will be deducted every hour.)
The blood recovery speed drops to a negative number...you will starve to death in 6 hours...
Xia Zuo was so hungry and thirsty that he felt dizzy. He seemed to be hallucinating, as if he smelled the aroma of barbecue, the smell of roasting until the skin is browned, the meat is juicy, and spices are sprinkled on it.
He closed his eyes and stood there, saliva secreting rapidly in his mouth.
This smell is not an illusion! It's indeed coming from the front!
Xia Zuo opened his eyes, let out a whimpering howl, and burst out the last strength in his body to crawl through the trees.
Someone! Someone is having a barbecue! Be saved!
Xia Zuo came to a dirt road in the forest. A three-car carriage was parked on the roadside.
"Help.."
Xia Zuo stretched out his hand to the crowd beside the carriage.
The sudden high emotion squeezed all the physical strength and energy, and endless darkness flooded in front of his eyes.
He collapsed on the ground with a plop, unable to move at all, and could only vaguely hear some sounds.
Hiss... A snake swam over and whispered a message in his ear. The cold snake head pushed Xia Zuo's head, revealing his childish face buried in the soil.
"Sister, he's a little boy." A middle-aged man with a warm voice said a few meters away.
The snake got into Xia Zuo's clothes, wandered around every corner of his body, and finally emerged from the bag.
The middle-aged man lowered his voice and said:
"Three silver coins with a face value of 1 yuan, no food and water, and a broken telescopic crutch. This little guy doesn't seem to be able to afford a telescopic crutch, and the silver coins... Sister, we need to save him?"
A sharp male voice sounded: "Help, what a pitiful little guy. Giggle."
The clear female voice said in an unquestionable tone: "We will give him a ride and drop him off at the next stronghold."
Xia Zuo felt himself being picked up by a pair of big hands, and some warm water dripped onto his chapped lips.
He took a few greedy sips and fell asleep completely.
Really saved...
…
In a simple guest room, the sunlight brings warmth to the body.
Xia Zuo regained some consciousness and found himself lying on a soft bed. The double eyelids are extremely heavy and cannot be opened at all.
[HP] 17/20 (moderate sleepiness, moderate fatigue)
Someone pushed open the door and tiptoed to the bedside. The faint smell of medicine was mixed with an alcohol-like smell.
The man groped around the boy, then went to the table nearby to search. After rummaging through the boxes, he found what he wanted.
Money bag containing 3 silver coins.
"Vars." A clear female voice came from the door.
The person who stole the money seemed to be frightened, and the money bag fell on the table with a crisp sound.
The clear female voice said in a cold tone: "We saved him, we can ask him for reward. But this will happen after he wakes up. I am the eldest sister, and I have the final say. Now leave here and let him have a good rest."
"Humph" Fares was a little dissatisfied, but still obeyed the order of the elder sister and left the room with heavy steps.
The eldest sister stuffed the money bag under the boy and took out a wet towel to wipe his forehead and neck.
Xia Zuo wanted to say thank you to the other party, but he couldn't open his eyes and his lips moved and he couldn't make a sound.
"Did you have another nightmare?"
Warm palms rubbed the boy's forehead, a callus-like touch, soothing Xia Zuo and falling asleep again.
…
"Little guy, are you awake?"
Hiss...the sound of a snake.
The middle-aged man with a warm voice sat on the bedside, took out a small bottle of medicine with a cool smell, opened the cork, put it in front of the boy's nose and shook it.
"Wake up, little one. Our performance here is over, and we have to leave early tomorrow morning at the latest."
Xia Zuo slept soundly and was completely awakened by the cool and pungent smell. He was no longer as tired as before.
"Ahem...you...okay..."
What caught his eye was a man with dark skin.
He was wearing a brown gown with strange patterns embroidered on it. On the head is a tall hat sewn with thick strips of cloth, and a small green snake sticks out its head from the cocoon-like hat.
"Just wake up." The middle-aged man stroked his curly beard and chuckled a few times.
"Thank you for saving me."
Xia Zuo looked at the green snake who was staring at him, "Thank you too, little snake."
The snake's head drew an arc, and the green snake got back into its master's tall hat.
"Little guy, now that you're awake, tell me where you came from. It's rare for a child as old as you to wander around in the forest."
The middle-aged man brought a glass of water and put it in the boy's hand, "By the way, my name is Snake, what's your name?"
"I'm Xia Zuo."
Xia Zuo drank the water dry, soaking his throat with warm water.
"Xia Zuo..." Snake held his chin, frowned and thought, "Go on, little guy, I seem to have heard your name somewhere."
"I was caught by a villain alchemist and put into an underground cell to test medicine... After escaping, I walked north for two days and two nights, and finally met you."
Since Xia Zuo woke up, he has not revealed the existence of Gold Finger to outsiders, and he will never do so in the future.
Snake's brows raised high, "I remembered. I saw your name on the notice board. There were several missing persons notices in the village south of Rosac. Your parents posted a reward there. Hire people everywhere to look for you.”
Snake beamed, his goatee raised to the sky.
He jumped up from the bed and walked quickly to the door, "You sit here for now. I'll go discuss it with the eldest sister."
Xia Zuo looked around the simply furnished room, put away his money bag, found his cloth bag on the table, and leaned his broken crutch quietly against the corner.
Not long after, Snake left and returned, with the eldest sister behind him.
She is taller than Snake, estimated to be 1.9 meters tall.
She has plump curves and a tall figure, somewhat strong but still feminine and graceful.
The skin is a healthy wheat color, the face is beautiful, the lips are as full as bright flower stamens, the expression is old-fashioned and serious, but the eyes when looking at Xia Zuo are very soft, and the whole person contains the charm of wildness and affinity.
Her upper body is a dark brown sleeveless leather armor. When the two arms swing, vague muscle lines will be shown. The lower body is wearing tight leather pants with a skirt, and a circle of small throwing knives is tied to both sides of the thighs.
"This is our eldest sister, the leader of the circus, Audrey."
The joy on Snake's face disappeared, and concern appeared instead, and he said in a low voice:
"Little guy, I have to tell you some bad news... After you disappeared, your hometown and surrounding villages were plundered by bandits... No one survived. When the rescue cavalry arrived, there were only charred houses left. and corpses.”
Xia Zuo instantly felt an inexplicable pain in his heart. Two lines of tears flowed from his eyes. A sad sigh came from his body, and immediately something completely left his body.
"Thank you for saving me, but... where should I go next..." Xia Zuo wiped away his tears, and the strange sadness was quickly dissipating from his heart.
"What would you order? Xia Zuo."
Audrey crossed her arms and stared at the boy, "This town has a tavern, a blacksmith shop, and a stable. If you are diligent, it is not difficult to find a job."
In his previous life, he was used to living alone, so Xia Zuo knew a lot.
He wiped the tears off his face with his sleeves and counted with his fingers, "What I'm good at is cooking. I'm good at frying, roasting, stir-frying, and stewing. I'm good at math and can also manage accounts. I’m very nimble with my hands and feet and learn things quickly.”
"Oh? You can count and keep accounts?"
Audrey took out a wad of crumpled paper from her pocket, "Can you help me see what's wrong with these bills?"
Xia Zuo spread the paper on the bed and looked at it one by one.
Above are the daily expenses and income of the circus.
Mainly records the cost of purchasing supplies.
From the cloth to the boards and nails used to repair the carriages to the props consumed by the various actors during their performances, these trivial data were recorded haphazardly.
As for the income, I simply counted the coins in the money box after the performance and recorded them on paper.
"Sister, if there is nothing wrong with the material prices on these bills, the weird thing is that the income and expenditure do not match up."
Xia Zuo took the paper in question and stood in front of Audrey. It took a lot of effort to make the other party realize what the problem was.
"Of course, eldest sister. You have to know that this problem may be caused by irregular accounting."
Xia Zuo looked up at Audrey, who was three or four heads taller than him, and said with pleading eyes:
"I'm willing to help the circus handle the chores. If you let me manage the ledger, I promise not to touch those coins."
His desire to stay in the circus came after some consideration.
During her coma, Audrey's conversation with Vers revealed her kind and principled side. This is one of the reasons.
Secondly, the hometown of Xia Zuo's body was invaded by bandits, but the wandering circus was fine, which shows that the members are all really capable.
Let's not talk about why Snake can control the green snake. Audrey's size and momentum, as well as the small flying knife with a cold light on her leg, can give people a complete sense of security.
It is much better to travel around with the circus to increase your knowledge and learn some skills that can not only protect yourself but also make a living, rather than working in a small place.
When you wander to a place you like in the future, it won’t be too late to consider putting down roots.
Audrey was a little hesitant, but there was a look of approval in her eyes, "You go to the hotel kitchen to cook a table of specialty dishes first. I have to discuss it with the other members."
"Sister, I'll take him to the kitchen."
Snake took the boy's arm and walked out of the room and whispered:
"Can you make vinegar-pork cubes? Make one for the little green snake too."