Someone reported the incident and the police came to handle the bodies. Once everything settled down, everyone was still sighing. This event spread to various places and became a topic of gossip over meals.
As time passed, no one would remember them.
And they had never lived in the memories of others.
Later, Fu Yuling learned about it during a conversation with Mother Fu in the courtyard when she casually mentioned it.
“Mom, where are you talking about?”
Fu Yuling suddenly stood up, her expression serious.
Mother Fu was unaware of what had happened and repeated her words, “It’s about a beggar in town who supposedly had over a dozen children. In the end, he lost everything in a fire.”
Mother Fu couldn’t help but lament, “Those children were so unfortunate, so young.”
Fu Yuling couldn’t bear to listen any longer. She wanted to step outside. However, this incident had occurred days ago.
She recalled the beggar’s words, urging her not to return.
Only at this moment did she remember how resolute his expression was at that time.
Now, she realized it was already a bit too late.
Suddenly, she felt a heavy weight in her heart. Over ten lives had just disappeared like that, and the final straw was never truly the last one. It was all the accumulated burdens that had never been released.
Do good people really receive good rewards? The answer to this question has never been certain.
But in this case, Fu Yuling saw no reward for goodness. Clearly, the beggar’s adoptive father had a mental breakdown because he lost his child to this world. He tried to take a child from a trafficker to raise on his own. But in the end, it was the parents of the child he had saved who beat him to death.
As for the beggar, it seemed he only had one reason for staying alive in this world, and that was his adoptive father.
At that moment, when the person who raised him was suddenly gone, it was as if he had been locked in a room with only one light. That light was everything to him, but one day it went out. He didn’t know what to do. Unable to continue such a life, he chose to give up.
Fu Yuling sat back down. She thought about how long the beggar must have considered things before leaving. He loved those children the most. How could he bear to take them away from this world before they even grew up?
It was unclear whether he had come to terms with it in the end, but in any case, he would not come back.
A person’s life contains many stories belonging to others, but the beggar’s tale was particularly tragic, as well as being one of the most ordinary moments that made people reflect at a certain time.
The large tree in the small courtyard still had lush green leaves. He Wen was in the room reading a book. He Qiu and He An were in Fu Yuling’s room studying herbs. He Xuan was imitating the animals he had seen for Father Fu, making even the otherwise unsmiling Father Fu break into a smile.
For several days, Father Fu and Mother Fu were still worried about Fu Yuling and insisted on coming early every day to stay until late before going home.
With Fu Yuling’s encouragement, they had already quit their previous jobs. Fu Qi’s daily earnings from breakfast were enough for their living. At their age, it was time to enjoy their lives.
Living in a small village, the residents were generally polarized. Those who were simple and honest were easily satisfied with living their lives, while the mean and ungrateful couldn’t stand to see anyone doing well, and the thick-skinned ones would intrude wherever possible.
But no matter what, these were all just one of the many parts of life.
