358 Chapter 12, the Boy on the Broom

The bumping of the truck on the dirt road gradually subsided, and a spiky old castle in the distance appeared in Hoffa's sight. But the truck didn't get too close to the castle, it just stopped about half a mile away.

Hoffa jumped out of the truck after Suzanne, and some peasant women picked up iron forks and started to work. They forked wheat and licorice from the truck, and the afternoon sun shone on them like gold.

Susanna took Hoffa and the girl on foot through a field of oleanders, and came to a meadow, where there were rows of small wooden houses, which looked very simple.

"My sister lives here when the farming is busy. If you mind, I can call her out." Susannah said, pointing to one of the wooden houses whose chimney was smoking.

"Of course I don't mind, thank you Suzanne, but please give us a quieter environment."

After finishing speaking, the girl gave Hoffa a very warning look. She came forward with a pocket watch and knocked on the door of the wooden house. Soon, the people inside invited her in.

Hoffa looked at the wooden house in front of him outside, and said with some confusion: "Why don't you live by the river anymore, isn't it more convenient to live like that?"

Susanna lowered her head and said sadly, "If you live in the village and you don't have enough people, you won't earn enough money to pay for Arthur's tuition. You know, the school takes money very much now."

She kicked the stones on the ground, paused, and said: "All the old people in the village went to Sheffield and other cities, where they can find jobs. My sister and I have a domestic job there. The rich do the housework."

Hoffa felt a heaviness coming from Susannah's mouth, something he had never really felt before, but it was so clear at this moment that it made him speechless.

But the girl in front of her didn't feel sad for too long. She kicked Hoffa's foot and said with a smile, "You are so lucky. If we didn't just come back from the busy farming season, you wouldn't be able to find us at all."

Hoffa also smiled and said: "I actually thought I couldn't find you, but she told me there were car marks on the ground, and she said that you must be all there. I found you."

Susanna snickered: "No wonder, your girlfriend is really amazing."

Hoffa was stunned: "What? What girlfriend, do you mean female friends or that kind of relationship?"

"Otherwise. Hoffa, what are you thinking?"

Suzanne was surprised, and she made an intimate gesture with two thumbs: "Of course it refers to that kind of relationship."

Hoffa shivered, from head to toe, he repeatedly waved his hands in denial: "No, no, no, no, I don't have that kind of relationship with her."

"Then what is your relationship with her?"

Susanna asked curiously: "It can't be siblings.

"Of course not, she has a brother, I just."

Hoffa couldn't continue, his tongue was tied up, and his brain started to hurt again. This time the pain was not severe, but it was like a blunt knife cutting flesh, bit by bit, gradually getting worse, pressing him in an invisible cutting board repeatedly. His face was pale, he bit his lip slowly, and clenched his fists.

Suzanne didn't know that the teenager beside her had been eroded by the pain. She was still talking beside Hoffa: "You know, there are not many men in this area now. My sister is actually lucky, and my brother-in-law returned it to her before he left." They have left offspring. There are many girls who can’t get married after they reach their age. This is the worst thing. Even in Sheffield, there are more women than men. If this continues, God knows what will happen.”

Hoffa's headache became more and more severe. Even a simple conversation made his mouth feel heavy. He could hardly hear the other person's words: "What are you talking about?"

"Is it the same in London?"

"I don't know. I. I. Didn't stay long in London."

Hoffa stammered.

"If you have nothing to go, can you stay?"

Susannah asked suddenly.

Even with the headache, Hoffa still looked at her in surprise.

At this moment, uncontrollable weeping came from inside the wooden house.

Hearing the crying, Suzanne was a little anxious, and she said to Hoffa, "Sorry, I have to comfort my sister."

Suzanne disappeared into the cabin, and Hoffa was supposed to go in with her, but he suffered from a severe headache. Unbearable, he staggered to a beech tree in the grass, bumped his head against the tree trunk, and tried to Use this to relieve pain. However, the impact was futile. A simple question from Suzanne dragged him into the abyss. The severe pain blocked his connection with memory, as if this was the only way to keep him in a state of amnesia.

In pain, he finally sat down helplessly against the beech, stuck his fingers in his hair, gritted his teeth and moaned, "Oh my God. What did I do? To torture me like this"

At this time, the sound of children playing and chasing and beating came from a distance. Several children about ten years old were playing and playing in the bushes, and they appeared in Hoffa's sight. One of the children was very conspicuous. When the other children were running with their legs, he was riding on a broken broom, running happily at the front, laughing while running.

Hoffa leaned against the tree, his face was as pale as a sheet of paper, watching a few children fighting, they were fighting for a ball.

The ball fell from the sky and landed on the grass not far from the beech. When the boy on the broom went to grab the ball, he saw Hoffa leaning against the beech and couldn't help being stunned.

After a while, other children gathered around and looked at Hoffa from afar together. Hoffa in pain kept silent, praying that no one would bother him, and now he didn't want to communicate with anyone at all.

But contrary to expectations, the boy on the broom jumped off the broom, came to Hoffa with the broom in one hand and the ball in the other, and looked at him curiously.

"You seem a little uncomfortable."

The boy said, "Sir, your complexion is really terrible."

Hoffa forced a smile and sighed internally.

"Are you having diarrhea?"

"It hurts when I have diarrhea too," the boy asked.

It's more than just diarrhea, Hoffa thought, he probably has diarrhea.

At this time, seeing that nothing was wrong, the other children bravely gathered around. Seeing Hoffa's face, they all chattered.

"This gentleman is injured." A little boy said.

"It may also be sick." A little girl said.

"What should I do if I'm sick? Go to the doctor."

"But there is no doctor here."

"Who says there is no doctor, Arthur, don't you brag that you are a doctor?"

"I'm not bragging!" the boy with the broom said angrily, "You forgot that I cured your little goat."

"Come on, my mother said that you are a blind cat and a dead mouse."

"Your mother is talking nonsense!"

"No nonsense!"

"Just talking nonsense!"

"No nonsense!"

"Okay, okay, stop arguing!" said a little girl: "It's time to test whether Arthur is bragging. If you can cure this gentleman, then it's not bragging."

Unconvinced, the kid named Arthur threw the broom and the ball to a boy beside him, pointed to his companion and said, "I'll show you today, am I bragging!"

After speaking, he stretched out his hand to pull Hoffa on the ground. Hoffa's headache was gone, and his head was buzzing even after being disturbed by these children.

"Excuse me, little brothers, let me sit alone for a while," he said.

"No, you are too sick, I will take you to treatment!"

The boy said seriously.

Hoffa couldn't laugh or cry, what happened. Why did people want to be his doctor wherever he went.

A group of children pushed Hoffa and pulled him up from under the beech. Due to the pain, Hoffa's body almost lost consciousness. He was pulled by several children and walked forward in a strange way.

A group of people staggered to a bush, where a simple stove was piled up with stones, and some firewood was piled on the ground. When they came here, those giggling boys and girls became serious, as if the stove had some magical authority.

The boy holding Hoffa let go and began to order the other boys and girls, and some of them picked leaves, some picked berries, some even dug in the mud.

Hoffa sat slumped on the grass, watching the group of children busy around him.

After a while, the children who collected the raw materials returned.

The boy named Arthur built a fire, and he pressed the leaves on the slate and ground them with stones, and added berries and mud to them with great interest. After he finished adding, he put the stone slab on the fire to heat it. After the heating was completed, he secretly took out a tin can that he dug out from nowhere, and carefully poured the steaming mush into it.

Finally, he held the can in front of Hoffa with both hands, "Sir, drink it, this will cure your disease."

He was so serious that Hoffa was taken aback.

"What's this?"

He pointed to the mud and leaves in the can and asked vaguely.

"It's medicine."

said the boy Arthur.

His companions snickered.

But Arthur didn't smile, he said in Hoffa's ear: "This is a magic potion, it can cure any disease."

magic

Hoffa's eyes suddenly widened. Regardless of his headache, he grabbed the boy's shoulders and asked loudly, "Have you ever seen magic?"

The boy quickly covered Hoffa's mouth, and whispered mysteriously: "Shh, the magic won't work if you speak it! Sir."

Horrified, Hoffa remained silent.

"Drink, sir."

the boy urged.

Hoffa swallowed his saliva, and then, under the expectant eyes of a group of children, he sent the can to his mouth, and pretended to take a sip. He put down the glass slowly, and saw seven or eight pairs of sparkling eyes around him, those eyes looked at him expectantly like a pair of little stars.

"How is it, is it better?" the boy asked.

Still have a headache. But Hoffa nodded slowly.

"It's much better," he said. "Thank you so much."

Alas!

His words made the group of children excited.

I say it works! The boy Arthur waved his fist excitedly.

Other children gathered around him, cheering and celebrating as if they had discovered some treasure.

I don't know if it's Fa's illusion, but looking at this group of cheering children, Hoffa felt that his headache really eased a little.