C10 CHAPTER 10

The breeze was blowing heavily and the weather was so cold. The ground was so wet like rain just fell but not and there were waters on the leaves falling on the floor.

Xiu ying know as Mother commander was feeling code seriously because of where she was living. She folded her legs and her hands together, used a long tore cloth to cover her body and moved closed to the wall to keep her warm. The small candle that she light in her room couldn't keep the room warm at all.

Xiu Ying's uncle's wife got down from the bed with a very think blanket wrapped all over her body and left the bedroom going to her children's room to check on them and greeted 'Good morning'.

Sound of the door opened and closed. The two children slept in the same room and with a big blanket wrapped all over there bodies. It was big five candle that was hanged round the room and light to keep the room warm.

"Good morning Mom!" The female greeted when the male was moaning on the bed and angry for interrupted his sleep.

"I am so sorry my Son! Just came to greet you, are you feeling cold and can you go to school? Because I see that the weather is too cold------"

"Right mom! I am not going anywhere!" The boy said, wrapped the blanket over his body and continued sleeping.

"Same here mom! I am feeling cold seriously!" Said with low voice, their mother was rubbing her face like she was a baby. With the candles in the room there were still a serious cold mean where Xin Ying was, was worst.

"Sorry my daughter! I will go and prepare tea for you now!"

"It will good Mom!" The girl said. Their mother stood up and leaving the room, sound of the door closed as she left.

She got down to the compound of the house, wrapped the blanket very well. Used it to cover her shoulders very well and going to the backyard where Mother commander was.

She removed the plank that she put at the entrance and entered, saw Xiu ying shifting, moving her legs closer and pushing her body to the wall. She looked at Xiu with bad and hatred face and using her leg to wake her up.

"Hey! Hey! Bitch, what is happening to you? Don't you know that you should have wake up by this time!" Mother commander quickly stood up as she heard her voice from her sleeping and shifting.

"Am sorry ma! I am feeling cold seriously and no light here to keep the place warm. I came to your apartment several times in midnight maybe you could allow me in but it's like you don't hear at all!" Said with low voice.

"What is now my own if you are feeling cold! Why all this stories. God serve you that I don't wake up or distracted my sleep because of this, if not I will have deal with you madly. Still allowing you to be living in this house don't you know it's a great opportunity for you, if I have sent you to your father and he had killed you. You won't have the gut to be complaining that you are feeling any cold!"

"I am sorry Ma!" Said with low voice and felt bad.

"Stand up now! Go in there and prepare a light tea for my children to keep their bodies warm and after that clean the entire house and cook yam with fresh fish soup for us!"

"If I see anything or drop of my water inside there in your mouth, you are dead. I use water as example for you to know how really I mean it!" Mother commander looked at her and didn't say anything just stood up and going out.

Folded her two hands together and walking slowly. Her cloth had have holes round which gave cold changes to enter her body. Her uncle's wife looked at her with bad eye and didn't paint her at all.

As Xiu ying entered the living room, she separated her hands and very happy that she entered a warm place. With the difference of the cold in her room and here, for her it was like there was no cold inside at all because it was like two different places.

Xin ying entered the kitchen, took a kettle under a table there and poured water inside it. Put a leaf inside it and which was their local tea and left on it the fire. She took their local broom and started cleaning the kitchen, arranging it and sweeping it out.

As she finished sweeping the kitchen, the tea had done. Poured it inside two mugs, put them on a small tray and left the kitchen, taking it to the room when her uncle's wife met her as she was coming from her room.

"Did I order you to go and give it to them, you this stupid girl! You just want to barged in and wake them up for me, give it to me!" She collected it from her hand.

"I told you to let it light! See how think it's. If it's not that my lovely children have been waiting for it, I will have sent you out to go and get money and buy tea for them!" Xiu ying was just looking at her and didn't say anything.

"Leave this place now and go and do what I ordered you to cook as breakfast for me and my children!" Mother commander turned back and going to the kitchen.

As she entered the kitchen, she took the broom and got out to the compound in the cold and started sleeping all the entire place round. Her hands had froze with cold but still struggled to sweep it on time so that she could go and cook.

After few minutes. She finished sweeping the floor and went to drop the broom inside the kitchen, took a big bowl and left the kitchen. Walked to a corner beside the kitchen, put the bowl down on the floor and trying to bring out fish inside a big bowl that they were using to bridge them and with water full it.

The water had really got cold, so she was just trying to bring it. Cleaning her hand with cloth when she brought one out.

"So this is where you are! Doing like frog because you will take some fish that you will cook!" Her uncle's wife said as she walked closer to her.

"Put your hands inside it! Lazy girl" put Xin Ying's two hands inside the cold water and without allowing her own hands to enter it because she knows how cold the water was.

"Be fast with whatever you are doing! My children are hungry, spending times because you want to take a fish!" Hissed and left the place.

Xiu ying was crying and remembering her uncle. She took the fish that she could need and went back to the kitchen, she put the fish inside the pot and put it on fire. Poured all the necessary things inside it and sat down on the floor, put her hands under her cloth and feeling cold. She was crying and flashed back.

×××××

Her uncle entered her room with foods inside a tray, put it on a table and waking Xiu ying up. She was stil at the age of ten years old then, she opened her eye from the blanket with smile and looking at her uncle.

"My daughter! I see that it's cold and you will have been feeling cold so I prepared tea for you and your favourite paper soap fish!" Sitting down beside her on the chair.

"Thank you very Father!" He first gave the tea to her and put the food on the bed at the front of her.

"I cook it personally only for you and didn't care it's cold outside. I know you will enjoy it!" Smiling at her, he loves her so much as he loves Xiu Ying's mother.

"I love it father! Do you cook for my siblings too?"

"They have mother that will take care of them and she has been doing that Okay! It my responsibility to take care of you too since my sister had been late!"

"Thank you very much father! I love you!"

"I love you too! Eat fast and dress for school Okay!" He said and stood up, going out. It was only mother commander that just started schooling then.

Few minutes later. Xiu ying had done dressing for school and got down to the living room, met his father standing there and he had been waiting for her. He carried her and put her inside a think cloth that he did like carrier on his neck and covered all Xiu Ying's body.

"I don't want you to experience how much the cold is outside at all, so I am going to take you to school like this and came to carry you like this again after closing. Let start going!" Xiu ying came back from the flash back.

"I missed you father! I missed you!!" Said with loud voice. She stood up after few minutes and continued cooking.

After some minutes. She finished cooking the yam and fish soup, served it inside two different big plates put them inside a middle tray and put three small ceramic bowls beside it for eating. She took it out and took it to the living room, put it on the table at the front of her uncle's wife and left the house.

She got down to the compound and went to her place. Arranged her room very well and took a bowl on the table. She went to the back of her small house, opened a bucket that was there and started taking her bath. Bathing together with the rag cloth on her body.

She ran to her room after few minutes, changed to another cloth among the three clothes that she had and dry that one. She dry her hair and left the house.

She entered the market side asually, looking at everywhere and finding a place to seat. She sat down at the front of a small restaurant, shaking feeling code and begging for aim or could see any job to do just to be able to eat. The owner of the shop came out as he saw her shifting and he was an old man just managing the restaurant to live.

"What are you doing outside young lady in this very cold weather and not wearing a think cloth! Do you see anybody outside like this!" Felt consigned about her health.

"I am really feeling cold and hungry! And I don't have any money to tea just to drink for the cold first, so that is why I am sitting here for aim!" Said with sadness.

"If I am disturbing you or won't allow your customers to come, I can leave!" Folding her hands together.

"Come inside! Come with me!! Sitting in this cold weather is not good for your health!" Xiu ying stood and followed the man in, rubbing her hands inside the cloth.

The man offered her a seat at a corner and she sat down looking at everywhere. The man put tea on the table for her.

"I don't have any money to pay you Sir!"

"I give you for free!" Xiu ying took the tea and drunk everything once like a mad man.

"Thank you very much!" Showed her appreciation after drunk the tea and felt hot a little bit.

The man put food on the table for her and with another tea, mother commander showed her appreciation and started eating like a mad man. The man really felt sorry for her.

"Eat it slowly my lady!" The man said and looking at her.

"Beg for aim before eating, can't help you. Will you like to be working here with it, I will be giving you food every day and be paying you wages!" Food poured from Xiu Ying's mouth.

"I accept! Thank you very much Sir!" Said nervously.

"You are Welcome! Not much just to be supporting me, this is a small place half through all but just to help you!"

"Thank you very much Sir! Am not eating again, I can start working right now, what do what me to do?" She was very nervous and happy.

"No! Eat and relax for today. Anytime! Any day you can come and start, Okay!" Said with low voice.

"Okay Sir!" Mother commander said and continue eating