Following Rick's directions, she continued to walk forward, passing more than a dozen shops. She stopped and looked around, trying to find a friendly-looking person to ask. At this time, she saw an old lady in front of her selling corn cakes, so she walked over and asked in a low voice, "Grandma, can you give me a few shillings?"
The old lady was a little hard of hearing and couldn't hear what Uwa said, "What did you say?"
Uwa had to repeat it once, and this time the old lady heard it, "Little girl, I can only earn seven or eight shillings a day, and you want several shillings at once, where can I get it?"
Uwa continued to walk forward, disappointed. After a few steps, the old lady called her from behind, "Little girl, please walk slowly, take a cake to eat on the way!"
Uwa happily took it. She was so hungry that she took a bite. But thinking of Rick, she broke the cake in half, wanting to leave half for him to eat. The cake was not big, and it was gone in two bites. After eating, she continued to walk forward. There was a little girl of six or seven sitting in front of a shop not far away. She walked up to her and asked, "Can you give me some shillings?"
The little girl was frightened by her voice and thought she was a robber. She turned around and ran into the house to take out a money box, and then tremblingly handed it to Uwa. Uwa didn't know how much there was, but she saw that the box was full of shillings. She happily took it and thanked her. The little girl was startled again and said, "I have given it all to you, there is no more."
Uwa thought that this should be enough, so she turned around and walked back. Just after walking a dozen steps, a man behind her shouted, "Stop, thief! Don't run."
Uwa thought it was someone else, so she didn't take it seriously and continued to walk forward. When a big hand patted her shoulder, she turned around and asked, "Sir, what do you want?"
"Huh!" the man was surprised when he heard the voice and thought he had found the wrong person. But when he saw the box in Uwa's hand, his face immediately darkened, "You are quite courageous, you stole something and still dare to walk around in a swagger."
"Steal something?" Uwa was confused and looked innocent. Just as she was about to explain, the man snatched the box from her hand and raised his hand to punch her. With a "pop" sound, he hit her nose. Blood spurted out immediately, and she fell to the ground. She widened her eyes and was terrified. People on the street gathered around to watch the commotion. Everyone talked about it and said that thieves should be severely punished. Hearing these words, the man became more emboldened and kicked her a few more times. Uwa instinctively curled up and didn't shout. The man vented his anger, cursed a few more times, and then turned and walked away. The people around him dispersed when they saw that there was nothing exciting to watch.
Uwa wiped the blood off her face with her hand and slowly stood up. Then she remembered the gathering time and quickly found someone to ask, and the other person replied, "It's ten-fifteen now."
Ten-fifteen, not ten o'clock. She felt that she still had time to go shopping. She walked through several more shops, but still found nothing. It was already eleven o'clock. Why wasn't it ten o'clock yet? Thinking of this, she rushed to the meeting point, but when she got there, she found that the car had already left.
What should she do now? She was the only one left. She stood there blankly, not knowing what to do. After a long time, she moved her steps and walked forward aimlessly. Many shops on both sides of the street were closed. At this time, she passed by the shop of the old lady who had given her the cake just now. Seeing that the old lady was packing up the stall, she hurried over to help.
The other party recognized her and asked, "Why are you still here? Aren't you going home?"
Uwa hesitated and said, "I missed the car and now I have nowhere to go, can you take me in?"
The old lady sympathized with her and readily agreed. After the two of them packed up, they went into the store and closed the door. The old lady said, "I'll sleep in the store, it's a bit crowded. I hope you don't mind."
The store was indeed small. There were several bags of corn and flour in the corner, two old pots next to them, and several bags of different spices hanging on the wall. The old lady lifted a piece of cloth, and a single bed appeared in front of her. She pointed at the bed and said, "This bed can barely sleep two people. We can only make do with it tonight."
Uwa waved her hand, "You sleep on the bed, and I'll sleep on the floor."
The old lady persuaded her a few words, and seeing that she was very determined, she had to give up. Tired for a day, the old lady lay on the bed and went to sleep. Uwa also found a flat place to lie down. She carefully took out the half-crushed cake in her arms. She wanted to take a bite, but she held back when she thought of Rick. A night passed like this.
The next morning, she woke up from her sleep and saw that the old lady had already gotten up. She also got up in a hurry. The old lady smiled and said, "Little girl, you don't have to get up so early. I get up early because I'm old."
Uwa also smiled. She could feel her friendliness. The old lady opened the door and prepared for a day's business. The two moved out the pots and pans needed for the stall. After everything was packed up, the two sat down. The old lady asked, "Where is your home? Why did you come to this place?"
"I don't know, a man asked me to make money here and wait for my mother to pick me up."
"Which man?"
"The man in red clothes."
"Have you seen him before?"
"No."
The old lady understood everything when she heard this. She felt that the little girl was too naive and must have been deceived. But she had no way to help her. She didn't know where the little girl lived, and her shop couldn't afford to support more people. She could only sigh and say, "What are you going to do now?"
"I'm waiting for Rick, he will definitely come out to find me."
In this way, Uwa stayed in the old lady's shop for another two days. She would go to the gathering point several times a day. On the third night, she finally saw the dilapidated car again. Rick also got out of the car. When he saw Uwa, he asked in surprise, "You are still here?"
Uwa was so happy that she felt like she had seen a family. She took out half a cake from her arms and handed it over. "Here you go!"
"What is this? It smells," Rick asked with a look of disgust.
"This is a corn tortilla, very delicious," Uwa said.
Rick took it and smelled it, and looked at it again, and found that it was already a little moldy. He said angrily, "How dare you give me something bad to eat, you disgusting guy," then he threw the tortilla on the ground.
Uwa hurriedly bent down to pick it up. She patted the dirt on the tortilla and said distressedly, "It's delicious."
Rick didn't want to pay attention to her and turned away. Uwa was afraid that she would get lost again, so she immediately followed him. Rick saw her following behind and sneered in his heart. With this idiot following me, I can have a good rest tonight. He said to Uwa, "Have you seen your father?"
Uwa shook her head, and Rick's eyes flashed a strange light, and he smiled and said, "Then I'll take you to find your father, when you see him, hug his legs, then kneel down and beg him, and he will give you a lot of money."
"How do you know my father?" Uwa asked curiously.
"Of course I know him. I'm his good friend."
"Then why don't you ask him for money?"
Rick cursed inwardly. This girl had been out for two days and had gained extra wisdom. He could only continue to make up stories, "I asked him for money last time, this time it's your turn, you must hold on to him tightly and don't let go until he gives us money, this way we can rest for a few days."
"Okay! I'll listen to you, take me to find him."