death of hope

Chapter 157 "Corporate Warrior" (73) Rural Boy

"Here, soldier, look."

The little boy opened layers of nesting dolls with his chapped skin and arranged them neatly in a row from big to small.
The varnish covered with carved wood gave off a peculiar smell,
Each matryoshka is meticulously crafted and beautifully painted. Handicrafts of this appearance can be sold at a good price on an economically developed planet.

After confirming the safety, Sigurdriefa lowered the muzzle of the gun and closed the safety:

"Okay, little guy, you can come here."

"Handsome soldier... can I... touch your armor? Just one touch, okay?"

"Touch whatever you want."

"Thank you!"

The little boy ran over excitedly, and stretched out his dirty little hands. The opponent was too tall, and he could only touch the lobster carapace-like armor on his abdomen:
"Oops... I'm burnt to death!"

"Hahaha! Yes!"

Sigurdriefa was amused by the child, feeling like a bouncing little monkey, innocent and cute:

"It's scalded, the outer layer of the armor has absorbed too much heat, it can fry eggs."

"Ouch... Ouch! It's hot!" The little boy sucked his dirty fingers, not caring about the bacteria on them:

"It burns me to death...but it's really handsome! I want to serve for the Federation Corps when I grow up!"

"Silly boy, I'm not a federal soldier, a corporate soldier, or an employee of a private enterprise."

"It doesn't matter, the equipment is cool enough and dazzling enough. That's right, handsome soldier, why does your voice sound like Transformers in cartoons?"

"Well, the microphone in the helmet has translation and voice-changing functions to prevent identity disclosure."

"Awesome! This is too sci-fi! I... I can try wearing your helmet..."

This request is obviously a serious violation of the safety rules, and Sigurdriefa knows that she should drive this naughty and curious brat away.

But somehow, maybe it's the maternal emotions engraved in DNA that are at work,

She couldn't show any malice towards the child in front of her, it was related to the dream of a country boy,

She took off her helmet, her short pale blond hair and silver-gray eyes shining brightly in the hot sun.

The little boy was stunned:

"Good guy... I thought there was a strong man in the armor... I didn't expect... it was a big sister...

You are so tall... so beautiful!Much prettier than my older sister! "

"Hmph, brat, you've learned to be afraid of flattery before your hair grows!"

"I'm telling the truth."

"You...you have honey on your little mouth, boy, don't become a scumbag when you grow up! Here's your helmet, hold it, don't dirty the lining!"

"Thank you!" The boy happily took the helmet, wiped the snot on his face with his sleeve, and put it on carefully:

"My God! It's so flashy! My head is dizzy... There are some words and... data in front of me..."

"That is the HUD individual helmet mask display system, which is very useful in fighting."

"It's too complicated... I don't understand... I thought it would be fun..." The boy's voice was a little disappointed.

"Little guy, if you want to be a soldier, you have to be brave and ruthless. You have to learn knowledge well to operate these high-tech equipment."

"Well! I will study hard!"

The little boy took off his helmet and smiled contentedly:

"Thank you, big sister."

Sigurdriefa took back the helmet, didn't put it on, and put it aside,
She knelt down, picked up the boy's little hand and looked at it, and the boy's little face became flushed.

"Hey, little guy, are you still embarrassed?"

"Big sister... your hair... smells so good..."

"It's just shampoo and fragrance...industrial products, what's the smell, you little brat...you will definitely become a pervert when you grow up!"

"Hey, my dad said the same thing!"

"How old are you?"

"I'm 11 years old!"

"11 years old...why are you still so short? And you have so many calluses and chilblains on your hands? Farm work is hard..."

"My mother said that the lack of growth is due to the lack of meat and dairy products. As for the scars on the hands... it is not from doing farm work."

"Oh?"

"My father, my mother and my old sister are all busy in the plastic shed,

I was too young to do farm work. Occasionally, I was selected by a warlord to work in a factory far away. There was no heating, it was very cold, and I was prone to frostbite. The edges of the parts were sharp. My hands were cut many times, leaving scar. "

"Let the children... go to work in the factory?" Sigdrifa was shocked.

"Yes, what's so strange, they say that children's hands are dexterous and suitable for delicate work, such as soldering circuit boards."

"This is child labor, it's illegal!"

"I'm not hired, I'm just helping out. I'm going to work in a factory. If I do well, the warlord's grain requisition team will leave some surplus food for my family."

"It's not hiring...it's blatant exploitation...kidnapping!"

Sigurdriefa was furious and murderous. She remembered the atrocities she had seen at Starport before, her fists clenched so hard that her joints rattled, and she wished she could swallow these scumbags alive.

"Big sister... your expression... so scary..."

"I'm sorry... I scared you, kid. You are so thin and weak. The food at home must be very tight. It was all taken away by the warlord's food collection team, right?"

"It's okay... I have nothing to complain about... Our family's conditions are considered good. My father said that our family can be regarded as a rich peasant on Kurmat Star!"

"It's just your tattered clothes... your shoes are showing your toes... your body is underdeveloped, and you are still a rich peasant."

"Don't look down on people, big sister, other people's conditions are even worse,

The three members of Sister Janet's family were so hungry that they could only beg for food. Even in a disaster year, my family did not go hungry!It's just that the diet is monotonous and lacks nutrition. "

The boy compared his chin with his thumb, his proud expression was fleeting, and soon turned into a sad expression;
"However, my family's harvest is not very good this year.
But fortunately, the cellar in my house is well stored, and I have fooled the warlord grain requisition team, so there is no problem to survive the winter!Now the worrying problem is that the old sister can't get married. "

"You're only 11 years old, so your older sister isn't that old either."

"She just celebrated her 15th birthday."

"You're going to get married at the age of 15?"

"Is there anything wrong? You outsiders are really making a fuss. Our village is considered an adult at the age of [-] or [-]. I will be able to marry a wife in a few years!"

Speaking of which, the boy sneaked a glance at Sigurdriefa's chest, then quickly looked away, and his ears became rosy.

"Your sister should go to school."

"My father said that it is useless for girls to study,

Anyway, I will marry and have children in the future and become a housewife. Besides, my elder sister is not as beautiful as your elder sister,
The harvest has not been good in the past few years, and my father is anxious to marry her off, so that the family can have one less mouth waiting to be fed. "

Sigurdriefa frowned and muttered in a low voice, "Hey... really... The more backward the place, the lower the status of women..."

The boy didn't seem to hear it, and continued to talk on his own:

"Old sister, she has low looks, poor figure, and violent temper. She has failed many blind dates.
Finally, a little brother from a neighboring village fell in love with her, and almost killed my father, saying that the bastard saw mung beans, and finally saw the right eye!
In order to prepare the dowry, my mother sleeps less than two hours a day, and uses tree roots to make some painted matryoshka dolls, hoping to sell them to you foreigners. "

"That's it... That's why you risked your way through the minefield and came here to sell nesting dolls..."

"Yes, but I have a stupid mouth and can't speak beautiful words. I haven't sold any of them for a long time, and my sister Danni in my village is especially good at selling!

She is cute and has a clever mouth,

She sold a whole big basket of oranges today!When she sees engineers or workers, she praises them for being handsome,

Those outsiders are so beautiful, they immediately paid for oranges, and when they peeled and ate, the flesh was all sour. Their expressions were so simple, those who didn’t know thought they had eaten lemons. "

"Haha...Little guy, your words are really funny. Let's emigrate to other planets to host talk shows in the future."

"Oh! I'm taking out my bag! Are you going to buy something from me?"

Sigurdriefa took out a crumpled banknote from his tactical pocket,
For a miser like her, it takes a lot of determination to spend money on non-essentials, and she thinks it is necessary for her to help the boy in front of her:

"Tell your mother, the nesting dolls she made are very cute, sister, I want to buy two collections, is this enough money?"

"Ah... this!"

Although the boy couldn't recognize a few words, he saw the number 100 on the banknote, and then glanced at the metal anti-counterfeiting thread next to the federal emblem to confirm that it was not a counterfeit currency, so he couldn't help swallowing:
"Big sister...you really want to buy it, you're not kidding me, are you?"

"Silly boy! I won't buy any more nonsense!"

"Thank... thank you for your patronage!
But...you have such a large denomination bill...I can't find it...I only have a few 50-cent steel coins in my pocket...Even if I sell all five dolls to you, I still can't find it ah……"

"You don't need to look for it, I will give it to your sister as a dowry."

"Oh! You're a rich man! You're a man! You're generous!"

"Come on, silly boy, pat the horse's neck with flattery,
I'm notoriously poor, miserly... I still have a lot of money, take the money and leave quickly, don't be robbed by adults,

The captain will scold me to death if he sees me chatting with civilians without a helmet. "

"Thank you!" The boy wiped the matryoshka with a handkerchief and wrapped it up. He wanted to take a step, but he was a little reluctant:
"You are so kind! Big sister... can I... kiss your cheek..."

Sigdrifa was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and lifted the boy off the ground:
"You little pervert, it's really rude to make such a request with a strange woman! But, it's okay to do it the other way around."

She closed her eyes and kissed the boy's forehead lightly, feeling the manic heartbeat of the boy.

When he was put on the ground, the boy made a decision and didn't wash his face for a month.

"Big sister, what's your name?"

"Sigdrifa."

"Oh... such a retro name, it reminds me of the Valkyrie in mythology."

"What about you?"

"My name is Karl! Karl from Cellar Well Village!"

The little boy ran away bouncing around with an empty backpack.

(End of this chapter)