The Wandering Life of Little Blackie

[Period] [Ensemble Cast] [Not a Wish-Fulfillment Story] [Self-Redemption] On the day he turned one month old, a swaddled baby boy was sent to another family. His adoptive parents said an unfortunate name would help him thrive, so they gave him a name that cut deep: Li Heigou. Like a scar, the name stayed with him from childhood into his teens. When his younger brother was born, he became the one the family could do without. There was one fewer bowl at the dinner table, and one more “You were picked up off the street” whenever he was scolded. When he was ten, his adoptive parents used a trip to the provincial capital for New Year as an excuse to abandon him at an unfamiliar station. He escaped some bad people through quick thinking and a good memory, only to be met with even colder faces afterward. At thirteen, he left that “home” for good and began living on the streets. Under bridges and in abandoned buildings, he found a skinny little girl who had also been abandoned and had nowhere to go. From then on, they shared a threadbare quilt and split half a steamed bun. He called her “little sister,” and she called him “big brother.” No matter how hard life got, he never broke. He gave himself a new name: Li Qingfeng. The wind was free, and clarity meant being untainted. He sent his sister to school, worked odd jobs, and learned to read by streetlight at night. Later, he ran a street stall, learned a trade, and opened a little shop, moving forward one step at a time until he turned the muddy road beneath his feet into a smooth path. The boy once called “Heigou” was never forced into the dirt by fate. He faced the wind and grew into his own light.