Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 623 - 580 Guoguo’s Brother Rui (6)

Li Yuzhu smiled slightly, "No need to be polite, we all come from the village, meeting in the city makes us fellow townsfolk meeting each other, helping acquaintances is the right thing to do."

The two people thanked her profusely, repeatedly saying that if there was anything they needed in the future, they would definitely lend a hand.

Li Yuzhu smiled and said, "It’s getting late, we should be heading back, you all should go back too."

She waved to Yang Runsen and Wei San, and left the county government together with Li Xingmao and Li Lixing.

Li Lixing went home, while Li Xingmao drove the mule cart, taking Li Yuzhu and the two children back to Li Xing’an’s shop.

Behind the shop, there was a two-story building with several rooms where they could rest.

In the cart, Li Yuzhu supported Guoguo, staring intently at this little niece.

Guoguo also looked back at her.

Li Jing, curious, asked from the side, "Auntie, why are you staring at Guoguo like that?"

"Because Guoguo is very smart, neither your dad nor I heard anyone mentioning Xiang Gong, but Guoguo did. Guoguo has very sharp ears," Li Yuzhu praised Guoguo with a smile.

In the past, Guoguo would have smiled along with her.

However, today she did not smile; instead, she looked back at Li Yuzhu with some sadness.

Li Yuzhu pinched her little chin, hugged her in her arms, and lifted the curtain to look at the street view outside.

She always had a feeling that this little niece had the gift of foresight.

Often, she would suddenly say something seemingly incoherent but remarkably accurate.

She wanted to ask Guoguo about this foresight, but Guoguo was too young, and asking such profound questions left Guoguo bewildered, only staring blankly at her.

.

The matter with Yang Runsen and Wei San interrupted everyone’s plans, and they couldn’t bring the two children to play well.

The day after the case was concluded, Li Xingmao once again took Li Yuzhu and the two children out for fun.

Qingyang County is a small county town.

The liveliest market street in the county town consists of only two long streets, one horizontal and one vertical.

Li Xingmao drove the mule cart, taking Li Yuzhu and the two children strolling around the streets.

When seeing something fun or tasty, he would buy it.

He would also purchase items not available at home to bring back as gifts for everyone.

Unknowingly, Li Xingmao’s mule cart once again arrived at the tavern in front of Qian Hong Lou.

In front of the tavern, two young women in cool clothing were still waving to attract customers.

Guoguo leaned against the cart window, staring fixedly at the entrance of Qian Hong Lou.

Li Yuzhu followed her gaze, "Guoguo, what are you looking at?"

"Bad people." Guoguo shouted, pointing at the tavern of Qian Hong Lou, "Bad women."

Li Yuzhu looked towards Qian Hong Lou again and saw Ye Niangzi, the shopkeeper’s wife, getting off a sedan chair holding her waist and walking into the tavern.

Ye Niangzi was punished with twenty strokes by the County Magistrate yesterday, and she still had the strength to go out today?

"She truly is a bad woman, anyone trying to scam money is bad." Li Yuzhu patted Guoguo’s head.

Guoguo bit her lip, staring at Ye Niangzi until she disappeared into the tavern, then she retracted her gaze and leaned into Li Yuzhu’s arms.

Today no one disrupted them, and the shopping went smoothly. By lunchtime, the mule cart was loaded with half a cart of items.

There were both foods and toys.

After returning to the shop and having lunch with Li Xing’an and the others, Li Yuzhu and Li Xingmao took the two children to fly kites in the open space in the west suburbs of the county town.

With the items bought, Li Xingmao planned to return to the village the next day.

But that evening, Yang Runsen came to Li Xing’an’s shop.

Yang Runsen said he wanted to invite Li Xingmao and Li Yuzhu to his house for a meal the next day, to express gratitude for their great help.

Li Yuzhu said, "You’ve just arrived in the county town, not earning much yet, inviting us to a meal would cost money, let’s leave it for another time."

But Yang Runsen said, "Once you return to the village, who knows how long it’ll be before you come back to the county town. Although we have little money, we can still afford to invite you for a meal."

No matter what was said, Yang Runsen insisted on inviting Li Yuzhu and Li Xingmao, the siblings, for a meal.

Unwilling to refuse such hospitality, they had to agree.

The next morning, Li Yuzhu and Li Xingmao, bringing Guoguo and Li Jing, arrived at the small residence Yang Runsen mentioned.

Li Yuzhu observed her surroundings.

She found that it was quite far from the bustling market, located in a relatively remote area of the county town.

The nearby houses were all old and shabby houses aged many years.

Moreover, the houses weren’t large, with the biggest one being no more than a two-compound home.

The house Yang Runsen and Wei San rented had only one entrance. Opening the door presented a view of three main rooms.

The courtyard was cleaned and tidied meticulously.

There was a kitchen and even a small well.

Though the house was small, it was fully equipped.

Wei San and Yang Runsen warmly welcomed them into the house.

On the table in the main room, there was already wine and steaming dishes placed.

There were also two plates of dried fruits.

Wei San smiled and said, "Take a seat, two more dishes will be ready soon."

Yang Runsen brought clear water for them to wash their hands.

Guoguo pulled Li Jing, sitting obediently in the chair, waiting for the adults to wipe their hands.

Li Yuzhu washed her hands and took a cloth towel to wipe the hands of Guoguo and Li Jing, while Li Xingmao and Yang Runsen had already sat down and started chatting.

Yang Runsen talked about his future plans, mentioning that he now had a temporary residence permit, allowing him to do anything.

He said that the County Magistrate told him that once the village’s household registry was idle, he could apply for a permanent one.

In the future, he could also continue his studies.

Li Xingmao praised his resilient spirit.

Wei San brought out two more dishes, "Just some home-cooked stir-fry, don’t be picky."

Li Yuzhu looked at the eight dishes on the table and smiled, "It’s just like what we usually eat, very nice."

Everyone sat around the table to eat.

Wei San liked Guoguo and Li Jing, often giving them servings of food.

The two children didn’t eat much and quickly felt full.

Sitting idly listening to adults talk really challenged them.

Li Jing first slipped off the table, and Guoguo put down her spoon, followed suit, trailing after his footsteps, "Brother, where are you going?"

From the small alley outside came the sound of "bang bang" knocking.

Someone was shouting out what they were selling.

Li Jing, curious, stood at the house entrance watching, and Guoguo followed suit.

Li Yuzhu, worried they might get lost, walked over.

It turned out to be a maltose vendor.

An old man carried a pole with goods, holding a small brass gong in his hand, shouting a couple of calls, then striking the gong.

Behind the old man followed a few cheering and jumping children.

At that time, candies were expensive, and getting to eat them was a luxury.

Families usually wouldn’t buy candies for their children.

But sweet candies were indeed very tempting.

"Auntie, I want to eat," Li Jing pointed to the old man’s pole.

Guoguo echoed, "Me too."

The two children usually ate little and had only eaten two pieces at the County Magistrate’s Wife’s place the day before, so had they developed a taste for them?

Li Yuzhu chuckled, "Alright, I’ll go buy some."

She called the old man over and spent five coins to buy ten pieces of candy, not much bigger than marbles.

Li Jing and Guoguo each got five pieces.

The thin oil paper wrapped a few light brown candies, with a few white sesame seeds on the outside, very fragrant and tempting.

Li Jing ate a piece and sweetly grinned.

Just as Guoguo was about to eat, a boy about the same age as Li Jing came up and stood in front of them, staring unblinkingly at them eating.

His jade-white face was half-begrimed, and he wore a small black melon cap, also dusted with dirt.

He wore a bamboo-green robe with a dark green belt at his waist and black leather shoes on his feet.

The materials of his clothing were quite good, but unfortunately, they were all dusty, who knows where he had rolled around, so everything was wrinkled.

Li Jing looked at him and asked, "Do you want one? I’ll share one with you."

The boy glanced at him, then at Guoguo’s hand, gently shaking his head.

Guoguo stared at his face, eyes wide, and suddenly shoved all the candy in her hand into the boy’s hands, tears streaming down fast.

The boy stuffed the candy back into Guoguo’s hand, "I don’t want them."

Li Yuzhu looked at the boy and said with a smile, "Take them, we have more."

She placed Guoguo’s candy back into the boy’s hand.

The boy shook his head, "Mom said not to eat other people’s things." He handed them back to Li Yuzhu.

"So where’s your mom?" Li Yuzhu asked him.

This child must have gotten separated from his mother; otherwise, he wouldn’t be so dusty.

She examined his hand, and aside from some dust on the fingers, the wrist and inner clothes from his sleeve were clean, indicating he had just recently gotten dirty.

The boy looked at Li Yuzhu, dropped his head down with a somber expression and said pitifully, "Gone."

"How did she disappear?" Li Yuzhu knelt down and gently asked him.

The boy’s attire was not bad, not like he was abandoned, so he must have become separated.

"We came out to play together, and when I turned around, she was gone," the boy frowned, full of grievance.

Separated from his mother, his eyes reflected his grievance and unease, but he didn’t cry, only pursed his lips when mentioning her.

"Would you like to play with us?" Li Yuzhu asked him.

This child was about the same age as Li Jing, at an age of having opinions; keeping him with them required asking first, or he might cry and throw a fit.

The boy glanced at Li Yuzhu, then at Li Jing, and finally at Guoguo.

Guoguo looked at him, tears falling like broken pearls.

"Brother Rui," Guoguo suddenly called out as she looked at the boy.

The boy widened his eyes and looked at Guoguo in surprise, "How do you know my name is Rui?"

Guoguo didn’t speak, just cried.

Li Yuzhu, confused, took the boy’s hand, "Come in and play."