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Though Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi still harbored some apprehension towards the Old couple’s identity, they also discerned that these two individuals wouldn’t harm them. Otherwise, their reaction wouldn’t have been as it was just now.
“Whatever matters there are, we’ll discuss them later. Let’s go inside and have a drink of water first. We’re still recovering from our illness,” Aunt Lan said decisively, expressing her intent to settle in Shen Zi’an’s home. She was quite content with the place.
Uncle Lan weakly returned to his seat on the ox cart. Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi could tell he wasn’t pretending; his forehead was covered in sweat, and his complexion was pale. It seemed he had exerted all his strength to jump off the cart just now. With the danger passed, he was now drained of energy.
Su Zhi gestured for Shen Zi’an to drive the ox cart. Since these two individuals wouldn’t harm them, there was no need to worry anymore.
Upon reaching the courtyard gate, Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi each helped the two old folks into the house where Liu Siniang used to reside. Su Zhi laid out the bedding for them and instructed them to lie down. She also called out the three children, warning them not to disturb the guests inside. Of course, the main reason was that until they clarified the situation of these two people, Su Zhi didn’t want the children to get too close to them.
Su Zhi instructed the White Wolf to keep an eye on the house while she went to the kitchen to boil water. She made a warm drink with brown sugar for the two old folks to help warm their bodies quickly. Then, she proceeded to brew some medicine for them.
Shen Zi’an brought all the belongings from the ox cart inside, placing them where Su Zhi usually kept things. He watched as Su Zhi brewed the medicine. Since there was no need to keep an eye on the medicine constantly, Su Zhi and Shen Zi’an went together to the old folks’ room. They intended to start questioning them to gather as much information as possible. They weren’t too fond of living with people they knew little about, especially considering these two individuals were rescued with the intention of becoming helpers. They would be spending every day together in the future, so they couldn’t afford to bring in trouble carelessly.
The old couple were now nestled in the warm blankets, listening to the joyful laughter of the children outside, along with the barks of the dogs and the whimpering of the little wolf cubs. They felt quite comfortable. It wasn’t just Aunt Lan who felt this way; even Uncle Lan didn’t want to leave now.
“All the words we said just now were false. There’s only one thing we can assure you of: we’re not bad people,” Uncle Lan spoke up as soon as Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi entered.
“If you want to ask where we’re from or who we are, we won’t tell you. Don’t waste your energy,” he continued.
Su Zhi realized there was no point in asking further questions; this person had shut down any possibility of conversation. However, she had already guessed that they might not reveal their identities. Before she or Shen Zi’an could say anything else, Aunt Lan spoke up too.
“Don’t worry about us being bad people. If we were, with the skills my old man has, we wouldn’t have ended up begging,” Aunt Lan assured them.
Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi believed her. From the moment Uncle Lan jumped off the cart to when he pulled out the whip from his waist, they could tell this old man had skills. Considering he was still recovering from an illness and yet moved so swiftly, if he were healthy, even through thievery, he could surely earn his keep.
Su Zhi inquired, “Since Uncle Lan is skilled, why not find some work? I imagine he could serve as a guardian for wealthy households, which wouldn’t lead to this situation.”
Uncle Lan glanced at Aunt Lan. Su Zhi and Shen Zi’an both noticed that even if Uncle Lan wasn’t afraid of his wife, he was certainly someone who listened to her. Before making any decisions, he always looked to Aunt Lan for approval.
Aunt Lan sighed and said, “Both my husband and I have been injured by others, and our health is weak. We’re often sick. With our current condition, who would want us even if we were healthy? There aren’t many wealthy households looking for guardians, and they usually prefer someone they know well, not strangers like us.”
Su Zhi agreed with Aunt Lan’s assessment and glanced at Shen Zi’an.
Shen Zi’an asked, “If you’ve been harmed by others, does that mean your enemies will come looking for you here? I don’t want .to put our family in any danger.”
Su Zhi thought Shen Zi’an was astute. Despite being a rural farmer, he wasn’t any less perceptive than herself, someone who had watched countless movies and TV shows from the future. She had actually been worried about this as well, but she hadn’t asked because she figured it would be futile.
Uncle Lan replied, “We don’t have any enemies.”
Su Zhi was somewhat skeptical and asked, “But what about the people who harmed you? Aren’t they your enemies? Coming here, aren’t you trying to hide from your enemies?”
“They’ll never come looking for us,” Aunt Lan spoke up at this moment. She continued, “Our wandering here and there is only because we’re searching for our daughter.”
Aunt Lan turned her head to wipe her eyes, which had turned red. Obviously, the thought of their daughter made her heart ache.
“Our daughter is exceptionally beautiful, known as a flower by the people around her. Suitors lined up at our door, but she was abducted. We were injured during that time as well. For years, we’ve been searching for her, but haven’t found her yet. Now, we’re tired of searching, we’re despairing. Perhaps she’s already dead, but we can’t give up hope. Now, we just want to rest,” Aunt Lan explained.
Seeing Aunt Lan in that state, Su Zhi felt she had touched a nerve. Her parents in her past life were divorced, showing little warmth toward her, and her parents in this life were equally frustrating. So, she always respected parents who truly cared for their children. Seeing them in such distress made her uncomfortable, and sympathy flooded her heart.
Uncle Lan reached out to pat Aunt Lan’s hand and said, “Our daughter was abducted. When we went to look for her after we recovered from our injuries, the place had already been burned down. We heard that many people had died there, but we didn’t find our daughter. However, we refused to believe she was dead. Later, we heard rumors that someone had fled with a woman. We hoped that woman was our daughter. After hearing that the leader’s hometown was nearby, we searched everywhere in this county, but we couldn’t find that person, let alone my daughter.”
Shen Zi’an interjected, “So, you’re unwilling to reveal your names and hometown because either those responsible for your injuries are dead, and you’ve been wrongly accused, or you’ve dealt with the people who harmed you, and now the authorities are after you, which is why you’re hiding your identity.”
Uncle Lan nodded. “You guessed right,” he confirmed.
Aunt Lan added, “If you let us stay, nothing will happen. Our home is far from here, and we’ve been away for several years. We’ve changed our appearance.”
Su Zhi felt like she was listening to a story.
Shen Zi’an asked Su Zhi, “What do you think we should do, wife? Should we let them stay or should we ask them to leave?”
Su Zhi pondered for a moment before asking, “Aunt Lan, is your current appearance your real face?”
Aunt Lan looked at Su Zhi and replied, “Madam, you truly see through everything. However, we don’t want others to see our true faces. Please, sir and madam, refrain from looking. Besides this, any other requests you have, we’ll comply.”
Upon hearing this, Su Zhi, though still curious, decided not to press further. Everyone has their secrets, including herself. As long as these two didn’t cause trouble for their household and kept their true faces hidden, it was fine. Perhaps with just this change of appearance, they wouldn’t bring any trouble. Knowing that they could make requests, her mind started to churn with possibilities.
“Uncle Lan, you’re truly skilled. Could you teach my husband martial arts? He’s very strong and agile. No one has ever taught him, but he can jump onto a wall as tall as a person, and he can lift several hundred pounds. If he learns martial arts, he’ll surely become even more formidable. Please, teach him,” Su Zhi requested.
Su Zhi had always admired her husband’s strength and agility. She believed he was naturally gifted in martial arts. If he encountered martial arts experts, they would surely praise his unique bone structure. She didn’t mind that he was a farmer, but she felt he had potential. She often thought of ways to earn money, which she sensed put pressure on Shen Zi’an. She didn’t want him to feel burdened by this, so she wanted to boost his confidence.
Shen Zi’an hadn’t expected Su Zhi to make this request, but he thought it was a good idea. If he became more skilled, he could better protect his wife. So, he looked at Uncle Lan with determined eyes.
“Uncle Lan, please teach me,” Shen Zi’an requested.
Uncle Lan looked at Shen Zi’an. He had already noticed that Shen Zi’an was a promising candidate. Though he was a bit older, if he possessed the extraordinary strength and agility as described by Su Zhi, perhaps he could still achieve something remarkable.
Aunt Lan chimed in, “Old man, just teach him. After all, you have no one to pass on your skills to anymore. Even our daughter isn’t interested in this.”
Uncle Lan sighed, thinking of his daughter. It was likely she was already dead, but they refused to believe it.
“Alright, if you want to learn, I’ll teach you. But you’ll have to let us stay here,” Uncle Lan agreed.
Su Zhi happily exclaimed, “Great, that settles it!”
Uncle Lan said, “Although I’ll teach you martial arts, my wife and I will still serve as your gatekeepers. I noticed you have a lot of bricks and wood in your yard, probably for building another house. You’ll need a gatekeeper’s house at the entrance of the yard, so let my wife and me live there. I’ll make sure to guard your yard well.”
Shen Zi’an thought this arrangement was acceptable. The true origins of these two individuals were still unclear, and it was less troublesome to present them as helpers rather than masters.
And so, the old Lan couple stayed.
Xiaori, Xinger, and Yueyue were all delighted. More people in the house meant more excitement, and with the addition of a large dog, they were even happier. Even the usually reserved Xiaori seemed a bit livelier. He even ran over to say he wanted to learn the whip from Uncle Lan.
“I want to learn the whip.”
Xiaori stared at Uncle Lan with determination, his eyes filled with resolve, as if he would try every means possible until he got his way.
Aunt Lan not only liked Yueyue, the girl, but also the two boys. When she heard Xiaori’s request, she immediately asked Uncle Lan to accept him as a student. Uncle Lan thought one was good, but two were even better. Although Xiaori was young, he showed promise, so Uncle Lan agreed. And when Xinger and Yueyue also insisted on learning, Uncle Lan readily agreed to teach them as well.
Su Zhi noticed that the elderly couple had decided to stay and genuinely cared for the three children. They treated them kindly, providing them with medicine on time and hoping for their swift recovery. However, she refrained from adding lotus powder to their medicine. She knew that adding lotus powder would greatly improve their weak bodies due to their injuries, but she chose not to use it. They were keeping secrets from her, so she saw no need to go out of her way for them.
Shen Zi’an’s household began tidying up the yard. The construction workers were busy building houses at Li Shi’s and Zhao Daliang’s homes, so the young couple decided to focus on other tasks, such as laying paths and weeding.
Shen Zi’an gathered the idle men from the village and, following Su Zhi’s blueprint, they began laying the paths. They also arranged artificial hills and planted trees in certain areas. Meanwhile, Su Zhi enlisted the help of the women from the village to clear the weeds from the yard. The land used to be uncultivated, so there were many wild plants to remove.
The wages for this work were generous. Men earned thirty coins a day, while women earned twenty-five coins. The work wasn’t too strenuous, so everyone was quite happy to earn so much. Many people came to work, and the atmosphere was reminiscent of the lively scene when they built the houses and walls last year.
Once these miscellaneous tasks were completed, the construction at Li Shi’s and Zhao Daliang’s homes was finished, and everyone shifted their focus to Shen Zi’an’s yard. Following the blueprint, they began construction in earnest.
Li Qing’s wife looked at the blueprint and said, “Girl, what’s the use of building so many houses here? Why not plant some sweet potatoes like they did in the back?”
Shugen’s wife chimed in, “Exactly! The soil here might not be very fertile, but sweet potatoes don’t require the best soil. Once planted, they’ll yield a good harvest. You can even sell them as a staple crop.”
Su Zhi smiled and replied, “Sisters-in-law, there’s a purpose to building these houses. You’ll understand once everything is done.”
Su Zhi didn’t disclose her plan to turn the houses into a factory to anyone yet. It was best to keep quiet until everything was set up. Revealing her plans prematurely might invite unnecessary trouble from jealous individuals.
At that moment, Su Zhi was leading a group of people in clearing the stones from a large area of low-lying land. This area was not only boggy and overgrown with grass but also littered with rocks, making it unsuitable for farming or building houses. It seemed more suited for digging a pond. As she worked, Su Zhi imagined transforming the area into a beautiful pond filled with lotus flowers. Her hands moved faster as she envisioned the future scenery.
Shugen’s wife and Li Qing’s wife both insisted that Su Zhi take a rest. They looked at Su Zhi’s increasingly fair skin and delicate hands and couldn’t help but wonder how Shen Zi’an had managed to marry such a delicate woman. They used to say he was unlucky, but now they thought he was blessed. Life was unpredictable indeed.
Su Zhi, however, didn’t want the villagers to become envious of her. She knew that in the future, she would live a comfortable life without having to work, but now was not the time for that.
“Mom, Grandpa and the others are here..”