Chapter 9: Grandson , Do You Have a Question?

“Grandma! I’m back!”

The Lu family small courtyard was located at the end of the village, closest to the Daqing Mountain.

Ever since that vagrant scaled the stone wall and entered the courtyard that year, Lu Yao had been concerned about the courtyard wall.

The house was still built of yellow mud mixed with river silt, but the courtyard wall was solidly built of stone. For aesthetics, only two layers of blue bricks were laid on top.

From the outside, it looked a bit mismatched, but it was strong.

In the center of the courtyard were two yellow mud houses, built when the Lu family father and son were still around. More than ten years had passed, and with annual repairs, the houses showed no signs of damage.

In the backyard, several rows of vegetable plots showed seedlings that had grown to half an arm’s length.

In the front yard, a storeroom was on the left, mainly storing unused tools and various pickle jars.

On the side of the storeroom facing the gate, a cleverly designed triangular area between the roof and the courtyard wall was utilized. A section was built out using wood and tarpaulin, with firewood stacked against the storeroom wall underneath.

On the right, a half-finished wardrobe sat in the open space, with scattered scraps of wood and woodworking tools lying around.

Everything looked rough yet perfectly reasonable.

Grandma Lu, her hair meticulously combed, stood at the west room’s entrance, silently watching her grandson rummage through the west room as soon as he returned home.

Although old, her eyesight was sharp; she saw clearly that the boy was stuffing something into his waistband—the century-old ginseng he had always been reluctant to sell.

Something big must have happened!

“What are you doing with that treasure?”

“Grandma!”

Lu Yao, having pocketed the ginseng and about to leave, was stopped by his grandmother.

The person he respected most in this world was undoubtedly this silver-haired, energetic old woman.

“Tell me, what are you doing with it? Didn’t you say you were keeping it for emergencies? What’s wrong? Are you short of money? I haven’t touched the money you’ve given me all these years; it’s all tucked away! It adds up to several hundred; wait, I’ll get it for you!”

“No need, Grandma, I have money, but money alone isn’t enough for what I need to do! Keep your money safe. I’ll use this ginseng first. Don’t worry, after I’m done and go into the mountains, I’ll get you another one!”

“What are you doing? Those deep mountains are dangerous; you should stay away!

I don’t need it! It’s just… what’s going on? Can’t you tell Grandma?”

“Grandma, don’t ask!”

Thinking about what he was about to do, in the past, he wouldn’t have bothered with such a thankless task.

But now…

Thinking of those wet, frightened, helpless eyes, the man’s ears turned red. Let’s just say he’s having a mental lapse.

The old woman’s gaze was sharp, her eyes gleaming with a hint of gossip and anticipation…

Grandson!

You’re up to something!

“Alright, I won’t ask. Go ahead, come back soon…” The old woman turned, stepping aside from the doorway of the west room, shuffling slowly back to the east room.

Humph, I’ll find out sooner or later. I don’t believe you can keep it a secret for long~

Lu Yao…

When did this old woman become so easy to talk to?

Looking up at the sun, estimating the time, the man wasted no time, hopped on his patched-up bicycle, and sped out of the village…

~~

Mountaintop Cabin

The tattered cloth bundle, usually used as decoration, was spread out on the bed.

A petite figure sat on the edge of the bed,

first taking out a package of pastries and some steamed buns, then putting them away and taking out a bag of white flour and a white hen.

After some thought, she put the hen away…

and took out some boiled eggs instead.

Once she went down the mountain, she couldn’t easily take things out of her space, so what was the most suitable thing to put in this bundle?

The little woman stroked her chin, her brow furrowed in thought…

“Forget it, never mind, no one will check anyway, I’ll just take a bag of steamed buns… they’re light and take up space!”

More importantly, they’re filling!

Food and shelter would be a problem after going down the mountain. Under uncertain circumstances, ensuring she didn’t starve was paramount!

After all, it was already very kind of that grumpy man to take her down the mountain; she couldn’t trouble him with everything…

“Xiaodu, Xiaodu! Are you feeling better?”

The response was still deathly silence.

Feeling a little down, she didn’t understand what task she needed to complete to help Xiaodu wake up.

She adjusted her thoughts, secretly cheering herself up.

The woman haphazardly stuffed 20 steamed buns into the bundle and rolled it up. Done!

Looking at the sky, the sun was about to set; it was already evening, why hadn’t he come back yet?

Wanru went out of the cabin, sat on the large stone behind the cabin, rested her chin on her bent knees, and looked at the lights of the village below, lost in thought.

The village lit up at dusk seemed even more beautiful.

In the morning, she had cleaned every part of the cabin that could be cleaned, and the pots and bowls used for breakfast had already been washed and dried.

She spent the rest of the time here, where she could see the busy people in the village below, allowing her to beautifully imagine the future.

And she could keep an eye on the path down the mountain.

This way, she could spot anyone coming up from the path down the mountain immediately.

Look, didn’t she wait for him?

“Good sir, you’re finally back!”

A furry head suddenly popped out from behind the bushes at night. Only Lu Yao, with his naturally bold nature and disbelief in ghosts and gods, could handle this; anyone else would have been scared out of their wits…

Lu Yao, who keeps getting the “good sir” card…

“My name is Lu Yao, just call me by my name. And don’t get too close to me; I’m not a good person!”

“Lu Yao! What a nice name! Hehe, it’s okay, I know you’re a good person!”

The woman chuckled to herself, seemingly oblivious to the man’s cold expression.

Perhaps because she had hope for the future, the light in her eyes was dazzling.

The man was momentarily stunned, the coldness on his face melting away.

“Let’s go, back to the cabin. We’ll stay here one more night, and I’ll take you down the mountain to the county town tomorrow…”

The woman followed closely behind the man, chattering away: “The city? They must sell candied haws there, right?”

“No.”

“Are there any street performers?”

“No.” (This refers to a cultural troupe’s performance, right?)

“Are there any monkey shows?”

“No!”

He thought he might have misunderstood; maybe street performers really just means street performers?

“Ah… then are there any sugar figurine sellers?”

The man’s temples throbbed.

The moment they entered the cabin, he suddenly dropped the package he had been carrying, his large hand suddenly clamping down on the woman’s chin, pressing her firmly against the wall…

Her face was so small, he could hold it with just one hand…

The little mouth that had been bothering him just now was now shaped into an ‘O’…

‘Bang! Bang!’

The man’s heart pounded, and he unconsciously leaned closer… closer…

“Lu Yao? What are you doing? Are you hungry? Do you want to eat me? I’m very thin… not tasty… I have steamed buns… do you want to eat…”

The woman’s eyes widened, speaking with utmost seriousness.

Lu Yao…