Chapter 6: The Foreign Boy

“Dad?” Xu Qianxing recognized his father’s voice and immediately went outside.

Xu Sinan and Zhu Wanrou exchanged a glance and followed him out.

At the front door, Xu Shuisheng was struggling to drag someone off a boat.

Upon seeing his family, he grinned and waved, “Come help!”

Without a word, Xu Qianxing immediately went forward, lifted the person onto his back, and walked quickly toward home.

“Wait!”

Xu Sinan stopped him. This big brother, always acting without asking questions, didn’t even know who this person was and was bringing him home.

Xu Qianxing stood obediently, a puzzled look on his face—didn’t Dad say to save this person? Shouldn’t they bring him home first?

Xu Sinan saw that it was a frail young man with his eyes tightly closed, seemingly unconscious.

“Father, who is this person?”

She felt that this person’s appearance was somewhat strange, but she couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was odd about it.

“I don’t know!”

Xu Shuisheng explained, “I went fishing early this morning, and when I came back, I saw him holding onto a piece of floating wood, drifting in the sea. When I went over, he was still alive, so I brought him back.”

Xu Sinan was a bit speechless. Her father was hardworking and kind to the family, but sometimes too good-hearted.

In these times of famine, with the family’s situation, still acting like a saint?

Xu Sinan’s face darkened. “What if he’s a bad person? Wouldn’t that put us in danger?”

For example, a fugitive from the court or a pirate.

Xu Shuisheng was taken aback. He had only thought about saving the person and hadn’t considered the risks.

Zhu Wanrou, looking at the weak boy, felt pity in her heart. “He’s so weak; it’s more important to save him first.”

“Yes, sister, we can’t just watch someone die,” Xu Qianxing agreed. The person on his back didn’t weigh much anymore, probably lighter than his sister.

Xu Sinan sighed. She wasn’t cold-hearted enough to ignore a life, but they still had to consider the safety of their family and their own conditions.

Looking at the half-dead person, he likely wouldn’t be able to harm them. As long as she stayed alert and cautious, it should be fine.

“Saving him is fine, but we have no food left. If he wakes up, he must leave immediately.”

“Of course,” Zhu Wanrou said. “Your uncle brought half a bag of corn this morning, so we won’t starve for now.”

She had sighed this morning looking at their nearly empty rice bin, but her brother from her family had come, truly bringing timely help.

Xu Shuisheng was grateful in his heart. He was much better than his cold-hearted elder brother.

In the thatched cottage, Xu Sinan volunteered to stay and watch over the unconscious boy, but in reality, she was guarding against him.

She looked around the cottage. It used to be a place where her grandfather would rest after returning from sea.

Winter was fast approaching, and the thatched cottage was not only poorly insulated but could be blown away by the wind.

With the famine year, grain prices were skyrocketing, and they had to solve the food problem. Making money had become urgent.

Xu Sinan furrowed her brow and suddenly thought—having grain at home wouldn’t solve everything.

The village of Linshui was a disaster area. Even if they had food, would they be able to protect it?

Desperate people could do anything. When things got out of control, the world would descend into chaos.

Leaving the temporary village?

No, that idea was quickly dismissed.

Xu Shuisheng and Zhu Wanrou were both reluctant to leave their home. Especially Zhu Wanrou, whose relatives lived nearby. It wasn’t possible for them to just leave.

The area affected by the disaster was so large. Where could the four of them go? Leaving their home might not even guarantee safety.

The court had relief food, but by the time it reached the remote villages, it would already be too late.

Xu Sinan pondered deeply, trying to figure out how to ensure her family survives until the relief grain arrives.

“Cough, cough.”

The unconscious young man made a sound, as if he was about to wake up.

Xu Sinan immediately became alert and stared at him intently.

The young man’s face was flat with a high nose bridge, and his deep black eyes slowly opened.

“Sawasdee ka.”

Xu Sinan was startled and jumped to her feet. “You’re from Thailand!”

Her exclamation immediately called her family over.

“Young man, you’re awake!” Xu Shuisheng said happily.

“Are you hungry? Auntie will cook for you,” Zhu Wanrou said kindly.

“How did you drown?” Xu Qianxing asked curiously.

As Dechan woke up, he found a beautiful girl staring at him, followed by three others, but he didn’t understand a word they said.

He looked confused and muttered, “￥……&&&.”

Xu Shuisheng, Zhu Wanrou, and Xu Qianxing all looked bewildered. What was this boy saying?

Xu Sinan calmly spoke a sentence, and Dechan expressed his gratitude, clasping his hands together and bowing repeatedly.

The three confused family members were even more bewildered and stared at Xu Sinan in surprise.

Xu Qianxing asked blankly, “Sister, what did he say? What did you say to him? I don’t understand.”

“He asked where this place was and how he ended up here. I told him that Dad saved him and this is a fishing village in Dazheng,” Xu Sinan explained.

As she finished, she realized something was wrong—she had forgotten to cover it up.

She had studied history in college and archaeology for her graduate degree, which included exposure to foreign ancient texts.

At the time, she found it interesting, so she self-studied simple ancient foreign languages, mainly those related to countries along the Maritime Silk Road.

She had just been complaining about the difficulty of her situation, not expecting the language skills she once learned on a whim would turn out to be so useful. Truly, fate had treated her kindly.

“Well,” Xu Sinan thought about how to explain to her curious family.

“Remember the voyage log we found from Grandpa?”

Her grandfather had sailed abroad for business when he was alive. Though just a sailor, he had made quite a bit of money, and it was with that money that the Xu family had bought their house and land.

Later, Grandpa went abroad again but never returned. Villagers said the ship sank.

Grandpa left behind a notebook, the voyage log. Xu Sinan had just stumbled upon it in the thatched cottage yesterday.

The log recorded a lot of knowledge about long-distance sea voyages. Xu Sinan was thrilled and read it by candlelight late into the night, learning a lot.

Xu Sinan explained, “It contains simple languages from Southeast Asian countries, so I learned a little bit.”

She said it calmly, without a hint of embarrassment.

The three members of the Xu family nodded thoughtfully. When it came from their own family, they naturally believed it.

“Who would have thought Grandpa knew foreign languages?”

Xu Qianxing sighed. He was very young when his grandfather passed away and didn’t remember much about him.

Xu Shuisheng thought of his deceased father, feeling a lump in his throat and lowering his head in silence.

“My daughter is just so smart.” Zhu Wanrou proudly patted Xu Sinan’s head. “She learns things so easily.”

Xu Sinan smiled humbly. “I only know a little.”

Afterward, Xu Sinan communicated with Dechan for a while and learned that he was from Siam, a large Southeast Asian country known for its abundance of resources and thriving maritime trade.

His family was from a long line of sailors, frequently traveling to various countries for business.

This time, he had set out to do business in the eastern islands but encountered a hurricane.

Unfortunately, their large ship sank, but he was fortunate enough to grab a piece of floating wood and somehow drifted to Dazheng.

Xu Sinan’s eyes suddenly lit up as she remembered that modern-day Thailand is famous for rice production.

She became energized and hurriedly asked, “How is the rice production in Siam?”