Chapter 54 – Searching for a Place to Stay

Thinking of this, An’an scooted over to Aunt Zhao with the help of the heated brick bed table, leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek, praising her, “Auntie, you’re brilliant!”

Aunt Zhao’s eyes lit up instantly. She hugged An’an tightly and kissed her twice on the cheek, laughing heartily. “Look at our Anbao’er! Such good judgment! That shameless scoundrel really does deserve a beating!”

An’an waved her little fists and shouted loudly, “Beat him!”

If one beating doesn’t work, then beat him twice. Keep punching until there’s blood. No fear if he won’t give in!

Hmm, that might be a little too violent? But who told them to be so unreasonable?

Qin Ying rubbed her forehead helplessly, “Mother…”

Aunt Zhao handed An’an a piece of steamed bun to chew on while hugging her, then turned to Qin Ying and said, “We tried talking nicely, and they wouldn’t listen. What else are we supposed to do?

“Yingzi, you can’t reason with everyone. Haven’t I told you before? ‘When a scholar meets a soldier, reason is useless!’”

“Let’s not talk about that anymore,” Qin Ying waved her hand. “Now that Master Zhou is supporting us, I doubt they’ll come bothering us again anytime soon.”

“Even if they do, we’re not afraid!” Zhao Hu snorted. “I’m grown up now!”

Aunt Zhao then said to Qin Ying, “Master Zhou helped us a lot today. How should we thank him?”

Qin Ying sighed and smiled bitterly. “What do we have to offer? That man lacks for nothing.”

For a moment, the three adults fell silent.

An’an swallowed her bite of bun, patted her chest, and declared loudly, “Me!”

That handsome uncle is just missing a clever, pretty, and helpful daughter like me!

All three adults turned to look at her in unison. First, they froze, and then they all burst out laughing. Aunt Zhao kissed her again on the cheek and said, “My sweet little darling!”

Ding! Energy +0.03.

But this time, the energy boost didn’t make An’an happy. Why were they reacting like this? Did she say something wrong? That handsome uncle is already so old and hasn’t married yet. He’s lacking both a wife and a child. Wouldn’t she and her mother fill both those gaps and bring him double happiness?

“Silly girl,” after the laughter subsided, Aunt Zhao spoke to An’an seriously. “From now on, don’t just go throwing yourself into someone’s arms!

“You can’t judge people just because they look nice.

“A good-looking face can’t be eaten or worn.

“There’s a saying, ‘Pretty boys don’t have kind hearts.’ Good-looking folks are good at sweet-talking. A little girl like you who wears her heart on her sleeve might end up being tricked and even help count their money!

“Of course, Master Zhou is an exception. Master Zhou is a truly good person! A genuinely kind man!”

“Hmph!” How dare they doubt her ability to judge people? This baby is mad now! An’an crossed her arms, turned her head away, and raised her chin proudly.

Her little act made everyone laugh again.

An’an pouted and furrowed her brows. This baby is really mad now—and not in a mood to be coaxed!

Qin Ying picked her up, gently smoothed the frown from her forehead, and softly said, “Sweetheart, your grandma is right. In life, we really shouldn’t trust people too easily.

“But you’re still young, and it’s a little early to explain all this to you. Mama will teach you slowly in the future.

“For now, let’s focus on eating properly, okay?”

She handed An’an a small round biscuit made from various nut flours—great for teething.

An’an took it right away. She was about to toss aside her steamed bun, but thinking of how precious food was nowadays, she hesitated.

Qin Ying smiled and took the bun from her, placing it back in the basket. “We’ll eat this another time.”

An’an happily gnawed on her round biscuit. Before long, her cheeks were covered with crumbs, but she didn’t notice. Her cheeks puffed up as she chewed rapidly, making her little face look soft, bouncy, and utterly adorable.

The three adults fell silent, simply watching her, feeling like they could never get enough of the sight.

“Why’s it so quiet in here?” A head poked in through the curtain—it was Xu Xia. He grinned and said, “I didn’t hear a sound. Thought you’d all gone to sleep!”

The Zhao family quickly stood to greet him. “What brings you here at this hour?”

Xu Xia stepped in, glanced at the table full of food, then at An’an, who was staring at him with big sparkling eyes. He smiled and said, “An’an’s still awake?”

Seeing his eyes drift toward her biscuit, An’an quickly hid it behind her back, pouted, and said, “No!”

Xu Xia burst out laughing and reached out his arms. “Wanna come for a hug?”

Zhao Hu laughed too. “Brother Xu, you’re older than me! I’m An’an’s uncle. If she calls you brother, doesn’t that make you a generation younger than me?”

Aunt Zhao raised her hand, ready to smack him, but held back and scolded, “What nonsense are you spouting!”

“Ah,” Xu Xia blinked and tilted his head. “You’re right. I misspoke.

“We’re like brothers, after all. How about this—An’an can call me uncle too?”

“No!” An’an refused flatly and even wrinkled her little nose at him. Who says just anyone qualifies to be this princess’s elder?

Xu Xia laughed again. “What a sharp little girl! No wonder everyone likes her.”

Aunt Zhao poured him a bowl of hot water. “Is Master Zhou not busy?”

Only then did Xu Xia explain why he had come. “The Master was asking if you have any more of those five-spice beans.”

“Yes,” Qin Ying quickly went out and brought in the jar of five-spice beans. “You can take it all. We can’t finish that much anyway.”

“Oh no, that’s not necessary,” Xu Xia waved his hands. “Just give me one bowl. That’s enough. You stored it outside, right? No wonder it hasn’t spoiled.”

Aunt Zhao sighed. “Salt costs more than gold these days, and there’s nowhere to buy it either. We only used a tiny bit, otherwise the beans would spoil fast without freezing them outside.”

“Well, what a coincidence,” Xu Xia said cheerfully as he pulled out two small cloth bags. “Here are two jin of soybeans and two jin of salt. Master Zhou asked me to deliver them. He’s grateful for the food you’ve given him.”

Aunt Zhao hurriedly declined. “We can’t accept that! We only used half a jin of dry beans. It’s not worth all this!”

“No need to rush,” Xu Xia smiled. “I haven’t even told you the rest yet.

“You all know we have many people. Staying long-term at Uncle Chen Jiu’s house is inconvenient, so we’ve been looking for a suitable courtyard in the village.

“Uncle Chen helped select a few places. The most suitable one is your western neighbor’s. I heard that house is vacant?”

At the mention of this, Aunt Zhao’s expression grew a little sad. “They’re all gone now. Used to be a big family. The house was newly built, and the son had just married…

“But heaven has no eyes. The young wife tripped and fell—both mother and child died. The old lady choked up in grief and passed too.

“The old man went mad, ran off into the deep mountains. His two sons went after him… and none of them returned.

“The two daughters-in-law couldn’t wait, so they remarried. Only an old man was left, and when the drought came, he starved to death not long after.”