Chapter 86

The two of them picked up Uncle Feng and the two kids from the guesthouse and went to the state-run restaurant to have breakfast. Then, they asked someone to help return the bicycle with Uncle Feng to the town. Only after that did Fu Qingshan take Qiao Xinyi and the two children to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a few things. Then they all got on a bus to Nanxi Town.

Nanxi Town and the town where Fu Qingshan’s hometown was located were on opposite ends of the county—one in the south, the other in the north—separated by the entire county. But Nanxi Town was much closer to the county seat, only a twenty-minute bus ride away.

After getting off the bus, the two kids skipped ahead happily.

“Uncle, are we going to Grandma Bailu’s house?” Fu Linzhou still had some memory of this road. The last time Fu Qingshan came back, he had brought them here once.

Fu Qingshan nodded and quietly explained to Qiao Xinyi, “The Fu family used to be well-off, so we had some old servants. Aunt Bailu used to be my mom’s maid. She fled from famine to our area and was begging in the county seat when she ran into my grandfather. My grandfather saw that she was skin and bones from hunger, so he brought her back to the Fu family to keep my mom company.”

“Aunt Bailu has stayed with the Fu family ever since and even took the Fu surname. She was four years older than my mom, and they grew up together like sisters. When she was eighteen, my grandfather arranged a marriage for her and had her married off.”

“But there’s something most people don’t know—before Aunt Bailu got married, she actually became my grandfather’s sworn goddaughter. Back then, my grandfather sensed trouble was coming, so only he, my mom, and Aunt Bailu and her husband knew about the godparent relationship.”

“Aunt Bailu’s husband was an orphan who had worked as a long-term laborer for the Fu family. The elders in town say he was a kind, honest, and hardworking man. He treated Aunt Bailu very well and was good to my grandfather and mother too.”

“But before I was even born, Aunt Bailu’s husband died. He and my dad were working on a levee when a flood came. He saved my dad but lost his own life. So you could say my dad owes his life to him.”

“When my mom passed, Aunt Bailu was by her side. But after that, she never came to the house again. It was me, my eldest brother, and later my sister-in-law who would visit Aunt Bailu during holidays or whenever we had time.”

Qiao Xinyi understood—no wonder Fu Qingshan was bringing her to meet Fu Bailu in person. It was clear this Aunt Bailu was a deeply respected elder in his life.

“Did Aunt Bailu ever remarry?” Qiao Xinyi asked.

Fu Qingshan shook his head. “She never did. When Uncle passed away, they hadn’t had children yet. Aunt Bailu has lived alone ever since.”

The four of them soon stopped in front of a farmhouse courtyard. The two children ran ahead, knocking and calling out:

“Grandma Bailu~ open up! My little brother and I came to see you~”

About half a minute later, the door opened to reveal an elderly woman in a dark blue cloth blouse. Her thick hair was streaked with silver, and her face was full of wrinkles. But it was clear that she was in good spirits—her clouded eyes lit up as soon as she saw the two children and Fu Qingshan.

“You’ve come~ Come in, quickly.” Fu Bailu took one child in each hand and led them inside. It wasn’t until she’d taken a couple of steps that she remembered Fu Qingshan had brought a young lady with him, who was still standing at the door.

It was one thing to leave Qingshan standing outside, but leaving a female guest at the door the first time she visited—that wouldn’t do.

Fu Bailu quickly turned back and said, “Qingshan, bring your friend inside. As soon as I saw the kids, I couldn’t even see you two grown-ups anymore.”

“Grandma Bailu, the bald auntie isn’t just Uncle’s friend—she’s his girlfriend!” Fu Linzhou explained.

“She’s going to marry him! She’s our future aunt!” Fu Zeyu added.

Fu Bailu patted the two children on the head and smiled. “Grandma guessed as much.”
She wasn’t blind, after all. The two were standing so close their shoulders were touching, and Fu Qingshan had brought her over so deliberately—who else could she be but his partner?

But seeing how eager the two kids were to explain things for Qiao Xinyi, it was clear they had a good relationship with her.

The layout of Fu Bailu’s house was nearly identical to that of Fu Qingshan’s family home—or rather, almost all the older homes in the county, whether in town or the countryside, were built the same way.

The group sat in the main room. After helping the two children into their chairs, Fu Bailu immediately turned back to attend to Qiao Xinyi.

The two chatted for a while, and to Qiao Xinyi’s surprise, the old lady didn’t ask about her education, her job, or her family background. She only asked where Qiao Xinyi was from, and then moved on to talk about her hobbies and interests.

It was a surprisingly relaxed conversation, and what made Qiao Xinyi laugh even more was that while she and the old lady played with the two kids, Fu Qingshan was outside in the courtyard slaughtering a chicken. After that, he went to the backyard vegetable patch to pick some greens, snorting and huffing like an old ox, then headed into the kitchen to cook.

It wasn’t until lunch was served, and Fu Bailu called the two kids playing in the courtyard to come eat, that Qiao Xinyi truly believed Fu Qingshan could cook.

And after just one bite, she realized—Fu Qingshan’s cooking was actually delicious.

“Well? Isn’t Qingshan a good one?” Fu Bailu said, placing a chicken leg in Qiao Xinyi’s bowl. “You’ve got a good eye, choosing him as a partner.”

“I’ve always had good taste. Even the handkerchiefs you let me choose earlier are absolutely beautiful,” Qiao Xinyi replied.

Not only was she great at complimenting others—she was just as good at complimenting herself.

Fu Bailu was very skilled at embroidery. She often passed the time by embroidering handkerchiefs. Earlier, when she brought Qiao Xinyi into her room, she had let her pick a few for herself and her family.

Qiao Xinyi had chosen three: one to keep for herself, and the other two as gifts for Chen Yubing and Qiao Baihe.

Even though they had only spent half a day together, Qiao Xinyi had already grown very fond of this elderly woman. She wasn’t rigid or old-fashioned; in fact, she was quite open-minded. For someone of her age, she held no trace of male chauvinism in her thinking.

That afternoon, they still had to return to town to offer incense to Old Master Fu and Fu Qingshan’s mother. After lunch, Fu Qingshan said it was time to leave, and everyone got up to go, but Fu Bailu motioned for them to sit back down.

“There’s still time. I have something I haven’t told you yet.”

The old lady returned to her room, and when she came out again, she was holding two delicate wooden boxes, one large and one small.

After she sat down, she first opened the larger box and pushed it toward Fu Qingshan.

“This was entrusted to me by your mother before she passed. It was passed down from your grandfather and your mother to you brothers. Technically, when your elder brother and sister-in-law got married, I should’ve taken out half of it for them. But as you know, the situation back then was complicated. These things had to stay hidden if they could.”

“So I kept everything and didn’t dare take them out. Later, when your sister-in-law fell seriously ill and urgently needed money, I took two items from the box and sold them on the black market to help her. There’s an inventory list at the bottom of the box—the two items I sold are marked with an X.”