Ou Mucen turned around and, after a moment, gave an "Mm-hmm" in response...
He really should check, as he too was curious about the sudden arrival of two groups of people. Just who were they?
Thus, Ying Hao stayed there while he followed the auntie into the darkness.
"I heard from Xiao’an before that her husband was building houses in the city, but how did he become a young master?"
When they entered, the auntie walking in front with a flashlight led the way, chatting with Ou Mucen who was following behind.
Ou Mucen, not quite accustomed to the path here, was groping his way through the dim light. Hearing her question, he replied, "What she said is correct. I am in the business of building houses."
Isn’t that the truth?
Most of the buildings in A City were constructed by Ou Mucen.
The auntie in front, upon hearing this, laughed, "Don’t try to fool me. You’re too delicate-looking to be a laborer. But anyhow, as long as you are good to Xiao’an, that’s all that matters."
This auntie, at heart, was very kind and seemed to have a soft spot for the girl.
Therefore, Ou Mucen, following behind, sincerely said, "Thank you for taking care of her and her child during that time."
"What’s there to thank? Isn’t that expected? With both of them living here without anyone to look after them, I certainly helped when I could. But let me tell you, young man, Xiao’an is a good girl. Bringing your son to live here, she didn’t have it easy. Don’t argue with her any more, just look at how she was when she came back that day..."
Came back looking how?
Ou Mucen, upon hearing the last bits of reluctance and compassion in her words, couldn’t help but feel a tug at his heartstrings.
"Was she looking very bad when she came back that day?"
"Of course, she had a high fever and her eyes were swollen like a rabbit’s. If I hadn’t gone out in the middle of the night to fetch our village doctor for her, who knows what might have happened to her," the auntie continued.
At this point, the auntie began to complain about the man following her.
Ou Mucen dared not interject, but as he listened to her describe Xiao’an’s fever and swollen eyes like those of a rabbit, he couldn’t stop his mind from conjuring the image.
Suddenly, his heart felt as if it were being pricked by needles, growing even more uncomfortable.
That night, back in his hometown, it was snowing heavily, and the temperature in this city wouldn’t have been much higher.
Yet, on such a night, he was not by her side. His family had bullied her to the point that she fled in the night. When she left that place, struggling on a leg that had barely recovered, how desperate must her heart have been?
He clenched his fists, anguish welling up in his eyes.
Fortunately, at that moment, they finally reached the building the auntie had mentioned. He only saw her turn right with the flashlight before she led him into the building’s entryway.
"It’s a bit damp here. Be careful!" the auntie warned as they entered.
Ou Mucen said nothing and followed her inside. He had thought this was just an ordinary hallway, but to his surprise, upon entry, the narrow and gloomy staircase, filled with the odors of dampness and mildew, hit him full in the face.
Smelling this scent, he instinctively pulled out a clean handkerchief to cover his nose and mouth.
He was a person with a serious aversion to dirt. The places he lived in, the roads he walked on, they all had to be extremely clean and tidy. When had he ever been in such a place again?