Editor: Atlas Studios
Xiaoguo answered truthfully, trying her best to keep the details of the previous owner’s experiences to a minimum. But just like that, Qin Anming’s eyes slowly turned red. His face, which was already pale, turned even paler. The blood had completely drained from his face.
"Brother..."
Xiaoguo could not bear to see him like this. She looked at the man in front of her, who looked even more fragile because of his sadness.
Xiaoguo’s eyes darted around as an idea came to her.
Now that she is saying all this, Qin Anming would definitely not agree to go back with her. It seemed that she had to make it sound even worse. In that case, Qin Anming would feel bad about letting her go back alone.
When Qin Anming turned to look at her, tears began to well up in Xiaoguo’s eyes. She looked up and told him about her experiences, such as eating tree bark and eating wild grass.
Looking at Qin Anming’s uncomfortable gaze, Xiaoguo delivered the final blow.
"My poor Zhuang Zhuang..."
Xiaoguo stole a glance at Qin Anming. As expected, at the mention of Zhuang Zhuang, she could tell that he felt even worse. Qin Anming looked affectionately at Zhuang Zhuang, who had fallen asleep after crying.
"I’m living with Zhuang Zhuang alone and I have to take care of him. The vegetable plot at home needs to be weeded too. After which there are crops to be harvested, my hands are really full..."
Xiaoguo sobbed as she related her situation. Looking at the change in Qin Anming’s expression, she knew that this matter had been settled!
Being on the verge of breaking into laughter, Xiaoguo quickly turned away and stopped her crying.
For some reason, she felt like he was deceiving an honest man.
"Alright, alright. Xiaoguo, don’t cry anymore. I... I’ll go back with you. I’ll help you take care of Zhuang Zhuang. Don’t worry!"
Qin Anming said firmly as he wiped his tears and looked at Xiaoguo.
Xiaoguo’s expression immediately changed and she stood up with a smile.
"Then let’s get moving!"
With those words, she immediately started packing Qin Anming’s clothes. Qin Anming was stunned. She was still crying a while ago, how did her mood change in a split second?
Xiaoguo didn’t notice the expression on Qin Anming’s face. She took out all the clothes from the cabinet—actually, there wasn’t much to take. Then, she took out a large piece of cloth from the corner of the cabinet and placed the clothes on top. Picking up the four corners of the cloth, she twisted the ends and secured them into a knot.
Putting the bundle of clothes aside, she walked past Qin Anming and came to Zhuang Zhuang, who was sleeping beside him. She gently shook him to wake him up.
"Zhuang Zhuang, Zhuang Zhuang, wake up. We’re going back."
Zhuang Zhuang slowly woke from his sleep, and rubbed his eyes with his hands. Xiaoguo gently took his hands away and massaged his eyes with her own hands instead.
"Zhuang Zhuang, Uncle is going back with us. Shall we help to move his things?"
Zhuang Zhuang was fully awake now and heard what Xiaoguo had said. His eyes widened in surprise as he asked her again to check if it was true.
"Mother! Are you serious?"
Zhuang Zhuang really liked his uncle. Although it was their first time meeting, he liked him from the bottom of his heart. It would be great if his uncle could come!
"Really! Quick, put this bundle on the donkey cart."
Xiaoguo patted Zhuang Zhuang on the head. "Go on."
Zhuang Zhuang sighed and happily carried the bag out.
Only then did Qin Anming realize what was going on. Seeing Xiaoguo rushing in and out, he was touched and started to feel hesitant.
"Xiaoguo..."
"Yes?"
Xiaoguo stopped and looked back at Qin Anming on the bed.
"I think I’d better not go..."
Seeing that Xiaoguo was about to get angry, Qin Anming quickly said, "I just feel that I will cause you too much trouble if I go..."
Xiaoguo knew immediately what he was hesitating about. It made sense now that she thought about it. She hadn’t told him that she had money.
"Brother, don’t worry and go back with me. I’m working with a noodle shop in the county now. I provide them with my recipes and they’ll pay me accordingly every month. So don’t worry, I have money!"
When Qin Anming heard this, he felt much more at ease. At least he would not be too much of a burden to them. He wanted to ask her more, but he knew that there wasn’t time now. He would ask again on the way.
Qin Anming felt bad watching Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang do all the moving. Although he didn’t have much energy, he couldn’t just watch and do nothing. Hence he just helped with the smaller items.
The three of them quickly finished moving everything. They didn’t take too many things—most of them were stuff that he needed on a daily basis. The remaining big items couldn’t be moved anyway, so those were left behind.
Qin Anming sat in the cart with Zhuang Zhuang beside him. Xiaoguo locked the house door and put away the key. She returned to the donkey cart and took out the pork from the basket on her back.
"Mother, what are you doing with the meat?"
Zhuang Zhuang was curious as to why his mother had taken the meat out. Wasn’t this meat for his uncle? But his uncle had already left with them. What was his mother doing with the meat?
"Wait for me a moment. I’ll bring the meat to the neighbor living opposite."
With that, she went to knock on the neighbor’s door. When the neighbor came out, Xiaoguo spoke to her and handed over the meat before leaving.
Zhuang Zhuang sat on the donkey cart and leaned over to look in Xiaoguo’s direction. He was not seated close to where she was, so he could not hear what she was saying. He could only see the back of his mother’s head and the mouth of the person talking to her.
Zhuang Zhuang didn’t understand what was going on, so he asked Qin Anming,
"Uncle, do you know why Mother brought the meat to the neighbor?"
When Qin Anming saw Xiaoguo walking to the opposite door with the meat, he couldn’t help but feel gratified. Xiaoguo had really grown up!
Qin Anming smiled and lowered his head. He rubbed Zhuang Zhuang’s head and explained, "Your mother gave her the meat because she needed her help to watch over the house. Since Uncle is going to Peach Blossom Village with you, no one is living in the house anymore. She asked her to help Uncle watch out for intruders."
Zhuang Zhuang was a smart child. He understood what Qin Anming meant.
She said proudly to Qin Anming, "Isn’t my mother awesome?"
Zhuang Zhuang tilted his head, his eyes filled with admiration for Xiaoguo.
"Yes, your mother is the best!"
Qin Anming concurred with Zhuang Zhuang and said sincerely.
As expected, Zhuang Zhuang was overjoyed when he heard that. He giggled.
At this moment, Xiaoguo returned. Seeing Zhuang Zhuang smiling, she asked curiously what they were talking about.
Zhuang Zhuang did not speak. Qin Anming looked at Xiaoguo dotingly.
"We didn’t say much. But our little girl has really grown up."
Qin Anming’s voice was filled with nostalgia and relief. He looked at Xiaoguo with affection.
Xiaoguo smiled shyly. "No matter how old I am, I’m still your little sister."
As she spoke, she started steering the donkey cart. Qin Anming looked at the house as they moved further and further away. His heart was filled with reluctance and anticipation for the future.
Along the way, Xiaoguo told Qin Anming about her life, including how she signed the contract with the county noodle restaurant and her life with Zhuang Zhuang.
The two of them had countless things to talk about. Due to their blood relationship, although they had not seen each other for a long time, they were not estranged. Instead, they really cherished the time they had now.
Soon, the donkey cart drove into Peach Blossom Village. Halfway through the village, they bumped into a group of villagers who had just come out of the fields.
They saw Xiaoguo too. And when the cart got closer, they also spotted Qin Anming, who was seated behind her.
In that instant, everyone started speculating on the man’s identity.
Xiaoguo ignored them and drove straight past them. At this moment, Mrs. Yang came out of the fields not far away. She was holding a hoe in her hand and breaking up the soil by the roadside.
Xiaoguo saw her first and shouted a greeting.
"Sister-in-law!"
Mrs. Yang heard the voice and looked at Xiaoguo. "Hey! Xiaoguo!"
Xiaoguo stopped the donkey cart and chatted with Mrs. Yang. At this moment, Mrs. Yang noticed Qin Anming behind her.
Puzzled, she asked Xiaoguo, "Xiaoguo, who is this?"
Xiaoguo shifted her body to reveal Qin Anming. "This is my brother from my maiden family. He can’t take care of himself because he’s sick, so I brought him here."