The idle people in the village who were chatting slowly gathered around and asked, "Hey, what happened to Zhou boy?"

Someone pointed at Zhao Wuwen and asked, "Is this young man your classmate?"

…

Without exception, everyone's eyes were looking at Zhao Wu.

Xu Lanzhou didn't have the strength to speak, and just shook his head no matter what was said.

Xu Lanting was so scared that he started crying. Xu Lanyin ran over and supported Xu Lanzhou on the other side.

Xu Lanzhou called out weakly, "Sister."

Zhao Wucai said, "Sister, I met this little brother sitting by the bridge. He said he was sick and couldn't walk, so I brought him here."

His accent was a southern accent. His teacher, who was from Huzhou in southern China, spoke with a thick Huzhou accent. To piss him off, he'd imitated his teacher's speech, earning him frequent scolding and beatings. Unexpectedly, it came in handy now.

Xu Lanyin hurriedly thanked him.

When several people entered the house, Qin hurried out to greet them and helped Xu Lanzhou lie down on the kang in the east wing.

Everyone knew what was going on, but they pretended to be serious. Qin and Xu Lanyin expressed their gratitude, while Zhao Wu was modest.

Looking at Xu Lanting and Xu Yuan who were still standing aside to watch the fun, Xu Lanyin said, "It's okay, Ting'er take Yuan'er to play outside."

Xu Lanting saw that his elder brother was much better lying on the kang, so he took Xu Yuan out.

There was no one else in the room, so Zhao Wucai knelt down and kowtowed three times to Qin, saying with each kowtow, "Thank you, aunt, for making so many clothes and food for me."

"Thank you for taking me in, auntie."

"Thank you, aunt, for giving birth to such a wonderful daughter. She saved me."

After seeing Zhao Wu in person, Qin Shi felt even more pity for him. How could those relatives have the heart to kill such a good child? Thinking of her own past, she felt a sense of sympathy. She quickly helped Zhao Wu up and said, "Good boy, stay here peacefully..."

The voice of Old Lady Xu came from outside, "My grandson, what's wrong with you? Don't scare me..."

The people in the room quickly restrained their expressions, and Xu Lanzhou lay down again.

Bad aunt Xu Lanyin couldn't help laughing out loud, and that "scary" scene was distracting.

Xu Lanzhou glared at her angrily, and Qin also blushed a little.

Old Lady Xu entered the house, took Xu Lanzhou's hand, and asked, "Zhou'er, what's wrong with you?" She then scolded Qin, "Second wife, why don't you let Yin go to Xinghua Village to get a doctor? If you can't bear to spend that little money on the medicine, I'll pay for it."

Xu Lanyin said hurriedly, "I just gave my brother some sugar water. He said he's feeling much better and didn't let me go get a doctor."

Xu Lanzhou also said, "Don't worry, grandma. I'm fine. I just stayed up late reading and got tired. I just need to take a rest."

Only then did Old Lady Xu feel relieved, and she scolded him for not taking care of his body. She looked Zhao Wu up and down again, and said with a smile, "Oh, what a neat-looking child! Those big dimples are so cute." She then asked, "Where does the boy live? When he recovers, have him come to your house to thank your elders."

Zhao Wu bowed and said, "Grandma Xu, just call me Zhao Wu. My hometown is in Huzhou. My father passed away early, and my mother also passed away three years ago. My family members were not kind, so after I finished my mourning, I came to Nanping County to look for my uncle who had come out to make a living. However, when I showed up with the address, the neighbors said he moved away many years ago..."

Qin said sympathetically, "Poor boy, how about you, Brother Zhao stay at my house for the time being and then slowly look for your relatives later."

Zhao Wuyi was delighted and said, "That's great. Thank you, Auntie. I won't live here for free. I will pay for the rent and the food."

Old Mrs. Xu was reluctant and frowned, saying, "The engagement was broken off because of the girl, and it was already difficult to find a husband. Now that a little boy has moved in, won't it be even more difficult to find a husband in the future?"

After hearing the old lady's promise, Zhao Wu turned his eyes on Xu Lanyin and suppressed his surprise. It turns out that my sister was annulled. No wonder she is not married yet at this age. Who is this bastard who has no vision? I will have to think about it later and think of a way to beat him up.

Xu Lanyin knew this child too well. She understood the meaning in his eyes and rolled her eyes in her heart.

Qin smiled and said, "My house is so big and there are so few people, so the west wing has always been empty. I just locked the door of the west wing and opened a new door outside."

Old Lady Xu thought this made sense. She saw that Zhao Wu's demeanor and grace were not typical of a country boy, and she suspected his family had given him a good education, suggesting he might have a bright future. She suggested getting Zhou and Ting to get close to him; they could be a help in the future...

The old lady was calculating in her heart, but she was still polite. "Brother Zhao helped my son Zhou, so how can I charge rent? You can live here. When Zhou recovers from his illness, let him accompany you to look for your relatives."

Zhao Wu hurriedly said, "The rent should be paid. Renovating the house will cost money, too. Besides, I'm at the age where I can eat. I can eat as much as several people."

His words made everyone laugh.

Old Mrs. Xu smiled with wrinkles all over her face, which seemed to indicate her agreement. She then said, "Until the house here is renovated, you can move in with me and temporarily live in my second grandson's house."

Zhao Wuyi was very unhappy when he heard that Old Lady Xu wanted him to live in her house. He frowned and said, "I won't bother you, Grandma Xu. I can sleep in the same room with Brother Zhou for the time being."

Old Mrs. Xu was very persistent and said, "Young Master Zhao is a city kid. He doesn't know that country people are the easiest to gossip about."

Zhao Wu wanted to insist, but when Xu Lanyin shook her head slightly at him, he had no choice but to agree obediently.

After this matter was settled, Old Lady Xu stood up and said, "I'll go back and ask the eldest son's wife to clean up the room."

Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle are all coming to my house for dinner tonight."

The old lady agreed, "Okay, I have a pot of liquor at home. Let the old man and the eldest brother drink a few cups with Zhao Xiaoer."

Xu Lanyin got up to cook, and Zhao Wu habitually said, "I'll go help my elder sister light the fire."

Today was his first day here, so he didn't want to call her too intimately, so he added the word "big" before "sister".

Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "No, you take a rest."

Qin was at a loss for words when she heard the name "big sister". This child was about the same age as Yin'er, so how could he call her big sister? She was not that old, but he called her old. She would have to remind him of this in the future.

Qin stood up and said, "Young Master Zhao, please sit down. Yin'er and I will do it alone." She then instructed Xu Lanzhou to entertain the guests well.

Zhao Wu hurriedly said, "Aunt, you are too polite. Just call me Wu'er."

We had some pickled meat, a chicken we had killed, and some dried mushrooms, so we made four meat dishes and two vegetable dishes. We actually had some venison left over, but we didn't dare to share it.

Everyone likes good-looking people, and Zhao Wu is also very polite and sweet-spoken. Old Mr. and Mrs. Xu and Mr. and Mrs. Xu Qingming both like him very much.

The soju the country folk drank wasn't what Zhao Wu had been used to. It was so spicy it made his throat feel like it was on fire, but he still insisted on drinking two cups. His status would change, and he had to adapt to everything.