Chapter 40

Outside the quarry, there is a simple thatched shed, which is where the patrol officers rest on weekdays.

Fu Zhen and his wife, as well as He Jing were taken there.

Looking at the thatched hut in the distance, Fu Zhen and He Jing looked at each other, both feeling puzzled.

At this time, the guard said casually: "Good luck has come to the Fu family. Now someone has come to redeem you and your wife."

Hearing this, the couple were shocked.

But Fu Zhen quickly thought of his family's poor situation. Under such circumstances, how could he have the money to redeem himself and his wife?

Fu Zhen was silent for a moment, then asked, "Officer, is this a mistake?"

The guard took half a pot of wine and his attitude became much more relaxed: "It's the Fu family. Your sister-in-law has already paid the ransom and the people are here."

Fu Zhen frowned slightly, brother-in-law?

Although I have been away from home for several years, news of what happened at home still reached the quarry more than a few months ago.

It turned out that their Erlang was taken away by mistake.

The second brother he knew was not his biological brother, but the son of the prefect of Wuling County.

His second brother was the son of the county governor who had been raised for twenty-one years.

More than two months ago, his second brother was sent to Lingnan. On the way there, thieves suddenly appeared and broke his legs. Not long after, he heard that his second brother was forced to marry an ugly woman with a bad temper.

Fu Zhen worried about this for more than two months, but he knew that his worries were useless. He had to stay in this mine until his service period was over before he could leave.

Now, when he suddenly heard that his brother's wife had come to redeem them, Fu Zhen was filled with suspicion.

"Then...what about me?" He Jing, who was standing aside, felt a little expectant and a little scared when he heard that someone had come to redeem the eldest brother and sister-in-law of the Fu family.

The guard glanced at him and said calmly, "Your parents are here to see you."

In one sentence, all hopes were extinguished.

But since his parents came to visit him, it gave him some hope.

*

Yu Ying waited in the house for a moment and finally saw someone.

Fu Wei's eldest brother is a tall and strong man with handsome and masculine features. Due to years of exposure to the sun, his skin is dark and tends to be bronze.

Upon closer inspection, his eyebrows and eyes are somewhat similar to Fu Wei.

Yu Ying looked at the petite woman hiding behind the man again.

The woman was covered in dirt and her face was covered in carbon ash. It was hard to tell what she looked like. Only her big eyes were clearly visible in black and white.

Those big eyes looked at Yu Ying with timidity and curiosity.

Yu Ying met his gaze and was stunned for a moment.

For a moment, she was reminded of the first time she met Xiao Fu Ning.

Both mother and daughter have similar and beautiful eyes.

Both of them were dressed in rags. If they were walking on the street, others would think they were beggars.

Yu Ying shouted, "Brother, sister-in-law."

Just as he finished speaking, another young man of about seventeen or eighteen walked in. When he saw Uncle He and Aunt He, his eyes immediately turned red and he cried out with a choked voice, "Father and Mother..."

Aunt He quickly ran up to her son and hugged him. She burst into tears and said in a trembling voice, "My son, you have suffered so much..."

Aunt He looked up at her son, touched his face, and choked up, "Erlang, you've become darker and thinner."

Uncle He stood aside and couldn't help but have tears in his eyes.

The scene of parents and children meeting each other is always touching.

Yu Ying's heart softened. After thinking for a moment, she turned around and walked to Huo Yacha who was standing beside her.

She whispered to the yamen runner Huo, "I wonder if the yamen runner Huo could be flexible and let He's son stay out tonight and bring him back early tomorrow morning."

With her back to the others, she took out four strings of ten-cent copper coins and stuffed them into Huo Yacha's pocket, saying, "This is for the official and the other officers to drink."

Huo Yacha stuffed the silver and money into his lapel, then walked over and said a few words to the officer. The officer looked at the mother and son, thought for a moment, and then nodded.

When Huo Yacha came back, he said, "It must be sent back before dawn tomorrow."

Yu Ying nodded and then told Uncle He about it.

Uncle He thanked him repeatedly.

Yu Ying turned to Fu Dalang and his wife and said, "Brother and sister-in-law, do you have anything else to pack? If so, go and pack now. We'll be leaving soon. Rest at the post station tonight and return to Lingshui Village tomorrow morning."

After a long silence, Fu Zhen finally spoke and asked, "Are you really... Erlang's wife?"

When Fu Zhen mentioned the name Erlang, he paused noticeably.

Fu Zhen was not overwhelmed by the surprise of being able to leave, and remained vigilant.

After all, staying in such a dangerous place for a long time, it is understandable to be cautious. Yu Ying nodded without any hesitation and said, "I am Erlang's new wife, my surname is Yu."

After thinking for a while, he said, "A Niang and An An and Ning Ning are at home waiting for my eldest brother and his wife to come back."

Hearing about his mother and children, Fu Zhen looked dazed for a moment, but his face showed no emotion, and he seemed to be a reserved person.

When Wen Xing heard the names of her two children, her eyes turned red as she grabbed her husband's sleeves.

Fu Zhen glanced at Uncle He and Aunt He, then said to his wife, "Wait here."

As he said that, he went back to pack up those tattered clothes.

Wen Xing was petite and timid. She nervously grasped the hem of her tattered clothes and lowered her head timidly.

The more Yu Ying looked at her, the more she felt that Fu Ning looked like her mother, and she also had a better impression of her sister-in-law.

Besides, with the help of Huo Yacha, they got out of the quarry quickly.

It was already past noon when we came out.

Fu Zhen turned around and looked at the quarry where he had worked for three years. Now that he was able to leave early, he suddenly felt that it was a little unreal.

Because He Jing still had time to serve, Huo Yacha and two other servants also went to the post station together.

They ordered some food and wine to eat and drink, and Yu Ying, Uncle He, Aunt He, and Fu Zhen and his wife sat at the same table.

They didn't order any big fish or meat, just a few bowls of meat noodles.

Aunt He put all the meat in the noodles into her son's bowl and whispered, "Erlang, wait for three months. After three months, mother and father will have saved enough money to take you out."

He Jing nodded dejectedly, as if he didn't quite believe that he would be able to go home in three months.

Yu Ying said, "Your father and mother are right. We will definitely be able to pick you up in three months. Now that your elder brother and his wife have been able to come out, it proves that their words are not empty talk."

He Jing heard this, looked up at the second sister-in-law of the Fu family, and then looked at the eldest brother of the Fu family who was able to leave, feeling a little uncomfortable.

Although Fu Zhen's expression didn't change much, he said in a deep voice: "After I leave, take care of yourself and don't let others bully you."

Uncle He also said, "Chastisement Officer Huo has already made arrangements with the guards, and will assign you some lighter tasks."

He Jing nodded, then buried his head in eating noodles.

This meal was the best meal that Fu Zhen and his wife had eaten in the past three years, and also the best meal that He Jing had eaten in the past year.

These people all did physical work, and Yu Ying felt that one bowl of noodles was not enough for them, so she asked the waiter to bring three more bowls of noodles.

After Wen Xing ate another half bowl, she couldn't eat anymore and gently pushed it to her husband.

Fu Zhen didn't say anything and picked up the remaining noodles and finished them.

After finishing the noodles, they asked the waiter to bring some hot water to the guest room so that they could wash off the dirt on their bodies. However, Fu Zhen and He Jing directly washed themselves at the well in the backyard, while Wen Xing washed herself in the house.

After washing up, Yu Ying remembered that her sister-in-law's clothes were too tattered, so she gave her only set of clothes to her.

After three years of working in the quarry, his clothes were worn out beyond recognition. The cuffs and trouser legs were so tattered that they could not be mended and could only barely cover his body.

Yu Ying knocked on the door and said, "Sister-in-law, it's me."

After a long time, my sister-in-law came to open the door.

Only when the door opened did Yu Ying see clearly the appearance of Fu An and Fu Ning's mother.

He had already washed and combed his hair, and his dirty face and messy hair were now clean. His facial features were small, but his eyes were big. Due to long-term fatigue and uneven nutrition, his cheeks and eye sockets were slightly sunken.

Because of the wind and rain, his skin was dark and dry, his lips were very chapped, and even his long hair was rough.

With gradual adjustment and maintenance, it will be restored.

Despite this appearance, he still looks very young.

But when I think about the fact that Fu An is already eight years old, my sister-in-law can’t be that young either. She probably just has a baby face.

Yu Ying said, "I sent some clothes for my sister-in-law to change into."

Wen Xing wasn't good at communicating with people and was a little scared, but thinking that it was her sister-in-law who had come to redeem her and her husband, she extended her hand in a gesture of invitation and said in a trembling voice, "Please, please come in."

Yu Ying entered the house, placed the clothes on the table, and said, "This is my dress. It may not be suitable. I'll have my sister-in-law make it again when we get back."

"Thank you, thank you." Wen Xing said in a low voice.

Yu Ying looked at him and said, "Have a good rest tonight. You can go back early tomorrow morning."

Yu Ying turned and left. When she reached the door, a soft voice suddenly came from behind her: "An An, Ning Ning, and the others..."

Yu Ying paused and turned around to look.

Wen Xing's eyes were slightly red as she continued to ask, "Aside from Ningning not being able to speak, did they grow up healthy?"

Yu Ying nodded and said, "An An is very sensible and will protect her grandmother and sister. Ning Ning is also very well-behaved and obedient."

Hearing this, Wen Xing covered her face and started crying.

Hearing his wife crying, Fu Zhen hurried back and saw his brother's wife at the door and his wife crying in the house. He was confused.

Yu Ying nodded at him and said, "I'll go back first."

After Yu Ying left, Fu Zhen asked, "What happened?"

Wen Xing shook her head and whispered, "I want to be at peace."

Fu Zhen was silent for a few breaths, then said in a hoarse voice, "You'll see him the day after tomorrow."

Yu Ying returned to the house, opened the window to get some fresh air, and looked towards Lingshui Village.

I don’t know how they have been doing these past two days without her.

But after only a few days, Yu Ying felt reluctant to leave. She thought that perhaps she had also developed an attachment to the Fu family.

*

Without Yu Ying, the atmosphere in the Fu family was very depressed.

Fu Ning no longer liked to laugh, and Fu An no longer liked to talk. The originally lively courtyard suddenly became quiet.

Because Yu Ying was away these days, Fu Ning slept with Luo Shi, while Fu An slept with his uncle.

He didn’t sleep with his uncle before, firstly because the new uncle was a stranger to them, and secondly because Fu An didn’t want to see his grandmother sleeping on the floor, so he slept on the bed.

Now that he has become familiar with his uncle and his grandmother no longer sleeps on the floor, Fuan doesn't feel uncomfortable.

Lying in bed at night, Fu An couldn't sleep and tossed and turned.

After a while, he couldn't help himself and asked in the darkness: "Uncle, Auntie didn't go back to her parents' home, right?"

Fu Wei said "hmm" lightly.

His biological mother knew very well that Liu Niang was unlikely to return to her parents' home, because returning would mean that her true identity might be exposed.

She saw through it, but didn't say it out loud. Perhaps she had no reason to keep him, and she didn't dare to do so.

The biological mother knew it, and the nephew also had a vague idea, so that's why he asked this question.

Hearing the affirmation in the laughter, Fu An's eyes turned red: "Will my aunt really come back?"

In the past, he hoped that his aunt would leave the Fu family as soon as possible, but now Fu An doesn't want his aunt to leave at all.

Fu Wei said: "Your aunt is a person who keeps her word. Unless there is an accident, she will come back when she said she would."

Tomorrow is the fourth day, and she should be back.

"Since my aunt is coming back, why haven't you been able to sleep well these past two nights?" Fu An was a little confused.

He couldn't sleep well because he was worried that his aunt would not come back and he would never see her again.

Fu Wei was silent for a moment, then listened to his nephew beside him say, "Uncle wakes up in the middle of the night and calls Aunt's name, as if Aunt hasn't left. I can hear it clearly. It must be Aunt's departure, and uncle is not used to it."

Fu Wei: “…”

After a long silence, he said, "Don't tell your aunt about this when she comes back."

"Why can't my uncle tell my aunt when he misses her?" Fu An asked endless questions.

Fu Wei suddenly didn't know how to respond to him.

"Is it because your uncle is shy?" Fu An asked again.

Fu Wei secretly breathed a sigh of relief and admitted perfunctorily, "Yes."

"Then I won't say it. Let my uncle say it himself. Maybe my aunt will be happy." Fu An didn't care much about this, so he didn't insist on the answer. What he cared about was something else.

"Where on earth did my aunt go?"

Fu An, who was young but mature, also sighed and muttered quietly, "I wonder if my aunt is hungry, cold, bullied, or misses us."

Upon hearing this, Fu Wei lowered his eyes slightly, suddenly remembered her tenacity, and smiled slightly.

"No, your aunt will take care of herself."