Then she said to Gu An'an and Aheng, "An'an, Aheng, what else would you like to eat? Your aunt is treating today."

She brought all the money her father gave her, as well as the money her father gave her, all for the sake of the saying "a poor family should travel with plenty of money." But after she came to the army, Gu An'an didn't give her any chance to spend money. No matter how much she brought with her, she still had the same amount.

"Alright, then we'll go all out today."

Gu An'an's cheerful demeanor eased Xu Nian and Xu Wan's tension considerably. It wasn't until they sat down at the table to wait for their meal that Xu Wan finally had the energy to ask her question.

"Brother, sister, aunt, what is your relationship with my brother? Why are you helping us?"

Although malnutrition made Xu Wan look very thin, her facial features remained unchanged. Her big eyes and skin that wouldn't tan made her look very cute.

“We are friends of Xu Nian’s biological parents.”

Xu Wan's eyes widened instantly. She knew that Xu Nian was not her biological brother because Xu's uncle's family had never tried to hide it. They would often describe her brother as a bastard or a low-born child, which would make her very sad.

She also asked her brother if he wanted to find his biological parents, and he always nodded and shook his head, looking very conflicted.

Now that her brother's biological parents have been found, Xu Wan is happy for them, but at the same time she is a little scared. She and her brother have depended on each other for many years. What will she do if her brother goes with his biological parents?

They're still too young; what they're thinking inevitably shows on their faces.

Xu Nian patted her head tenderly, "Wanwan, don't worry, no matter where your brother goes, he will take you with him."

"real?"

Xu Wan's eyes lit up, but then she shook her head, as if thinking of something. "Brother, if they treat you well, you can go back and don't need to worry about me."

She feared that her brother would have a strained relationship with their biological parents because of her, a burden he was carrying. After all, no family is wealthy these days, and who would want to raise a complete stranger?

Her brother has suffered for too long, and she hopes that someone will care for her more, instead of being a burden to him.

Gu An'an and the other two understood Xu Wan's thoughts, and therefore felt even more sorry for her. If the parents were still alive, the child, who was only a few years old, would probably still be asking them for money and candy, instead of considering everything so carefully.

"Don't worry, Xiaowan. Uncle Lao Nian and Aunt Qiao are both very good people. I believe you won't have any such concerns once you've met them."

Perhaps because of her pregnancy, Gu An'an couldn't bear to see children who lacked a sense of security.

Xu Wan didn't know what to say, but she knew that the beautiful woman next to her meant her no harm, so she was willing to show her goodwill and gave her a sweet smile, "Okay."

But she had also made up her mind that if the other party was unwilling to accept her, she would persuade her brother to go back with them as long as the other party treated his brother well.

"The noodles are here, hurry up and eat them."

Xu Wan smelled the delicious aroma before she even ate. Despite being very hungry, she thanked the village chief's wife, "Thank you, Auntie."

"Hey, sweetie, eat slowly, no rush."

The village chief's wife was almost brought to tears by this child.

Next, Xu Wan kept her head down and ate her noodles, but if you looked closely, you could tell that besides eating, she was also listening to what Xu Nian and Gu An'an were saying, because they were talking about Wang Laonian and his wife, and about Xiao Wang Village.

Xu's father used to live in the countryside, and Xu Wan had visited him a few times, but her impression of him was not very good.

But is that Xiaowang Village really that good? Everyone has enough to eat, and the village even has industries. As long as you work hard enough, you can have enough to eat. If that's the case, then isn't it okay for her to follow her brother and not be a burden to him?

Seeing the curious and expectant looks in their eyes from time to time, Gu An'an and Xiao Yuheng smiled at each other.

After dinner, Gu An'an originally wanted to book a room for the two of them at the guesthouse, but these days you need a letter of introduction to book a room, and Xu Nian didn't want to waste their money, so he declined their offer.

"Don't worry, Sister Gu, I'll take good care of myself and Xiao Wan these next few days."

Seeing a different life beckoning to him, how could Xu Nian ruin his future because of those scumbags?

"Okay, they sometimes come to the guesthouse to find us. We've been here these past few days."

They originally planned to stay only one night, but now it will definitely be longer.

After the two left, Gu An'an said to Xiao Yuheng, "Do you know anyone here? Try to find out about the Xu family."

Xu Nian and Xu Wan's guardianship is still in that family's hands, and it certainly won't be easy to get it back. It's essential to prepare in advance.

"Okay, I'll go out for a bit. You and your aunt stay in the room and don't wander around."

Two hours later, Xiao Yuheng returned.

“I told my comrade-in-arms, and he works in the Armed Forces Department after he was discharged from the army. He will find out more about it next year and let us know.”

When Xu Nian took Xu Wan back home, he suddenly found the door locked.

In the past, to prevent Xiao Wan from being harmed when he wasn't looking, he would choose to swallow his anger and knock on the door until she opened it, rather than making the matter public.

But he didn't want to do that today.

He didn't knock on the door, but silently led Xu Wan to the soap factory manager's house.

"Xiao Nian, Xiao Wan, come in quickly."

"Uncle Yang, my uncle's house is locked, and we have nowhere to go."

Yang Cheng immediately frowned. "Beast."

In fact, they had seen what had happened to the Xu family over the years, but everyone knew that the Xu family members were scoundrels. They would help the two children one minute, and then cause even more trouble the next.

At that time, both children were young. Whenever he tried to intervene, the other party would say it was a family matter. When he suggested changing guardians, the other party would throw a tantrum.

After this happened several times, Xu Nian stopped letting them interfere.

I remember the boy, who was only ten years old at the time, told him, "It's okay, I'll endure it for a few years. As long as I grow up and can take on the responsibility of a family, I will take my sister away from that home."

So although he has often helped the two of them over the years, it has always been material assistance, and Xu Nian has often refused his help.

He hadn't expected that the other party would come to him directly with his sister today.

"You've given me permission to get involved?"

Xu Nian nodded, "I think I've found my biological parents. I might be able to leave that place soon. Even if something goes wrong along the way, I'm going to leave that family. Uncle Yang, please help me. I can take care of Xiao Wan on my own now."

Yang Cheng nodded approvingly, "Okay, I'll go with you."

Sure enough, when they arrived at the Xu family's residence, the gates were still locked.

Xu Nian couldn't open it with the key.

Yang Cheng then began to knock silently on the door, followed by curses from inside, "What are you knocking for! It's so noisy! If you knock again, believe me, I'll beat you up."