Chapter 87 Returning Home

Song Yushu and Xiong Erni were quickly sent back to the prefectural city, while Xue Huai'an stayed behind to assist the magistrate of Qishan County in the search for human traffickers.

"You're finally back! Otherwise, I really wouldn't know how to explain to your mother..." Aunt Yang was so excited to see Song Yushu return safely that she burst into tears. She circled around Song Yushu for a while, and only when she saw that he looked haggard but was not injured did she feel relieved.

"It's alright, my mother and the others don't know about this, right?" Song Yushu asked uncertainly.

"Master Xue said he would send someone to find you first, but he didn't dare tell your parents. Luckily, you're back."

Song Yushu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. It was their carelessness; they should have been more careful when traveling.

"Is your uncle's corvée labor almost over?"

"It's been just a few days. And there's some good news: the guards watching over them were replaced a few days ago, and they even brought a doctor to treat their injuries. They're finally feeling a bit better," Aunt Yang said, her voice filled with joy.

"That's good. We'll go back after we pick them up." Song Yushu was also afraid that if she went back in her current state, Wei's mother and the others would notice something was wrong, so she decided to stay in the city and recuperate some more.

Aunt Yang was naturally delighted to hear this, and went downstairs to find the waiter to prepare hot water and food for the two of them.

"Sister Wei, you and Master Xue..." Xiong Erni had been holding back all the way, but she still couldn't help but ask.

"It's just like what you saw, but you have to keep it a secret for me. We'll talk about the rest when he gets back," Song Yushu said without hiding anything. The moment she saw Xue Huai'an in Qishan County, she felt not only surprise but also a sense of peace.

“Master Xue is indeed a good person,” Xiong Erni thought for a long time and only said this one sentence.

“What you said is not wrong,” Song Yushu said with a smile, pushing the pastries on the table toward her.

After eating and drinking his fill and washing up, Song Yushu slept until the afternoon of the next day.

"What about the goods we bought before?" After waking up, Song Yushu wanted to take stock of the goods he had bought in the prefectural city.

“They’re all in my room. I couldn’t find you at the time, so they were all piled up together,” Aunt Yang said, leading her into the room to see the goods.

Song Yushu counted them all, and nothing was missing, except that the old man who did carpentry hadn't delivered her goods yet.

This time, Song Yushu dared not be careless and took the two drivers who had driven the carriage with him.

"Uncle, how many of the toys I ordered have been made?" Song Yushu arrived at the shop he had visited before and saw the old man still polishing wood.

“I’ve already made five sets. What, are you in a hurry? There are still five more to go. I’m afraid it will take another three days.” The old man finished making the wooden models and then painted them. Even though he had been working hard, he had only made five sets of building blocks.

"You start working on it, I want to see how it turns out."

"Okay, I'll take it out for you to see," the old man said without saying a word, and went inside to take out the toys that had already been tidied up.

Looking at the various shapes of wooden blocks painted with bright colors, Song Yushu realized that they were indeed just like the building blocks she had described. She even built a small house with great interest.

"The old man's cooking is really good," Song Yushu said, offering his praise without reservation.

"Hmph, after decades of crafting this skill, if I can't even make this, wouldn't I be laughed at?" The old man was a bit arrogant.

"How about we do some business? I can buy from you from now on." Song Yushu could already imagine how popular these building blocks would be, and he was really unwilling not to take the opportunity to make some money.

"You were the one who suggested this first. You can cooperate with whomever you want, so why did you choose me?" Although the old man was very confident in his skills, he also knew that he had a bad temper. He could also see that this unique set of building blocks would be very popular, so it was normal for Song Yushu to cooperate with others.

“I don’t want anything that’s made to look shoddy. I trust your skills, old man. These days it’s easy to copy. You can find a reliable person to work with you. Let’s build up some inventory first and then sell it in bulk. That way, even if someone tries to copy it later, it will take them time to make it, and we can make a big profit first.”

Seeing that he did not refuse, Song Yushu directly stated his thoughts.

Although the old man had a bad temper, he wouldn't refuse to spend the money. The two of them signed a contract, with one contributing money and the other contributing labor.

Having successfully concluded a business deal, Song Yushu returned to the inn in high spirits.

"Why have you been gone for so long? Come and have some soup. I borrowed their kitchen to make it."

Aunt Yang breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Song Yushu return. She was still a little scared. She originally didn't want Song Yushu to go out, but Song Yushu said he was taking people with him, so she didn't stop him. But once the people were out, she started to have all sorts of wild thoughts, so she had to find something to do.

"I went to the shopkeeper to talk to him about some things. Auntie, this soup is really good," Song Yushu knew that Aunt Yang was frightened this time and made up her mind not to go out for the next few days, since she had already finished what she needed to do.

“Your eldest uncle will be able to go back soon, and then we’ll leave the prefectural city. Otherwise, I’ll be living in fear all the time here.” The forced labor and kidnapping made Aunt Yang’s impression of the prefectural city worse and worse, and she missed her life in the county even more.

“Alright, let’s go back together then. I bet our parents and grandparents are getting impatient,” Song Yushu agreed. She also felt that the prefectural city was not very safe at the moment, and was even afraid that the officials would arrest her again. Fortunately, Xue Huai’an had told her that someone from the prefect’s office had come to investigate, so they dared not do anything too outrageous during this period.

Song Yushu naturally hoped that those corrupt officials would be brought to justice as soon as possible, so that ordinary people like her could have an easier time and not have to live in constant fear.

Two days passed quickly, and the month of corvée labor was over. Song Yushu and Aunt Yang brought Uncle Yang back and let him rest for a day before taking his men back.

They didn't have much when they came, but they went back with lots of bags and packages, and they had to use a horse-drawn cart to carry all of it.

"You're finally back!" When Wei's mother saw them getting off the carriage, she quickly helped the two elderly people out.

"You really scared us to death! You must never again be greedy for that little bit of money and risk your life. You were lucky this time to come back alive. What are we supposed to do next time?" The two old people had been living in fear for a month. When they saw their once strong son now thin and skinny, they burst into tears.

"I will never do it again. I will stay by my parents' side from now on and never go anywhere else," said Uncle Yang, who had almost experienced a life-or-death separation from his family and was filled with lingering fear.

"It's good that you're back. Quickly let them go in and rest. They've traveled such a long way," said Mother Wei, wiping away her tears as she helped them inside after seeing that they were all safe and sound.

Returning to familiar surroundings, Song Yushu finally felt relieved. After resting for a day, he began working in the kitchen.