Chapter 83

Fu Le smiled, revealing her small teeth. She had traded a piece of candy for beef jerky; she had made a profit.

The little boy's house is at the end of the street, no wonder his play area is here.

It's a small courtyard with five rooms, shaped like a concave wall. The courtyard is about fifty square meters, which is quite spacious. There are trees, a stone table, and the ground is very clean.

There were a few children in the yard. When they saw the boy bring people in, they all gathered around and called him "Big Brother".

The boy's name was Chen Tianshui. He was the eldest of seven siblings, with three younger brothers and three younger sisters. The children's clothes were clean and tidy, simple but without patches. Fu Le roughly understood that in this era, such a family was considered large, and they had managed to raise each child so well.

"Tianshui? You're back?" A woman's voice came from inside the house. "It's good that you're back. Dinner's ready."

Fu Le: ...

I just arrived and I ran into a group of people having a meal. Should I leave or not?

"Huh? Tianshui, where did this little guy come from?" Li Linghua didn't hear her son's response for a while, so she went outside. Unexpectedly, she saw a strange, chubby little boy surrounded by her children, chattering away. Each of them was holding a shiny, candy-like object.

"Hello, Auntie." Fu Le greeted everyone in Mandarin, since she couldn't speak the local Beihe dialect.

"Okay, okay, girl, where are your parents? You're not from around here, are you? We've never seen you before." Li Linghua, with her neat short hair, was also very straightforward. As she spoke, she walked down the steps toward Fu Le.

This chubby little baby is so adorable! He has big, round eyes, is innocent and cute, and his chubby face looks like a steamed bun, making you want to pinch it.

Fu Le's face was pinched, and she was picked up. "Come on, let's go eat with Auntie."

Although it was a simple meal, Fu Le ate with great satisfaction. In his excitement, he wanted to sprinkle candy, but Li Linghua stopped him, which made the children pout. Fu Le scratched his head awkwardly.

After finishing his meal, Fu Le finally revealed his previous story under Li Linghua's repeated questioning: "Auntie, I got separated from my mom and dad..."

After she finished speaking, everyone fell silent. Li Linghua affectionately stroked Fu Le's short hair. The whole country was in chaos. This girl's parents were doctors who had returned to the country to support it. Perhaps they were helping out in some field hospital right now. "Lele, why don't you stay at your aunt's house? Your aunt's house isn't well-off, but we can make sure you have enough to eat."

"Is it okay?" The chubby little boy tilted his head.

"Of course you can." Li Linghua couldn't help but touch Fu Le's chubby face again. "You can stay here indefinitely. Your aunt will ask your uncle to help you ask at the nearby field hospital if you can find your parents. Our family's conditions are just average, so please don't complain about the food."

Hearing this, Fu Le shook her head. Seeing this, Li Linghua said worriedly, "Yaya, you're still too young to run around outside alone. The world is very chaotic now. A child as young as you could be kidnapped by human traffickers. You should stay here. Auntie will try her best to find your parents as soon as possible, okay?"

Knowing that Li Linghua had misunderstood, Fu Le took out ten silver dollars from his schoolbag and handed them over. "Auntie, I don't eat and drink for free. My father said that it's impolite to eat and drink for free at other people's houses."

Li Linghua stared at the silver coins held in the little girl's small hands, a strange emotion brewing in her heart. "We don't need all of these. Auntie will take one, and you can keep the rest."

The little girl's father raised her very well; he must be an excellent person.

Li Linghua felt a deep respect for the old man Fu, whom she had never met before. Then she took a silver coin and said, "Yaya, you can stay here. Your uncle and aunt will help you find your family."

"Okay, thank you, Auntie." I didn't expect to meet such an honest family so soon. I'm lucky this time.

She took out ten yuan to see Li Linghua's true nature. If she was greedy, she would leave immediately and wouldn't give her the money.

Fu Le settled down there, and in the evening, she met the head of the Chen family, the man with the beady eyes who ran the pawnshop.

Fu Le: ...What a damn coincidence.

Chen Yaozu was also surprised. How could that chubby girl who had been thinking about him for so long be in his house?

After understanding the whole situation, Chen Yaozu smiled and said, "Little girl, are you still afraid of your uncle?"

Knowing the whole story, Li Linghua laughed as the family gathered around, creating a lively atmosphere.

Fu Le could only awkwardly grin and laugh along.

However, it's clear that none of the family members have bad intentions. Fu Le really likes this big family and has come to deeply understand the meaning of "don't judge a book by its cover"—a bad face doesn't necessarily mean a bad person.

"Yaya, come here, tell your uncle what your parents look like. He's going to the nearest hospital in a few days, and maybe he can find out about them for you."

Fu Le let Li Linghua lead him into Chen Yaozu's study, a small room of about 20 square meters. The walls were lined with custom-made bookshelves filled with books, many of which had been turned over, showing that he was a book lover. On the long black table, there was a pen holder and several calligraphy brushes, ink, and Xuan paper. On the wall hung a calligraphy of the words "Heaven rewards diligence".

Chen Yaozu was writing by candlelight when he heard the noise, so he put down his pen and gestured to his wife to close the door.

“Come here, Yaya, tell your uncle what your parents are like?” Chen Yaozu beckoned and said softly.

Fu Le described the facial features of Old Fu and Fu Ma. Then, Chen Yaozu casually picked up a piece of Xuan paper from the table and began to draw figures. Then, Fu Le was stunned...

The outlines of Lao Fu and his biological mother appear clearly on the paper.

Fu Le: ...

Her parents are going to be wanted?! Oh no, she was careless. She really didn't expect Chen Yaozu to be such a hidden master.

Fu Le was speechless with frustration. He hadn't expected that a casual remark would lead him to a master of calligraphy and painting, whose portraiture skills were truly impressive. The calligraphy on the wall must have been his own work!

"Uncle, your drawing is so beautiful! This is my mom and dad." Fu Le forced a smile. "Uncle, can I go with you?"

"It's not impossible. If you can't find it, then come back with me."

"Old Chen." Li Linghua was a little worried about the safety on the road. It would be very inconvenient to take care of such a young girl.

"Don't worry, the eldest daughter of the De Yi family will be going with me to work as a nurse there, and she can take care of me along the way."

Hearing her husband say that, Li Linghua didn't say anything more.

Two days passed in a flash. Fu Le was busy every night, ransacking the homes of the three traitors who had colluded with the Japanese, and doing the same to their shops. He was astonished by the sheer amount of grain, gold, silver, valuables, and antiques they found. He estimated there were thousands of tons of grain alone, piles and vats of rice, flour, and oil, and even fine wine. These bastards were using all that precious grain to feed the enemy; they deserved to die!