A month passed quickly, and Lin Wu returned, but this time he brought back a boy and a girl, both around ten years old, looking travel-worn as if they had just returned from begging.

Zhu Fanfan happened to be home that day, so he busied himself boiling water for them to take a bath. Lin Wu, however, dared not let Zhu Fanfan light the fire, fearing he might set the kitchen on fire! After boiling the water himself, the group took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and once they were all ready, the three of them finally returned to normal.

The only boy they brought back was about ten years old. He wasn't exactly emaciated, but he wasn't in much better shape either. His clothes were clean, but they didn't fit him very well. The little girl looked a bit younger than Zhu Fanfan, but her clothes were covered in patches. The two of them were very reserved and somewhat at a loss in the Zhu family.

Lin Wu was happy to see Zhu Fanfan: "Where are your uncle and aunt? Why are you home alone?"

Zhu Fanfan answered honestly, "They went to work, and my great-grandfather gave me a day off so I could review my lessons."

She angered her great-grandfather with her words, making him say he didn't want to see her and told her to stay home and reflect on her actions. She didn't mean it; her rabbits in her space had become an infestation, so she practiced dissecting them and casually asked her great-grandfather if he knew how to tan rabbit skins. Her great-grandfather got angry, gave her a dressing down, and then told her to stay home and reflect on her actions. The key point is that he didn't even tell her what she did wrong. What kind of reflection is that?

Zhu Fanfan was about to get the food when Lin Wu immediately stopped her: "You've never done housework before, what if you burn yourself? I'll bring it out, you wait here."

After saying that, he went to the kitchen. There were leftovers steaming on the rack while the water was boiling. Now that he could eat them, he was indeed hungry. Although they were leftovers, they were mostly meat, which made him very hungry.

Zhu Fanfan explained, "This was made by Grandma Da Mei. Grandpa said Uncle will be back in the next few days, and he specially saved it for you."

Actually, if you keep it in your space, you can just take it out when you want to eat it, and it won't spoil. She looked at the spicy rabbit meat and chicken soup that Grandma Da Mei made and followed the steps in her space to make them. They received unanimous praise from her grandparents. After all, when they cooked, it was a waste of meat. It was edible and wouldn't make people sick, but they didn't have the desire to eat it.

Lin Wu brought out the food and said to the two children he had brought, "This is Uncle Zhu's house. This is Fanfan. As I told you, she is Uncle Zhu's only granddaughter. We are staying here temporarily for a few days. Once we find a place to stay, we will move out."

Zhu Fanfan asked, "Uncle Lin, you suddenly came back and said you wanted to apply for the family housing. Grandpa didn't explain what happened."

Lin Wu was furious: "I went to visit my sworn brother's family this time, but I didn't expect Uncle Zhu to be right. After visiting several families, I found out that I had been deceived. They took the money but didn't treat my brother's children well..."

Lü Gui, the boy he brought back, was the only child of his sworn brother. He visited him once after the founding of the People's Republic of China, but fearing that the child might be abused, he went to explain that he would be responsible for the child's daily expenses and asked the Lü family to take good care of the child.

The Lü family made a promise, but in the blink of an eye, they forced the child's birth mother to remarry. The child was starving and cold at home. When he went there, it was only early spring and he was dressed very thinly. His hands and feet were covered in frostbite. He had to find food in the fields and stuff his mouth with dirt because there was nothing else to eat.

The other families were also infuriating. One of the sworn brothers, Luo Men, had a bad relationship with his family. Before he died, his biggest worry was his parents, who were weak-willed and often bullied by Luo Men's grandmother and uncles. He went back to explain that Luo Men had died for his country and that the country had provided compensation. He said that his sworn brothers would also take care of him.

Unexpectedly, the Luo family not only failed to take good care of Luo's parents, but also exploited them in every way. Luo's grandparents even brainwashed Luo's parents, saying that Luo's parents had caused the Luo family to lose an outstanding child, and that they had to compensate the Luo family for their loss by getting up earlier than the chickens, sleeping later than the dogs, and working harder than the oxen.

He went there furious and argued his case, but everyone in the Luo family, including Luo Men's parents, thought he was an outsider meddling in their affairs and was just being nosy. They felt that sending money every month was a joke, and Uncle Zhu was right; he was just a sucker.

There was another sworn brother, Li Agou, whose only relative was his grandmother. He had previously instructed the village chief to take good care of the old lady and even sent a gift to the former village chief every year. Now the village chief had been changed to the brigade leader, but it was still the same person. He had called the brigade leader and his grandmother to confirm before, but he didn't expect that when he went back this time, his grandmother didn't know that he had been sending money every month.

The money was embezzled by the brigade leader, and naturally, he couldn't let his hard-earned money go to waste. He reported it to the relevant authorities, and the brigade leader was dismissed. He wanted his grandmother to come back with him, but she refused, saying that she didn't have many days left to live and wanted to die in her hometown. He could only ask someone to take care of her.

Zhu Fanfan sighed, "Uncle Zhu, you've had a tough time. Will you still help them out in the future?"

However, she had no sympathy for him at all. His grandparents had been advising him for so many years to wake him up, but he was deceiving himself by thinking that his sworn brothers' families were all good and that he should fulfill his filial duties on behalf of his sworn brothers. His intentions were good, but he used the wrong methods.

Lin Wu naturally wouldn't continue to be a sucker: "I'm an outsider, so it's not appropriate for me to get involved in their affairs in the future. But Yang Nong's family is very kind. They always return the money I send, and later they even sent me local specialties."

Zhu Fanfan smiled and didn't say anything. Yes, if you send it back, they will return it. But if you keep sending it, they will feel embarrassed to refuse. The price of the local specialties you send plus the shipping cost is almost the same as the money you send. They are trying to distance themselves from you!

Lin Wu continued, "After I went there this time, they just lamented that Yang Nong would be this old if he were alive, and told me not to send him money anymore. Everyone said they were bloodsuckers, but Yang Nong was a national hero, and they couldn't let him be criticized after his death."

Zhu Fanfan: ...As long as you're happy.

Lin Wu continued, “The girl’s name is Lin Xiaofang. I met her at the train station. She was pitiful. I placed an ad in the newspaper to find her family, but I couldn’t find them. I was worried about leaving a girl alone in such a chaotic environment, so with her consent, I brought her back with me. I will adopt them in the future.”

Zhu Fanfan respects the choices of others, even her family.

Lin Wu continued, "I'll take the kids to find a place to stay this afternoon. Fanfan, are you alright staying home alone?"

Zhu Fanfan said, "I only stay in this small building and don't go to the family building. Today I made an appointment with Grandpa Ji to learn about the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams and have dinner at his house until he comes back."

Lin Wu instructed, "Minister Ji is now semi-retired. He has submitted his retirement application but it has not been approved. Everyone in the military knows that he has a bad temper. Be careful not to provoke him. If you are unhappy, run away as soon as possible. If you run fast, he will not be able to catch you."