Li Youran listened carefully for a long time but couldn't hear anything amiss. She looked at Tang Lei with curiosity.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door.
"Don't be afraid, my dear grandson, Grandma is here."
An old and weak voice rang out, and Li Youran felt it was very familiar. But in the darkness, she couldn't see who it was until two small figures approached. Only then did Li Youran recognize them as the grandfather and grandson she had met when she entered the city.
"Little friend, grandma, we meet again."
As Li Youran spoke, she hurriedly got up and made room for the grandfather and grandson to sit down on a straw mat.
"I'm sorry to bother you."
The old woman looked apologetic as she addressed Li Youran and her group.
Tang Lei didn't speak, but subtly withdrew his hand from the knife and nodded to the old man.
"Grandpa, you must be starving. I'll go make some hot soup right away."
Wu Yong couldn't sit still any longer under You Ran's gaze, so he hurriedly got up, picked up a broken pot, and tried to cook some soup.
"Cough cough cough..."
The old woman wanted to speak to express her gratitude, but before she could utter a word, she was struck by a violent cough.
Normally, coughing a few times wouldn't matter, but this time it was pneumonia, so Li Youran hurriedly placed her hand on the old woman's hand.
"Grandpa, let me take your pulse."
Seeing Li Youran's serious expression, the old man did not refuse.
"Young lady, have I also been infected with the plague?"
As the old woman spoke, she moved her body back, wanting to distance herself from her grandson and Li Youran's group.
"It's just a common cold, but your body is too weak. If you go to crowded places, you are very likely to get infected with the plague."
Hearing Li Youran's words, the old woman finally breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at her grandson with loving eyes and gently stroked his hair.
"I'm an old man, but I can still hold on for a few more days."
"Grandma, I hope you live to be a hundred years old and that your grandson will find you a wife."
The thin boy hurriedly and obediently got up and pleaded with the old woman.
After chatting, Li Youran learned that the little boy was nine years old and the old woman was fifty-nine years old. The two of them had fled from the south during a famine.
A plague broke out in the village, and with no one in charge, the remaining villagers each tried to find their own solutions.
Hearing that Tongzhou was not strictly managed and that people could enter the city, the grandfather and grandson decided to give it a try.
"We were fortunate to meet some kind people on the road, otherwise my grandfather and I would have died on the road."
As the old woman spoke, she kept muttering about the kind person.
"I only know that the kind person's surname is Feng and that he is a doctor. If I meet him again in the future, I will definitely repay him properly."
"Grandma, don't worry, I will definitely repay that uncle properly in the future."
As Shunzi spoke, she looked obediently at Grandma Liu.
"It's really a rare thing to run into a doctor these days."
Upon hearing that the doctor was surnamed Feng, Li Youran became suspicious, but she did not show it and instead changed the subject.
"I wonder where that doctor is going. If he could come to Tongzhou and save the people from their suffering, that would be wonderful."
"Grandma, that doctor was very strange; he didn't get out to relieve himself the whole way."
After hearing Li Youran's words, Shunzi looked at Grandma Liu with a puzzled expression.
"Shunzi, don't talk about your benefactor behind his back."
Grandma Liu said to Shunzi with a serious expression.
"Old man, do you remember what our benefactors looked like, or where they went?"
Tang Lei, who had been sitting silently to the side, suddenly asked.
"These days, it's hard enough to take care of yourself, so to still be able to lend a helping hand to others under such circumstances is truly a rare and wonderful person."
Grandma Liu was initially quite puzzled as to why Tang Lei and Li Youran were so concerned about this matter, but after hearing Tang Lei's words, her doubts were dispelled.
"He is truly a rare good person," said Grandma Liu, recalling Dr. Feng's appearance.
"The young man is very handsome. Even the fairest skin of a lady from a respectable family might not be as fair as his. Moreover, he is gentle and delicate, and speaks with great politeness."
After hearing Grandma Liu's description, Li Youran could tell that this person was the Doctor Feng she was looking for.
"As for where our benefactors went, we don't know. We only know that when they were almost at Tongzhou City, they left us, grandfather and grandson, on the road and continued on their way. We don't know whether they came to Tongzhou or continued north."
Li Youran and Tang Lei exchanged a subtle glance and did not continue the topic.
"Young lady, we're getting old and our teeth aren't very good. Soak some dry food in hot soup; it'll be easier to digest."
As Wu Yong spoke, he handed a bowl of hot soup to Grandma Liu using a ladle.
"Thank you, little sister," Grandma Liu said with a smile as she took the hot soup.
Because Wu Yong was disguised as an elderly woman, Grandma Liu talked to him more.
By the next morning, the two elderly women had become inseparable best friends.
When Li Youran and Tang Lei woke up, they saw that the two of them had already cooked hot soup.
"Son, daughter-in-law, you're awake. After breakfast, hurry and go find your uncle!"
As Wu Yong spoke, he wiped his slightly reddened eyes and continued.
"I haven't been back to Tongzhou for so many years, and I don't know if your uncle's family is still around."
Li Youran and Tang Lei's lips twitched slightly in unison. They thought to themselves that Yong's acting was too realistic. However, they wondered if they could communicate in advance next time they acted. They almost didn't realize it.
"Mother, you can wait here without worry. My husband and I will go out to find my uncle."
Li Youran didn't know why Wu Yong changed his plans and didn't go with him and Tang Lei, but he felt that there was something going on behind the scenes. However, with outsiders present, he couldn't ask and could only agree.
"Shunzi is such a well-behaved and obedient child. He hasn't made a fuss about going out. Shunzi, would you like to go out with your uncle and aunt to see Tongzhou City?"
After hearing Wu Yong's words, Tang Lei glanced at him subtly. She felt that Wu Yong was acting very strangely today, but she didn't say much. She just spoke lightly to Shunzi.
"I heard there are a lot of sparrows in Tongzhou. I'll bring a couple when I come back, so I can improve my life and have a treat."
"Grandma, let me go with Uncle and Aunt!"
Shunzi was initially hesitant, but upon hearing that there were sparrows, she hurriedly looked at Grandma Liu with anticipation.
"You've gone..."
"If the child wants to go, let him go with him."
Seeing that Li Youran and Tang Lei did not object, Grandma Liu did not stop her grandson from going out with them.
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