"Second Uncle, they say you're not coming back. Ah Xu misses you so much."
"Your second uncle misses you too."
"Can you tell me how you got out?"
"It's your sister..."
The sight of the uncle and nephew reuniting after a long separation deeply moved Zhao Shan.
When Li Zheng returned from hunting, he spotted Ye Shi from outside the gate. After releasing the prey, he entered the Qiu family's courtyard.
Seeing Qiu Dafu, I was equally surprised.
Qiu Dafu came out of the house, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Brother Li has arrived." Qiu Dafu had already heard Qiu Yan talk about Qiu Xu learning martial arts from Li Zheng, so he couldn't help but show some respect when he saw Li Zheng.
"When did you return?" Li Zheng returned the greeting with clasped hands.
"I just got home an hour ago," Qiu Dafu replied.
"Master, Second Uncle, Village Chief Uncle, please sit here."
Qiu Xu brought over a table and chairs for the three of them to sit down.
Soon, the aroma of food filled the Qiu family's old courtyard. Li Zheng brought his own dining table from home, where Qiu Dafu and his two brothers sat, and Qiu Xu sat at another table.
Qiu Yan, Qiu Ling'er, Gu Xiaoran, and Ye Shi, Wang Shi, and Zhao Yuanyuan were at one table.
At this time, the Qiu family's old courtyard was bustling with activity.
Before the meal, Qiu Yan first asked Qiu Xu to deliver some meat soup to Old Man Zhao, and then took out the small bottles of wine she had bought from Baiyang at noon, placing two jars on the table.
After the meal, the small bottles of wine on Qiu Yan's table remained untouched, and none of the women drank. In the end, the wine was all served at another table.
After finishing several jars of wine, Zhao Shan felt a little dizzy.
Li Zheng was still somewhat unsatisfied, feeling that he hadn't had enough to drink.
This made Zhao Shan feel embarrassed, but when he saw Qiu Dafu already fast asleep on the table, he immediately regained some confidence.
Qiu Dafu only drank three cups, how could he be drunk?
That night, Qiu Dafu and Qiu Xu shared a room.
Without the damp cell, without cockroaches and rats, Qiu Dafu slept soundly.
"Second Uncle, you're awake."
Early in the morning, before dawn, Qiu Ling'er lay down in front of Qiu Dafu's bed, staring intently at him with her big eyes.
Having not seen him for so long, she feared that when she woke up, her second uncle would be gone.
At this time, Wang had also arrived at the Qiu family's house, as promised, to help with the chores.
Wang was very diligent and clean, and she did everything in an orderly manner.
Qiu Dafu knew that Qiu Yan not only gathered herbs in the mountains and forests, but also learned how to process them from Old Man Zhao. In particular, after learning that Qiu Yan had sent Qiu Xu to the village school, he felt a mixture of relief and unreality.
Having been given a new lease on life, he always felt that everything around him had changed.
The most obvious discovery is that my niece has become shrewd and has even learned how to make money.
However, the village hasn't changed, and neither have the people in the village.
After finishing breakfast, Qiu Yan and Qiu Dafu went to Baiyang.
At Qiu Yumei's house, Zhao San and Qiu Dayu have gone out to work, and Zhao An and Zhao Yang have gone to the academy, so Qiu Yumei is all alone now.
The three met up and went together, heading straight to the street where the wonton shop was from the day before.
The street is called Flower Food Street, and it's located on the north side. From a distance, you can see not only wonton shops and other storefronts along the street, but also many small stalls.
They strolled around the food street, where there were many kinds of breakfast items, including noodle soup, steamed buns, mantou, steamed cakes, and fried cakes.
Qiu Dafu walked at the front, inspecting each stall and observing how people did their business.
Qiu Yan and Qiu Yumei walked along, keeping an eye on the prices.
Qiu Yan asked an old lady selling sesame cakes where she had arrived; the stalls here cost five coins a day.
After leaving Flower Food Street, the next street is the main street, with bookstores and jewelry shops nearby. Further ahead are Xingyuelou and Renaitang, among other shops. To the south are Shuangxilou, rouge shops, brokerage firms, and so on.
As they reached the corner ahead, Qiu Yan saw Jiang Liu limping forward, her face full of anger.
The maid Cuizhu was carrying a pile of things of various sizes and couldn't help her. She just hoped to get back to the manor as soon as possible. "Madam, please don't be angry. It's not worth getting sick from anger."
"Who said I'm angry? I'm in a great mood." Jiang Liu said this through gritted teeth, her words contradicting her true feelings.
"Sister Jiang." Qiu Yan called out. Upon hearing this, Jiang Liu quickly turned around, but before she could see Qiu Yan, she bumped into Qiu Dafu.
She was just thinking that she seemed to have seen this person somewhere before when she accidentally twisted her ankle again.
Jiang Liu felt a pain in her foot, and her body involuntarily fell downwards.
Cuizhu instinctively reached out to help, but because of her action, things fell to the ground with a crash, and she not only failed to help the person but also fell down herself.
Qiu Dafu was the first to step forward, wanting to help but not daring to. His hands were frozen in mid-air. In the end, it was Qiu Yan who helped Jiang Liu up.
Qiu Dafu and Qiu Yumei helped pick up the things on the ground and handed them to Cuizhu.
"Sister Jiang, what's wrong?" Qiu Yan asked.
"Ugh, don't even mention it, I accidentally twisted my ankle." Jiang Liu's ankle was sore, and her eyes were red.
She crouched down and rubbed her sore ankles. When she looked up at Qiu Dafu, she remembered who he was. "It's you?"
"You know me?" Qiu Dafu was completely confused.
"Second Uncle Qiu Yan, speaking of which, I once saved your life."
Qiu Dafu took a serious look at Jiang Liu, and thinking of the wealthy woman he had seen in prison that day, he finally realized who she was.
Qiu Dafu stared at Jiang Liuren's beauty for a moment, lost in thought.
Jiang Liu awkwardly turned her head away, and when she saw the crowd in front of her, a flash of loneliness crossed her eyes.
Qiu Yan followed Jiang Liu's gaze and saw a voluptuous young woman swaying her hips as she helped Magistrate Tang, who was dressed in plain clothes, walk past in the crowd.
"Qiu Yan, I have something to attend to, so I'll be leaving now." Jiang Liu was in a bad mood and wanted to go back to the mansion to have some peace and quiet.
As she said this, she took one last look at the things she had bought.
"Second Uncle Qiu Yan, please help me out since I saved you. Cui Zhu can't carry all these things by herself."
"Okay." Qiu Dafu nodded seriously. Jiang Liu was his savior, so this little favor was nothing to mention.
As he spoke, he took everything from Cuizhu's hands. Cuizhu was so moved that she almost cried. The lady was so kind to her.
But... she was overthinking it.
"Cuizhu, what are you standing there for? Can't you see my feet hurt so much I can't walk? Hurry up and help me up."
After Jiang Liu finished speaking, she didn't forget to look at Qiu Yan, "Qiu Yan, come to the Tang residence another day, let's get together and have a chat."
Qiu Yan nodded. After the three left, Qiu Yumei, who had been standing there in a daze for a long time, began to ask, "Xiao Yan, who is Sister Jiang? What is her relationship with Second Brother?"
Qiu Yan: "She is the county magistrate's wife, and she saved my second uncle." Qiu Yan recounted her past deeds one by one, and Qiu Yumei finally understood.
Qiu Dafu and his servant Jiang Liu walked along Baiyang Main Street, one in front of the other, at a moderate pace.
"Madam, what's troubling you so much?" Qiu Dafu broke the silence with his words.
"I'm fine." Jiang Liu wasn't familiar with Qiu Dafu, so she couldn't tell him everything.
Because her birthday was approaching, Tang Yi would always accompany her and personally choose a birthday gift for her.
This year, because a new lady joined the Tang family, just now, before she could even choose her gift, Tang Yi was lured away by Hu Ying. In a fit of anger, she stormed off.
But because he was walking too fast, he twisted his ankle.
Seeing that Jiang Liu was unwilling to say more, Qiu Dafu did not ask any further questions. "Since Madam is unable to walk, why not have a maid go back to the mansion first and fetch a carriage?"
Upon hearing this, Cuizhu slapped her forehead and said, "Madam, please wait here. I'll be right back."
Jiang Liu wanted to say that it wasn't far, and that she would walk a little further and then go back, but in the blink of an eye, Cui Zhu's figure had already run far away.
After Cuizhu left, Jiang Liu's ankle hurt even more. "I'm sorry you had to see this."
As soon as she finished speaking, she looked up and saw Magistrate Tang Yi and his concubine Hu Ying walking towards her.
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