Looking at the baby, Yin Jin'an felt like she must be dreaming.
"Where did you come from? -- Don't tell me it was in the mountains!"
"But, but I did come from the mountains!"
Jiutian twisted her two little hands together in distress. Her master had asked her to help her second uncle, but her second uncle seemed to be acting very strangely.
Not only did he seem unintelligent, but he also didn't trust her.
"Alright, let's change the subject. Your name is Jiutian?"
"Yes, my name is Jiutian."
"What's your last name? Who are your parents? What do they do?"
"I don't know my surname, but my name is Jiutian. It seems that my parents are gone, and my master never said where they are."
Yin Jin'an was furious. What kind of irresponsible master was this? They didn't even know who the child's parents were; unfortunately, the child was an orphan they had picked up.
(In the distant Yulong Daming Prefecture, the orphan parents sneezed twice loudly!)
He patiently asked again, "Then tell me, who am I?"
Jiutian said happily, "You are my second uncle."
"Why is it your second uncle? Not your eldest or third uncle?"
"Master said you're my second uncle. Why don't you find my second uncle, and I'll call you third uncle?"
Yin Jin'an thought frantically, "Once I'm better, I'll give my master a good beating."
The two were talking inside the house. Some people in the town had already heard about what had happened at the Cui family's old house in the past two days, and the townspeople were all peeking inside.
"I heard that the idiot crawled out yesterday begging for food, he looked like a skeleton."
“A little beggar came and insisted on staying here, so we went hungry together.”
"Starving? Landlord Wang sent them a cartload of grain, as well as food, clothes, and blankets. How could they starve!"
"Landlord Wang actually gave something to a fool?"
...
Although Yin Jin'an had led troops into battle before and slept anywhere in the mud on the battlefield, he had never experienced life in the countryside before.
The quiet of the countryside amplified the chatter outside the door, making it clearly audible through the broken window.
They made no attempt to hide their jealousy when the other party received a whole cartload of goods.
Yin Jin'an used to be domineering and arrogant. Many people spoke ill of him behind his back, but they only spoke behind his back. Those who spoke to his face were all beaten into submission by him.
He was disgusted by being openly pointed at and talked about to his face, and his anger was rising, but because he had just recovered from a serious illness (his leg was still not healed), he was helpless.
"Go and close the gate, it's too noisy."
"Okay!"
Jiutian jumped down from the small stool that Landlord Wang had given him, ran out the door with his short legs, and closed the straw door outside.
Just as she was closing the door, Wan San, a street kid from town, was loitering at the door with Liu Dan and Wang Gengen.
The townspeople said that Landlord Wang sent a cartload of grain, snacks, and blankets to the idiot.
Oh, this little child, though dressed in a tattered Taoist robe, is so fair and delicate. So young, yet so beautiful, like a little fairy. He could be sold to a brothel…
"Hey, I heard that Landlord Wang sent you some grain and blankets?" Wan San asked Jiu Tian. "Is it true?"
Jiutian didn't think he was a good person. Just now, his second uncle said that they might not be able to protect their grain, and that thugs would probably come to steal it.
So Jiutian ignored him and slammed the wooden gate shut.
Wan San stuck one leg out to block the door and said in a sleazy tone, "I'm asking you a question, are you mute? Deaf?"
Jiutian shouted, "Move your leg away, I'm closing the door!"
"Answer me, did Landlord Wang send you grain?"
"What's it to you?"
"The old man is hungry. What are you two, an idiot and a beggar, going to eat?"
As Wan San spoke, he tried to barge inside.
Jiutian looked at him and said, "If you pull your leg back, I'll tell you properly."
Wan San pulled his leg back: "Go ahead and say it."
Liu Dan and Wang Gengen chimed in, "Say it! Say it!"
Jiutian quickly closed the wooden gate, and with a few quick movements of his hands, he affixed a "treasure against backstabbers" to the door.
We respectfully invite the Five Earth Gods, the Household Guards, the Door Gods, and the Three Officials to preside over this matter, ordering all wandering spirits, local ghosts, and other evil spirits to be forbidden from entering.
After thinking for a moment, he made a hand seal and added a taboo talisman around the entire dilapidated courtyard: anyone who was not invited was blocked from entering, and anyone who attempted to cross the taboo and trespass into the courtyard would be thrown three zhang away.
After setting up the talisman, Jiutian clapped his hands and strode back into the house with an air of nonchalance.
Wan San, Liu Dan, and Wang Gengen were dumbfounded.
They tried to push open the wooden gate, but for some reason, they couldn't even get close. It seemed as if they encountered an invisible high wall that blocked them completely.
A bunch of street kids are all working hard outside, but it's no use.
"You'd better never come out again!" Wan San and his gang left dejectedly.
This is a town, which is basically a large rural market. It's just that it has an agricultural product trading market, unlike the surrounding villages and hamlets. Every household still farms, and any news will immediately reach the whole town.
The news of what happened at the Cui family's old house quickly reached Cui Fude and his family.
As dusk fell, dinner was laid out on the table in the Cui family's courtyard.
Sweet potato soup rice, vegetable dough wrapped in vegetable leaves with a little flour and steamed.
There were more vegetable leaves than flour, so they couldn't make pancakes; they could only shape them into small vegetable balls to fill their stomachs.
Cui Fude, Cui Dalang, and Cui Erlang, being male laborers, each received a rice ball, while the women only got thin soup.
Cui Fude's wife, Bai, said, "Husband, I heard today that Landlord Wang sent a cartload of grain to that idiot. What do you think he's up to?"
Cui Dalang's wife, Madam Ou, hurriedly said, "Mother, Aunt Zhang from Zhang Zhuzi's family said that a little beggar went to seek refuge with the idiot. The little beggar can tell fortunes, and he's very accurate. Landlord Wang was on his last breath. The little beggar looked at the feng shui of the Wang family's house, moved a few things, and saved Landlord Wang's life. Landlord Wang then gave them a whole cartload of things."
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