The strangers didn't interest Xia Xiucai, but they excited the village's dogs!
Besides the two siblings, Xiong Da and Xiong Er, whom Xu Gensheng brought back, there are now four more dogs in the village, either Da Huang or Xiao Hua.
The puppies were only four months old. When they saw strangers arrive, they were both timid and wary, running with their tails between their legs. They had been following and spying on the Du family's guards all the way from the main road.
At first, they didn't dare to make a sound, but once they entered the village and saw some familiar faces, the dogs finally became bolder, standing far away and barking incessantly in their babyish voices, "bang bang" and "woof woof".
Li Laoshi was looking for his underpants that had been blown away by the wind on the woodpile behind the warehouse when he heard the dog barking. He immediately came over to check and caught the Du family guards in the act.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Li Laoshi looked the stranger in front of him up and down.
The Du family guards had served Du Baolin for ten years and were capable of going out on missions independently; they were also quite shrewd.
Just then, a tall, thin man holding up his shorts called out to him. Instead of panicking, he asked in bewilderment, "Brother, is this Xu Family Village? Why are there so many new houses here?"
Li Laoshi dusted off his underpants, stuffed them into his waistband, and without replying to the guard, asked, "I asked you what you're here for? Who are you in charge of repairing houses for!"
The guard forced a smile and walked to Li Laoshi's side, saying, "I have a relative from Xujia Village. I don't know how he fared during the war a few years ago. I only have time to come and visit now."
In the past six months, relatives from various families in the village have indeed come from time to time to inquire about news.
Li Laoshi casually asked, "A relative! You've been coming a lot lately. Which family are you from?"
The guard became even more earnest: "I am Xu Maowan's wife's nephew. May I ask which house he lives in? I would like to see my aunt."
Li Laoshi's expression suddenly became complicated. First, he was puzzled, as if he was trying to recall something, and then he was surprised and his mouth was wide open. The guards could almost see his throat.
Just as the guard thought he was about to say something, Li Laoshi suddenly stepped forward, hugged the guard tightly, and vigorously rubbed his body up and down, saying repeatedly, "Oh, my dear nephew, you've finally come!"
The guard was startled by Li Laoshi's sudden action. He tried to push him away, but found that Li Laoshi was very strong and his hands were groping around his waist.
A thought struck him.
Since he only had a small knife for self-defense with him when he entered the village, he wasn't afraid, so he pretended to be helpless and let Li Laoshi rub him back and forth.
After a few pats, Li Laoshi finally released the guard.
The guard breathed a sigh of relief and was about to explain that he had mistaken someone for someone else when he saw that Li Laoshi's face was full of smiles and his eyes were sparkling with excitement.
The guard couldn't help but feel puzzled. Who was this person? What was his relationship with Madam Jiang? Why hadn't the madam mentioned him before?
Li Laoshi seemed to see through the guard's thoughts. He patted the guard on the shoulder and said, "Nephew, you have no idea how long I've been waiting for you!"
The guard was even more confused. He asked, "Waiting for me? Who are you, and why are you waiting for me?"
Li Laoshi said, "You are my long-lost nephew! I have been looking for you all this time, and I never thought I would finally find you today!"
The guard breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't a nephew at all; this person had clearly mistaken him for someone else. He immediately replied, "You've mistaken me for someone else? I'm not your nephew. Besides, we're about the same age; let's be brothers!"
Li Laoshi shook his head and said, "There's no mistake, you are my nephew. My sister-in-law Jiang thinks about you every day!"
The guard, who had just thought he had mistaken someone for someone else, now hesitated. Could it be that the lady's sister-in-law was really waiting for a relative?
He remained calm and feigned ignorance, asking in a deep voice, "Then tell me, what's my name?"
Li Laoshi thought for a moment and said, "Your name is... Let me think... Oh, I remember now, your name is Jiang Dabao, right? I often hear your aunt mention it!"
Du family guard: "...I...I am indeed called Jiang Dabao!"
At this point, he had no choice but to admit that he could call him Ah Huang, unless he swallowed what he had just said.
The surrounding villagers had already looked over, and some were even greeting them warmly: "Sir, is this your relative?"
Li Laoshi beamed with joy and replied repeatedly, "Yes, Sister Liu, this is Maowan's wife's nephew from her maternal family. He said he's here to recognize his relatives!"
Seeing that there were many people around and that Li Laoshi was so enthusiastic that he wouldn't let go, the Du family guard had no choice but to follow him.
Beside her, Liu, who had just greeted her, stood there, looking confused, muttering to herself, "When did Errui's mother have a nephew? Wait, Xiaoju, Xiaoju!"
She dropped the firewood she was carrying and ran off to find her clever daughter-in-law, Wang Xiaoju.
Along the way, Li Laoshi kept talking about how Jiang's wife had praised his nephew over the years, and how his nephew was the pillar of the family.
Now that you're all grown up and have finally found your way here, your family's life must be getting better and better, right? You must be very rich...
Listening to Li Laoshi's rambling, the guard secretly guessed that Jiang's sister-in-law was the lady's sister-in-law.
Li Laoshi must be sworn brothers with Xu Maowan, otherwise he would call her "Sister-in-law Jiang".
That's good too. Let's build a relationship with Sister Jiang first, so it will be easier to take Nie Fantian away later.
He responded with a few words, not letting Li Laoshi notice anything amiss.
Just as they were thinking this, the two arrived outside the barn where Li Laoshi lived.
Li Laoshi excitedly pushed open the door and shouted, "Nephew, come and sit down. This is where your Uncle Li lives."
The guards of the Du family looked up and saw two wooden houses, which were very messy inside, just like their own single room. They were not houses for farmers to live in at all.
At that moment, he immediately realized that Li Laoshi hadn't mistaken him for someone else, but had deliberately brought him here.
"Uncle Li, I need to find my aunt. Could you please take me there?"
Li Laoshi ignored these words and said directly, "Nephew, your aunt said you've suffered a lot these years. Come in and have a seat."
The guard sneered inwardly; this Li Laoshi was quite the actor. He said, "Uncle Li, I won't come in. Please take me to see Sister Jiang first!"
Upon hearing this, Li Laoshi's expression immediately changed. He said, "What do you mean by this? How can you call her sister-in-law? She's your aunt!"
Where are your parents? Why didn't they come with you? Your aunt has had a hard time raising those children all these years, and she hasn't even helped look after them!
The guard realized he had misspoke and quickly corrected himself, saying, "My parents died long ago, and I'm an orphan. I only knew that my aunt had married far away, and I only just learned that she lives in Xu Family Village."
Uncle Li, please tell me quickly, where does my aunt live? I want to see her family right away!
Li Laoshi calmly pushed the man onto a bench: "What's the rush? It looks like it's going to rain. Stay here and let me tell you about your aunt's family!"
At this moment, as if to confirm Li Laoshi's words, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and a heavy rainstorm broke out.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com