Chapter 25 Solitude
A young clerk delivered a message, and soon Chen Lin arrived in a hurry. He was surprised to see the two of them.
Xiao Qi was his aunt's stepson. The two of them rarely visited each other. Xiao Qi suddenly came looking for someone, and he brought his cousin Xiao Ya, who rarely left the village.
"Tingyun, Xiaoya, what brings you two here?"
Chen Lin glanced at the sky and guessed that the restaurant was about to close, so he said, "There's a noodle shop up ahead. You haven't eaten since you came to town, have you? Come on, let me treat you to some noodles!"
"Cousin, my brother and I came by horse-drawn carriage."
Lin Yuesha pulled Chen Lin aside and whispered, "Something happened at home. Your uncle and aunt want you to take your cousin-in-law and Xiao Shitou back home."
Little Stone is Chen Lin's son. He's just three years old this year. He's a lively and mischievous boy.
My cousin's wife, Wang, and my brother's wife, Wang Jinhua, are from the same village; the two families are related.
The restaurants in town were busy recently, so Chen Lin hadn't been home for a while. He asked Wang Shi to bring Xiao Shi to town so that Xiao Shi could not only visit his family but also work as a helper at the restaurants, doing some washing and cleaning work, and earn some money before the New Year.
What happened to my parents?
Chen Lin's expression changed drastically, and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
Chen Lin felt uneasy that he had asked his younger cousin to deliver a message when there was someone else at home.
"It's hard to explain in a few words. Anyway, we borrowed the clan chief's carriage. Cousin, you should drive the carriage back first."
Lin Yuesha urged Chen Lin and the shopkeeper to ask for leave, and then saw her cousin-in-law Wang and Xiao Shitou onto the carriage. Her cousin and cousin-in-law looked uneasy and somewhat sad.
Da da da...
The sound of horses' hooves could be heard clearly in the night. Xiao Qi and Lin Yuesha stood on the street, watching the carriage gradually disappear into the distance until it became a small black dot and blended into the night.
Lin Yuesha breathed a sigh of relief when her cousin's family returned home. She had completed half of her task and was just waiting to report to the authorities the next morning.
On a cold, windy night in the north, Lin Yuesha stamped her stiff feet and looked at her stepbrother Xiao Qi again.
On this freezing day, I really want a warm place where I can get a good night's sleep.
"Little sister, come with me."
Xiao Qi strode ahead, while Lin Yuesha jogged to keep up, feeling resentful. "It's so good to have long legs," she thought, looking down at her own short legs with a sad expression.
After walking for about 15 minutes, Xiao Qi turned around and entered the alley, stopping in front of a small courtyard.
Then, he took the key and unlocked the large lock on the door.
"Brother, where is this?"
Lin Yuesha looked around. There were several houses nearby, most of which had their lights off. Only one house had a faint light shining through the Korean paper window, and a figure could be vaguely seen moving in front of the window.
As soon as Xiao Qi opened the door, the dogs in the surrounding houses were startled and started barking.
"Come in first."
Xiao Qi entered the house familiarly, lit the oil lamp first, and then Lin Yuesha could see clearly.
The slightly better-off families in the town all built their houses with stones, which were not only warm in winter and cool in summer, but also very sturdy.
This small courtyard isn't big, with two rooms on the left and right. Though small, it has everything you need.
The left side served as the living room, with a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove). The right side of the room contained a desk and bookshelves filled with neatly arranged blue-covered handwritten books.
"Little sister, please sit for a while, I'll go to the kitchen to start a fire."
As Xiao Qi was about to leave, Lin Yuesha followed him to the kitchen like a little shadow.
"This is the gentleman's old house, which I am temporarily borrowing to stay in."
Inside the kitchen, there was a small storage room with neatly arranged firewood. Xiao Qi lit a tinderbox and used dry grass as kindling to burn the firewood.
Even when he was doing odd jobs, he did them beautifully.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
