Because we didn't explore the city much, it wasn't even dark when we arrived in the village.
As we approached the village entrance, an elderly man dressed simply sat by the stone tablet, resting. He looked sick and seemed to be in some discomfort.
The mother and her two daughters had never seen this old man before, and he wasn't from Sanchakou Village. They were hesitating whether to ask him what was going on when the old man spoke up.
"Excuse me, do you have any water in your vehicle? Could I have some water to drink?" The old man's lips were dry, and his voice was hoarse and weak.
“Grandpa, there’s a house not far in.” Cai Xiaolian stopped Gu Xin, who was about to reply.
"Really? I'm not familiar with this area, so I didn't know. I thought it would be a long walk to get to the village. Madam, could you give me a ride?" The old man smiled and asked.
"Grandpa, let's go back and get a young man to bring you some water! We don't have any water in our car," Gu Nian said.
"Thank you all very much!" The old man nodded.
The donkey cart headed towards the village. Gu Xin looked back and asked in confusion, "Mother, sister, we still have bamboo tubes of water on the cart. Why don't we give him some?"
Cai Xiaolian: "Xinxin, although we're not in a remote area, it's still a bit strange that an old man has suddenly appeared. Grandma Xiao's house is right at the village entrance. I'll have Ayuan bring him some water in a bit. This old man looks thirsty. If he's sick, giving him water won't help."
Gu Xin felt that this was wrong, so she said, "Mother, what if we met on the way instead of at the village entrance?"
Cai Xiaolian said, "If we meet him on the way, we definitely shouldn't talk to him. Although we call him 'Grandpa,' he looks younger than a grandfather, doesn't he? He's a grown man who asked us three for help; he's just thirsty, not injured or suffering any other misfortune. What if he's a bad person?"
Gu Xin pursed her lips and thought for a while: "Mom, if this weren't the entrance to our village, and Yuan Yuan's house wasn't far away, I think we should still give him a bucket of water. With Dad here, we can let him hitch a ride, but the three of us, mother and daughters, really shouldn't let him hitch a ride."
Cai Xiaolian patted Gu Xin's head, thinking, "My daughter is still too kind!"
The old man's eyes weren't so innocent. If he were truly a frail old man, she would have given him water even if she didn't give him a ride.
The mother and daughter asked Lu Zheng to bring them a large ladle of water to check if they were still there and to ask if they were from the vicinity of the village.
Lu Zheng took the water over, and the mother and her two daughters chatted with Grandma Xiao in the yard while waiting for him to come back and see what was going on.
A short while later, Lu Zheng returned with an empty ladle.
"How is it?" Grandma Xiao asked.
"He was just a passerby who said he was visiting relatives in Zhoujia Town. He went out for a stroll today and got lost. His old problem flared up again, and he rested at the entrance of our village for a while but we didn't see him," Lu Zheng said.
"So you're just leaving him there alone?" Grandma Xiao asked.
“His attendant arrived just in time and took him back to town,” Lu Zheng said.
"What a coincidence?" Gu Nian said with a smile.
“Yes, what a coincidence.” Lu Zheng said without changing his expression. “By the way, Niannian, I have a question about sweet potatoes that I want to ask you. I planted a few plots in Houyangou. Can you come and take a look?”
Gu Nian was taken aback. Lu Zheng actually asked her a question, and it was about sweet potatoes, no less. Hadn't her father explained it to her very clearly before?
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