"Can my grandparents tell me?" Gu Huanhuan asked.
Gu Lili firmly said, "I can't tell anyone either. My mother said it was a gift from a master and that it has to be kept secret from everyone, including my grandparents."
The children nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
It was still dark, and the only saving grace was that their small kitchen hadn't collapsed.
The siblings took the chickens, ducks, and Big Black into the kitchen, intending to sit and rest until dawn before making further plans.
Fortunately, Gu Lili brought out the blankets, and the group huddled together, covering themselves with the blankets to keep warm.
Gradually, the group drifted off to sleep.
"Lili, Erniu, where are you?!"
The four were sound asleep when they were suddenly awakened by Aunt Zhang's shouts.
Gu Lili rubbed her eyes and sat up straight.
I slept sitting up half the night ago, and now my legs are numb and I can't stand up.
After a while, Gu Lili tried to stand up.
Gu Lili was about to get up to open the courtyard gate when she realized that Aunt Zhang was already in the yard.
"Lili, Erniu, Sigou, Huanhuan, where are you?!" Aunt Zhang shouted anxiously, slapping her thigh.
This morning, Aunt Zhang got up early to check on the wheat in the field.
Who knew that as soon as he stepped out of his house, his eyes inadvertently swept over Gu Lili's yard and he was startled.
Gu Lili's courtyard had collapsed with a crash.
Thinking that her four siblings might be buried under the collapsed house, Aunt Zhang was so anxious that she didn't care whether to knock on the door or not.
They barged in to check the situation.
“Aunt Zhang, I’m here,” Gu Lili said in a hoarse voice.
Perhaps she was too anxious last night, which caused her to get a sore throat. Now, Gu Lili has a lot of trouble speaking.
Perhaps Gu Lili's voice was too soft, or perhaps Aunt Zhang was too anxious, and she didn't hear Gu Lili's voice at all.
Aunt Zhang continued calling out to Gu Lili and the others. Seeing this, Gu Lili had no choice but to limp over to remind Aunt Zhang that she was behind her.
Gu Lili patted Aunt Zhang on the shoulder and said, "Auntie, I'm here!"
Aunt Zhang was startled by Gu Lili. Turning around and seeing it was Gu Lili, she patted her chest and exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! Lili, why didn't you say anything!"
Gu Lili smiled apologetically, "Auntie, I think I caught a cold, that's why my voice is hoarse."
Aunt Zhang also noticed that Gu Lili's voice sounded off.
As if she had just realized something, Aunt Zhang exclaimed, "Lili, where are your younger brother and sister? Could they have been crushed in the house?!"
"My goodness, this rain is terrifying! It even collapsed your house! What are we going to do?!"
Gu Lili replied, "We were just awake when the house collapsed last night, and we all escaped."
Gu Lili was very touched. Her own grandfather didn't care about her and her siblings, but Aunt Zhang was the first to come and check on them.
The old saying is indeed true: a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative.
"That's good, that's good." Aunt Zhang breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad that none of your children were hurt. Poor kids, they're just little kids, no parents, and their grandparents are animals. What will they do if they have nowhere to live?"
If it were summer, one could just build a makeshift shack and make do with what one has.
However, the weather, which was originally warm, has started to cool down and rain again, which makes people worry about the four siblings!
Gu Lili bit her lip. "Thank you, Auntie. Houses can be rebuilt if they collapse. As long as my siblings and I are safe and sound, that's more important than anything else."
Aunt Zhang nodded. "Yes, you're such a sensible child, it breaks my heart. Don't worry, I'm here. I'll go find the village head right now and ask him to find a few people to help you rebuild your living quarters."
As she spoke, Aunt Zhang rushed out of the house.
Gu Lili looked at the collapsed house and felt worried. She had originally planned to build a house after buying malt sugar a few more times.
However, this little thatched hut couldn't even last a few more days; it collapsed as soon as it was said to.
Not long after Aunt Zhang left, Gu Erniu and the other two got up.
Last night, with only the light from flashlights, the group couldn't see very clearly.
At that moment, looking at the collapsed house, all three of them couldn't help but lower their heads and wipe away tears.
Their lives, which had just begun to improve, were disrupted by a sudden natural disaster.
They were sleeping in a warm bed last night, but after today, they won't even have a bed.
Just as the four were feeling dejected, Aunt Zhang arrived at Gu Lili's courtyard with a group of people.
There was also the village head, Tie Dan's father, Uncle Da Zhu, and Uncle Zhang—all familiar faces.
"Lili, don't be sad, we're here to help you build your houses," the village head said loudly.
When Aunt Zhang told the village head that Gu Lili's house had collapsed, his heart clenched.
Fortunately, no one was hurt.
Even though they already knew that Gu Lili's house had collapsed, they were still shocked when they saw it with their own eyes.
These children are incredibly lucky; they managed to escape.
The village head couldn't help but sigh softly, saying, "Alas, how pitiful!"
Gu Lili's eyes welled up with tears as she said, "Thank you so much, Grandpa Village Head and all the uncles and elders. We don't need to set up anything special, just please help us set up a place for us siblings to sleep temporarily."
Gu Lili plans to produce more maltose and go to several shops to wholesale it to them.
This way, the house can be built faster.
Since we plan to build a house soon, there's no need to spend time and effort on construction.
The village head said, "How can that be? We'll be staying here for many years. Lili, don't worry about the money. We'll use the collapsed wood to build a shelter. We have plenty of straw and other materials at home, so we can give you some."
“Yes, Lili, we can also share some of our straw with you,” Aunt Zhang chimed in.
After thinking for a moment, Gu Lili decided to tell them the truth and that she had plans to build a house soon.
"Grandpa Village Head, uncles and elders, my siblings and I made some food to sell in town. We didn't expect that Wang's Trading Company would be willing to buy our products long-term. I was originally planning to make more to send over and sell, and then build a house. But, unexpectedly, our house collapsed first." Gu Lili said with a smile, picking out some unimportant things to say to the group.
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.
On the way here, the group was worried about the four siblings, but they never expected that Gu Lili and her friends would find a way to make money.
None of them felt jealous of the siblings; on the contrary, they were genuinely happy for Gu Lili.
When Gu Lili mentioned food, the village head and Uncle Dazhu knew what she was talking about.
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