Seeing that he wouldn't agree, Han Chunying wasn't angry; she simply handed him the steamed bun in her hand.
"Are you hungry? Here, it's still warm."
The scholar didn't care about anything else and took the steamed bun and started eating it.
"Eat slowly, there's still some left. By the way, what's your name?"
Han Chunying looked at him with clear, innocent eyes, and her naive appearance made Lin Fusheng's heart flutter.
"My name is Lin Fusheng, and I'm from Qianshan Village. But Qianshan Village no longer exists; foreigners have taken it over and massacred the villagers who resisted. My entire family was killed. I barely managed to escape and seek refuge with my aunt, but I never expected..."
At this point, Lin Fusheng choked up and couldn't continue.
His tragic background aroused Han Chunying's sympathy even more, making her even more eager to take him home.
"Then you're homeless now, how pitiful. Why don't you come back with me? Don't worry, my family is very kind. My sister-in-law brought back a little boy before, and he's still being raised in my home. You're in such a miserable state, my family definitely won't kick you out."
As they spoke, snowflakes began to fall again. Lin Fusheng, dressed in thin clothes, shivered from the cold.
Seeing that he still refused, Han Chunying continued, "Even if you don't want to stay at my house, you can come back with me first and I'll find you a winter coat so you can continue your journey later."
Lin Fusheng was moved by the innocent girl in front of him, and tears streamed down his face: "How could I, Fusheng, be worthy of meeting you here, young lady? Please accept my bow."
He was about to kowtow to her when Han Chunying stopped him, saying, "A man's knees are worth gold; you can't just kneel like that. Come with me."
Then she took him home with her.
"Sister-in-law, how about we have hot pot for lunch?"
On a snowy day, it's most pleasant for the whole family to gather around the stove and eat hot pot, and it's also very convenient.
"Okay, I'll go prepare it right away."
After treatment, Cao Qiaoniu's complexion improved significantly. She became more talkative and had a more cheerful personality. Sometimes, Han Hu even felt like he had a new wife.
"Then I'll go help you too."
Just then, Han Chunying suddenly pushed the door open and came in, followed by a gust of cool wind and snowflakes.
"You brat, are you trying to freeze us to death? Hurry up and close the door, it's freezing!"
This winter has been unusually cold, and with the snow, it feels even colder.
"Mother, please listen to me first. I brought someone back. Could we give him a winter coat?"
Han Chunying planned to tell the story gradually, so as not to cause her mother's fiery temper to explode instantly.
"Who are you, a beggar or a vagrant?"
Liu Meie looked at her daughter with suspicion; the child was naive and easily deceived.
“My mother was a scholar. Her family was occupied by foreign tribes, and they massacred the entire village. He barely managed to escape and sought refuge with relatives, but they drove him away. So I took pity on him and thought of giving him a piece of clothing so he wouldn’t freeze to death that day.”
Liu Meie had long seen through this girl's little scheme; what she meant by giving clothes was probably that she wanted to take the girl in.
"Let me tell you, Han Chunying won't allow it. Where else can we stay? Are you out of your mind to bring people back without even checking the situation?"
"Mom, how can you be so heartless? He's really pitiful."
Lin Fusheng, who was outside, had already heard the arguing inside. Not wanting to cause trouble for Han Chunying, he quietly left.
“It’s terrible. Who isn’t in a terrible situation these days? You can’t just take in every single one you see. What about our family? Besides, you can’t judge a book by its cover. How do you know if he’s telling the truth?”
Liu Meie knew her naive daughter was likely to be deceived, and she absolutely wouldn't allow that to happen.
"Mother, you are so heartless."
Han Chunying stomped her foot in anger and ran outside to look for Lin Fusheng, but he was nowhere to be found.
So he angrily went back to the house, threw a tantrum at Liu Meie, and didn't even eat.
"You're not going to eat, are you? Go hungry. Nobody is allowed to bring her food. I'll get angry if anyone does."
Liu Meie was really angry this time. This child was so disobedient, daring to bring just any man home. He was practically courting death.
Who knows how much they'll talk behind my back then, especially if the second wife's family finds out, they'll laugh at me to death, and I won't be able to hold my head up in the village at all.
Han Chunying also angrily ignored everyone, wondering why Abu could save Lin Fusheng but she couldn't, saying it wasn't fair.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. So, while everyone was eating and chatting, she secretly took out her winter clothes from the closet and went out the back door to find Lin Fusheng.
In such cold weather, he would surely freeze to death without winter clothes. After making up his mind, he packed his things and fled, also taking some food with him, enough for the two of them to eat for two days, so that they wouldn't starve to death even in the mountains.
When they can't find him, they'll definitely be anxious, and that'll be the perfect opportunity to bring Lin Fusheng home.
Han Chunying became happier and happier as she thought about it, and even felt energetic when walking.
Fortunately, the snow stopped completely by noon, and everyone was clearing the snow, making the roads much easier to travel on.
However, there were no footprints left in the snow, and she couldn't find Lin Fusheng's traces for a while.
By evening, Liu Meie could no longer hold back. Usually, this girl's temper tantrums never lasted more than half a day, but today she hadn't made a move yet, which was abnormal.
"Auntie, I'm going to see what Chunying is doing."
Cui Yulu saw through her thoughts, so she got up and went to Han Chunying's room to check on the situation.
"Let's see what she does. If we don't indulge her, let her go hungry. I don't believe she won't come out when she's starving."
Liu Meie deliberately shouted at the top of her lungs.
At that moment, Cao Qiaoniu and her grandmother were sewing shoe soles to make cotton shoes for everyone to wear in winter. When they heard her say this, they looked at each other and smiled with a slight pout.
Liu Meie is just that kind of person—sharp-tongued but kind-hearted. Every time they argue, she's the one who apologizes first.
"Actually, when children grow up, they should be able to make their own decisions. It's wise for us parents to interfere less in their children's affairs."
“Mother, I understand your reasoning, but this child just picked up a man from outside. He's just a man, and we don't know his background. What if he's a bad person? The world is so chaotic. What makes me angry is that she doesn't use her brain.”
"That's just like you."
Cao Qiaoniu couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing at? The important thing is to give me a few grandsons."
Liu Meie was anxious when she saw that Cui Yulu had not returned. Could it be that something had really happened to the child?
"Oh no, Chunying has disappeared."
Cui Yulu rushed back in a panic. Several winter clothes were missing from the room. Had she gone out to deliver clothes to that man?
"What? This girl is really a handful."
"Daping, hurry up and go outside to look for them, but don't make a sound."
"Alright, let's all go out and take a look. Remember, don't talk nonsense."
Liu Xiuying sighed softly, "This thing is such a worry."
So the family got dressed and hurriedly left, leaving only Han Yu'an and Niu Niu at home.
Even Abu and Roubao followed Cui Yulu out to look for her.
"Be careful on the road. Or you can stay home and watch Niu Niu while I go look for him."
"You still have to study, so I'll go find it. Besides, with Abu and Roubao around, nothing will happen."
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