Hong Xiaoduo was right; Tian Shu came over to talk about the child.
The night before, the child took the initiative to tell his story. He said he was eleven years old and had been begging with an old man since he could remember. The old man told him that he was found in a dilapidated temple. When he was found, he was less than a year old and couldn't walk yet.
So he didn't know where he lived, what his surname was, or what his given name was; the old man called him A-Ping.
Aping said that two years ago, in the winter, his grandfather fell ill while begging. Because he had no money to buy medicine, his grandfather died.
After his grandfather died, he continued to wander and beg alone. After several days of not being able to get any food, he fainted from hunger by the roadside.
"Mother, can we take him in for now?" Tian Shu asked cautiously after finishing speaking.
Hearing that Tian Shu asked about "us" instead of "you," Hong Xiaoduo felt very gratified.
"Of course, it's just another meal. Besides, you're all taking care of him anyway. However, there's something I feel I need to tell you. If one day I feel he's not suitable to stay with us, I might have him leave. Don't you dare..."
Before Hong Xiaoduo could finish speaking, Tian Shu interrupted her: "I understand what Mother is saying, I won't blame you."
Watching Tian Shu leave happily, Hong Xiaoduo sighed softly. These children are too kind. She hoped that the man named A Ping would not let them down.
Perhaps because he learned that Hong Xiaoduo had agreed to let him stay, Aping became even more enthusiastic while Hong Xiaoduo was eating breakfast and Tian Shu and the others were packing up and loading things into the car, and he volunteered to do everything.
As they were setting off, Aping hesitated, glancing at the other three vehicles, and whispered to Tian Shu that he should catch his own.
Tian Shu immediately smiled and told him that there was no need to rush the three cars, and then urged him to get on the car.
After setting off, Tianquan called on Aping to recite poems with everyone.
Half a month later, they were getting further and further away from the capital. The cities along the way were no longer strict in checking people coming and going. When they stayed at an inn, the innkeeper said that he would ask to see their travel permits and register them, but before Hong Xiaoduo could even take out her travel permits, he had already called the waiter to lead them to their rooms.
After spending the past two weeks together, A-Ping has become less reserved than before, but he still insists on doing whatever he wants.
He roughly observed the results and determined that Hong Xiaoduo was the one with the most power among this group, so he became more proactive in matters involving her.
For example, they would rush to help her set up the recliner, tea table, etc.
Tian Shu and the others all knew that A Ping was doing this simply to please Hong Xiaoduo, fearing that she would dislike him and drive him away. Therefore, none of the children mocked him for flattering her; on the contrary, they left such tasks to him.
They weren't worried at all that Hong Xiaoduo would treat them badly because she liked Aping.
On the contrary, the little ones were worried that A-Ping would do something wrong and be kicked out by Hong Xiaoduo.
With just over twenty days left until the Lunar New Year, they arrived at a town called Yao Town. The town was quite large, and because the New Year was approaching, many villagers from nearby areas came to buy New Year's goods, making the streets quite lively.
After checking into the inn, Hong Xiaoduo led everyone on a stroll around the town. They thought the place was quite nice, so when they returned to the inn, Hong Xiaoduo said to the innkeeper, "We'd like to stay in this town for the New Year before we leave. You're a local and familiar with the area. Do you know if there are any houses in town that we can rent for a short period of time, preferably ones that we can just tidy up and move into?"
The nearly sixty-year-old innkeeper laughed upon hearing this: "Young lady, you're really funny. If you really wanted to ask, you shouldn't have asked me. My family runs this inn. Even if we knew where there was a suitable courtyard, we wouldn't tell you."
"If I tell you, you'll rent a courtyard to live in. Does that mean I won't be able to earn any money from you?"
Hong Xiaoduo also laughed and said, "If this were in another inn, I certainly wouldn't be so foolish as to ask you this, but today when I entered the inn, I felt that you, the innkeeper, are a kind and warm-hearted person."
The previous group of guests complained that your place was too expensive, but instead of getting angry, you even directed them to another inn.
I initially thought that the inn was owned by the same person as yours, or that you had a good relationship with that inn, but after asking the staff, I found out that wasn't the case.
You had a quarrel with that innkeeper before. The innkeeper told me that you said it wasn't easy for people to travel, and that you should help them as much as you could.
However, speaking of which, I'm also quite curious. It's almost Chinese New Year, and business at the inn shouldn't be too good. Since there are guests coming, and the inn has empty rooms, why not be more proactive and lower the room rates for them?
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper shook his head and said, "Young lady, you don't understand. It's not that we're inflexible in business. It's just that we dare not open that door, especially for the group you mentioned. They want to stay in the cheapest dormitory-style rooms, but we don't have any dormitory-style rooms, and we can't possibly offer them regular guest rooms at dormitory-style prices."
Setting this precedent would not only be unfair to your regular guests, but more importantly, if they were to experience the benefits, they might try to negotiate prices and terms at other inns. Therefore, it's best to avoid it.
Upon hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo realized that it made perfect sense.
"However, young lady, you've come to the right person," the shopkeeper said with a smile.
"Hmm? Do you know where there are courtyards available for short-term rental? Where are those courtyards located, and where should we go to find someone to contact them?" Hong Xiaoduo asked.
The innkeeper stroked his beard and smiled, "I have an empty courtyard. It was occupied a month ago. It can be moved in with a little cleaning. I just don't know if it will suit your taste, young lady."
"Can we go and take a look first?" Hong Xiaoduo immediately asked, surprised by the coincidence, which saved her a lot of trouble.
"Why not? If you want to go see it now, young lady, I'll take you right now." After the shopkeeper finished speaking, seeing that Hong Xiaoduo nodded, he immediately called over a waiter and asked him to keep an eye on things while he went out for a moment.
Hong Xiaoduo went upstairs to the guest room, said goodbye to Quan Jinghuai and Feiyan, and was about to go downstairs.
"Mother, I want to go with you too," Yao Guang said pitifully.
Hong Xiaoduo didn't say anything, but reached out her hand. The little girl immediately ran forward happily and took her hand.
Watching Yao Guang skip and jump as she got what she wanted, Tian Shu and the others at the door were very envious. They could only feel envy, but they couldn't actually act like their little sister and pretend to be pitiful.
"You're young too, why don't you try learning from your little sister?" Tianji teased Tianquan beside him.
Tianquan immediately retorted, "Big brother said we should be sensible."
"You're all at ease letting her, a mere young woman, take Yaoguang out?" Aping couldn't help but ask.
Over the past two weeks, according to his observation, the woman whom Tian Shu and the others called "Mother" had a sword at her waist, but he had never seen her practice martial arts, unlike their master, who was obviously a martial artist at first glance.
But not only did she not practice her skills, she did nothing all day except eat and sleep, or she would sit in a recliner with her legs crossed watching others work, and she wouldn't get up until the sun was high in the sky...
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