Chapter 146: Chapter 142: Taking In_1


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    Grandpa Jiang was in the courtyard chastising his great-grandson. “You little bunny! I’ll twist your ear off the next time I catch you trading cotton for sweets!”


    Jiang Sang knocked on the wooden gate. “Uncle.”


    Grandpa Jiang was startled, and rushed over to open the door. “Oh! Sang,e in!”


    Jiang Sang stepped into the yard and asked, “Uncle, has your ce been attacked by bandits?”


    “Ah? No.” Grandpa Jiang gestured for Jiang Sang toe inside. “I’ve heard about the bandits though. Were you attacked?”


    Jiang Sang nodded, paused, and said, “Uncle, we have just escaped the bandits and would like to stay here temporarily if it doesn’t inconvenience you too much.”


    Grandpa Jiang snorted remarking, “What inconvenience would it mean? You are my nephew! Stay as long as you need to. Now let’s get your cousin to clear some rooms out for you.”


    He had always felt guilty towards his brother because of his unwise wife, who drove his brother away and forced him to establish his own household.


    Although many years have passed since the incident and his wife had died, and both families had repaired their rtionships, his guilt never diminished.


    Turning to his eldest son who had juste out, he said, “Quickly, clear a few rooms for your uncle and his family. They are many, and we wouldn’t want them to be cramped.”


    Jiang Jiu agreed and, after a brief greeting with Jiang Sang, told his wife and children to start tidying up.


    Jiang Sang: “Our family consists of over a dozen people, including my daughter’s husband’s family. Uncle, we’ll be counting on you.”


    “Sang, you’re too polite. There’s no inconvenience. Where are your parents? Call them over quickly!” Grandpa Jiang looked outside expectantly.


    “They’re outside the vige; I’ll call them here now,” Jiang Sang said.


    “Good, I’ll join you.” Grandpa Jiang followed Jiang Sang out of the courtyard and rushed towards the edge of the vige.


    Upon seeing each other, the brothers sighed deeply.


    Grandpa Jiang guided his brother old Man Jiang back home, reassuring him, “Don’t worry. The bandits can’t reach our remote mountain vige. You can stay herefortably until the Imperial Court sends troops to dispatch them. There’s no rush for you to go back.”


    With everyone walking into Grandpa Jiang’s home, Jiang Jiu had already cleared several rooms for the neers.


    Jiang Jiu was in his 40s, with two married sons and several grandchildren.


    Given his uncle’srge family, he arranged for his own family to temporarily give up their newly built rooms for them.


    The new house consisted of three rooms and two side rooms.


    Mrs. Wen and her daughter Wen Shu, along with their nanny, shared one room. While Yingbao, her parents, younger brothers and puppy shared another room


    Grandma Jiang Liu, Great Aunt Zhou, Second Great Aunt Yanru, and Dani shared another room.


    Jiang D, with his three sons, Jiang Eng with Huzi, Wei Zhan, servant Wen Fu, and the rest stayed in the remaining rooms.


    It was a relief for everyone to finally have a temporary shelter. They quicklyy down and fell asleep exhausted.


    Yingbao, equally exhausted, fell asleep before dinner and slept until the next morning.


    Upon awakening, she realized that it was already bright outside, her younger brothers were still deep in sleep, and her parents were not on the kang bed.


    Unwilling to move, Yingbaoy in bed studying the room.


    The house seemed to be newly built; the yellow mud on the wall was still shiny, and even the fresh smell of tung oil from the new window frames still lingered.


    However, there was only a bit of simple furniture inside; it seemed that the host family was not wealthy.


    After a while, Yingbao got up, put on her coat, got off the kang bed, and slipped her feet into her shoes.


    The thick mud on the soles had been scraped clean and the shoes’ surface had been dried—it was clearly her mother’s work, done early in the morning.


    Stepping outside, she saw a clear sky. The sun was already up, on top of the trees.


    Great Aunt Zhou, Second Great Aunt Yanru, and her mother were busy in the kitchen, while Grandpa Jiang’s daughters-inw and granddaughters-inw were chatting with them.


    After Yingbao returned from the outhouse, she saw Youyou being surrounded by a few children.


    Among these children, there were not only Grandpa Jiang’s great-grandchildren but also a few kids from the neighborhood.


    Grandpa Jiang’s great-grandchildren, Yingbao, were known, because they had been to Dongchen Vige at the time of their uncle’s wedding. One was named Jiang Chong and the other was Jiang Mao. They were honest children, neither mischievous nor troublemakers.


    Upon seeing Yingbao, Youyou began to excitedly prance about.


    Yingbao walked over, stroked its head, untied the leash, and led it outside.


    “Little aunt, may I ride it?” Jiang Mao, five years old, asked timidly. He had seen this little aunt riding a deer before, so he wanted to ride it too.


    Yingbao: “It doesn’t have a saddle on, so you can’t ride it.”


    Seeing Jiang Mao’s disappointed face, she added, “Wait for me to put a saddle on it for you to ride. It’s hungry now and needs to eat grass.”


    Jiang Mao’s eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly.


    Yingbao led the deer out of the yard, with several children following behind her like tails, making it inconvenient for her to fetch some green shoots from the cave for Youyou.


    However, she could use her bag as a cover to fetch some wheat from the cave to feed Youyou, and these children probably wouldn’t notice.


    Yingbao nced back at the children, reached into her bag for a handful of wheat, and held it out to the little deer’s mouth for it to lick slowly.


    “Why are you feeding it wheat?” asked one of the children in surprise. “Won’t your dad beat you for doing that?”


    Before Yingbao could respond, her seven-year-old nephew Jiang Chong said, “Grandfather wouldn’t dare hit little aunt.”


    The neighboring child was confused, “Why? She dares to waste food, doesn’t her dad care?”


    If they dared to do such a thing, their parents would surely smack their bottoms.


    “Humph! Little aunt is a fairy. Not to mention feeding the deer wheat, even if she fed the deer cooked rice, grandfather wouldn’t hit her!”


    Jiang Chong had been to Grandfather’s house twice and each time he heard people say that his little aunt was a Fairy Child.


    Even Great Grandfather said that the cotton and golden ears nted by his family were bestowed by the Fairy Child, which was why his family could build several new houses.


    Since his little aunt is a Fairy Child, whatever she does is allowed, or so Jiang Chong understood.


    Yingbao:


    Alright, let him say what he wants, anyway, she had grown used to it and had be numb.


    The other children overheard the conversation and couldn’t help but sneak nces at the little girl before them.


    To be honest, she seemed really different from the children of ordinary families.


    The children instantly felt awe, they even tried to walk quieter and breathe lightly, afraid to disturb the little Fairy Child.


    Looking at Jiang Chong and Jiang Mao, the two were proudly following Yingbao, chin raised high, looking like two proud little roosters.


    After Yingbao had let Youyou defecate and urinate and found a small pond for the little deer to drink from, she finally led it back.


    Suddenly, arge number of people stumbled into the vige. They were filthy and carried bamboo baskets and bedding on their backs, looking like refugees from afar.


    “Yingbao! Yingbao!” A man spotted her and the little deer from a distance and ran over quickly.


    “Uncle Chen Yin?” It took Yingbao a while to recognize that the man who was running towards her was actually Chen Yin, the second son of Chen Cunzheng.


    His hair was disheveled and his clothes were caked with mud. He didn’t even have shoes on his feet.


    Chen Yin rushed over, hugged Yingbao, and burst into tears: “I finally found you…wuuwuu…please save my father …”


    Then Yingbao was led by Chen Yin to Chen Sanyou.


    At this time, Chen Sanyou was leaning on his eldest son, his eyes tightly shut, teeth clenched, hisplexion was waxy yellow and his body was convulsing, he did not look good.


    Yingbao took his pulse and lifted his eyelids to take a look, then said, “Grandfather Chen has had a stroke.”


    “Ah?” Chen Yin was stunned when he heard this, and could not help but wail again, and fell to his knees: “Father! Father …”


    Yingbao pushed Chen Yin, “Don’t get in the way, I need to bleed him for treatment.”