Chapter 076

Chapter 076

Moving to someone else's home, even to one's daughter and son-in-law's, would bring many inconveniences. Zhou Jingchun did not immediately agree to his granddaughter's proposal.

The shop needed tidying up, and four men were more than enough for the task. Tong Sui went inside.

Her aunt Jiang and her cousin Zhou Gui were still unaware that the bully had left. The mother and daughter had locked the door and hidden in the house, fearing the bully might burst in and snatch someone away.

It was Tong Sui's first time here. Looking at the main room and the east and west wings, she called out from the courtyard, "Aunt, it's Aman. Which room are you and my sister in?"

As soon as her voice faded, there was movement from the east wing. Soon, a slender and petite figure rushed out and threw herself into Tong Sui's arms. "Sister!"

Tong Sui could feel the girl crying.

Her cousin was only fifteen years old and had been targeted by a bully who wanted to force her into becoming his concubine. It was natural for her to be scared when such bullying reached their doorstep.

Tong Sui comforted her by stroking her head. "Don't worry, everything is fine. Your brother-in-law has driven those people away. I doubt they'll dare to come back these next few days."

Zhou Gui lifted her head, tears streaming down her face. "I hardly ever go out. That day, Sister Song was getting married, so I went to see her. I never expected to run into that ruffian."

In recent years, trouble was everywhere. Women with any beauty were prone to incidents. Zhou Gui knew she was attractive and had always been cautious, but she never thought she'd still catch the eye of a ruffian.

Tong Sui said, "If a ruffian wants to harm someone, he will find out regardless of whether you go out or not. All the blame lies on him. Don't think too much about it, sister."

Zhou Gui nodded.

After the sisters finished talking, Aunt Jiang looked over at the shop and asked Tong Sui, "On such a hot day, why did the two of you decide to come to the city? Earlier, we heard about the case at Imprisoned Dragon Ridge and that your younger uncle got into trouble. We wanted to visit, but unfortunately, we had our own troubles and couldn't make it. Today, your husband helped us instead."

Tong Sui felt awkward. "Why do I feel like you're being distant, Aunt? You're speaking so formally."

Aunt Jiang laughed and tapped her forehead. "I'm being formal with the new son-in-law. You're his wife, remember to explain things to him for us."

Tong Sui replied, "There's no need to be so formal with him. He doesn't care about these things."

Aunt Jiang said, "How would I know that? I only met the son-in-law briefly on your wedding day. Unlike you, who spends every day with him, you understand his temper perfectly."

Tong Sui: "..."

Aunt Jiang smiled and asked the sisters to wait while she went to the shop to greet her newly arrived son-in-law.

Tong Sui accompanied Zhou Gui to wash her face.

Once the shop was tidied up, the men sat in the main hall talking, while the sisters helped Aunt Jiang in the kitchen.

Tong Sui mentioned moving to Taohuagou to her aunt.

Aunt Jiang said, "Actually, I've had this idea for a long time. People in the village may think the city is a good place, but with officials like that, all the wealthy bullies in the city are connected to the government. They bully commoners without any restraint. Our family's business of treating patients has to pay protection money to the street gangs, or they'll cause trouble."

Tong Sui frowned. "How much protection money do you have to pay?"

Aunt Jiang: "It varies. Initially, it was one tael of silver, but after a couple of months, it became two taels. They just demand whatever they want."

Tong Sui: "Then why haven't you moved yet? You should have done so long ago."

Zhou Gui explained, "Grandfather can't bear to leave the patients at the clinic. Our family offers the cheapest medical treatment in the entire county, and even then, many people only come when they are seriously ill. If we leave, they might not be able to afford medicine at other clinics."

Tong Sui fell silent.

In the main hall, Zhou Jingchun also expressed these concerns to Xiao Zhen.

Xiao Zhen said, "You are a benevolent doctor, but there are countless sick people in the world. You and Uncle and Cousin cannot possibly help everyone. If you move to Taohuagou, some patients in the city will have to seek other doctors, but the villagers there will have easier access to medical care. It's still about saving lives. It's not fair to say that city patients are more important than village patients."

Zhou Jingchun shook his head. "I know you mean well, but..."

Xiao Zhen continued, "Even if you don't consider yourself, think about your niece. That ruffian is lawless. If he comes again, he might really take your niece away."

Zhou Jingchun said, "I understand, so I'll stay behind and let your uncle's family of four move to Taohuagou."

Zhou Yuanbai immediately responded, "I'll stay to help my father. The three women can go ahead."

Zhou Xian lowered his eyes. His sister definitely had to leave. If only his mother and sister moved to Taohuagou, they would still need to guard against other thugs. Someone from their family must accompany them, so he couldn't stay with his grandfather.

Xiao Zhen said, "What if the ruffian colludes with the government and finds an excuse to imprison your grandfather and uncle, forcing your niece to comply? Or what if he discovers that Aman is also beautiful and threatens both of you to force the sisters to comply? At that point, would your grandfather prefer the sisters to submit or would you rather die, causing them grief?"

Zhou Jingchun was stunned, and Zhou Yuanbai was equally shocked.

Xiao Zhen added, "In this world, evil people only become more evil. My words are not exaggerations. Your grandfather must protect his family first. If something happens to you, the ruffian will forget about it, but countless patients will lose a good doctor."

The reasoning was clear. No matter how much Zhou Jingchun cared for his patients, he dared not risk his granddaughter and niece.

He sighed and told his children and grandchildren, "Go and sort the medicines and deliver a month's supply to the severely ill families. We can only help them this much."

Zhou Yuanbai and Zhou Xian immediately got to work.

Zhou Jingchun looked at his son-in-law across from him and said, "Aman marrying you is truly her blessing."

The Xiao family's reputation for righteousness had spread throughout the county. Even corrupt officials like County Magistrate Liu wouldn't dare to provoke the Xiao family unless absolutely necessary, and neither would the ruffians.

Xiao Zhen smiled. "That's because you don't know Aman well enough. Since Aman married me, my father often praises me for having such good fortune to have her as my wife."

Zhou Jingchun knew his granddaughter was good—beautiful, diligent, and gentle—but marrying someone like Xiao Zhen meant his father's praise was merely polite.

Xiao Zhen saw that the old doctor didn't believe him, so he took the opportunity to explain the whole situation at Imprisoned Dragon Ridge while Zhou Yuanbai and his son were absent.

Zhou Jingchun: ...

Xiao Zhen said, "If it weren't for Aman, we wouldn't have been able to open the stone gate at Imprisoned Dragon Ridge."

Zhou Jingchun was too stunned to focus on the fact that his seemingly gentle granddaughter had actually killed someone. He stared intently at Xiao Zhen. "What exactly do you plan to do with that place?"

Xiao Zhen explained to Tong Sui the same way he did to the old doctor.

"Not hiding anything from you, Grandfather, I still overlooked one thing that night. With over two hundred people living there, it's inevitable that some would get sick with headaches or fevers. Going down the mountain for medical help could easily leak information. If you're willing to move there, we would truly be free of worries."

Zhou Jingchun: ...

When his grandson-in-law suddenly appeared and poured a bucket of water on the ruffian, he thought this man was a brave and valiant young man. When his grandson-in-law suggested they move to Taohuagou, he thought this man was thoughtful and reliable. But at this moment, Zhou Jingchun finally realized that he couldn't gauge the depth of the person in front of him.

Zhou Jingchun only knew that his granddaughter, daughter, and son-in-law had already been completely pulled into the Xiao family's boat, and the Zhou family had no other choice.

But Zhou Jingchun wasn't very resistant to helping Xiao Zhen.

He believed in kindness; the Xiao family saving the villagers of Pine Village was an act of kindness, as was leading the people of Lingshui Village to practice with guns to defend against bandits.

"Would it be enough if I go into the mountains alone?"

Xiao Zhen: "Yes, after arriving in Taohuagou, you can stay for a couple of days and then decide to travel around outside due to not being able to fulfill your ambitions in the village. I'll secretly escort you into the mountains."

Zhou Jingchun looked at him and shook his head. "With your cunning, if you ever wanted to bully Aman, she might still be praising you even after you've stripped her to the bone."

Xiao Zhen chuckled. "Grandfather, rest assured. Aman and I are one. Either we gnaw on others' bones together, or others gnaw on us together. We will never be separated."

---

Tong Sui understood her grandfather's concern about the city clinic, but for the safety of her grandfather's family, she still had to persuade him to change his mind.

She prepared her arguments in the kitchen, but when she brought the food into the main room, she heard her grandfather say to her aunt, "Let's pack up after dinner. We'll set off tomorrow morning and move to Taohuagou."

Tong Sui was stunned, and Jiang Shi and Zhou Gui also couldn't believe their ears. How could such a stubborn old doctor have changed his mind while she was cooking?

Tong Sui reacted first and looked at Xiao Zhen.

Xiao Zhen explained, "What Grandfather cares most about is you and Cousin. As long as we mention you, he won't refuse."

Zhou Gui's eyes welled up, and she rushed to her grandfather's side, hugging him. "I knew it, Grandfather loves me the most."

Zhou Jingchun patted the little girl's shoulder and said to Tong Sui, "This grandson-in-law of mine is truly extraordinary. He's eloquent and persuasive."

Tong Sui didn't care what Xiao Zhen had said; he had convinced her grandfather, making him today's hero!

In the afternoon, there were many things to pack at the Zhou residence. Tong Sui helped out, and Xiao Zhen left under the pretense of buying something for his family's elderly.

The weather was hot, and the teahouse was deserted at this time. Xiao Zhen glanced inside, but Song Lan was nowhere to be seen.

He went to buy a birthday gift for Tong Sui first.

It seemed like a small matter, but it took a lot of effort because he didn't know what she would like. Buying jewelry was too ostentatious to wear publicly, and silk clothes were impractical and would just be stored away.

Finally, he found something suitable and went to the teahouse, where he sat drinking tea until dusk before leaving.

At the Zhou residence, large and small trunks filled the courtyard, and the women were preparing dinner again.

Xiao Zhen heard Jiang Shi say that Tong Sui would sleep in Zhou Gui's room tonight, and he would share a room with Zhou Xian.

He carried a wooden basin to the kitchen and stood at the door, looking inside.

Seeing him, Tong Sui wiped her hands on her apron and walked out, asking, "Where did you go? You're just getting back now?"

Xiao Zhen whispered, "I bought you a gift."

Her aunt and cousin were nearby, so Tong Sui felt her face heat up. She lowered her head to take the wooden basin from him. "I'll get you some water."

Xiao Zhen let go of the basin.

After fetching the water, Tong Sui returned the basin to him, only to find him suddenly grabbing her right hand.

Tong Sui: ...

Xiao Zhen walked away as if nothing had happened.

Tong Sui looked at his back, then at her right hand, noticing a luminous white jade ring on her thumb.

When Tong Sui first learned archery as a child, her grandfather made her a ring from pig bone, which she stopped wearing once she developed calluses.

Now, Xiao Zhen had given her another one made of jade.