Chapter 58: Small River Village 12

Chapter 58: Small River Village 12

"Grandma, he has a name. His name is Cheng Ge Er," Xu Zeping said solemnly, without any hesitation.

Li Yuanniang was somewhat surprised and a bit puzzled. "Did Cheng Ge Er tell you that?"

Xu Zeping nodded, his voice rising. "Yes! Cheng Ge Er can read and write!"

He can read?

Li Yuanniang was genuinely shocked. Although she was an uneducated country woman, Lin Tianshi had traveled extensively with his former boss and had seen much of the world. From him, Li Yuanniang had learned that in wealthy families, not only men but also girls and boys were taught to read and write. These privileged people were indeed impressive.

Could this Cheng Ge Er be from a wealthy family?

Immediately, Li Yuanniang praised him. "That's really great. Cheng Ge Er can read and write? He's much more capable than us country women."

Cheng Ge Er blushed at Li Yuanniang's praise and quickly waved his hands, denying it.

"Grandma, can we really go play?" Xu Zeping tilted his head and mischievously implicated Lin Qingyun. "Qingyun said you wouldn't let us go out."

Having raised her grandson since he was little, Li Yuanniang knew exactly what he was up to. She chuckled and joined in. "Is he saying I keep him close and make him watch me chop wood, and that his grandfather treats him better by taking him up and down the mountains?"

Xu Zeping laughed. "Grandma, you're so smart."

"You're just sweet-talking me, my dear." Li Yuanniang was delighted by Xu Zeping's flattery and explained, "I didn't allow Qingyun to go play because that naughty boy went swimming alone when we weren't looking. Fortunately, your Uncle Dazhuang was bathing by the river and saved him. Otherwise, that boy would have drowned."

With this explanation, Li Yuanniang didn't need to say more for Xu Zeping to understand the family's concern.

"Qingyun is so bad, spreading rumors about Grandma. I don't want to play with him anymore!" Xu Zeping said angrily, standing firmly on Li Yuanniang's side.

Even Cheng Ge Er looked indignant, aligning himself with their cause.

Li Yuanniang, seeing the two well-behaved children, smiled warmly. "Alright, alright. You're both good kids. Grandma believes in you."

After basking in the praise, Xu Zeping turned and asked, "Grandma, is the peach blossom grove far away?"

"Not far. Go around two houses from the back, and you'll see it."

"Great!" Xu Zeping said with a smile. "Grandma, can you give me a small basket? My mother makes peach blossom cakes. I'll pick some petals, and I'll ask her to make them. My sister loves them!"

"Sure, sure, sure."

Xu Zeping picked up the basket and looked at Cheng Ge Er with a grin. "Cheng Ge Er, do you want to come with me to pick peach blossoms or stay here with Grandma?"

Cheng Ge Er indicated he wanted to go along by sticking closely to Xu Zeping, afraid of being left behind.

Watching the two children leave one after the other, Li Yuanniang couldn't stop smiling. If only Cheng Ge Er wasn't mute, he and Pingping would be a perfect match.

Unfortunately, he's mute.

In the villagers' minds, diseases that require expensive treatments are incurable.

Naturally, they equated Cheng Ge Er with being mute.

Unless Cheng Ge Er could find his family, who would be willing to treat his condition.

To be honest, Li Yuanniang had subconsciously ignored the possibility that Cheng Ge Er might be from a wealthy background...

Strangers rarely visited Small River Village, so when Xu Zeping led Cheng Ge Er towards the peach blossom grove, the villagers they encountered immediately recognized them as Lin Tianshi's grandchildren.

"Are you from Uncle Tianshi's family?"

Xu Zeping greeted the elderly villagers with a smile. "Hello, Grandpa and Grandma. My name is Xu Zeping, and this is Cheng Ge Er!"

Cheng Ge Er also smiled in agreement.

"You look so handsome, like Xi Niang."

"Yes, Xi Niang was the prettiest girl in the area. Suitors used to line up at Lin Tianshi's door."

"We thought she'd end up with Chen Dayong, that brute."

"Fortunately, Tianshi saw through him right away."

"Indeed, otherwise how could Xi Niang have been so lucky to marry into the town?"

Xu Zeping watched as these elders chatted loudly, feeling speechless... Really, shouldn't they be more considerate with the son of the subject right here?

Xu Zeping cleared his throat. "Ahem."

Unfortunately, the elders were hard of hearing and didn't notice.

Xu Zeping coughed louder. "Ahem!"

Cheng Ge Er noticed the redness in Xu Zeping's cheeks and a hint of amusement in his eyes. He truly was adorable.

Finally, the elders remembered that Xi Niang's son was still there and made excuses to leave, but they kept glancing back.

Their loud voices carried, and Xu Zeping couldn't help overhearing their conversation...

"I heard that's the boy Xi Niang rescued?"

"Yes, he's quite handsome, but it's a pity he's mute."

"What? How could he be mute?"

......

Xu Zeping glanced at Cheng Ge Er, noticing his lips pressed together and his eyes moistening. He cursed inwardly at these old gossips.

He quickly grabbed Cheng Ge Er's wrist and ran, not stopping until they reached the peach blossom grove. "Cheng Ge Er, don't listen to them. Everything will be fine! Even if we can't find your family, I'll find a way to cure you!"

"I got a silver nine-linked ring from my older brother. It's worth a lot of silver. I sold it to cure your throat!"

Cheng Ge Er hadn't exercised in a long time and was forced to follow Zeping running up and down, already exhausted and panting heavily, with his ears ringing. He couldn't clearly hear what the little guy was babbling about, but the only thing he understood was that the little guy said he had sold the nine-linked ring given by his older brother to cure his throat.

Touched, Cheng Ge Er directly tackled the bewildered Xu Zeping to the ground.

The wind blew through the peach blossom forest, scattering petals across the sky.

In a daze, Xu Zeping saw only those clear, round cat eyes amidst the falling flowers.

Children don't lie. At this moment, Cheng Ge Er knew the little guy was telling the truth; he truly cared for him like a younger brother.

He seemed to have found a brother to rely on.

Just like how the little guy's brother treated him, full of love and care in every word.

—Thank you, Pingping Ge.

Xu Zeping didn't know sign language, but he still understood Cheng Ge Er's meaning—he was calling him older brother.