"These rice grains were also sent by your Sister Xiaoyue, hurry up and lead the way."
Upon hearing that it was rice, the eyes of the children present sparkled with excitement. Yanzi hurriedly turned and walked towards the dilapidated temple.
Inside the temple, there were several younger children huddled together, talking about something. When they saw Chen Xiaobei arrive, their eyes were filled with fear. Su Dan Novel Network
Yanzi smiled and said to the children, "Don't be afraid, he's here to deliver rice for us."
The main rooms of the temple had half-collapsed roofs with large holes. The side halls had two rooms that were still relatively intact. In the east side hall, there was a large offering table.
Yanzi pointed to the offering table, signaling Chen Xiaobei to put the rice there.
While putting down the rice, Chen Xiaobei secretly observed that in a corner of the room, a pot was propped up by several bricks. The pot was still quite complete.
Not bad, much better than the broken iron pot at his own home.
With a pot and rice, these children could last for a while. As for anything else, they would have to rely on Feng Xiaoyue to figure it out.
He gently patted the rice bag, "Remember to tell your Sister Xiaoyue to carefully inspect this bag."
Chen Xiaobei didn't say it directly, but he had placed a few copper coins in the rice bag.
After leaving the dilapidated temple, Cui Hongyu looked at Chen Xiaobei and asked with some worry, "Husband, you won't blame me for being meddlesome, will you?"
Chen Xiaobei smiled. He reached out and pulled Cui Hongyu into his arms, rubbing his cheek against hers.
"How could I blame you for being meddlesome? Saving lives and healing the injured is your principle as a physician, and I certainly cannot stand by and do nothing."
Hearing this, Cui Hongyu finally showed a smile on her face.
"Thank you for your understanding, husband. I'm soft-hearted and can't bear to see people suffer."
Indeed, Cui Hongyu was kind-hearted. Speaking of which, doctors in this era conducted business with conscience, embodying a spirit of great compassion that preferred medicines to gather dust on the shelves rather than seeing suffering in the world.
But then he thought of his previous life, where pharmacies advertised "buy thirty-eight yuan and get free eggs."
Alas, what a difference.
After all this fuss, by the time they bought pastries and found Chen Dachun's house, it was already nearing noon.
Seeing Chen Xiaobei arrive, Chen Dachun seemed very excited and led Chen Xiaobei on a tour of the entire house.
It was a large courtyard with three entrances.
Although Chen Xiaobei didn't know the exact price, it was certainly not a small sum.
Thinking about it, Chen Dachun was truly lucky. After being poisoned once, he unexpectedly had such a life experience. Sigh, fate.
What surprised him even more was that Chen Dachun even had two maids and one butler at home.
He never would have imagined that the seemingly honest and reliable Chen Dachun would enjoy life so quickly.
After touring the house, Chen Dachun insisted on having Chen Xiaobei stay for a meal.
The lunch consisted of seven or eight dishes, and there was also wine.
Chen Dachun held a pot of wine and said to Chen Xiaobei with a smug look, "See, brother? This is from Zheng Ji Winery, the best wine in our Qingniu County."
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobei's heart trembled.
He picked up his wine glass and took a symbolic sip. Chen Xiaobei then asked, "Brother Dachun, didn't you say you were going to open a steamed bun shop? When will it open? Remember to tell me, I must come and congratulate you!"
Chen Dachun laughed heartily, "No rush, no rush. I'll rest for a few days first."
After speaking, he slurped another mouthful of wine. "Brother, you see, now I have food and drink, my life is so comfortable. Opening a steamed bun shop is so strenuous, I need to rest for a few days first."
It was evident. The money came too easily, making Chen Dachun somewhat carried away.
Chen Xiaobei suddenly remembered a wise saying he had learned: "It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality." If this continued, Chen Dachun would be in danger.
But they were all adults, and he couldn't say too much. He just felt that this brother would drift further and further away from him in the future.
After lunch, on the way back, Chen Qiao'er was drowsy, and Cui Hongyu also leaned against Chen Xiaobei's shoulder, dozing off.
"Hongyu, I want to discuss something with you," Chen Xiaobei said tentatively. Cui Hongyu immediately looked up.
"What is it, husband?"
"Did you hear what I said to Dachun during lunch?"
"Before we came, Dachun told me he was going to open a steamed bun shop, and this and that, but look, he has no intention of making money at all."
"I think it won't be long before he squanders all his money."
"Even though he said he gave us the house and the permanent farmland, I suspect he'll eventually ask for them back."
Cui Hongyu nodded. She was now completely obedient to Chen Xiaobei.
"Husband, what do you think we should do?"
Chen Xiaobei sighed softly, "I've thought about it. Let the house be as it is, but we must preserve the courtyard walls."
"The permanent farmland left by my parents is rented to Uncle Dongtou's family, giving us two hundred catties of grain per mu."
"We will prepare the same amount of grain for Dachun and store it. That way, if he really can't make it in the city one day and wants to return to Hetou Village, at least he'll have something to eat, a place to live, and land to farm."
Hearing Chen Xiaobei's words, Cui Hongyu was filled with emotion. Chen Xiaobei's arrangements were detailed and thoughtful, providing Chen Dachun with a fallback option.
However, she hoped with all her heart that this fallback option would never be needed.
Returning to Hetou Village.
As soon as they reached the village entrance, the on-duty village guards called out loudly, "Captain, Captain, you're back. Several people came looking for you this morning and have been waiting at your doorstep."
Chen Xiaobei knew without asking that it must be Sun Jian and the others.
Indeed, he had promised to go up the mountain with them today, but this trip to the county town had taken too much time.
As expected, at his doorstep, Sun Jian, Sun Gui, and others were leaning against the large trees, half-asleep and half-awake.
Chen Xiaobei walked up and gently patted Sun Jian on the shoulder.
Sun Jian opened his eyes and saw Chen Xiaobei, unable to help but laugh, covering his mouth. "Brother Xiaobei, you're back."
As soon as he spoke, Sun Gui and the others also opened their eyes.
Chen Xiaobei said apologetically, "I'm truly sorry. I had some matters to attend to in the city, which delayed me. Let's go inside and talk."
Sun Jian got up and gave Sun Gui and the others a look, signaling them to wait where they were. He then followed Chen Xiaobei alone into the West Garden.
"Brother Xiaobei, our matter is quite urgent. Do you think..."
Chen Xiaobei apologized again, "I'm truly sorry. I intended to go up the mountain with you upon my return, but I was indeed delayed by some business."
Sun Jian nodded, "That's alright. How about we go up the mountain early tomorrow morning and try to reach the summit!"
Well, cornered, what else could Chen Xiaobei say?
Seeing that he had agreed, Sun Jian was very pleased. "Alright then, let's meet at the Mountain God Temple."
Watching Sun Jian and the others leave, Li Dong and the others finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
With those people guarding the entrance, they had truly felt a sense of unease.
Li Dong came to Chen Xiaobei and said, "Captain, everything is almost done. Take a look and see if anything needs to be tidied up."