Chapter 219 - Heartwarming

Chapter 219: Chapter 206: HeartwarmingThis year’s harvest was exceptionally good, thanks to the one acre and a quarter of land that Lu Hong had cultivated, the entire family decided to prepare two new sets of clothes to comfortably get through the winter.

"Big brother, big brother," Weiwei asked with a smile, clutching Lu Hong’s rough palm, "what kind of clothes do you want?"

"What else could it be, aren’t all clothes the same?" The old man rolled his eyes and said, "Don’t bother asking Erleng, he can’t talk anyway. When we get to Qi’s shop, just let him pick for himself."

Lu Hong nodded with a smile in agreement.

Because Lu Hong was lame and couldn’t walk fast, the old man and Weiwei slowed down to accompany Lu Hong as they leisurely strolled down the country lane.

Accustomed to the hustle and bustle of the city, the quiet countryside had a different flavor. Since his arrival through time, Lu Hong had never had such leisure. Unlike his previous ambitions, Lu Hong no longer had the fervor of competitiveness; instead, he felt a hint of weathering. The recent blow to him was just too heavy.

It was still a distance to the old man’s family town, had it not been so, Lu Hong could not have casually reclaimed wasteland without drawing envy.

A journey of an hour took a full three hours, as they accommodated Lu Hong’s pace. Members of the Sand Mercenary Group stationed there simply inquired about their identities and let them pass. An old man, a child, and a cripple – what harm could they pose?

The empire ruled over many realms, but only a handful were permitted to establish their own nations within them. Most of the realms were divided among major families as the dominant forces, with each realm containing several administrative cities built by the empire for centralized management.

But in reality, these cities could not cover the entire realm, and many smaller towns and marketplaces were established by families of old or the original residents. They were not protected by imperial troops, so most of them contacted mercenary groups, paying a certain fee every month for protection against bandits.

The Sand Mercenary Group was the one hired to guard this small town, and for over a decade, there hadn’t been any major disasters, it was rather peaceful.

"Hey, old man from the soil, what brings you to town today?" The old man, who mingled around for years, was very familiar with the townspeople.

The old man didn’t mind the slight mockery, "I’m happy today, I’m a rich man now."

"Cut it out," the vegetable-selling old lady joked, "Who doesn’t know your family is so poor it rattles, if it weren’t for Erleng, who knows how many years it would have taken to get Weiwei a new dress."

The old lady’s husband came back carrying a bundle of firewood, "Yes, we said before, why not just adopt Weiwei as our daughter? She wouldn’t have to suffer every day following you."

"Not at all, I’m very happy every day with Grandpa, I don’t want to be your daughter!" Weiwei said, pulling a funny face, "Nah nah nah."

The old lady and old man ended up laughing, "Oh my, what a cute little girl."

"Go on, get lost, stop with your cold jokes," the old man had often received help from this couple in the early years, they were on good terms, "I still have to hurry and get Weiwei two sets of new clothes, no time to chat with you guys."

"Come to our house for dinner later, we’re making dumplings today," the old lady called out behind the old man and the two, "Don’t forget!"

"I know!" the old man waved his hand, feeling a burst of joy in his heart, tonight’s dinner was settled. Then he thought about whether he should buy a gift for the elderly couple.

"Hey, isn’t this old man from the soil?" Tailor shop owner Qi looked up and immediately greeted the incoming customer with a smile, "What brings you to my place today?"

"What, I come to buy a few new clothes and you’re not welcoming?" the old man pretended to be angry.

"Welcome, welcome," Qi hurriedly ordered his assistant to brew a pot of tea and even prepared a fresh cup of milk especially for Weiwei, his eyes full of affection for the girl.

"I heard yesterday someone said you came into a small fortune, didn’t expect you to come and spend it today?" Qi handed over a cup of tea.

The old man took it and laughed, "Winter’s coming, Weiwei is still young, I’m afraid she’ll catch cold."

"Xiaocai, you take Weiwei and Erleng to look at clothes," Qi nodded to his assistant and gave him a meaningful look.

The assistant, having followed Qi for many years, knew his boss’s thoughts well, "Alright! Please follow me, both of you."

Leading Lu Hong and Weiwei into the side room, a dazzling array of beautiful clothes made Weiwei’s eyes shine.

"Wow, big brother, look, look!" Weiwei said excitedly, "So many beautiful clothes!"

"Don’t rush," the assistant smiled, "Follow me."

He opened a side door, where the styles of the clothing were the same, but one could tell the fabrics were of better quality.

Lu Hong also knew that Shopkeeper Qi was kind-hearted and led Weiwei inside. The assistant eagerly started to help Weiwei select, while Lu Hong watched from the side, with no intention of choosing any clothes for himself.

Old man from the soil and Shopkeeper Qi chatted for half an hour, and then Weiwei reluctantly chose two pieces of clothing and walked out from the side room.

"Grandpa, these two outfits both look really nice, which one should I wear?" Weiwei was very sensible, she wanted both outfits but didn’t want to cause trouble for her family.

"We’ll take both!" The old man knew exactly what a child would want and decided immediately to get both outfits.

"Grandpa..." Weiwei hesitated for a moment and said, "It’s wasteful to get two."

"What waste? It’s always good to have a spare set." The old man waved his large sleeve and said, "Shopkeeper Qi, we’ll take both."

"Okay, Xiao Cai, pack up the clothes." Shopkeeper Qi nodded slightly at Xiao Cai, who was holding the other outfit in his hands.

"Hey? Why haven’t you picked one?" The old man saw that Lu Hong’s hands were empty and asked, "Don’t you like any?"

Lu Hong shook his head and casually grabbed a thick hemp garment from the table and shook it.

"That won’t do at all!" The old man scolded, "It’s going to be cold in the winter; choose a thicker one."

Shopkeeper Qi stood up, took out a thick cotton-padded jacket from the counter, and said, "How about this one? I just finished making it, and the fabric is quite decent."

"Good, that one." The old man nodded right away.

Shopkeeper Qi smiled as he wrapped up the clothing and said to the old man, "Don’t you want to pick one for yourself too?"

"I’ll pass," the old man shook his head, "I’m old now, what use do I have for new clothes? The ones I have aren’t worn out yet."

"Fine, as you wish," Shopkeeper Qi didn’t insist.

"How much is it?" The old man fumbled in his pocket, not hurrying to take out the money, waiting for Shopkeeper Qi to quote the price.

"Eighteen silver coins."

"There, take this," the old man pulled out thirty silver coins and stuffed them into the shopkeeper’s hand.

Shopkeeper Qi quickly tried to give it back, "This is too much!"

The old man pushed it firmly back again and whispered, "You’ve always helped us, grandfather and granddaughter, I remember clearly all the debts we’ve accrued here."

"Alright," Shopkeeper Qi laughed and accepted the silver coins, "Next time you come over, I’ll give you a discount."

"Hmm!" The old man nodded, "We’ll come again next year!"

Just as the three of them were about to leave, Xiao Cai came out from the back room and asked Shopkeeper Qi, "Shopkeeper, these clothes are all discards, do you want to throw them away or..."

"Oh, old man, come back here!" Shopkeeper Qi slapped his forehead, "Look at my memory." With that, he picked up a pile of thick clothing from what the clerk was holding and walked over to the old man, "These clothes are what my apprentice ruined while learning the craft, since they can’t be sold, I’ll just give them to you!"

"This..." The old man looked at the clothing; he wasn’t stupid, from the fabric of the clothes Weiwei had chosen, it was clear they were from the more expensive selection in the store, worth far more than eighteen silver coins. Shopkeeper Qi had not made a loss, and now he was trying to give away some clean clothing; the old man really had no face to accept.

Lu Hong knew the old man found it difficult to accept and walked forward, taking the clothing from Shopkeeper Qi’s hands, bowing slightly as a way to say thanks.

"You little rascal! How can you just take things like that!" the old man scolded, "Give it back to him right away."

"Let it be, let it be, we don’t need them anyway, and it’d be a waste to throw them away, you take them," Shopkeeper Qi waved his hand and walked back into the store, "Next time you come to buy clothes, I just won’t give you a discount."

"Thank you, Shopkeeper!" the old man bowed, secretly sighing to himself.

Weiwei also seemed to understand something and respectfully said, "Thank you, Shopkeeper Qi."

"Ah! You’re welcome, no need to thank me," Shopkeeper Qi smiled and bid farewell to Weiwei, "Take care, come again for a visit next time."

After seeing off the three of them, Xiao Cai tidied up the disordered clothes and went back to the main house. Shopkeeper Qi glanced at him and said, "Xiao Cai, you did well today."

"Hehe, thank you for the praise, Shopkeeper." The clerk chuckled naively and then, with a trace of doubt, said, "Shopkeeper, why do you always treat old man Lu’s family so well? We’ve just lost a full Gold Coin in cost."

"They’ve had it tough," Shopkeeper Qi made a note in the account book, deducting one Gold, then said, "When you take over my shop, you must continue to do this. His son and daughter-in-law both sacrificed themselves to protect the town. People need to know gratitude."

"Yes, I will," the clerk nodded emphatically, engraving the shopkeeper’s words into his heart.