CHAPTER 619: CHAPTER 619: TAKEN A FANCY TO

Du Fu was taken aback for a moment but quickly smiled again, amiably calling out: "Xiao Yu."

The other two Miss Du girls, younger in seniority than Du Fu, also called out following her lead.

Third Grandma watched with a smile and said: "Xiao Yu, take your Du sisters to your room, and you and Sister Xiu can chat with them there."

"Alright." Gu Jinli greeted Du Fu and the others, leading them to her and Gu Jinxiu’s room.

After Du Fu and the others entered the room, their eyes lit up at the sight of the room’s setup.

The Gu Family’s house, from the outside, appeared to be an old mud house, but the interior was very nice. The walls were pinned with thick oiled paper, giving them a smooth and clean appearance, and two pieces of embroidery hung on the walls, adding even more color.

Even the space above in the room was covered by a piece of three-layer coarse hemp cloth, concealing the ceiling from view.

"Xiao Yu, your house is really pretty, so clean and bright, much better than ours. In our house, either the roof leaks or the dirt falls, and no matter how much tidying up you can’t get the room clean," Du Ya said, very fond of the Gu Family’s living arrangements, envious that the sisters could live in such a room.

Gu Jinli explained: "This room used to have dirt falling from it as well, but after earning a bit of silver, we bought some oiled paper and coarse hemp cloth to cover all the walls and ceilings, which made it look better."

Gu Jinxiu chimed in with a smile: "Yes, in the past, I would try to clean the house but could never get it completely clean."

Hearing this, the Miss Du girls looked towards Gu Jinxiu, their eyes lighting up again: "You must be the Gu Family’s Sister Xiu; you are really pretty."

Du Ya added, looking towards Gu Jinli: "Xiao Yu is also very pretty, really."

Xiao Yu’s features were exquisite and bore some resemblance to Gu Jinxiu; she was also very good-looking.

Gu Jinli laughed and thought, when you add a ’really,’ it makes me wonder if I should believe you.

Gu Jinxiu had already asked Sister Li to bring some snacks from the kitchen. Besides soy milk and bean dregs cake, they also had crystal red jujube cake.

"Xiao Yu says these pastries are good for your health, give them a try." Gu Jinxiu handed the pastries to the three Miss Du girls and poured each a bowl of soy milk.

Her manners were gentle, and her movements neither rushed nor slow. The Miss Du girls, who were initially nervous, soon settled down, and before long, they were all chatting together.

Gu Jinxiu thought of Luo Huiniang and said to Gu Jinli: "Xiao Yu, go call Hui Niang over. It’s not good for her to be cooped up at home all the time."

After Qin Er Lang died, Hui Niang was heartbroken. Luo Huiniang, who used to be busy at the shop or visiting their house, had been staying at home lately, frequently shedding tears.

Hearing this, Du Fu hurriedly said: "There’s no need for trouble; let Xiao Yu show the way, and we can visit the Luo Family together... Brother Luo is also our lifesaver."

As Du Fu said this, her face inexplicably turned red, causing both Gu Jinxiu and Gu Jinli to be taken aback.

Gu Jinli: "..."

Brother Luo Wu, you’ve got peach blossoms blooming, huh.

She said: "Alright, I’ll take you there. Big Sister, you stay at home and continue with the embroidery."

Gu Jinxiu paused, then finally said: "Okay."

Du Fu was delighted and, along with Du Ya and others, followed Gu Jinli to the Luo Family.

Luo Huiniang was sitting in the courtyard, staring into space. After opening the door for Gu Jinli, she sat back down on the bench to continue daydreaming, so upset she didn’t even notice Du Fu and the others.

Du Fu was taken aback and greeted Luo Huiniang: "You must be Hui Niang. I’m Du Fu. Your brother saved us some time ago, and we’ve come to express our gratitude."

Luo Huiniang frowned and did not speak.

Du Fu felt very awkward and asked again, "Hui Niang, are your parents and elder brother at home? We’d like to thank them in person."

Upon hearing this, Luo Huiniang turned to look at Gu Jinli, her eyes welling up with tears, and she asked, "Xiao Yu, do you think if my brother could have saved Brother Qin Er the same way he saved Miss Du, Brother Qin Er might not have died?"

Gu Jinli: "..."

How did you connect these two incidents?

"That’s impossible. Your brother can’t fly. Even flying would be useless; he would need to teleport to be able to save him."

After hearing this, Luo Huiniang burst into tears and hugged Gu Jinli, saying, "Xiao Yu, I don’t want Brother Qin Er to die. Can we bring him back?"

Gu Jinli: "No, we can’t. He’s already gone. You should try to forget him."

Luo Huiniang shook her head: "I don’t want to forget. I need to remember Brother Qin Er. He was my lifesaver!"

Gu Jinli: "Alright, alright, you remember him then."

But no matter how much you remember, it’s useless. Qin Er Lang is probably never coming back in this lifetime.

Upon hearing this, Luo Huiniang began to wail even louder. Today, with her parents not around, she could cry as much as she wanted, and no one would scold her.

The Misses Du were confused, especially Du Fu. She originally came to the Luo Family to express her gratitude and to get on good terms with Luo Huiniang. After developing a bond, perhaps she could marry into the Luo Family.

Although it was Uncle Jiang from the Jiang Family who rushed in to save them, she saw how Luo Wu and Qin San Lang were punching and beating up those thugs outside. At that moment, she felt like she saw a pillar of support and thought that marrying one of them would mean protection for the rest of her life, no longer subjected to bullying.

But Qin San Lang was only fifteen, and she was already sixteen. She was better suited in age to Luo Wu, so she set her sights on the Luo Family.

However, she not only failed to meet Luo Wu or his parents today, but she also couldn’t even form a close connection with Miss Luo, this...

Luo Huiniang didn’t care about them. She was always carefree, not quite understanding worldly affairs, and now she just wanted to cling to Gu Jinli and cry her heart out.

Du Ya saw her crying miserably and tried to console her, "Miss Luo, don’t cry. Death is irreversible, and crying more won’t help."

Upon hearing this, Luo Huiniang cried even more tragically.

When Du Ya wanted to offer more comfort, Du Fu quickly stopped her: "Don’t keep going." Continuing would only make Hui Niang cry more.

Luo Huiniang had a good, cathartic cry, and ended up crying herself to sleep.

Gu Jinli could only shake her head and called for Xiao Ji, "Keep an eye on her at the Luo’s until she wakes up."

A girl sleeping out in the courtyard, if a villain were to come in, it would be terrible.

"Okay, Young Master, rest assured, I will take good care of Miss Luo," Xiao Ji responded, supporting Luo Huiniang’s head on his shoulder and waving Gu Jinli off, "Young Master, go back home."

Gu Jinli nodded and took Du Fu and the others back home.

At home, Elder Qin had also arrived. Qin San Lang had saved the Misses Du as well, but with Qin San Lang not at home, Elder Qin was asked to come.

Third Grandpa was asking Du Qian, "With Village Chief Chen gone, Chen Family People haven’t troubled you, have they?"

"Not at all, they’re all scared now. County Magistrate Xu even made a point to instruct the new village chief to take special care of us, warning that if anyone in the village dares to retaliate, they would be next on the chopping block," Du Qian said, wiping away tears, "County Magistrate Xu is truly a rare good official, his word has practically saved the lives of us Du Family People."

Although the new village chief is still surnamed Chen, he dares not commit any bad deeds. He even swapped houses with them, and in a few days, they’ll move to a better house, no longer having to live in an old house that’s falling apart.