Rebirth in 1980: The Farm Wife Makes a Comeback
Chapter 334: Picking Someone Up

Chapter 334: Chapter 334: Picking Someone Up

Granny Lu also liked to be busy with these kinds of chores; bustling about actually made her a lot more robust than before.

When Qin Xiangnuan saw that Granny Lu was busy every day but seemed in good spirits, she didn’t say anything and just let her go about her business.

After dropping off Taotao, Granny Lu headed to the market and bought quite a lot of vegetables. Today, Jian Zhiqing said he wanted to eat dumplings, so she decided to make extra, allowing everyone to have their fill. The Jians all enjoyed eating meat, whereas Qin Xiangnuan strangely preferred vegetarian.

So, Granny Lu made sure to prepare both meat and vegetarian dumplings, letting everyone eat whichever they liked.

She carried a basket full of vegetables and had just reached her home when she saw an elderly person sitting in front of her door, shivering in the cold wind with a face that was pale and tinged with blue.

Granny Lu paused for a moment and sighed softly. She opened the door and went inside. Soon, she came back out, holding a bowl of hot water in her hands.

"Have a bowl of water; life’s tough for everyone."

The old man stared at the bowl for a long while, it was unclear whether he wanted to drink the water or if he felt like biting into the bowl itself.

After some time, he finally took the bowl. As soon as it was in his hands, he felt its warmth, which was comfortable to the touch. Moreover, the bowl was washed very clean, with no residue on the rim. Clearly, the bowl Granny Lu used to serve water was the same kind they used for eating, not some broken or dirty bowl, possibly relegated as a dog dish. Granny Lu was a diligent person, never idle, even ensuring Conghua’s food dish was kept spotlessly clean.

Every day, she washed Taotao’s clothes; the little chubby boy was always dressed neatly, much to his teachers’ liking. As for Jian Zhiqin, Granny Lu did want to wash his clothes for him. However, the children of The Jians were accustomed to independence, and he preferred to wash his own clothes. If his brother caught him allowing someone else to do it, he’d probably give him a beating.

Granny Lu came to admire The Jians’ family discipline even more, and her affection for Jian Zhiqing grew.

This child was smart and generous – certainly the kind who would cherish his wife in the future.

Fortunately, Qin Xiangnuan was unaware of Granny Lu’s thoughts; otherwise, she would have been spitting blood again.

The old man drank a bowl of water and handed it back to Granny Lu.

Granny Lu took the bowl and, seeing the man’s pitiful state, couldn’t help feeling compassionate, reminding her of her own days begging for food, squatting under other people’s eaves. Some kindhearted folks would give her a bowl of water or food, while others, finding her dirty and smelly, would chase her off to the street with a broom.

She had persevered for those two motherless children, desperately wanting to know if they were faring well.

"And now here is this pitiable person."

"Come in and have a seat; there’s no one else at home."

Granny Lu opened the door. "I’ll cook something for you to eat shortly. To be honest, I’m a bit choked up – I used to beg for food myself and know how hard life can be. Since you’ve come to my doorstep, I can’t let you go without offering you a meal."

Granny Lu ushered the old man inside.

The old man stood up, his clothes covered with dust, but he held his back quite straight. His shoes were worn through, clearly old handmade ones.

"Woof..." Conghua sensed the scent of a stranger and ran out, barking fiercely at the old man.

"Ah, it’s alright, come back here."

Granny Lu shooed Conghua away. Although the dog stopped barking, it glared at the old man with a watchful vigilance, lying down not too far away with its fur bristling, ready to pounce. If the old man dared to touch anything inappropriately, the dog would not hesitate to bite.

Granny Lu came out of the kitchen, having boiled a bowl of noodles, sprinkled with finely chopped green onions, and brought it over to the old man to eat.

"Go ahead," Granny Lu handed the chopsticks to the old man. The old man lowered his eyes to look at the bowl on the table, as well as the bowl of green onion noodles that looked pretty decent, and couldn’t help swallowing, the aroma of the noodles was truly appealing.

He had been hungry all day, his stomach aching with hunger.

Unable to resist, he picked up the chopsticks, eating somewhat ravenously.

Not long after, half of the bowl of noodles had gone down.

"Granny, I’m back."

Right then, Qin Xiangnuan was returning from school. As soon as she entered, she noticed a person sitting at the stone table in the house- an old man, about the age of her granny, no, perhaps a bit older, his hair gray but his spirit seemed fine, his face serious and not given to idle chat, and there was something familiar in his brows and eyes.

But for the life of her, she couldn’t recall where she had seen him before.

"Granny, who is he?"

Qin Xiangnuan had no recollection of meeting such a person, not in this lifetime or the past, so where did this man come from?

"Him?" Granny Lu emerged from the kitchen, "A person in need, squatting outside our home begging. I gave him a bowl of water and then boiled him a bowl of noodles. Everyone has tough times when out and about."

I see, Qin Xiangnuan didn’t think much of it. There was plenty of food at her place, and she wasn’t worried about an extra stranger, and besides, this old man didn’t seem to be a bad person. Although "bad person" is not written on one’s face, she felt he was probably not bad, and at such an old age, even if he wanted to rob or something, he wouldn’t be as fast as the young ones. Their family was entirely capable of dealing with just green onions.

Conghua was licking its paws, clearly ready to leap into action.

It was very clever; if the old man dared to have any ill intentions, Conghua would certainly attack.

Qin Xiangnuan put her schoolbag inside the house, and when she came out, she simply closed the door behind her without locking it. It wasn’t that she trusted people too much, rather she feared hurting someone’s self-respect. Besides, there really wasn’t anything valuable in her room, just a passbook, which she had placed in the system.

She could withdraw at any time, which was convenient, rather than worrying about misplacing it eventually.

As for the old man sitting at the stone table, she didn’t chase him away. If he wanted to stay, then let him stay. Just as Granny Lu said, everyone has their difficult moments, all just pitiable souls having a hard time.

"Granny, what are we having for dinner?" She rolled up her sleeves, ready to help Granny Lu cook.

Granny Lu had already chopped the meat.

"We’re having dumplings."

Qin Xiangnuan stirred the meat filling, half meat and half vegetarian. Could it be they really were having dumplings?

And Granny Lu had already started chopping meat on the chopping block.

"Zhiqing said he wanted dumplings, make more with meat, and you like vegetarian, so make some of those too."

Dumplings sounded good, Qin Xiangnuan hadn’t eaten dumplings in a long time, finding them too troublesome to make. Sometimes the preparation would take all day just to feed everyone at home, and if she was busy, she had no extra energy to make dumplings. She was content with any food available, unlike Jian Zhiqing who wasn’t bothered by the trouble and had eaten his share of losses for his cravings.