The reason why Wu Qingyuan decided to choose Lin Laogen as the one to help him was that he was confident.

Whether it was before or after the apocalypse came, he had garnered a lot of experience. What kind of person Lin Laogen was could be seen in the short interactions they’ve had. A country guy who could put noodles in a bamboo tube and take them home would not be a slippery man. His work efficiency may not be so high, but he was reliable.

After getting a bowl of Yangchun noodles and semi-consecutive copper coins, Lin Laogen’s face almost burst into laughter. Putting the copper coins into his purse, he began to ask Wu Qingyuan for more information and where he would be able to find him.

This time, even though Wu Qingyuan was generous with the noodles and the copper coins for asking questions, in fact, he didn’t have any money on him.

There were a lot of gold bars in his space, but he was not ready to take them out for the time being. The size of the gold bar was not small; taking out a piece of gold in this small town– it would be easy to attract trouble. His only silver now was the one he got when he was at the ship’s bow. They thanked him for his help, and even the clothes he was wearing were given by them.

So he couldn’t live in an inn until he got some money.

“Is this younger brother still thinking of a place to stay?”

Seeing that he didn’t speak, Lin Laogen couldn’t help but tentatively ask.

He saw a lot of people like Wu Qingyuan from outside at the dock, and he guessed a little bit about his difficulty by looking at his clothes.

Of course, he didn’t guess Wu Qingyuan’s actual situation; he just guessed that, since he had just said he came here to find someone, he must stay here before he found that someone. It was not cheap to live in an inn, and Wu Qingyuan’s appearance did not imply he could live in one for a long time. So he was naturally a little worried about the issue of whereabouts.

“Yes, uncle, I am not very familiar with this place. I haven’t thought of a place to stay. In addition to finding people, I also want to find a village here to settle down. It’s just that I was in a shipwreck before, and all the official documents on my body to prove my identity were in the water, and I don’t know if I could be settled here, and regarding the surrounding villages, I don’t know which one would be suitable…”

Wu Qingyuan nodded and said so without concealing much, and at the same time said that he wanted to settle down.

In terms of settling down and building a home, he also learned about other things during the time he was on the boat. The population statistics of this place were not complete, and the management was not strict. He heard that a rare famine occurred in the Xia Kingdom more than ten years ago, and many people died. Just when the population was lacking and weak, it would not be difficult for a strong laborer like him to settle down.

While talking, he was observing Lin Laogen’s expression. Wu Qingyuan was relieved when he saw that the other party’s face was normal; instead of showing a different expression because of his lack of recognition, he displayed a little sympathy.

“Well, it’s better to go back to the village with me and stay at my house for a few days first, while I help you inquire about the relative you were looking for. If we are able to find someone, you could go directly to your relatives. There was a way- there was another room in my house. Come stay at my house and give me ten copper coins every day. No, eight copper coins are enough, much cheaper than an inn!”

Most of the country folks were simple. Wu Qingyuan looked good and had a good temperament. He didn’t look like a bad person. Lin Laogen never doubted his words and his identity, and enthusiastically helped him find a way. Of course, the last sentence was his driving point.

“Okay, then, thank you, uncle.”

After wandering around for a long time to make extra money for his family, when Lin Laogen waited for Wu Qingyuan to answer, he had a slightly nervous expression. Wu Qingyuan suddenly smiled and nodded– he saw that Lin Laogen was an honest man, but he still had the mind of a businessman.

Once things were discussed and the payment for the noodles was given, Wu Qingyuan followed the happy Lin Laogen to leave the dock for the Liushu Village that the other party had mentioned.

Having discussed things for so long, the time was getting late. And after making his money today, Lin Laogen had no plans to go back to the dock to be a coolie anymore and immediately prepared to return to the village.

Along the way, Lin Laogen had a very enthusiastic attitude and talked a lot because he had earned his silver, but most of the topics were about his two children and how smart his son was, and he was praised by his teacher when he first entered the private school. The ger at home was more than capable, and he worked in the field and cooked well, and he didn’t look like a man at all.

But Wu Qingyuan was very patient. He didn’t find him annoying. He was indifferent in his last days. He couldn’t tell anyone about family affairs- he couldn’t even say hello to the unfamiliar ones. He hadn’t experienced such a simple and down-to-earth feeling for a long time.

Occasionally accompanied by the sentence “Your ger/son is really capable”, Lin Laogen would laugh from ear to ear and be more enthusiastic and closer to him.

Liushu Village was not far from Shiqiao Town. Of course, this “not far” was defined by the people here. Walking from Shiqiao Town to Liushu Village, Wu Qingyuan estimated the time to be more than an hour.

This was still under the condition that he and Lin Laogen were both big men with good physical strength. If they were replaced with other people of lower physical strength, the pace would be slower; he was afraid that it would be more or less a two-hour journey.

At sunset, Wu Qingyuan finally saw Liushu Village he had heard about from the mouth of Lin Laogen.

It was a small mountain village surrounded by mountains and rivers. The size of the village was medium-sized. Looking from a distance, the population looked to be two to three hundred households. There were rows of willow trees on the roadside of the village. Liushu Village should be named after this- the whole village was full of life, full of vitality, and pleasant scenery. Wu Qingyuan liked it very much from his first impression.

After entering the village, he found that the life of the people in this village should be pretty good.

Although most of the homes were still houses with mud walls and thatched roofs, the villagers looked very good on the streets, not as hungry. There were still several good brick houses in the village. It could be seen that the people in Liushu Village were not rich but not too poor.

He remembered that on the canal before, merchant ships had docked in some small villages and towns. The people in those villages were all yellowish and thin, like starving ghosts, and the houses were all kinds of dilapidated. In contrast, the villagers in Liushu Village also had yellowish skin, but they had poor nutrition; although it was bad compared to modern times, the overall standard of living was relatively good.

Nodding in his heart, he included Liushu Village as a candidate for his settlement. Wu Qingyuan continued to listen to Liu Laogen’s words, following him without changing his face.

As he was walking, a villager hurried over in front of him, pulling Lin Laogen before he could catch his breath, and began to speak.

“Lin Laogen, you are back. Hurry over, your ger quarreled with the old woman again, and he is about to fight her with a stick!”

“What? Why did he quarrel with Zhou Laotai again, this kid, Jin Shui? Where are they now? I’ll go over there immediately.”

Upon hearing the words of the villagers, Lin Laogen’s expression changed, and he asked the other person anxiously.

“They are in the village square now; I would take you there…”

The villager quickly answered and then helped Lin Laogen start running in a hurry. Wu Qingyuan followed.

It was only a few minutes’ walk from the entrance of the village to the village square, so the three of them arrived very quickly. Before they walked past, they saw that the drying yard was surrounded by villagers, and the chattering and discussions were very lively.

As an awakened person, Wu Qingyuan’s six senses were very sensitive. At a glance, he saw the two protagonists fighting in the middle through the gap in the crowd.

One was an elderly woman with a sturdy figure, wearing a navy blue floral dress, with black and white hair, and the other was a young man who was only eighteen or nineteen years old, with a large green spot on his face, not looking good.

The two were surrounded by the crowd, holding a stick in each hand, and arguing fiercely with red, flushed faces. The old woman was bitter and mean, and the young man was also clever and refused to admit defeat.

Seeing Lin Laogen coming, the old woman finally took a breath, ignored the young man, transferred her anger to Lin Laogen, who was relatively weak in combat effectiveness, and screamed sharply.

“Lin Laogen, you failed as a parent! Look at what kind of child you raised; he dares to quarrel with this old lady and threaten me with a stick. You can’t find a husband for him with an attitude like his, who dares disrespect his elders. This ger didn’t put me in his eyes! If you don’t give me an explanation today, I will never forgive your Lin family!”

“Zhou Laotai, it’s me who was arguing with you; why were you scolding my father?”

The old woman transferred her firepower to Lin Laogen, and the young man became even angrier.

A ten-year-old boy standing nearby also ran to Lin Laogen to explain.

“Dad, it’s all Zhou Laotai’s fault. Today, she let Zhou-ger go up the mountain to cut firewood. Zhou-ger met a fierce bear on the mountain, and he came back alive, but he was almost caught by the bear and eaten alive. Zhou Laotai didn’t buy medicine for Zhou-ger; instead, she still beat him up. You see, Zhou-ger was about to be beaten to death by her! My brother was only trying to help Zhou-ger speak, but she only turned to us, saying that my brother hated her and wanted her to lose all her money. You shouldn’t listen to her!”

The child said angrily while pointing to Zhou-ger next to the teenager.

Wu Qingyuan also followed suit, because the identity of a ger made it not very convenient to undress for people to check, but from the blood on the skinny little boy named Zhou-ger, as well as the exposed arms, ankles, neck, and face where there were all kinds of bruises, it was not difficult to see that the injury was indeed serious.
The surrounding villagers also discussed and backed up the facts spoken, but the old lady of Zhou’s family was a well-known fierce shrew in the village. No one dared to speak too loudly for fear that the old lady would throw her anger on others and cause trouble.

Zhou Laotai’s face was not good when she listened to the whispers in the crowd, but she couldn’t refute it, and no matter how fierce she was, she couldn’t offend the whole village, so she could only scold the father and his sons of the Lin family with arrogance and unreasonableness.

“Bah, why was it your business for a mother to discipline her child? He didn’t cut any firewood and instead lost my old mother’s hatchet. A chai knife worth more than 20 copper coins is enough to eat a catty of meat. Shouldn’t I teach him a lesson? Just take care of your family’s business. No wonder you are so ugly; it may be retribution, and why no one wants to marry you…”

“You! Grandpa Zhou Laotai, what were you talking about? Why can’t my child get married?!”

Lin Laogen, who had just listened to his son’s report and hadn’t reacted yet, heard the words of Zhou Laotai, and the honest-looking man instantly exploded and roared.

Not to mention that Zhou Laotai and the surrounding villagers were startled; even Wu Qingyuan was shaken by his voice.