Chapter 258

Around here, human traces were rare, and it was a deep mountain—no one would come.

Jiang Xiaoxiao felt at ease leaving A Huang to roam free here.

When leaving, A Huang was utterly reluctant, clinging to Jiang Xiaoxiao for a long while.

Jiang Xiaoxiao helplessly patted its head to comfort it, then dug a pit in the mountain forest where she had left A Huang, and poured some Ability Water inside.

Only then did A Huang reluctantly let Jiang Xiaoxiao go.

After returning home, Jiang Xiaoxiao immediately began packing without pause.

It was late autumn now, the weather growing colder; after arriving in Xuzhou, it would likely be even colder, so she needed to bring extra thick clothing.

She brought the rabbit-fur cap Qiulian Niang had knitted for her, along with several warm wool sweaters and wool coats.

But on the day of departure, Jiang Wei saw Jiang Xiaoxiao carrying big and small packages, waved her hand, and swept everything into her space.

In the end, the mother and daughter set off with only a small bundle.

On the day they departed, Jiang Xiaoxiao and her mother walked out of Yuhe Village toward the dock in Yong'an Town.

There, they saw the Li family—whom they hadn't seen in a long time.

At the dock, people came and went, mostly workers hauling cargo.

These workers were mostly young, strong rural men, yet among these young men was a short, hunched figure.

He carried a heavy sack, straining with all his strength toward the ship ahead, drenched in sweat, gasping for breath.

Most ships at the dock were grain vessels nearly ten zhang long, each carrying nearly two thousand dan of cargo, with two masts standing tall and imposing, making the short, hunched figure appear even smaller.

The burdened Old Man Li could no longer hold on, collapsing to the ground, the grain sack tumbling off his back.

The sack tore open, spilling grain all over the ground.

"You old bastard, can you even work at all?!" The middle-aged foreman in charge of loading and unloading finally lost patience, storming forward with a whip.

Those around quickly stepped aside.

"I say, you're an old man—why don't you stay home and let your son support you? Why come here to suffer like this?"

The middle-aged foreman wasn't as heartless as the Sun family; his whip never landed on Old Man Li—normally, he only held it up for intimidation.

"Forget it, you're done with this job. Go home."

In the end, the foreman didn't demand compensation for the spilled grain—he simply ordered him away and gave him half a day's wages.

But Old Man Li knelt on the ground, gripping the foreman's leg tightly, refusing to leave.

"Please, have mercy, don't drive me away—my whole family depends on this money to eat…"

The foreman snapped impatiently: "You're an old man—don't you have a son willing to support you?"

"I…"

Old Man Li fell silent.

He wasn't without sons to support him.

It was just that…

His sons were either dead or conscripted; the only one left hated him with all his heart.

Since being driven out of Yuhe Village, the few of them had nowhere to go, so they lived in a dilapidated temple in Yong'an Town.

During these past half-months in the temple, they had grown lazy and gluttonous, nearly eating through all the food they brought from home.

As the weather grew colder, the clothes and bedding they brought were stolen by beggars sharing the temple.

They had no money left; Li Shoucai refused to find work in town, spending his days lying in the temple, beating and cursing at the Elders.

Finally, with no other choice, he came to town himself to find work.

But no one in town would hire him—he was too old.

He could only rely on the strength from years of farm labor to carry heavy sacks at the dock.

Now that the foreman was driving him away, Old Man Li, with no means of livelihood, went mad with desperation and begged on his knees.

"Please, have pity on me, don't drive me away—my whole family is waiting for me to bring home food…"

Old Man Li wept, tears and snot streaming down his face.

The foreman grew increasingly impatient; though he rarely struck dock workers, he couldn't tolerate such persistent begging.

"Are you annoying or what? You're an old man—what work can you even do? Look at this grain you spilled—I'm not even making you pay for it!"

The foreman kicked Old Man Li away, cursing as he walked off.

Old Man Li tried to crawl after him, but the foreman's whip was no joke.

"Get lost! Come near me again and I'll whip you!"

The whip cracked hard against Old Man Li's side, kicking up dust instantly.

Old Man Li turned pale with fear, dared not speak again, and left dejectedly.

But as he turned, he saw the very people he least wanted to face—the Jiang mother and daughter.

"Oh my, Jiang Little Lady, you've finally arrived!"

The foreman, who had just been terrifying Old Man Li, instantly beamed with a smile and hurried toward the mother and daughter: "Master Bai's merchant ship is anchored over there—I'll take you right there."

Jiang Wei gave a slight nod: "Thank you, it's a bother."

Jiang Xiaoxiao held her mother's hand and glanced at Old Man Li as she passed him.

Old Man Li seized her like a lifeline, lunging forward and clutching Jiang Xiaoxiao tightly.

"Er Ya, my sweet, beloved granddaughter—do you still remember I'm your grandpa? I've lost everything, I don't even have a bite to eat—can you bear to see your own grandpa reduced to this?"

Jiang Xiaoxiao winced, trying to pull free, but he gripped her hand with all his strength, refusing to let go, wailing and playing the victim.

"Grandpa knows he was wrong—take me home, raise me in my old age—I swear I'll love only you, my one and only granddaughter, for the rest of my life…"

The foreman, seeing this, flew into a rage: "You old bastard, why won't you leave?! When did Jiang Little Lady's daughter become your granddaughter? Don't you dare falsely claim kinship!"

He ordered men to drag Old Man Li away and throw him out of the dock.

Jiang Wei watched as Jiang Xiaoxiao's wrists, marked red from the bindings, and a flash of coldness passed through her eyes.

She spoke coolly: "It seems your dock is truly short-handed. Though the owner of Fu'an Trading House is kind-hearted, you can't take in every old, weak, sick, or disabled person. This old man is advanced in age—if something happens to him, the reputation will suffer."

"Yes, yes, yes, Little Lady Jiang is right. I'll be careful from now on—I absolutely won't take in people like him again." The manager wiped sweat from his brow and hurried to smile apologetically.

This dock was one of Fu'an Trading House's properties.

When Jiang Yu left, his close relationship with the Jiang Family was known to all.

Now, this old man had nearly ruined Jiang Yu's impression in front of Jiang Xiaoxiao and her mother—the manager was furious, and ordered that everyone on the dock ban the old man from entering and give him no work whatsoever.

The mother and daughter followed the manager aboard the ship.

It was a Merchant Ship, and Bai Xiansheng had already been waiting there.