Chapter 969: Distant Relatives Are Not As Good As Close Neighbors

The three-fresh-filling dumplings my husband made are truly delicious; every time he eats them, he eats until he can't possibly eat another bite.

Her entire attention was on the dumplings, so she didn't care who had moved in next door.

Gu Zhihao smiled and handed his wife a bowl of dumpling soup: "The original soup digests the original food; don't eat too fast, no one is going to snatch them from you."

The two children watched eagerly: "I want to drink some."

"I want to drink some too."

"Alright, you both can have some."

He first brought the cooled dumpling soup to the boy's mouth for a sip, then fed the girl a sip, then fed the boy a sip again, then fed the girl...

Gu Zhihao felt very happy.

Having his wife for company, and having a son and a daughter.

Although the place they lived in was simple and crude, his wife and children had no complaints, and his family was willing and happy to live in such a place with him; he had finally found the sense of achievement that comes with being the head of the household and the pillar of support!

After the meal.

The children and his wife had been rowdy all day and were exhausted; they fell asleep without even washing up.

He lay on the bed but couldn't sleep no matter what, thinking that this place was still a bit too crude and needed a separate bathroom.

He hadn't felt that way when he lived here alone; back then, he would just boil a pot of hot water or even use cold water to wash up in the courtyard.

But that wouldn't do now; his wife and children were people who had never suffered, and while he could make do with anything, he couldn't let them be wronged.

Since Gu Zhihao couldn't sleep, he simply got up to go to the courtyard to measure the dimensions for building a bathroom.

But he couldn't find the measuring tape; he didn't know where he had put it, and the light next door was still on, so he walked over to the neighbor's to borrow one.

The person who originally lived next door was a carpenter, and when the carpenter moved out, he left quite a few things behind, so there must be a measuring tape.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Brother, I'm here to borrow a tape measure," Gu Zhihao knocked on the door.

There was no response from inside.

He muttered to himself: "Asleep? They haven't come out of the room for three days; nothing bad happened, right?"

The door was an old wooden door with large gaps between the panels.

He pressed his eye against a gap in the door to look inside and saw someone lying on the bed with a bandage wrapped around their leg, and an alcohol stove still lit on the table.

The person on the bed wasn't covered by a quilt, their face was flushed red, and they were breathing heavily.

"Oh no, they're sick."

Since Gu Zhihao had discovered it, he couldn't just leave them be.

"Bang!"

With just one hit, the door was knocked open.

Zhu Qingxiang opened his eyes, startled into sitting up immediately.

His head was still dizzy, but he was very alert as he reached under the pillow to feel for his Dagger.

The blade was still there, but it had been wrapped tightly in cloth strips, so tightly he couldn't even untie it!

Zhu Qingxiang:...

This couldn't be the work of an enemy.

If an enemy had come, he would have been tied up and dragged before Ji Yingjie long ago, or locked in a dark room waiting to be tortured.

He wouldn't have been changed into clean clothes and bedding, and of course, a new pillow.

The Dagger under the pillow was still there, but it had been wrapped in cloth?

Who did it?

Just as he was thinking.

The door was pushed open, and Gu Zhihao walked in.

"You're awake?"

"Who sent you? How did you get into my room?" Zhu Qingxiang's face was fierce, his tone sharp.

"Hahahaha, you young man must be delirious from the fever; who sent me? Anyone with any ability wouldn't come to this place..."

Gu Zhihao rambled on, explaining how he had come to borrow a tape measure yesterday, discovered him feverish and unconscious with the alcohol stove still lit, and fearing a fire or that he might develop pneumonia from the fever, he had knocked down the door, fed him fever-reducing medicine, and taken care of him all night.

"So it's true, you were the one taking care of me?"

Although Zhu Qingxiang was feverish and muddled, he could still feel that someone had been looking after him all night.

He had thought it was a dream or a hallucination, but he hadn't expected it to be real.

"Of course it was me, who else did you think it was?"

Gu Zhihao laughed heartily: "I feel like you look a bit familiar, like I've seen you somewhere before, but I just can't remember..."

The two had met twice.

But the first two times, Zhu Qingxiang had been cross-dressing, which was why he felt familiar.

Zhu Qingxiang couldn't let him figure it out and was preparing to find a reasonable excuse.

But Gu Zhihao was already answering his own question: "It must be from a past life; the elders say that if two people feel familiar the first time they meet, it's fate from a past life."

"Thank you for taking care of me."

He calmly put away the Dagger; Gu Zhihao had taken care of him all night and hadn't discovered that he was the girl who had told him to buy the lottery ticket, so Zhu Qingxiang felt slightly relieved.

"No need to thank me; they say distant relatives aren't as good as close neighbors, so it's only right for neighbors to help each other when in trouble."

He opened the lunch box in his hand: "Since you're awake, eat something. There's nothing fancy, just some millet porridge I cooked this morning, and the dumplings were made yesterday; I just pan-fried them."

"Leek and egg filling?" Zhu Qingxiang's eyes lit up.

"That's right, you smelled it? Hahaha..." Gu Zhihao laughed heartily, proud: "Try it and see if it's good? My wife and children really like the dumplings I make."

The instant noodle cups and biscuit bags on the table had already been cleared away; he set the meal on the table, and besides porridge and pan-fried dumplings, there were two refreshing side dishes: shredded kelp with minced garlic and cucumber with pig face.

"Thank you."

After thanking him, Zhu Qingxiang began to wolf down the food, his table manners quite unrefined.

"Slow down, eat slowly; look at how hungry the kid is."

Gu Zhihao felt a sense of pity.

Judging by his appearance and clothing, the young man clearly came from a well-off family, but this way of eating... it was as if he hadn't eaten in years.

"Brother, if you don't mind, don't bother cooking for yourself anymore; just eat with our family."

Zhu Qingxiang looked up, half a pan-fried dumpling still in his mouth, and asked vaguely: "What did you say?"

Gu Zhihao chuckled and said: "I mean, it's too much trouble for you to cook for yourself alone; I have to make three meals a day anyway, it's just adding a little more rice."

He was still hesitating, but Gu Zhihao had already spoken again: "Hehe, although they say a distant relative isn't as good as a close neighbor, you'll still have to pay for living expenses; but don't worry, I won't overcharge you, how about three thousand yuan a month?"

Last night, while taking care of this big boy, he had been making calculations in his heart.

The boy didn't look like a poor person, yet he lived in such a difficult place; he was either suffering a temporary setback with nowhere to go, or his family had suddenly fallen on hard times and run out of money.

He had to eat, right?

Eating those instant noodles and biscuits for a meal or two was fine, but how could anyone stand eating them every single day?

Was he sick?

He naturally attributed the reason for Zhu Qingxiang's fever to him neglecting his meals.

And when he had left the Shi Family with his family in tow, he had intended to start a small business, but only after leaving did he realize how unrealistic that idea was.

Although a small business wasn't big, it was very hard work; one person couldn't do it, and his wife couldn't help and even needed to be taken care of.

Plus, the two children were too young; he couldn't take them along to collect scrap, could he?

Although he had money on hand, sitting around and eating through his savings wasn't a solution; he had been worrying about this for the past few days, but while clearing the table, a flash of inspiration suddenly hit him, and he had an idea.

Why not have this big boy eat at his place? He didn't even have a kitchen here; it would kill two birds with one stone.

Having one more person eating at home and collecting meal money wouldn't violate his father's dying wish of not opening a restaurant.