Chapter 273

While Gu Xiaoxia was eating her noodles, Li Long sat opposite her, listening as she spoke while she ate.

"Li Long, do you think there's any way we can help them? When Xiaoni wakes up, she's so well-behaved and sensible. She keeps wanting to be discharged and not stay there, and it makes my heart ache to hear it."

Gu Xiaoxia hadn't felt maternal love since she was a child. Although Gu Bo Yuan took care of her quite well, she knew she was different from others. Seeing Xiaoni now, she felt a sense of empathy.

"You want to help them?" Li Long handed the peeled fresh garlic to Gu Xiaoxia. "Chew a few peanuts and drink some tea later, and the garlic smell will be gone."

Gu Xiaoxia took the garlic, bit into it, and said:

"Yes, I want to help them, at least give them a place to stay..."

"They can't live here," Li Long said directly. "I know you're kind, but when I'm not around, you're often here alone, and I'm not at ease."

Gu Xiaoxia actually had that same thought, but she hadn't expected Li Long to reject it so directly.

She felt Li Long was a bit heartless at that moment.

How could there be so many bad people?

Li Long could guess her thoughts. He said slowly to Gu Xiaoxia:

"The old saying goes, one shouldn't have the intention to harm others, but one must have the intention to guard against them. We don't know their situation. If you rashly bring people back and something really happens, can you defend yourself? We've only seen one side of them; whether there's another side, no one can say."

Too many messy things happened in later generations, which gave Li Long enough examples to be wary of others.

Gu Xiaoxia nodded slowly; she had indeed thought about this too simply.

But she still felt a bit uncomfortable.

"If you want to help them, it's simple," Li Long said. "I'll handle it. I'll talk to her first. If they're worth helping, I'll rent them a house, and the money can be owed for now. As long as they're willing to work hard, they can just pay us back later when they earn money.

There are plenty of opportunities to earn money these days; it just depends on whether they're willing to work. If they aren't, then there's nothing to be done... You can't help a pile of mud, can you?"

Hearing Li Long say this, Gu Xiaoxia smiled and said a bit shyly:

"Mhm, I thought about it too simply. If they work hard, they're truly worth helping. If they just want to find their family, we don't have the ability to do that... I understand. Can I go with you?"

"Sure."

Because the girl's condition hadn't fully stabilized, the mother and daughter had stayed in the infusion room from yesterday to today. The nurses knew their situation and didn't chase them away. There were people coming for emergency infusions at night, so it wasn't a big problem.

When Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia arrived at the county hospital, the mother and daughter were already preparing to leave.

Seeing Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia, the woman pulled the little girl down to kneel and said with a tearful voice:

"I'm truly grateful to you this time. If it weren't for you, my Xiaoni would probably..."

"Get up quickly, it's not that serious." Li Long hurriedly helped them up with Gu Xiaoxia. They walked to the shade of a tree by the hospital, and Li Long asked:

"Sister-in-law, what are your plans for the future?"

"I... I plan to save some money, and then inquire about where my husband is, and go find him then," the woman said, trying to stay calm.

"Then how will you save money? That little bit of wheat and such won't sell for much," Li Long said the truth. The truth was the most hurtful thing in these times.

The woman lowered her head.

"I can work in the fields..." the little girl said. "I can help people pick corn and earn money."

The little girl hadn't fully recovered, and her clear voice was a bit hoarse. Li Long hadn't reacted much, but Gu Xiaoxia couldn't take it.

Even when she was at her lowest, her father had never let her suffer like this.

"I have an idea," Li Long said. He knew that if he didn't speak now, Gu Xiaoxia might really lose it, and he had to be the one to play the villain. "Let's see if you're capable."

The woman looked at Li Long, waiting for his next words, not rashly agreeing to anything.

Li Long thought to himself that this woman was quite smart.

"I'll help you rent a house, and then you can do some small business. For example, sell some flatbreads or soup at the free market. I assume you have no problem cooking, right? The people setting up stalls there shouldn't mind spending a few cents on a meal, so you won't make a fortune, but you'll definitely be able to earn money every day."

"But I don't have any tools, and the things I use for cooking are just old basins I picked up..." the woman was still a bit hesitant.

"I'll prepare the rent and tools for you; of course, consider it a loan from me. One month limit. Once you earn money, pay me back. If you can't earn anything in a month, that means I misjudged you, and you'll have to find your own place then."

Li Long's words were a bit harsh, and Gu Xiaoxia couldn't help but secretly roll her eyes at him.

Why did he have to act like a villain when he was clearly doing a good deed?

Li Long now understood those short videos he saw in his previous life where people intentionally acted like villains at first but helped others in the end. The initial attitude itself carried a hint of testing. Of course, everyone felt differently about this, depending on how one understood it.

"Then... I'll do it!" the woman said. "I'm okay at cooking at home. I don't know how to make flatbreads, but I can steam buns, make hot and sour soup, and make noodle soup..."

"That's enough," Li Long said. "I'll take you to rent a house now. You take Xiaoni and rest for a while. I'll prepare the tools for you in these two days. You just focus on cooking. When you have time, go around the market and listen to what the locals like to eat and what flavors they prefer. I'll say it again: it's only for one month, and it's mainly because my partner feels sorry for Xiaoni..."

Gu Xiaoxia's work time was almost up, so she hurried off to work. Li Long stayed behind, took the mother and daughter to recognize the way to the market, and then took them to the newly purchased courtyard.

Li Long originally hadn't intended to let them live in this courtyard, thinking he'd just rent them a house, but he couldn't find a suitable one in a short time, so they'd stay here for now. At least there was leftover bedding and vegetables here, so the mother and daughter wouldn't go hungry.

"You stay in this courtyard for now, and help clean it up while you're at it. You can eat the vegetables in the garden. You stay in the small bedroom on this side, and don't touch the other side," Li Long said. "I'll leave you a key. Rest for now, and I'll bring you some rice and flour. Everything else is here; just stay for now."

After saying this, Li Long left.

The mother and daughter felt like they were dreaming.

"Mom, is this... real?" Xiaoni's spirits were much better now, and she couldn't believe it.

This courtyard was much better than her home, and even though Li Long said it was a bit messy, it was actually very nice.

"It's real. But for the next month, we have to work hard." The woman actually understood Li Long's good intentions, even though she didn't understand why he kept a straight face as if he were scaring people. But being able to save her and her daughter and provide a place to stay meant he wasn't an ordinary good person.

Now she had to plan what food to cook and sell.

!.

"Mom, I want to eat a tomato..." Xiaoni saw the vegetables in the garden and couldn't help but say.

"Then... eat one, just one. You haven't fully recovered from your illness yet."

"Okay!" Xiaoni went to the vegetable garden, picked a tomato, brought it back, broke it into two halves, ate one half herself, and insisted on giving the other half to her mother.

Li Long went to the blacksmith shop to have a stove made and bought a pot. He had originally planned to buy a handcart, but found that the blacksmith shop sold those kinds of pushcarts.

He thought that even if the mother and daughter didn't succeed in business later, the pushcart would still be useful, so he bought one.

Before nightfall, the set of things was complete.

Li Long delivered the items to the courtyard. The mother and daughter were holding the door shut and only opened it when they heard Li Long's voice.

"The things are all here. Rest for two days and decide what food to make," Li Long said, pushing the items in. "I'll come by to check in a while. The market doesn't forbid selling food; as long as what you make is hygienic, it's fine. Also, let me tell you, I saw people selling food elsewhere today..."

Li Long told them about the situation with the flatbread stall in Shicheng, then pointed to the kitchen and said: "Use the bowls in there, just be careful with them. Lock the door after I leave."

Leaving the courtyard, Li Long went to the compound, told Gu Xiaoxia about the matter, and then, while it wasn't dark yet, rode back.

He still had to sell fish tomorrow morning.

The next morning, when Li Long returned from Shicheng to the free market after selling fish, he saw the woman standing in front of the pushcart, selling noodle soup. Xiaoni was helping her by her side.

Li Long pushed his bicycle over and asked:

"Sister-in-law Xiulan, how's business?"

The woman's name was Yang Xiulan, and Xiaoni's full name was Han Fang.

"It's okay. I've sold seven or eight bowls this morning. One bowl is ten cents..." the woman was quite excited.

Li Long looked at the bowl; ten cents was quite cheap. The noodles in the pot were quite thick.

Actually, Li Long thought that local sour soup noodles would be more popular, but he couldn't arrange everything; this was already pretty good.

"That's fine, you carry on, I'm leaving." Li Long just came to take a look, then rode back to the compound.

That was basically it for this matter.

"Mom, why do I feel like Uncle Li didn't seem very happy?" Xiaoni whispered to her mother after Li Long left.

"Maybe... maybe he thinks the noodles we're making aren't selling very well." Actually, Yang Xiulan also knew that noodles weren't particularly popular, but she had sold nearly a yuan's worth in the morning, and she was quite content. She planned to eat whatever didn't sell as lunch and dinner for the two of them; it definitely couldn't be wasted.

Li Long was in the compound telling Gu Xiaoxia what he had seen.

"Noodles get mushy after a while, so that definitely won't work. But this has to be done slowly; they have to realize it themselves. After all, I doubt they know how to make sour soup noodles," Li Long said. "Taking this first step is good; the rest depends on them figuring it out. We've done our part as good people; we've basically done all we can."

Gu Xiaoxia nodded; she understood Li Long's meaning: one must help oneself before others can help, and then heaven will help.

If they didn't want to stand up themselves, no matter how others helped, it wouldn't work.

Fortunately, this mother and daughter were quite strong-willed and willing to stand up.

(End of chapter)