"Thank you, uncle."

Saying goodbye to the fisherman uncle, Song Xiaoniu ran back quickly.

He ran to Gu Zhunian's side, stretched out his hand to shake his sworn brother who was crying and shouted:

"Don't cry. Your mother and the others should be fine. Your family has moved to the east of the village, right in front!"

When Gu Zhunian heard this, his eyes instantly shone, he stood up quickly, wiped the tears from his face, and asked hurriedly:

"What's going on?"

Song Xiaoniu took a deep breath, calmed down his emotions, and said slowly:

"I just asked the fisherman, and he said that there were floods in the autumn and winter last year, and this place was flooded. Your mother and the villagers here have all moved to the east end of the village!"

"Really, let's go quickly, Brother Maverick."

Gu Zhunian exclaimed, picked up Song Xiaoniu and ran forward along the uneven river bank.

I ran to the east end of the village in one breath and saw dozens of families scattered in twos and threes. Then the two of them stood on a high slope and gasped for air.

At this time, a man walked up from a dirt road in the east of the village. He was an old man in his sixties with white hair.

Gu Zhunian took a closer look and immediately rushed forward with cheers, "Grandpa Qing, I am Danian!"

The old man was stunned for a moment, blinked a few more times, and then shouted: "Are you the eldest son of Mr. Gu's family, Mr. Danian?"

"Yes, that's Grandpa Qing." Gu Zhunian took another two steps closer and stood up straight so that the old man could see clearly.

The white-haired old man put his hands on Gu Zhunian's shoulders and looked around. It took him a while to react and said:

"It's really a great year for the Gu family. I've grown taller and stronger. I can't recognize it at first glance. Oh...where have you been all these years? Why don't you write a letter home? Your mother has been talking about it since the Chinese New Year.

With you."

Gu Zhunian swallowed hard with a lump in his throat. He wanted to explain but didn't know where to start, so he could only refrain from replying and asked the most important question, "Grandpa Qing, where is my mother now?"

"In the middle of the east end, in the thatched hut with smoke coming from the wall, your brother was sick in his childhood, and your mother was making medicine at home!"

When Gu Zhunian heard this, he immediately became anxious, bowed to the old man, and ran in a hurry in the direction of the old man Qing's finger.

Song Xiaoniu followed behind.

A few dozen meters before running, I passed a curve and saw dozens of simple houses under the embankment. Most of them were thatched houses with mud walls.

They are probably new households who moved from low-lying areas.

Gu Zhunian was not sure that the house belonged to his own family, so he stood on the open space and shouted loudly to the households:

"Well, grandma, I'm back home on New Year's Eve!"

"Well, grandma, Xiaonian, where are you?"

After shouting in the open space, some people came out from each hut sparsely, opened their eyes and looked at these two young people.

A woman asked: "Which family are you from? New Year's Eve?"

Gu Zhunian hurriedly responded, "Hello Aunt Liu, I am the eldest son of the Gu family, Gu Zhunian."

The woman's surname was Liu, and she turned out to be Sheng Zhunian's next-door neighbor.

"Oh, it's the New Year, and you've grown into a young man." The woman, Aunt Liu, finally recognized her, "It'll be great if you come back on New Year's Day. Your mother finally has something to look forward to."

The man in the family died, the eldest son broke out and there was no news, leaving only a sick son. In the eyes of many villagers, the family was finished.

The surroundings suddenly became excited. Gu Zhunian had been out for three years and there was no news. At first, the villagers thought he had died outside.

Otherwise, why would there be no news at all?

After Aunt Liu finished speaking, she led Gu Zhunian to a thatched house with mud walls, knocked on the wooden door and shouted: "Aunt Gu, your eldest son is back in the New Year, and he is at the door!"

Gu's mother was in the thatched house when she vaguely heard someone shouting that she was back on New Year's Eve. She thought it was a hallucination.

Unexpectedly, I thought that my eldest son was really back. I felt excited. I immediately put down the medicine bottle in my hand and opened the door hurriedly, "Dannian, is it really you who is back?"

"Um, mama..."

Gu Zhunian knelt down with a bang, kowtowed to his mother and cried, "Well, my unfilial son is back on New Year's Eve, and you have been suffering at home all this time!"

Gu's mother was so excited that she knelt down and hugged Danian's head. She was also crying loudly. While crying, she slapped Gu Zhunian's back with her hands and said aggrievedly:

"You damn kid, where have you been for the past two years? If you haven't sent any news home for so long, my mother thought you were just like your father, and this family has no hope!"

The sight of the Gu family's mother and son hugging each other and crying caused the villagers and neighbors to wipe away their tears and return to their homes to let the mother and son cry their fill.

Song Xiaoniu felt the same way, and then felt an inexplicable emotion in his heart. After wiping a little moisture from the corners of his eyes with his clothes, he turned around and left the spot without looking again.

About ten minutes later, Gu Zhunian with red eyes came out of the hut and walked to Song Xiaoniu, "Brother Xiaoniu, my mother invites you to come and sit at home!"

"Um…"

Song Xiaoniu took long strides and followed Danian to the thatched house, which was where Daniu's house was. There were candles flickering inside, and the candles were already lit.

A middle-aged peasant woman walked out of the door with a wrinkled face and lowered her head to greet her.

"Well, grandma, he is the savior on the dock and the current sworn brother, Mr. Song Xiaoniu, who I told you about. He came home with the child." Gu Zhunian introduced.

Mother Gu immediately expressed gratitude:

"Thank you, sir, for saving my life on New Year's Day and accompanying him home. It's really kind and righteous. Saving a life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. We country people can't speak..."

As she spoke, she suddenly knelt down to thank her. Song Xiaoniu was so shocked that she quickly bent over and held Gu's mother's arm, saying quickly:

"Auntie, please don't do this. I am also a farmer from Huaibei. I don't dare to be called sir, so just call me Xiaoniu. Danian and I are sworn brothers, so there is no need to be polite to each other. This is also my home."

Song Xiaoniu was suddenly addressed as sir, and his face turned red with embarrassment. He quickly revealed his background in a very simple manner, which relieved a lot of pressure on Gu's mother.

The country people were rude, and they didn't know what to say when they met the person who had helped him a lot, so they had to pull Song Xiaoniu's sleeves and walk into the house, saying urgently:

"Sir, I'm tired from the journey. Come in and have a drink of water!" Although Gu's mother felt a little more relaxed, she didn't change what he called her.

Song Xiaoniu was not polite, so he followed Ma Gu into the thatched house.

This thatched house with mud walls is only thirty square meters, and is divided into two rooms with a straw screen. The outside is the living room, kitchen, dining, etc., and the inner room may be the sleeping place.

Song Xiaoniu glanced at it, and it could be said that his family was completely destitute and impoverished.

A table, several benches, and several wooden foot basins all showed signs of being soaked in water. Even the dishes, chopsticks, pots and pans were placed outside because there were no cupboards.
Chapter completed!