allonlinenovel Chapter 420 Huo Qi Returns Home Late at Night
Chapter 420 Huo Qi Returns Home Late at Night
As she spoke, she first served food to her parents, and then served Huo Qi a few dishes, urging him to eat.
The two had been traveling for a day and a half, eating dry rations and drinking water along the way. Accustomed to fine food, they really didn't want to settle for less. But now, seeing a table full of delicious dishes, they suddenly felt their appetites whetted.
Huo Qi's embarrassment faded, and he saw that Xiao Tang had only served his parents a little food, while piling it high for him. He was touched and a smile appeared on his face.
Having a daughter must be very happy. He had never thought about getting married before, but now he wanted to find a girl to marry and have a smart, clever and sensible daughter like Xiaotang.
However, given his identity... it's best not to let him harm other girls!
Seeing their father's displeasure, Xiaoyu and Ziheng buried their heads in their food, not daring to say a word.
Liu was gentle by nature and rarely offered opinions on decisions made by her husband and eldest daughter. However, she couldn't wholeheartedly agree with her eldest daughter's desire to return to the mountains to teach the bandits how to do medicinal herb business.
Hearing her eldest daughter's ambiguous words and her reluctance to discuss the matter for the time being, she sighed softly, finding the food somewhat tasteless.
After dinner, it was already late, so Liu took her eldest daughter back to their room to talk.
"Xiao Tang, do you really want to go back to that bandit's den?"
Lin Xiaotang hesitated for a moment, then said, “Mother, didn’t I say today that we can’t give up halfway through something? Since we’re teaching them how to grow medicinal herbs, we have to teach them to the end. I’ll come back after I help them sell the herbs and settle things down.”
Moreover, not all the bandits in the mountains are bad people. Those who are inherently evil have already been handed over to the authorities, who have already arrested and sentenced them.
As for the remaining people, they have been hunting and cultivating medicinal herbs every day for the past few months and have begun to live normal lives. I have been persuading them to turn themselves in to the authorities so that they can be treated leniently and become ordinary citizens after they have atone for their sins.
Liu was weak-willed and timid. In her mind, people who had become bandits would never be good again. Right now, the bandits needed Xiaotang to teach them how to grow medicinal herbs to get rich. If Xiaotang was no longer of any use, who knew what the bandits might do to her daughter?
She looked worried and strongly disagreed with her daughter's idea.
“Xiao Tang, I know you have ideas and are capable. You can always easily gain everyone’s praise and affirmation and persuade people to do business with you. That mountain is not only a den of bandits, but also a den of men. I am really worried about leaving you, a girl, there.”
"If you were leading a few dozen ordinary people to cultivate medicinal herbs, Mother wouldn't say a word. But those people are bandits after all. If you ask them to be honest farmers for three, five, or ten months, they'll eventually give up and revert to their old ways. What will you do then?"
Ultimately, she's just a young girl; if she can't command respect, she'll be in great danger when facing those people.
Lin Xiaotang patiently said, "Mother, do you still remember that scarred face? The scar on his face looks ferocious and scary, but the injury was caused when he saved Big Beard. He did do a lot of robbing and other wrong things before, but he has never committed murder. He is the boss on the mountain, and if he is not fierce, it will be difficult to control the people below him."
These past few months, he's treated me like his own daughter. Because of his attitude towards me, those with bad intentions haven't dared to do anything to me. I suggested that he tie up those wicked people and send them to the authorities, and he did just that.
Huo Qi, your uncle, you've met him. He's a scholar. Although he's been on the mountain for many years, he has no bandit-like airs at all. He's a refined and good-natured person. He became a bandit out of necessity. He was falsely accused of stealing silver by his classmates at the academy, was expelled from the academy, and arrested by the government. It was all because the rich young master who framed him bribed the government.
Mother, we can't just look at the surface of things...
Lin Xiaotang tried to persuade her for a long time, and although Liu Shi disagreed, she stopped saying anything.
After Lin Xiaotang calmed her mother down, she came out of her mother's room and saw Uncle Huo about to leave through the back door.
Huo Qi's identity was special, and he was worried that it would cause trouble for the Lin family, so he went through the back door to avoid attracting attention.
Lin Xiaotang immediately followed and asked, "Uncle Huo, are you going out now because you want to go to...?"
"Yes, I want to go home late at night to see if the house is still there and to look for my mother's grave."
"I'll go with you!"
"No, this matter should not be publicized. The fewer people who know, the better. It will be easier for your uncle to act alone. You have finally reunited with your parents, so just stay at the restaurant and keep them company. You are new to the capital and are not familiar with the area, so don't wander around and get separated."
Huo Xiaoshu's identity is fake, and it is even more inappropriate for him to show his face in public. She originally wanted to find out where her mother's grave was before going to pay her respects with Huo Xiaoshu, but Huo Xiaoshu obviously couldn't wait.
Since he wanted to go find it himself, she wasn't an unrighteous person and would definitely not stand idly by and let him go alone.
So she insisted, "No, it's easy for people to suspect you if you go to the grave to pay your respects alone. I'll go with you, and if we run into anyone, I can help you cover your identity."
The two persisted, but Huo Qi finally gave in to Lin Xiaotang's insistence.
Huo Qi didn't want the little girl to come with him. It would be more convenient for him to travel alone, and if he were discovered, he could escape in time. Even if he was unfortunately caught by the authorities, the little girl wouldn't be implicated.
But forced by the girl's insistence, he had no choice but to let her follow.
Xiao Tang told Xiao Yu that she was going out for a while and asked Xiao Yu not to tell her parents. She told Xiao Yu to go to sleep first, and Xiao Yu agreed without thinking much about it.
Lin Xiaotang quietly went out with Huo Qi. The two drove their carriage westward. The streets became increasingly dilapidated and remote. They found a dead end, parked the carriage, and then walked several hundred meters to find the former Huo family home.
The Huo family was poor, and their house was small and old. Due to years of disrepair, the main gate was half open, with the mottled and rotten wooden door hanging halfway on the door frame, as if a gust of wind could blow it away.
Huo Qi gave a gentle push, and half of the door collapsed with a loud bang. The sound startled the two of them, who were afraid that the neighbors would hear the noise and come out to check.
After glancing around and finding no one nearby, the two quickly went into the courtyard before daring to light their way with a tinderbox.
The courtyard was overgrown with weeds, desolate and dilapidated. A cool breeze blew by, as if it were haunted by ghosts.
Huo Qi returned to the home where he grew up. Even though his mother was no longer there, he felt no fear. Lin Xiaotang was different. Although she was a reincarnation and could be considered half a ghost, she was still afraid of this desolate and dilapidated place, especially in the middle of the night.
So she followed closely behind Huo Qi and called out in a trembling voice, "Uncle Huo."
Huo Qi patted the little girl's shoulder and said, "Xiao Tang, don't be afraid. Your uncle is here. Everything will be alright. My mother was a very kind and gentle woman. Don't be afraid."