5

Zhou Chuyu felt really frustrated. He never expected to end up lower generation than Nie Huanzhang and, on top of that, he had always been the youngest in the family before. He had no idea how to take care of children. Now, even though there was someone younger than him in the family, his one-year-old nephew Dun'er, whenever he tried to take care of him, it always ended with Dun'er crying loudly within a few minutes. His sister-in-law was on the verge of wanting to kill him. His sister, Zhou Xiang, always ended up scolding him. Now there was a girl who was much older than Dun'er and she seemed to be well-behaved. However, he didn't know how to take care of her either. Fortunately it seemed that Nanny Guan wasn't comfortable leaving her young miss with a stranger so she still led her miss around and Zhou Chuyu just followed them along. It had turned into Mrs. Guan taking care of two children instead. What Zhou Chuyu's thought to take care of this girl was just to follow her. 

Sure enough, the next day it was time for the funeral. Zhou Chuyu had nothing to do so he went along. At the same time, he also got to meet Mr Feng, Feng Yuan. Nie Huanzhang referred to him as the elder brother. After funeral, everyone were sitting in the courtyard and began to discuss how to do for the next. Nie Huanzhang asked:

"How did the eldest brother arrange for everything in his final moments?"

Uncle Guan said:

"When Master was on his deathbed, he asked me to sell this house. He said to entrust both of your to take good care of my young lady and gave us a sum of money to return to our hometown. We didn't accept it and had no intention of going back to our hometown. Although we know that both of you will take care of my young lady in good hands , our bond with her is deep and we just can't bear to leave her." 

Feng Yuan said:

"Huanzhang, just let Guan Yue follow me to home. You are a wanderer with no fixed residence, no home, just a lone drifter. It would be fine to follow you like this if Guan Yue were a boy. But she is a girl. She can't follow you roaming around aimlessly. I, on the other hand, still have a home, with wife and daughters. It's much better for her there."

"Yeah, you're right. I also know it's not quite suitable for Yue to follow me. Originally, I thought of sending her to my master. Although it's in the mountains, it's quite comfortable. As for your home, I'm afraid it might make trouble to your wife. Besides Yue, there are two elderly people. Is your family well-off? Do you have money enough to support them?" 

"You know my wife might have a sharp tongue, but she has a good heart. She won't mistreat them because she is a good wife and mother. As for whether the family is well-off or not, it depends on whether you can bring in more business."

"Business? Frankly speaking, I really worry about you to handle business alone without our eldest brother, Yuheng. You're not as steady as our eldest brother. If any issues arise, it could be a matter of life or death."

"But you are here."

"Alright, as long as you're willing to do it, we will proceed. I can also meet Yue more in this way."

After everyone dispersed, Feng Yuan asked Nie Huanzhang privately:

"Hey, how did you come to know that Zhou Chuyu? He's just a kid."

Nie Huanzhang explained:

"Picked him up on the road. He said he was heading to Xin'an town, a stubborn one who knows nothing about the world. I saw he stood alone and cried there so that I was impulsive and just let him follow me. I'll drop him off on the main road leading to Xin'an town and then I might take a trip beyond the western border."

Feng Yuan responded:

"Alright, if you happen to come across any good items in Huichun, you know where to find me."

The next day Feng Yuan took Yue and the couple Guan to home. Nie Huanzhang and Feng Yuan didn't insist on selling the house. Instead, they locked it up and decided to keep it for Guan Yue so as to let her deal with it when she grew up. Nie Huanzhang promised to visit occasionally and, if possible, rent it out to help supplement Feng Yuan's household expenses. It was his way of teasing Feng Yuan as he often complained about financial difficulties in front of others. 

It was only when Nie Huanzhang was about to leave with Zhou Chuyu that he noticed Zhou Chuyu didn't look too well. He seemed listless, lower expression and weakness. When Nie Huanzhang touches Chuyu on the forehead, he realized Zhou Chuyu had a fever. Nie Huanzhang felt a bit frustrated, thinking: "With this condition, how does he still want to go out and explore the world?" However, as he saw Zhou Chuyu's pale face with a hint of blush due to the fever and tears in his eyes, the phrase "graceful and charming" came to his mind. He found himself somewhat captivated, shook his head and muttered to himself:" You idiot!"

It seemed they couldn't continue their journey. The two of them found an inn and Nie Huanzhang asked the innkeeper to bring a doctor to check on Zhou Chuyu. The result showed no serious issues:it was just fatigue from the journey, coupled with a bit of travel sickness. After the fever subsided, Zhou Chuyu was fine. After taking some medicine, he fell into a drowsy sleep. With nothing to do and not daring to leave Zhou Chuyu alone in the inn, Nie Huanzhang leaned against the bedside, closed his eyes and rested. Suddenly, he heard Zhou Chuyu's saying:

"Little mom, I feel uncomfortable, hold me."

Nie Huanzhang was taken aback, realizing that Zhou Chuyu was talking in his sleep. He couldn't help but chuckle, thinking: "It seems this kid was pampered and spoiled growing up at home. Even at this age, he's still acting so cute."

Thinking about his own life, Nie Huanzhang realized that he had never been hugged by anyone since he was younger. Since he could remember, his only companion was his master. Apart from studying and practicing kung fu, he spent his time by the stream on Qingyun Mountain catching fish or climbing up and down the cliffs daily to enhance his kung fu. Occasionally he had the company of monkey groups. When he was 15, his master introduced him to Guan Yuheng and Feng Yuan, revealing the illicit business of trafficking stolen goods. It involved selling stolen goods from the hidden bandits inside to outside of the country and vice versa. Guan Yuheng and Feng Yuan acted as intermediaries, while his master was the shipper. Now that his master was old and decided to retire, he shared all of his connections with Nie Huanzhang. That was the reason that he had introduced him to Guan Yuheng and Feng Yuan. The three of them cooperated closely, with Guan Yuheng being meticulous and careful, Feng Yuan being daring and adventurous but lacking in planning and Nie Huanzhang relying on his exceptional kung fu to transport goods between inside and outside of the country without fear. Although they earned a considerable amount of wealth, they refrained from flaunting their wealth in public due to the clandestine nature of their business. They appeared to be ordinary people in public. However, in private, each one had a different identity. For instance, Guan Yuheng owned a luxurious mansion in the capital and planned to retire in a few years, enjoying a peaceful life with his wife and daughter. Unfortunately, his wife passed away first, and now he didn't live to see that day. Nevertheless, he left behind a 7-year-old daughter. Fortunately, he entrusted the deeds and such of the mansion to Nie Huanzhang for safekeeping until his daughter grew up. Feng Yuan invested his money in business, opening several shops in different places and hiring reliable people to manage them. As Nie Huanzhang's time in the business was not as long as the other two and he didn't accumulate as much wealth, he only bought a small estate at the foot of of Qingyun Mountain, where is closer to his master. 

Nie Huanzhang sighed and looked at Zhou Chuyu, who had stretched out his arms and was now hugging Nie Huanzhang's arm. Not only that, Zhou Chuyu had kicked the quilt to the side. Nie Huanzhang muttered to himself:

"The quilt is kicked off, how is it possible for you to cover yourself so as to keep sweating?" 

(In China if you want to recover from your fever as quickly as possible, you are covered yourself by the quilt and kept sweating after taking the medicine.)

So, he covered the quilt for Zhou Chuyu again. However, Zhou Chuyu held onto his arm tightly and murmured: 

"It's uncomfortable, Little mom"

Nie Huanzhang had no choice but to hold Chuyu to sit on his laps and covered the quilt on him again. Only then did he feel that Zhou Chuyu was sleeping soundly. He sighed once again, never expecting himself to be so patient with this kid. He had never treated anyone like this before. Looking at the delicate face leaning on his shoulder, he shook his head and smiled. 

"What's wrong with you? Idiot!" He mocked himself.

Zhou Chuyu, still in a daze and unsure of how long he had been asleep, felt that he was being hugged. He said:

"I'm so hot, Little mom."

Nie Huanzhang replied:

"I am not your mom, your dad instead."

Zhou Chuyu was startled and quickly opened his eyes, seeing Nie Huanzhang's tired face. He found himself wrapped in a quilt in Nie Huanzhang's arms. Nie Huanzhang picked up a handkerchief, wiped the sweat off Zhou Chuyu's face, smiled at the bewildered Zhou Chuyu and then said: 

"Kid, you've numbed my legs. The fever has gone down. Lie there! I'll go have someone prepare some food for you. We'll hire a carriage for you tomorrow."

After saying this, Nie Huanzhang set Zhou Chuyu down, patted his own legs and glanced back at Zhou Chuyu, who was still staring at him. He asked Zhou Chuyu:

"What's wrong with you? Are you touched?"

"Yeah, besides my mom and little mom, you are the third person to hold me like this."

"But in dreams, you only call for your little mom, not your mom."

"Really? I really shouldn't have done like this. It's probably because my little mom is my biological mother. Actually, my mom is very good to me."

"Are you a son of the concubine? Your mom is your legal mother."

"Yeah, I am the only son of the concubine in my family but everyone in my family treats me like the legal child. My mom and my legal siblings treat me very well, except my elder sister. She quarrels with me sometimes, but I always run to my mom to complain about her. My mom often scolds her and never scolds me. She even comes to comfort me."

"I see. You are spoiled by your family. How old is your elder sister?"

"She is one year older than me."

Huanzhang understood. It seemed like the siblings bickered and argued at times, and perhaps the little girl was a bit upset that her affection was being competed for by a younger brother.