Chapter 61: Important Decision

After marrying their daughter off, the Qin family was also very sad. They also heard that Jiang Danhe had been taken away to join the army as soon as they got married. His life and death had landed in the hands of destiny. And their daughter had almost become a widow.

The elderly couple hated and regretted their decision. They were afraid that their daughter would blame them, so they didn’t dare to appear in front of her.

When they missed Xiaoguo, they would secretly visit her in Peach Blossom Village.

Not long after Xiaoguo got married, the old couple started to miss their daughter. As they did not have a donkey cart or carriage, they could only walk to Peach Blossom Village in order to visit Xiaoguo. When they arrived and saw her growing belly, they realized that their daughter was going to be a mother. The old couple was overjoyed. They quickly returned to Qin Manor to buy food and clothes for their daughter. Although what they could provide were not expensive items, they were the best they could afford.

At this point, Xiaoguo remembered something. In the previous owner’s memory, there was one particular thing she could recall.

At that time, she was in the early stage of her pregnancy and always craved for something sour. Before Mrs. Jiang could buy anything for her craving, she found a bag outside the door. When Mrs. Jiang brought it in, she was curious about who had sent it. When the previous owner realized that it was filled with her favorite food, she guessed that it was prepared by her parents. However, she reminded herself that they didn’t even come to see her, so why would they prepare these for her?

So in actual fact, they had really sent it to her. When Xiaoguo heard this, her tears flowed uncontrollably again.

Qin Anming went on talking…

From then on, the Qin couple would visit Xiaoguo from time to time until she was due to deliver the baby. On the day that she gave birth, her parents were so anxious that they couldn’t eat or sleep. They only stopped worrying when the baby was safely delivered and Xiaoguo was safe and sound.

However, with the arrival of the famine, the old couple suffered from ill health due to malnutrition and overwork. They passed away soon after…

After that, in order to give his parents a decent burial, Qin Anming sold the land they owned and used the money to buy coffins and burial clothes. The old couple was then buried in the back of the mountain. As they liked peace and quiet, the location was a good choice for their burial spot. Even before they died, they were still thinking about Xiaoguo and her child…

After hearing Qin Anming’s words, Xiaoguo was sobbing uncontrollably and she was almost hyperventilating.

So that was the truth. Her parents do love her, but it was her fault. She had gotten carried away by her thoughts and missed the chance to see her parents for the last time. She shouldn’t have taken things so hard!

At this moment, Xiaoguo was filled with grief, anger, and regret.

Tears streamed down Xiaoguo’s face. She could not be bothered to wipe them away. She could only clutch at her aching heart.

Qin Anming was crying at the side. He was missing his parents too.

Xiaoguo slowly calmed herself down. Looking at Qin Anming’s current state, she asked him what had happened to him.

Qin Anming sighed and slowly explained the reason.

It turned out that after dealing with his parents’ funeral, the famine was still going on and the family land was gone. Qin Anming had to go up the mountains to dig for wild vegetables in order to survive. Occasionally, he would come across wild chickens and they would become his meal. However, those were extremely rare situations.

Sometimes, he would help people to plant and harvest crops. And in exchange for his labor, they would give him a meal. But these were also rare occasions.

This particular time, he was helping a family harvest some grains. However, the rain came too suddenly and he didn’t get out of the downpour in time. Having been drenched in the rain and due to his ill health from constant hunger, he finally collapsed.

As Xiaoguo listened, her heart ached. “Did you see the doctor?”

Qin Anming was a little embarrassed. “No…”

How could one see a doctor with no money?

Xiaoguo nodded to show that she understood. Looking at the surroundings, she made a decision in her heart. She wondered if Qin Anming would agree.

With this thought in mind, Xiaoguo looked at him with a hint of determination in her eyes. She decided not to bring it up for now. He would probably not agree to it anyway. She had to think of a way.

Qin Anming felt that his sister was looking at him strangely, but he didn’t think too much about it. Thinking of Xiaoguo’s sudden visit today, he couldn’t help but feel a little worried. “By the way, why are you here today? Did something happen?”

Tears welled up in Xiaoguo’s heart when she heard this. He is really her family. All he could think about was her. Xiaoguo almost cried again. “I missed you guys so much, but you didn’t come to get me. I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”

“Of course not!”

“Then why didn’t you come to me after our parents died?”

Qin Anming was eager to explain, but in his anxiety to speak, he started coughing instead.

Xiaoguo quickly got up and patted his back to calm him down. When he was feeling better, she sat down and listened to him continue.

“After you got married, Father and Mother have been thinking about you all the time. After they died, I was alone, so I couldn’t add to your burden. You can still get one tael of silver a month. Although you can’t enjoy a life of luxury with your mother-in-law and Zhuang Zhuang, it was still enough for you to get by.”

What Qin Anming meant was, this was a time of disaster, so how could he become Xiaoguo’s burden? He just had to hold on and try to survive.

Xiaoguo frowned. It seemed like he didn’t know about Mrs. Jiang’s death and Jiang Danhe’s death in battle.

That made sense. If Qin Anming knew about Qin Xiaoguo’s situation, he wouldn’t have let her and her child live on tree bark. He would have brought her back to the Qin family long ago. Although he couldn’t ensure that they have three full meals a day, he wouldn’t let them starve.

Xiaoguo had seen Qin Anming coughing and had wanted to pour him a glass of water all this while. However, she saw that the bucket was empty. She walked around the courtyard but did not see any wells.

“Where do you get water from?” Xiaoguo asked as she reached for a bucket.

Qin Anming quickly stopped her. “Don’t go. It’s too far. There’s only one well in the village. It’s too far from here.”

He looked at Xiaoguo’s skinny arms and legs. The thought of her carrying a bucket that was half her height scared him. He was afraid that she would stumble and fall.

Xiaoguo sat down helplessly. Qin Anming’s living environment was even worse than when she first arrived!

“Brother!”

Xiaoguo called out to Qin Anming loudly, giving him a fright.

He was still immersed in his embarrassment just now. If his sister knew that he was living such a hard life, he would really feel ashamed.

When Xiaoguo called out to him, he was startled. He listened to her serious tone and looked lost.

“Why—what’s wrong?”

Seeing that she had frightened her brother, Xiaoguo softened her tone and said, “Come with me to Peach Blossom Village!”

“What?!”

Qin Anming thought he had heard wrongly and asked her again.

“Only Zhuang Zhuang and I are left in my house. My mother-in-law passed away not long after our parents passed away.”

Xiaoguo explained everything to Qin Anming.

“What?!”

Qin Anming didn’t expect the healthy old lady to die so suddenly.

Xiaoguo explained to him, “It was because she heard about Jiang Danhe’s death. In addition, there was a famine at that time. She fell and didn’t get up. She passed away shortly after.”

Qin Anming looked incredulous. His eyebrows were raised, and his eyes and mouth were wide open. “This! This!”

Qin Anming was stunned. He didn’t know all these. Why didn’t he go and see Xiaoguo back then?”

“How have you been doing lately?”

Qin Anming asked the question with difficulty. His lips were trembling, and his words were also spoken with a tremor.