Chapter 90

The family reunion was naturally filled with laughter and joy, especially when Zhou Chong opened the gifts he had brought and presented them to Aunt Wang and Zhuo'er, which made them incredibly excited. Each of them held their gifts, examining them from all angles. It wasn't that they particularly liked the gifts, but this was the first time Zhou Chong had given them anything, and it was also the first gift they had received since the family's decline, making it especially significant.

"Who is this child? Why haven't I seen her before?" Only then did Zhou Chong have the chance to ask about the little girl who had come in with Duo'er. The little girl was still standing by the door, staring at the snacks and toys in Duo'er's hands, looking like she wanted them but was too shy to ask.

It was only then that Aunt Wang realized she had been so caught up in the joy that she had forgotten to tell Zhou Chong something. She waved to the little girl and said, "Qingqing, come over to Auntie!"

The little girl named Qingqing was very well-behaved. Upon hearing Aunt Wang's words, she immediately ran over and sweetly called out, "Auntie!"

"Good girl!" Aunt Wang affectionately patted Qingqing's little face, then grabbed some snacks from the table and stuffed them into her hands. She then pointed to Zhou Chong and introduced him, "Qingqing, this is Big Brother Zhou Chong. He is Duo'er's big brother and will be your big brother too. Remember that?"

"Remembered!" Qingqing nodded obediently and then sweetly called out, "Big Brother Zhou Chong!"

Zhou Chong also liked this well-behaved little girl. Since he had brought many gifts for Duo'er, he took out a large clay doll from his bag and gave it to her, saying, "Qingqing, you're such a good girl. This is a gift from your big brother. From now on, you and Duo'er will be good sisters, so don't fight, okay?"

"Okay~" Qingqing sweetly agreed, taking the beautiful clay doll with both hands. Her big, beautiful eyes turned into two crescent moons, making her look like a happy little angel.

After Aunt Wang sent Qingqing and Duo'er out to play, she explained to Zhou Chong, "Chong'er, while you were out, someone wanted to rent a room in our house. At the time, Manager Xu thought we didn't need the money, so he didn't want to rent it out. But I saw that the tenants were two sisters with a little girl, Qingqing, so I let them move in."

Hearing this, Zhou Chong was not concerned and said, "I see. Since the house is so big, having a few more people won't be a problem. Besides, Duo'er does need a playmate."

Hearing Zhou Chong's words, Zhuo'er, who was trying on clothes, also chimed in, "Big Brother, Sisters Junwan and Mengwan are very nice and beautiful. They've taught me a lot in the past two days. It's just that they live in the front yard, and it's inconvenient for me to visit them. Could you let them move to the back yard so I can visit them more often?"

"Let them move in?" Zhou Chong was a bit surprised, and he noticed that Aunt Wang and Su Niang also nodded in agreement. This made him very curious about the two women he had not yet met. They had only been in the house for a little over half a month, yet they had already won the favor of Aunt Wang and Zhuo'er, and even wanted to move into the inner courtyard. Clearly, they must have something special about them.

Perhaps seeing Zhou Chong's silence, Aunt Wang couldn't hold back and said, "Chong'er, the character of Junwan and Mengwan is beyond reproach. Junwan is very learned, and Mengwan is an excellent musician. Zhuo'er has nothing to do at home, and she can learn a lot from them. Besides, the back yard is so big, and we are a bit scared at night. So why not let them move into the inner courtyard? We can look out for each other!"

Hearing Aunt Wang's words, Zhou Chong couldn't say anything more. He smiled and said, "Auntie, you're right. Since they are two weak women with a child, and you and Zhuo'er think they are good people, let them move in."

"Great! I'll go tell Sister Junwan to pack up and move in tonight!" Zhuo'er exclaimed, turning to go and share the good news with her two good sisters. However, Zhou Chong grabbed her and said, "Silly girl, it's almost dark, and it's time for dinner. Even if you tell them, they won't have time to move tonight. Let's do it tomorrow."

By the time Zhou Chong returned, it was already late. After chatting with Aunt Wang and the others for a while, it was already dark outside. Aunt Wang then noticed the time and hurriedly said, "Look at us, we've been talking so much that we forgot to cook dinner. Chong'er, sit down and rest, I'll go cook."

Aunt Wang quickly walked to the kitchen, and Su Niang followed to help. Zhuo'er looked at the dark sky and finally gave up on going out. She chatted with Zhou Chong for a bit and then ran to the kitchen to help with the cooking.

In the end, only Zhou Chong and Manager Xu were left in the room. This was a good opportunity for Zhou Chong to ask Manager Xu about the new tenants. Since Aunt Wang and Zhuo'er wanted them to move in, Zhou Chong was also very curious about the two women.

According to Manager Xu, the new tenants were a pair of sisters surnamed Bai. The older sister, Bai Junwan, was about twenty years old, and the younger sister, Bai Mengwan, was a bit older than Zhuo'er, around Zhou Chong's age. When the sisters first came to rent the room, they were disguised and looked like beggars. However, after they settled in and cleaned up, they turned out to be extremely beautiful. Qingqing was Bai Junwan's daughter.

The Bai sisters were not only beautiful but also very well-mannered, clearly from a wealthy family. The older sister, Junwan, was very learned, knowledgeable in classics, history, philosophy, and literature. The younger sister, Mengwan, was an excellent musician. Zhuo'er liked them very much and often went to chat with them.

The Bai sisters introduced themselves as being from a wealthy family in Nanjing. Their family consisted only of their father and the two sisters. A few years ago, Junwan had married, but her husband left to take the imperial exams and never returned, leaving her with only Qingqing. Later, their father died, and a local bully tried to force them to become his concubines. They had to abandon their property and flee with Qingqing. Aunt Wang felt very sorry for the sisters and took good care of them. They were now living in a small courtyard on the left side of the front yard.

After introducing the Bai sisters, Manager Xu hesitated for a moment and then added, "Young Master, after observing them for some time, I believe the Bai sisters are telling the truth. However, their manners and demeanor are not typical of ordinary wealthy families. I suspect they might be from an official family. There are many powerful officials in Nanjing, and if the bully who tried to force them to become his concubines has strong connections, he might send people to Songjiang to find them. I'm worried this could cause trouble for our family."

Zhou Chong didn't say anything. He trusted Manager Xu's judgment. For two daughters of an official family to be forced to flee to Songjiang, the bully who had his eye on them must not be an ordinary person. However, since this matter had come to his attention, and Zhou Chong was not one to shy away from trouble, and since they were in Songjiang and not Nanjing, he wasn't too worried about the bully sending people after them.

Because Zhou Chong had returned, Aunt Wang and the others had prepared a few good dishes. They sat together, eating and chatting. Duo'er, who hadn't seen Zhou Chong for a long time, insisted on sitting in his lap to eat, while Zhuo'er kept asking him about his trip. Fortunately, Zhou Chong was prepared and had made up some stories to get through the questioning.

After dinner, Zhou Chong gave some food to Wu Shan and then went to the front yard with Manager Xu and Su Niang to visit Wu Shan. They found that Wu Shan was recovering quickly. He could already walk and was quite steady, though he couldn't walk too fast or he would fall.

What Zhou Chong didn't expect was that Wu Shan had recognized Su Niang as his god-sister. It turned out that Wu Shan had been well-cared for by Su Niang during his recovery, and he was very grateful. Su Niang, who had been sold by her parents as a child, had a younger brother who, if he were still alive, would be about Wu Shan's age. So she treated Wu Shan like a younger brother, and in the end, Wu Shan recognized Su Niang as his sister, making Manager Xu his brother-in-law. They were all one big family now.

Zhou Chong chatted with Wu Shan for a while. They had wanted to drink some wine and chat longer, but Su Niang firmly refused, citing two reasons: first, Wu Shan's injuries were not fully healed, and second, Manager Xu was old and drinking would be bad for his health. Zhou Chong and the others couldn't argue, so they chatted for a bit and then returned.

Back in the back yard, Zhou Chong went to Aunt Wang's place. Since he had been away for so long, he wanted to spend more time with them, especially with Zhuo'er and Duo'er, who surely had a lot to say.

Sure enough, as soon as Zhuo'er and Duo'er saw him, they immediately pulled Zhou Chong and wouldn't let him go. The three of them played and laughed until the second watch of the night, when the young Duo'er finally got tired and fell asleep in Zhou Chong's arms.

Zhou Chong put Duo'er to bed and felt a bit tired. He said goodbye to Aunt Wang and Zhuo'er, planning to return to his own courtyard to rest. However, just as he was about to leave, Zhuo'er grabbed him and pulled him to the living room outside, whispering mysteriously, "Big Brother, something strange happened in the house while you were away!"

"Strange? What's strange?" Zhou Chong asked, a bit puzzled.

"Ghostly activity, there's ghostly activity in the back garden!" Zhuo'er leaned close to Zhou Chong's ear, speaking seriously, with a hint of fear on her face.