The only person missing in the small courtyard was the uncle, who must have gone to the fields at this time.
"Hey! Gu Jin, you're back!"
Gu Jiajie saw his mom enter the kitchen, so he stopped his work to take a break. With a quick glance, he spotted Gu Jin standing at the doorway.
Upon hearing his cousin's voice, Gu Jin called out, "Brother Jie."
She led An Mingji, who was feeling a bit uneasy, into the small courtyard.
The old man sitting on the deck chair squinted his eyes. Seeing her bringing the little wolf cub from the village, his cloudy eyes looked deeply at Gu Jin for a moment before shifting away.
Her cousin Gu Minmin, having heard her brother's voice, stopped playing shuttlecock and stood still, looking at Gu Jin and An Mingji as they walked into the small courtyard.
"Why did you bring him back!"
A woman's loud voice erupted, causing everyone in the courtyard to frown slightly.
This familiar voice could only belong to Aunt Chen Hong.
Gu Jin turned to look toward the kitchen, where Aunt Chen Hong stood with her hands on her broad waist, glaring unkindly at Gu Jin and An Mingji, particularly the latter with a gaze as piercing as needles.
An Mingji, very sensitive to people's emotions, knew that Aunt Chen Hong harbored unwelcome and guarded feelings towards him, so he hid behind Gu Jin.
He was in a lot of pain and his stomach was growling with hunger.
If it were anyone else in the village treating him like this, he would have turned and left long ago, but now he didn't want to let go of Sister Jin's hand.
Gu Jin took a deep breath, looked at the unfriendly Aunt Chen Hong, and said with a smile, "Aunt, little An was bullied by the kids in the village, so I brought him home to apply some medicine."
Upon hearing this, Chen Hong's expression improved considerably, but her look towards Gu Jin and An Mingji was still rather unpleasant.
She squinted her eyes, following up with, "Once the medicine is applied, send him off. We don't have extra food for him!"
Gu Jin, pinching the uneasy little wolf cub in her hand, smiled and said to Aunt Chen Hong, "Little An's injuries are quite serious, I'd like him to stay at home for a couple of days."
Hearing this, Chen Hong's face changed immediately, her eyes rounding as she glared at the little wolf cub behind Gu Jin, as if she could swallow him whole.
"Cough, cough..."
Before Chen Hong could react, the old man next to her started to cough.
She glanced at the old man, who had been silent the entire time, only coughing twice, then pouted and turned to walk towards the kitchen.
Still, she grumbled unhappily, "We're almost out of food at home, yet you bring back a freeloader. Do you think you're a living Bodhisattva? A clay Bodhisattva crossing a river can't even save itself, let alone bring a little burden to eat for free..."
Nearby, Gu Jiajie and Gu Minmin, the brother and sister, were used to their mother's attitude. They didn't dare to speak up and just curiously stared at An Mingji behind Gu Jin.
The old man sitting on the deck chair smoking his pipe didn't even look at Gu Jin and An Mingji.
But his two coughs counted as approval of Gu Jin's request.
In this family, all matters big and small must be heeded by the old man. As long as he did not oppose, Aunt Chen Hong wouldn't dare speak up.
Although Chen Hong didn't approve in her heart, she could only complain a few words.
Looking at the old man, Gu Jin's eyes flickered with complexity. When she was going back to Beijing back then, the old man also advised her, but unfortunately, she didn't recognize his good intentions and responded with hostility.
Recalling everything from her past life, her heart twisted and turned, filled only with heartache and guilt.
Now that nothing has happened yet, she won't repeat those mistakes.
Gu Jin led the little wolf cub in her hand towards the first room on the right, at the end of the hallway, which was her room.