Chapter 311: Chapter 166: A Stirring of the Heart

Qingmu sighed and said to him, "Use some snow to clean the egg off, or I can’t carry you."

The boy had no choice but to painstakingly bend down and grab some snow, but his movements were incredibly clumsy.

Qingmu grew impatient, so he grabbed a couple of handfuls of snow and helped him clean up.

He thought to himself, ’What rotten luck today. Wasting all this time here for nothing, and there are still so many things waiting for me at home.’

After they were all cleaned up, Qingmu hoisted the boy onto his back, picked up the burlap sack, and strode toward Liujiatang.

Upon entering the village, the boy began guiding him toward his home.

Qingmu stopped and asked, "I’m Yang Defa’s nephew. How about I drop this stuff off for my grandma first, then take you home?"

The boy said frantically, "No, you have to take me home first! I broke the eggs, my mom and dad are going to scold me. If you don’t get me back quickly, my mom will say I caused trouble and then had the nerve to just wander around outside."

Qingmu sighed. ’Fine, I’ll go,’ he thought. ’Kids are always scared when they get into trouble. I can just get someone to call my grandma and uncle from his house. It’s not a big deal and should be easy to sort out.’

So he followed the path the boy indicated.

As they passed an earthen-walled, thatch-roofed cottage, an old man saw them and asked in surprise, "Yungen, what happened to you?"

The boy replied sheepishly, "Grandpa Sun, I took a tumble."

The old man exclaimed, "Oh, my! Are you hurt? How could you be so careless!"

In front of a stranger, the boy was too embarrassed to blame Qingmu. He just said he had twisted his ankle and that it was nothing serious, while gesturing for Qingmu to turn left, which brought them to a courtyard.

Qingmu looked up, taking in the courtyard. It was enclosed by a fence woven from branches, only about half his height. The snow inside had been swept clean. Although the three-room house also had earthen walls and a thatched roof, it looked neat and tidy, not too run-down. He guessed it couldn’t have been built more than two years ago.

He pushed open the bamboo-slat gate and strode into the courtyard.

Just then, a tall girl emerged from the house. She had her hair in a neat, thick braid, an oval face, and round eyes. She was wearing a faded, onion-green padded jacket over dark trousers.

She froze for a moment upon seeing Qingmu with the boy on his back. A flash of pleasant surprise appeared in her eyes, then she looked at the boy on his back and asked in alarm, "Yungen, what on earth happened to you?"

Qingmu felt a little awkward seeing this girl. He had never expected to end up at Liu Fugui’s home—this girl was Liu Fugui’s daughter, Liu Yunlan. He had met her once before.

Liu Yungen answered sullenly, "I bumped into this... this person, and all the eggs got knocked into the ditch. I twisted my ankle, too."

Qingmu was angry when he heard the boy’s vague account. He wanted to defend himself, but the boy hadn’t explicitly blamed him, only saying that they had bumped into each other. Because of this, Qingmu didn’t know how to respond.

But his words were easily misinterpreted. Frustrated, Qingmu could only keep a stern face as he carried the boy into the house.

Liu Yunlan quickly walked alongside them and smiled apologetically at Qingmu. "I’m so sorry about this, Brother Qingmu. You got bumped into, and on top of that, you had to waste your time bringing him home. Please, come inside and rest a bit."

Liu Yungen stared at her and cried out in disbelief, "Sis, I’m the one who hurt my leg! And you’re apologizing to *him*?"

Liu Yunlan’s face hardened as she scolded him. "You stormed out of the house in a temper. I told you not to go today, but you wouldn’t listen. You just ran off with your head down like you had a ghost on your tail. How could you *not* run into someone walking like that? I don’t even have to ask to know it was you who wasn’t watching where you were going and ran into Brother Qingmu."

Liu Yungen was speechless, unable to retort—her words were laid out more clearly than a magistrate passing judgment in the government office.

Qingmu carried him into the house and set him down on a stool. Only then did he turn to Liu Yunlan and say apologetically, "No matter how you look at it, a whole basket of eggs got smashed..."

Before he could finish, Liu Yunlan quickly cut him off. "Brother Qingmu, this isn’t your fault. My father had just scolded my brother, so he grabbed the eggs and stormed out in a huff. I can just imagine him stomping off without looking where he was going. You didn’t blame him for running into you and even brought him home—we can’t thank you enough! How could we possibly ask you to pay for the eggs?"

Qingmu was also at a loss for words. He’d thought he was in for a long argument, but who knew she wouldn’t believe her brother at all? In just a few words, she had deduced the entire situation and even apologized to him, leaving him unsure of what to say.

’As the saying goes, you don’t hit a smiling face,’ he thought. She was being so reasonable; it wouldn’t be right to just turn and walk away. But if he didn’t leave, what was there to say?

Liu Yunlan offered him a seat. Just as he was about to decline, a burly man and a woman came out of a back room. They were startled to see the sorry state Liu Yungen was in and rushed over to ask what was wrong.