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Tangled in her thoughts, Lin Yuan gently shook her aunt’s arm and comforted her softly, "Auntie, Brother Ershuan is at my house helping my dad with his wheelchair. Why don’t you take Xiao Shitou and head to my place for today?"

Fearing that her aunt might declin, Lin Yuan quickly added, "This morning when I left, I prepared some food for Lin Wei. It just needs to be reheated at noon and it’ll be ready to eat.

But I’m worried that she’s too young and might get burned by accident, so I’d trouble you to help my older sister make lunch.

I won’t be able to return until the afternoon, and I’m genuinely concerned not being there to watch over her. "

Although Auntie knew full well that Lin Yuan was lying, she couldn’t bring herself to utter a word of refusal when she looked at her grandson, who was frightened and dazed.

She nodded her head and, along with Xiao Shitou, started walking toward the city gates.

Even though there was still some time before they needed to return to the village, sitting there would be better than suffering here.

After seeing off her mother-in-law and son, Sister Guizhi continued cleaning up her stall. Not only were bowls and chopsticks damaged, but the iron pot she used to make cold noodles was also smashed.

Old Iron Head had taken the iron pot back to the shop for repairs, while the cold noodles were beyond saving and, with a heavy heart, Sister Guizhi threw them away.

There were also some of Auntie’s pancakes that ended up on the ground, covered in dirt and debris.

They couldn’t be sold, and it was even more impossible to give them away.

But it truly pained her to just throw them away for nothing.

Suddenly, Lin Yuan remembered seeing several begging children at the crossroads on her way here, so she grabbed the soiled pancakes and rushed over to give them to the children.

Although dirty on the outside, the insides were still edible.

Yet, the starving children didn’t even wait for Lin Yuan to peel off the dirty outer layer before they snatched them away voraciously.

"Hey, don’t fight over them, oh no, you can’t eat the dirty parts, they’ll give you a stomachache," Lin Yuan tried to pull one and push another, but her efforts couldn’t match the strength of these kids.

"They’re nearly starved mad; do you think they have the luxury to care if what they’re eating is dirty?

If they were given a bowl of spoiled rice, they’d devour it just as desperately," a somewhat deep but clearly youthful voice came from behind her.

Lin Yuan turned around, only to see a little boy around eight or nine years old, about the same size as Lin Wei.

He, too, was dressed like a beggar, but clearly, he was much sharper than the other children she had just seen, especially his eyes.

They were exceptionally bright, despite the dirt on his cheeks, conveying a hint of sorrow and detachment.

"Are you with them?" Lin Yuan wasn’t sure if this dirty little boy was a beggar, but she still reached into her basket and took out a piece of the pancake she had peeled, tentatively offering it to him, "I’ve got a clean pancake here, do you want it?"

The boy glanced at the pancake, bit his lip tightly, and stubbornly said, "I’m not a beggar, and I’m not hungry!"

Though he claimed not to be hungry, his stomach betrayed him with a loud grumble that even Lin Yuan, several steps away, could hear clearly.

Lin Yuan chuckled to herself, yet couldn’t bear to wound the pride of the young boy. Pretending not to notice his embarrassed expression, she walked up to him and thrust the pancake into his hands, "If you’re not going to eat it, give it to them."

After saying that, she turned to leave. She still hadn’t settled the matter of the pot with Old Iron Head, and moreover, she needed to check on the progress at the tofu shop. She didn’t have the patience to spend time here with a child.

But just a few steps away, she heard the boy behind her suddenly call out to her, "Hey, wait!"

"What’s wrong? You really don’t want it?" Lin Yuan turned back, looking at him with some confusion.

The little boy clenched the scorched cake in his hand and lowered his head, not knowing what he was thinking.

Just as Lin Yuan thought he was not going to speak anymore and was preparing to leave, the child suddenly looked up with a determined look in his eyes and said, "You can give away scorched cakes to people just like that, your family must be rich. Do you need someone to work for you? If you’re short of help, well, I, I. .."

Lin Yuan was surprised by his words, not because he offered to work for her, but because of the first thing he said.

Although this child was small, he was clever, deducing from the scorched cakes that she was not poor, clearly having some insight, and certainly not a beggar as he said he wasn’t.

But who was he really, and how did he end up here?

"You..."

Before Lin Yuan could ask, the child’s stubborn little face was full of restraint as he said, "If you’re going to ask what I do, don’t bother, I don’t have a home, but I’m not a beggar."

Lin Yuan was amused by his spirited manner, thinking how his bad temper was just like hers.

"Alright, I admit you’re right, my family indeed isn’t short of silver, but we’re not rich either. If you come home with me, I’m afraid I can’t even provide you with a decent house..."

"I can sleep in a side room, in the kitchen, anywhere’s fine.

" The child quickly interrupted, afraid that Lin Yuan would refuse him. He had no choice; he had been roaming around this place for some time now, and this young lady was the first and kindest person he had met. He didn’t want to miss the opportunity.

Lin Yuan realized the child was genuinely looking for a place to stay when he interrupted her, and it made her heart ache. The child was about the same age as Lin Wei, and if her sister were to suddenly fall on hard times, she would also hope that a kind-hearted person would take her in.

After thinking it over, Lin Yuan asked, "I have a bean curd shop on the east side of the city, but it hasn’t opened yet; it’s still being renovated.

If you don’t mind, you can stay there for now, help me keep an eye on the shop at night, and when my bean curd shop opens, you can help me with other things. How about that?"

How about that? Of course, it’s good!

The child nodded eagerly, promising he would watch the shop well and not let anyone steal anything.

The corner of Lin Yuan’s lips curved; her request for him to watch the store was just a pretext.

In fact, there were people working during the day, and the contractor would also leave someone to watch at night.

But this worked out well, providing the child with a place to stay and someone to keep him company, so he wouldn’t be scared alone in a big empty house.

She took the child to Old Iron Head’s blacksmith shop and made a brief introduction to the others. It was then that Lin Yuan seemed to remember she had forgotten to ask his name.

A flash of forlornness appeared in the little boy’s eyes as he shook his head and said, "I don’t have a name."

He was lying. That’s what Lin Yuan thought to herself, but she didn’t expose him. She tilted her head in thought and said, "Since you’re going to work for me, I’ll give you a name to use for now, and you can change it later when you remember your name."

The boy nodded, "Your surname is Lin, so I’ll take your surname too. Let’s go with Linzi; all this naming stuff is too much trouble."

Lin Yuan was speechless. She hadn’t minded the trouble of naming him, but he, the receiver of the name, found it troublesome. What a strange child.