I was sold when I opened my eyes! My sick and disabled husband comforts me every night after he wake

Lan Zhi and her group followed the little boy a few steps forward and then turned into a courtyard without a gate. As soon as they entered the courtyard, the little boy called out.

"Hey, someone wants to use the excuse of needing water, I'll go get some."

As they were talking, the little boy reached for the bucket, but Lan Zhi stopped him.

"Young man, there's no need to fight anymore. Let's sit down and rest for a while."

The little boy then looked at her with suspicion in his eyes.

"Didn't you just say you were thirsty? Why aren't you drinking anymore?"

Lan Zhi shook her head as she looked at the bucket of water in his hand.

"This bucket is taller than you, can you lift it?"

The little boy immediately patted his chest and nodded confidently.

"Of course I can. My grandma isn't in good health, so I've always been the one carrying water."

At this moment, an old woman with tattered clothes, leaning on a wooden cane, and gray hair came out of the house. She shielded her eyes with her hands, glanced at Lan Zhi and the others a few times, and then walked up to them with her cane.

"Please have a seat, everyone. Zhu Zi, there's still some water left in the vat. Go boil some water."

"Got it, grandma."

Zhu Zi readily agreed and quickly ran towards the kitchen.

After looking around the courtyard, Lan Zhi asked softly,

"Auntie, how many people are in your family?"

The old woman sat trembling on the stone bench, pointing to the stone bench opposite her.

"Please have a seat!"

Just as Lan Zhi was about to sit down, A Qi hurriedly took a handkerchief and wiped the stone bench for her. Yu Jie, on the other hand, pouted in disgust and took a few steps back.

After Lan Zhi sat down, she chatted with the old woman about everyday things.

It turned out that the old woman originally had a son who was conscripted by the imperial court three years ago and never returned. Her daughter-in-law died of illness a year ago, leaving only her and Zhuzi to depend on each other. The family had no source of income, so she usually washed or sewed clothes for others, which was enough to barely support her and Zhuzi.

Upon hearing this, Yu Jie asked, puzzled.

"You said your son was conscripted into the army, but doesn't the imperial court provide him with a salary? Isn't that enough for you two to live on?"

The old woman looked at Yujie as if she were a monster, then suddenly laughed.

"Salary? All the able-bodied men in our street have been conscripted by the imperial court. No one has ever received a salary. We don't even know if this man is alive or dead!"

"Then why don't you go to the Ministry of War to look for them?"

"We searched, but it was no use. The Ministry of War said they couldn't find any such person. There were dozens of men on the whole street, and now their fates are unknown, leaving only us orphans and widows to eke out a living here..."

At this point, the old woman's eyes filled with tears, while Yu Jie's face turned ashen in an instant.

She immediately put her hands on her hips and growled angrily in a low voice:

"I'll go to the Ministry of War right now and ask what's going on."

Lan Zhi quickly called out to her,

"Yu Jie, stay there and don't move."

"But……"

"What did you promise me before you came out?"

Yu Jie stood there, her face full of anger. At that moment, Zhu Zi came over carrying a teapot and several broken enamel bowls. He quickly laid the bowls out in front of Lan Zhi and the others, then poured water from the teapot into them, warmly inviting them to join in.

"Please have some water, everyone. Grandma, you should have some too. I added sugar."

Looking at Zhu Zi's smiling face, Lan Zhi suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

Seeing that she didn't move, Zhu Zi cautiously reminded her.

"Sister, I added sugar to this water. My grandma said she was saving the sugar water for me to drink during the Chinese New Year. We don't usually have many guests, but we have some distinguished guests visiting today, so I made the sugar water in advance."

At this point, he looked at the old woman.

"Grandma, I won't drink it during the New Year, please don't be angry."

Upon hearing this, the old woman raised her hand to wipe away her tears and nodded repeatedly.

"Zhu Zi is sensible and knows to serve good things to guests, so Grandma isn't angry."

Looking at the clothes worn by the grandmother and granddaughter, the dilapidated courtyard, and the precious bowl of sweet soup, Lan Zhi glanced at Yu Jie, then picked up the bowl and took a sip. Zhu Zi licked his lips, eagerly pressing for more information.

"How is it? Is it sweet?"

Lan Zhi nodded heavily.

"It's sweet. This is the sweetest syrup I've ever had in my life."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zi's face immediately lit up with a smile. He hurriedly urged his grandmother to drink as well, but the old woman reluctantly placed the sweet soup in front of him.

"You drink it. Grandma doesn't like things that are too sweet; her teeth hurt."

Zhu Zi pushed the sweet soup that his grandmother offered him back.

"Grandma, didn't you say that drinking sweet things can make people feel better? You've been talking about Dad a lot these past few days, and you seem to be in a bad mood. Maybe drinking this bowl of sweet soup will cheer you up."

Perhaps upon hearing Zhu Zi mention his father, the old woman's eyes immediately filled with tears. She brought the bowl to her lips, carefully tasted a sip of the sweet soup, and then offered the bowl to Zhu Zi again.

"Grandma only needs one sip, you drink it!"

Zhu Zi tried to refuse, but the old woman had already brought the bowl to his lips. He took the bowl, drank a sip, and nodded repeatedly.

"So sweet..."

Seeing the satisfied expression on Zhu Zi's face, Lan Zhi suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

This child must be incredibly sensible. He didn't complain about being poor; on the contrary, he was full of enthusiasm for life. He was already very satisfied with just a bowl of sugar water.

This bowl of sweet soup was only slightly sweeter than plain water, really just a tiny bit sweeter. Perhaps there wasn't much sugar in it, but Lan Zhi really found it very sweet.

Thinking of the original owner's impoverished childhood, marked by hunger and cold, she sighed softly and took out a few pieces of silver from her pocket, placing them on the table.

"Zhu Zi, I was in a bad mood before I came, but after drinking your sweet soup, I feel much better. I'm leaving these few pieces of silver with you as a token of my gratitude."

Seeing this, the old woman quickly waved her hands in refusal.

"Young lady, this is absolutely not allowed."

Lan Zhi chuckled and shook her head. "Zhu Zi calls me 'sister,' just consider it me, as his older sister, adding some meat to his diet. He's too thin."

The pillar licked its lips and shook its head.

"Sister, we never eat meat in our family. My grandma said that I'm too young to chew meat, and she's too old for it to get stuck in her teeth. Please take the money back!"

Looking at Zhu Zi's innocent eyes and hearing his self-deceiving words, Lan Zhi smiled gently. She then stood up and gently ruffled Zhu Zi's messy, straw-like hair.

"Zhu Zi, I'll come to you again whenever I'm feeling down, and you can make me some sugar water then, okay?"

Zhu Zi nodded hurriedly.

"Okay, sister, you can come anytime you want some sweet soup. I'll save some for you."

Lan Zhi nodded, then bid farewell to the old woman and led everyone out the door. Just as they stepped out, the old woman knelt down on the ground, holding onto a pillar, and kowtowed several times in the direction they had left.

Zhu Zi looked at her, puzzled.

"Grandma, why are you crying?"

The old woman wiped her eyes while clutching the arsenic in her pocket, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

The grandmother and grandson were already struggling to make ends meet, and she planned to mix the arsenic with some sugar water and drink it, then take her grandson Tiantian on their journey.

Unexpectedly, the guests who came today left them these few pieces of silver, giving them hope to survive.

How could she dare tell Zhu Zi her thoughts? She could only lead him to kowtow to these distinguished guests to express her gratitude.

Only after Lan Zhi led Yu Jie and the others out of the alley did she turn her head to look at Yu Jie.

"See that? This is what you call a peaceful and prosperous era."