After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

“Young Master Zheng is getting old and will be taking the provincial examination next year. Xiao Cui is about the same age as him. It wouldn’t be good for their reputations if she moved in. I’ll have a few of my younger brothers move in with him and bring a few dogs to raise.”

When it comes to the strict separation of men and women in ancient times, Gu Lin is helpless and has no way to deal with it. He himself doesn't care, nor does Zheng Hao, but outsiders do.

It would be bad if Zheng Hao's reputation were damaged because of this.

Gu Lin had no choice but to say to Sister Zhao, "Even if we were to move there, the earliest would be tomorrow. Let's stay here tonight."

Sister-in-law Zhao agreed.

When Zheng Hao returned, he saw the girl sitting at the dining table. It wasn't that she attracted his attention, but rather that Zheng Hao remembered every plant and tree in the house.

Gu Lin introduced Zheng Hao, saying, "This is your sister-in-law's niece, Xiao Cui. She's a year younger than you and is your younger sister."

Zheng Hao remained calm and nodded slightly in Xiao Cui's direction, saying, "Miss Xiao Cui."

Upon seeing the young man enter, Xiao Cui was not immediately struck by his stunning appearance, but rather by an overwhelming sense of fear and dread.

After fleeing all the way, Xiao Cui's biggest fear was strange men.

On the road of fleeing, men, women and young men were no longer considered human beings, especially women and young men, who were even less than livestock.

Xiao Cui never told Zhao Saozi that the reason she was able to come to the prefectural city alive and well was not only because her father's younger brother, her own uncle, protected her, but also because of her reckless behavior.

Among a group of people on the verge of starvation, the naturally weak women and men are vulnerable, and the greedy and cruel men look at them as if they were a flock of harmless lambs.

At first, people had food and money and were mindful of the law, so they dared not act. But as the journey of escape became longer and the number of people in the group increased, hunger, violence, greed and evil gradually spread and grew. Soon, many people could not restrain their desires and cruelty.

Xiao Cui watched as the young women around her suffered cruel fates one after another. They were either sold by their parents to exchange for food, or abducted by other men, raped, killed, and then eaten.

If it weren't for the protection of her uncle and his brothers, and her own constant vigilance and carrying of a weapon, so that she could fight back desperately at the first sign of trouble, she would have died on the road long ago.

Therefore, Xiao Cui didn't feel upset about Zheng Hao's indifferent attitude towards her. Instead, she breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Greetings, Young Master Zheng."

Hearing the two address each other with polite but distant terms of address, Gu Lin felt a little helpless, but it was normal for them to be unfamiliar with each other since they had only known each other for a short time.

Zheng Hao lifted his leg and sat down next to Gu Lin.

Turning his head to glance at the boy beside him, Zheng Hao also tilted his head slightly and asked, "What's wrong, Uncle Gu?"

Gu Lin shook his head and said, "It's nothing."

It doesn't matter if we're not familiar with each other. According to the strict rules of this world that separate men and women, the two of us won't see each other many times in the future.

After dinner, Gu Lin accompanied Zhao's wife to take Xiao Cui to the house where she would be staying that day.

Given the relationship between Gu Lin and Sister-in-law Zhao, it would have been better to simply have her arrange for Xiao Cui.

But since it was Xiao Cui's first time visiting, and she had just fled from disaster, Gu Lin was afraid that if he didn't take care of anything, it would cause Xiao Cui to misunderstand and think that he had other opinions about her. Therefore, as the host, Gu Lin wanted to show his friendly side and let Xiao Cui know that he was very happy to welcome her.

As Gu Lin walked, he said to Xiao Cui, "I treat my sister-in-law as family, so you are family too. Don't be shy here."

"If I had known you were coming, I would have prepared the house a few days in advance, so you wouldn't have had to stay in the guest room tonight," Gu Lin said to Xiao Cui as he opened the door in front of him.

Xiao Cui, who was almost silent during the day, opened her mouth and said in a low voice, "It's already very good."

She had fine cloth to wear, meat and eggs to eat, and clean and tidy houses to live in. Even before she fled the disaster, she felt very fortunate to have everything she had.

As the three stepped into the house, Xiao Cui was stunned by the bedroom, which was about half the size of her own home, but she remained in a daze, so Gu Lin did not notice her surprise.

Instead, he carefully explained the bedroom arrangement to Xiao Cui: "Before you go to bed at night, pour a glass of water and put it on the cabinet next to your bed. That way, if you get thirsty in the middle of the night, you won't have to fumble in the dark to get water. There's a bathtub behind the screen. After the hot water is boiled, you can take a hot bath, and you'll fall asleep easily tonight..."

Looking at the quiet, unassuming young man in front of her, who was lively and cheerful, introducing all sorts of things in the room to her without any regard for her presence, Xiao Cui's numb and empty eyes stirred.

After explaining how to use all the bedding items, Gu Lin turned to Xiao Cui and said, "If you need anything later, just tell Sister Zhao and me, don't be shy."

Xiao Cui opened her mouth, her voice a little hoarse, and said, "It's already very good, thank you Uncle Gu... These are all very good."

If she hadn't come to stay with her aunt, she would never have been able to live in a house like this in her entire life.

The hot water in the kitchen was ready. Zhao's wife went out and brought back several buckets of hot water. Seeing that Xiao Cui was about to take a bath, Gu Lin left the house.

He didn't immediately return to his bedroom but went to his study first. He hadn't written any characters for today, and if he missed another day, Gu Lin would have gone three days without writing.

Entering the study, Gu Lin saw Zheng Hao standing behind his desk, writing with his wrist suspended. Instead of disturbing him, Gu Lin walked to the small desk that Zheng Hao had specially prepared for him and picked up paper and pen to write.

The room was very quiet, with only the sound of the brush moving across the paper. Gu Lin quickly became oblivious to the noise from the outside world and began to concentrate on writing. When he had filled a sheet of paper, Gu Lin put down the brush, then slightly raised his head and stretched.

Unexpectedly, when he looked up, he saw Zheng Hao standing beside him. Zheng Hao was looking down at his desk. Following Zheng Hao's gaze, Gu Lin realized that Zheng Hao was looking at the words he had written.

Gu Lin knew how good Zheng Hao's handwriting was, and now that it was Zheng Hao's turn to critique his own, Gu Lin couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

After a moment, Zheng Hao withdrew his gaze and turned to Gu Lin, saying, "Uncle Gu's handwriting is much better than before."

Gu Lin's eyes lit up as he asked, "Really?"

Although he felt that his handwriting was much better than when he first started writing calligraphy, Gu Lin couldn't help but feel a little guilty because he had been inconsistent in his practice. He wondered if he was being too idealistic about himself.

Zheng Hao replied with a calm and certain look, "Of course it's true."

Then he changed the subject: "However, Uncle Gu's wrist strength is not enough to write running script. He can start practicing Yan style or thin gold style."

“But I think running script is very beautiful. It retains the uprightness of regular script and the fluency of cursive script. If possible, I would like to learn running script.” Gu Lin looked at Zheng Hao with anticipation.

Zheng Hao pondered for a moment and said, "Uncle Gu, are you sure? It will be very difficult to practice running script. If you practice other scripts, Uncle Gu will achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Gu Lin nodded his head several times: "Teach me, I'm not afraid of hardship, I just want to write cursive script. Although it may take me a long time to learn and I still won't be as good as you, I'll be satisfied if I can even get half of it."

Zheng Hao's eyes flickered as he asked, "...How did Uncle Gu know I write in running script?"

Normally, Zheng Hao wrote in the Liu style, the Slender Gold style, or the official script. He never showed his calligraphy in running script to others, and he would burn any running script he wrote in private as waste paper.

After all, running script could not be used in the imperial examinations.

Zheng Hao lowered his eyes slightly to look at the young man in front of him. He saw the young man's pink lips open and close as he said, "My handwriting is ugly. It would be a waste to practice writing directly on blank paper. So I took the paper you wrote on from your wastepaper basket to practice. I didn't expect your running script to be so beautiful. It's no worse than your usual Liu style."

The young man's praise was sincere and passionate. Even though Zheng Hao was calm and composed, his heart couldn't help but beat faster when he saw the bright eyes of the young man in front of him, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down under his clothes.

"Besides, I can't find any calligraphy copybooks outside, so I started practicing by imitating your calligraphy because I thought yours was beautiful," Gu Lin said matter-of-factly.

When the topic of buying calligraphy practice books came up, Gu Lin was speechless.

Who would have thought that a calligraphy copybook was more expensive than a book? Not only was it more expensive, but it was also less common. Gu Lin originally went to the bookstore to buy a calligraphy copybook, but when he asked the price, it was sixty taels of silver. At that moment, Gu Lin was stunned in front of the bookstore counter.

How many servings of pickled fish would he have to sell to make enough money to buy just one calligraphy practice book?

The bookstore owner asked him if he wanted to buy it again, but Gu Lin didn't react because he was still in a daze. Soon, the calligraphy copybook was bought by the next customer. Gu Lin watched as the customer spent sixty taels of silver on the copybook without even blinking.

Gu Lin wasn't angry that the other party bought the calligraphy book he wanted, because even if the other party hadn't bought it, he wouldn't have bought it anyway.

In Gu Lin's opinion, since he didn't need to take the imperial examination, he didn't need to spend a huge sum of money to buy calligraphy practice books. Moreover, given his personality of practicing for two days and then stopping for two days, buying the calligraphy practice books would be a waste of money.

Thinking that Zheng Hao's handwriting was quite good, Gu Lin decided to use the scrap paper that the other party had written on as a calligraphy model.

Gu Lin kept his word and did this for several years.

Uncle Gu had been copying his own handwriting for many years. Zheng Hao pursed his lips slightly, his pale ears turned slightly red, and his dark eyes were filled with turbulent emotions.

"...Why didn't Uncle Gu just tell me directly...If my handwriting were used as a model, I would have carefully copied a book and given it to Uncle Gu to practice copying."

The usually calm and composed young man spoke haltingly several times.

But because Zheng Hao concealed it very well, to Gu Lin it sounded like the other person was speaking very slowly.

Gu Lin said, "Originally, I was worried that it would interfere with your studies, but after seeing the scraps of paper you had written on, I felt that it was more than enough for me to copy."

Pointing to the writing on the paper, Gu Lin smiled and said to Zheng Hao, "Teacher Zheng, take a look. How much of your true teachings have I inherited?"

Master...Student...

Looking at the lively and vivid face of the young man in front of him, and hearing the other's slightly teasing way of addressing him, Zheng Hao's breathing gradually became rapid and hot.

"Uncle Gu..."

A tone of helplessness, unseen for a long time, came from Zheng Hao's mouth.

Gu Lin blinked, looking at the serious-looking boy in front of him with a helpless expression. He realized he had offended the little stickler and was probably going to be lectured to him again.

Zheng Hao lowered his eyes slightly. Before Uncle Gu spoke, he did not notice that the other party's handwriting was similar to his own. Since they were both in running script, Zheng Hao's handwriting was full of strength, upright with a hint of arrogance, while Gu Lin's running script was more upright, with a gentle and lingering feeling between the characters.

But upon closer inspection, Zheng Hao realized that every word the other person wrote contained his own shadow, though they were not identical in form, they were similar in spirit. Zheng Hao said slowly, "Uncle Gu writes very well, he has his own style and doesn't need to be similar to me."

"Although they use the same font, different people write different characters because of their strength, temperament and habits."

Gu Lin nodded to show he understood; otherwise, why would people say that one's handwriting reflects one's personality?

After a moment, Zheng Hao said again, "In a few days, I will write a calligraphy copybook and give it to Uncle Gu. Uncle Gu can practice according to it in the future."

Gu Lin thanked him with a beaming smile.

Then, Gu Lin talked about Xiao Cui's escape. With a worried look on his face, he asked Zheng Hao, "Will there be many more refugees fleeing here this year? I heard from Sister Zhao that Uncle Xiao Cui took her to the prefectural city, and the number of refugees following them along the way kept increasing."

Zheng Hao was silent for a moment, but in the end he did not intend to hide it from Uncle Gu: "Yes, there are more refugees this year than in previous years. In fact, before the Peach Blossom Banquet, the Prefect contacted the military camps in the suburbs to stop the refugees who had fled here this year and drive them away a hundred miles away, not allowing them to stay in this prefecture. So many people do not know that there are more refugees fleeing here."

Gu Lin opened his mouth slightly; he hadn't expected the situation to be this bad.

Zheng Hao said, "The prefect has taken in too many refugees. The refugee camps in the suburbs have only recently stabilized. If new refugees are allowed to enter the prefectural city, it is easy for riots to break out."

Gu Lin spoke softly, "One person can do too little."

Prefect Zhen would be considered a rare good official by today's standards. Other prefectures, let alone taking in refugees, would send troops to drive them away as soon as they noticed the refugees approaching.

Looking at Uncle Gu beside him with a worried expression, Zheng Hao didn't really want to tell him about this. If others heard about this, they would at most sympathize for a moment and then go on with their own lives. But Uncle Gu was different. At times like this, Zheng Hao could always feel the concern for the country and its people that only saints in books possessed.

From the day the refugee camp was set up in the suburbs, Zheng Hao knew that Uncle Gu had never stopped giving out porridge and clothes. He would even get medicine and boil medicinal soup to send to the refugee camp when the seasons changed. Although he was a person who always sought to protect himself, he was afraid that the refugees would not survive the winter if they did not have enough oil and fat. Despite the pressure from the outside world, he dared not give the refugees good food. He could only boil the leftover food from the Good Luck Restaurant and give it to the refugees.

Zheng Hao's cold eyes softened slightly as he said to Gu Lin, "Uncle Gu has done a great job. Because of your exemplary behavior, many wealthy families in the city donated clothes and food to the refugees. Because of these things, 60% of the refugees in the suburbs survived the winter."

In today's world, the survival rate is extremely high. In previous years, it would have been considered good if 20% of the refugees survived the winter.

Gu Lin raised his head, a look of struggle flashing in his eyes, and said, "I know, I know that doing this will cause a lot of trouble, but I can't control myself. Those are lives that are just a wall away from me. I can't just stand by and watch them die."

In modern times, Gu Lin is extremely poor, and he has to strictly control his daily food expenses to within a dozen yuan. But even so, when he sees news reports of a city being completely locked down for epidemic control or a region suffering from floods and needing support, Gu Lin will donate money and supplies.

Because he was taught from a young age that when one is in trouble, everyone should help each other, he felt that being in a country was like being in a big family. How could he just stand by and watch his relatives suffer when they were in trouble?

Therefore, this is a clash between modern and ancient ideas. Gu Lin's kindness and empathy contrast with the coldness and selfishness of the ancients. They are products of different eras, and neither can say that the other is wrong.

If Gu Linru cannot integrate into this world and remains indifferent to everything that doesn't concern him like everyone else, he will inevitably continue to suffer.

Unless someone steps up to change this situation.

Uncle Gu: Quickly call Xiao Cui "little sister"!

Zheng Hao lowered his eyes indifferently: [Miss Xiao Cui]

[I only wrote this part after filling up four thousand words!!!]

I've seen many people say that Gu Lin is too kind, treating servants and others too well, and sometimes his compassion is excessive.

However, there was no other way. As an orphan in modern times, without the help of the national welfare home and kind-hearted people, it would be difficult for him to survive and go to university. Moreover, he was taught from a young age that the country and the family are one, that when one is in trouble, all sides should help, and that life is precious.

He valued life very much.

Actually, we are the same. If we think about it carefully, when we hear that someone in our neighborhood has died, we will feel sad that someone died so suddenly, especially if the deceased is a young person who died in an accident.

Seeing the emaciated refugees appear before him, hundreds and thousands dying at a time, Gu Lin, who had received over twenty years of modern education, couldn't remain indifferent. The painful truth was his powerlessness to change the situation; one person's strength was too insignificant. But rest assured, I am her mother; this situation won't last long.