Chapter 228

After Xu Ran went back, he told the group of people in his house about the incident, after which he comforted them, “You don’t have to worry at all. Now people in the village can only go out but not in. Everything should be fine.”

People present were relieved to hear what Xu Ran said. Then they went to do their own work.

Now that they all lived together, they needed to work together, too. Since so many people had to eat, it was impossible for only one or two people to work there.

Most of the people were busy doing a thorough cleanup at the moment. Xu Ran also divided the work of the kitchen. Every Ge’er had his division of labor, too. Fortunately, none of them was pregnant at the time being. Otherwise it would be bad, because any pregnant Ge’er was also a susceptible body to the epidemic.

Apart from the kitchen work, there were also problems about fodder for horses. Although Xu Ran had asked Gao Quan to prepare it, it was definitely not enough because so many more horses came to their house suddenly. So as long as it didn’t rain, all the Ge’ers took turns to go out and cut the grass. Fortunately, there was little work in the fields now. They didn’t have to worry about the lack of labor.

In the orchards, cherries, apricots and plums had long been picked, and now there were only peaches left there. Those fruits that couldn’t be sold were picked and kept for themselves. Now that there were so many people in their house, this fruit was definitely in timely supply. In this way, they just didn’t have to buy fruit.

The village’s epidemic investigation had to be carried out from house to house, and Xu Ran’s family was arranged in the last place. That day, when everyone had finished their work and was ready for lunch, the village head came at last with his people.

Xu Ran was open about his family’s situation. He called everyone out and introduced them. He told the village head that these guests had come a few days before to celebrate Elder Dad Qin’s birthday. However, they couldn’t leave after that because of the heavy rain. They wanted to leave today, but Xu Ran heard about the epidemic when he went shopping in the town. Hence, he quickly came back and kept the guests to stay in their house.

Some people who were not fond of Xu Ran doubted about his kindness and someone even doubted that he had been infected with the epidemic.

Xu Ran scoffed at this, “You are really not able to tell good from bad. I’m open and aboveboard, and I don’t need to cover anything up. I just tell you all here that it’s I who informed the village head about the epidemic. If I wanted to do harm to the people around, would I still have informed the village head about this? I don’t mind what you are thinking this time, but next time if something happens again, you don’t hope I will offer you any help. I think some people may really have to wait until they die to understand the truth. ”

The people present understood what Xu Ran meant, especially when they heard Xu Ran say that he would not provide any information or other help to them in the future, they started to complain about that person who had accused Xu Ran for no reason.

Xu Ran said frankly, “All of you, please go out to discuss and don’t quarrel here in my house. You can rest assured that for the sake of my own family, I will not accept people from other places. You just try to take care of yourselves. You are not welcome here. ”

At the same time, he drove those people out. Many people present resented Xu Ran for being so rude, but they knew it was their own fault. Thus the man who had mistaken about Xu Ran for no reason was even more despised.

After Xu Ran chased those people away, he clapped his hands. He then turned around but to see everyone there in the house was fixing their eyes on him.

As for Xu Ran’s performance just now, his and Zhuo Yun’s family didn’t feel too surprised. Qin Shuwu’s family, however, was different. They had never seen Xu Ran like this before. Xu Ran felt embarrassed being stared at this way. He rubbed his nose and wanted to slip away quietly. Of course, he couldn’t.

Qin Shuwu patted him on the shoulder and said, “You were brilliant, man! You were so tough just now! I supposed that a man like you could only be bullied. ”

Xu Ran looked up at the sky. He couldn’t help asking himself whether he really looked like a little sheep so much that others thought he could only be bullied.

To Xu Ran’s surprise, Zhuo Yun would come to get the last word in at this time, “Eldest brother, I also thought he was easy to be bullied at the beginning just like you, because I found he always smiles at people. I didn’t know that he would be so fierce until I saw him once quarrel with others.”

Xu Ran immediately retorted, “How can I be so fierce? I never talk with arms akimbo.”

Upon hearing this, everyone present burst into laughter.

Xu Ran rolled his eyes upwards, pushed his way through the crowd, and left.

However, he wasn’t angry. He had other things to attend to actually. He planned to visit the Xu Family. He guessed that because of the epidemic, the Xu Family was even more short of food. Although they usually didn’t eat well, they could cope with it. At present, however, in this situation, they must have a hard time. Xu Ran was worried about them.

There was still some brown rice at home, not much, though. Xu Ran took out the whole sack of it. In addition, he got another sack of peeled rice. With these two sacks on his shoulder, he was about to leave home. However, he stopped at the thought that it was raining outside. He thus put the rice down and found some oiled paper to wrap the two sacks up tightly before going out.

There was no one in the yard at the moment. They must have gone back to their rooms. As no one there, Xu Ran directly went out without telling anyone else.

It was still raining hard outside, and because the rain had lasted too long, the ground was covered in mud. Xu Ran stepped on it and his shoes were all wet. Now that this was the case anyway, Xu Ran didn’t mind it and strode forward with the rice on his shoulder.

When he reached the Xu Family’s house, he found the door was closed as always. Xu Ran tried to reach out a hand to knock on the door. It was unknown whether it was because the heavy rain or some other reason. Anyway, a long time passed and no one came to answer the door. Xu Ran had no choice but to continue knocking even with his feet sometimes.

The rain was getting heavier and Xu Ran waited at the door for a long time. In the end, he was so angry that he shouted, “Don’t you want to open the door? If you don’t, I’ll go back!”

In response, the door suddenly opened, and Xu Ran and Xu Hui, who came to open the door, looked at each other in dismay.

Xu Ran complained, “You’re standing at the door. Why don’t you open the door? How long have I been calling?”

Xu Hui opened his mouth and wanted to explain, but when he saw the two sacks on Xu Ran’s shoulder, he bit back the words. Actually it was his granddaddy who stopped him from opening the door, but he was afraid that if he told the truth, Xu Ran would turn around and leave with the precious food.

This was the experience Xu Hui had got from his previous lesson. As long as Xu Ran heard what his granddaddy said or how he was scolding him, he would leave right away with the things he brought. Later, if his granddaddy stopped uttering, Xu Ran would leave things behind.

In fact, their days were not as bad as before. He and Xu Qiang had grown up and could help with some work in their family. Still the food they ate was not as good as what Xu Ran had given them. Needless to say, they were still looking forward to Xu Ran’s coming.

Xu Ran didn’t waste time with him talking there. With the rice still on his shoulder, he went straight into the house. Xu Houcai and Elder Daddy Xu were both there. Their backs had been bent over the years and they looked even older, but they were still quite energetic.

Xu Ran called Xu Houcai dad, but he didn’t greet Elder Daddy Xu. Xu Ran said to Xu Houcai, “Dad, you know about the epidemic. You can’t go to town recently, and you can’t go to buy food. Thus I am sending you some rice. There are brown rice and peeled rice. If you don’t have vegetables, you can go to my house to pick them directly. You have to take care of yourselves. Remember to keep good ventilation at home and eat the food that has been well cooked, okay?”

Xu Houcai nodded, “Actually, I used to experience an epidemic when I was young. I know about the situation, so you don’t worry about me. However, you should remember to take good care of your children. I heard that there are many people living in your house. Are they from the town? Is everything all right there? ”

Xu Ran was quite happy to hear what Xu Houcai said with concern. He replied, “It’s all right. The guests came before the epidemic. Don’t worry, dad. If you have any difficulties, just come to me. It is raining harder now. I’m afraid that I must go back right away.”

With that, Xu Ran left without greeting anyone else. To be honest, the only person he cared about there was Xu Houcai.

Xu Houcai didn’t keep him to stay. He knew that Xu Ran wouldn’t stay either. Elder Daddy Xu had often scolded him before when he came. At that time, Xu Ran often turned around and left. Although this kind of situation no longer appeared, the two of them would never talk to each other. For this, he had no way to ease it, and could only let it be.

After Xu Ran left the Xu Family, he didn’t go home directly. He thought that he was all wet anyway, so he decided to make another trip.

He first went to Wu Lan’s house and told him everything he wanted to say, then he went to Liu Qing’s house. As there was no man at home there, Xu Ran didn’t stay long but left right after leaving a message.

When he came home at last, he found that his family were looking for him. Now that they had done all their distributed work, they felt bored with so many people sitting together only! Besides, it was raining outside, so it was impossible for them to go out. Thus, they were now looking for Xu Ran for his suggestion on what they should do further on.

However, after searching for a long time, they couldn’t see him. They had no idea when Xu Ran had gone out. They went to ask Liu Tong about the situation. They got no positive answer from there of course, so they could only sit and wait.

As soon as Xu Ran arrived at the living room door, he heard someone say, “I haven’t been so idle for many years. I’m not used to this sudden appearance.”

The person who spoke this was Qin Shuwu’s spouse. He had been busy in his deli ever since its opening, whose business had been good for the past few years. Of course, he had been busy all the time.

Then Xu Ran heard the voices of others who echoed, but there was no Liu Tong’s.

Xu Ran guessed that it was not that Liu Tong didn’t speak, but that he couldn’t say anything about it. He only went to work when he was needed in the past few years. Usually, he would only cook at home, make clothes, and so on. Compared to those years, his life now had become much better.