Chapter Nine Mr.

  Seeing the children being chased away, the little girl in red hummed proudly and turned her head around. A pair of bright eyes examined Guan Ping, "Are you okay?" Guan Ping lifted his head, suddenly seeing this concerned gaze, and was stunned again. "Hey, I'm talking to you, are you okay?" Seeing that the little beggar in front of him was staring blankly at himself without saying a word, the little girl got a bit angry.

  The old man hastily came forward, pulled over this curious little girl and said: "Ling'er, don't be naughty." This girl named Ling'er hummed a sound, pouted her mouth, and didn't make a peep.

  At this time, the old man turned his head and looked at Gan Ping, "Girl, what's your name, where are you from?" "I... I'm called Gan Ping... flat..." Gan Ping replied subconsciously when the old man asked him, but suddenly saw that little girl staring at himself, couldn't help but weaken his tone, and stuttered.

  "So you're not mute after all, then why didn't you speak up earlier? You little rascal is so despicable, and yet you call yourself Gan Pingping, not even a bit like a man, just like a little girl. No wonder you didn't dare to speak up earlier." Before Gan Ping could finish speaking, Ling's words came out like a string of firecrackers, and upon hearing them, Gan Ping couldn't help but get angry, raising his head to say: "I'm called Gan Ping, not Gan Pingping, I am a man, not..."

  Before he could finish speaking, Ling'er glared at him fiercely, making him feel a pang of guilt and his momentum faltered. He secretly resented himself for being afraid of this little girl, thinking that even in the mountains, he wasn't afraid of tigers, yet when facing her, he couldn't even speak coherently.

  The old man frowned and said to Ling'er, "Ling'er, have you forgotten what Grandpa told you? The young ladies from good families don't behave like this. Who would like someone like that? How will you get married in the future?" This old man was getting on in years, so he tended to talk a lot. Seeing his granddaughter not behaving properly, he put aside Xiaogan and began to scold her.

  Gan Ping listened to him with interest, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Suddenly, he saw that the little girl opposite him was staring at him with big eyes, and he couldn't help but lower his head, secretly laughing. Ling Er's face turned red with anger, and she loudly said to Gan Ping: "You little devil, you're actually making fun of me! Grandfather, why don't you ask this little devil who he is and how he dares to talk about me?" She kept calling him a little devil, without thinking that she herself was not much older.

  The old man heard his granddaughter say this, and he hurriedly coughed twice, turned his head to look at Gan Ping, "Gan Ping, is it? Where are you from? Where do you want to go? Where is your home? Where are your parents?" The old man's consecutive questions about where, confused little Gan Ping for a while. He knew he was called Gan Ping, but where was his home? Where were his parents? He didn't notice the old man's puzzled gaze, and lowered his head to try hard to recall his own life story, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember where he was from. This bout of recollection stirred up memories of Xuan Mingzi and Huo Long, two great masters in his mind, making his head even more confused and unbearable. Unable to withstand the torrent of information, he let out a loud cry and fainted.

  In a daze, he seemed to hear the anxious chirping of Huo Er and the cheerful voice of Ling Er. "Monkey, monkey, look quickly, a red-haired monkey." The noisy sounds around his ears slowly opened Gan Ping's eyes, and a gray canvas tent entered his vision. He looked around hastily and found himself lying on an old wooden bed. Although it was old, the thick bedding underneath made him feel so comfortable that he almost moaned in pleasure. After sleeping on tree branches in the mountains for over a month, Gan Ping felt like he was about to turn into a monkey. As he stroked the soft bedding beneath him, Gan Ping had an overwhelming urge to cry.

  He sat up in bed, looking around at the furnishings of the room. In the center of the room was an old wooden table that looked like it was from the same style as the bed. On top of the table was a large ceramic pot and a coarse tea bowl. Alongside the table were two long benches, and in the corner of the wall was an old large wooden trunk with some miscellaneous items on top of it. It seemed he had been rescued and brought back here.

  Just as Kan Ping was sizing up his surroundings, a fiery red shadow darted in from the door and landed on the table. Suddenly, it spotted Kan Ping sitting there and let out a happy cry, pouncing into his arms. A similarly red figure chased in from outside, shouting: "Little monkey, don't run away, I'll give you..."

  When Gan Ping woke up, Ling immediately shouted with joy towards the outer room: "Dad, mom, grandpa, he's awake!" After shouting, she rushed to Gan Ping's face, "Little beggar, you're awake? How did you faint? Is this monkey yours? Give me a hug, I've been chasing it for half a day, hurry up and give me a hug?" As she spoke, she stretched out her hand to grab Huo from Gan Ping's arms, but Huo bared its teeth and refused to let her get close. Gan Ping was dizzy from the chatter of this little girl, and looked down at Huo, who was resisting the little girl's attack, with its fiery red fur disheveled. It seemed that this little girl had not shown much "affection" for it.

  Just as the two were making a ruckus in the house, several people walked in from outside. One of them was an old man from the village entrance who had met Gan Ping before. The old man saw his granddaughter causing trouble and hastily scolded: "Ling'er, stop being naughty, there are outsiders here, Mr. Zhang is watching you." Ling'er, who was desperately trying to pull one of Huo's legs out of Gan Ping's arms, heard this and quickly turned her head around, letting go of the leg in a flurry, tidying up her clothes with a few quick pulls, and said: "Hello, Mr. Zhang."

  A middle-aged man near the door nodded slightly and turned to look at Gan Ping, asking: "You're Gan Ping, right? Where are you from? What about your parents?" Gan Ping was curious about this middle-aged man who could calm down that crazy girl, and when he asked himself, he quickly jumped off the bed and replied honestly: "I'm Gan Ping, I came from the mountain forest over there, I don't know who my parents are."

  "The mountain forest? But the one on the north side?" Seeing Gan Ping confirm his own doubts, this middle-aged man let out a surprised cry, and several others were also shocked. The old man said: "From the north, how is that possible? Our Majiacun is already the village closest to the Tianling Mountains in this area. I've lived for so many years and never heard of anyone living inside."

  When he heard this, the middle-aged man was also surprised and asked Gan Ping several questions in a row. Gan Ping honestly told him about his experiences over the past few days. Of course, he didn't mention his strange powers or his experience riding on the black leopard, otherwise the person in front of him might have thought he was a monster and chased him away. He just said that he woke up in the forest and walked for many days before arriving here.

  Several people did not suspect that he was lying, after all, Gān Píng looked like just a small child, and in their eyes, he would certainly not tell lies. The old man said: "This child is really pitiful, can't remember where his home is, how can this be good?" After finishing speaking, he looked at the middle-aged man. That person was over 40 years old, with a square face, and several long whiskers floating under his chin, having a very bookish air. Seeing little Gān Píng looking at him with hopeful eyes, he couldn't help but stroke his beard and say: "This is indeed difficult to handle, this child really has a big fate, turning in that dangerous forest for so many days, yet still safe and sound. Alright, since coming to Mǎjiājǐ is arranged by heaven, let's not talk about leaving Mǎjiājǐ, it's still nearly 100 miles to the city, how can a small child walk?"

  The old man hastily said: "Mr. Zhang is right, this child is indeed unfortunate, but my family doesn't have an extra bed..." Mr. Zhang glanced at him and understood his meaning - it wasn't that they didn't have an extra bed, but rather they didn't have enough food to feed the child. He turned his gaze towards Xiao Ganping's hopeful eyes, and his heart softened with pity. Sighing, he said: "Alright, my house is a bit big for one person anyway. Ma Lao, I'll go back and tidy up, let him move in with me."

  That old man repeatedly acknowledged, Mr. Zhang looked at Gan Ping for a moment, then turned and left the door. At this time, a woman rushed over from the side, grabbed Xiao Ganping's hand, and said to him: "Are you hungry? Come, Auntie cooked porridge, eat some." After finishing, she pulled Ganping away, and this woman was Ma Zhangshi, the mother of Ling'er. Ma Zhangshi had always been worried that she only gave birth to a daughter, and when she saw other people's sons, she was envious. This time, the ragged little Gan Ping was brought back to his home, and she couldn't help but think about keeping this boy at home. However, her husband and father-in-law unanimously opposed it, and Ma Zhangshi also understood that with only a few mouths to feed in the family, they could barely make ends meet, so wanting to keep Xiao Ganping was somewhat powerless.

  Fortunately, Mr. Zhang took in Gan Ping, who was the only teacher and scholar in the village, and was highly respected by everyone. Every household would offer him food and support, so Gan Ping followed him and at least didn't go hungry. What made Mrs. Ma-Zhang happiest was that Mr. Zhang's private school was right next to her house, and they saw each other every day. As a result, this boy who wasn't her own son became like her own son. Old Mr. Ma looked at Mrs. Ma-Zhang's thoughts and didn't stop her; not having a grandson was also one of his heartaches. He narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly as he watched Mrs. Ma-Zhang take Gan Ping to eat.

  The fragrant millet porridge, half a salted egg, and Ma Zhang suddenly pulled out a piece of cured meat from somewhere, cut it into small pieces, and sprinkled it into Gan Ping's bowl. This made Ma Ling'er, who was holding the porridge bowl and pinching half a salted egg, very indignant, and she cried out in grievance: "Mother, I want meat too!" But Ma Zhang's attention was all focused on this adopted son of hers, and she didn't have time to bother with her. Looking at Gan Ping, who hadn't even lifted his head, she waved her hand and said: "There isn't any more, there isn't any more! You usually don't even get eggs, so what's the big deal?"

  It's fine if you don't mention the egg, but as soon as you mention the salty egg, Ma Ling's face turns sour. Her mother pickled all the eggs at home, saying they were for New Year's Eve, but after a while, she could still satisfy her cravings. However, when this little devil came, he even cut a piece of cured meat for himself on New Year's Eve. His own salty egg was left with only half an egg, and it was just a small half, so he couldn't help but pout and almost cry.

  Looking at the fragrant millet porridge, Gan Ping had already drooled profusely. These days of eating wild fruits had made him nauseous, and now seeing this porridge, his eyes almost turned green. Seeing Ma Zhangshi smiling and gesturing for him to eat the porridge, he hastily picked up his bowl, just about to take a bite when he caught sight of the little girl on the other side, her eyes fixed on him with a murderous glare. He glanced at her bowl and suddenly understood, forcing himself to hold back the urge to pour the entire bowl into his mouth. Holding the bowl close, he scooped half of the meat from the top into the little girl's bowl, then quietly swapped their half eggs before ignoring her and devouring his food with his head down.

  Outside the door, old horse head was sucking on his eye bag, seeing this scene, couldn't help but nod his head, this kid, not a bad heart. Ma Ling also wasn't greedy to eat meat, just felt that Xiao Gan had stolen her thunder and was quite resentful, but seeing Xiao Gan like this, she also felt a bit embarrassed, wanting to say something, but saw Xiao Gan burying his head in the big bowl like a starving ghost, eating with a loud slurp, couldn't help but stare at him, and also picked up her bowl to eat.

  Ma Ling'er was eating the porridge with meat while sneaking a glance at Gan Ping. This kid wasn't bad, and since he came, she even got to eat cured meat. He just didn't talk much, like a gourd with its mouth cut off. Hmm, from now on, I'll call him Dumb Gourd. Thinking of this funny name, Ma Ling'er couldn't help but burst out laughing, spitting the porridge in her bowl far away. Ma Zhang saw this and scolded: "You stupid girl, how did you get porridge all over the table?!"

  Just at this noisy moment, Mr. Zhang walked in from the outside with a grayish-white long gown on his arm and said, "Ma Jia's daughter, I have an old dress here, you can modify it and let Gan Ping wear it." Ma Zhangshi hurriedly took over the gown and went into the inner room. Mr. Zhang glanced at Gan Ping who was holding a large bowl and fighting, smiled, and walked out of the door.