86: Close relatives?

"Feng Cai?"

"Hm?" Feng Cai frowned slightly, looking directly. He couldn't help but wonder, who was so arrogant as to call him by his name in Houjia Village?

"My Lord!" Feng Cai was startled, his mind instantly clearing!

"My Lord, when did you return?" Feng Cai jogged over, wiping his hands on his clothes, and bowed as he asked.

"I just got back, and I was looking for you. I didn't expect to see you here," Lin Yue said with a smile, then suddenly remembered something, his expression changing drastically. He abruptly asked, "Wait, you don't drink, do you? What are you doing here?"

"Uh, uh, this old man..." Feng Cai stammered, his hands not knowing where to go, appearing somewhat at a loss.

"Old Feng, what are you doing? Come quickly and move the grain!" The back door curtain was lifted again, and Mother Han poked her head out to ask.

Everyone then looked over, and Lin Yue and Mother Han met each other's gaze. Mother Han's eyes were somewhat flustered, and she instantly vanished, leaving only the slightly swaying curtain as proof that someone had just been there.

"You two?" Lin Yue looked at Feng Cai in disbelief, "No way?"

"No, no, absolutely nothing happened!" Feng Cai shook his head like a rattle-drum, afraid Lin Yue wouldn't believe him. He pulled Hou Da, who was standing nearby, and said, "My Lord, if you don't believe me, ask Hou Da. Absolutely nothing happened!"

Lin Yue looked at Hou Da. Hou Da, just like Feng Cai earlier, quickly shook his head. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when he shook his head.

Who knew Hou Da would actually shake his head and say, "My Lord, I don't know!"

"What? You don't know? How can you not know?" Feng Cai was somewhat surprised, then angrily said, "Well, Hou Da, are you trying to harm me?!"

"Village Chief, Village Chief, don't be angry. But I'm either training or patrolling all day, how would I know your whereabouts, Village Chief!" Hou Da explained.

It's over. This was Feng Cai's only thought at the moment. He was like yellow mud dropped into his pants; whether it was poop or not, it was poop. He couldn't explain it at all.

But he still bit the bullet and explained, "My Lord, when you left, you told me to take good care of her."

"I told you to take care of her like this?" Lin Yue retorted.

When he left, he did tell Feng Cai to take good care of Mother Han, but he didn't tell him to take care of her *like this*!

Feng Cai knew he couldn't explain, so he shrank his neck and stopped talking.

"Alright, let's talk about something else first," Lin Yue sighed.

He was also very confused at the moment, completely unsure how to tell Han Tan about this. Should he say, 'Your brother found you a stepfather?'

The key was that he still didn't know the specific situation. Was it mutual affection, or one-sided? If it was Feng Cai's one-sided harassment, that would not be good.

"Here's the wine." The little girl happily brought over the wine and cups, still not understanding what had just happened.

Then the little girl brought over another stool and placed it behind Feng Cai, smiling, "Uncle Feng, I brought you a chair. Please sit down."

"No need, no need, Ling'er, go and rest," Feng Cai forced a smile and said to Hou Ling'er.

"Okay." Hou Ling'er nodded and skipped back to sit behind the counter.

Lin Yue saw Hou Ling'er and suddenly thought, why am I worrying so much? They have children, why should I bother? Wouldn't it be better to just ask Mother Han for her thoughts?

If Mother Han had this idea, Han Tan wouldn't say anything either!

Lin Yue acted on his thought and said to Hou Ling'er, "Ling'er, take me to find your mother."

Hou Ling'er had seen Lin Yue before, so she nodded and led the way.

"You all drink first; I'll be right back.

You too, sit here," Lin Yue said to Feng Cai.

Feng Cai could only give up. He also understood that Han Tan was very important to his Lord, and he had indeed been reckless.

He could only blame himself for being so old yet still infatuated. As soon as he saw Mother Han's back as she bent over to push the millstone, he wished he could rush over immediately!

To do those chores for her! To let Mother Han rest for a while.

Alas, he was still a bit too impulsive, Feng Cai sighed inwardly.

Lin Yue followed Hou Ling'er to the back hall and saw Mother Han sitting on a stool with a young man.

"Auntie." Lin Yue bowed, performing a junior's courtesy.

Mother Han saw Lin Yue and quickly pulled him up, saying, "Sir, please sit down quickly. I apologize for what you just witnessed. Oh, this is my second son, Hou He." Then she nudged Hou He's shoulder, signaling him to greet Lin Yue.

Everyone then exchanged greetings, and Mother Han pulled Lin Yue to sit on a stool.

It turned out that Han Tan's two older brothers were: the eldest, Hou Jiang, who was twenty-two this year and had recently married, currently serving as a squad leader in the village's Guard; and the second eldest was the somewhat shy Hou He in front of them, who was twenty this year. Because Mother Han's family was poor before, he had never been able to marry and thus helped Mother Han with the brewing work.

"Han Tan and I are like brothers. I am your nephew, Auntie. Calling me 'Sir' is too much," Lin Yue said.

"Oh, then this old woman will be presumptuous and call you 'great-nephew'," Mother Han said with a smile, very warmly. Then she asked, "Great-nephew, you're here about Old Feng and me, aren't you?"

"As expected, it couldn't escape Auntie's keen eye." Lin Yue gave an awkward laugh, somewhat surprised by Mother Han's directness.

"Alas, Old Feng has taken good care of me," Mother Han sighed. "It's been so many years since the children's father passed away, and Ling'er is grown. I've endured all these years and finally come out on top. Seeing how Old Feng takes care of me daily, I naturally developed some feelings."

"It's only human nature," Lin Yue consoled.

It wasn't easy for Mother Han, a widow with three children, to raise them to adulthood all these years.

But from her tone, it seemed Mother Han was the one who initiated it? Lin Yue thought.

"It's good that you understand. The children also understand me. At this moment, only Old Feng is still in the dark," Mother Han suddenly said with a smile.

Only Feng Cai doesn't know? Lin Yue looked at Hou He and Hou Ling'er, seeing them both nod, and thought to himself that he was truly worrying for nothing.

"That's good. Feng Cai has always been in the Military Camp and has never been involved in matters between men and women, so he might not be very sensitive to these things," Lin Yue said with a smile.

"Never been involved in matters between men and women?" Mother Han asked in surprise.

"Yes, didn't he tell you, Auntie? He's lived in the Military Camp for over twenty years and rarely interacts with women."

"He never mentioned these things. Old Feng is usually just helpful and very taciturn," Mother Han said with a smile, then asked incredulously, "Never married in his life?"

"No," Lin Yue shook his head.

"Oh my, then he must be very pent-up!" Mother Han exclaimed in surprise.

"Mom, what are you saying all the time!" Hou He immediately stood up anxiously after hearing this. "Just because he's never married in his life means he's pent-up?"

"He must be very fierce," Mother Han ignored everyone's reactions, instead stroking her hair and laughing to herself.

Hou He held his forehead, very helpless about Mother Han's astonishing words. Hou Ling'er, meanwhile, covered her face with both hands, too shy to be seen, and ran out directly, leaving only Lin Yue sitting there dumbfounded.

This Mother Han, she's truly a fierce one!