The other party was polite and generous, and he didn't look like a bad person at all. However, Niu Dali hesitated for a while, and finally nodded and agreed as if he had finally made up his mind.
The village elder smiled quickly: "Guys, please come with us."
After just two turns along the path, we came to a village.
This is a very small village, with no more than a dozen households at most. The houses are low and mostly have wooden walls and thatched roofs. There is an open space in the center, where many villagers gather, either weaving nets or chatting.
There are tens of thousands of villages like this along the Longjiang River alone. If this person is really a wet nurse, it would be normal for her not to be found.
Moreover, the wet nurse's real name was not Guo Lanhua, but Guo Cuihua. On the way here, Zhang Zhiling told Zhang Yi that she was probably going by the pseudonym Guo Lanhua. Zhang Zhiling also came up with the speculation not long ago, just because Guo Cuihua liked orchids the most back then.
Although he learned from the village elder and Niu Dali that this person was probably not the person they were looking for, Zhang Yi still had some expectations. After all, it was not impossible for them to lie. With Zhang Zhiling's ability, he would not be able to catch the wind and catch the shadow.
"Aunt Guo, someone is looking for——"
The village elder shouted loudly.
Immediately, all the villagers turned their heads and looked over, and then Zhang Zhiling and the other two followed their gazes and looked at an old woman who was squatting with her back to them, weaving a fishing net.
The old woman slowly turned her head, revealing a face that was a little dark but did not look very old.
She wore a blue cloth bun on her head, and her exposed hair was as white as snow, but her eyes were not so cloudy.
Zhang Yi was stunned when he saw this face. It was unmistakable. Even after decades, he could recognize it at a glance. This was the wet nurse, Guo Cuihua.
Zhang Zhiling stood there blankly, as if it was equally hard to believe.
Even the camel lion showed an inexplicable look of surprise and surprise on his face.
At the same time, the old woman was so stunned that she even forgot to get up.
"Mother Hua?" Even though Zhang Yi is the Prime Minister of Qilin, she still trembles with excitement when she sees the wet nurse who has nursed her up.
The old woman looked at him blankly, "...Are you fat?"
The old woman actually recognized Zhang Yi. Although Zhang Yi had changed drastically, he still had a deep affection for her. When he called her "Mama Guo", the old woman immediately remembered him.
"Mother Hua, it's me, it's me, Yi'er. You are so good... you are so kind..."
Zhang Zhiling also sighed and took two steps forward: "Hua Niang, I haven't seen you for forty years..."
The old woman looked at him: "You, you are Mr. Zhang..."
Niu Dali and others were also shocked, not expecting that they actually knew each other.
Niu Dali hurriedly stepped forward to help the old woman: "Mom, do you know them?"
The old woman stood up tremblingly, "I have seen Mr. Zhang..."
Zhang Zhiling hurriedly stepped forward and gently supported the old woman: "Oh... Hua Niang, what are you talking about? You have made me miserable in the past forty years."
The old woman said calmly: "I don't dare to be a flower girl..."
Zhang Yi also stepped forward and supported the old woman's other arm at this time: "Mother Hua, why do you live here? I have been looking for you for more than thirty years."
At this moment, he also showed his true feelings.
The old woman sighed and patted the back of Zhang Yi's hand: "My child is already such a big person..."
…
Things soon became clear.
As expected, Guo Cuihua's pseudonym Guo Lanhua came to this village forty years ago, but she was not married. Niu Dali was just an orphan whom he adopted from his parents who were killed while fishing in the river.
Niu Dali also said this after following the old woman's instructions.
But for decades, I have witnessed my adoptive mother missing her relatives every day, especially at this age, and she is even more depressed. I have always wanted to help her find her family, but she has always been stopped by her adoptive mother. But today, I didn’t expect someone to come to her door. He had no intention of hiding it, and was even a little happy that his adoptive mother would still be able to see her relatives during her lifetime.
However, no one in the village expected that this diligent and simple old woman, who had been poor for most of her life, actually had such a wealthy relative.
Zhang Zhiling and his son did not disclose their identities. They only said that they were businessmen and gave the village one thousand taels of silver.
Then without any explanation, he picked up Guo Cuihua and left.
The simple people in the fishing village were also happy for Guo Lanhua's family to be reunited, not to mention that they also received a thousand taels of silver, which was enough for more than a dozen families in the village to live a good life.
As for his adopted son Niu Dali, Zhang Zhiling saw that he was a loyal, honest and filial son, so he took him on the road with him so that the old woman would not miss him in the future.
On the carriage, the old woman kept crying, and Zhang Yi kept whispering comfort.
"Hua Niang, tell me, why did you suddenly leave without saying goodbye... ugh..."
Zhang Zhiling, the Prime Minister of the Five Kingdoms, couldn't help sighing when he saw that the person in front of him was already in his twilight years.
Guo Cuihua wiped her tears and said: "Hua Niang is just from a poor family. How can she enjoy such wealth? She can't lose face to the prime minister..."
Zhang Zhiling shook his head: "You, you have been in the government for ten years, don't you know that I have long regarded you as one of my own, and the fat man also regards you as my biological mother, why bother?"
Guo Cuihua said: "Master Xiang, Cuihua is not worthy of..."
Zhang Yi said: "There is no way to say that I am not worthy. If my mother had not raised me, I, Zhang Yi, would not be here today. You can make the child miss me so much."
Zhang Zhiling said: "Yes, I am old too. The only thing that worries me is you. In the past forty years, I have been searching everywhere, but there is still no news. This time, you can't go anywhere. We are all like this We are getting older, and there are only a few good years left, so you can just make do with Zhang Zhiling and me."
There was a hint of embarrassment on Guo Cuihua's face: "Oh, Mr. Xiang, you are already this old, and you are still saying this, what do you want the children to think..."
Zhang Zhiling waved his hand: "They can't control it. Now that I, Mr. Zhang, have resigned and gone into seclusion, outsiders don't have to worry about what they think. I'm very happy that you haven't married after so many years. Haha..."
Guo Cuihua couldn't help but spit at him: "I'm not serious!"
Zhang Zhiling was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly: "This is the carefree and hot-tempered flower girl back then."
The three of them were talking nonchalantly, and Niu Dali next to them was already so shocked that he couldn't speak.
He had already understood that the people who came to look for his adoptive mother were actually two dignified prime ministers.
The 50-year-old Prime Minister of the Xia Kingdom was raised by his own adoptive mother.
The old man was also the prime minister. He seemed to have wanted to marry his adoptive mother many years ago. Unexpectedly, his adoptive mother was ashamed of her status and left quietly. From then on, she hid in Laosongshu Village, weaving nets and fishing, living a miserable life. Just forty years.
For a poor fisherman in his thirties who had never been able to marry his wife, this was something that was beyond his wildest dreams.
And no one except Tuo Shi knew that Zhang Zhiling also never dreamed that Guo Lanhua in this small fishing village was actually Guo Cuihua.
