Grandma Mo

"Young lad, I hope you would sell me the wood for one silver coin."

This sentence struck Yang Lin like a pillar of thunder, even his grasp over his adoptive mother's shoulder tensed up, unintentionally hurting her in the process.

Although thin, Yang Lin's physique is fairly refined from his Timber Run regime, thus his strength is a notch higher than those of his age, not to mention that the blade of time had already corroded the body of his adoptive mother. Luckily, he snapped back to his senses before he could inflect some irreconcilable damage.

Looking around, he found a conspicuous old woman, she was clad in black, adorned robes. She also had a piece of white cloth wrapped over her head, revealing but a strand of gray hair descending her temples to grace her wrinkled forehead.

The old woman's voice was pleasing to the ear, like that one granny to tell her tales by the campfire at night. She was arguably short, her back already bent like a bow, yet she didn't rely on a cane to tread about.

Originally, there were many people shuttling about near the old woman, but after her sudden declaration, one can only see her and the reflection of her image on the muddy road. Then, she took gentle steps through the cold waters and snowy landscape, approaching the bewildered Yang Lin.

She repeated once more, "Young lad, let me buy the maple wood off your hand, haha..." As she spoke, she revealed a pair of refined eyes, her vision was locked directly onto Yang Lin's face as if peering through his thoughts.

Yang Lin began to sweat casually, his lips twitched, and his eyes slightly veered off from eye contact. Many thoughts began to blossom in his heart, none of which are comfortable. A faint gulping noise was heard as Yang Lin's Adam's apple spasmed about.

He said, "Grandma, that's too much..." Though he was tempted, he knew he couldn't accept that much money over a stack of wood worth 2 copper coins.

A single silver coin was equivalent to a thousand coppers, that price is something not the richest person in the Cloud Mist Village could even dream about. A hundred copper coins were enough for a family of three to spend their month, they could even live off two months if they spent it on rations.

Now, out of the blue, an old woman he has never met before in this village stepped forward, offering a silver coin over a dozen jins worth of wood.

'How could there be anything so good in this world?' Yang Lin thought to himself. At this moment, perhaps by accident, he noticed the silhouette of a petite-looking girl leaving a corner down the road.

Coincidentally, that girl also noticed Yang Lin and his adoptive mother. Her face morphed into that of shock, her round eyes spread wide, her tiny lips parted into an oval shape as she gasped out in shock, "Big brother Yang!"

The little girl who looked about fifteen years old waved her little hands frantically as she called out, she then ran over quickly. She didn't seem to notice the intense silence that blanketed the street, nor did she notice the old woman who was still looking at Yang Lin, smiling meaningfully.

Her twin ponytails swayed about in the cold breeze, she wore an oversized fur coat, a light scarf, and high boots. Though her clothing seemed plain, it was luxurious in comparison to Yang Lin's conditions. Before Yang Lin could properly react, the little girl was already clung to his left arm.

He didn't know why, but the outline of her crescent-shaped eyes, wide smile, and silver giggle washed his tensed-up mentality. This little girl was like a sister to him, mainly because her mother and his adoptive mother were very close, this girl seldom radiated negative emotions around him.

At this time, the old lady enunciated her offer for the third time. However, this once, she presented her jade-white palm with a silver coin situated atop her pale skin.

Yang Lin's mouth twitched, he really lacked the experience to handle such a transaction. He hesitated, and as he did so, the intermittent scenes of his adoptive mother spending one night at a time patching up his old boots, tattered robes, and struggling to maintain a lit fire in the shabby hut they call home... all these scenes flashed in succession, brewing desire and greed in his heart.

"Ah!" A sweet, innocent exclamation burst Yang Lin's eardrums. It was the little girl who arrived on a whim, she frantically tugged at Yang Lin's arm as her round eyes shined brilliantly.

Anyone could see the excitement clouding her flushed face as she said, "Yes! Grandma, Brother Yang will sell! He will sell!" The girl cried out in joy. She hurriedly reached out her hand and snatched the silver coin before presenting it to the crippled woman with a smile.

She said, "Auntie Yang, look! Brother Yang made a fortune!"

There was an indescribable sense of gratification in the young girl's eyes, for only she knew about her brother's struggles. She seldom left her home, but whenever she did, she would quietly follow after her Brother Yang.

Though she used to be a reserved little girl, she once witnessed an event that shocked her core, resulting in this bold, straightforward lass. Yang Lin still couldn't comprehend the shift in this girl's personality, as she had always given him the cold shoulder for the early years of their friendship.

Whenever they visited his aunt's house, this girl seemed annoyed by everything he did, everything he said, and even when he maintained his silence, it would somehow annoy her as well...

Yang Lin's adoptive mother hesitated and said, "Xuan'er... don't be so rash to accept. I'm sorry, Madam, but why are you doing this?"

After she tightly clenched her fists, refusing to open her palms and receive the coin, the crippled woman gave the old one a wary look.

If she was to claim she's the second person under the Cloud Mist Village's sky to have suffered the most from receiving blind kindness, no one would dare claim to be the first. She simply had to look at her adoptive son to understand the looming pain that shadowed her life.

Only now did the old lady avert her gaze from Yang Lin, she then faintly smiled at his adoptive mother and said, "I felt an affinity with this child of yours, so I decided to contribute to his growth."

Yang Lin tilted his head slightly, he couldn't understand the context of that woman's answer, nor did he think he had the qualifications to question her. After all, it was her money, and no one can stop her from spending it wherever she sees fit.

"Grandma... It's just that, a silver coin is too much, we can't afford to have such wealth..." Yang Lin sighed dejectedly, his expression grew a little gloomy as his eyes veered to the side.

Whether it was intentionally or unintentionally, the corner of his eye pointed at a colony of middle-aged men occupying a bleak corner. Of course, with her experience, the old woman could measure his worries.

She couldn't help but nod in approval inwardly, this is a kid who could discern the bigger picture and act accordingly, he is the type to survive.

"Grandma Mo, young lad. You can call me Grandma Mo."

She then took a step forward to retrieve the silver coin with a smile, causing Xuan'er who was by the side to whimper and land soft punches at Yang Lin's chest with an aggressive pout.

Yang Lin could only smile bitterly at this weird sister of his before turning to thank Grandma Mo, only to be stupefied by her next words.

Grandma Mo smiled at the young lad in front of her and said, "How about you sell them to me in exchange for a story? A story about a crippled woman and her child."