Over the next few days, Ye Chen helped the two elderly people repair their home.
The couple's courtyard wasn't very large. Apart from two thatched cottages, all it contained was a small plot of farmland. The two of them relied on that single plot to provide what little food they could.
Ye Chen carefully planned out the courtyard. He used mud and straw to replaster the inside and outside walls of both cottages, then coated their roofs with mud as well.
After that, he built a stove in each cottage for the couple. The temperature inside was much warmer than before.
But Ye Chen still wasn't satisfied. He extended the courtyard's fence a little, making the yard larger and, naturally, giving them more farmland.
It took several days to finish the work. At last, Ye Chen was somewhat satisfied. He hadn't left the couple anything valuable, but at least he'd made their remaining years a little more secure.
"Uncle, Auntie, I've nearly finished fixing up the courtyard and the house. It's time for me to go." One morning, Ye Chen packed his belongings. His bag was filled entirely with clothes the couple had given him.
Over the past few days, Ye Chen had also learned that the couple once had a son. But during the war, he'd been taken away by the army recruiters and had never returned.
They both knew their son had probably died in the fighting, but they couldn't afford to go to Chang'an and ask after him. So the two old people could only stay here, missing their son as they passed the rest of their lives.
Then Ye Chen had appeared, and they'd treated him just like their own son. But all good things had to come to an end, and the time had come