Chapter 411: Stone's Background

Xie Wei was busy all day. After receiving the exact information from Mrs. Liu yesterday, she got up early in the morning and hurried to the beggar's den in the east of the city.
几番打听之后，她找到了三叔公。
三叔公从小养大石头的，对这个孩子，他很关心。一开始，他并不愿意告诉谢薇关于石头的身世。
Xie Wei had no choice but to reveal Stone's identity. After hearing this, San Shu Gong was silent for a while before smiling slowly.
He said, "Since he was young, I felt that this child was clever and different from others. I never expected him to have such a pitiful background."
They are all poor people like beggars.
He always thought that Stone was just an ordinary child from a common family, probably abandoned because his parents couldn't support him anymore.
However, he is indeed different from others. Just from his appearance, he is much more attractive than ordinary children, with a clever aura that sets him apart from others.
Therefore, when Uncle San saw him for the first time, he liked him very much and brought him along with him.
He told Xie Wei that he probably met him when he was about four or five years old. When he met him, he was already a little beggar, begging for food on the streets.
He also asked other beggars about him, and they all said that the origins of this child were unknown. At first, he was wearing a coarse blue cloth outfit, looking like a child from an ordinary family. Later, that outfit became dirty beyond recognition.
San Shugong still keeps the clothes till today. He took the clothes out from a crack in the old temple and showed them to Xie Wei. However, they have become colorless due to their long history.
He then took out a piece of white jade from his pocket.
He handed this piece of white jade to Xie Wei and whispered, "This is the only item that was on the kid's body, sewn inside this clothing. I happened to discover it unintentionally. I guess it must have been left by his parents. I didn't dare to tell anyone, not even him himself."
Xie Wei was holding this piece of white jade, feeling excited.
It is a piece of creamy white jade, carved with the shape of a deer, looking crystal clear and feeling smooth and delicate when touched.
This jade alone is worth at least a thousand taels!
However, Uncle San has never exchanged it for silver, but has always kept it by his side. From this point alone, Xie Wei greatly admires him.
She respectfully bowed to him and said, "On behalf of my uncle and aunt, I would like to thank you, sir, for raising my brother."
Third Uncle waved his hand and didn't mind, saying, "Never mind, it's fate that brought us together. It's a blessing for that stinky kid to have family looking for him. By the way, do you know why he's called 'Stone'?"
"Why?"
"That smelly kid, he's got a tough life. We beggars, always being despised on the streets. We often get beaten, cursed at, and sometimes even chased by crazy dogs. When Stone was young, he once offended a rich man's son, and that guy set his dog on him. He was chased by that dog and ended up jumping into the river. We all thought he was about to drown, but he managed to swim to the other side and survived. Do you think he's lucky or not?"
"So, from then on, everyone called him Stone."
"As he talked about some old stories about Stone, San Shu Gong couldn't help but have a faint smile on his face."
"Xie Wei listened quietly."
Fingers stroking this piece of white jade, she suddenly discovered that there was a carved character on the jade. She took it to the sunlight and carefully identified it as the character "Yao".
Xu Yao, that's the name of her eldest uncle.
So, it means that Shi Tou is her older cousin's child!
Xie Wei was extremely excited about this surprising discovery, but her uncle also told her something else.
Later, when Shi Tou was about seven years old, a peasant from Heishan Town came to the capital and happened to see Shi Tou, who was begging on the street. The peasant said that this child looked somewhat like the couple's son from their town.
The speaker had no intention, but the listener had.
Third Uncle remembered this matter in his heart.
He casually inquired and the person said, the elderly couple originally had no children. After finally having a child, they raised them for a few years and then lost them.
They said that the old couple had been searching for their child for the past two years, and their eyes were about to cry their sight away.
Later, since they couldn't find their child, they moved away, and their whereabouts are still unknown.
Hearing that they were missing, Uncle San also stopped worrying and didn't ask more questions.
He said to Xie Wei, "If you want to confirm it, you can go to Heishan Town yourself to inquire. It's only about forty to fifty miles away from the capital. If you ride a fast horse, you can go there and back in one day. I am old and can't walk."
Xie Wei had noticed that Uncle San's legs were not convenient, but she didn't say anything. After thanking him, she turned and left.
Looking at the piece of creamy white jade in her hand, she hesitated for a moment and decided to go to Heishan Town to inquire.
If we can find that elderly couple, the mystery of the stone's origin will be completely solved.
With that in mind, she immediately mounted her horse and headed towards Black Mountain Town.
After about an hour or so, she arrived at Black Mountain Town.
Uncle San only mentioned that the person he encountered lived near West Street in Heishan Town, but he was not sure of the exact location.
Xie Wei had to go from house to house to ask.
This inquiry took up a lot of time.
好在功夫不负有心人，最终她还是问到了那对老夫妻的家的位置。
谢薇连忙赶过去，那是一间很普通的平房，因为时间久远，房子失修，显得破败不堪。
Pushing the door open, the yard was overgrown with weeds, indicating it hadn't been inhabited for a long time.
Xie Wei entered the house, which was covered in thick dust and cobwebs.
However, she could see some of the original furniture in the house, such as a small stool and table for children, as well as a rocking horse.
This way, it can be said that a child did live in this room before.
She observed for a while and knew that the owner of this room was not present. She didn't plan to stay long and was about to leave when the courtyard door was pushed open by someone.
Someone who saw Xie Wei coming out of the house was shocked and asked, "Who are you?"
Xie Wei saw that he was an old man with gray hair and a beard. She bowed and apologized, "I'm sorry, sir, I was just passing by, came to take a look. I disturbed you."
The old man looked cautious, walking with a trembling gait. Upon hearing what Xie Wei said, he didn't say anything else.
Xie Wei saw him skillfully enter, pulling a cart behind him.
There is a thin wooden coffin above.
The old man pulls the cart into the yard and turns around to say to the coffin, "Honey, we're home."
Xie Wei looks over in surprise at the words.
So, this old man is the owner of this room?