In the middle of summer, the wet and warm monsoon from the south coast blowing through the Windsor Plains with the ocean current will always bring hot heat and abundant rain, a large number of crops under the influence of rain and heat at the same time to show a thriving and gratifying scene, occasionally the unstable monsoon caused by drought and flood disasters can not hide the external image of the south coast region is rich.

When Joanna walked out of the farmer's market with a tired face, she looked up at the gray sky, and couldn't help but feel a burst of stuffiness and depression, took out the handkerchief in her arms and wiped her sweaty cheeks, and then hurriedly urged the temporarily hired workers by the grain truck behind her: "I bother you to hurry up, take advantage of the rainstorm to transport to the place, and your benefits will be indispensable at that time!" ”

Sitting on the grain truck slowly driving on the neat streets, you can see passers-by in a hurry everywhere on the roadside, many shops are closed, the bustling and lively on weekdays are deserted a lot because of the impending rainstorm, the business is booming in places such as wine shops and restaurants, and a large number of noisy customers gather inside and outside the house, of course, the rain shelter factor occupies a large part.

Order two plates of side dishes and a pot of hot wine, and you can sit until the rain stops for a small fee, so you can rest and relax and shelter from the rain with peace of mind.

Joanna is a local businessman, so she doesn't have to stay in the rain like an out-of-town businessman, and the farmer's market is only three blocks from the shop where she lives, but it takes about two hours to get around, which shows the size of the town.

In the eyes of the world, the size of the town is often the measure of local prosperity, and the reason is inevitably biased, after all, real prosperity also needs to take into account many factors such as population, economy and culture, but it is undeniable that Fei'an Town is indeed a prosperous town in the south coast region.

The town of Faan, located on the plains of Windsor, was one of the important granaries of the Kingdom of Angrien, which ruled most of the south coast, and a large number of merchants came and went every year to trade. Especially during the autumn harvest season, when the queues for business travelers into the city stretch for miles, and the whole town is crowded with people, and the traffic jams are difficult to move around, this fiery scene will continue until the beginning of winter.

Although the town of Fei'an has been expanded repeatedly, it is a pity that it cannot withstand the frenzy of merchants from all over the world.

Pass through Vanilla Square. Joanna looked with some fascination at the magnificent bell tower that stood in the distance, and her eyes could clearly see the pointing of the hour and minute hands on the clock dial, four o'clock and three quarters, close to evening, and some distance away from darkness. She has been living in Fei'an for nearly two years, and has long been accustomed to the local customs, except for the necessary shopping, she rarely leaves the new town where she lives, and most of the time she is busy with her own small business. It is often said that time changes everything, but once upon a time, the pain hidden in my heart has always lingered.

Born in the port city of Galves on the south coast, she was the third in a wealthy merchant family, with two older brothers, and her well-to-do living conditions and good education since she was a child, which made her a well-read and gentle character, and her good looks made her chase many excellent men in adulthood, and finally married a handsome young man at the age of seventeen.

Her husband was a cheerful, humorous and adventurous man, and since his mother died young, he roamed the sea with his father, the second mate of a seagoing ship. As his father was too old to resign from his second officer's job due to illness, he began to shoulder the burden of the family. With the help of his father's connections over the years, he exhausted his savings and reaped the first pot of gold in his life by secretly smuggling expensive spices, and he quickly grew his career in maritime trade, and by the time Joanna married him, he was already one of the top ten shippers in Gelves.

Her marriage is undoubtedly happy in the eyes of many people, and in fact it is. Although her husband spends half of the year adrift on the sea and busy with business, he always keeps tenderness by his side every time he comes back. He likes to give her cute gifts that are only available in different countries and regions, he likes to happily tell interesting stories along the way, he likes to deliberately tease himself to be funny, and he likes to leave a well-written love letter to himself when he leaves......

At the age of twenty. Joanna and he gave birth to the crystallization of the two, a beautiful daughter.

He danced excitedly and gave her Nina's name.

In his absence, she took care of the children at home with peace of mind, and on the day he returned, the family of three was happily reunited and frolicking.

She will never forget this happy time and the bits and pieces she spent with her husband.

She was twenty-six and Nina was six.

An accidental shipwreck, he left their mother and daughter forever.

Grief-stricken, she was overwhelmed by the news of her husband's death, and unscrupulous people who coveted her husband's vast fortune followed, including her father and brother.

The hypocritical and snobbish face, the ugliness of greed and viciousness are like a ukiyo-e in front of her fragile and desperate.

Saddened, she chose to leave this sad place, vowing never to set foot in Galvez again in her life.

With what little of her husband's estate was left after the realization, she took her daughter all the way north, and finally chose to settle in the town of Fei'an.

"Mom! You're back! ”

As soon as the grain truck drove into the rye street of the new town, a childish and excited voice came from afar, Joanna immediately woke up from her state of trance, and her bright face full of charm looked up and down with a little nervousness, and for a moment, she saw a little girl on the side of the road who was constantly waving to her.

"Nina!"

Joanna hurriedly jumped out of the slow-moving grain cart, held the hem of her skirt in both hands, and ran towards the little girl with hurried steps.

"Mom! You're back so late! Uncle Ugly and I have been waiting at home for a long, long time......"

The little girl was suddenly held in Joanna's arms, and she pouted, and her cute little pink face was full of unhappiness and complained.

"Brother Alain, I'm bothering you again."

Joanna whispered to comfort Nina in her arms, and then looked up at the man standing not far behind Nina with an apologetic face.

The man was dressed in a brown linen coat, with layers of conspicuous white gauze wrapped all over his body, even the whole face, revealing only his mouth and nostrils and a pair of dark and deep gray eyes.

He shook his head and said nothing, as if to say it didn't matter.

"That's right, Rango. The grain truck has been transported back, I will go to settle the goods first, and Nina will ask you to take care of it for the time being. ”

Joanna seemed to suddenly remember what was going on, and said with a shy blush on her face.

The man still didn't say anything, but walked straight up to the little girl, reached out and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Don't, don't! I'm going back with my mom! ”

Nina listened. The head with two pigtails was buried in Joanna's chest, and she said willfully.

"Okay, okay...... But little Nina has to stay next to Uncle Lan obediently and is not allowed to be naughty! ”

Thinking that the shop was only one alley away from the place where she lived, Joanna, who loved her daughter, had to surrender and agree.

"I knew my mom was the best."

Nina grinned and kissed Joanna on the cheek.

"This kid—"

Joanna shook her head helplessly, perhaps because of her husband's death, she was always obedient to Nina, and sometimes she worried about whether she would spoil her children too much.

"Ugly uncle! Protect me and my mom! Let's go! ”

Nina took the hand of the ugly uncle beside her with one hand, and pointed to the front of the street with the other hand, and commanded with a foolish look.

……

……

After unloading the last packet of grain and settling the cost of clean employment, I had just returned home when the gloomy sky began to rain heavily. The whole town seemed to be shrouded in a vague rain and fog, the roaring thunder caused a slight tremor in the buildings, and the lightning that pierced the night sky flew like a silver snake, intertwining with the stirring melody of the summer night.

Nina snuggled into Joanna's arms and shivered like a frightened white rabbit at the table lit by candlelight, and she refused to even take a bite of food every time it thundered, just waiting to climb into bed and wrap herself tightly in the quilt.

"Ugly uncle! Would you like to sleep in the same room with us tonight? ”

Suddenly. Nina looked at the man across the table and plucked up her courage.

"Nina!"

Joanna, who was sipping on the delicious fish soup, coughed violently, raised her hand and knocked Nina's head in a scolding voice. Then with a blushing face, she hurriedly said to the man: "Brother Aren! Forgive the little ones for being ignorant. ”

The man just nodded, chewed the last bite of bread, picked up the plate and got up and left the table.

When his figure left the restaurant, Nina's little face suddenly drooped and said aggrievedly: "Mom is a big villain, why did you hit Nina in the head?" Am I saying something wrong? ”

"I'm sorry Nina, there are some things you can't just say. You'll understand when you grow up. Joanna hugged Nina and sighed, unwilling to explain.

Nina nodded as if she didn't understand, "Is it only Dad who can sleep in the same room with us?" ”

“…… Little Nina is so smart. ”

Joanna is both relieved and saddened by her daughter's intelligence, because she remembers her husband.

As for Arango in her mouth, Nina's ugly uncle is a suspected pirate survivor rescued by her husband when he returned from a trip to sea three years ago, and the other party was covered in festering and horrific burns. The hideous and ugly appearance is really scary, but I didn't expect him to have a breath left and not die, and his vitality is not tenacious.

Eventually, her husband, who believed in the good teachings of the Shining Templar, managed to save his life, but when he woke up, he was as mute as a walking corpse, silent all day, and the Templar priest and apothecary in charge of the treatment diagnosed that his vocal cords might be severely damaged, so he was unable to speak.

His husband took him in out of pity, and arranged for him to work as a porter, and soon after, he died unexpectedly in a shipwreck, and most of the servants in the family were gone, and when she chose to leave Galves, he was the only one who was willing to follow her, the nominal mistress, with him.

The name Alain was given to him by her, and the other party did not say anything, it seemed that he acquiesced, but Nina always used to call him Uncle Ugly, because she had seen his ugly appearance with burns, and she was quite frightened by this, perhaps because the impression was too deep and the title was difficult to change.

Joanna claimed that Alain was his elder brother, and that when he was a child, he was burned all over his body and his vocal cords were damaged due to a house fire, and he couldn't speak, after all, a young widow who lives with her daughter will always encounter a lot of trouble, and if there is a man in the family, you can try to avoid some rumors.

Alain is ugly and silent, and he is no different from the puppeteer's puppet on weekdays, but in fact he is a very stable and trustworthy person, in those saddest and bleakest days, Joanna sees that everyone thinks that they have ulterior motives and malicious intentions, even Alain, at that time she even thought that Alain was willing to follow her because she coveted her beauty and possessions, and only after she deliberately tried the other party several times that she was like a wood and did not react, she really believed that Alain was different from others.

He's a good guy.

A really good person who knows how to repay his kindness. (To be continued.) )