The woman also learned from Edward Clark that the couple had been killed by the Yuan army. Fearing he would be upset, she changed the subject and said, “Little Brother Bolton, what would you like to eat?”

“Anything is fine.”

The woman nodded and soon returned, bringing William Bolton a bowl of polished rice porridge, feeding it to him.

With food in his stomach, William Bolton felt a bit more energetic.

At that moment, the door opened and in walked a burly man. His bright red battle robe was clean and neat, meticulous in every detail, with iron armor over it. He had a square face and straight nose, with spirited eyes—a truly heroic man, a fine fellow. No wonder someone would choose him as a son-in-law. As for the so-called terrifyingly large chin, that simply didn’t exist.

John Washington entered, and seeing that William Bolton was awake, he asked directly, “I haven’t asked where your hometown is, or how you ended up in the Haozhou area. Can you tell me?”

William Bolton answered honestly, “My ancestral home is Jinan Prefecture. My family name is Zhang. I have a great-uncle, known as Master Yun Zhuang, named Henry Bolton.”

John Washington couldn’t help but be surprised. “I think I’ve heard of him. So you come from a scholarly family, an official’s household? How did you end up like this?”

“To answer your question, benefactor… Ever since my great-uncle died of exhaustion while providing disaster relief in Shaanxi, my father decided to shut himself away and study, passing down the family tradition of farming and reading, and never serving as an official for the Yuan court again. But with the recent outbreak of war, my father wanted to avoid the chaos and seek refuge with relatives and friends. Unfortunately, we met with disaster on the road, and he was killed by the Yuan Tatars. If not for your rescue, benefactor, I too would have become a corpse by the roadside.”

John Washington sighed, “So you’re a pitiful soul as well… What are your plans? Do you still want to seek out relatives or friends?”

William Bolton shook his head, replying in a dejected tone, “Now that war is everywhere, with flames and smoke all around, even if I wanted to, I’m afraid it’s impossible.”

John Washington thought for a moment, then comforted him, “You don’t need to worry. Since we’ve taken you in, just stay here and recover. Once you’re well, we’ll talk again.”

He had other matters to attend to, so after a few words of comfort, he got up and went to the commander’s mansion.

After John Washington left, the woman suddenly noticed that Edward Clark, who had been sleeping, was now awake. The little fellow was lying at the bedside, tilting his head and staring at William Bolton, not saying a word, just grinning widely.

She was very fond of this little boy and couldn’t help but praise, “Little Brother Bolton, that day when John and I went to pay respects to our ancestors, we happened to meet him. He ran up to us and kowtowed. We wanted to take him back to the city, but he refused no matter what, kneeling and begging us, insisting on finding you. Fortunately, heaven blessed us and let us meet. This child is loyal and affectionate!”

William Bolton now understood what had happened, and couldn’t help but feel a surge of warmth in his heart. This little fellow had saved his life! And he believed that Edward Clark had no ulterior motives; the boy was simply acting out of pure concern for him. Not brothers by blood, but closer than brothers. William Bolton suddenly felt his heart grow much warmer.

He patted Edward Clark’s head, thinking to himself that this couple was almost certainly John Washington and Martha Adams. Since they liked the boy too, why not strike while the iron was hot and solidify the relationship, securing a stable future for the little fellow.

William Bolton said earnestly, “Madam, I met Edward Clark by chance, and he saved my life. I also hope he can have a safe place to go… But I am young and in poor health, unable even to care for myself. I… I would like to ask you, madam, to take him in. This child is still young and lost his parents early. You are compassionate—please give him a home!”

The woman was slightly taken aback; she was indeed moved. Though Edward Clark was young, he knew how to be grateful and repay kindness—a truly good child.

But taking in a godson was something her husband had to decide; she couldn’t make the decision herself.

So the woman said, “Little Brother Bolton, no matter what, we won’t abandon you. Just focus on getting better, and I’ll talk to John about it later.”

The woman mentioned her husband as John again. William Bolton suppressed his excitement and asked, “I still don’t know benefactor’s honorable surname!”

“Honorable surname? His surname is Zhu, mine is Ma. We’re both beasts of burden in this household, nothing honorable about it!” Ma said casually, then laughed herself.

There were other matters outside, so Ma left as well.

Now it was certain—these really were the couple!

In a decade or so, they would become the most distinguished people in the world… Edward Clark had really struck it rich!

William Bolton turned to look at Edward Clark, only to find the little fellow was actually angry. He rolled his eyes, puffed out his cheeks, and demanded indignantly, “You want to sell me, don’t you?”

William Bolton was stunned. What kind of thinking was this?

I’m finding you a godfather, helping you climb the social ladder—how can you not see my good intentions!

“Sell me if you want. My sister was sold by my mother for ten jin of polished rice… You… you should ask for a few more jin of grain!” The little fellow lowered his head and muttered.

William Bolton was taken aback again. Was a human life really worth so little?

He reached out and hugged Edward Clark, and the little fellow obediently snuggled into his arms, quietly listening to William Bolton speak.

“Silly boy, I’m not selling you. I just can’t take care of you. I can’t even take care of myself, let alone you. We have to rely on our benefactors to survive, do you understand?”

“I understand.” Edward Clark thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “Then… then let’s both sell ourselves to our benefactors, okay? I… I don’t want to be separated from you.”

William Bolton gave a wry smile, “How old are you?”

“I… I’m eight.”