Gu Lingling had an expression that was resentful but incapable of helping, and said persuasively, "This money can't be given to the pavilion."
As soon as this was said, everyone no longer glanced at the kitchen waiting for the food, but turned their gaze to Gu Lingling, and the young boy sitting next to her raised his head and perked up his ears.
"Why?" Er Lan continued to ask.
"This money was risked with our lives. Initially, the pavilion only charged a fee for the first and second-order cases, but the reality was different, and if it weren't for good luck, several of us would have lost our lives here. Not only did we not seek compensation from the pavilion, but now, even the money we risked our lives to earn has to be handed over. Do you think that feels good in our hearts?"
As Gu Lingling spoke, she forcefully poked Er Lan's chest, and Er Lan did indeed feel uncomfortable in her heart.
"What do you mean?"
Er Lan's eyes wandered, subconsciously touching the silver notes she had placed in her purse.
"Equal, distribution."
The crowd fell silent again. Er Lan took out the silver notes from her purse. Although the face value of the notes was small, only five taels, there were ten of them, which added up to fifty taels.
And there were five of them in total, so each person would get ten taels. Although ten taels might not be much for the people from the other pavilions, for the Corpse-Eating Pavilion, it could be their earnings for several months.
"I agree."
Lu Nianwei lowered her head and slowly raised her hand.
The others glanced at each other and also raised their hands.
Gu Lingling smiled slightly, picked up the silver notes from the table, and handed out two to each person, and everyone instinctively put the silver notes in their bosoms.
"We should keep this matter to ourselves. After all, we're all in the same boat now, and there's no benefit to be gained by speaking about it."
No one said anything. At this moment, the boss brought out the hot dumplings and steamed buns, and the fragrant smell of the food attracted everyone. No one wanted to mention this matter again and began to eat ravenously.
Gu Lingling didn't eat first, she picked up a dumpling, blew on it to cool it down, and then brought it to the boy's mouth.
"Be good and eat."
The boy stared at Gu Lingling, who revealed a corner of a silver note on her chest, and didn't open his mouth.
Following the direction of the boy's eyes, Gu Lingling said with a smile, "Mom will save this money for you to marry a wife, okay?"
The boy had no expression, and turned his head directly, but Gu Lingling could see a hint of shyness from his facial expression.
"I say, Lingling, are you embarrassed to call yourself 'mom' at such a young age? You're not too old, so if others ask, you can't keep calling him 'son', right? It seems like you should keep him as your husband when he grows up. Instead of a child bride, you'd be a child groom. You can save money for getting married."
Er Lan swallowed a dumpling, but it was too hot and almost made her roll her eyes.
"Yeah, why didn't I think of that? You're quite smart."
Gu Lingling patted Er Lan's shoulder, but the force was a bit strong, and Er Lan almost dropped the dumpling in her hand.
It was just a joke that everyone made once, but the young boy on the side blushed faintly behind his ears.
Lu Nianwei and the others returned to the Forgetfulness Pavilion, while Gu Lingling had to buy some things and wandered around the city with the boy.
By this time, it was already broad daylight, and the streets were getting lively with various vendors selling their goods. This was very new to Gu Lingling who had never seen such a bustling scene before.
She walked from one stall to another with the boy, not coming away empty-handed though. In Gu Lingling's hands were a package of pastries and a few toys to entertain the child.
At a stall selling sugar sculptures, Gu Lingling also bought a sugar sculpture of Sun Wukong for the boy.
But the boy still had a cold face and completely ignored Gu Lingling. Feeling a bit disappointed, Gu Lingling squatted down, sighed, and said, "Compared to the afterlife, I prefer the present. It would be better if there was immediate retribution for those who mistreat or harm me. If someone is good and helps me, they should receive immediate rewards. I don't like to place my hopes on the elusive afterlife. When the time comes to cross the Bridge of Forgetfulness, drink a bowl of soup, I hope no one remembers the various things from this life. It's just a dream in the middle of the night. So when you grow up, be like Sun Wukong and protect your dear mother, alright."
Gu Lingling had average intelligence and had just passed the stage of opening her spirituality. She could barely make up for the three treasures, but it only made her constitution slightly stronger than ordinary people, and her lifespan a bit longer.
Far from cultivating inner energy to the extent of immortality.
The events of the previous night had deeply affected Gu Lingling, especially in this world of might-makes-right and fantastical novels, where she was just a temporary cannon fodder, and couldn't even solve the simplest case last night. Gu Lingling began to worry about her future destiny.
The boy furrowed his brows, Gu Lingling was not extremely beautiful, but definitely not ugly, she was a beauty among ordinary people, but in a sect with many beautiful women, Gu Lingling was at best pretty and delicate.
At the moment, Gu Lingling had a pair of watery eyes, rosy lips, and a slight touch of melancholy between her eyebrows, which evoked pity in people's hearts.
The boy closed and then opened his small fist, reached out and took the sugar sculpture from Gu Lingling’s hands, causing her to change from surprise to pleasant surprise, and she planted a kiss on the boy's face.
"You can't talk, and I don't know what to call you. Although calling you 'son' is quite nice, it seems wrong to call you that if someone else asks. It seems like I need to think of a good name for you."
The boy's face turned somewhat dark, regretting letting her take the sugar sculpture, as now she was pushing further and wanted to give him a name.
"I met you in the morning, and you're so cute, so you're likely not an ordinary child... Were there morning clouds in the sky at the time? Why don't you call yourself Morning Cloud? No, no, that's a bit girly. How about Great Treasure? It's easy to understand and expresses all of mother's love for you."
Gu Lingling is very satisfied with this name.
The little boy, or rather, Dagong should be called. When Dagong heard the name "Chaoyun," his long eyelashes moved slightly, but when he heard "Dagong," he pulled his hand away from Gu Lingling's.
Gu Lingling took the silver ticket and bought a few clothes for Dagong, all made of the best fabrics in the clothing store. Although Gu Lingling was stingy with herself, she was not at all stingy with Dagong.
The styles were all new, with colors mainly in light yellow, pink, blue, and green, which made Gu Lingling very happy.
"Dagong, let's try them on."
Gu Lingling's tone was enticing, and Dagong's tender lips twitched slightly as he turned and tried to walk outside the store.
"Oh, the little master is too shy."
The shopkeeper, who also loved children and couldn't help but joke around when he saw Dagong like this.
"Yeah, we're thin-skinned. He never lets me bathe."
Thinking back to the time when he wanted to bathe Dagong, Gu Lingling couldn't help but laugh. It was only then that Dagong's usually calm face showed a hint of color.
Gu Lingling couldn't understand why this little thing was resisting. He was only three or four years old, and yet so cold. As he grows up, it will become even more pronounced.