Chapter 98: Overnight in the Mountains

o Er's room and whispered to her son."Lao Er, these past two days I've been wanting to ask you something. You... are you thinking of remarrying That Gong girl..."Before I could finish, Li Lao Er's fac...People, regardless of where they came from, would sit down wherever they could find a spot.

Even chewing on dry rations was difficult, I was so exhausted. 。 Several old gentlemen like Zhao Shu felt uneasy in their hearts and stopped the women. 。They went out to gather firewood, built a simple stove, set up a small pot, and boiled millet porridge for the children. 。Jiayin really wanted to take out some eggs, but there were too many people around her, and she was afraid of being exposed. She was so conflicted. 。Fortunately, Old Mrs. Li understood her granddaughter's little gluttonous cat. 。She didn't know where she took out the salted egg, scooping out the yolk for her granddaughter to eat with congee. 。The remaining egg whites were given to the two little grandsons. 。Jia Xi, Jia An was overjoyed. He held up the eggshell and walked around everywhere, making way for everyone in the house. 。No one at home was willing to eat it, but I just tasted a little bit of the saltiness. 。After making the final round, the salted egg went back home to Xi Jia'an’s hands, almost nothing was missing. 。The two boys glared at each other, taking bites out of the high-gluten flatbread. 。As Zhang, the divine doctor was a guest, he naturally received a salted egg. 。He saw the Li family like this, and he liked them even more in his heart. 。So, using the excuse of it being too salty, he also gave the remaining salted eggs to Lao Si and Jia Yi. 。They worked the hardest all the way, they needed to eat something salty, otherwise it would be easy to get tired. 。After Li Lao Si finished his meal, he couldn't sit still and started wandering around. 。Luckily for him, he stumbled upon a whole litter of rabbits. 。Perhaps startled by the commotion, the mother rabbit and her four or five little bunnies hid behind a tree, too afraid to move. 。Li Lao Si wiped out his entire family, leaving them to meet their maker. 。Upon returning to the village, when people saw it, they were all overjoyed. 。Had meat for dinner tonight, though it's not easy to get a share of the meat, even a bit of broth with rice is good enough. 。With the enticement of dinner, people's speed increased in the afternoon as they climbed over the mountain successfully and onto the halfway point of the second mountain. 。Before nightfall, the crowd searched for a slightly flatter place 。Though there are many thorny vines, fortunately, there is a stream nearby that was carved out by a mountain spring. 。To prevent wild animals from coming to drink water, people could not set up their earthen stoves by the river. 。But even clearing out a few patches of turf wouldn't delay building a cooking stove and boiling water for meals. 。This time, it wasn't staying on both sides of the official road. Being in the dangerous mountains and forests, men, women, and children all became a little more cautious. 。The little boys were completely out of work. Even the jobs of collecting firewood in the forest were taken over by the men. 。It's by the little stream. We checked it out beforehand to make sure there weren't any water snakes or anything, so then we let them go play. 。The women were so busy they could hardly stand still. It was such a rare convenience to have water so readily available, they not only cooked but also boiled extra water to wash their children. 。The road is dusty, the autumn tiger is scorching, and the little ones at home are almost like mudskippers. 。Of course, Jia Yin is an exception. She has always been cleanliness-obsessed since she was little. If her diaper got wet, she would immediately demand a change, and she wouldn't eat anything unless she washed her hands first. 。So, throughout this journey, every night Tao Hongying would scrub her. 。Tao Hongying was going to take the women to cook. Today's job of bathing Jiayin was given to Li Laotai. 。 Uncle Zhao limped in to help carry the water basin, and Old Lady Li hurried to take it. 。"Zhao brother, you rest for a while, this kind of work is enough to call it family and righteousness." 。Uncle Zhao waved his hand, smiling bitterly and replying with a. 。The children were tired from climbing the mountain, but I, a useless person, 。Fortunately, I can still handle such a small matter. 。"

Lao Li heard this and felt something was off. She guessed the old man thought he was a burden to everyone, and she felt guilty in her heart. " 。She wanted to say a few words, but before she could open her mouth, Uncle Zhao had already gone out. 。She could only sigh, thinking that when she had free time she would ask the village chief to persuade him more. 。They are all old brothers who have known each other for many years, so their conversations must be more heartfelt. 。Jia Yin helped grandma take a bath diligently, not wanting to spill water on the ground because everyone in the family would be staying in this shed at night. 。She's also no help at all, it's best not to cause trouble. 。Zhao Yuru walked to the door and whispered, "Mother, the little ones are hungry." 。"You see..."

Lao Li thought for a moment, then said, "It's no different in the woods than outside. Let's dig out a bowl of our family's thin noodles and make some scallion egg drop soup. The children will be full after eating this, and they'll sleep well at night without making a fuss. Remember to bring an extra bowl for that divine doctor."

"Understood, Mother." 。Zhao Yu-ru quickly agreed and took some fine noodles to find Tao Hong-ying. 。Tao Hongying was also happy, washing and chopping the wild vegetables. She also tore and chopped some half-cooked rabbit meat from the pot next to it. 。Half a pot of hot water came to a boil. Noodles, vegetables, and rabbit meat were all thrown in to cook until they became viscous, bubbling merrily. Finally, some salt was added, followed by a few drops of sesame oil. 。The steaming, fragrant gnocchi soup is ready. 。When the women saw this, their faces turned red. 。After all, their family didn't take anything, but the child ate with Jia Yin. 。Tao Hongying greeted them, "Hurry up and take the bowls, let it cool down before giving it to the children" 。Don't be shy, when you're out and about, you shouldn't make the child suffer. 。Feed the child well and comfort them properly at night. Don't let them cry or make a fuss. This is the forest, and there shouldn't be too much commotion. 。Everyone quickly nodded and promptly divided the congee, then went back to care for their children. 。Soon, the adults could have dinner too. 。The entire rabbit family was chopped to pieces so finely that everyone would be guaranteed to taste the meat. 。Finally, several more bonfires were added around the campsite, increasing the number of guards on duty. 。Zhao Shu and the other two old gentlemen insisted on staying up all night, because they had sat in the sled during the day and were more relaxed than anyone else. 。Everyone knows that the old men feel guilty, so they didn't stop them 。That night, everyone slept restlessly, afraid that a wild beast might come and cause trouble. 。Fortunately, everything is fine. Dawn arrived quietly as promised. 。Last night, Jiayin also didn't sleep well. She was thinking about one thing: since the courtyard could raise chickens, ducks and geese, why couldn't people live there 。Without mules or donkeys at home, Zhao Shu and the three old men still had trouble hurrying down the mountain after their visit. 。If only we could send them into space, have someone take care of the poultry and land, so they wouldn't have to suffer such a long journey. 。It's a pity, whether it was because her mental strength wasn't enough or the timing wasn't right. 。Don't even talk about getting the old men in there, not even the homeowner herself could get in! She couldn't sleep well at night, so naturally she couldn't hold up during the day. 。After a simple breakfast, Jiayin fell asleep as soon as she sat in the basket. 。In their dreams, everyone climbed to the top of the mountain and then descended in one breath. 。When they again saw the road, which was not wide or smooth, everyone cheered with excitement. 。We're back! We're back!" "Let those scoundrels choke on their greed for silver, Humph! We climbed over mountains and came right back!" From young to old, everyone wore a proud expression, completely forgetting the despair and hopelessness they felt stuck outside the city gate. 。They were the first batch of refugees to cross over the mountains, so on the official road there were only carriages and mule carts. 。Hearing the noise, many people opened their windows to look over. 。> 。The village head still wanted to let everyone rest for a while, but there were faint movements from the mountain behind them. 。Needless to say, the rest of the refugees who followed them over the mountains also arrived. 。r, she didn't lower her head politely. Her eyes darted around, taking in every detail of the Li family's courtyard.Everyone frowned involuntarily, their expressions showing a touch of displeasure.Then...