Tao Hongying was busy for a while, then turned around and saw that her daughter had fallen asleep.

She habitually touched her daughter's forehead and frowned, as if it was slightly warm.

Seeing that her daughter's face was also pale, she became even more frightened.

"Mother, Fu Niu fell asleep as soon as she came back from the river, but she doesn't look well..."

Tao Hongying carried Jiayin to Old Lady Li.

Grandma Li immediately took it, whispered a few words to tease her, and then pinched her granddaughter's cheeks, but there was still no reaction, so she started to panic.

"Second brother, go borrow a donkey cart. Fu Niu seems to have a fever. Hurry up and take her to the county to see a doctor!"

Grandma Li grabbed a small blanket and wrapped her granddaughter up in it, then called out to Li Lao Er, who had just returned from outside.

Upon hearing that Fu Niu'er might be sick, the Li family panicked, dropped what they were doing, and all wanted to follow her.

In the end, it was Li Lao Er who drove the donkey cart, taking Li Lao Tai, Li Lao Si, and Tao Hongying to the county.

Too many people made the donkey cart slow, and the rest of the passengers could only watch them leave from the doorway with red eyes.

Wu Cuihua was drooling as she held the jar of pickled eggs when she saw this and secretly muttered to herself.

"Is it really necessary? She's just a little girl..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuru glared at her, a rare occurrence, and snatched the jar away…

The donkey cart's bumpy ride was like a cradle, and Jiayin slept even more soundly, never waking up once.

This made Grandma Li and her husband, Li Laosi, even more worried.

Upon arriving in the county, the family went straight to Baicaotang, a renowned traditional Chinese medicine clinic.

The elderly doctor with a white beard took the patient very seriously, even though the patient was a child.

After taking his pulse and examining him further, he was left speechless, both amused and exasperated.

"There's nothing wrong with the child, he's just too young. It's good for him to sleep more while he's growing. However, he may have caught a cold and has a slight fever."

She touched the child's palm again and gave him some instructions.

"Go back and wipe her body with warm water. Don't let her cry and cause trouble. She'll be fine in a few days."

Upon hearing this, the Li family finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After thanking the doctor and paying the ten-coin consultation fee, the family left the pharmacy.

Seeing that it was still early and it was a rare opportunity to go into town, Old Lady Li said...

"Fourth brother, I'll sit here and rest with Fu Niu for a while. You, the second brother, and Hong Ying go to the market and buy whatever you need for the house."

Li Laosi glanced at the small basket of apples and chestnuts on the donkey cart and a thought struck him.

This was what Zhao Yuru packed for them as they hurriedly left.

Fearing something might happen to Fu Niu'er, we gave her to a doctor so that he could do his best to help.

"Mother, do you remember Liu, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) from the镖队 (escort team) before? I'd like to go see him and bring him these apples and chestnuts, is that alright?"

Li Laosi sought his mother's opinion.

Old Mrs. Li thought of how Liu the镖头 (bodyguard) had taken care of her family on the way, so there was no reason for her to disagree.

“Go ahead, but these mountain goods are probably a bit light. Go buy some other things to make up for it, it won’t be too meager.”

After finishing speaking, Old Lady Li took out the largest silver ingot from her bosom and stuffed it into her son's hand, adding, "..."

"Then go find Chief Escort Liu and have your second brother watch the donkey cart. Hongying and I will take Fu Niu'er for a stroll, and we'll meet up here in half an hour."

"I understand, Mother."

Old Li habitually touched his daughter's face before asking around until he finally found the escort agency.

"Oh, Qiusheng, what brings you here? Come in and have a seat!"

Liu, the镖头 (bodyguard), was very happy to see Li Laosi and refused to put away his small basket.

"What are you going to do with these things? You have a whole family to support!"

Li Laosi picked up an apple, held it in his hand, and laughed.

“Brother Liu, I won’t bring anything else to embarrass you, but this is a fruit I got in the mountains a few days ago. It’s a rare and good fruit, so I’m bringing it to you so you can enjoy it fresh.”

Liu, the head镖师, also liked the bright red fruit.

“Indeed, this fruit doesn’t look like the kind that grows in the mountains. It looks delicious. My son has been a bit feverish lately and has mouth ulcers. Well then, I won’t be polite and will take it home to sweeten his mouth.”

He happily accepted this and pulled Li Laosi down to sit.

Li Laosi gave his home address.

“We are very grateful to Brother Liu for his help before, which allowed our family to arrive safely in Junyang County. Now we have bought a house and land in Qingshui Village and plan to settle down here. Brother Liu, please come visit us whenever you have free time.”

"Of course, I'll definitely visit another day and keep in touch."

The two were chatting and laughing happily when Liu, the镖头 (bodyguard), suddenly thought of something and said...

"By the way, brothers, you're from out of town, so you probably didn't bring all the tools you need for daily life. We're close to the capital, and the local government is very strict; you have to report even if you buy a kitchen knife."

He pointed in the direction of Kyoto, with a hint of disdain.

"Fortunately, our department works on the edge of a knife, so getting some ironware isn't difficult. I bought two extra sickles, a wood-chopping axe, and an iron pot the other day. If you don't mind, you can take them back and use them later."

Li Laosi was overjoyed to hear this. He only had an iron pot at home, which he had brought from the northern frontier. His kitchen knife was also dull, not to mention the other axes and sickles.

I had wanted to buy it before, but I heard it would be troublesome, so I gave up. I never expected that Liu Biao would solve it for me on the first try.

"That's great, Brother Liu, you're a lifesaver. We've been needing these things at home, so I won't stand on ceremony. Come over for a drink another day, my wife is a great cook, let's have a couple more drinks."

"Good, that's how it should be done. I was worried you wouldn't want it and would keep making excuses and nagging. That's what a real man does!"

Liu, the镖头 (bodyguard), laughed heartily, realizing he and Li Laosi were truly compatible.

After saying a few more words, Li Laosi, thinking of his mother, wife, and children, shouldered his iron pot, picked up his axe and sickle, and took his leave.

Of course, he insisted on giving five taels of silver. That was all he had in his pocket; it wasn't enough, and he would have to make up the difference next time.

Liu, the镖头 (bodyguard), readily accepted the gift and made another appointment to go hunting and drink together when they had free time before the two parted ways.

On the other side, Grandma Li was holding her granddaughter, while Tao Hongying was carrying a basket and had also done a lot of shopping.

The whole family has just settled in, and they really lack everything.

We need to add some new cotton to the old jackets and trousers to keep them warmer. Jiaren and the others have grown taller, so we need to make new undergarments and cotton shoes.

And then there's Jiayin, the Sun family only provided summer clothes and thin blankets, not even thick coats and blankets for winter...

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law tried their best to save money and cut back on expenses, but in the end they still spent more than three taels of silver to fill two baskets.

When Li Laosi returned home beaming with joy, the whole family was overjoyed to see the axe, sickle, and large iron pot.

This was exactly what the family needed most, and they originally wanted to ask the village chief for help, but Liu Biaotou solved it so easily.

The family of several people boarded the donkey cart and headed home in high spirits.

Jiayin finally woke up, and Tao Hongying quickly hugged her daughter and fed her until she was full.

Grandma Li immediately took it, kissed her granddaughter, and teased her a couple of times.

Seeing that her granddaughter's face was flushed and her big eyes were darting around, she realized that she didn't look sick at all, and she was finally relieved.

As the evening glow faded, the donkey cart chugged along, and finally, the entrance to Qingshui Village came into view in the distance.

"What happened? There seem to be quite a few people at the village entrance?"

Li Laosi had good eyesight, so he stretched his neck to look ahead.

As they drew closer, they could indeed faintly hear a noisy commotion.