Qin Xiaoniang finally breathed a sigh of relief, pulled Song He'er in front of her, and smoothed her hair. "That's good."

"Have some water and rest for a bit."

"Mother, I'm not thirsty."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man took the sacks and tents off the vehicle. "I've put the things here for you. Check them yourselves."

Zhang Xiue stepped forward, looked at the two thick tents, and then opened the sack to check the rice before nodding with relief. "Thank you."

"No need." The man's voice remained indifferent as he spoke, and then he turned and left.

Zhang Xiu'e put all the rice and the tent onto the cart. Suddenly, she had more things to carry, and the cart became heavier. Normally, two people could pull the cart, but now it would take three.

Su Yu's wife was timid and frail, and she was always sick along the way. So all the physical labor fell on Zhang Xiu'e and Li Qiang's wife. If Huan Ge'er was obedient, Qin Xiao Niang could also do some of the work.

"Fifth Sister, can we exchange our thirty eggs for this much stuff?" Li Qiang's wife suddenly asked.

"Perhaps she took pity on me, since I'm still a young child, so she gave it to me out of pity!" Song He'er casually picked up an excuse to brush it off.

Upon hearing this, Nianjie immediately ran forward and said with a smile, "Since they pity the children, then let me do these things from now on. I'm even younger than Sister He'er, so wouldn't I be able to get more things in return?"

Zhang Xiu'e grabbed her and pulled her over, saying, "What nonsense are you spouting, little girl? You may be young, but you can't out-argue your fifth sister. Stop bragging..."

Nianjie pouted, somewhat indignantly, "Mother, I'll be a year older this year, and I'll grow up someday."

"Okay, then let's talk about it when you're older!"

The group smiled and continued on their way.

Before we knew it, it was getting dark again. We were getting closer and closer to the desert, and the sandstorm was getting stronger, howling so loudly that it was impossible to open our eyes.

Li Qiang's wife parked the car next to a tree stump and tied it with a rope to prevent it from falling down the slope.

"Don't go any further. It looks like it's going to rain. We need to find a sheltered place quickly."

Qin Xiaoniang looked around and saw that there were no obstacles nearby, only a pile of rocks sitting not far away.

Song He'er pointed ahead and said, "Why don't we set up two tents next to that rock, against the wind, so we can have something to lean against?"

Zhang Xiue thought this method was feasible, so she nodded and walked to the front of the carriage to take out the curtain.

"Mrs. Tian, ​​come and help me."

"Okay, coming!"

Zhang Xiue tied the two tents together, put dry straw inside, and spread the leftover fabric from making clothes inside as sheets, making it a little more comfortable to lie on.

As autumn approached, the nights inevitably grew chilly. Chun Di set up a pot outside the tent, cooking white rice porridge inside. The steaming porridge blew into the tent, bringing a touch of warmth.

Song He'er ladled out a bowl and walked to Huan Ge'er's side, saying to Qin Xiaoniang, "Mother, you go and eat, I'll feed Huan Ge'er."

Qin Xiaoniang hesitated for a moment, glancing down at Huan Ge'er who was playing, then at Song He'er, "Huan Ge'er, you should drink my milk..."

Song He'er knew that she was just loving her son, but no matter how much she loved him, her milk would eventually run out. Besides, the food on the road was not nutritious, and her milk production was decreasing. If she kept feeding the child, it would only make the mother weaker.

“Mother, Huan’er has four teeth now. It’s fine for him to eat a little. Don’t always let him drink milk. It’s too much for your body.”

Zhang Xiu'e, who was standing nearby, heard the conversation, put down her spoon, took an egg from the pot and came in. "Eat this egg. It's fine for the child to drink some rice porridge. Children in the countryside grow up drinking this too."

Qin Xiaoniang sighed, "Alas, it's all because of the children."

Zhang Xiu'e placed the egg into Qin Xiaoniang's hand, saying, "Now that we've come this far, let's not think about anything else. Let's focus on moving forward steadily. As long as we're of one mind, we'll definitely reach Xinzhou safely."

Qin Xiaoniang didn't say anything, but peeled off the eggshell and ate the egg little by little.

After Song He'er fed Huan Ge'er, she began to coax him to sleep.

Su Yu's wife and Li Qiang's wife rested with their child in another tent, while Chun Di and her sister, Zhang Xiu'e, and Qin Xiaoniang and her daughter slept in another slightly larger tent.

As night fell, a torrential downpour began, causing the tent to sway violently.

Qin Xiaoniang woke up with a start, lifted the curtain and looked outside. She saw that the rain was about to flood the bed curtains and into the room...

"Madam Tian, ​​wake up! Look at this strong wind outside, it'll blow our tent away in a minute!"

Zhang Xiue rubbed her eyes, got up and peeked outside, complaining, "What kind of weather is this? It was so dry up ahead, not a drop of rain, and now here it's howling winds. It's like the seasons are indistinguishable!"

"We're so far from the capital, the weather can be unpredictable. We need to go out and reinforce the tent to prevent drafts in the middle of the night!"

"good!"

Chun Di was also awakened by the sound of rain. She put on her clothes and prepared to go out to help.

Zhang Xiue picked up a few tree branches from a distance and used them to secure the ropes under the tent more firmly. She then stuck the branches into the soil and tapped them dozens of times with a stone.

Seeing that the curtains had stopped swaying, Zhang Xiue finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as she was about to go into her tent to sleep, Qin Xiaoniang suddenly remembered something. "Oh no! Oh no! We still have grain on our cart. Could it have been soaked by the rain?"

"There's an old leather cover on top, so it should be fine, right?"

"No, I have to go check it out!"

As she spoke, Qin Xiaoniang ran towards the cart.

The hens and geese on the truck had already been moved into their tent by Li Qiang's wife. All that was left outside were cucumbers, sweet potatoes, and some white rice.

Qin Xiaoniang lifted the leather cover and saw that the burlap sack containing rice was not wet, but the wooden planks pulling the cart were all soaked with moisture. If the rice was also damp, it would inevitably get infested with insects.

"Madam Tian, ​​hurry up and call someone to move these things! They'll get moldy if they get damp!"

Zhang Xiue ran up from behind, bringing Li Qiang's wife and Chun Di with her.

"Quick! First, move the white rice into the tent, then get the sweet potatoes and cucumbers."

The group worked quickly, making two trips back and forth and carrying all the items into the tent.

Song He'er held Huan Ge'er against the innermost side of the room, while Zhang Xiu'e and the others could only sleep sitting up. The tent itself wasn't very spacious, and with the rain and the grain being moved in, the space was definitely cramped.