Steward Zhao had come to Tai'an with the Marquis's mansion but had never been to Ganzhou before. He used to be the steward of the Marquis's estate and was a shrewd man. This time, when Xu Di took his younger brothers to Tai'an, the Marquis specially chose Steward Zhao to accompany him in case something happened and there was no one available.

Manager Zhao smiled and said, "Young Master, we were able to travel smoothly thanks to your guidance along the way."

Xu Di smiled and said, "Manager Zhao, I've traveled this road many times. I know exactly where the cities and towns are, where the water sources are, and where we can set up camp on all the mountains along the way."

Manager Zhao quickly told people to go ahead and find a place. Xu Di looked around and then at the bright sun in the sky. Fortunately, the weather had been sunny for the past few days, so it hadn't delayed their journey. If it had rained, the road would have been muddy and would have inevitably delayed their trip.

After lunch, Xu Ru, along with Li Yuexi and several maids and servants, walked upstream along the stream and surprisingly brought back some wild vegetables.

Xu Ru said to Xu Di, "I didn't expect there to be so many wild vegetables at this time of year. We can pick them and add them to the porridge when we cook."

Xu Di looked at them and saw that they were all bitter herbs and dandelions. Xu Di smiled and said, "Aunt, you recognize these wild vegetables?"

Xu Ru laughed and said, "How would I know? The old women I brought with me picked them. I only saw farmers growing crops when I was a child. After I married into the family, I wasn't the head wife of the household, so I never had to take care of the family's property. How would I know which wild vegetables are edible and which are not?"

Xu Di said, "This one is bitter lettuce, and this one is dandelion. Both can be used as medicinal herbs."

Xu Ru said with a smile, "I remember that my third sister-in-law planted a lot of medicinal herbs in your courtyard. At that time, my eldest sister laughed at my third sister-in-law, saying that she treated the Marquis's mansion like a farm. Some of the medicinal herbs could be picked, simply processed, and then used to make tea or soup."

Xu Di said, "My mother just likes to tinker with those things."

Xu Ru said, "Third sister-in-law is not good at managing household affairs. When she first married into our Marquis's mansion, she mostly followed behind eldest sister-in-law. Later, she set up a small kitchen in the courtyard and spent all day in the kitchen making various medicinal dishes. When she finished making them, she would invite us over to eat. Thinking about it, it's been many years. You weren't even born then."

Xu Di smiled and nodded. Just then, Steward Zhao came to find Xu Di, and Xu Di apologized to Xu Ru and went over.

Manager Zhao said, "Young Master, it's getting late. Shouldn't we set off now?"

Xu Di checked the time and called everyone to set off. It wasn't until evening that they arrived at the inn in the next town.

People had already been sent over to make arrangements. When they arrived, hot water had been boiled and hot meals had been prepared. After everyone washed up and ate, they began to rest.

Xu Di pondered the road ahead, calculating when he would reach Ganzhou. Xu Zhi's wedding was on February 12th, and the journey would take nearly twenty days. He had already traveled for about ten days, and there were still about ten days left. The road conditions to Ganzhou had improved considerably, and Xu Di wanted to increase his travel speed to reach Ganzhou as soon as possible.

After the meal, Xu Di came to Xu Ru's room and said to her, "Aunt, starting tomorrow, I want to leave earlier in the morning, have a simple lunch, and then hurry on my way to Ganzhou as soon as possible."

Xu Ru said, "That's no problem. We'll be taking the car anyway, so we don't have to walk. You can arrange the daily schedule, and I'll listen to you."

Xu Di said, "It's just that Auntie has had a hard time."

Xu Ru smiled and said, "This is nothing. It's you who has been worrying about so much along the way. You're the one who has had a hard time."

When Xu Di returned to his room, Li Yuexi had already made the bed with the bedding she had brought herself. Xu Di was someone who could endure any hardship, but when he had the means, he was very particular about what he had.

When Li Yuexi saw Xu Di return, she said, "You rest for a bit, I'll go get you some water to wash your feet."

Xu Di took off his shoes and socks, put on the cotton slippers he had made himself, and said, "Just have the maid go to the kitchen to get some hot water."

Li Yuexi said, "Okay, I see there's a bathtub behind the screen. Would you like to take a bath to relax?"

Xu Di said, "Let's wait until we get to Ganzhou. We've been eating and sleeping in the open all this way. If we catch a cold while taking a bath, it will be troublesome. You should also tell our servants that the journey has been arduous, and that we can take a good bath and rest when we get to Ganzhou."

Li Yuexi said, "Please sit down first, I'll go and talk to them."

In these times of scarcity of medical resources, if you catch a cold from taking a bath, it will take time to seek medical help, which is troublesome. It's okay to be a little dirty, but fortunately the weather is cold now, so there's not much of a smell when you're dirty.

After quickly washing his hands and face and soaking his feet in hot water, Xu Di lay down on the bed.

After Li Yuexi finished packing, it was already past midnight. Lying on the bed, she sighed softly and said, "Husband, we are about to arrive in Ganzhou."

Xu Di said, "Yes, we'll be in Ganzhou in a few days. Once we get there, I'll accompany you to Hexi to visit your parents."

Li Yuexi gently moved closer to Xu Di, rested her head on his shoulder, and said, "Thank you, husband. I really do miss them."

Xu Di said, "There's nothing we can do about it. It's too far away, and it takes so long to get there."

Li Yuexi said, "Mother said that things will be better when Father retires. When they return to their hometown in Jiangnan, we can take a boat to visit them. The boat is fast; it only takes four or five days to get from the capital to home."

Xu Di now misses the transportation facilities of modern society terribly. Whether it flies in the sky, runs on the ground, or swims in the water, every ride is incredibly fast. Thinking about the high-speed transportation environment he once enjoyed, and then looking at the era where you can go out in a horse-drawn carriage, Xu Di feels that for society to develop into such a developed era, it will take many generations of tireless efforts.