Because Miao'er was young, Xu Zhi didn't mind. However, Ping Shi kept Miao'er in check, afraid that her daughter would be misunderstood if she was with a boy who was about ten years old. But Miao'er was just a child and couldn't understand her mother's worries. So, recently, after Miao'er met Xu Bai, they would chat enthusiastically for a few minutes.

Miao'er was intrigued by this and decided not to rush into the yard to find Xu Zhi. Instead, she stood in front of the door with Xu Bai and said, "Really? Oh, that's wonderful! Brother Xu, you don't know, we've almost run out of firewood. And with the weather not clearing up, my mother is very reluctant to use it anymore. This morning we ate cold pancakes, and even the hot water was boiled by my mother in a small clay stove and shared with us. By the way, does Aunt Zheng's family have enough firewood?"

Xu Bai thought of the firewood that Xu Zhi had stockpiled earlier, which he estimated would last for another ten days or so. He nodded and said, "My sister prepared quite a lot earlier, enough for us."

Miao'er breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good, that's good. I'll drink a lot of hot soup later. Oh dear, did I delay Brother Xu's business? I'll go find Aunt Zheng now. Brother Xu can go in and take care of things if he has anything to do."

Xu Bai watched as Miao'er entered the gate, but before she had even left, he saw Xi Jing'an walking towards him from afar.

Xi Jing'an rushed over and said happily, "Seventh Master, our eldest master is almost at the border of Miaozhou. The messenger who came ahead to deliver the message has arrived now."

Upon hearing this, Xu Bai exclaimed in surprise, "It's only been a few days! How come you're back already?"

Xi Jing'an said with a smile, "I heard that after traveling a section of land, they came directly by boat. Our master hired people from the Cao Gang to drive a fast boat here."

Upon hearing this, Xu Bai slapped his forehead and said, "Oh dear, how could I forget about that? Those boats from the Chaobang are incredibly fast. Let's hurry and go take a look."