Thinking of this, Gu Qingshan's face hardened, but fearing his daughter would see it, he quickly put on a smiling face.
“Ah Zhi, we’ve met a remarkable female healer this time. You must drink your medicine obediently. After you drink the medicine, you can go to Jiangnan with your father. It’s so beautiful there, Ah Zhi will definitely love it.” The man with a scar on his face spoke softly to his daughter, making people unconsciously ignore the horrifying scar.
A faint smile appeared on A-Zhi's pale face. She couldn't die; otherwise, her father would be all alone, and he would be lonely.
Inside the carriage, Liu and the children were catching up on sleep, while only Qin San Niang and Wu Chunhua were talking softly.
"Sister-in-law, your skills are truly amazing!" Wu Chunhua is indeed a skillful hand, and she has already started making trousers for Qin Sanniang.
When Wu Chunhua heard from A-Nan that her mother only had one pair of pants left, she thought she should quickly make her a change of clothes. This was easy to make, and she could finish it in an afternoon.
Hearing Qin San Niang's praise, Wu Chunhua just smiled and continued working without looking up. Perhaps she had been praised so much that she had gotten used to it and was no longer as shy as before. "What's so special about this? You are the real expert, San Niang. You know medicine and you can do business. This is just something an ordinary person can do."
In her heart, she thought Qin San Niang was extremely capable.
"Hey, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, sister-in-law, you can't underestimate yourself." She glanced back, seeing Gu Qingshan steadily following behind; he was quite skilled. After thinking for a moment, she decided to let Fatty go a little slower.
Wu Chunhua smiled. She thought that Third Aunt was just stubborn but soft-hearted. She didn't think there was anything wrong with Third Aunt not letting the girl into the carriage. With so many children in her family, what would happen if the illness passed?! If it were for her own children, she would make the same decision.
Qin San Niang did have this in mind. On the other hand, even if she invited A-Zhi to recuperate in the carriage, her suspicious father probably wouldn't agree. Besides, Gu Qingshan was pushing the carriage smoothly, and there was no difference between A-Zhi being on it and inside the carriage.
At dinner time, the group found a suitable place to rest. Following Liu's instructions, they each went about their own business.
Taking advantage of a break, Qin San Niang quickly went over to check on A Zhi, the little girl. The child's temperature had returned to normal. Gu Qingshan excitedly said that she hadn't had a fever all afternoon, but she was still feeling drowsy.
"This is normal; you used up too much energy earlier. You should eat something easily digestible tonight." She prescribed some herbal medicine and taught Gu Qingshan how to cook it. As for porridge, she figured he probably didn't have any, so she told him to go over and get two bowls from their place later. Since bowls and chopsticks were limited, he would have to bring his own. She had already asked Sister Chunhua to cook a little extra.
Before leaving, Gu Qingshan handed her a bag of dried meat as a thank you. He didn't have anything else, so this was a way to give the kids a change of pace.
Qin San Niang didn't refuse, otherwise she would be too saintly, and she didn't want the other party to feel too indebted. If possible, a cash transaction would be best, but that was definitely impossible now. Buying some dried meat would also be fine, as meat was indeed precious these days, although she didn't lack it.
Fatty happily handed the dried meat to her mother, saying that her aunt had told her to chop it up and put it in her porridge.
Wu Chunhua sighed. This chubby girl was getting more and more unruly. "Chubby girl, go and gather some grass for Big Gray, and while you're at it, see if there are any wild vegetables. Your mother will make you some pickled vegetables."
"Okay, Mother." Fatty wouldn't disobey her mother, but she wouldn't forget to cut grass for Big Gray. Her mother was really overdoing it.
Wild vegetables were becoming increasingly scarce along the way, but they hadn't reached the point of eating grass and tree roots yet. They had come across Luzhou City, and they believed there were many more refugees lagging behind, so they were leaving some food for those who came later.
Qin San Niang only picked the tender and larger wild vegetables, leaving the rest for others.
Two days later, when Wu Chunhua and Liu had finished making a winter quilt, Azhi was already able to walk, though she was still a little out of breath.
She begged her father to carry her over to thank Qin Sanniang's family.
Qin San Niang had a good impression of the well-mannered child and told her to rest well and not to rush things, as she would need to recuperate for a while to fully recover.
Gu Qingshan carefully inquired about the precautions and then took the medicine back to brew it. After spending several days with Qin Sanniang and the others, he had developed some trust in them. Four days later, he placed Azhi at Qin Sanniang's resting place, saying that he was going to try his luck on a distant mountain.
Liu was very worried. Ah Zhi was still so young; what would happen if she lost her father...?
"Father Azhi, we're not familiar with this mountain, so please don't take any risks. Just wander around the outer perimeter." Liu couldn't say much to stop them, after all, their own food supply was limited, and they couldn't support two people for nothing. Besides, this Father Azhi seemed to be a sensible person.
"I know, Auntie. Please keep an eye on Azhi."
After speaking, Gu Qingshan strode off quickly, carrying his bow and arrows, his speed startling everyone present. Qin Sanniang, in particular, was quite astonished. Was this what they called kung fu?! If Gu Qingshan had protected them on the road, wouldn't their safety as orphans and widows have been greatly improved?
Let's wait and see...
As soon as the sun set, Azhi became a little worried about her father and kept looking towards the mountainside while playing with Anan.
What a sensible young lady!
Qin San Niang saw the qualities of a virtuous woman in A Zhi. Compared to A Zhi, her own daughter, A Nan, was also quite good, but she still seemed a bit too naive.
Finally, a smile appeared on Azhi's face. Just as she was about to rush out to greet her father, she suddenly remembered that her mother had said she shouldn't run around, as it would hinder her recovery, so she stopped and waited in place.
Her father had already seen his daughter and, fearing she would run over, rushed to her side in an instant.
Seeing that his daughter was alright, Gu Qingshan breathed a sigh of relief.
It wasn't that he didn't trust the Liu family; leaving Azhi here already showed his attitude. But as a father, he was still emotionally worried, which was understandable, since they were just strangers he'd known for only a few days, even though they had saved his daughter. If they weren't truly out of food, and Gu Qingshan couldn't bring himself to come and freeload every day, he would have had no choice but to go into the mountains to check on them.
This trip was very fruitful. As Da Wa put it, it was like pheasants and rabbits were running into him!
Gu Qingshan was practically a wild man, with three pheasants hanging in front of him and five rabbits hanging behind him!
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