After walking for half a day, the weather started to get hot again.
Even though it's early autumn, the air is already filled with the smell of burning.
It was unbearably hot, so Zhen Wanwan opened the car window and took off the clothes from the two children, changing them into red bibs.
Her arms, shaped like lotus roots, looked very auspicious, and Zhen Wanwan leaned forward and took a bite.
The little girl pouted and looked at her mother with a wronged expression, but when she saw her mother smiling so broadly that her eyes disappeared, she stopped being angry.
As long as Mom is happy.
Looking at the two chubby babies in front of her, Zhen Wanwan felt more and more accomplished.
This is the empire she built!
When it was born, it was only the size of a palm, but in just over a month, it has grown to seven or eight pounds.
The twins had already been herded into the carriage driven by Zhen Fugui by Old Lady Li.
She was holding a bamboo fan and fanning her baby, Guabao and Tianbao, up and down.
Sweetie fell asleep after eating and drinking her fill, but Goody was unusually energetic today and showed no signs of sleepiness.
Zhen Wanwan was so hot that she grabbed a board to fan herself, and her desire to make ice cubes grew stronger.
Under the blazing sun, sitting in the carriage felt like sitting in an oven.
You can imagine how hot it must be for people rushing to catch a train outside!
Thinking of this, Zhen Wanwan couldn't sit still any longer and immediately lifted the carriage curtain and climbed out.
At this time, Zhen Fuyou and Qu Huaiyuan were already wearing hats to shield themselves from the sun.
Her second brother was simply wearing a short jacket.
In contrast, Qu Huaiyuan remained dressed as a scholar, only taking off his outer robe and holding it in his hand.
Zhen Wanwan looked at him with a puzzled expression: "Brother Qu, aren't you hot wearing so many layers?"
Upon hearing this, Qu Huaiyuan remained silent for only two seconds before honestly replying, "It's very hot!"
Zhenfu laughed from the side, "I told you to take off a few more layers and you said it was uncivilized, but now you know it's hot."
Qu Huaiyuan glanced at Zhen Wanwan and awkwardly rubbed the clothes in his hands.
"Second Brother! What are you saying!"
Zhen Wanwan glared at her second brother, then turned to Qu Huaiyuan and said.
"Brother Qu is a scholar who values etiquette. How can he be like you, swaggering around in a short jacket?"
Zhen Fu glanced sideways at Qu Huaiyuan beside her.
He said sourly, "Being good-looking means attracting girls, and my little sister's heart is already wandering off~"
Zhen Wanwan lightly punched him, clearly annoyed.
Thinking of his ice-making plan, he asked, "Second brother, do you know where I can buy saltpeter?"
"What do you need this for? What's so interesting about a pile of rotten rocks..."
Zhen Wanwan was overjoyed and hurriedly begged him, "Good second brother, please help me find it, and I'll make you something nice later!"
"I guarantee you'll be absolutely satisfied!"
Zhenfu thought his younger sister was reminded of the pigsty in Lijia Village and wanted to use the stone to evoke memories of her hometown.
He nodded in agreement.
With her second brother's help, she felt much lighter.
But still a little worried, she reminded him, "The sooner the better! Don't forget."
"knew."
Only then did Zhen Wanwan feel relieved enough to retreat back into the carriage and play with the child.
The group walked for another hour before finally seeing a village.
So he thought he'd get off the bus and get some water.
After sitting in the carriage for so long, everyone felt exhausted, so the elderly and children got out to stretch their limbs.
Zhen Wanwan spotted a farmhouse at the entrance of the village.
Isn't that saltpeter?
The old man had used the saltpeter to build a wall to block the wind.
Although it was only a dozen yuan, it made Zhen Wanwan very happy.
She carried the child and walked over, looking kindly at the elderly people busy with farm work.
"How are you, grandpa?"
The old man was initially wary, but he lowered his guard when he saw the baby in her arms.
"Okay! What do you need?"
Zhen Wanwan smiled and pointed to a few pieces of saltpeter in the corner.
"Are you selling these saltpeter stones? I'd like to buy them all."
The old man followed her hand and saw a pile of broken stones, looking at her with a puzzled expression.
"These are just a few worthless stones. Take them if you want!" the old man said generously.
Zhen Wanwan smiled even more happily, but she didn't want to take advantage of the old woman.
"How about I give you two catties of grain in exchange?"
As she spoke, she handed the old man a small bag of pre-packaged grain.
Now, apart from not having much silver, she has the most grain, so exchanging it for saltpeter wouldn't be a bad deal.
When the old man saw that she really wanted to use grain to buy stones, he was delighted and welcomed her in.
"Please come in and sit down for a while."
He happily carried the grain into the house, and soon an old woman came in carrying a water jug.
"Young lady, have some water. Wait a moment, I'll have my husband pack it up for you."
The old woman walked briskly, her physical condition was much better than that of the old man, and she looked several years younger.
She was happily pouring tea and water for Zhen Wanwan, and also welcoming Qu Huaiyuan, who had come looking for her, in.
"Come, come, young man, your wife and kids are sitting in my house!"
The old woman greeted Qu Huaiyuan warmly and pulled him to sit down next to Zhen Wanwan.
He was caught off guard and made eye contact with Zhen Wanwan, his ears turning bright red with embarrassment.
"I...this isn't..."
"Don't be shy, have some water, old man, hurry up!"
The old woman, disgusted by the man's slovenly manner, hurriedly returned to her house.
Qu Huaiyuan was left behind with a flushed face.
He awkwardly pointed to the old woman who had long since disappeared.
"Madam Zhen, she's misunderstood, I..."
Seeing his helpless expression, Zhen Wanwan couldn't help but laugh.
I never expected Qu Huaiyuan to be so innocent.
She patted Qu Huaiyuan's shoulder reassuringly and said, "I understand! I understand!"
Feeling the warmth of the other person's palm, Qu Huaiyuan unconsciously clenched his fist.
At this moment, the elderly couple inside the house came out with a burlap sack.
"Girls, please sit and wait a little longer, I'll pack it for you right away!"
Qu Huaiyuan stood up, walked over, and took their sacks, saying...
"I'll do it! What do we need to install?"
"Fill all of these milky white stones in."
The three men were collecting saltpeter in the corner of the wall, even stuffing the smallest bits of gravel into sacks.
The old woman became more and more satisfied with Qu Huaiyuan as she looked at him, and she praised him with a smile.
"You're a lucky girl, you have such good taste!"
Zhen Wanwan replied with a smile, "I should thank you for being willing to sell these stones to me!"
She clearly misunderstood the old woman's meaning, thinking she meant that she had sharp eyes and could spot the saltpeter at a glance.
"Hey, there are plenty of these big rocks in the countryside. If you want more, I can find you some more."
As she spoke, she turned to walk outside.
The old woman's dream of exchanging stones for grain had finally come true, and she certainly didn't want to miss out on getting as much as possible.
Seeing the large bag of saltpeter, Zhen Wanwan hurriedly grabbed her.
"No need! This is enough!"
Upon hearing this, the elderly couple opposite them both sighed regretfully.
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