An Dayong took An Ping over two mountains to fetch water from a mountain stream.
Because the water flow was so slow, filling four buckets of water each time took a long time. Furthermore, besides their own Elm Village, villagers from neighboring Willow Village who hadn't fled the famine also went there to fetch water, and the villagers of the two villages often fought over water, resulting in bloodshed.
An Dayong and An Ping relied on their strong bodies and some martial arts skills, so they never suffered any losses in this regard. However, fetching water every time was too time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the water they fetched was not enough for their family to drink. Except for a small vegetable patch in the yard, the family's land was almost barren.
Wan Xueying and her companions, traveling by horse and mule carriage to search for An Dayong and An Ping, couldn't take the narrow mountain path, so they had to circle the mountain. Fearing they might miss each other, Wan Xueying chatted with An Fan while using her mental power to survey the surroundings.
Besides checking to see if anyone was taking a shortcut, she also looked for water nearby. Whenever she saw a plant, especially one with no signs of withering or curling, she would linger a little longer.
When she saw a patch of lush weeds growing beneath a rock wall, she was delighted. But before she could verify further, An Fan followed Wan Xueying's raised carriage curtain and saw a father and son in the distance carrying buckets of water down the mountain, shouting, "Dad! Big brother! My sister and I are here to pick you up!"
"Why do I hear Xiaofan's voice?" An Dayong turned around and looked at An Ping behind him.
"Yes, Dad, I heard Xiaofan's voice too." Anping replied.
The father and son then looked up and saw horse-drawn carriages and mule-drawn carts circling the foot of the mountain.
"Dad! Brother! My sister and I are in the carriage!" An Fan's voice made the father and son sure that they had not heard wrong.
"Sister? What sister? Could it be that Xueying is back?" An Dayong was delighted.
"Dad, don't be too excited. We still don't know who it will be." An Ping had been approached by many people over the past two years, but given his family situation, he had always refused. He was afraid that someone was deliberately trying to get close to An Fan for his sake, which was why he said this; it had happened before.
As soon as he finished speaking, Wan Xueying stepped out of the carriage, stood on the shaft, waved her hands, and shouted at them, "Dad! Big Brother! I'm back! Xiaofan and I are here to pick you up!"
"Look, it's really Xueying. Xueying has grown into a big girl." If An Dayong hadn't been holding two buckets of life-saving water in his hands, he would have wanted to throw away the buckets and run down the mountain immediately.
"Dad, don't worry, you and big brother. I'll ask them to pick you up." This time, without waiting for Wan Xueying to speak, Qiu Shi had already parked the mule cart and quickly went up the mountain with Shen Yu to pick up the father and son.
The two sides exchanged pleasantries, and finally the four of them each carried a bucket of water down the mountain.
"When did you come back? Why didn't you wait for us at home?" An Dayong raised his hand and wanted to touch Wan Xueying's head like he did when she was a child. After noticing the difference in height, he realized that the girl was grown up and it was inappropriate to do this gesture.
Wan Xueying looked at his hand frozen in mid-air, then she squatted down and ran with An Fan in her arms, rubbing against his hand. "How's it going, Dad? Am I much taller than when I left?"
"Isn't she much taller?" An Dayong said with a smile, "She's even more beautiful. Dad almost didn't recognize her."
"Dad hasn't changed much. I recognized him right away. Big brother is much taller and more handsome now."
"Dad has aged so much, and he hasn't changed?" An Dayong was telling the truth. Even though he was only forty, he looked quite old. Su had been tormented by illness over the years, and she looked much older than Aunt Chen.
An Ping's lips curled up slightly at her praise. "It's true that I, your elder brother, am much taller than before, but I'm not as handsome as this little brother." He looked at Shen Yu and said, "Xueying, won't you introduce me and Dad to her?"
Although Shen Yu was wearing the same coarse cloth shorts as Wan Xueying, his natural temperament was so evident that it was hard not to attract attention.
"Him..." Just now at home, there were so many people around that Shen Yu didn't need to be introduced, but I didn't expect that here, I couldn't avoid it. But how should I introduce him?
Seeing her expression constantly changing, Shen Yu smiled and stepped forward to introduce himself: "Uncle An, Brother An, my name is Shen Yu, I am Xueying's ex-husband and her future husband."
"Wait, ex-husband is fine, but what do you mean my future husband? Aren't you being a bit too shameless?" Wan Xueying glared at him fiercely.
"Am I wrong?" Shen Yu looked at her with gentle eyes and a doting face. "Anyway, you are the only woman I have chosen in my life. You can't abandon me after having an affair with me."
"Oh, what you say is getting more and more outrageous." She said it like a nagging woman.
"Listen first, you two. What does 'Xueying's ex-husband' mean?" Anping interrupted their childish exchange, stopping his younger brother from shifting his head back and forth in Wan Xueying's arms, glancing at one person and then another. He didn't care about the rest of the conversation; he only cared about how his younger sister got married so early? And even divorced, apparently?
"That..." Wan Xueying chuckled, "That's a long story. I'll talk to you in detail when we get back."
"Okay, let's talk about this when we get back." An Ping didn't force Wan Xueying to explain immediately, but like An Dayong, he couldn't help but feel annoyed with Shen Yu. On the way back, even though Shen Yu tried to strike up a conversation with them while riding in the same mule cart, the father and son kept their faces cold and ignored him.
After finally settling down, Shen Yu and Wan Xueying were put on trial together. This was Shen Yu's best point; no matter what the time, he would never let Wan Xueying face matters concerning both of them alone.
"Which of you two can tell me what's going on? Why did Xueying suddenly return to Yushu Village?" An Dayong, the head of the family, asked on behalf of the family. He was worried that Wan Xueying returned home because she was divorced.
Wan Xueying stopped Shen Yu from speaking and spoke first: "Let me do it." After all, she knew the Wan family's affairs best.
She didn't deliberately say how bad the Wan family treated her. She just said that no matter how hard she tried to fit in, she always felt like an outsider in that family and she was not happy at all.
She also mentioned that in order to allow Wan Qingling to marry the prince, she and Shen Yu fulfilled the marriage contract between the two families, but due to an unexpected situation, they divorced in the street. Furthermore, the Wan family was not left out of the incident of Wan Huqing's property being raided and exterminated, so that the family members would have a clue.
In order to save Shen Yu's image in the hearts of the An family, she told them about the many times Shen Yu had helped her.
As for the follow-up, he only picked out the key points and roughly recounted what he could say, without concealing the fact that Shen Yu had once become an exile, but had now been pardoned by the emperor and had his official position reinstated.
He also explained the identities of Aunt Chen, Nanny Wu, the guards and the coachman, without intentionally leaving out Wan Huqing and Lin Yingnan, the master and servant.
"I used to write letters home every year and even saved some money to have Wan Huqing lead a caravan to bring them to you. But who would have thought that he would destroy all my letters and gamble away the money I sent home." Whenever Wan Xueying thought of this, her hatred for Wan Huqing would deepen.
If they could receive her money, wouldn't their family's life be much better? Would her mother's health have been better sooner? Would Xiaofan not be as thin as he is now? Would her eldest brother be able to start school sooner?
Wan Huqing is simply a black sheep. He not only harms the Wan family, but also the An family.
Although this sounds like an excuse for not contacting them for many years, it is the truth.
"Hey kid," Su said distressedly, "since you're not having a good time in that family, why don't you come back sooner? Didn't I tell you back then? If that family treats you badly, you don't have to endure it. Just come back when you need to." When she was young and healthy, she was a fierce person. Only in this way would others not dare to bully them just because they were small.
"I was young and broke at the time, and the journey was long, so whether I could return was uncertain. Even if I did return, I would only add to the burden on my family!"
Now that she's back, she feels much more confident, but Anping poured a bucket of cold water on her.
"Xueying, our family is so happy that you are back. But you also see the current situation at home. Not only can we not have enough food to eat, even drinking water has become a problem. You brought back so many people, accommodation is also a problem!" He just thought for a long time and had no idea how to entertain so many people.
"You kid," An Dayong glared at An Ping fiercely, "Xueying finally came home, why are you saying this as if you're chasing her away?"
"Dad, don't worry about my brother. I thought about this before I came here. If we can find a water source, we can buy or rent a few large houses in the village to live in first. While the prices are low due to the disaster, we can buy a larger house in the county town and move there as a family after the disaster is over. If we can't find a water source, we can only flee the famine."
It was impossible for her to stay in the village with so many people, nor could she just rely on these people to farm and help her get rich. Of course, she also had to do business, so her first choice was the county town.
"You're planning to buy a house in the county town?" An Ping was a little surprised. "And you want us all to go?"
"Yes, our family will all move to the county town from now on. Then Big Brother and Xiaofan can go to school there." Studying was Anping's biggest dream since childhood. Not only did he want to study, but Xiaofan wanted to study too. This was the rule Wan Xueying had set for them long ago.
"Study? But I'm already twenty years old this year." Anping's eyes became dim.
"What's wrong with twenty? As long as big brother is willing to study, it's never too late."
"Sister, I also want to study and become a high-ranking official in the future. Then no one will dare to bully you or our family." An Fan, who had been silent for a long time, interrupted.
"Xiao Fan is so good," Wan Xueying touched his head, "Even at such a young age, he knows how to be a supporter for his sister."
"That's right." An Fan looked proud.
"Let's put aside the idea of living in the county town for now. I want to know how we can find a new water source?" An Dayong asked.
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