"Are the soldiers here?" Song He'er asked.
Zhang Xiue shook her head and replied in a reassuring tone, "It's alright, he's still far from us. I guess he won't go this way again; he'll turn back after dropping us off here, so there's no need to worry."
Song He'er breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, there were no oil-paper umbrellas today, so even if the soldiers discovered them, they wouldn't notice anything.
Wang San and his companions seemed to have endured a great deal of hardship outside. The once energetic man had become emaciated, proving that the snow-capped mountain was indeed not a place for ordinary people to cross.
If it weren't for Jiang Huaifu escorting them all the way, probably half of them would have perished on the way.
"Third Aunt, he doesn't seem to have seen us and is walking ahead..." Song He'er said.
"I have to go call him, his son is still here with us!" Zhang Xiue said as she walked towards Wang San and the others.
Zhang Xiue walked quickly, and in just a few steps, she caught up with Wang San and the others.
"Hey you in front, wait a minute!"
Wang San paused for a moment, then turned around. Seeing that it was Zhang Xiu'e, he immediately smiled. "So it's you! Are you all safe? Have you all arrived here? Are the children alright?"
Zhang Xiue was almost overwhelmed by the barrage of questions. "Okay, everything's fine, we're all alright, but you... what have you been through? You look like you've lost weight."
Wang San sighed, "Alas, when we crossed the snow mountain, we lost our only food. We barely made it back alive, but then a bear was relentlessly chasing us. The others were too exhausted; some froze to death, some starved to death, and at least ten were killed by the bear. So, only the four of us are left."
Zhang Xiue's eyes widened in disbelief. Had she been bitten to death by a bear?
She remembered that they didn't see many bears when they were fleeing. Could it be because they were on horseback that the beasts couldn't catch up with them?
"You've really suffered. We encountered some setbacks along the way, but we met some helpful people, which is why we were able to arrive safely. The children are all safe and sound, especially your son, who is now very strong and eats a lot. I'll take you there to see him now."
"Good!" Wang San was very excited. He hadn't seen his son for a long time, and after going through so many hardships, he was naturally happy to find that his child was safe.
Wang San followed Zhang Xiu'e back to where everyone was resting. Qin Xiaoniang was mending clothes for the children with needle and thread. When she saw Wang San, she was really startled.
"You...when did you get back? What happened to you?"
Wang San's eyes were filled with gratitude for everyone, and he even stammered for a moment.
"Thank you for taking care of my child for so long. But I have nothing to repay you with right now. How about... in the future, you can give me any heavy work you need and I'll do it for you!"
Qin Xiaoniang turned to look at Zhang Xiue, and seeing the sympathetic look on her face, she knew that Wang San must have encountered trouble on the road, which was why he looked so haggard...
"It's alright, He'er, go and call the little boy out, tell him his father is back!" Qin Xiaoniang turned to Song He'er and said.
"good!"
Although Wang San's child was not very old, he should be sensible enough. He knew whether the people who took care of him along the way were good or bad, so he did not cause any trouble for people during this time. On the contrary, he was more obedient and sensible than Huan Ge'er, who was younger, and was pitiful.
In no time, Song He'er came out of the tent with the neatly dressed little boy.
At first, the child didn't recognize Wang San. After a long pause, his eyes reddened and he burst into tears.
"Father!"
Wang San was heartbroken and quickly picked up the child.
"Father is here. Father is sorry for you. From now on, we will never be apart."
This scene was heartbreaking for everyone. Chun Di and Chun Rao, who usually took care of the child the most, were also saddened to see the child crying so desperately.
"Uncle Wang, don't be so sad. When you arrived in Xinzhou, did you have a place to stay? Did the soldiers provide you with anything to barely survive?"
Wang San shook his head. "None of us have a proper escort officer with us. Logically speaking, this is against the rules. It's fine if the officers and soldiers don't care, but how dare we ask for something?"
What Wang San said made some sense. All prisoners had to be escorted by officials sent by the imperial court. Once they arrived at their place of exile, they had to sign and affix their fingerprints in order to receive proper arrangements.
On their journey, in order to free themselves from being controlled by others, they dispersed all the soldiers and officials. It was fortunate that they had not been convicted in Xinzhou.
Fortunately, the officers and soldiers were easy to fool; they readily believed, after just a few words, that the escorting officers had fled out of fear of death.
Qin Xiaoniang breathed a long sigh of relief and said calmly, "Since we are safe, let's find a place to stay nearby. After all, we survived in the desert by helping each other, and it will be the same here. As long as we work together, we will definitely be able to live a good life."
Song Xiaoyu was completely confused. After all, he hadn't experienced those things before, so it was understandable that he didn't understand.
"No, I won't trouble you any further. We'll find another place to stay. If there's any work to do during the day, I'll come and help."
Wang San has always been well-behaved and doesn't like to cause trouble for others.
"Where are you going?" Song He'er asked.
When the topic of finding a new place came up, Wang San suddenly remembered something and advised everyone, "You'd better move. This place isn't safe at all. You should move to a more secluded spot..."
Zhang Xiue was somewhat surprised, "Why? We seized this land from those thugs!"
"It's too close to the border guards of Xinzhou. They'll know about the slightest thing. And it's going to snow soon. There are no trees to block the wind, and it's bitterly cold when the wind blows. We'd better find a safe place to stand quickly."
Wang San is a very intelligent person, so his words usually convince people.
The weather was getting colder and colder. Although the place was nice, it was too deserted. The wind was biting cold when it blew at night, so it was better to find a mountain forest to stay in.
“But we’ve already started building the house…” Zhang Xiu’e hesitated.
“These adobe bricks can be moved directly. I don’t see any clay covering them, so they can be taken away,” Wang San emphasized.
Song He'er actually didn't want to move because this place was closer to the banks of the Su River. If Jiang Huaifu came to visit her, she could see him at a glance. If she moved to the woods, it would be much more difficult...
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