Chapter 97 Recalling the hardships of the Zheng family's escape, the family reunited and shared their innermost feelings
Xu Nian naturally had no objection. Originally, he came here to find his relatives. Now that he already knew their whereabouts, there was no point in staying here.
Fortunately, Zheng had packed his bags in advance, and the group loaded the car and followed Mr. Su to Yuanshi Town.
Yuanshi Town was not far from the county seat, and it took everyone just over half an hour to drive there. Zheng looked at the pharmacy that was right in front of him and jumped down anxiously. He almost fell to the ground because his legs were weak. Fortunately, Yanrong was quick to help him up.
Zheng broke free from Yanrong's hand and ran into the pharmacy. At this time, a young man was standing in front of the medicine cabinet near the door, holding a small scale in his hand and preparing medicine.
Zheng looked at the back and trembled, "Is spring coming?"
The young man heard someone calling his name and turned around hesitantly. When he saw the woman in front of him with tears on her face, he shouted in disbelief, "Elder sister?"
The boy ran around the counter and called out uncertainly, "Elder sister?"
"Oh" Zheng patted the boy's arm and cried uncontrollably.
Xu Nian came in and looked at the two people crying and hugged each other. He pulled Zheng to comfort her and said, "Aunt, let's find a place to talk slowly."
Zheng wiped her tears and apologized to Master Su: "Please forgive me, Master Su, I was too excited. Can you please…"
Before Zheng finished speaking, Master Su said, "Don't worry, Madam. You can take Carrots home first." Then he said to Carrots, "You don't have to rush back. It's okay for you to stay at home for a few more days."
Zheng and Zheng Chunlai expressed their gratitude continuously. Before they left, Xu Nian asked the guards to move the hundred kilograms of prepared medicinal materials into the pharmacy.
"This is the herb that Master Su won in the competition. I'm in a hurry today, I'll come visit you again in two days."
Old Master Su never thought that he could actually get these medicinal herbs, but he was afraid that he would take advantage of someone else's misfortune, so he was a little embarrassed for a moment.
"Master Su, just accept it with peace of mind," said Xu Nian, and then he led the group out of the pharmacy. Master Su watched them get on the carriage and decided to return the indenture to him when Xu Jie came back.
After Zheng in the carriage calmed down, she began to inquire about the Zheng family's experiences along the way.
Zheng Chunlai lowered his head with red eyes. He was silent for a moment before he slowly began to speak.
It turned out that after receiving the message from Zheng, Father Zheng went to find the clan leader, but when the clan leader gathered the tribesmen and told them about the war, most people did not believe it. As a result, the tribe argued for two days about whether to flee or not, but there was no result.
In a rage, the clan leader led several families who had decided to flee and left the village. However, they had limited food and water, and after walking for more than half a month, the group began to run out of food and water.
No one dared to eat all the food, so they had to mix it with soil to fill their stomachs, and Xiniu, the eldest daughter of the Zheng family, began to suffer from bloating as a result.
Zheng Qiulai, the eldest brother of the Zheng family, saw that this was not a solution, so he gathered a few men to hunt wild boars. However, the wild boars were not hunted back, and a group of people were killed or injured. Zheng Qiulai was also seriously injured and did not survive the next day.
When Zheng heard this, she covered her mouth and burst into tears. Her elder brother was in his prime and she never expected that he would be gone like this.
Zheng Chunlai consoled them and continued, "Many families in the clan blamed our eldest brother for this, because he was the one who came up with this idea. After our eldest brother left, they intentionally or unintentionally competed for our food, saying that we owed them."
"Mother couldn't bear the blow and fell ill. As a result, our family was separated from the escape team."
Thinking of those dark days, Zheng Chunlai's eyes were red. He originally thought that his family was going to die there, but unexpectedly he ran into Mr. Su and his group.
"It was Master Su who cured my mother's illness. I saw that our family was on the verge of losing their livelihood, so I begged Master Su to buy me out, as long as he could give me two bowls of porridge every day.
Just like that, our family followed Master Su to the northern border..."
Xu Nian felt sad when she heard this. If she had no space, if Luo Jinan had not left those silver coins, she wondered what would have happened to their Xu family.
The Zheng family settled in Yakou Village. Xu Nian walked over and found that the place was very dilapidated.
When they arrived at Zheng's house, Zheng looked at the house in front of her and tears fell uncontrollably. This crooked adobe house might be crushed down by a heavy snow.
Zheng Chunlai was also very distressed. Although he received a monthly salary of more than 100 wen, he had so many mouths to feed at home, so how could he have enough money to repair the house?
Although his father and his second brother reclaimed two acres of wasteland this year, it is still unknown how much the harvest will be.
Mother Zheng heard the noise outside and came out to see that it was her youngest son. She asked in confusion, "Third son, why are you back? Did the boss ask you to come back?"
Before Zheng Chunlai could answer, she had already opened the gate and ran over, shouting in a trembling voice, "Mother, I am Chunzhi."
Mother Zheng looked at the noble lady kneeling in front of her and shuddered. When she saw her face clearly, she cried out, "My son."
The actions of the mother and daughter alerted everyone in the house, and they all looked at Zheng kneeling in the yard in disbelief.
It was not until the eldest daughter-in-law, Wang, and the second daughter-in-law, Xu, consoled them for a long time that the mother and daughter finally calmed down.
"Third son, go to the field and call back your father and your second brother." After giving the order, Zheng's mother pulled Zheng to the main hall.
Xu Nian followed the others into the main hall, and Zheng said to her mother, "Mother, this is my niece Nian'er. You have seen her before, do you remember her? It is thanks to this girl that I was able to find my younger brother this time."
Mother Zheng wanted to take Xu Nian's hand, but she hesitated when she saw her silk dress. She could only smile and praise her, "Remember, remember. How could I forget such a beautiful girl?"
Xu Nian walked over and took Mother Zheng's hand affectionately, then knelt down and bowed, saying, "Nian'er says hello to Grandma Zheng."
Zheng's mother smiled so hard that she couldn't stop. She patted Xu Nian's hand and said "good, good, good" repeatedly.
Before the people here could say a few words, they heard the noise outside.
When Old Man Zheng and Zheng Donglai learned that their daughter/sister had come looking for them, they ran home carrying their farm tools. Seeing their father and second brother panting, Zheng burst into tears again.
Mrs. Zheng had already learned about the situation of the Zheng family in the carriage, so the Zheng family sat together and listened to Mrs. Zheng talk about how she came to the Northern Frontier.
When they learned that it was all thanks to Xu Nian that their daughter had not suffered, Mr. and Mrs. Zheng thanked Xu Nian again and again.
When the Zheng family learned that Zheng's eldest uncle was actually the county magistrate, they were so shocked that their eyes widened.
Xu Nian sat aside as a background, quietly listening to her aunt and her family reminiscing.
"Look at me, I'm just listening to you. It's already so late. The eldest and second wives, go and cook. Third son, go to the town and buy some meat."
Seeing Zheng Chunlai walking out, Xu Nian reached out and stopped him.
"Uncle, don't worry. I've already asked the guards to go shopping. They should be back soon."
Zheng Chunlai blushed when Xu Nian called him uncle. He was only seventeen years old this year, but he had such a big niece.