Ling Qi cupped his hands in greeting: "All is well."
Qiu Yan: "Since everything is alright, why did Gu Qian come and go in such a hurry? Aren't there any other generals at the border?"
Ling Ba: "There's more."
Qiu Yan knew that the border would definitely be difficult to cross. "After following me for a few days, you've all discovered that Baiyang City is very safe."
Ling Ba: "You call what happened yesterday safe?"
Qiu Yan stiffened for a moment. "Compared to the dangers at the border, that's nothing. But you guys, if you stay here any longer, you'll ruin yourselves."
The two remained silent; what they said was indeed true.
These past few days, following Qiu Yan, they felt themselves becoming increasingly lethargic.
With border war looming, they didn't want to stay here.
The two men exchanged a glance; they would leave if necessary.
A month has passed in the blink of an eye.
Although the food delivery business is not yet large, it has taken initial shape.
After a month, the other shops in Zhangjia Cloth Shop began to place orders one by one.
For regular customers, Qiu Yan provides them with a fixed meal box, which she picks up and delivers daily. She also engraves their names on the boxes free of charge to avoid confusion during delivery.
Today, Qiu Yan thought of Gu Qian's land deed and turned to go to the South District.
As soon as she arrived at the location, she noticed a series of noises coming from ahead.
She has never been one to enjoy watching a spectacle, so she initially ignored it.
"Drive them away, drive them away quickly..."
The shouts caught her attention. Qiu Yan looked closely and saw that they were civilians living in the residential area, working together to drive away some refugees who looked like beggars.
Qiu Yan looked again and saw a large group of refugees carrying bundles, huddled in a corner of a house, refusing to leave no matter how the civilians tried to drive them away.
They carried bundles on their backs, their faces filled with terror as they looked at the civilians.
Qiu Yan stopped a pedestrian beside her, "What's going on? How come there's suddenly a group of refugees here?"
The man shook his head and sighed, "What else could it be? They must be refugees fleeing famine. They just came from the south of the city. Maybe their harvest was bad and they couldn't make ends meet, so they came to Baiyang to beg for food."
Among the refugees, a little girl covered in dust saw Qiu Yan. She ran a few steps and knelt down in front of Qiu Yan, pleading, "Sister, please give me some food."
Seeing that Qiu Yan was different from others, she boldly went up to her and begged for food.
Qiu Yan told her to get up, and then took out some copper coins from her money bag and handed them to her.
Then, she asked the question that had been bothering her, "Little girl, where did you come from, and why did you flee here?"
When the other refugees saw Qiu Yan give some copper coins to the little girl, they all wanted to ask for money, but Ling Qi and Ling Ba stopped them.
The little girl excitedly took the copper coin and hurriedly kowtowed deeply to Qiu Yan, saying, "We heard there was going to be a war, so we fled here."
Ling Qi and his companion were slightly moved. Ling Qi stepped forward and asked, "Are you from Ganzhou City?"
The little girl nodded, "Exactly."
Qiu Yan felt a pang of anxiety when she thought of Gu Qian.
On the way back, she looked at Ling Qi and the other person, "Can you two still stay here?"
Without hesitation, Ling Qi clasped his hands in a fist salute to Qiu Yan and said:
"Miss Qiu, we're leaving now. Please be careful."
Ling Ba thought about the scarred man from that day and said, "Miss Qiu, Baiyang City is close to the border, and there is a high possibility that enemy spies have infiltrated it. As a young lady, you should try not to cause trouble if possible."
After saying that, the two disappeared.
As they left, Qiu Yan felt a vague unease, hoping that everything would be alright.
Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a day of full moon celebrations, and Qiu Yan has decided to take her younger siblings back to the village.
Coincidentally, my aunt's family was also going back for the holiday, and they planned to go back together.
Only Qiu Dayu was an exception; he didn't want to go back to the village.
He was genuinely afraid of running into Wang and being asked for money again. He thought he would return to the village once he had earned enough money.
Before going home, Qiu Yan and her aunt went out to shop and bought extra mooncakes and other food to distribute as welfare to the workers. Of course, she also wanted to take some home with her.
On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Jiang Liu was in a clothing shop, looking up at the bright full moon, her mind filled with worries.
Just now, she had another big argument with Tang Yi.
Jiang Liu shrank back; she had been feeling particularly cold lately.
In a daze, she seemed to see Chang'e dancing gracefully in the moon.
It really is true what they say: one misses their loved ones even more during festivals.
“Madam, it’s late, you should rest.” Cui Zhu’s words broke her thoughts.
As Cuizhu spoke, she draped a red cloak over Jiang Liu's shoulders.
"Cuizhu, from now on, don't call me Madam anymore. Just call me Miss, like before. It sounds more familiar to me."
Upon hearing this, Cuizhu felt a lump in her throat. "Yes, Miss."
Hearing this title, Jiang Liu felt as if she had returned to the past, to the time before she was married.
The next morning, at the wonton shop.
Qiu Yan looked at the meat bun in Gu Xiaoran's hand and his little mouth opening and closing, feeling somewhat worried.
This child has already eaten two meat buns, and she reached for another one. At this rate, she'll become a little chubby...
"Zhu Juan, you need to control Xiao Ran's food intake from now on."
As she spoke, she took the meat bun from Gu Xiaoran's hand.
Zhu Juan smiled and replied, "Yes, Master."
Gu Xiaoran pouted, "I'm not full yet."
Qiu Ling'er chuckled, "Xiao Ran, I've only eaten one, and you've already eaten two."
Qiu Xu sat quietly drinking his soup. When he looked up, he saw a red figure in the distance. "Sister, Madam Tang has come looking for you."
Qiu Yan then looked up, stood up and went to greet her, "Sister Jiang, you've arrived."
Jiang Liu smiled and said, "I usually crave your wontons."
Qiu Yumei quickly served Jiang Liu and her servant a bowl of wontons. When Cuizhu saw that she had one too, she thanked her repeatedly.
Jiang Liu looked at the carriage that had already been prepared at the shop entrance and asked, "Xiao Yan, where are you going?"
Qiu Yan smiled faintly, "I'm going home to reunite with my second uncle."
"It's so good to be home," Jiang Liu murmured to herself, then added, "I've never been to a country courtyard before; I imagine it must be quite cozy. Xiao Yan, can I spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with you?"
"Of course," Qiu Yan thought, it would be good to let Jiang Liu go to their village to relax.
...In Lingnan Village, every household is busy celebrating the festival.
Qiu Dafu stood in front of the courtyard gate, looking at the road intersection in the distance. Soon, he saw the carriage slowly approaching.
Qiu Xu and Gu Xiaoran rode together on a donkey, leisurely following behind the carriage.
The oxcart that was originally following behind the donkey had long since disappeared because it was moving too slowly.
Upon seeing the carriage, Qiu Dafu's stiff expression softened considerably.
When the carriage arrived, Qiu Ling'er was overjoyed to see her second uncle. She jumped off the carriage and ran into his arms. "Second Uncle."
Because her older sister often taught her self-defense techniques, she is much stronger than her peers.
Qiu Dafu picked Qiu Ling'er up high in his arms, saying, "Ling'er has grown taller again."
Then, Qiu Yan also got off the carriage.
Finally, Jiang Liu gently lifted the carriage curtain, and Qiu Dafu stared at her, his entire body instantly frozen in shock.
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