The reunion was short, and in the blink of an eye it was afternoon. An Yong took several large bags prepared for him by his family and held the huge sum of one hundred taels of silver given to him by An Dashan in his arms. An Dashan personally drove a mule cart to a place not far from the military camp.
An Yong got off the mule cart, waved goodbye to everyone, and walked back to the military camp with his bag on his back. When An Dashan and his men saw that An Yong had completely disappeared, they drove the mule cart back to Zheng Rong's home.
An Yong returned to the tent and found that the people in the same tent had already come back from dinner. When they saw An Yong coming back, they all surrounded him and started asking questions.
These people, like An Yong, were born into civilian families and got a job through military merit. They had no chance to go home to visit their families, so when they knew that An Yong's family came to visit them, they were very envious.
An Yong took out the roasted lamb leg and said, "Look what delicious food I brought back for you?"
He Yang, who usually walks closest to An Yong, said: "Brother, you are really nice. You don't forget to bring us food when you go out."
An Yong smiled and said, "Eat quickly. No need to save any for me. I ate a lot of meat today."
After hearing this, several people stopped being polite and started eating.
After An Yong put all the things away, he took the two pairs of cotton shoes and two pairs of sheepskin boots and gave them to Captain Liu.
Captain Liu was reading a military book in his tent when he heard An Yong's voice and said, "Come in!"
After getting permission, An Yong opened the curtain and walked in, saying, "Captain, my mother brought me a few pairs of shoes, which are a little too big for me. I thought your feet are a little bigger than mine, so I brought them to you. Can you see if they can fit you?"
Captain Liu laughed and said, "You are a very careful observer. You even know that my feet are bigger than yours."
An Yong smiled, said nothing, and placed the shoes in the bag on the desk in front of Captain Liu Qian.
Captain Liu Qian didn't hesitate to pick up a pair of boots and put them on. He didn't expect that the boots were just right, neither too big nor too small. Captain Liu Qian nodded with satisfaction and said, "Yes, these boots are very suitable."
Seeing that Captain Liu was very satisfied, An Yong bowed and left.
On the other side, An Dashan and his friends returned to Zheng Rong's home and found that Zheng Rong had already returned. During the meal, An Dashan said goodbye to Zheng Rong and said, "Old Zheng, I have already seen this son. Tomorrow our family will leave for home. I will trouble you to take care of Dayong."
Zheng Rong had expected that An Dashan and his men would not stay for long, so he nodded and said, "My nephew, just leave it to me. The mountain will be closed due to heavy snow in a few days, so I won't keep you here any longer. We can keep in touch by letter in the future."
An Dashan nodded and said, "Okay."
Nothing happened that night. Early the next morning, An Dashan and his companions said goodbye to Zheng Rong and his wife and set out on their journey home.
Not long after they left Yecheng, snowflakes began to fall from the sky. An Ning saw that the snow was getting heavier and heavier, so he quickly said to An Dashan, "Dad, I see that the snow is getting heavier and heavier. Let's hurry up and try to get to the next city as soon as possible. Otherwise, sleeping outdoors in the open air is unbearable for both people and mules."
An Dashan also knew this truth and said, "You all sit tight, I'm going to speed up."
After they sat down, An Dashan whipped the mule cart and it moved forward quickly. Because of the snow, the road was difficult to drive on, and they hurried and finally arrived at a small town before dark.
A few people stayed at the only inn in the town, planning to wait until the snow stopped before leaving. The heavy snow stopped in the early morning of the next day.
A few people harnessed the mule cart and started on their journey again. Due to the snow, the road was difficult to travel on, so it took three or four days longer than when they came. By the time they got home, it was already the evening of November 8th.
Originally, An Ning planned to rest in Beichuan County for one night and go home the next day, but An Dashan, Gao Shi and Gao Dajiu were eager to go home and refused to stay in Beichuan County and insisted on going home. An Ning had no choice but to obey the majority, and the four of them returned to Huaishu Village.
When they arrived at the door of their home and looked at the familiar gate, An Dashan and his companions felt relieved.
An Dashan went to knock on the door. Uncle Gao and grandmother Wang were talking in the main room. When they heard the knock on the door, grandmother hurriedly said, "Go and see if your sister and the others are back."
Wang estimated that An Dashan and the others would be back in the next few days, so she asked Uncle Gao to light up all the floor heating in the house. However, they still didn't come back after waiting for a long time. Wang was still worried, and as soon as she heard someone knocking on the door, she quickly asked Uncle Gao to open it.
Uncle Gao came to the door, opened it and saw that it was indeed An Dashan and his friends who had returned. He quickly shouted into the house, "Mom, it's my sister, my brother-in-law and his friends are back."
Wang was relieved when she heard this. Gao and An Ning got off the carriage, and after they greeted each other, Gao and An Ning entered the yard.
Uncle Gao helped An Dashan and Uncle Gao drive the mule cart in. At this time, Wang came out and said, "You are finally back. What took you so long?"
After Gao and An Ning greeted Wang, Gao replied, "We encountered snow on the way and were delayed."
Wang nodded and said, "Come in and warm up. Are you frozen?"
Gao shook her head and said, "We are not cold in the carriage, but it is hard for Big Brother and Dashan."
As they talked, they entered the main hall. As soon as they entered the main hall, a wave of warmth came over them, and An Ning felt comfortable all over.
Wang said, "You haven't eaten yet, right? I'll go make you some noodles."
Gao and An Ning were indeed tired and hungry, so they did not refuse. Wang went to the kitchen, and Uncle Gao followed to light the fire. After a while, a pot of steaming noodles was cooked.
Wang put the noodles into the bowl, and Uncle Gao held the bowl while Wang held the bowl and chopsticks, and they went into the main room. An Ning and the others had already washed their hands and were waiting at the table. Gao saw her mother and brother bringing in the meal, so she quickly got up to help serve the meal.
The four of them ate up a large bowl of noodles. After they were full, An Dashan briefly told Wang what had happened along the way. Wang heard that her eldest grandson was not only fine but also became a centurion, and her eyes narrowed with laughter. Wang saw that the four of them were very tired, so she said, "Go back and rest first, and we'll talk tomorrow if there's anything."
An Ning returned to her room and entered the space with a thought. She had lived in the same room with Gao Shi all the way, so she had no chance to enter the space. An Ning went to the bathroom first, took a comfortable bath, washed away her fatigue, changed into clean underwear, and then returned to her room, got into bed, and had a good sleep.
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