"Hey, are you alright?" Qian Dayong walked over. "What are you doing sitting in this corner? You almost tripped me."
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The woman turned back and smiled gratefully at him, "Thank you, sir, you are such a kind person."
After saying that, he turned to the right, crossed his arms, and walked very slowly toward the front of the tent.
Qian Dayong, who was behind her, laughed self-deprecatingly, "Damn it, what's the use of being a good person?"
Whether they were refugees or officials who had stayed behind yesterday, they all went to the front of the tent. Qian Dayong wandered around for a while, but decided to walk back as if nothing had happened.
Today, three families came to distribute porridge. They set up large pots in the open space, some families were cooking porridge, and others were steaming buns. The refugees watched from a distance.
When Qian Dayong walked over, the woman had just arrived, but someone called her as soon as she arrived.
“There really are bandits. If you don’t believe me, ask Chunniang.”
"Chunniang, come quickly and tell everyone, did we encounter bandits on our way here?"
The woman named Chunniang stopped in her tracks, her face still showing some fear when she heard about the bandits. "They really are. They're so scary. If we hadn't been hiding in the bushes, we probably would have been dead."
"Really?" someone asked. "Bandits rob people, don't they? They kill people too?"
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"Sir, I think there are about ten of them."
Ten or so? That would be a huge achievement! If we really caught those ten or so bandits, not to mention the official position, there would be a considerable reward.
"They were all tall and burly, with beards that covered half their faces. They were really frightening to look at." The man still felt lingering fear when he recalled the appearance of the bandits.
Qian Dayong glanced at him disdainfully, "How scary can he be? No matter how scary he is, they're all a bunch of snakes, they'll get caught sooner or later."
As he said this, Qian Dayong quickly recalled the abilities of the guards he had a good relationship with.
He couldn't catch the bandits by himself; he needed help. But he didn't want too many people to know, because if too many people knew, the credit would have to be shared.
But after thinking it over, Qian Dayong looked somewhat defeated. He didn't have many good friends, and their skills were just so-so, not even as good as his own.
"Sir, with your wisdom and skill, you'll surely be able to capture those bandits," the man said flatteringly.
Qian Dayong nodded absentmindedly. He loved hearing nice things, but putting them into practice was quite difficult.
Completely clueless, Qian Dayong sat down on the ground. After a while, a bowl of porridge and a steamed bun were placed in front of him.
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"Sir, you must have had a long day yesterday. Please have something to eat first."
Qian Dayong looked up and saw the woman named Chunniang.
The guards are now eating the same food as the refugees—plain porridge and steamed buns.
A long queue had formed at the porridge distribution point, and each person could receive one portion. Chunniang was holding just one portion.
"Eat yours, I'll go get it myself." The line is long; if I go now, I'll have to wait a while.
Qian Dayong was actually hungry, but there were people everywhere. If he reached out and took the food from the refugees, he didn't know what people would say.
"You eat first. Thanks to you all yesterday, I'll take some more." Chunniang said, stuffing the food into Qian Dayong's hand without saying another word, and then hurriedly went to queue up again.
"Sigh~" Qian Dayong looked at the food in his hand, then at the woman, but in the end he didn't move. It was already handed to him, so there was no reason not to eat it.
Just as he took a sip of hot porridge, the guards who were on good terms with Qian Dayong came over one after another.
"How come Brother Dayong ate before us even though he didn't queue up?"
"Hmph, you lot have no sense at all." Qian Dayong said with food in his mouth, "This was specially brought over for me because someone saw how hard I worked yesterday."
Several people sat down together and asked curiously, "Who sent it? Who gave it to you?"
"Could it have been a gift from some girl?"
Qian Dayong smiled smugly, "You guessed right. Look, over there in the queue, that girl in the gray dress brought it to me specially."
The group looked in the direction he pointed, and Chunniang happened to look over as well. With so many people staring at her, she felt a little embarrassed, gave a shy smile, and quickly turned her head away.
"Isn't that the one named Chunniang?"
Qian Dayong nodded and casually asked, "You know them?" After all, there were thousands of refugees, and who would remember someone's name so easily?
"I've heard those older women mention her; she was a woman with a tragic fate."
"She's all alone now. Her parents-in-law passed away early, and her husband was killed by bandits. She's all alone."
"If she hadn't stayed close to everyone during this escape, someone like her probably wouldn't have survived."
Qian Dayong took two bites of the steamed bun, turned his head to look at Chunniang, and thought to himself, "No wonder she's so thin she looks unrecognizable. Life is indeed not easy for a woman."
"That was a tragic story. Now he's gone, his home is gone, and he fled here. Most of the time, he'll never go back."
"Hey, Brother Dayong." Someone nudged Qian Dayong's shoulder and said jokingly, "You weren't the only one here yesterday. She only brought you food, but not us?"
“That’s right, that’s right.” The group burst into laughter, teasing Qian Dayong.
"Go to hell." Qian Dayong shoved the person next to him. "What are you thinking? She almost tripped me at the beginning, so what's wrong with apologizing and bringing me some food?"
Qian Dayong opened his mouth wide and spoke, spitting everywhere, causing the people next to him to move back a little in disgust.
"That's a real pity." Some of them said with regret, and one of them whispered to Qian Dayong, "Brother Dayong, I think Chunniang is quite nice."
"You've lost a bit of weight, but you'll eat more to make up for it. You seem like a nice person."
"Anyway, she's already alone, so there's no need for her to go back to the South."
"It just so happens that you're alone too. Chunniang doesn't look any better than Cui Ruhua."
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Ever since Qian Dayong lost his official position, Cui Ruhua had been arguing with him about divorce. Qian Dayong couldn't stand her anymore, and the two parted ways.
But at Qian Dayong's age, it's not easy to find someone else, and more importantly, he's reluctant to spend money.
The families he liked all asked for high dowries, which he felt were not worth it, so he kept putting off the wedding.
These people's words immediately struck a chord with Qian Dayong. Given Chunniang's situation, it was already a blessing that someone would take her in; she wouldn't care about the money.
Moreover, even though they had only known each other for a short while, Qian Dayong felt that she was better than Cui Ruhua. At least she didn't shout when she spoke, and her soft voice was much more pleasant to listen to.
Even though his mind was racing, Qian Dayong remained outwardly calm. "Just eat," he said, "eating won't shut you up."
"You think he's good enough after just one look? Let me tell you, you're not allowed to talk about this outside. If I hear about it, you'll be sorry."
Qian Dayong warned everyone, but in reality, he had his own agenda; he wanted to see what this woman named Chunniang was like.
Cui Ruhua was already his nightmare; the one he found couldn't be a second Cui Ruhua.
In the queue, someone struck up a conversation with Chunniang, "Chunniang, I remember you just received yours, right? Have you finished eating?"
Chunniang shook her head, "Auntie, I haven't eaten yet. I just sent it to the official. I'll get some more myself."
"Oh my, what a good girl, so kind-hearted." The aunt praised her a few times, and Chunniang smiled shyly, glancing casually at Qian Dayong.
Although it was just a fleeting glance, it was spotted by the sharp-eyed aunt behind her.
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