Xu Zhi really didn't expect that Xu Yao and Lin Zhining would actually bring people on a boat, carrying several thousand kilograms of grain, from Gaoqing to Miaozhou.
It wasn't just food, but also medicine. The hold of one ship was carefully sealed with tarpaulin, and inside it was a full hold of lime.
These boats traveled halfway along the Miao River when they fortunately encountered a boat from the Caobang gang. After talking, they realized they were on the same side, and the old boatman, who was visiting for the first time, led the way, managing to get Xu Yao and Lin Zhining's boat to the dock in Miaozhou.
The road from the dock to Miaozhou City was impassable. In the end, it was the old boatman who came up with an idea. He found a few small boats nearby, transferred the goods to them, and managed to reach Miaozhou safely through the abandoned river. In some places, the water was very shallow, so he had people help pull the boat.
Upon hearing the news, Xu Zhi disregarded the muddy road and rushed to the city gate, lifting her skirt. Seeing Xu Yao's haggard face, Xu Zhi embraced her tightly, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
Xu Yao smiled and said, "Ninth Sister, you didn't expect me to come at this time, did you?"
Xu Zhi was both happy and heartbroken, with tears in her eyes, and said, "Yes, I really didn't expect you to come at this time. What are you and your fourth brother-in-law doing here? The road is difficult to travel, what are you doing here at this time?"
Xu Yao held Xu Zhi's hand, and the two slowly walked back along the muddy road. As they walked, Xu Yao said, "Your brother-in-law has a shop in Miaozhou that sells grain. When the Miao River rose, the shopkeeper and his employees stored the grain and evacuated from Miaozhou. After your fourth brother-in-law received the news, we discussed coming over. However, the road was difficult to travel, so we took a boat from Linqing to the Miao River and then came upstream. Fortunately, we encountered the Ma family's fleet on the way, and they took us all the way here."
Xu Yao looked at the shops on both sides, none of which were open yet. Remembering what the clerk at the grain shop had said—that a third of the people in Miaozhou City had left—she couldn't help but sigh and said, "It's really heartbreaking to see all this along the way. I don't know when the places damaged by the flood will be repaired. Ninth Sister, I'm so afraid you won't have any food to eat here. Your brother-in-law brought a boatload from Gaoqing's shops, and he'll be sending more over here later."
Xu Zhi held Xu Yao's hand and gently shook her arm, saying, "Fourth sister, why are you always the first one to rush over whenever I have something to do?"
Xu Yao frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "I don't know either. I don't feel this way about the other sisters, but it's you. Whenever something happens, I feel uneasy if I don't come and see for myself. But I know you're the most clever girl, and you always manage to get yourself out of trouble."
Xu Zhi couldn't help but laugh. After laughing, she thought of Xu Yao's child and asked, "Fourth Sister, if you and Fourth Brother-in-law come out, what will happen to Jue'er?"
Thinking of her daughter, Xu Yao's face lit up with excitement. She said, "Jue'er is now always by her grandmother's side. The little one can already say a few simple sentences. She's a little flatterer and loves to flatter her grandmother. Her grandmother has to stay by Jue'er's side all day long. I think sooner or later, all the good things my mother-in-law has will be won over by Jue'er."
Xu Zhi was very happy to hear that her mother-in-law, Xu Yao, liked her granddaughter. Their family did not have the idea of favoring sons over daughters, but other families were different. Take her second sister, Xu Tao, for example. When she first got married, her mother-in-law kept an eye on her belly. After three months of marriage, she still hadn't gotten pregnant, and her mother-in-law wanted to arrange a concubine for her. It was only because her second sister came from the Yongning Marquis's family that her parents loved their children very much. They had a good talk with Xu Tao's parents-in-law, and only then did her mother-in-law give up the idea.
Xu Zhi smiled and said, "That's good, that's good. I was just worried that my fourth sister would be disliked by her mother-in-law after giving birth to a daughter."
Xu Yao couldn't help but scoff and said, "Ninth Sister, do you think I'm the kind of person who's easily bullied? If I were even a little weak-willed, my mother wouldn't have married me off to such a faraway place. Even if I had another girl, my mother-in-law wouldn't dislike my child, let alone our Jue'er being a girl."
Looking at her fourth sister, who was radiant and arrogant, Xu Zhi couldn't help but wonder how her husband could tolerate her being so domineering.
Seeing Xu Zhi's expression, Xu Yao asked with a smile, "Ninth Sister, are you wondering how your Fourth Brother-in-law can tolerate my domineering temper?"
Xu Zhi looked at Xu Yao in surprise. Xu Yao smiled slightly. Despite her haggard appearance, her eyes and brows were still radiant. Sunlight shone through the thin clouds onto the ravaged ground, but because of Xu Yao's smile, Xu Zhi felt that the devastating scenes of the disaster around her, which were originally heartbreaking, were no longer so important.
Xu Zhi shook her head, clicked her tongue, and said, "Fourth sister, I understand now. Even if you don't say anything, just smile at my fourth brother-in-law like that, won't he lose his soul?"
Xu Yao gently pushed Xu Zhi's arm and scolded with a smile, "Go away, what nonsense are you talking about? Their family wouldn't dare to look down on me. Putting aside how our family treats its daughter, just think about what kind of family we are. The Lin family fought alongside our ancestors on the battlefield back then. Just because of that friendship, my family married me off to Gaoqing, which is so far away. The Lin family can only treat me better and better, and they can't mistreat me in the slightest."
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