Chapter 552 On the Road
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I don't know what others think, but the little lamb is very happy sitting on the cart shaft right now. He is full of hope for the future and feels that he is full of energy.
However, this energy diminished considerably once they got onto the official road.
The road was long and the journey was truly bumpy and difficult.
However, after the convoy passed Qingsong Town and arrived in Sanshan County, Sun Xiaoliu went to the garrison to pick up the five hundred new recruits that Liu Tan had given to Li Shiyue.
Incidentally, Sun Xiaoliu also picked up Dong Wuniang and Zhu Dani outside the village.
They were two of the thirteen people Li Shiyue brought back from Jian'an after he went there to suppress bandits.
Dong Wuniang was captured by bandits because she tried to escape an arranged marriage;
As for Zhu Dani, she accidentally killed her son-in-law while trying to protect her mother-in-law.
After Li Shiyue brought the two back from Jian'an, Dong Wuniang spent the last few years working in the garrison's accounting office, where she learned a lot of skills.
Because of her strength, Zhu Dani worked at the kitchen, and she learned how to quickly cook communal meals under various rudimentary conditions.
Last year, when Li Shiyue was about to leave Jinzhou with two thousand soldiers, the two of them came to find him and said they wanted to go back to Jian'an with him.
Li Shiyue thought that the two of them had suffered some injustice in the village of Sanshan County, so she quickly asked.
After listening to what the two had to say, Li Shiyue realized that they hadn't actually suffered any great injustice; they just felt it was better for them to stay by Li Shiyue's side.
Dong Wuniang was educated, and this is what she said to Li Shiyue: "General, you are very talented, you have been very kind to me, and you also have a compassionate heart for women."
In the past, Wu Niang dared not stay by the general's side because she was afraid that she was not capable enough and would be a useless person if she stayed by the general's side.
Nowadays, although Fifth Sister is still not as skilled as those veteran accountants, she has acquired a skill and can be a useful person by the general's side.
Thus, when Wu Niang heard that the general was going to Jian'an to kill the bandits, she began to think of following him and serving him!
Zhu Dani, standing next to Dong Wuniang, would not say such nice things. She simply knelt down in front of Li Shiyue with a "plop" and kowtowed to her repeatedly.
Li Shiyue was stunned and shouted at her to get up, but Zhu Dani stubbornly finished kowtowing and refused to get up.
She knelt on the ground and looked at Li Shiyue, who was trying to pull her up, and said, word by word, "General, I am not as good at speaking as Fifth Sister."
But I know that I was able to save my life and take care of my mother-in-law until her death, all thanks to the general!
The general's kindness to me is something I can never repay in this lifetime!
General, I know I am not as capable as Fifth Sister. Fifth Sister is good at accounting and works as your accountant.
I don't know anything else, but I'm strong. I've been following the cook around the stove for the past two years, learning how to cook communal meals.
From now on, General, when you go to Jian'an, take me with you. I'll cook for your soldiers!
With Dong Wuniang and Zhu Dani having put their words so clearly, how could Li Shiyue refuse their choice to follow her?
So, around this time next year, Sun Xiaoliu was sent to pick up Zheng Meiniang and take her to Jian'an, and he also gave Dong Wuniang and Zhu Dani a ride.
As for the other eleven people who came to the garrison in Sanshan County with Li Shiyue?
Some of them had died, some had started new families in Sanshan County, and some, though alone, did not want to return to Jian'an.
They might still remember the gratitude they felt when they first arrived at the garrison for Li Shiyue rescuing them and giving them a way to survive.
However, as time went by, this kindness became much less, and was even completely forgotten, with no trace of it remaining.
Of course, Li Shiyue never intended to ask them for anything based on this small favor.
However, compared to Dong Wuniang and Zhu Dani, who came to her immediately, their sincerity was all the more apparent.
After picking up Dong Wuniang and Zhu Dani, Sun Xiaoliu led five hundred new soldiers and grain carts loaded with provisions, along with Zheng Meiniang and the others, onto the official road, heading towards Jian'an, their new place of settlement.
Walking on the official road, looking out at the dense forest through the carriage window, Zheng Meiniang suddenly sighed.
Sitting in a carriage, Li Xiatian, who was looking after Pingping and An'an, turned her head with a hint of doubt to look at Zheng Meiniang, who was gazing out the window in a daze.
"Mother? Are you feeling unwell?"
Zheng Meiniang turned around, shook her head at Li Xiatian, and sighed again.
"Sigh, you know, Wang Ming didn't even show his face, and that's not all;
But he didn't even send a letter; he only sent someone to say, "I understand."
This...this is too much...
Zheng Meiniang wanted to say "You're heartless," but she didn't say it. She just sighed again.
Li Xiatian sat to the side, unsure of what to say to comfort Zheng Meiniang.
"Tell me, how am I supposed to explain this to your aunt when I get to Jian'an?"
Even Li Shiyang sent someone specifically to deliver a letter to October.
When they arrived at Wangming's place, this very second uncle, who was his own flesh and blood, didn't even send a single letter, let alone say a kind word!
This is... this is really too heartless.
Zheng Meiniang couldn't hold back and finally whispered those words out.
“Mother,” Li Xiatian reached out and took Zheng Meiniang’s hand to comfort her, “She is going to do great things in October, why would she be bothered by these changes at home?”
My aunt, on the other hand, is very sentimental. If she knew that the child she raised since childhood had become so estranged from her, she would definitely be heartbroken.
When we arrive in Jian'an, Mother, please tell Aunt about this matter slowly.
"When the time comes, with Mother's encouragement and guidance, Aunt should be able to let it go."
Zheng Meiniang and Li Xiatian were talking about family matters in the carriage. In the carriage following behind them, Jiang Yining also lifted the curtain and looked at the person sitting on the shaft of the carriage one carriage away from hers—Jiang Huai.
Although Jiang Yining and Jiang Huai came from the same clan, they were not only different in age, but also not related by blood.
The two were only acquaintances within the clan, and could only meet once a year during the annual ancestral worship ceremonies.
Although it was Jiang Huai's introduction that led Li Shiyue to invite Jiang Yining to work as an accountant in Lijiatun;
However, Jiang Yining and Jiang Huai did not actually have a very good relationship.
As for why Jiang Yining set her sights on Jiang Huai at this time?
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