Xiaoju quickly pulled her younger sister to kneel on the ground.
He kowtowed to Li Lanzhen, straightened up, and said.
"Thank you, Auntie. Thank you, Aunt Shui."
Li Lanzhen and the water buffalo woman stepped forward, each pulling up one of them and patting them on the back.
"Alright, we're all family now, no need for thanks, let's hurry up and go."
Xiaoju said that the village chief's family was going to gather the whole village to chase us.
Seeing the three children dressed in thin clothes, the temperature in the mountains felt even colder on this early winter night.
Li Lanzhen took out three worn-out cotton-padded coats from her basket and gave them to her three children to wear.
The water buffalo carried the boy inside its thick cotton-padded coat, tied the two sleeves to its chest, and carried him forward.
Li Lanzhen took three boiled goose eggs and gave them to the three children. When she saw that they wanted to hide them, she said...
"Eat it all, don't leave any, there will be more to eat later."
They walked all night without stopping, and when they were about two miles from the south gate of Youzhou City, the water buffalo said.
"Mother, Aunt, the gates of Youzhou are just ahead. Let's rest here for now. If we go now, the soldiers guarding the gates won't let us in."
Li Lanzhen also said, "Okay, let's rest here. I guess the village chief and the others won't dare to chase us here."
If he dares to chase me here, I'll capture him and send him to Youzhou City to see the officials.
After she said that, everyone felt relieved and found a patch of grass to sit down and rest.
The baby in the car started crying again; he was hungry and wanted to be nursed.
He cried once on the way, and his mother fed him milk.
Water Buffalo Mother used a quilt to block a wall in front of Bao Ya's mother and baby's heads to shield them from the wind.
When the cypress saw her youngest son crying for milk, she held up the blanket to shield the mother and son from the wind.
Bao Ya's mother had a thick scarf wrapped around her head. The baby was dressed in the warmest clothes, with a piece of fine cotton cloth wrapped around his body and belly, and a little jacket, but no cotton pants.
But the cotton-padded jacket was long, completely enveloping his small body. Niu Niu's mother tied the jacket up with a cloth bag, and then wrapped it in a thick little quilt. On top of that, she and her mother were covered with a large quilt.
He slept soundly and comfortably as long as he wasn't hungry.
Shuishan walked over and pulled back the quilt above their heads so that Baoya's mother could breastfeed her youngest son.
After he finished eating, he whimpered and fell asleep again.
As dawn broke, many people walked along the road one after another.
Carrying loads on shoulder poles and pushing carts, carrying firewood, people kept passing by as they headed towards the city gate, and no one paid them any attention.
Han Mingjiang stood up, glanced at the city gate, and said.
"Mother, let's go!"
The water buffalo said, "That's right, Mom, Auntie, we have to leave now and get in line to enter the city as soon as possible."
By the time they pushed the cart and carried the child into Youzhou City, it was already dawn, and the market was bustling with people and the shops were open.
Li Lanzhen kept thinking that once they arrived in Youzhou City, they would still have to go to Sifang Restaurant to find Manager Hua.
Whether it's telling him that he went out to find a waterway, or about the fate of the water buffalo family, it all reveals the tyrannical behavior of the village chief's family in Shanghe Village.
I need to talk to him about these things.
So after entering the city, Li Lanzhen said to Han Mingjiang.
"Second brother, let's go straight to Sifang Restaurant."
The Buffalo family had no idea about Li Lanzhen's relationship with Sifang Restaurant.
Everyone was thinking about how much it would cost to go to a restaurant.
The water buffalo woman quickly stopped her, saying...
"Girl, let's not go to a restaurant, it costs too much!"
Where do you live? Let's just go.
Li Lanzhen comforted her, saying that...
"Big sister, now that we're here, you should listen to me."
"The carts that come to our village have to cross mountains and valleys; they can't make it up there. These children are all so young, and Shui Shan's wife just gave birth. They can't stand the wind or the cold. If the children get sick, it would be terrible."
The metasequoia trees all looked at his mother, and then the water buffalo mother spoke.
"Okay, I'll listen to you, sister. Whatever you say goes. I'll remember this favor!"
Li Lanzhen asked Han Mingjiang to protect them and wait here.
She entered the Sifang Restaurant first, and the waiter greeted her with a smile as soon as she stepped inside.
"Auntie, you've come. It's so cold. Did you come alone?"
"Quickly, sit down and drink some hot water to warm yourself up."
The shopkeeper, Hua Zixi, came out of the kitchen. He wasn't surprised to see Li Lanzhen and nodded with a smile.
He gestured for her to sit at the table and pushed the hot tea that the waiter was serving her closer to her.
"Madam, please have some hot tea to warm yourself up."
Li Lanzhen was indeed a little tired and cold. She picked up the hot tea, blew on the steam rising from the bowl, and took a couple of sips.
The warm tea soothed her body.
The shopkeeper sat quietly, waiting for her to drink the tea and for her to speak.
Hua Zixi knew that Li Lanzhen must have come for something today.
Li Lanzhen put down her teacup, held it in both hands, and looked at the shopkeeper.
"Manager Hua, I have a favor to ask!"
Hua Zixi smiled gently and said, "Madam, you're too kind. Please go ahead."
Li Lanzhen briefly told him why she left Peach Blossom Spring and what she experienced in Shanghe Village.
Upon hearing this, Manager Hua immediately asked, "Where are the people you brought? Quickly let them in to warm up."
I heard you say there are children and a woman who just gave birth.
Li Lanzhen stood up and smiled.
"They're right outside. Thank you so much this time. I'll go and call them in right away."
Hua Zixi said to Li Lanzhen from behind, "Madam, enter through the back gate and go directly to the backyard. I will arrange a few rooms for you."
Li Lanzhen had been to the backyard of Sifang Restaurant before, so she led them around the street to the back. When they arrived at the main gate of the backyard of Sifang Restaurant, the waiter had already opened the gate.
He warmly greeted Han Mingjiang, "Brother's here too, come in quickly. It's so cold, come inside and have some hot tea to warm up."
Manager Hua led them into an inner and outer room.
The room was large, and there was a large communal sleeping area outside, which could probably sleep seven or eight people.
The inner room also has a kang (heated brick bed), but it's smaller and can probably sleep about four people.
Hua Zixi said to Li Lanzhen, "The kang (heated brick bed) in the inner room is a bit warmer."
Li Lanzhen understood what he meant and said it to Shuishan.
"Shuishan, carry your wife to the kang (heated brick bed) inside, and bring the child over too."
After they had settled Bao Ya and her mother and the other children.
Xiao Er and Han Mingjiang carried in a long table.
Before long, the waiter brought over rice porridge, steamed buns, and two side dishes.
Manager Hua said to Li Lanzhen, "Madam, please have breakfast first, then rest for a while. If you need anything, please come and call me from the front."
Li Lanzhen said, "Thank you. I'll come talk to you in front after I finish my meal."
(My darlings, thank you for following along!)
I'm not feeling well, so starting today I'll only be updating twice a day. Once I've recovered, I'll update more to thank you all.
Please keep following the updates!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com