“Silver Fox, yesterday at the noodle shop, you also heard people talking about Prefect Duan’s arrangements for the famine refugees.”
I plan to come back in a while, and if I can get resettled, I'll register my household registration and settle down.
"I just don't know if Lord Duan will allow us to continue living in this Peach Blossom Spring."
The two remained silent for a while.
"Silver Fox asked."
"Aunt Lanzhen, can we get there before dark today?"
Li Lanzhen shook her head and said, "We can't make it! It's too far. We can only find a place to rest halfway."
We need to set off early the next day; we won't reach Peach Blossom Spring until the afternoon.
“Then let the two of us go first. When we set off tomorrow morning, we’ll release the people from the secret place so they can rest for a while before we leave.”
“Okay, we’ll do it your way. Let’s keep going. How’s your back injury? It’s tiring to cross mountains and valleys. You should go into the secret area. I’ll go alone.”
Silver Fox immediately refuted her statement.
"No, it's too dangerous for you to go alone. What if you encounter wild beasts? What if you run into government soldiers?"
Seeing the worried look in Silver Fox's eyes, Li Lanzhen laughed and said.
"Alright, alright, I'll let you accompany your aunt. Should we put some more medicine on the wound on your back? Should we bandage it first?"
"No need, Auntie. I already re-bandaged it this morning, and the wound has already healed."
Yinhe lifted a corner of her long robe and tucked it into her waistband.
He walked ahead to clear the way, with Li Lanzhen following closely behind.
The two climbed to the top of the mountain, and it was already past noon.
Silver Fox found a large rock and told Li Lanzhen to sit down and rest, then he turned and went into the forest.
Li Lanzhen assumed he was going to relieve himself, so she took out meat pies and sesame cakes from her spatial storage and put them in a large bowl.
He then took out a water pouch containing spiritual spring water that he had just collected from his spatial storage.
After washing my hands with water from the water bag, I prepared to eat a sesame seed cake first.
She doesn't like meat-filled sesame flatbreads, but prefers these pure wheat-flavored sesame flatbreads.
The sesame seed cakes were just taken out of the space and were still warm.
She broke a sesame seed cake in half, held a small portion in her hand, and ate it.
She really enjoyed the crunchy texture of the sesame seed cake in her mouth.
After finishing half of the sesame seed cake, Silver Fox still hadn't returned.
Li Lanzhen bent down to pick up the half-eaten sesame seed cake.
She grabbed at nothing, and when she looked down, the bowl was empty.
Strange, where did the sesame seed cakes in the bowl go?
Li Lan looked up and thought for a moment. It was indeed true that she had taken out two meat-filled sesame cakes and two sesame cakes from her spatial storage.
Now there's not even half a sesame seed cake left!
She remained seated and took out two sesame seed cakes from her spatial storage and placed them in a large bowl.
He broke off a piece and ate it slowly, but his eyes were fixed on the bowl out of the corner of his eye.
Sure enough, after a while, a small, dark, and dirty hand emerged from the grass and slowly reached for the sesame seed cake in the large bowl.
Li Lanzhen watched as the little hand grabbed two sesame cakes in one swift motion, and just as the little hand quickly withdrew...
With quick reflexes, she grabbed the little hand and pulled her out.
"Let me go! Let me go!"
The owner of the small hand shouted loudly, kicking her legs and struggling to break free from Li Lanzhen's grasp.
"Don't move around, okay?"
Tell me properly, did you take all the pancakes from the bowl just now?
You stole my pancake, and you're so brazen about it! Where are your parents? I'll go ask them."
The child stood still as Li Lanzhen talked about adult matters.
A pair of dark, bright eyes, like those of a wolf cub, stared fiercely at her.
Only then did Li Lanzhen get a clear look at the child. It was a little girl with two small hairpins on her head that had come loose, and her head was covered with straw.
Her tiny face, no bigger than a palm, was so covered in makeup that its original color was unrecognizable.
She should look about six or seven years old.
Seeing such a small girl, Li Lanzhen's heart softened, and she asked again.
"Are you all alone in these mountains, just a little kid? Where are your parents? Where's your mother?"
As Li Lanzhen asked her questions, she noticed the little girl silently shedding tears.
She couldn't bear to ask any more questions and said kindly.
"Okay, don't cry."
He turned around, picked up the bowl from the ground, and handed it to the little girl.
"Here, take this bowl with you and eat it at home."
The little girl glanced at her, raised her hand to wipe away her tears, and two streaks of water immediately appeared on her face.
She knelt down in front of Lanzhen with a thud.
He looked at her earnestly.
"Grandma, thank you so much. Can you please save my grandpa? He's my only family. If he... sob sob..."
Li Lanzhen quickly helped her up.
"What happened to your grandfather? Where is he?"
The girl said urgently, "Grandpa has had a fever for two days. We haven't had anything to eat. Just now, I smelled the aroma of meat, so I took the meatloaf from your bowl. I'm sorry, Grandma."
Li Lanzhen patted her head.
"Come on, take me to see your grandfather. Is it far?"
The little girl immediately perked up and pointed to a large rock below.
"Grandma, it's not far! It's behind that big rock."
As he spoke, he grabbed Li Lanzhen and ran behind the rock.
When Li Lanzhen followed her over, she saw two baskets under the big rock, and next to them a roll of bedding and a few pieces of clothing.
The ground was covered with a lot of thatch, and an old man was lying in the pile of thatch.
Li Lanzhen observed him; his eyes were tightly closed, his lips were chapped, and his cheeks were flushed, clearly indicating a fever.
"Little girl, you stay here and watch over your grandfather while I go get the medicine for him."
"Eat a sesame seed cake first, and wait for me."
The little girl shook her head, holding Li Lanzhen's hand tightly, as if afraid that she would never come back after leaving.
Li Lanzhen gently patted her head and said.
"Don't worry, Grandma is going to get the medicine and will be back soon. Your grandpa will get better after taking the fever-reducing medicine."
The little girl looked at her grandfather before letting go of Li Lanzhen's hand, still feeling uneasy, and followed her out of the big rock outside.
I watched her return to where she used to be.
Li Lanzhen quickly took out a basket from her spatial storage and put some fever-reducing medicine bags inside.
"Auntie, what are you looking for?"
Li Lanzhen straightened up and saw that it was Silver Fox, carrying two pheasants in its hands and some red wild fruits in its bundle.
"Oh, you went hunting pheasants? A little girl just came to me and said her grandfather has a high fever and asked me to help him. I'm looking for some fever-reducing medicine for him."
"Come with me too."
Silver Fox carried what he was holding, while Li Lanzhen carried a basket on her back. They turned around the big rock. When the little girl saw Silver Fox following behind Li Lanzhen, she looked at him warily and cautiously.
Li Lanzhen held her hand and said, "Don't be afraid. This uncle is Grandma's relative. He won't hurt you."
Silver Fox overheard Li Lanzhen introducing him to the little girl as her relative.
He paused slightly, bent down, and put the things he was carrying aside.
Then you can see a hole that is more than half a person high under a huge rock.
An old man lay in a pile of straw, with a cloth next to his head and several sesame cakes on the cloth.
Silver Fox probably guessed what had just happened.
He said to Li Lanzhen, "Auntie, give me the medicine and water, I'll go in and feed it to him."
Li Lanzhen quickly handed him the fever reducer and the water bag.
Silver Fox knelt on the grass, put his arm around the old man's neck, and helped him up.
I gently fed him a small packet of medicine powder.
This is a fever reducer tablet, which Li Lanzhen crushed.
Seeing that the old man couldn't swallow, the silver fox quickly fed him the spiritual spring water from his water pouch.
The old man then slowly swallowed the water and medicine powder in his mouth.
Silver Fox fed him a few more sips of water and gently placed him on the straw.
He pulled over a tattered sheet from the side and draped it over his stomach.
Li Lanzhen looked at the little girl who was nervously staring at her grandfather.
He patted her arm and said, "Don't worry, your grandpa took some fever-reducing medicine and will be fine in a bit. Come and have something to eat with grandma; grandma and uncle are hungry."
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, two roasted chickens were sizzling and dripping oil on the fire. The little girl squatted beside them, constantly swallowing her saliva.
The pheasant was already very fragrant when it was roasted, but with the barbecue seasoning that Li Lanzhen took out from her space and sprinkled on top, it became even more fragrant.
Seeing that the pheasant was cooked, Li Lanzhen took out two large bowls from the basket and placed one of the large bowls next to the little girl.
Silver Fox tore off a roasted chicken leg and put it in her bowl.
Lanzhen said, "Eat."
The little girl held the bowl and kept swallowing, but didn't move.
She looked at the silver fox and said, "Uncle, give Grandma a big chicken leg."
When Li Lanzhen saw this child, she realized he was a well-behaved and considerate child.
Silver Fox placed another whole roasted chicken into Li Lanzhen's bowl.
"Auntie, you can have this one."
Li Lanzhen stopped her.
"I can't eat that much, I like to eat sesame seed cakes."
Then tear off the other leg of the chicken and put it into the silver fox bowl.
"Silver Fox, you can eat it. You've already eaten it all. The meat pie is warmed up too, so eat it with it."
The little girl watched as Li Lanzhen took a bite of the roasted chicken leg.
Then they began to wolf down the food.
Li Lanzhen felt sorry for the child; she didn't know how long it had been since he had eaten.
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