Xie Lanzhen shook her head after hearing his words and smiled as she spoke to him.
"Elder sister, don't trouble your two nephews. I'll think of another way."
Everyone fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts.
Han Mingjiang clenched his fists again, his brows furrowed, glancing at Li Lanzhen and then at her again.
Li Lanzhen turned her head and met his gaze. She thought to herself that this child was always impulsive and reckless. She would have to take him out more often to temper his temperament.
She shook her head at him, glared at him, and told him to sit still and stop looking so worried.
Li Lanzhen was also deeply troubled by these thoughts.
What seemed like an easy task encountered resistance here.
If all else fails, we'll just have to go and deliver it over mountains and valleys.
Li Lanzhen then thought, since it's a waterway with mountains on both sides, there must be other passages leading to Youzhou City.
It's just that it requires continuous searching and more time.
If they hadn't encountered the water buffalo today and had instead arrived at Shanghe Village, perhaps they would have found another place to land.
Thinking this way, her mind started to wander again, and she stopped worrying about the matter.
She and Han Mingjiang came out to find a shorter route than crossing mountains to deliver vegetables.
No rush, we can just continue searching by rafting later.
Water Buffalo's mother was also thinking about this.
If the old man were still alive, the village chief would never have been so domineering.
She felt it was all so unfair that her old man had been swept away by the flood!
They lost their lives to save the old village chief and his family, leaving behind her, their two sons, and their grandchildren.
At this moment, Bao Ya, carrying a bowl of maltose, tiptoed out of the house next door.
She called out softly to her mother, "Mother, Mother, have they all left?"
Her mother smiled and waved to her.
She walked out, craned her neck to look into the yard, then breathed a sigh of relief, straightened up, and carried the bowl to her grandmother.
She grabbed a piece of maltose from the bowl and stuffed it into her grandmother's mouth.
Before anyone could react, her granddaughter stuffed a piece of candy into her mouth, and she immediately burst into laughter.
Bao Ya giggled as she spoke.
"Grandma isn't frowning. Grandpa said it's nothing serious!"
After she finished speaking, she waved her little hand.
Li Lanzhen looked at this small child, yet she had such magnanimous actions and tone.
He thought to himself that Buffalo's father must have been a magnanimous, kind, and righteous man, otherwise how could he have lost his life while going to the village chief's house to warn him of the impending flood?
Li Lanzhen glanced at Han Mingjiang as he stood up and said to Water Buffalo's Mother.
"Sister, my son and I are leaving now. We still need to find a way out."
The water buffalo's mother immediately grabbed her hand and said.
"Sister, no, you can't leave now. Have dinner at home before you go. My eldest son hasn't seen you yet."
You have no idea, our village was hit by a flood that month, which submerged the entire village.
The child's father was swept away by the flood while trying to warn the village before it arrived.
Not a single person in the village went out to help him.
As she spoke, she raised her sleeve and wiped her red eyes.
"My eldest son jumped into the flood to find his father and broke his leg when he hit a piece of wood in the flood."
By the time my mother and I pulled our eldest son ashore and carried him home, he was already on the verge of death.
We exchanged all the grain in our house for medicine, which saved our eldest son's leg.
The eldest daughter-in-law was pregnant and was frightened, which made her pregnancy unstable.
For those few days, the family ran out of food.
The youngest son would go to the river to catch some small fish, and we would go up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables and peel tree bark to eat.
That day, as dusk fell, the youngest son carried two bundles of firewood to Youzhou City to sell.
We actually met a kind girl; the things you gave him... that's how we got through that period.
You are our family's savior!
You absolutely must eat at our house and wait for my eldest son and grandson to come back. If you leave, my eldest son and grandson will blame me when they return!
Li Lanzhen thought it was a good idea; finding that path wouldn't be something that could be done in a short time.
Let's just consider it a good deed and stay for a meal with them.
"Alright, my son and I will trouble you for a meal here."
We just happened to catch a pheasant from the mountains, so we made soup and ate it together.
After saying that, he took a plump pheasant out of his basket.
He pulled on the basket on Han Mingjiang's back and said.
"There are some wild vegetable pancakes here. Let's heat them up and eat them."
I stewed a pot of pheasant soup and added dried wild vegetables to it.
Li Lanzhen discovered that the dried vegetable was cat's claw vegetable.
She suddenly remembered that when they were in Peach Blossom Spring, they hadn't noticed cat's claw grass growing on the mountain.
Next spring, she will go to the mountains to search for it.
Cat's claw vegetable can be dried or pickled, both are delicious.
Bao Ya has already become familiar with Han Mingjiang.
At this moment, Han Mingjiang lifted Bao Ya high in the air, and Bao Ya's giggles echoed through the courtyard.
Just then, two people, one big and one small, entered from outside the courtyard.
Bao Ya turned her head and exclaimed happily.
"Father, brother, you're back! We have relatives visiting."
She's Grandma's cousin, your great-aunt. You should call her "Auntie," and brother, you and I should call her "Great-Auntie" too.
After saying that, he pulled Han Mingjiang aside and said, "This is, my cousin."
The little girl explained the relationships between the people her grandmother had told her very clearly and plainly.
Water Buffalo's brother, Water Sequoia, understood what his daughter had said to him.
She took her daughter from Han Mingjiang and smiled at him.
"I am Metasequoia, the elder brother of the water buffalo. I'm so glad to see you all."
Han Mingjiang chuckled and said, "It's big brother, you're back."
He turned around and looked down at the boy standing next to the metasequoia tree, asking, "What's your name?"
The boy looked at him confidently and said, "Hello, Uncle, my name is Shui Anji, and I am nine years old."
Han Mingjiang suddenly realized that the Shui Niu family's surname was "Shui" (meaning "water"). It was indeed a good surname, as they lived near mountains and water.
When Buffalo's mother heard that her eldest son and grandson had returned, she pulled Li Lanzhen into the yard.
"Metasequoia, you're back! Come and meet your aunt."
Shuishan quickly stepped forward and bowed deeply to Li Lanzhen.
"Auntie, thank you so much. You are our family's savior. Without you, we would probably be in serious trouble."
His eyes welled up with tears before he could finish speaking.
When he thought about that moment, when his father was gone, he felt as if his world had collapsed.
The fact that he jumped into the water but couldn't save his father is a pain that will forever remain in his heart!
Li Lanzhen looked at the young man, her eyes slightly red, her face darkening, probably thinking of his deceased father again.
He smiled and said, "No need to thank me, it's fate that brought us together. Now that you're all back and the food is ready, let's eat."
Each person received a full bowl of chicken soup and soft wild vegetable pancakes.
Bao Ya's small bowl was piled high with the chicken that everyone had put on her plate.
Shui Anji's bowl also contained chicken.
Both of them quickly covered their bowls with their hands.
He shook his head and said, "No, no, it tastes better when everyone eats together."
Suddenly, the buffalo cried out happily.
"aunt!"
Li Lanzhen said with a smile, "Water Buffalo, why are you calling me 'Auntie' again? From now on, you should call me 'Cousin Auntie' so the village chief and the others won't gossip about it."
Water Buffalo's mother chuckled and nodded, "Alright, alright, Water Buffalo, call her Auntie! Call her Auntie from now on."
The water buffalo scratched the back of its head and smiled sheepishly.
“Aunt, I’ve thought of a place where you can also get to Youzhou City by water, and the journey is even shorter than here.”
Li Lanzhen and Han Mingjiang were delighted to hear this.
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