"Dinner's ready!"
Xue Nizi stood by the roadside with eleven trees and shouted loudly.
People busy on both sides of the road heard it, and adults and children alike flocked to the reed marshes and riverbank to wash their hands.
The adults would grab the children, brush the dust off them, and then lead them to squat down by the river to wash their hands and faces.
After tidying themselves up, they all came to the Eleven Trees Restaurant.
In the few days since Li Lan left, Li Erhan has made two more long dining tables just like the ones they used to have.
Everyone says that sitting around a long table on both sides, facing each other, creates a good dining atmosphere and makes the food taste better!
Since it's all individual servings, you take your own bowl, line up in front of the six large iron pots to get your rice, and then sit down at the table to eat.
Xue Nizi also suggested that each person should have two bowls.
One bowl can be used to hold porridge or rice, and the other can be used to hold vegetables.
Li Lanzhen thought her suggestion was excellent.
Seeing that they've brought back more than 20 people, there probably won't be enough jobs for them.
She went to the kitchen again and put down the more than 100 bowls.
There were plenty of chopsticks, and Li Erhan even made chopsticks for the children that were a little shorter than the chopsticks used by adults.
The children loved it so much that they wanted to keep it with them all the time.
So tonight's dinner scene was quite spectacular.
If long dining tables are placed lengthwise, the distance between them would be too long, so they are arranged in a U-shape.
Above the U-shaped opening are six large iron pots lined up in a row.
This way, it's more convenient for either side to get more rice.
Directly opposite the six large iron pots was a row of tables.
The passengers were Li Erhan, Han Shunde, Zhang Deshui, and Xue Laohu.
They insisted that Li Lanzhen sit there as well, and in the middle.
Li Lanzhen resolutely refused. She chose to sit in the first seat on the left, closest to them, next to her mother, Ye Shi.
Everyone knew who Master Xu was, so they respectfully invited him to sit in the middle seat at the front.
Master Xu shook his head and said, "No, no, we mustn't let the guest overshadow the host!"
Then, he sat down comfortably next to Li Erhan.
On the side where Li Lanzhen and the others were sitting, it was almost entirely women, with girls following behind them.
The people sitting opposite them were all men.
Li Lanzhen found this natural and spontaneous action quite amusing.
Today at mealtime, we arranged for the younger children to sit down first, without letting them get up and line up to get food. There were too many people, and we were afraid they would get hurt.
The children were obedient and sat quietly waiting for their meat to be eaten.
Xinghua and Lihua, along with a few older girls, served the children their meals on the table, reminding them to be careful of the heat.
Everyone else was still queuing up for food.
If you can't hold two bowls in one hand, you have to get your food in two separate trips.
Han Mingxiang first served rice to Master Xu, and then went to get rice for Li Lanzhen.
Li Lanzhen waved him off, telling him to go queue up himself.
Then Han Mingxiang went to help Li Erhan and Ye Shi get food.
His cousins beat him to it.
Li Erhan chuckled as he spoke.
"It's alright, it's alright. You can help Grandpa get his meals tomorrow. Grandpa will be waiting."
Everyone started with a bowl of fish soup, and then took wild vegetable pancakes according to their own appetite.
In another bowl, there was braised pork with potatoes, and braised chicken and rabbit pieces with potatoes.
After you finish eating, anyone who wants chicken soup can go and have some.
As for the cold wild vegetables, just put them in several large bowls, place a few bowls on a row of tables, and eat them in rotation.
Dinner was so lavish!
Li Lanzhen noticed that there were still not enough tableware for everyone, which made it difficult to move the dishes around. She considered bringing out another batch of bowls, but then thought better of it.
Once each family's house is built, they will no longer eat in the communal dining hall; each family will eat on their own.
Then we don't need to worry about so many people; it's too tiring!
During the meal, everyone was concerned about the people and things Han Mingxiang and Han Shulan had encountered along the way, and how they arrived in Youzhou Prefecture.
They all wanted to hear about what was happening outside.
Han Mingxiang ate while talking to everyone.
The children stopped playing and instead perked up their little ears, smacking their lips as they ate, listening intently.
When they heard something scary, everyone cried out, "Ouch, ouch!"
A child's soft voice doesn't reveal how loud it is, but when many children utter the same word at the same time, the sound becomes very loud!
I noticed the way the adults were looking at me.
They quickly shut their mouths, puffed out their cheeks, and pretended to eat, avoiding looking at the adults.
Han Mingxiang and his companions were adrift on the water when they encountered bandits.
In the critical moment, it was the siblings Shuisheng and Lingjiao who saved Han Mingxiang and Han Shulan.
The two siblings took Han Mingxiang and the others to their own village, a small fishing village where people made a living by fishing.
The small fishing village has been completely submerged by the flood.
Now that the floodwaters have receded by half, the brother and sister have rebuilt a house in a relatively high-lying area.
Everyone in the village was swept away by the flood, including their parents.
Only 17-year-old Shuisheng and his 10-year-old sister survived in the entire village.
They didn't want to leave their hometown, so they had been living there for about half a month until they met Han Mingxiang and his companion.
This time they rescued Han Mingxiang and Han Shulan, and the four of them stayed in the small fishing village for a few days.
Han Mingxiang then told Shuisheng that they had separated from Li Lanzhen and Hanjiacun.
Han Jiacun and Li Lanzhen are going to settle down in Youzhou City.
Therefore, they are now heading east to Youzhou City.
Han Mingxiang saw that Shui Sheng and Lingjiao, the brother and sister, were sincere and kind people.
Moreover, the brother and sister saved both of their lives.
He then asked the brother and sister to travel with him to Youzhou City to find Li Lanzhen and the others.
Shuisheng thought about it for a day and realized that living here with his sister was not a long-term solution.
So, I decided to follow Han Mingxiang on her journey to find her relatives.
Unexpectedly, they had just set foot on the territory of Youzhou Prefecture.
Before they could even feel happy, they were ambushed and robbed by the bandits of Wild Wolf Village and taken up the mountain.
Fortunately, when they left the small fishing village, Lingjiao and Han Shulan dressed as men.
They address each other as brothers to outsiders.
After they were captured and taken up the mountain, they had little money on them because they were already refugees.
Therefore, it can be said that he and Han Shulan were penniless and had no valuable treasures left.
People like them, who were fleeing famine and were captured and taken to the mountains, and who didn't have anything valuable on them, were first beaten up by the bandits.
Then they threw him into that cave.
After the four of them entered the cave, they discovered that more than 100 people were already being held there.
Upon arriving at the cave where they were imprisoned, they inquired about information from the people there.
We learned that the first people arrested here have been here for more than half a month.
Those who were beaten to the point of near death were all strong and capable people with some martial arts skills.
I don't know how these bandits judged it, but they just could tell who knew martial arts.
Therefore, even someone with some martial arts skills like Changsheng couldn't escape a beating.
After spending three or four days in the cave, Han Mingxiang and his companions learned that the bandits and King Jin were in cahoots.
The bandits robbed and plundered here, conscripted men, and then sent them to Jin Wang as cannon fodder.
These people did try to escape, but when they were caught, they were beaten even more severely, until their skin was torn and bleeding. They were also dragged over to watch as an example to others!
Shui Sheng and Han Mingxiang discussed that they should remain still and wait until the bandits were on their way to Jin Wang before taking the opportunity to escape.
Later, they met Silver Fox's three bodyguards.
These three people, along with Shui Sheng, Han Mingxiang, and two others dressed as men, Lingjiao and Han Shulan, formed a small gang.
Silver Fox's three bodyguards were seriously injured, especially the second one. Although his leg bone was not broken, he must have injured a tendon, making it difficult for him to move.
Whenever the bandits distributed food and water to them.
Shui Sheng and Han Mingxiang pushed their way to the front to grab more food and water to feed the three guards.
The three guards were also very grateful for the help Shui Sheng and Han Mingxiang had given them while they were imprisoned in the cave.
So, in the days that followed, the bandits tried to bully them on several occasions.
The people in the cave also formed cliques, and one group always tried to steal and seize the food and water of the others.
At this time, all three of them would help them.
Knowing the power of the Silver Fox Guards, no one dared to provoke these three!
And so, the days passed until the day Li Lanzhen and Silver Fox came to rescue them.
The night before, when the bandits delivered food and water, they told them that they would set off before dawn the next morning to take them to a better life.
Han Mingxiang and the others then realized that they were being sent to the Jin King's front lines to fight and die.
The group quietly discussed their plan against the mountainside, intending to escape along the road.
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