The group spent another afternoon shelling all the corn cobs.
The next day, it was already the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, and Grandpa Zhao was starting to worry because he still hadn't received a letter from Zhao Yunyun.
After breakfast, Yunhua said, "Lu Chuan and I will go down the mountain to check on things in a bit. Yunyun should arrive today. Let's go down and wait for her."
Lu Chuan looked up at Yun Hua and nodded in agreement.
The Taoist priest agreed, saying, "Alright, then you can go down and wait there."
Xu Han said, "I'll go prepare some food for you to take with you. If Yunyun hasn't returned by mid-afternoon, you can come back first and go again tomorrow."
Grandpa Zhao also reminded him, "Yes, keep an eye on the time, don't come back late."
The two replied, "Okay, we understand."
After Yunhua finished speaking, she pulled Lu Chuan out. The rest of the family members were also busy. Taking advantage of the time, Xu Han quickly made some beef jerky so that Yunhua and Yunyun could take it with them.
Xu Han has made beef jerky many times, and now it's a piece of cake for her.
During the winter hunt, we specifically hunted bison so that we could make beef jerky for the two of them to take back with them.
Without further ado, with the help of the Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao, they got to work quickly. The Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao were in charge of cutting the beef, while Xu Han used this time to prepare the necessary seasonings.
Around 2 PM, Lu Chuan returned with Yun Hua and Zhao Yunyun.
Xu Han was a little surprised when she saw the group return. "You all came back together? I thought if Yunyun came back with you, it would be at least late afternoon. I didn't expect you to come back so early today."
Lu Chuan replied, "We waited down the mountain for a short while before we saw Yunyun. It was quite a coincidence. Yunyun had arrived at the place last night, but because it was late, she didn't go up the mountain. We just waited down there for a while, and then Yunyun came over from the county town."
Yunhua chimed in, "If we hadn't gone down to get Yunyun, she probably would have walked up herself."
Upon hearing this, Xu Han laughed and said, "Hahaha, it's good that you arrived in time. If you had been any later, you probably would have missed it."
As the group was talking, Grandpa Zhao saw Zhao Yunyun return, immediately took the bundle from her hands, and then pulled her to sit down in the sun.
Grandpa Zhao was exceptionally happy to see his granddaughter, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.
After they were seated, Zhao Yunyun greeted everyone, "It's been a long time! How have you all been? I see that Mu'er and Ze'er have grown up quite a bit. Does Mu'er still recognize me?"
Zhao Yunyun reached out her hand, and Mu'er, seeing this, came to Zhao Yunyun's side, letting Zhao Yunyun hug her. She even called out very loudly, "Hello, Aunt Yunyun."
"Oh, hahaha, it seems Mu'er still remembers me. That's why Aunt Yun brought you so many gifts. Take a look and see if you like them."
After Zhao Yunyun finished speaking, she picked up a bundle from the side and opened it. Inside were all kinds of toys that children like.
"I really like it, thank you Aunt Yun."
When Ze'er saw that her brother had a new toy, she immediately stumbled and ran towards Mu'er, trying to snatch some toys from her brother's hands.
"Does your little brother want one too? Don't take it from me, I'll get it for you."
"Eee-yah-yah." Ze'er didn't listen to Mu'er at all and grabbed it directly, even slapping Mu'er on the head in the chaos.
Seeing this, Xu Han coldly said, "Mu'er, fight back."
Mu'er glanced at her mother, then slapped Ze'er, but considering her younger brother was still small, she didn't hit him hard.
When Ze'er saw that his brother had hit him back, he looked at his mother and father with a wronged expression, but neither of them paid any attention to him. Seeing that playing the victim was useless, Ze'er could only obediently wait for his brother to bring him toys.
Mu'er wasn't stingy either. After hitting her younger brother, she picked out some toys suitable for Ze'er to play with from her bundle, just like before.
Everyone was used to this scene, but it was different in Yunhua and Zhao Yunyun's eyes.
Yunhua laughed, "Hahaha, this Ze'er is quite good at reading people's expressions."
Zhao Yunyun also said, "This is so cute! I never thought these two brothers could get along like this."
Xu Han explained, "You'll understand when you have children. These two children are close in age, so they're more likely to fight. If parents can't treat them equally, the two brothers will have conflicts and estrangement in the future."
The Taoist priest chimed in, "The girl has experience in educating children. Although she dotes on these two children, she absolutely cannot cross any fundamental principles. These two children will definitely not go astray in the future."
Lu Chuan also said, "No parent doesn't love their child, but the rules must be set. You can't spoil your child unconditionally, otherwise the child will definitely have problems when they grow up. They will either be spoiled brats or unreasonable, arrogant and conceited."
The group chatted for a while longer on this topic, and the conversation inevitably drifted to matters concerning the border.
The Taoist priest asked, "How is the situation at the border? As Yunhua said, judging from your appearance, it is indeed worse than during the drought. It seems that life at the border is even more difficult."
Yunhua chimed in, "You've gotten darker and thinner. Life on the border must be tough."
Zhao Yunyun explained, "The situation is indeed not very good. But I've mainly lost weight because of sun exposure, and I often don't have time to eat when I'm busy."
The people living on the border are doing relatively well. Although our army clashes with other countries from time to time, so far, there hasn't been any major harm to their personal safety. They can still live normal lives, only facing the constant threat of war. When there's no fighting, they can live normally; when there is fighting, they have to hide.
However, life was indeed difficult for the soldiers stationed at the border; they lacked food and clothing. Just recently, at the beginning of winter, they didn't even have warm winter clothes.
Yunhua continued, "Has that batch of winter clothes arrived?"
"The supplies have arrived, but they are still not enough for the soldiers."
Currently, minor conflicts are ongoing between the two sides, and the most pressing needs are for medicinal herbs and food.
If this battle cannot be ended quickly, the longer it drags on, the smaller our chances of victory will become.
The Taoist priest replied, "I'm afraid a great battle is about to break out."
Xu Han thought for a moment and said, "If a war really breaks out, I feel it would be a good thing, at least it would end the war as soon as possible."
Just as Yunyun said, the longer the war drags on, the smaller our chances of winning become. War is the most costly and exhausting undertaking. War is all about supplies and money.”
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