"Grandma Jiang, is Brother Erlang's injury getting better?"
Zheng Cui'er was wearing a washed-out blue long dress today, looking clean and neat.
Chen Yuezhi smiled and said, "His injury wasn't that serious to begin with. Your mother has been thoughtful. Cui'er, sit here. Su Luo, come over and chat with Cui'er."
Before Mrs. Su could respond, Zheng Cui'er quickly said, "Grandma Jiang, please don't be so polite. I'm not here to play. I'm here to see if there's anything I can help with. Brother Erlang was injured saving me, and my parents feel quite indebted. So they told me to come over and lend a hand when I have free time."
Chen Yuezhi said busily, "We don't need your help. Just sit down."
Zheng Cui'er turned to look at Jiang Wan, "Then how about I take care of Wan Wan? Grandma, you must be busy and can't pay attention to Wan Wan. Leave her to me."
Chen Yuezhi thought about it and decided it wasn't a big deal, so she nodded, "Then I'll trouble you."
"It's no trouble, no trouble. Wan Wan, come, Sister Cui'er will take you to play."
Jiang Wan thought that her mother and sister-in-law hadn't slept much last night, and if she stayed, they would have to take care of her. So she agreed to go with Zheng Cui'er.
Before long, Zheng Cui'er brought her to a group of young girls.
These girls were about the same age as Zheng Cui'er. They were gathered together doing needlework, chatting and laughing, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant.
As a result, when these girls saw Jiang Wan arrive, they all fell silent, and there was even a hint of fear in their eyes.
They had already heard about Jiang Wan from their brothers or fathers. From pushing stones to hit refugees on the back mountain, to saving people the night before yesterday, and then fighting snakes last night, each incident made them fearful of this five-year-old chubby girl.
Jiang Wan had originally wanted to make some friends, but seeing the expressions of these girls, she immediately felt it was meaningless.
Zheng Cui'er was quite attentive to her, asking if she was thirsty, then asking if she was hungry. Jiang Wan felt awkward to keep a straight face, so she smiled dryly and shook her head.
Finally, it was time for lunch, and these girls were going home to cook. Zheng Cui'er also stood up, "Wan Wan, I'll take you home."
Jiang Wan quickly stood up. Good heavens, she had been bored to death all morning.
Just as they had walked a short distance, a boy of seven or eight ran over, "Sister, where are you going?"
Jiang Wan looked and recognized him. Wasn't this the glutton who had forced his father to buy rabbit meat a few days ago and then shoved the rabbit meat into her mouth?
She suddenly remembered that Zheng Cui'er seemed to be the daughter of Zheng Dayou!
Zheng Cui'er smiled and said to Jiang Wan, "Wan Wan, this is my brother, Xiao Shan. Let's take you home together."
Jiang Wan nodded, having no objections.
The three of them walked through the camp and soon arrived at Jiang Wan's home. Chen Yuezhi and Mrs. Su were preparing lunch.
"Grandma Jiang, we've brought Wan Wan back."
Chen Yuezhi smiled and said, "Then we really have to trouble you. Did Wan Wan cause you any trouble?"
Zheng Cui'er pursed her lips and smiled, "No, Grandma Jiang, are you cooking? Then I'll help with the fire."
Chen Yuezhi said, "No need..."
Zheng Cui'er, however, sat enthusiastically by the fire and began to add firewood.
Chen Yuezhi couldn't stop her and felt quite embarrassed.
Soon, lunch was ready. Zheng Cui'er stood up, "Grandma Jiang, then my brother and I will be going back. Please eat, we'll come again in the afternoon."
Chen Yuezhi couldn't bring herself to drive people away at mealtime, so she said, "Don't leave, stay and have a meal with us."
Zheng Cui'er looked a little embarrassed, but Zheng Xiao Shan readily agreed, "Okay, thank you, Grandma Jiang."
The lunch was just enough for the seven people in the family. With two extra people, the meal was a bit tight, but since there was nothing to do in the afternoon, no one minded.
After lunch, Zheng Cui'er said again that she wanted to take Jiang Wan out to play. Jiang Wan quickly waved her hand, "No, I want to take a nap."
Good heavens, the morning had felt like an eternity. If she went out again in the afternoon, she thought she would go crazy from boredom.
Zheng Cui'er said with some regret, "Then you sleep first, and I'll come to find you when you wake up."
Jiang Wan took it as a polite remark and didn't pay it any mind. She crawled into the tent and went to sleep.
However, when she woke up, she found that Zheng Cui'er was really waiting for her outside!
Jiang Wan quickly closed her eyes again. As long as she didn't wake up, she wouldn't have to participate in that useless socializing!
She thought that if she didn't wake up, Zheng Cui'er would surely leave, but who knew that the girl would stubbornly wait and not leave. Jiang Wan tossed and turned in the tent in frustration.
She wasn't someone who liked to lie in bed all the time, and there was no bed here anyway. The bedding was laid directly on the ground with only a layer of oilcloth. Sleeping on it was hard and uncomfortable.
Finally, when it got dark, Jiang Wan thought that Zheng Cui'er must be leaving now.
Who knew that she would proactively help with the fire and cook dinner again.
As dinner was almost ready, Zheng Xiao Shan arrived and said that their parents had gone into the mountains and hadn't returned yet. So Chen Yuezhi kept the two of them for dinner again.
Jiang Wan touched her chin, feeling that something was not quite right, but she couldn't quite recall what it was.
All the villagers who had gone into the mountains returned before dark. Everyone had a good harvest this time. The snakes in the mountains hadn't gone far, and after a night, many snakes had returned to the water sources.
Since the number of snakes was not as terrifying as before, the villagers didn't even need firecrackers. They directly rushed forward to kill snakes. After a day of hard work, every family that went up the mountain had something to show for it.
"There are still quite a few snakes that haven't been caught. If we can catch all those snakes, we won't have to worry about food."
"Since that's the case, let's stay a few more days. It doesn't make much difference whether we leave a few days earlier or later. Let's catch more snakes to eat on the way."
The villagers had this idea, but the Jiang Pan family was a bit anxious.
Others could wait, but they couldn't.
They still had to find a way to inquire about Jiang Xiao's whereabouts. If they continued to delay like this, they would surely fall further behind.
After much deliberation, Jiang Pan got up to find the village chief, and Jiang Wan quickly followed.
The village chief's family had just finished dinner and was sorting the snake meat they had brought back from the mountains today. Seeing Jiang Pan arrive, he smiled and asked, "Is there something you need?"
Jiang Pan asked, "Village chief, when are we setting off?"
The village chief said, "Everyone is thinking of catching more snakes now, so I'm afraid we won't be leaving in the next two days. What's wrong?"
Jiang Pan sighed, "Village chief, if it were in the past, I would also think this decision was good. But in this chaotic world, the longer we stay, the more dangerous it is. Those refugees could catch up to us at any time. We've already stayed here for two days. In these two days, those refugees might not be far behind us."
The village chief was startled, "Da Pan, have you heard any rumors?"
Jiang Pan wasn't trying to scare him, "No, but this is the truth. Village chief, every household has enough grain now, so we won't starve in the short term whether we catch snakes or not. But if we are unlucky enough to encounter refugees, can we protect the grain we have now?"
"Also, winter is approaching. Traveling in winter is really too difficult. To be safe, we should set off as soon as possible. The sooner we reach Jiangnan, the sooner we can be at ease."