Granny Qin, whose name was brought up by her daughter-in-law, rubbed her nose and continued to toss her copper coins.
Those who had exerted themselves in the morning's scramble for water were now resting behind this dirt slope, aiming to cover more ground before dark after the hottest part of the day had passed.
"Sister-in-law, what did you divine?" Old Man Hou asked, tapping his leg.
Granny Qin shook her head. "It's inauspicious."
"What's inauspicious, Aunt Qin?" asked Hou Jing, who was sitting next to Old Man Hou.
"It's inauspicious to go to Anshun Prefecture ahead."
Granny Qin's words made the Hou father and son perplexed. Old Man Hou stopped tapping his leg and asked, "Why do you say that?"
"I don't know why. I, an old woman, can only tell good or bad fortune, not the reason," Granny Qin said, gathering the three copper coins and tucking them back into her waistband. She leaned against a large rock and closed her eyes to rest.
She was exhausted from the morning. The trip to Anshun Prefecture was inauspicious, yet there were hints of a turning point, which was strange.
The Hou father and son exchanged glances, realizing their upcoming journey would require even greater caution.
A meal between lunch and dinner, consisting of purslane and a small handful of edamame and grass brought back by Qin Junyao, allowed both people and donkeys to eat well.
After eating, they had to continue their journey. The people on the road could now see the green of the distant mountains and were all eager to reach Anshun Prefecture quickly.
Anshun Prefecture city was the first major city when entering the western part of the Qing Kingdom, situated at a crucial intersection for travel to the east, south, west, and northwest.
Therefore, Anshun Prefecture had a large and mobile population, affluent citizens, and was the most prosperous region in the western area.
However, this large city had recently been forced to close its gates due to refugees from the central region.
Fu Zi, disguised as a young girl in a peach-colored outfit, stood on the cart shaft, still unable to see the city gate, feeling a little anxious. They had come this far, so why hadn't anyone found him yet?
Unwilling to give up, he tilted his small feet forward, but could only see a dense sea of backs and heads.
Alas, he thought, he would have to eat more to grow faster.
"Kid, get down and sit properly. The cart is moving," Hou Neng, who was leading the donkey cart, said as he saw that they couldn't get through and prepared to move the cart aside and wait.
The Qin and Hou families, who had gathered around the cart, moved tiredly with the donkey cart towards the edge of the road.
Qin Junyao, carrying a basket, brought her left hand to her mouth, took a sip of water, and followed the cart.
Qin Junyao, who was glamorous and beautiful in modern times, was now no different from a beggar. Her messy hair contained bits of grass, and a two-pound worth of dust could be shaken off her clothes.
She, who used to be quite picky about food, could now chew purslane raw.
Fortunately, her spatial ability was a boon. Not only did it accelerate crop growth, but as Qin Junyao planted more soybeans and purslane, the water level in the well also rose.
This allowed their group to have a relatively sufficient supply of water.
"Sister!"
Fu Zi, sitting on the cart shaft and swinging his legs, reminded Qin Junyao, "You've closed your eyes again. Be careful not to let the cartwheel run over your foot."
Fu Zi's words startled Qin Junyao awake. She turned to look at Fu Zi and immediately felt invigorated. Fu Zi was her pick-me-up now.
Granny Qin, fearing that the plump boy would attract too much attention, borrowed a peach-colored outfit from the Hou family for him to wear, as the material of his clothes clearly indicated he wasn't from their family.
Later, worried, she combed Fu Zi's hair into two small pigtails, disguising him as a girl. She even found a piece of red paper and painted his face red.
After his face was painted red, Fu Zi, in Qin Junyao's opinion, didn't look like the New Year's picture dolls her second aunt described. Instead, he resembled the paper figures used in funeral ceremonies – quite frightening.
"Sister, why do you always look like you haven't woken up?" Fu Zi began his daily question again.
Qin Junyao, tired and hungry, didn't want to talk.
It wasn't that she hadn't woken up, but that she hadn't slept enough.
Every night, she was in her spatial dimension, planting beans, picking beans, shelling beans, and weeding. It was mentally exhausting.
During the day, not only did they have to travel, but she also had to learn to weave grass mats to place in her spatial dimension, otherwise, the soybeans in her dimension would sprout when they touched the soil, and the germination rate was one hundred percent.
If her spatial dimension didn't automatically absorb the useless bean pods and vines into the land, the amount of labor over the past few days would have killed Qin Junyao.
"You're not talking to me again. Are my brothers not looking for me anymore?" Fu Zi had grown accustomed to Qin Junyao ignoring him over the past few days. His words, after all, never fell to the ground.
"Your brother must have abandoned you," said Hou Liang, the twin brother of Old Man Hou's youngest grandson, chiming in.
"That's right, your family must not want you anymore," echoed Hou Shan, the other twin brother, also seven years old.
"Tsk, only you two can butt in. Behave yourselves," said Fourth Aunt Hou, their mother, lightly swatting each of her sons on the back.
Seven or eight-year-olds were indeed a handful. Little Fu Zi, already pitiful for being separated from his family, was being teased by these two imps at home.
"Fourth Aunt Hou, don't hit my brothers. They're still young," Fu Zi said to Fourth Aunt Hou, shaking his head.
"You two listen. Fu Zi is two years younger than you, and he's much more sensible. Stop for a moment and go collect firewood with your older cousins. Your cousin Shan Tao knows how to help twist grass ropes, and look at you two..."
Qin Junyao watched the twins, who were being lectured by Fourth Aunt Hou and couldn't lift their heads, and shook her head with amusement. This was not the first time these two brothers had been tricked by Fu Zi. The more they were tricked, the more they picked on Fu Zi, only to be tricked again.
She thought Fu Zi should have swapped names with the eldest son of the Hou family. He should have been called Hou Jing.
These days, the only information they had gathered about Fu Zi was that his full name was Zhao Youcai, he was five years old, he had a brother serving in the army in the northwest, and he had been separated from his mother. No other information had been obtained.
He was truly a cunning little rascal.
"Let's set up camp here for now. Eldest son, take Xingwang and go see what's happening ahead," Old Man Hou said, placing his walking stick on the donkey cart and instructing his eldest son and eldest grandson to go to the city gate to inquire for news.
"Third son, you go too," Granny Qin said as she stopped and began to unload the basket from her shoulder, speaking to her third son, Qin Sen.
"Second daughter-in-law, don't you see I can't unload this? Hurry up and give me a hand. You have no eyes."
Upon hearing her mother-in-law's words, Qin's second daughter-in-law quickly went to help unload the basket.
Being scolded by her mother-in-law had become a habit. However, due to the famine and lack of food, Granny Qin ate less and had less strength to act, which made things somewhat easier for Qin's second daughter-in-law and Qin's mother, the sisters-in-law.
The donkey cart was propped up with sticks, and the wheels were secured with stones. The Qin and Hou families placed their baskets around the donkey cart, leaving a few people to guard the cart while others searched the surroundings for anything useful.
Over the past few days, the two families had developed a tacit understanding. The men of the Hou family and Qin's second uncle were responsible for security.
The women of the Hou family were in charge of twisting grass ropes and watching the children. Qin's sisters-in-law primarily handled cooking, while the younger generation, like Qin Junyao, were the main force in finding firewood, dry grass, and food.
Qin Junyao skillfully moved items that she had previously placed in her spatial dimension back into her basket, then took them out and placed them next to the donkey cart, before going to find more supplies with an empty basket. Sudanne Novel Network.
She wasn't capable or unwilling to work. It was just that if she stopped, she wouldn't be able to get up. Every day, she gritted her teeth and persevered, waiting to sleep well at night to recover her strength.