"Jun Yao, wait up! I'll go with you," Qin Daniu called out to Qin Jun Yao, who was about to leave.
"Um, I'll go too," Qin Xiaoyu quickly put down her bundle on the donkey cart and ran to Qin Jun Yao's side.
There were so many people here. What if her sister was captured and eaten?
It wasn't that she cared about Qin Jun Yao; she was just afraid they wouldn't have water if her sister was captured. Yes, that's right, she was afraid of not having water.
Qin Jun Yao looked down at the small, dark hands clutching her clothes, then at Qin Xiaoyu, who was glancing around everywhere but at her. She pursed her lips. Was she this proud at six years old?
"Er Niu, you go too. Keep your eyes peeled. Don't let them treat you like a two-legged sheep," Grandma Qin found a stone to sit on and said to her grandchildren. If it weren't for Qin Jun Yao, she wouldn't bother.
Seeing that Grandma Qin had allowed Er Niu to go, Qin's father was relieved and retracted his foot. His nephew was more capable than he was.
.
"Big sister, where are we going?" Qin Er Niu asked Qin Jun Yao while rubbing his shoulder and looking around at the people.
"Looking for someone."
"Looking for someone? Do you know Axe's family?" Qin Er Niu's first thought upon hearing his younger sister was looking for someone was that she was looking for Axe's family.
Qin Jun Yao shook her head and remained silent, continuing her search.
Found one.
An old woman, wearing clothes without patches and holding a small boy, entered Qin Jun Yao's sight.
"Auntie, would you like some soybeans?" Qin Jun Yao walked up to the old woman and said softly.
The donkey cart where the old woman was sitting was loaded with chests studded with brass nails, indicating she was well-off.
Besides seeing the old woman's kind aura, Qin Jun Yao noticed that the people sitting with her were as thin as they were, meaning they were also short on food. Besides, at this time of year, no one would refuse extra food.
"Girl, do you have soybeans? Money? Fabric? I'll open a chest for you, and you can take whatever you like."
"Eldest son, open the chest quickly!" The old woman, hearing Qin Jun Yao ask if she wanted soybeans, excitedly urged her son to open a chest. If there was no more food, her little grandson would have to eat chaff too.
Seeing this, Qin Jun Yao immediately intervened, "Auntie, don't get so excited. Others are watching."
The old woman, holding her grandson, looked around and indeed saw many people looking at them. She calmed down slightly and tried to take Qin Jun Yao's hand, but realizing she was still holding her grandson, she leaned closer to Qin Jun Yao.
"Girl, my family dyes cloth. Tell me, what would you like to trade?"
Qin Jun Yao had originally intended to trade for seeds, but fabric would be good too.
She had quite a few soybeans in her spatial dimension, which should be enough to trade for a lot of things.
"Fabric is fine."
The old woman's family members came closer and huddled together to shield them. Qin Jun Yao used the bowl the old woman provided, pretending to scoop soybeans from her back basket, and exchanged it for a large piece of blue cloth, which she placed in Qin Daniu's back basket.
The old woman wanted to trade for more, but Qin Jun Yao refused and also let her feel the weight of her back basket, indicating she didn't have many soybeans. The old woman had no choice but to give up.
Once they were out of the old woman's sight, Qin Xiaoyu couldn't hold back her questions.
"Where did you get the soybeans? Why didn't you give them to Grandma? Don't you know we don't have any food? You traded the soybeans..."
"Call me sister." Su Dan Novel Network
Qin Jun Yao's two words silenced Qin Xiaoyu. She absolutely refused to call her sister.
"Jun Yao, this..." Qin Daniu continuously touched the back basket behind him, feeling uneasy. Although fabric was valuable, it was not as valuable as grain. Trading grain for fabric would result in a beating.
"What 'this' and 'this'? Our sister is capable."
"Big sister, do you have any more soybeans? Save some for me, second brother, to roast. Roasted soybeans are crispy and delicious!" Qin Er Niu put his arm around Qin Daniu's shoulder and said to Qin Jun Yao with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, I do. When we go back, I'll say we met a wealthy family who gave us food. Big brother and second brother, don't let it slip!"
"Don't worry, little sister," Qin Er Niu said, his eyebrows even higher upon hearing there were more soybeans, and he patted his chest to guarantee it.
Qin Jun Yao smiled faintly. The two children from Uncle Er's family, like their uncle, were concerned about their family. No matter how fierce they were outside, they always smiled at their family when they returned.
Even to the original owner, who was such a spoiled brat.
Seeing that her elder brother and second cousin had both made their promise, Qin Jun Yao lowered her head and said to Qin Xiaoyu, "Xiaoyu, if you don't tell anyone, I'll ask Mom to make you a new dress." As she spoke, Qin Jun Yao patted Qin Daniu's back basket.
"Hmph, I'm not keeping your secret because of a dress. I'm afraid Grandma will hit me out of anger," Qin Xiaoyu's only white part was her eyeballs, which she now rolled to the sky.
Qin Xiaoyu, like this, was quite amusing.
Qin Jun Yao found it strange. According to the memories in her mind, Qin Xiaoyu was disobedient, disrespectful to elders, stubborn, sloppy, and an unlikable brat.
After interacting for a few days, she realized this child was not as unbearable as in the original owner's memory.
Perhaps the original owner's memories were fragmented and disjointed, and they only recalled unpleasant things.
It seemed that her views and evaluations of this family could not be based solely on the original owner's preconceptions from her memories. Qin Jun Yao reminded herself to be objective.
The Qin siblings searched among the crowd for people to trade with, while Suo Zi and his men also searched for Axe in the crowd.
"Deputy General Zhou, we've been searching for two days and still haven't found him. Could he have not come west?" asked a soldier, dressed similarly to the refugees, to Suo Zi.
"If the General hadn't come west, he would have sent us word. Axe and his men are slow, so they might not have arrived yet. Everyone, search carefully."
Suo Zi was also dressed like the refugees. Along the way, due to the slow speed of Mrs. Qian's carriage, too many refugees blocked the cart and begged for alms.
The further they came towards Anshun Prefecture, the more people there were. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Suo Zi, who went out of the city to search, had to disguise himself.
Suo Zi was searching among the new refugees. Suddenly, his peripheral vision caught a familiar, sturdy little back.
He turned and walked a few steps towards the back that was sitting at the highest point of the donkey cart, and tentatively called out, "Axe?"
Hearing the call, Axe turned around sharply, startled at first. He looked at the person with a face full of dirt and tentatively called out, "Brother Suo Zi?"
Suo Zi, whose soul had been half scared away by Axe's unfortunate appearance, raised his voice and called out again, not entirely sure, "Axe, son of Chui Zi?"
Upon hearing Suo Zi's words, Axe excitedly stood up and called out again, "Brother Suo Zi, son of Old Zhou?"
"Ah~~~ Axe, I've found you!" Suo Zi, certain that the unfortunate appearance was indeed their beloved Axe, ran towards the donkey cart with his arms outstretched, shouting.
Axe, standing on the donkey cart, stomped his little feet and shouted with his arms outstretched, "Ah~~ Brother Suo Zi, you've found me!"
Grandma Qin and the others who were sitting and resting were not moved by this scene. They just looked at the two embracing and spinning around with a peculiar feeling.
A tall beggar hugging a small "substitute" and shouting loudly was somewhat unsettling.
"Stop shouting, are you his brother?" Grandma Qin put her hands on her hips and peered at Suo Zi with slanted eyes.
This beggar did not look like Axe. As an old woman, she was good at seeing the bones beneath the flesh. The bone structure of their heads did not look like they belonged to the same family.