"Little Rain, I'll save the other half for you to eat tomorrow. Eating too much will give you a stomach ache," Qin Junyao said, wrapping the half-eaten roasted corn cob in its husk and placing it at the bottom of the basket, which was actually her spatial dimension.
She also wanted to test if the spatial dimension had a preservation function.
"You'll really give it to me?" Qin Xiaoyu expressed her doubt. Sudan Novel Network
"I will," Qin Junyao guaranteed.
Qin Erniu gently tapped Qin Xiaoyu's forehead with his chopsticks and chuckled, "You little girl, your sister found all this corn. Why are you afraid she'll hoard yours? Here, eat more of the boiled ones."
"Oh, little sister, can you find any seasonings? I heard that brushing chili sauce on the boiled corn and then roasting it is truly delicious. If we have seasonings, we can try it too."
Qin Junyao found the method familiar.
"Who taught you this method, Second Brother?"
Qin Erniu turned his hands over, taking the roasted corn from the fire. He blew on it to cool it faster. "That's how they roast it in the barbecue shops in the city, right, Little Uncle?"
After he asked, Qin Sen touched his earlobe. The corn was really hot.
Qin Sen took the boiled corn he was eating and looked at Qin Junyao beside him. "Eldest Niece, you asked me what good food there was in the city, and I told you."
"You... don't remember."
The last sentence was a statement, not a question. Qin Junyao could only chuckle and lower her head to eat the boiled corn. These small matters were simply not in the original host's memory.
Qin Erniu peeled some corn kernels for Qin Xiaoyu, who hadn't had enough. He raised his eyebrows, glancing at his third uncle and eldest sister. His eyes darted around as he continued the conversation, "Little Uncle, I heard that this barbecue method was taught to the people by the founding empress."
"Yes, the founding empress was an extraordinary woman. Besides her culinary achievements, her greatest contribution was building seafaring ships and bringing back various grain seeds. The people were well-fed, and the army was strong. At that time, countless small countries came to pay homage to our Qing Dynasty."
"What was that empress called, and where did she come from?" Qin Junyao interrupted Qin Sen's next words, wanting to know the empress's name and origin.
A fellow countryman, that empress was likely from her homeland.
"Where did she come from?"
As Qin Sen couldn't recall where the founding empress came from, someone spoke up to answer, "The Saint Mother Empress came from an outer realm, her name was Yuan Fang. She claimed to be the daughter of the Party. It seems the Party must be a great father."
"Excuse me, everyone. I'd like to exchange some sweet potatoes for corn."
After Zhao Liangcai finished speaking, the scene fell silent, with only the crackling of the burning firewood.
Qin Junyao was first amazed by the sudden "bass voice," and then thunderstruck by the content of the words.
Qin Sen exchanged a glance with Suozi, recognizing each other, and they were speechless.
"We won't trade."
"Where did you put Ax?"
"Where did you get fresh corn from?"
Qin Erniu, Qin Sen, and Suozi spoke at the same time and then fell silent at the same time.
Qin Daniu heard "Ax" and silently stood up, blocking his younger siblings. Qin Sanniu, who had participated in snatching Ax with Suozi, also stood beside his eldest brother.
"What's going on?" Zhao Liangcai rubbed his temples and asked Suozi.
"These are the people who saved Ax's family. I've seen two of them," Suozi glanced at Zhao Liangcai's eyes and explained. "Ahem, there was some misunderstanding when we brought Ax into the city."
Zhao Liangcai nodded and clasped his hands in greeting. "Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Ax's elder brother... Zhao Chui Zi. I arrived here today." He then looked at Suozi. "My elder brother was concerned that his family's actions were too extreme. Please forgive us."
Qin Sen walked through his nephews and stood in front, also clasping his hands and speaking politely.
Qin Junyao carefully observed this man, who was at least 1.9 meters tall, with a slender waist, broad shoulders, and a full beard. She couldn't imagine this man being Ax's brother.
Hammer, beard – these two things shattered the amazement she felt upon hearing that deep voice.
Looking at Suozi, he was half a head shorter than Zhao Chui Zi, with a broad face and thick back, also a true warrior.
As Qin Junyao scrutinized the two, Zhao Liangcai was also observing her from the corner of his eye. It wasn't because Qin Junyao was beautiful; among refugees, being able to distinguish genders was already considered good.
He was looking at Qin Junyao's hands.
Clean, excessively clean, with no dirt under her fingernails.
When Suozi took over the conversation and offered to help the Qin Hou families leave, Zhao Liangcai began to observe more closely. Qin Junyao's hands weren't the only clean part; her exposed wrists and neck were also very clean. Only her face and head looked unwashed from the continuous days without washing.
The others who were holding and eating corn were not so clean.
Why?
And this fresh corn, let alone in a drought-stricken area, even in areas without drought, ordinary people wouldn't be willing to eat fresh corn. Where did they get it from?
Zhao Liangcai, this young general, had a big question mark placed on Qin Junyao in his heart from their first meeting.
"Saving Ax was just a small gesture from my mother. We'll gift this corn to you two," Qin Sen said. After calmly chatting with Suozi and the others, he realized these two were not simple individuals.
Due to his health, he couldn't do heavy labor and often begged in the city. He had seen all sorts of people, and these two were not just soldiers as Ax had described.
In this place far from crowds, such people were not to be offended.
"Sis~~" Qin Xiaoyu was almost crying when she heard her little uncle say he was giving the corn away. She had only eaten half a roasted cob.
Qin Junyao chuckled and stroked Qin Xiaoyu's head, lowering her body and whispering, "I've saved yours for you."
"Really?" Qin Xiaoyu didn't move away from her sister's touch and even moved closer to Qin Junyao.
"Really."
Their seemingly quiet conversation reached Zhao Liangcai, who practiced martial arts. He, who didn't want to accept the benefactors' corn, changed his mind.
He placed a bag of sweet potatoes at Qin Sen's feet. Zhao Liangcai squatted down and took one roasted corn cob. He let Suozi take the rest to distribute to the other brothers.
It was summer. Besides the corn in their hands, he could tell at a glance if they were hiding anything on their bodies.
He was very curious whether that woman was just humoring the little girl or if she really had something.
Zhao Liangcai sat cross-legged by the fire, signaling for everyone to continue eating. It was easier to get information from adults here.
Qin Sen also wanted to understand the situation in other places through Zhao Liangcai. Both sides had reached an unspoken understanding.
Erniu and Sanniu sat on both sides of Zhao Liangcai, separating Qin Junyao and Qin Xiaoyu from him.
This way, Qin Junyao ended up facing Zhao Liangcai.
Qin Sen introduced the people around the campfire to Zhao Liangcai, and then inquired about the outside situation.
"The imperial court has ordered Yongning City to be sealed. The three prefectures around it are also experiencing a drought, and the people have begun to flee," Zhao Hongcai said, peeling some corn kernels and putting them into his mouth to chew.
Hmm!? It wasn't his imagination.
This corn really could alleviate his headache, albeit very slightly.
Zhao Liangcai had taken countless prescriptions from doctors, but the effect only lasted for a while. His illness wasn't cured, and the medicine had even caused stomach problems.
He lowered his head to look at the roasted corn. A slight curve appeared at the corner of his mouth, hidden behind his beard.