Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ye Ling nodded and asked, “Do you know Chen County? Yu Huan said the salted chicken in Chen County is very delicious.”
“Yes, it’s a famous local specialty in our province,” Min Nan replied absentmindedly. After hesitating for a while, Min Nan couldn’t help but express her concern, “You two girls are going so far, would it be safe?”
In the past, Ye Ling might have hesitated to travel to such a distant place. However, she had developed some self-defense skills and realized that she couldn’t always rely on Min Nan for protection. She needed to become more independent.
Ye Ling gave a faint smile and said, “It’s alright, Big Brother Min Nan. We’ll be cautious, and traveling together should be safer. We’ll try to stay in crowded places.”
Min Nan pursed his lips, wanting to say more but eventually nodded. “Okay, then just be careful.”
The next day, Ye Ling woke up early, cooked millet pumpkin porridge for the family, and fried coarse grain bread. After breakfast, she took two extra coarse-grain bread as snacks for the journey.
“Just wait a moment.” Just as Ye Ling was about to leave, Min Nan suddenly called her back.
Ye Ling turned to look at Min Nan, puzzled, “Big Brother Min Nan, is there something else?”
Min Nan raised his hand and said, “Take this with you.”
Ye Ling saw a delicate silver whistle in Min Nan’s palm. The whistle shimmered brightly and looked quite exquisite.
“What’s this?” Ye Ling hesitated, wondering why Min Nan was giving her a whistle.
“In case you encounter any emergencies, blow this whistle with force. It might be of help,” Min Nan said calmly.
After saying that, Min Nan felt like he was jinxing Ye Ling, so he quickly clarified, “I mean, just in case. It’s always good to have an extra layer of security when you’re out.”
Ye Ling looked at Min Nan in surprise, realizing that Min Nan was genuinely concerned about her safety.
Ye Ling felt a strange emotion in her heart. After a moment of silence, she accepted the silver whistle from Min Nan with a bright smile. “Alright, I’ll take this whistle with me. Thank you for caring so much, Big Brother Min Nan.
Don’t worry, we’ll be back tonight.”
Seeing Ye Ling accepting the whistle, Min Nan felt relieved.
After learning that Ye Ling was going to Chen County with her friend, Min Nan hadn’t slept well that night. Although he wasn’t usually overly cautious, the recent accidents involving Ye Ling had left her somewhat anxious.
As a grown man, Min Nan couldn’t accompany two girls on their trip. After some thought, he retrieved the silver whistle from his belongings.
This silver whistle was something Min Nan’s mother had left him. Min Nan used to enjoy playing with it as a child. However, as he grew older, it didn’t seem fitting for a burly man to play with a whistle all the time, so he put it away.
Now, it seemed that the whistle could serve a purpose.
Min Nan opened the courtyard gate and saw Ye Ling off for a bit. Then, he said,
“I’ll come to pick you up at the bridge later.”
After bidding farewell to Min Nan, Ye Ling met up with Yu Huan. The two of them walked to a wide road outside the town and got onto a truck carrying several passengers.
During the journey, they changed vehicles twice and finally arrived at Chen County around noon.
Chen County was a small county. Although it was more bustling than a small town, the buildings on the roadside appeared somewhat aged. Pedestrians wore simple clothes, quite different from the fashionable attire seen in Shanghai.
Yu Huan led Ye Ling to a somewhat run-down shop. A few locals were sitting inside, and the shop owner and his wife stood by a steaming pot, fishing out whole chickens from the boiling water.
Yu Huan found seats and sat down. She loudly called out, “Boss, three portions of salted chicken!”
Ye Ling was taken aback. “Three portions? We can’t finish them, can we?”
Yu Huan nodded. “Of course we can’t. We’ll eat one, and you can take the other two back for those people to enjoy.”
Ye Ling quickly understood that by “those people”, Yu Huan meant the three Wan brothers and Min Nan.
Ye Ling was staying at the Wan family’s residence, so bringing back some food would be appropriate after their outing.
Although Yu Huan didn’t have a positive opinion about men, she had considerately thought about Ye Ling’s situation. This touched Ye Ling deeply..