Chapter 259: Set Off
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
While Jiang Chuan was making pancakes with his wife, Zhou Lan casually remarked, “Both our daughters are growing now, and these nutrients just can’t keep up. It would be great if we had some calcium tablets.”
Jiang Chuan chuckled, “These days, only foreign countries sell calcium tablets. Where can you buy them here?”
“At least we could have some cow’s milk or goat’s milk. Didn’t Zhou Juan and her father bring back a carton of milk when they entered the village last time?”
Jiang Chuan pondered.” Logically speaking, villages should raise dairy cows, but now every household struggles for food. Who would raise them? The underdevelopment of the livestock industry leads to imbalances. Let’s see what’s available in the market.”
Early the next morning, Jiang Chuan loaded the car and then woke up Zhou Lan and their two daughters.
Besides clothes and shoes, Jiang Chuan also brought along the twenty kilograms of relief grains that the village had just distributed.
The journey only required two or three days, and there was no need to bring so much food. However, considering they were heading to Zhang family’s place in the mountains, they couldn’t arrive empty-handed. In these times, food was the most practical gift.
Jiang Chuan locked up the house securely, fearing the old Jiang family might take advantage of their absence to seize their home. He left two rabbits with the neighbor, Xiao Li, and asked him to watch over the house during their absence.
Xiao Li initially offered to return the rabbits, saying that house-watching was just a trivial task, but Jiang Chuan had already released the rabbits in his house.
Xiao Li, being an honest man, didn’t say much and packed his pickled vegetables for them to take along.
After leaving the village, they walked until they were in a secluded area, and only then did Jiang Chuan bring out the SUV. The family happily headed towards their destination.
They didn’t stop along the way. When they got hungry at noon, they ate the dry food they prepared the night before and drank water from their storage to restore their energy.
While driving, Jiang Xia suddenly raised a concern, “Dad, this car has run at least two to three hundred kilometers since we got it. Why is there still fuel?”
Jiang Chuan realized he hadn’t considered this, glanced at the fuel gauge and replied, “Right, but the fuel gauge has always shown it’s full, not dropping even a bit.”
Jiang Xia quickly understood that the SUV vehicle had a unique featureendless fuel.
They drove until sunset before reaching near Locust Tree Bay. They stopped in a desolate area, and after Jiang Chuan put away the vehicle, they took out baskets to look as if they had walked a long journey.
Once in the city, they found a hotel.
The hotel’s owner was a tall, skinny woman with a somewhat harsh appearance. She had a dark mole near her mouth and was not very pleasant to look at.
After checking their identification, she glanced at the four of them and said with a slight frown, “You’ve been walking all day, but you all seem quite clean.”
Jiang Chuan panicked, realizing he had forgotten to make themselves look travel-worn.
They had been driving all day, so they weren’t dusty. If they had been walking on the country roads, they would surely be dusty and have dirty shoes.
While Jiang Chuan was panicking, not knowing how to explain, fortunately, the hotel owner didn’t probe further. After assigning a room, she said, “Go to the third floor. I’ve given you our largest room for the four of you.”
Jiang Xia quickly thanked the hotel owner, who, despite her stern appearance, was quite kind and thoughtful.
As they were about to head upstairs, the hotel owner called out, “You came all the way from Pushan Village, how many days did you walk?”
Jiang Chuan stiffened, grateful that their identification showed they had left two days ago. Otherwise, it would have been hard to explain their swift journey.
He turned to face the hotel owner, who was leisurely leaning against the counter, watching them. Jiang Chuan, with his honest face that seemed incapable of deceit, replied, “Two and a half days. Along the way, we got a lift from a donkey cart, which is why we managed to reach Locust Tree Bay before nightfall.”
Claiming they rode a donkey cart explained their cleanliness. The hotel owner nodded, not questioning further.
After settling in, Jiang Chuan, lying on the bed near the window, said after a pause, “1 forgot about the date on our identification. If we reach the foot of Grand Cloud Mountain tomorrow, the people there would surely be suspicious after seeing the date. We might as well stay here for another two days..”