Jinhoo’s face turned red with embarrassment and tried to push the gift back, but Liu Xiaoqiao stopped her, "We’re all family here, do you really need to be so polite when your uncle and aunt give you something to eat? So reserved? Are you treating us like strangers?"
Unable to refuse, Jinhoo accepted the gift and awkwardly thanked Liu Xiaoqiao, "Thank you, Fourth Aunt!"
Once they had finished tidying up, they went together to the backyard.
In the backyard, Wang Yongzhu and Old Granny Zhang had already gotten up and had been busy in the kitchen for a while. They cooked a stack of egg pancakes and boiled more than a dozen eggs, and prepared a jar of pickles—enough servings for three people.
They also simmered a pot of thick rice porridge, with a rich layer of rice oil on top, piping hot, which they let Wang Yongzhu eat.
Just as Wang Yongping and Jinhoo arrived, they called them to join for the meal.
Wang Yongping didn’t hold back, and Jinhoo hesitated for a moment, but the aroma of the white rice porridge was enticing, and the pickles served with the porridge were Old Granny Zhang’s specialty: sour pickles cooked with finely chopped chili peppers, fragrant, sour, and spicy, which immediately opened up one’s appetite.
Finally, unable to resist the temptation, she sat down. With a sip of the rice porridge, she felt warmth spreading through her body, followed by a mouthful of the savory pickles.
Soon, the only sounds in the room were Wang Yongping and Jinhoo slurping their porridge.
A large pot of rice porridge was soon divided, with Wang Yongzhu and Old Granny Zhang each having a bowl, and the rest was devoured by the uncle and niece duo.
After eating, Wang Yongping, without any sense of shame, sighed contently, "There’s nothing like Mother’s cooking, I’ve missed it so much!"
It’s fortunate Liu Xiaoqiao wasn’t there, otherwise, she would definitely have demanded an explanation from Wang Yongping. Was she feeding the dog every day with the meals she made?
Jinhoo also looked completely satisfied; she was even more pitiable than Wang Yongping.
Although Liu Xiaoqiao’s cooking wasn’t as good as Lady Jiang’s, it wasn’t bad at all.
Out of the whole family, Lady Lin had the worst cooking skills, basically, as long as the food was cooked, that was good enough for her, never bothering about flavor or appearance.
Ever since they had split the household, enduring Lady Lin’s culinary torture day after day, Jinhoo was so moved nearly to tears by the chance to enjoy Old Granny Zhang’s long-missed cooking.
Comparing the two, the food she had eaten over the past month was barely fit for pigs.
Old Granny Zhang, looking at her son and grandson who could eat so much, felt somewhat annoyed and waved them off, "If you’re full, go help your old mother work! What are you doing slumping in the chair? Get moving!"
She then handed the packed food to Wang Yongping to carry to the cart.
After giving a few more instructions to Wang Yongzhu and seeing them off, she went back to the house only after the horse-drawn carriage had disappeared into the distance.
The carriage left Qilidun, made a turn, and headed towards the neighboring Yang Family Village.
Passing through Yang Family Village revealed a rugged mountain road. Beyond their village was the other side of Dahei Mountain. Apart from a few gentle slopes near Yang Family Village, the rest were steep and winding mountains.
Early in the morning, the mountain road was deserted, so they decided to roll up all the carriage curtains.
Wang Yongping drove the carriage, chatting with Wang Yongzhu casually, inquiring about things in the county town.
Wang Yongzhu picked out some interesting stories about the county town to share, and the journey was filled with laughter and good spirits. Even Jinhoo had let her recent discomforts fade away.
After leaving Yang Family Village, they hadn’t gone far when Wang Yongping suddenly said in a low voice, "Oh my, who’s that young girl running into the mountains so early in the morning? That’s not for fun."
Hearing Wang Yongping’s comment, both Wang Yongzhu and Jinhoo looked ahead.
Not far away, a frail figure was walking on the mountain path with a huge basket on her back. She took a few steps, then stopped to catch her breath, looking pitiable.
Jinhoo uttered a sound and revealed an understanding expression, "It’s her—"
Wang Yongzhu heard the implication in those words, did Jinhoo actually know her?
"You know that little girl?"
Jinhoo sighed, "Didn’t I go to Yang Family Village yesterday to inquire about the wild tea? This is their Fourth Miss. After giving birth to five daughters, they finally had a son, whom they dote on as if he were a precious treasure. The third daughter is the one married off to Yingzi Gully. It was she who brought back the wild tea to her parent’s home, where they dismissed it as worthless leaves."
"This Fourth Miss, I heard, since she could trade mountain goods for snacks, that little brother has been forcing his elder sister to gather mountain goods for him to trade for snacks after she’s done with her chores at home! Just yesterday, this girl showed real skill, I don’t know how she managed to dig up two fresh bamboo shoots in the mountain with the weather . Why is she heading up the mountain again today?" she said, her eyes showing sympathy.
Upon hearing this, Wang Yongzhu looked again at the frail figure, and felt uncomfortable.
She hurriedly said to Wang Yongping, "Fourth Brother, let’s give that little girl a lift when we get closer. Seeing her like that, it’s hard to bear!"
Wang Yongping agreed readily, and with a pull on the reins, the carriage slowly stopped beside the little girl.
When the little girl suddenly saw the carriage stop next to her, she hurriedly retreated several steps, shrinking to one side.
Jinhoo quickly asked, "Where are you going? Can we give you a lift?"
The little girl’s originally frightened eyes relaxed a bit after seeing Jinhoo.
Upon hearing Jinhoo’s question, she shook her head and waved her hands, speaking softly, "Thank you, but I can walk!"
Jinhoo, not expecting the girl to refuse, was momentarily stunned and looked back at Wang Yongzhu.
Wang Yongzhu also leaned out and said, "Little sister, come on up, we’re going to Yingzi Gully. Where are you headed? It’s on the way for us, no trouble at all! Otherwise, at your pace, I’m afraid you wouldn’t make it into the mountains before nightfall."
The little girl looked up at Wang Yongzhu with a surprised expression. After hearing Wang Yongzhu’s words, she hesitated for a moment before saying, "Thank you, miss! I’m going to Yingzi Gully too!"
Wang Yongzhu clapped her hands, "That’s perfect! Come on up!"
With that, she reached out her hand to the little girl.
The little girl stood hesitantly, rubbing her hands on her clothes before reaching out shakily.
Wang Yongzhu took the little girl’s hand, feeling its coarseness and the many scars. The girl’s wrists seemed almost as if they could snap from washing.
It was hard to imagine how the girl managed to carry such a large basket over such a distance.
With a gentle pull, she helped the little girl into the carriage.
She then let her put down the basket and sit on a long bench cushioned with cotton padding.
The little girl was extremely uneasy, shrinking back and not daring to sit. The fabric of the cushion on the bench was nicer than anything she wore, and she was really afraid of soiling it.
Wang Yongzhu pulled the little girl down to sit, noticing that her lips were so dry they were white. She quickly handed her a bamboo tube, "Drink!"
The little girl was indeed very thirsty. She pursed her lips, took the bamboo tube, removed the stopper, and guzzled the water inside the tube until it was all gone.
When she realized the bamboo tube was empty, she looked embarrassed and uneasy, holding the tube, not sure whether to give it back to Wang Yongzhu or to keep it in her hand.