Cai Lihua didn't recall this person much and looked to her daughter.
Meng Shaode turned his face away, too embarrassed to acknowledge his neighbor. The woman's husband had even mocked him back then.
He let Ajiu run off, calling out to the woman leaning against the wagon wheel.
"Auntie Li, it's me, Ajiu."
The woman shot up, looking around frantically, her face a mask of fear. She nervously eyed the cart behind her.
"I'm so sorry, my daughter and I were exhausted. We borrowed the carriage of a young lady of high status to spend the night. We didn't mean to steal it."
Ajiu blinked. What young lady of high status?
At the shout, the carriage door opened, and a small, scruffy, sturdy-looking boy peeked out.
"Mom, what's wrong? Is Dad back? Did he bring food?"
The boy rubbed his sleepy eyes.
"Come down quickly, wake your sister, all of you come down."
Auntie Li didn't dare to raise her head, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Ajiu seemed to understand. "Auntie Li, I'm Ajiu, from Xinghua Village, living next door to you. Do you remember? I'm not some young lady of high status."
Auntie Li slowly looked up. After traveling through mountains and forests, Ajiu was so dirty she was unrecognizable.
But the slender build was immediately recognized by Mrs. Li.
"Ajiu? Ah... it really is Ajiu. Ajiu, your Uncle Li was arrested, and the mule was stolen too..."
Mrs. Li rushed forward and hugged Ajiu tightly. She was the only person she knew who felt like family on this journey.
The strength she had mustered for her two children instantly crumbled.
Meng Shaode's eyes widened. "Sister-in-law, what did you say? Old Li was arrested?"
He had been embarrassed earlier. When they left home, the Li family had a mule cart, and his own ox had been drunk away.
Now, he had no room for embarrassment.
Mrs. Li looked up and saw several people standing before the carriage. She recognized Meng Shaode immediately.
"Brother, Sister-in-law, what am I going to do? Old Li was arrested by soldiers... the children haven't eaten in two days."
Mrs. Li collapsed to her knees. "It's so hard for me to raise two children alone. Several times I wished I were dead..."
Ajiu lowered her gaze and noticed Auntie Li's bare feet, her soles covered in blood.
She frowned. Even though she was fleeing famine now, her parents were with her, and her grandmother too. Her situation was excellent by comparison.
Indeed, at this time, it was incredibly difficult for a woman alone with two children.
"Mom," Ajiu turned to introduce her mother. This was the Li family who lived next door and owned two mules.
They were fleeing famine together, and at that time, the Li family had urged the Meng family to run quickly. They were the only kind souls in Xinghua Village who had prompted them.
"From next door?" Cai Lihua was a little hesitant. She didn't recall, but she seemed to remember that as they left their home, the neighboring family was indeed arranging their mule cart.
"Since we're from the same village, we must help each other."
Cai Lihua looked at the two little dumplings peeking out of the carriage and felt a natural maternal affection arise. She quickly took out a few peaches for Ajiu.
"Here, eat this. It will keep you from being hungry and quench your thirst." Ajiu looked at the two young brothers, their lips cracked with dryness.
Perhaps after their Uncle Li was captured, these children hadn't eaten or drunk anything.
"Auntie Li, you have one too." Ajiu handed over a peach.
Mrs. Li's pupils contracted. She looked at the peach and swallowed, but she didn't eat it. She quickly kowtowed a few times.
"Thank you, Ajiu. Thank you, Sister-in-law. My children's lives are owed to you."
Ajiu stepped back, letting her parents come forward. As a junior, she couldn't possibly accept the kowtows of elders.
Watching the two little brothers at the front of the carriage eat with gusto, Ajiu smiled.
*Ding-dong!*
The system, which hadn't made a sound for a while, chimed again.
"Increased merit points by eight, increased merit points by six, increased merit points by six. Your total is forty points."
Twenty points? Ajiu couldn't help but look again at the two children. They had pure hearts, and Auntie Li was always kind. Perhaps heaven would look favorably upon them.
Meng Shaode, however, looked grim, seeing how starved the children were.
He couldn't understand how Old Li had been arrested.
Perhaps because they were using a mule cart, they could only travel on the main roads. Thinking this, Meng Shaode glanced back at his wife and children.
Sometimes, fortune truly came disguised as misfortune. They didn't have the means, so they had to cross the mountains, which ended up being much safer.
He wondered how his elder brother, Meng Shaokang, was doing now.