"Mmm. We can," Tuoba Yan scratched his head and glanced outside at the endless, bald mountain. "But it might not be until tomorrow morning. We have to leave Qimingshan tonight; carriages aren't good for mountains."
Meng Shaode said with an air of disbelief, "Where would you get a carriage?"
Wu Dalei's eyes lit up. If this young brother could procure a carriage, or even a cart pulled by an ox or a mule, he could travel with Brother Meng!
Cai Lihua felt herself getting drowsy. She hadn't slept well last night, and on top of that, their food, rabbit meat, and pheasant had all been stolen. She could barely keep her eyes half-open, listlessly.
"Is that true or not, Little Yan Yan?" Ajiu was skeptical. He was someone who couldn't even manage his own affairs.
As if sensing others' doubts, Tuoba Yan's face flushed red at Ajiu's words. "Sister Ajiu, you have to believe me."
Seeing his agitation, Ajiu quickly said, "I... I didn't say I don't believe you. It's just that, under these circumstances, carriages are indeed rare."
"Then Sister Ajiu, just you wait. We set off tonight, and after a night's journey over three mountains, there will be a carriage waiting for us."
After saying this, Tuoba Yan turned and left.
His departing back seemed different from the days before, carrying a sense of loneliness.
Ajiu wasn't sure if she was mistaken, but Little Yan Yan had changed.
"Then... shall we trust this kid just this once?" Meng Shaode spoke after a long silence. He felt a little embarrassed about his suspicion of the boy earlier.
"Lihua, what do you think? And you, brother?"
Cai Lihua didn't respond. She was the cook, and her mind was filled with the stolen food. "You decide," she said dismissively. She didn't care. As the saying goes, one doesn't know the cost of firewood and rice until they manage a household. Her culinary skills were utterly useless now.
As for Wu Dalei, his eyes were alight. Humans are, by nature, gregarious animals. Even if he wasn't sure if the young man could get a carriage, he was happy just to stay together for one more day.
Cai Lihua saw the outcome and silently got up to go to the kitchen. She sat there with a look of helplessness. There was nothing left. What would they eat? She glanced through the half-door hanging from the frame; she had planned to take it down for firewood yesterday. With nothing else to do, her stomach rumbled. She could endure it, but what about her daughter, who was as thin as a stick? Thinking of this, Cai Lihua stared intently at the empty stove, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Mom, can you cook with watermelons?"
Ajiu leaned against the broken doorframe, smiling as if detached from the world. Well, that was good. She feared seeing suffering on her daughter's face, just like the first time she met her.
"We'd need them to do that. Whatever we have, I can cook."
"That's good then. Mom, look at what I have." Ajiu tossed the peach in her hand towards her mother from a distance.
Cai Lihua caught it, and found that the peach was as big as her fist. Even with a layer of sand clinging to it, it was enough to dazzle Cai Lihua's eyes.
"Oh, a peach! Where did you get it, my girl?"
"Over there." Ajiu pointed to the valley floor with her back against the doorframe. Seeing the smile on her mother's face made her happy. The peach tree was dry and withered, its leaves covering the peach blossoms she had seen the night before.
"Huh?" Cai Lihua looked at the valley floor in surprise. There was indeed a tree there. But she hadn't seen it when she arrived. Was she too tired to notice?
"Mom, I dug it out of the soil there."
"Really? No wonder it's covered in sand." Cai Lihua was very excited at this moment and quickly ran out the door.
Ajiu didn't follow until she saw her mother digging through the soil and uncovering the first peach, laughing like a child. She quickly began to dig with her bare hands, doggy-paddle style.
Soon, a small mountain of peaches piled up beside her.
"Heh heh, this is great." Ajiu, standing in front of the wooden house, could hear her mother's joyful sounds.
Just then, a person appeared on the opposite mountain. Ajiu's smile disappeared. Her gaze shifted upwards, and she saw it was the second-in-command who had robbed them last night.
"Mom, stop digging! Stop!" Ajiu shouted. It was because he had brought people to raid them last night that Ajiu had exhausted herself digging pits everywhere, for fear of losing their food supply. She had dug so many pits that could hold watermelons, and her bull-horn knife hadn't broken, but her wrists were about to break.