A Jiu hadn't even had time to marvel at the plumpness of the wheat ears.
A Nai's voice came from behind.
She spun around abruptly, and in her carelessness, Wang Shi snatched the wheat grains from her hand, bringing them to her nose for a sniff.
"Hmm, good, good." Then she popped them into her mouth.
"Hey, hey... A Nai, why did you eat it?" A Jiu frowned and asked.
Wang Shi brushed the chaff off her hands and said nonchalantly,
"These things are heavenly treasures to you ordinary folk. If I eat them and restore my body's spiritual energy, I'll repay you in the future."
"Just say you're greedy, don't talk nonsense," A Jiu muttered, but she was still happy to see her mother, father, and uncle return with game.
"If you think I'm talking nonsense, then I'm talking nonsense. I won't argue with you. Just tell me your wish, and I'll surely grant it for you in the future."
Wang Shi waved her hand as if she wouldn't bother with mortals.
"Then I'll talk nonsense with you. I wish for it to rain, so the common folk won't have to starve."
A Jiu said stubbornly, but it was impossible. It hadn't rained a single drop in three years. She was just indulging A Nai in her nonsensical talk.
"Then you just wait and see," Wang Shi pointed at the sky and said, "In the past, even the heavens had to obey me. Now, it's not as good as it used to be."
"Hmph, when we get to Nanming, Father will find someone to cure you, and you'll be back to your old self."
A Jiu ignored her and met her disheveled mother.
The two plump field mice in her hands were indeed tempting.
"A Jiu, be careful, don't touch them. If you get bitten, Mother will be heartbroken."
Cai Lihua was also beaming today, finally having some meat.
She skillfully skinned and deboned them, then roasted them over the fire:
"If only we had water, Mother would wrap them in lotus leaves, seal them with red clay, and bake them. They'd smell so fragrant."
"Hey, young man, your body is recovering quite quickly. You didn't wake up until you saw meat, did you?"
Cai Lihua couldn't help but scold with a laugh as she saw the young man tending the fire not far away.
Tuoba Yan muttered to himself: So that girl's name was A Jiu.
"Yes, isn't it? Auntie, your knife skills show you know how to cook. I'm all thanks to Auntie that I can have such good food."
"Oh, such a sweet mouth," A single sentence made Cai Lihua beam with joy.
Meng Shaokang, who returned empty-handed, glanced sideways:
"Mother, I think this child is not very proper. We already don't have much food, and now with one more mouth to feed, how will we live?"
Although Wang Shi had gone mad, she had always hated people snatching her food in the past.
Wang Shi sat cross-legged on a rock, as if the world had nothing to do with her, not even moving her eyelids.
"Mother?"
Meng Shaokang completely gave up. Now, his mother, who used to dote on him the most, the eldest son, ignored him.
A Jiu scooped out the barley porridge that Xiao Yan Yan had cooked and served it to her two younger cousins first:
"Be careful, it's hot. Aunt, please blow on it. After we eat, we need to find a place to stay for the night."
Luo Xiuying looked at the bowl of thick porridge, her eyes full of gratitude: "Thank you, Jiu'er."
In the past two days, she had seen the respect between the couple in this family of three, and the responsibility of the two brothers. Looking at her own husband, bitterness welled up in her heart.
"You're welcome, we're all family." As she said this, A Jiu scooped out a bowl for herself and deliberately sat next to A Nai.
"A Nai, you don't like this food either, do you?" She ate with gusto, as if deliberately teasing her.
"Who said that?" Wang Shi's eyes flickered. She snatched the bowl and chopsticks from A Jiu's hand and began to eat.
He also realized that this world was far from as spiritually abundant as his previous life. The small amount the girl gave him today could only barely repair the severely ill body.
A Jiu almost laughed. She said she wasn't hungry and wouldn't eat, but here she was eating:
"By the way, A Nai, didn't you go to find my elder brother? Where is he?"
"I didn't find him, but I saw a group of people on the mountain heading south."
A Jiu pondered. Could it be that her elder brother had caught up with the main group that left Xinghua Village before them?
That was good. As long as there was no danger to his life, she didn't have to worry. They could meet up in Nanming City anyway.
"Your barley is not right." A Nai, after a few bites, pushed the bowl back to A Jiu. She had thought it had spiritual energy like before.
What was wrong? A Jiu was confused, looking at the half-eaten bowl of rice left by her grandmother with a puzzled expression.