"Yes, it seems good days are not far off."
Cai Lihua said this as Meng Shaode went to the carriage to get watermelons.
Several people squatted around a watermelon, their eyes bulging with red veins.
Tie Chui slowly reached out, poked it with his finger, wet his finger, and looked at his mother:
"This one is so big."
"This is the last one," Meng Shaode said, his tone clearly low.
"Alas... if only I had known, I wouldn't have given it to those beasts to eat," Cai Lihua said indignantly:
"A bunch of ungrateful wretches, hmph."
Saying that, she brought down a knife and split the watermelon open.
Meng Shaode took a step back, looking at his wife in panic, as if to say: I don't think I said or did anything wrong.
"Eat!" Cai Lihua handed a slice of watermelon to Meng Shaode, startling him.
He took it and started to gnaw.
"We've finished distributing them. Now we have to get on the road. Old Meng, you said how many days it would take to reach Liu County?"
Cai Lihua genuinely disliked those snobbish people and didn't treat her husband poorly.
"At least two days," Meng Shaode obediently counted on his fingers:
"But if we travel day and night, we can get there in a day and a half."
He had run errands before and was quite familiar with the road conditions.
"Then, after this meal, we won't rest. We'll go straight to Liu County and then rest to our hearts' content."
Cai Lihua's words meant that the entire day and night would be spent in the carriage.
"Oh… I'm exhausted, Master De, I finally caught up with you."
Ma Dabiao suddenly appeared in the woods like a ghost.
A Jiu's pupils contracted. He looked back and saw Ma Dabiao and Song Fengshou in tattered clothes, reduced to rags, looking utterly disheveled.
But how could they be so fast? It defied reason.
Meng Shaode and his wife turned to look.
The sight was astonishing. Ma Dabiao and Song Fengshou, supporting each other by the shoulders and knees, collapsed onto the ground.
"How did you catch up?"
Cai Lihua realized something was wrong and almost dropped the watermelon in her hand in fright.
How could they have been caught up by four-legged horses galloping at full speed?
"Sister-in-law, we... we crossed mountains along the way. Others were slow, so they specifically sent my brother Ma and me to chase. One day and one night... our feet are worn out, and our bodies are scratched by branches... alas!"
As they spoke, the two of them, hugging each other, lay on the ground, only their breathing audible.
A Jiu deliberately paid attention to the feet of the two uncles. Uncle Ma's straw sandal was missing one, and the remaining one was tattered and hanging on his foot.
Uncle Song's feet were bare, and they were covered in blood.
"Uncle Song, don't move," A Jiu stepped forward and took out her water pouch:
"Uncle, have some water."
Song Fengshou's eyes flickered. They hadn't had a single drop of water in the day and night they had been chasing the carriage.
At this moment, seeing water was like seeing a dream.
"Good girl, Uncle... drink," Song Fengshou's eyes turned red. He took the water pouch and tilted his head to drink several mouthfuls:
"Ma Dabiao, you drink some."
Ma Dabiao took it and also tilted his head to drink several mouthfuls.
Meng Shaode glanced at his wife's expression and muttered, "It's only because my daughter is kind-hearted. If it were me, I wouldn't even bother with you."
Meng Shaode spoke his wife's inner thoughts honestly, lest she get angry and hurt herself with a belly full of grievances.
After drinking the water, Song Fengshou and Ma Dabiao recovered their strength.
"Master De, by what you said, are you planning to take care of us?"
Although he was trying to get an advantage, Ma Dabiao's face broke into a smile.
"From now on, we'll follow you," Song Fengshou added. The spirit in his eyes flickered, but it quickly dimmed:
"Master De, we ate tree bark all the way. At best, we caught two rabbits. We used the blood as water and the meat for sustenance. But there were too many people, and each person could only get a mouthful. That was a day's ration. We truly couldn't survive."
"The past few months have been worse than life for dogs. If it weren't for your watermelon, Master De, we might have died of thirst. The rabbit blood only made us thirstier, burning our throats..."
Ma Dabiao groggily got up and sat down, his eyes full of desolation.