"No, no..." Meng Shaode's back prickled under his wife's gaze.
"I mean, I... we're all family."
This was it, Father was going to get a beating this time. Ah Jiu, wisely, moved far away with her bowl of rice, lest a fight send sparks from the stove and set her alight.
No one could blame the others, though. Their father was just bad with words.
"Lihua, I... I misspoke, I didn't mean to..."
Meng Shaode, clutching his bowl and chopsticks, also wanted to flee.
"Are you saying you plan to pick up a widow on the road to be your second wife?"
Beside them, Li's wife, tears in her eyes, was amused. "Sister-in-law, don't overthink it. Brother speaks without thinking."
Ah Jiu glanced over. Her mother was merely glaring at her father, and he was already a ghost of his former self.
"It really wasn't like that, wife, madam... I misspoke, please don't hit me. Don't let people laugh at us."
Ah Jiu withdrew her gaze and tilted her head back, draining the last of the soup.
Not to mention, without salt, her mother's soup was always so delicious.
"Ah Jiu sister, your father and mother are fighting, why aren't you going to mediate?"
Tuoba Yan found Auntie's hands on her hips quite frightening.
"No need, she wouldn't bear to hit my father."
Along the way, Ah Jiu had understood. Every time her mother acted selfishly, it was for the safety of her and her father's lives.
If Father were injured, Mother would be the most heartbroken.
Just as Ah Jiu predicted, Mother twisted his ear, but not with much force.
"Sit down and eat." Cai Lihua pointed at a stone.
Startled, Meng Shaode quickly sat down and ate obediently.
"We need to set off after eating. You take some food to Zhao Kun. No matter how much water you fetch, come back," Ah Jiu said to Xiao Yanyan.
"Why? Shouldn't we fill it before leaving? You'll need water on the road."
Tuoba Yan hoped to fill it, at least enough for Ah Jiu sister's three families.
"We need to hurry to find my elder brother," Ah Jiu explained no further.
Tuoba Yan knew that the moment he appeared, the person named Meng Nanxing had fled. He had heard about this incident following Ah Jiu's family along the way.
"Okay." Tuoba Yan stood up and served a bowl of soup. The meat had been mostly distributed, with only a few scraps left at the bottom of the pot.
As soon as Tuoba Yan left, everyone, having eaten their fill, began to discuss their next plans.
"We should catch up with the main group from Xinghua Village. They don't have carriages, so I think we can catch them," said Li's wife.
"I think so too. We need to inquire about Nanxing's whereabouts, after all."
Meng Shaode had known from the start that this child would run off without a trace. He should have knocked him out then and there.
He was truly a worry.
If that boy were captured, Meng Shaode would have lost a child.
"Eldest brother is blessed, he'll be fine. I think he's still with the main group."
Ah Jiu spoke up after a long while. It wasn't that she was particularly capable, but she hoped it was true.
In these turbulent times, even if a family had to eat coarse food and wander aimlessly, she had realized on this journey that as long as they were together, even eating dirt brought a sense of peace.
"Then let's pack up and set off to catch up with the main group."
Meng Shaode made the final decision.
Among the heads of the households, Ah Jiu noticed that Wu Dalei had not spoken.
But Ah Jiu understood this too; he was terrified of the refugees from Xinghua Village.
As Ah Jiu looked at him, Wu Dalei felt a pang of guilt, as if not speaking would only make him more awkward:
"Brother Meng, this humble one has something to ask, if I may."
"Speak. It's times like these, why be so formal?" Meng Shaode, who had been so solicitous in front of his wife, was, of course, fond of her, but between men, there was no need for such hesitation.
"May I ask how you get along with the villagers?"
Wu Dalei worried that Brother Meng lacked the ability to take charge. If he ran into the Xinghua Village refugees again, wouldn't that be akin to throwing himself into the jaws of death?