A watermelon weighing more than ten pounds had been gnawed down to a thin layer of green rind, with not even the white flesh left untouched.
Some people hadn't even spared the rind, chewing with cracking sounds.
"Uncle Song, has my brother been with you all along?" Ah Jiu asked softly.
Song Fengshou smiled when he saw Ah Jiu speaking and said, "We met him on the road three days ago. What's up?"
"Did you notice anything unusual about my elder brother?" Ah Jiu continued to ask.
"Nothing unusual, he's just become quieter." They were from the same village. Song Fengshou used to tease Meng Nanxing about his name, which was given by his father-in-law, a doctor.
Because Nanxing was a traditional Chinese medicine ingredient, Meng Nanxing always had a lot of theories and would argue with those older than him.
Sometimes, when talking about his wife, Meng Nanxing wouldn't let anyone say anything.
But this time, Meng Nanxing seemed preoccupied.
Everyone divided tasks to hunt for food, and Meng Nanxing followed orders, but he was reluctant to speak.
When he had nothing to do, he would squat by himself, lean against a tree stump, and sleep for half a day. If he wasn't called to move, he would just pretend to be dead.
Ah Jiu sighed upon hearing this, "Perhaps he misses his sister-in-law."
Big brother truly hated Grandma. If it weren't for her order not to bring female companions, he wouldn't have gritted his teeth and sent his sister-in-law and child back to her parents' home.
"Your elder brother, he's fortunate," even Ma Dabiao couldn't help but chime in:
"He married the daughter of an old doctor from the city. Her family is quite wealthy."
"My sister-in-law is a doctor?" Ah Jiu asked in surprise.
"Not at all. Some techniques are passed down from father to son, not to daughters. You probably don't understand, because daughters will get married, and they fear passing down some secret recipes to their in-laws. So, they'd rather teach their sons' wives than their own daughters."
Ah Jiu's pupils contracted at Song Fengshou's words. So that's how it was.
In that case, his sister-in-law wouldn't know medical skills. If she did, they could ask her when they reached Nanming City to find out if elder brother was sick.
"Ah Jiu... Uncle Wu is calling you," Tuoba Yan said softly.
Ah Jiu then got up and walked to the carriage.
Uncle Wu's face looked very grim. "Uncle, what's wrong?"
She remembered that Uncle Wu had said his family was too much of a burden, and they had been beaten by the people of Xinghua Village and then abandoned.
"Uncle Wu, don't we have this connection between us? Besides, my uncles from the village wouldn't just beat people randomly."
"I remember the people who beat me last time were all strong and burly, and they said they were from Xinghua Village and their surname was Deng. I looked for a long time but couldn't find these people."
Wu Dalei had a plan. If those Deng family members were around, he wouldn't follow.
"The Deng family? Isn't that from my Grandpa Deng's lineage?"
Ah Jiu blurted out.
Wu Dalei gasped in shock.
"But there are no Dengs here, Uncle Wu, don't worry. If you're still concerned, I'll call Uncle Song to ask him."
As Ah Jiu spoke, she called out to Song Fengshou, "Uncle Song, could you come here for a moment?"
Wu Dalei waved his hands frantically in fear.
But it was too late, Song Fengshou had already arrived.
Wu Dalei could only force a smile and ask, "Excuse me, brother, are... are the Dengs among our group here?"
"Are you referring to Deng Erfu? Yes, he is. The Deng brothers are out looking for water."
As soon as he said this, even Ah Jiu felt awkward.
Wu Dalei's face turned extremely grim. None of the Deng brothers were easy to deal with.
He turned and disappeared into the carriage.
Ah Jiu strained her ears and heard Wu Dalei telling his wife and mother to pack their things and leave.
As soon as he got out of the carriage,
Wu Dalei said with a wry smile, "We've troubled you all with your care along the way. We will part ways here and meet again in Nanming City in the future."