"Grandma, I actually don't know what kind of big shot it is. Anyway, if they knew you could summon rain, it wouldn't be good for you."
After A Jiu finished speaking, Meng Shaode nodded repeatedly:
"Although our mother is ill, let's just say she's possessed by an immortal. But we still can't be too ostentatious. Lihua, wouldn't you agree?"
Cai Lihua's mental burden increased again, and she nervously covered her mouth:
"It's all my fault. I didn't think it through. Perhaps we should leave."
"Go where?" A Jiu and Meng Shaode said in unison.
"Shaode, haven't you noticed that we haven't found Cai'er's carriage anywhere on this entire street? She definitely didn't come to Nanzhou County."
They had arrived in the latter half of the night, close to dawn. But in order to inquire about A Jiu, they had searched house by house, street by street, and also asked about Liu Cai'er's whereabouts.
However, there was no carriage of that size along the way, and the information they got was all negative.
Now that they had found Jiu'er, Cai Lihua realized she hadn't been fair to everyone. After all, Nanxing was also her son, wasn't he?
After spending a few days with A Yuan, Cai Lihua couldn't help but miss him. He was her own grandson!
"Yes, I mean, where do we go?" Meng Shaode had also been inquiring along the way and naturally knew Cai'er wasn't here.
At this question, Cai Lihua furrowed her brows. She truly didn't know where to go.
A Jiu lowered her eyes and pondered for a long time: "I guess sister-in-law must have headed straight for Lingnan, passing through Nanzhou County."
As soon as she said this, the couple looked at each other in dismay.
Their original long-term plan was to reach Lingnan, a place with water and salt, as their final destination.
After all, as long as they remained in drought-stricken areas, the common people would suffer immensely, and rebellion would be inevitable. Coupled with court infighting, it was true that hardship breeds wickedness. In such a scenario, wars would never cease.
If they had a choice, who wouldn't want to travel thousands of miles to Lingnan, a land of prosperity, to settle down?
For a moment, the air became very quiet.
Wang Shi paid no attention to this. She turned and ambled outside, looking for a suitable spot to meditate again.
"Mother, don't go. You are the head of this family, after all."
Cai Lihua grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"This old man will not be the head of this family." Wang Shi clearly didn't want to get involved in these troublesome matters unless absolutely necessary.
For her, going anywhere was the same. It was just that her vision was poor and she needed Jiu'er's spiritual spring water. In time, she would wander the world.
"Then I will be in charge. If I'm in charge, and we leave now, we might even catch up to your sister-in-law."
Cai Lihua didn't dislike being the head of the family.
"Running on foot? To catch up to a carriage pulled by horses?" Meng Shaode interjected. He had been traveling all night, through fire and rain, and hadn't even rested.
"If not running on foot, then you run her?" Cai Lihua retorted.
A Jiu looked at her father, then at her mother, her mind full of question marks. What did 'running on foot' mean? Did her father's leg get burned when Nanming City was on fire?
"..." Meng Shaode was instantly stumped. Could he carry three people?
"Then we can't let our daughter run on foot with us," Meng Shaode cautiously glanced at his wife, looking as if he was afraid of saying the wrong thing and getting beaten.
"You carry her on your back. Do you think it's like before, with carts loaded with goods? This time, we don't even have a single bundle."
Cai Lihua couldn't help but swear, which made A Jiu stare in amazement.
"Then what are you carrying on your back? Isn't that a bundle?"
Meng Shaode was courting death.
"Those are my knives, and salt. The tools for cooking. For a chef, aren't these as important as life itself?"
Cai Lihua shouted at the top of her lungs.
A Jiu felt increasingly that something was wrong. The atmosphere was much more charged than any argument they'd had before:
"Mother, Father, please don't argue. Sister-in-law and Big Brother are definitely going to Lingnan. At worst, we can set off another day and go to Lingnan too. Perhaps we can even settle down there."
The couple looked at their daughter, and their anger immediately subsided. Cai Lihua said softly, "Your sister-in-law left first, and your Big Brother was seriously ill, taking A Yuan with him. How could she manage alone? Mother is just worried she can't take care of them all by herself."
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Dadan, panting, leaned against the door frame, looking exhausted. After taking a few rapid breaths, he said:
"That... the physician Liu at the posthouse said to ask Miss Jiu to come over. Oh my, I'm exhausted."