Ten minutes later, Tian Jing, pretending to be out of breath, and Ding Anhua, truly panting, reached the large tree.
Beneath the tree stood a figure, upright and straight. Standing there alone, one could not tell that his legs were problematic.
With wheat-colored skin and a square face, his bone structure appeared more prominent due to his thinness. He possessed a stern demeanor, and with a height of 1.8 meters, his looks and build were average. Tian Jing discounted the weathered and mature appearance, mentally scoring him a 65, barely enough to be her cohabitant.
Li Zhengguo was also observing Tian Jing. Seeing that she was alright and not utterly exhausted, he breathed a sigh of relief. Sudannovel.com
As soon as Ding Anhua saw Li Zhengguo, she said hurriedly, "The person has been delivered. I'll be returning now. In ten days, I'll come to pick up Li Min."
Li Zhengguo withdrew his gaze. "Alright, thank you, Auntie Tian."
"No need for thanks." Ding Anhua was anxious to return. She instructed Tian Jing, "Live well," and then hurried away, as if something was chasing her from behind.
Tian Jing placed her new bundle at the base of the tree and sat down on it. Feeling the hardness beneath her, she scoffed inwardly. At least it was old cotton; it would have been worse if they had stuffed it with reeds.
She reached into the old bundle and fumbled around, pulling out a small, white, coarse cloth packet. Opening it, she found two *wowo tou* and two boiled eggs.
Picking up an egg, she cracked it against the tree trunk behind her and quickly peeled it. She was too hungry and needed to replenish her energy.
Li Zhengguo took out a bamboo tube from his embrace and offered it to Tian Jing, who was choking slightly on her food. "Drink some water. Eat slowly. There's still plenty of time."
Tian Jing looked up, gazing at the man with a calm expression. "Have you used it?"
"No, it's new. I made it specially for you."
Tian Jing automatically ignored the last sentence, took the bamboo tube, removed the stopper from the bamboo joint, and took several gulps. Only then did she manage to swallow the egg yolk that was blocking her esophagus. She had almost choked to death. She still preferred steamed egg custard.
The water in the bamboo tube was still warm. She hadn't expected Li Zhengguo to be so thoughtful. As for the other two members of the Li family, they remained to be understood.
Mother Li was gentle and weak, and the original owner's actions had completely demoralized her. She wanted to repay the original owner's debt and also find a way to nurse Mother Li back to health.
As for Li Min, it was hard to say. According to Tian Ping, it was Tian Lifu's interest in Li Min that led to the exchange marriage. Thinking about Li Zhengguo's physical condition and family situation, it must have been Li Min who orchestrated the exchange marriage.
Otherwise, given the nature of the Tian family, even if they were to exchange her, they would have done so within nearby villages. Why would they have exchanged the original owner to a mountain area over thirty miles away from the Tian family? It would be inconvenient for them to continue exploiting the original owner later.
Bringing her thoughts back, she returned the bamboo tube to Li Zhengguo. Tian Jing pointed to the *wowo tou* on the white cloth. "Eat those two *wowo tou*."
She had eaten enough cornmeal and craved meat. She had been here for several days and had only eaten roasted rabbit meat once. She wondered if the Li family had meat to eat. In the deep mountains, there should be plenty of meat, right?
Li Zhengguo's lame leg should prevent him from hunting in the mountains, right?
Wait? That wasn't right. In her memory, when Li Zhengguo helped the original owner pour gasoline on the courtyard house driven away by her birth father, his agility in climbing the wall did not suggest a lame leg.
He had always followed the original owner, and she hadn't paid attention to his leg. Did he become lame later and then recover? Or was he not lame now?
Was he lame or not?
Oh, she was overthinking. None of this concerned her. She was just a passerby.
As Tian Jing stared at his leg, lost in thought, Li Zhengguo felt a pang of panic. Had she seen through him? Would she forgive his deception?
Tian Jing picked up another egg and grasped the cloth a few times, wrapping up the *wowo tou* and holding them out to Li Zhengguo. "Eat these."
"Thank you," Li Zhengguo said, accepting them.
"You're welcome," Tian Jing replied dismissively, waving her hand. She had a poor impression of Li Min, so she wouldn't take these *wowo tou* to the Li family. "You must finish them."
"Okay," Li Zhengguo's voice softened, losing its initial gruffness.
After they finished eating and rested for a while, Li Zhengguo slung her two bundles over his shoulders and they continued their journey.
The walk began with a long slope of nearly 50 degrees. This slope was about two miles long. After climbing only halfway, Tian Jing started to feel unable to continue. It was the body that hadn't recovered yet, not that she didn't want to move after eating.
A rough hand extended in front of her. "I'll pull you."
Tian Jing looked up at the top of the slope ahead. If only she could use her abilities, a few vines to pull and drag, and no matter how high the slope or mountain, she could climb it.
Then she looked at the hand still persisting in front of her and reached out to place her own hand on it. It was good to borrow some strength.
The large hand trembled slightly and then grasped her small, calloused hand.
The dry and warm large hand pulled her forward with effort. She actually had the thought of not moving and letting this hand pull her along.
After another 180-degree turn and another two miles, they finally reached the top of the slope, completing the five-mile winding ascent. Tian Jing wanted to find a place to rest.
Li Zhengguo pulled her along. "There's a pavilion ahead. We'll rest there."
Fine. Tian Jing really didn't want to walk actively anymore. She let him pull her along, moving her steps passively.
Ahead, where she couldn't see, Li Zhengguo's lips curved upwards. His originally stern face softened with this smile.
The pavilion was about a mile away. It had a thatched roof, four large tree trunks, and four long benches placed between the trunks – a place to rest.
Tian Jing lay on the wide wooden bench. The sun was directly overhead, likely between one and two in the afternoon. The late autumn sun was warm, making one drowsy.
"Jingjing, don't sleep, you'll catch a chill." Li Zhengguo nudged the person on the wooden bench.
Jingjing? I want to be quiet!
Tian Jing opened her hazy eyes. "Don't call me Jingjing."
"Then what should I call you?"
"Hmm..." Tian Jing thought seriously. "Call me Tiantian."
"Okay," Li Zhengguo obediently called out, "Tiantian."
Tian Jing felt something wasn't quite right, but her drowsy mind couldn't process it.
"Get up," Li Zhengguo nudged her again. "Tiantian, get up. I'll carry you. You can sleep on my back."
Someone to carry her? That seemed pretty good. Tian Jing wasn't one to be coy. Sleeping on a human cushion was better than sleeping on a wooden bench. "Okay."
Li Zhengguo lowered his head to arrange the bundles, the curve of his lips widening.
The two bundles were tied together and hung around his neck, dangling down to his chest. He turned around to face Tian Jing. "Come up."
Seeing the broad back in front of her, Tian Jing told herself to just borrow it for now. She was too tired.
She lay down on his back. His large hands quickly lifted her backside and then cupped her thighs. These movements were so fast that before Tian Jing could react with any displeasure, she was already firmly settled on his broad back.
"Hold onto my neck." The natural words made it seem as if they weren't strangers who had met less than two hours ago.
Tian Jing obediently wrapped her skinny arms around the man's neck.