"Thank you, Brother Qi." Qi He had already gone above and beyond by saying this.
Meng Yutang was not ungrateful. Especially these days, he had learned a lot about life from his granduncle.
He also solemnly promised Qi He, "Brother Qi, if possible, I want to bring my grandmother. Whether this succeeds or not, I will always be at Brother Qi's command." For Meng Yutang, his grandmother was the closest person to him now, and he wanted to take care of her in her old age.
Qi He hadn't expected that in such a short time, he had gained several sworn brothers who had gone through life and death with him.
Fu Xinci watched from the side without saying anything, but her heart was happy for Qi He.
...
When they finally reached the pass after untold hardships, and looked up at the three black characters, Fu Xinci was filled with a myriad of emotions.
She recalled the scene before the apocalypse when her parents drove her to school, and her eyes filled with tears.
Past events flashed before her eyes, and she seemed to hear her father loudly calling to her mother: "Wife, come here quickly, let's take a photo with our eldest daughter. We've entered the pass, hahaha..."
Her parents' voices and smiles were still vivid in her mind, but now she didn't know where they were? And she herself had come to this strange time and space by chance.
"Ci'er, what's wrong?" It was Meng Qingping who first noticed his granddaughter's unusual state.
"Grandfather, Ci'er just feels that we may never be able to return."
As soon as Fu Xinci spoke, everyone present changed their expressions.
Especially the elderly among the Meng clan, who immediately burst into tears. Their old bones had no chance of returning to the capital in this lifetime, let alone their children and grandchildren.
"Alright, we've said what we needed to say. Once we're past this pass, we'll officially be in Liaodong territory."
Fu Xinci really wanted to correct Grandpa Jiang, that this was Liaoxi, then Liaonan, and finally Liaodong.
However, she didn't know that in the Ming dynasty at this time, as long as they passed this pass, it was collectively referred to as Liaodong.
Fu Xinci helped her grandfather onto the donkey cart again. Fu Yu glanced back, flicked his whip, and shouted loudly, "Everyone hold on tight, we're setting off."
"Setting off!" Stepping onto Liaodong territory, no one was happier than Qi He.
"Hahaha, look at this kid, he's so happy, does he even know which way is north?"
"Grandpa Jiang, I really can't tell east from west right now." Qi He wasn't exaggerating; he truly couldn't tell.
"Hahaha, you kid, you're just trying to fool me. If you can't fool this old man, you're not done."
"Grandpa Jiang, I'm really not fooling you, I really can't tell."
"You really can't tell? Impossible!" Head Jiang also didn't expect Qi He to be telling the truth.
"It's true."
"It's fine, when we get to the next resting place, you can orient yourself properly and you'll find your way."
"Okay." Qi He answered helplessly. He hadn't expected that after passing the pass and making a turn, he would be completely disoriented.
Fortunately, he was quick-witted, and before long, he had managed to get close to Grandpa Meng. The old man and the young man whispered together for a long time, and Qi He's bright smile returned.
Yu'er had been sitting quietly nearby. Seeing that Brother Qi was finally smiling, he immediately said happily to Brother Qi, "Brother Qi, tonight, let's go find something delicious with sister."
In Yu'er's understanding, sister often found delicious food and never returned empty-handed.
"Yes." Qi He had also felt his mouth was rather bland for the past two days. Hearing Yu'er's words, he started to form a plan.
"Sister Fu, I'll speak to Grandpa Jiang in a moment, and we can go out tonight to search for some food."
"Alright, I was thinking the same thing."
"Take us with you." The few behind them heard this and immediately spoke up, wanting to join.
"Don't worry, you won't be left out."
Head Jiang saw the few youngsters whispering again and knew they were planning to go look for food. He didn't stop them, but reminded them, "We'll be in Ningyuan City tomorrow. If I'm not mistaken, we might even see Brother Qi's father."
"Really?" Qi He's eyes sparkled with excitement upon hearing that he might see his father tomorrow.
"Ah ah." Bao'er saw everyone talking happily but no one paying attention to him, so he shouted a couple of times, unwilling to be outdone.
"Bao'er, don't make a fuss. Brother Qi and Cousin Citang are going to find something delicious later. If you make noise and annoy people, they won't give you any good food."
Ke'er said a lot, but Bao'er only remembered the delicious food. His saliva immediately began to flow uncontrollably, and he shouted even louder, "Eat, eat."
"Cousin Citang, look at Bao'er, all he thinks about is eating all day."
"And he makes trouble," Ren added unhurriedly.
"Yes, Uncle said it right. If he keeps making trouble, when Cousin Citang and Brother Qi find good things to eat, they won't give him any."
"Ah ah." Bao'er seemed to understand a little. Little Aunt and Little Great-Uncle were bad and wouldn't give him delicious food. How could that be?
Bao'er turned to look at Zeng and began to "ah ah" to complain, wanting to eat delicious food.
However, his shouts were only understood by himself.
Fortunately, Zeng was patient. She patted Bao'er's little hands and responded with a few "good" sounds. She also appeased Bao'er, "Bao'er, be good. When Little Aunt and the others find delicious food, they will give it to Bao'er to eat."
This time, Bao'er seemed to understand everything. He nodded his head slightly and leaned against Zeng, remaining silent.
Head Jiang looked at the youngsters in front, who were talking animatedly, and his eyes darted about.
"Boss." The dark-faced man understood Head Jiang the best.
"No need to make a fuss, we'll be done with our task soon. When we get back, I'll ask the superior for a few more days of leave. I just want to go home and sleep soundly. Damn it, it'd be best to sleep for two days."
"Tch, going home to sleep. You're the only one going home, what's the point? It's better to listen to me. While you can still move and crawl, hurry up and find a young widow and have a big healthy son next year."
"What nonsense are you spouting! If I'm going to have kids, it'll be a daughter. Daughters are so good, haven't you heard? A daughter is a parent's little padded jacket."
"Oh? Boss, you've finally come around?" The dark-faced man was surprised that the millennium-old bachelor had finally developed romantic feelings.
"Yes, looking at all of you, you're always talking about wives, kids, and a warm stove. What can I say? I have to go with the flow."
"Boss, you thinking like this is right. When we get back, I'll have my wife help you find someone." The dark-faced man had always worried about Head Jiang being alone. Seeing that he had finally agreed today, he immediately seized the opportunity, planning to have his wife help Head Jiang find someone upon their return.