The remaining boys, hearing the millstone's clamor, paid no mind to anything else and plunged into the water one after another.
Watching their older brothers shout about their catches in the water, Yu'er couldn't stay on the bank and wanted to go in too.
"Not today, it's too late. When there's a chance during the day, grandfather will take you fishing," Meng Qingping was quite eager himself, but if he hadn't been mindful of being a grandfather, he too would have wanted to go fishing in the river.
The voices here grew louder and louder, attracting Jiang Tou'er, who was squatting by the roadside, smelling the stir-fried rabbit meat.
"Oh, my!" Seeing the boys tossing palm-sized fish, still wriggling, onto the shore, Jiang Tou'er's face lit up with joy.
"Zhuzi, hurry over and sort these fish out. We'll stew a big pot of fish soup tonight, and everyone will get a taste. For the Meng family, this is also a farewell feast. You all live good lives from now on, especially you boys; perhaps you'll have a bright future."
Everyone likes to hear kind words. The Meng clan members listened to Jiang Tou'er's words and showed gratitude on their faces.
The dark-faced big man was displeased and asked Jiang Tou'er indignantly, "Why do you always find me for everything? Can't I have some rest? If I don't work myself to death, will you be satisfied?"
"Zhuzi, you can't say that. Both rabbit meat and these small river fish are good things, very fresh. If others were to mess them up, wouldn't it be a waste?"
The dark-faced big man scratched his head. "It does seem so." After grumbling, he dutifully squatted down and started cleaning the small river fish.
...
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless one for many. Qi He, Wu Laoda, and others were happy, while the Meng clan members were worried about their uncertain future.
Fu Xinci couldn't sleep tonight either. After dinner, the women took advantage of the night to bathe by the river, and she also managed to wash up properly when no one was paying attention.
She now desperately wished her family could settle down quickly, not for any other reason than to have the freedom to bathe.
Otherwise, in this sweltering heat, smelling the sweat on herself every day was hardly a life fit for humans.
Alas, summer nights are short, and Fu Xinci felt that in just a few sighs, the sky was already turning dawn.
As day broke, she was a bit dumbfounded. It seemed she hadn't slept all night.
Jiang Tou'er didn't urge everyone to get up like he usually did, but everyone, as if by agreement, was soon awake.
The Meng clan members remained restless and uneasy about their unknown fate. So, even though the morning was cool, they looked listless.
Wu Laoda and his group, on the other hand, were already tidying up with joyful expressions, waiting for Jiang Tou'er to announce their departure. They couldn't wait to get into the city and find that Master Cao to sell their goods and head home.
They too had been away from home for quite some time and missed their families.
The group finally set off. Twenty li didn't seem far to most. However, some were exhilarated, while others were dejected.
Since it had become light, Fu Xinci had been secretly observing Qi He's expressions.
One moment he would curve his lips, the next he would droop his face, his every bit of gain and loss etched on his face.
Fu Xinci thought: If only she had a camera, she could create a very impressive set of emoji packs.
Qi He was unaware that his sister Fu was researching ways to capture his every move and turn them into emoji packs for the world to admire.
Of course, it would be even better if she could make some money from it.
They had already reached the territory of Liaodong, and Fu Xinci had to consider how her family would live in the future.
However, before her jumbled thoughts could be sorted out, she heard the sound of hurried hoofbeats approaching from a distance.
Everyone, as if pulled by a single string, looked in the same direction. Three horses, three people. Leading them was a man in his late twenties, dressed in military attire that accentuated his tall and imposing figure.
Seeing a face on the newcomer that bore a five-tenths resemblance to his second uncle, Qi He's feet moved forward involuntarily.
"Whoa." Qi Yuanshan dismounted his warhorse and gazed fixedly at the youth walking towards him. The youth's face was indeed tanned, and his determined eyes, even coated with dust from the journey, made his heart tremble.
Especially the eyebrows and eyes, so similar to He Meier's, made him recognize him at a glance: this was his son.
"Xiao He." Qi Yuanshan strode forward, his voice trembling, and scooped his son up with his two large hands.
"Dad." Qi He felt a brief moment of discomfort in the unfamiliar embrace. He was already this big, yet his father was holding him. Even though no one would laugh at him in this situation, his face felt hot.
Fortunately, the journey had made his already not-so-fair complexion even darker. Even if he felt shy now, others wouldn't be able to tell.
Qi Yuanshan's eyes remained fixed on his son. When he left home, his son was just a tiny little thing.
Seeing his son reminded him of Mei'er. He couldn't accept Mei'er's departure back then.
He also dared not stay in the empty house without Mei'er; he feared he would go mad if he did.
He left home, and ten years passed in separation. Although he entrusted most of his salary to others to take back to his hometown over the years, the guilt he felt towards his mother and son grew with each passing year, just like his age.
Especially in the spring of this year, his mother passed away with regret. When he received the news, he wished he could beat himself to death.
However, at that time, the Tatars were again plundering grain in the area, and the pass he was stationed at to lead the troops also discovered traces of the Tatars. At such a time, no matter how big the event was back home, he couldn't leave.
Later, after his mother was buried, the village head wrote to him, saying he would send Xiao He over. Although the village head's letter was vague, he understood what he needed to.
He said that his second brother's three nephews and nieces couldn't look after Xiao He. After reading that letter, he almost laughed out loud. He had paid for the house back home, and he had also paid for the land.
Moreover, when he had people bring money back to his mother years ago, he had made it very clear that the house and land were to be registered in Xiao He's name. He believed that with this property, his son would not have trouble finding a wife when he grew up.
In the end, they lived in Xiao He's house and cultivated Xiao He's land, yet they couldn't look after Xiao He. Were they treating him as a fool, or his son as a fool?
Heh, he had now received his son. When he returned, he would write to the village head. Since Xiao He had come to him, he would never go back. The house and land at home would be sold with the village head's help.
Don't blame him for being petty; his money had supported the second brother's family for so many years, only to raise a family of ungrateful wolves.
If he endured this, he would be letting his son down. Those things were prepared for his son, not for that pack of ungrateful wolves to enjoy.