The journey back was much smoother, even with a horse, after the troubles experienced on the way there.
Xiao Bai was restless in her pocket, poking its little head out and squeaking non-stop.
"Chirp chirp~"
Fu Xinci: These two are chatting quite lively; she was infected by their cheerfulness.
Qi He's eyes, exposed to the outside, kept glancing this way. He was very fond of Xiao Hei, admiring how majestic Xiao Hei looked circling in mid-air.
Winter arrived early, and the sky grew dark swiftly. Jin Xiaoqi, who had been gazing with longing, finally saw the two little rascals return.
Seeing the two little ones riding Tatar horses, it was hard not to feel a pang of fear.
"You two?"
Ah, upon seeing Jin Xiaoqi, Qi He's floodgates of words opened.
"Uncle Jin, these two horses are our spoils of war."
"Spoils of war?" Hearing those words, Jin Xiaoqi's heart grew even more uneasy.
Qi He didn't let him ask further, instead, he poured out the story of encountering the three Tatars like a bamboo tube emptying its beans.
"With your small frames, you two defeated those three tall and burly Tatars?"
"Uncle Jin, I didn't contribute much. It was all Sister Fu."
"How could it be all her?"
Qi He then recounted to Jin Xiaoqi how Fu sister first used a rope, and then a crossbow.
Still feeling unsatisfied, he went on to tell them about encountering the people from the Jīnjīling Guard Post.
Seeing that he wouldn't finish for a while, Fu Xinci suggested she return first.
Fearing her grandfather would worry, Fu Xinci discussed with Jin Xiaoqi, "Uncle Jin, can we leave our horses at the guard post for now?"
"Of course, you can leave them for as long as you like."
Jin Xiaoqi had also taken a liking to the two strong, well-fed horses. He also thought of a perfect solution.
Normally, the two children wouldn't ride horses every day, and their guard post had a terribly small number of horses.
If a war were to break out, these two horses could be of great help.
Seeing that Jin Xiaoqi was willing to cover for them, Fu Xinci smiled with her eyes curving and thanked him before running home. She didn't mind that Qi He was excitedly chattering away with Uncle Jin.
In the Meng family courtyard, Fu Yu was about to head to the mountain pass to deliver dinner when he saw his daughter enter the house right on time.
"Ci'er, why are you back so late? Where's Xiao He?" Fu Yu, not seeing Qi He behind his daughter as usual, asked curiously.
"Brother Xiao He might be back a little later. He's chatting with Uncle Jin right now."
"Chatting?" Fu Yu secretly wondered when Xiao He became so talkative.
(Here, "chatting" has two meanings: 1. Talkative. 2. Lying.)
Fu Xinci didn't want to say more. She needed to eat; she was starving. Also, she was exhausted and wanted to sleep after eating.
Grandpa Meng was also worried about them. Seeing his granddaughter return without Qi He, he also asked where Qi He had gone.
Fu Xinci answered truthfully.
She was so hungry; she wanted to eat.
Grandpa Meng sniffed and asked suspiciously, "Ci'er, what is that smell?"
Fu Xinci: Could it be gunpowder? Upon reflection, it was quite possible.
Fortunately, she had just washed her hands and face; otherwise, the smell might have been stronger.
What to do?
She drank a cup of lukewarm water, then pretended not to smell anything and gently shook her head.
Grandpa Meng: Did he smell it wrong?
Fu Xinci: Perhaps. With a guilty conscience, she went to the kitchen.
The kitchen was filled with smoke and fire. None of the people here could smell the strange odor on her.
Finally, it was time for dinner.
That evening, the family had cooked millet porridge, served with pan-fried sea fish and stir-fried cabbage slices.
Alas, it would have been even better with salted goose eggs. But alas, there weren't even salted duck eggs, let alone salted goose eggs.
However, she was truly hungry. With small mouthfuls, she ate the millet porridge, her small mouth never stopping.
Before long, the bowl of millet porridge was empty, and the two pieces of pan-fried sea fish had also gone into her stomach.
She let out a satisfied "mm" before putting down her chopsticks.
"Full?" Seeing her daughter looking tired, Fang Shi felt heartbroken. She took out her handkerchief, wiped her daughter's oily little mouth, and then said, "Ci'er, you're a girl; you don't need to go to the mountain pass every day."
"Mother."
The daughter's "Mother" was spoken gently, but Fang Shi's tone was tinged with helplessness. "If you must go, then you must take care of yourself."
After saying this, Fang Shi still felt it wasn't enough and added a few more words: "The weather outside is getting colder day by day. The cold of Liaodong is different from our hometown. Girls must not overexert themselves, nor catch a cold. Ci'er, you must remember this."
"Mother, I know." After speaking, Fu Xinci put on her little cloak and prepared to return to her small building. The warm-hearted sisters couldn't wait any longer.
There was no choice; she was both tired and sleepy.
Back in her room, thinking about the whole day of toiling outside, a bath seemed the most comfortable.
Fortunately, the hot water in the bathhouse was at a suitable temperature. Fu Xinci sat in the tub and washed herself from head to toe, fearing even a trace of gunpowder smell would remain.
Finally satisfied with her cleaning, she emerged from the bathhouse. Her hair wasn't even dry when she climbed onto the kang, ready to fall asleep.
But then, an idea suddenly struck her, and she promptly entered her space.
In Dragon City, her friends were still waiting for her.
"Dragon City is getting colder and colder. It's only been a few days since winter began, and it's already the second snowfall," Yang Xinjie said worriedly, looking at the heavy snow outside.
"Isn't that the truth? It's fine if it snows, but why is it always heavy snow? If it continues like this, Dragon City will eventually have to change its name."
"Change to what?" The base leader, covered in snowflakes, entered from outside, still in the mood for a joke.
"I think Dragon City should be called Snow City; it's more fitting."
"Then it might end up being a homonym."
"Base leader, what do you say?" The captain was quite sensible today.
"I just received news that several cities to the north have had snow. And it's strangely consistent; it's all heavy snowfall."
"What about the southern cities?"
"As for the south, we're not sure yet."
The captain listened to the base leader's words and, for once, fell into thought. After a long pause, he asked in a deep voice, "Base leader, those cities are...?" He didn't finish his sentence, hoping it wasn't what he suspected.
The base leader nodded silently.
"What are you doing? Is this going to exhaust everyone to death?" Before the base leader could answer, the captain raised his voice and shouted, "Xinci has already worked hard enough to support us. You're bringing in others too; you're being inconsiderate."